Four ways you can support your athlete through the pressures of youth sports Parenting is tough and responding in a way that is not only supportive but beneficial to your child can be tricky some times. Understanding WHY your teen plays is so helpful in supporting him on his journey. Today Susie and Kirsten discuss four ways to support your athlete as adversity occurs. When we have the tools as parents to support them, it can make for a much more enjoyable ride for both YOU and your child. It do...
Jun 20, 2019•33 min•Ep. 24
Dan Mavraides is a top-ranked FIBA 3x3 professional basketball player and a 2020 Olympic hopeful. Prior to playing 3x3 professionally, he played in the top 5x5 leagues in Greece and Italy. He graduated from Princeton University in 2011 where he was the two-time team MVP and let the Tigers to an Ivy League Championship and NCAA tournament birth. But for all of Dan’s success, which is tremendous, the most impressive part of his story is that he is a self-professed “late bloomer” and what gifts tha...
May 10, 2019•37 min•Ep. 23
Austin Hatch is a survivor. A two-time plane crash survivor, he epitomizes what it means to be resilient. In 2003, at the age of 8, Austin’s mother, sister and brother were tragically killed plane crash. Eight years later, with many hours of hard work, the 6’6” basketball phenom was offered a college scholarship from his dream school, University of Michigan. Just nine days later, Austin would be aboard a plane with his father and “second mother” (he never considered her a step-mom) and this plan...
Mar 20, 2019•42 min•Ep. 22
Are you a sympathetic parent or an empathic parent? When your child “falls in a hole”, ie, he gets cut from a team, didn’t get the playing time he hoped he get, had a bad game, lost, do you “jump in the hole” with him or do you stand near “the hole” (proverbially hole, of course), ask good questions and see how you could help by witnesses his pain. In today’s episode, Kirsten and Susie talk about several tools we find helpful when parents contact us to ask how best to help their child in a momen...
Feb 26, 2019•31 min•Ep. 21
Derek Cox was a D1 athlete who had never really considered playing pro football until a scout came to see him play in his senior year in college and told him he could become a “Priority Free Agent”…. Derek said he wasn’t exactly sure what that was, but liked the sound of it. Because he wasn’t a First Round pick, Derek worked tirelessly with the hopes of landing a spot in the NFL…which he did. We spoke about the journey and and through the pro’s and now that he’s retired and raising his son with ...
Jan 31, 2019•38 min•Ep. 20
One of the greatest gifts we can give this next generations (and ourselves) in the gift of inner peace. What if your child could possess a knowing that whatever they encounter, good or bad, they will be ok? Rates of depression and anxiety are sky-rocketing. So much of it is caused by the fear of the unknown, the panic of the question that arises in everyone’s head, “What if I’m not enough?” Susie and I give tools in this episode (good for parents to use, too!) to quiet the negative self-talk and...
Dec 12, 2018•43 min•Ep. 19
Sue Enquist was UCLA Softball’s first All-American, National Champion, and Hall of Famer. In 2006, Enquist wrapped up a 27-year career as head coach of the UCLA Bruins with a 887-175-1 (.835) record, making her the winningest softball coach among all active coaches. On today’s episode we discussed how twelve years after retirement, softball is still her passion and through her business OneSoftball.com, they are helping inspire the player, organize the parent and educate the coach. She is a wealt...
Nov 11, 2018•35 min•Ep. 18
My kid got cut- now what!? Kirsten and Susie discuss what happens when our athlete gets cut… no matter what the level, whether it’s the middle school team or the varsity team or even at the college or pro level. They discuss the three different approaches we can take as parents to support them, which will give him/her the opportunity to feel the pain and move through it, together. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kirsten-jones0/support...
Oct 26, 2018•30 min•Ep. 17
This week on the #RaisingAthletes Podcast, we are excited to have United States Navy SEAL veteran, Jason Booher on. While he is currently the leader of the management consulting firm, Northwest Harbor Solutions, Booher served 23 years as a commander in the SEALS, leading teams in everything from basic SEAL training, i.e., BUD/S to commanding hundreds of combat operations as well as driving integration of cross-functional intelligence teams. He currently serves as an advisor to the local Southern...
Sep 28, 2018•36 min•Ep. 16
What is a post-grad year? And why would a student athlete choose to take this path? Today we discuss what the benefits are of an athlete taking an extra year to prepare for college and what the potential upside can be. Alex Popp (pronounced Pope) is in his fifth season as Head Coach of Men's Basketball at Vermont Academy. During Popp's time at the Academy, the program has matriculated student-athletes to Harvard, UChicago, Vanderbilt, Butler, Tufts, Arizona, Colby, Louisville, Carnegie Mellon an...
Sep 16, 2018•33 min•Ep. 15
Jamal Adams has twice been named CIF Division Coach of the Year, as well as being awarded the prestigious National Double Goal Coach of the Year, given by the Positive Coaching Alliance in 2009. Over the last 12 years as the Loyola HS Head Basketball Coach, the Cubs have won 7 league titles, have been ranked in the top 25 nationally four times, earned five state tournament berths and one CIF Southern Section Title. With the basketball season rapidly approaching, we spoke today about getting prep...
Aug 24, 2018•36 min•Ep. 14
Today we discuss a topic we often take for granted when we think of peak performance, SLEEP. Gary Trudell, who’s family has owned the Custom Comfort Mattress Company here in Southern California for the last 35 years, and who is a father of three teen athletes himself, understands the importance of young athletes getting good sleep to not only help their growing bodies produce much needed (HGH) Human Growth Hormone, but also to repair injuries, to help the brain continue to develop and last but n...
