This week’s special episode will definitely have you laughing as we welcome former Division 1 college tennis player—who then became one of America’s funniest stand-up comedians, John Crist! Find out how @johnbcrist ’s tennis “career” prepared him to take the stage as a comedian, the lessons he learned playing sports, hilarious takes on youth sports, vacationing on 30A, his hate for the University of Georgia, his thoughts on Pickleball and so much more!...
Jan 28, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 105
Are parents raising kids to be too soft? Some high school and college coaches think so…and they are speaking out. Are they right, or does the older generation always believe the younger generation lacks toughness? And if they are right, why are kids softer? Is it possible that today's environment is, in some ways tougher for young athletes to navigate than it was for past generations? On this episode, Jeff, Britt, and Brad fully discuss this topic, sharing their own experiences as dads and coach...
Jan 22, 2025•43 min•Ep. 104
If you ever wonder how lessons learned in sports translate to life, look no further than to former NAVY SEAL Commander Rorke Denver. Rorke couldn't have led missions all over the world and become the leader of every phase of training for the SEALS, including the infamous BUDS, without the grit, team-first orientation, and leadership skills he began developing in youth sports. Denver shares his youth sports story, which led him to become an All-American lacrosse player at Syracuse University, hel...
Jan 15, 2025•52 min•Ep. 103
As we celebrate our 100th episode AND kick off 2025, we welcome back five of our previous guests - Dan Orlovsky, Rece Davis, Misty May-Treanor, Mark DeRosa, and Inky Johnson. Each of them share their thoughts and experiences as youth sports parents and coaches, as well as their hopes and ideas for how youth sports can be better in the coming year. This episode provides some great insights for parents and coaches, as well as offers reminders about how to make youth sports a great experience for o...
Jan 07, 2025•46 min•Ep. 102
Whether you never heard this or it's been a long time, David's insights into youth sports, from a parent, coach, and player perspective are spot on. So good, that we wanted to replay if for all out listeners, especially the newer ones. And oh yeah, it's fun to listen to Pollack and Francoeur relive their games playing against each other in Georgia high school football. Enjoy.
Dec 26, 2024•53 min•Ep. 101
Softball icon Jennie Finch-Daigle is our guest on this episode of The Pure Athlete Podcast. Jennie shares her youth sports story with us as a multi-sport athlete, and how that helped her develop her softball skills and abilities. She talks about the role her parents played in her development, how she developed as a young pitcher, and compares her college recruiting experiences to those of today. Jennie also shares about playing travel softball as a high schooler, and shares some incredible stori...
Dec 18, 2024•47 min•Ep. 100
One of the top players in MLB, Royals SS Bobby Witt Jr is this week's guest, and you don’t want to miss it. In 2024, Bobby was the runner-up in the American League MVP voting, posting incredible offensive numbers and winning a Gold Glove at shortstop for the Kansas City Royals in only his third big-league season. Not long ago, Witt was playing travel and high school ball in Colleyville, Tx. The son of a MLB pitcher, Witt bucked current trends and never had a private hitting lesson until after hi...
Dec 11, 2024•43 min•Ep. 99
How can we help our kids develop grit? How do parents help, or hinder, their kids from reaching their full potential, in sports, or life? What are the keys to developing mental toughness in our kids? Do your kids suffer from FOMU (Fear of Messing Up) and how can you help them overcome it, in sports and life? These are just some of the questions we explore this week as we welcome Dr. Tim Elmore, founder and CEO of Growing Leaders, Inc. and a sought-after expert on parenting and leadership develop...
Dec 04, 2024•52 min•Ep. 98
Future first-round NFL draft pick, Inky Johnson’s life changed forever with a single tackle at the University of Tennessee. A ruptured artery left his right arm paralyzed, almost taking his life, and Inky shares the challenges he faced to even get to the University of Tennessee, as well as his story coming back from the life-altering injury. You will be inspired as he shares about his faith and determination, the importance of character, and his own experiences as a sports dad.
Nov 27, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 97
This week's guest is 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist and 2019 World Cup Champion MALLORY PUGH SWANSON. As the USWNT’s leading scorer in the 2024 Olympics, including scoring the only goal in the gold medal game, Mal has overcome injuries, doubt, and much more along her journey to the top of the soccer world. Her journey began like many young girls today, playing youth soccer from an early age, as well as playing basketball, and running track until high school. Mal talks about the areas she excelled fr...