Aug 06, 2018•26 min•Ep. 13
Dr. Tommy John, son of renowned Major League baseball pitcher, Tommy John Jr, who played in the league for 26 years, was the first person to come back in 1974 from the revolutionary surgery (which was subsequently named after him) which allowed him to continuing playing baseball for an additional 16 years. Dr. Tommy John, like his father, also played baseball, and it was after a career ending shoulder injury, he went back to school to get his Master's Degree in Health & Human Sciences, so he...
Jul 13, 2018•38 min•Ep. 12
This week on #RaisingAthletes, we speak with former Cleveland Cavalier NBA Champion, Channing Frye. He discusses the importance of trying things other than basketball. For example, his first passion was the trumpet. He lays down what he looks for in an ideal teammate and who he aspires to be as one. We discuss mindset and what it takes to make it at every level, how you need to show up, even when or especially when things don’t go our way. At the very end, he shares with us Lebron’s secret weapo...
Jun 29, 2018•30 min•Ep. 11
This week on #Raising Athletes, Kirsten Jones & Susie Walton discuss the power of intrinsically driven athletes and share three tips to help your athlete hardwire his/her intuition. As parents, when we allow our children to grow their own intuition, their intrinsic awareness, competence and confidence grows over time. The more adept we as parents get at letting go of trying to control the outcome of each situation, and agree to just "lean back" and be supportive, the more our athletes are ab...
Jun 15, 2018•30 min•Ep. 10
This week on #RaisingAthletes, Audrey Monke, the Director of Gold Arrow Camp, Mother of five and speaker and writer of Sunshine-Parenting.com, spoke with Kirsten about the importance of giving your athlete some time away from their sport and the other benefits of sleep away camp, like making real lasting connections (without any devices), having some alone time and facing fears that they don't get a chance to work through in their every day lives! Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify...
Jun 01, 2018•36 min•Ep. 9
This week on #RaisingAthletes, we get to go DEEEEP with legendary Pro Beach Volleyball/AVP announcer, former coach of five National Championship club volleyball teams and former co-Captain of the Cal State Northridge the Men's '93 Championship title match Volleyball team current anchor of the Emmy Award winning Spectrum Sports Los Angeles Lakers Show. We discuss his path to broadcasting (hint: it started in his backyard), how his athletic journey flowed beautifully into his dream career and his ...
May 18, 2018•44 min•Ep. 8
We are thrilled to have three time first team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American, 1993 National Player of the Year, in which she led the Long Beach 49ers to the NCAA National Championship, the Honda Sports Award recipient. She was the first Big-West student-athlete to earn all-conference accolades in both volleyball AND basketball and tried out for the WNBA three times. Listen in to hear more about her mindset, how she overcomes when things don't go her way and how she approach...
May 12, 2018•34 min•Ep. 7
In today's episode, we have the Head Women's Volleyball Coach from the D1 program, The College of William and Mary. We went deep on the recruiting process and how it works from a "birds eye" view. We have also compiled a guide of questions to ask if you are a student athlete who is looking for their next coach (could be at the high school, club or college level). Tim is full of wonderful insight and ideas on what he looks for in finding a great fit for your teen. Support this podcast: https://po...
Apr 20, 2018•43 min•Ep. 6
Today's guest is the Founder of Pensole Footwear Design Academy and former Creative Director of Brand Jordan. He shares his story of how he used his passion for sport + drawing to create his dream job. This is so inspiring, you won't want to miss it! Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kirsten-jones0/support
Apr 05, 2018•36 min•Ep. 5
This week, Kirsten interviews former William & Mary Hall of Fame, college teammate, Jennifer Petrie, who has coached an led the Women Toreros for the last 20 years. A four-time West Coast Conference Coach of the Year, Petrie attracts and develops some of the top talent in the country. We discussed her coaching path, her mentors and her role from the other side of the net, as a parent of a teen volleyball athletes Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kirsten-jones0/su...
Mar 07, 2018•38 min•Ep. 4
This week Kirsten speaks with the founder of Impact Bball, Joe Abunassar. His passion is helping teens and pro basketball athletes reach peak performance. As an Ironman competitor himself, he understands what it takes to perform at the highest level: nutritionally, mentally and physically. Joe talks about the craziness of youth sports and what to do to healthfully support your teen in their sports journey. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kirsten-jones0/support...
Mar 01, 2018•34 min•Ep. 3
This week Kirsten and Susie dive into the topic of failure and how important it is for our teen athletes to get comfortable with it, because it is the path to success... just ask Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kirsten-jones0/support
Feb 16, 2018•33 min•Ep. 2
In today's episode, Kirsten Jones and Susie Walton discuss why most of us have already broken our New Year's resolutions and how we can help our teens build keystone habits. <img alt="RaisingAthletes.png" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58d3155fd1758e4bb74373e1/1517616620334-TGKBO9HCVHIEYJMA4IYZ/RaisingAthletes.png?format=1000w" /> Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kirsten-jones0/support...
Feb 03, 2018•24 min•Ep. 1
Kirsten and Susie talk about the sentencing given to USA Gymnastics most trusted doctor who molested over 140 gymnasts over decades. How we can help teach our kids to advocate for themselves and the 4 Guiding Principles parents can use to help their athlete. 1) Build self-confidence, 2) Use your voice, 3) Establish your boundaries, 4) Advocate for yourself. <img alt="RaisingAthletes.png" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58d3155fd1758e4bb74373e1/1516836402136-RV74YSWZT5LF3R00...
Jan 24, 2018•27 min0