Nov 20, 2024•48 min•Ep. 96
At the end of the day, Youth and High School sports should always be fun, but what if a young athlete has big goals and aspirations? What if they want to become the best athlete they can be, pursing a dream of playing for their high school varsity team, at the college level, or even becoming a professional athlete? Many sports families are pursuing those goals from a young age, and we think that’s fantastic. But you should be aware of the challenges you’ll encounter. You should have a roadmap to...
Nov 13, 2024•52 min•Ep. 95
Join us today as we welcome former 6x Silver Slugger and 7x MLB All-Star catcher Brian McCann! Brian shares his experiences growing up as the son of a college baseball coach and how his dad played a key role in helping shape his sports journey, which ultimately led to a very successful career in the MLB. Brian gives his thoughts on the current state of youth baseball today and sheds some light on some of the struggles that he has with the evaluation process of youth baseball players. Brian also ...
Nov 07, 2024•51 min•Ep. 94
Fueling your body with the right fuel is critical to an athlete's ability to operate at peak performance. Professionals in every sport have discovered the value of regulating what they eat, how much they eat, and when they eat. Young athletes are no different...adapting strong nutritional habits can be a key factor in taking performance to elevated levels, impacting energy levels, stamina, and recovery for young athletes. On today's episode, former college basketball player and current sports nu...
Oct 30, 2024•53 min•Ep. 93
If you're a sports parent, and especially if you have multiple kids, you know what we're talking about. Today's youth sports culture is so consuming, it's a challenge to keep sports from dominating our family life. We want to do all the things to help our kids achieve their sports goals, but we also have family goals that are equally important (or maybe more important in the long run). How do we juggle it all? How do we ensure that our families aren't going in five different directions all the t...
Oct 23, 2024•44 min•Ep. 92
11-year NFL QB Nick Foles is our guest on this episode, sharing great insights from his sports story that began as a multi-sport athlete growing up in Texas to becoming the Super Bowl MVP for the Philadelphia Eagles. Foles discusses how he developed his abilities as a youth and high school player, how he handled disappointment and adversity in college including how close he game to quitting, how he handled being a backup in the NFL who rose to the occasion to lead his team when his number was ca...
Oct 16, 2024•51 min•Ep. 91
Renowned sports psychologist Dr Caroline Silby has spent the last few decades working with high performance athletes in a variety of sports, including several Olympic Gold Medalists. On this episode, she shares her expertise, techniques, and tools to help young athletes achieve BELIEF, the mental state that enables maximum performance in the biggest moments. The guys talk with her about how young athletes develop belief, how they regain it if lost, how parents can contribute to both increased an...
Oct 09, 2024•50 min•Ep. 90
The intensity of youth sports is increasing, and that's not debatable. Kids are playing more at younger ages - more practices, more tournaments, more games. More pressure to perform exists, and the expectations are higher than ever. As a result of these factors, the risk of burnout is also greater than ever. We've all heard the phrase "burnout," but what is it and what does it really look like? What are the factors that create burnout? What are the signs that my kid is experiencing it? And what ...
Oct 02, 2024•51 min•Ep. 89
Former NFL player, Head Coach, College Head Coach and current ESPN NFL Analyst Herb Edwards guests on this episode, and his reputation as a guy with vast experience who always shoots straight with his opinions is evidenced as he talks with the guys. In addition to sharing his own youth sports story, including the impact of his parents who allowed Herm to steer his own ship, he also shares interesting stories from his time as an NFL coach, including a fascinating story about 9/11 as the new coach...
Sep 25, 2024•55 min•Ep. 88
3x Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings joins the show, sharing her continued passion for volleyball (beach and indoor), and for the growth of women's sports. Kerri shares how her love for volleyball began at an early age, in the midst of playing multiple sports and loving the "free play" aspect of childhood sports that was strongly encouraged by her parents. She also shares her experiences and development as a club and high school player who was eventually recruited to play Indoor at Stanford, wh...
Sep 18, 2024•39 min•Ep. 87
We welcome former NFL 2x Pro Bowl QB Matt Schaub to the show on this episode! Matt played for 17 yrs in the NFL, after a stellar college career at the University of Virginia including being the ACC Player of the Year in 2002 and the NFL Passing Yards Leader in 2009. Matt was a 3-sport star in high school, and as a current sports dad of a son and four daughters. Matt shares his youth sports story, and discusses today's youth sports culture, including his thoughts on specialization, and on parenti...
Sep 11, 2024•37 min•Ep. 86
Does social media have a big potential impact on the youth sports journey? You bet it does. With teens averaging over 4 hours per day on social platforms, and 68% of pre-teens active on at least one social platform, we need to understand the impact on our young athletes. On this episode, we discuss the positive role social media can play in helping young athletes with motivation, skill development, key learnings, and recruiting. In addition, most of the discussion is focused on creating awarenes...
Sep 05, 2024•43 min•Ep. 85
On this episode, one of America's favorite and most respected sportscasters joins the guys and begins by sharing his thoughts about the upcoming final season of Inside the NBA, as well as a hilarious story involving Charles Barkley. EJ then opens up about his days as a walk-on first baseman for the Georgia Bulldogs, his experience being cut his sophomore year, and his thoughts on the current state of youth sports. In addition, EJ will inspire and challenge you as he shares his experience as a fa...
Aug 28, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 84
Former MLB Star Matt Holliday and his wife Leslee are raising their four kids in today's complex world of youth sports. Their oldest two boys shared their dad's passion for baseball, and their talent led the family into the crazy world of travel ball. As a senior in high school, Jackson became the first pick in the MLB draft. His brother, now a high school senior, looks to following a similar path. Their younger son and daughter had other passions, which Matt and Leslee were equally committed to...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 83
We kick off Season 3 with a great conversation with Baylor Men's Head Basketball Coach Scott Drew, one of college basketball's most successful and most respected coaches. Coach Drew shares how his basketball playing days ended early in high school due to his size, but he pursued his passion for the game as a coach. He discusses the incredible influence his dad had on him, his coaching philosophy, how he stays balanced in the midst of the demands of big time college basketball, his approach to re...
Aug 14, 2024•45 min•Ep. 82
On this season's final episode, Jeff and Britt address a number of questions and comments from listeners covering a wide range of youth sports topics, including some controversial ones. The guys also share some of their favorite, most impactful moments from Season 2, including important advice from Falcons QB Kirk Cousins and Coach Tony Dungy. This video is sponsored by Guardian Sports, the nations leading impact reducing soft-shell helmet cover engineered for impact reduction. For more visit gu...
Jul 31, 2024•44 min•Ep. 81
If you're playing youth sports, you're experiencing winning and losing regularly. Some experience one more than the other, but over the course of time, we all experience both. As parents and coaches, how do we teach young athletes the value of responding properly to both? Do we even model the right responses, or are we also too caught up in the results? On this episode, Jeff, Britt, and Brad discuss why we all want to win, the positive aspects that result, while also talking about the positive a...
Jul 24, 2024•43 min•Ep. 80
Former NBA star Jamal Crawford is our guest on this episode, sharing his youth sports story of growing up with the game of basketball in Seattle. Jamal dove into a wide array of topics in this week's episode. How did he develop his elite ball handling skills? How did his parents impact his journey? What was his recruiting process like? He even shares the secret to how he won the NBA 6th Man award three times and which award meant more than any other. Finally, he gives his thoughts on the changes...
Jul 17, 2024•39 min•Ep. 79
On today's episode, Brad and Britt talk to Dr Abigail Federer, a leading sports concussion specialist at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, shares her expertise and experience treating both male and female young athletes with concussion injuries. Brad introduces the subject by discussing his son's story of suffering concussions while playing three different sports, including the concerns shared by many parents of young athletes. Dr Feder dispels some of the myths and outdated treatment protocols for...
Jul 10, 2024•40 min•Ep. 78
Super Bowl Champion Tight End Ben Watson is our guest on this week's episode. Not only was Ben a 2nd Team All-SEC player at the University of Georgia and a first round pick in the NFL draft, Ben also had an outstanding 15 yearr career in the NFL, playing for the Patriots, Browns, Saints, and Ravens. In addition to his on-field success, Ben has always been known as a man of strong character, as evidenced by his being awarded the Bart Starr Award in 2018. During our conversation, Ben shares his yo...
Jul 03, 2024•59 min•Ep. 77
On this week's episode, the guys discuss toxic behavior and culture in youth sports. While we all love youth athletics, if you've been involved for any length of time you have likely encountered toxic parents. These parents can be disruptive, yelling inappropriate comments or remaining silent when they should address bad behavior. We've even experienced or heard stories of toxic coaches who try to win at all costs, play their own kids at the best positions, or require contracts to play on a 10u ...
Jun 26, 2024•40 min•Ep. 76
