Be Valiant - Powered by Valiant Sports Society

Longtime Arizona sports broadcaster Jody Jackson has spent her career around elite athletes, but some of the most important lessons she's learned came as a sports parent. In this Be Valiant Rewind episode, Jody shares the journey of raising two highly competitive athletes—Connor, a collegiate quarterback, and Caitlin, a standout softball pitcher—while navigating the realities of youth sports, club...

In this Be Valiant Rewind , Todd Merkow revisits a powerful conversation with Linda Santo , sports parent, longtime sports media executive, and daughter of Chicago Cubs legend and MLB Hall of Famer Ron Santo . Growing up around one of baseball's most beloved figures gave Linda a unique perspective on sports, competition, and what truly matters. But even with a Hall of Famer as her father, she foun...

As youth sports become increasingly focused on scholarships, recruiting, NIL, and the pursuit of Division I athletics, many families lose sight of what truly matters: finding the right fit for their child. In this Be Valiant Rewind episode, Todd Merkow sits down with former East Coast Conference Commissioner Dr. Robert "Bob" Dranoff, a lifelong college athletics leader, professor, and sports paren...

In this Be Valiant Rewind episode, Todd Merkow sits down with Steve Borelli, longtime USA Today journalist, youth sports columnist, coach, and sports dad, for one of the most insightful conversations we've had about the realities of raising young athletes. Drawing from years of experience on the sidelines and hundreds of conversations with parents, coaches, and athletes, Steve shares practical wis...

In this special "rewind" of Be Valiant, host Todd Merkow sits down with longtime friend, former collegiate and national team soccer player, coach, consultant, and sports parent Mike Strati for one of the most insightful conversations we've had about youth sports culture. Drawing from his experiences as an athlete, coach, and father of three, Mike shares a refreshingly honest perspective on what re...

Some conversations are too important to be heard only once. This week, we're revisiting one of the most impactful episodes of Be Valiant with Mark Hilinski, co-founder of Hilinski's Hope and father of former Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski. After losing Tyler to suicide in 2018, Mark and his wife Kim turned unimaginable grief into a national movement dedicated to improving mental healt...

Former Arizona State women's basketball coach and Hall of Famer Charli Turner Thorne joins Valiant Sports Society CEO Todd Merkow for one of the most important conversations Be Valiant has had about youth sports, mental health, coaching culture, and parenting. Over a 25-year coaching career at ASU, Charli built nationally respected programs centered not just on performance, but on mental wellness,...

During Mental Health Awareness Month, we're revisiting one of the most personal and important conversations we've had on Be Valiant. Todd sits down with his oldest daughter, Madison Merkow, for an honest discussion about the emotional realities of youth sports; including pressure, injuries, recruiting, confidence, identity, burnout, and the mental health struggles that often go unseen by parents,...

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, self-harm thoughts, and mental health struggles related to youth sports. In this deeply personal episode of Be Valiant, Todd Merkow sits down again with his daughter Sydney to talk about what happened after her youth soccer journey ended. Sydney opens up about identity loss, anxiety, depression, perfectionism,...

In this powerful re-release of Be Valiant , Todd Merkow sits down with his daughter Sydney Merkow to reflect on her youth sports journey while she was still playing competitive soccer. From the outside, Sydney's story looked like success — championships, leadership, and high-level competition. But beneath the surface, a very different reality was unfolding. Sydney opens up about the pressure, anxi...

In this follow-up conversation, Linda Flanagan returns to Be Valiant to move beyond the problems in youth sports and focus on what parents can actually do to create a better experience for their kids. After unpacking what youth sports has become in Part 1, this episode shifts to a more empowering conversation—centered on perspective, priorities, and the choices families can make to take back contr...

Before sharing my newest conversation with Linda Flanagan, I wanted to bring back our original discussion—because this is where the conversation started. In this episode, Linda, author of  Take Back the Game, joins me for a powerful look at what youth sports has become. From the pressure parents feel to the commercialization of the system, to the growing concerns around mental health, identity, an...

What really happens when a lifelong sports professional becomes a youth sports parent? In this episode of Be Valiant, Host Todd Merkow sits down with longtime friend and broadcaster Barry Buetel to unpack the real, often emotional journey of raising three daughters in youth sports. Despite decades in professional sports, Barry shares how unprepared he felt stepping into the youth sports environmen...

Jonathan Carone, founder of Healthy Sports Parents, joins Valiant Sports Society CEO & Founder, and host, Todd Merkow to talk about what youth sports parenting looks like when the focus shifts from pressure and performance to joy, growth, and long-term development. In this episode, Jonathan shares how his own experience as an athlete, coach, and dad shaped his mission to help parents better unders...

In this episode of Be Valiant , host Todd Merkow sits down with former Olympian, elite beach volleyball player, and coach Liz Masakayan for a candid, real-world conversation about what youth sports has become—and what it should be. Drawing from her experience as both an athlete and coach, Liz breaks down the growing tension between structure and freedom in youth sports. From the pressures of tryou...

In this episode of Be Valiant, Todd sits down with former Arizona State standout and SportsForce CEO Andrew Beinbrink to unpack the reality of youth sports development and the college recruiting process. Andrew shares his journey from multi-sport athlete to pro baseball, and how those experiences shaped his mission to help families navigate one of the most confusing—and often misunderstood—paths i...

In this episode of Be Valiant , host Todd Merkow sits down with Christian Lavers — founder and president of the ECNL (Elite Clubs National League) and a lifelong coach who has helped shape the modern landscape of elite youth soccer and college recruiting. Christian shares his own youth sports journey, how his parents approached sports in their household, and what ultimately pulled him from finance...

In this episode of Be Valiant , Todd Merkow sits down with Dr. Erik Dean , Medical Director for Sports Medicine at HonorHealth and a former University of Arizona Division I football player, for a no-fluff conversation every sports parent needs to hear. Dr. Dean breaks down what he's seen change over 25 years treating athletes—especially the sharp rise in early specialization , overuse injuries , a...

Be Valiant sits down with Joel Votaw, Arizona's State Referee Administrator and a longtime youth sports parent, for a conversation from the perspective most families never hear: the middle of the field. Joel shares what today's referee landscape really looks like—why a huge percentage of officials are teenagers, what drives the ongoing referee shortage, and how sideline behavior (from parents and...

This episode is a must-listen for softball parents (and yes—baseball parents too). Todd Merkow sits down with Crystalrae States, a former Division II catcher, longtime coach, and the founder/owner of Boilermaker Softball Club in Pennsylvania—built with a clear mission: female-first development, led by high-quality coaches, and anchored in perspective, communication, and care. Crystalrae shares her...

In this heartfelt and often hilarious episode of Be Valiant , Todd Merkow sits down with longtime friend Linda Santo —sports parent, sports media veteran, and the daughter of Chicago Cubs icon and MLB Hall of Famer Ron Santo—for a wide-ranging conversation about youth sports culture, pressure, and what it really takes to protect kids' confidence and joy. Linda begins with her own unique upbringing...

In the final episode of the three-part series "When the Dream Unexpectedly Changes," Todd Merkow sits down with longtime family friend Will Proctor to hear the athlete's full story—after earlier conversations with Will's parents, Jeff and Lisa Proctor. Will shares how sports shaped his identity from a young age, how baseball became his obsession, and how early success brought elite opportunities—a...

In Part 2 of 3 of When the Dream Unexpectedly Changes , Todd Merkow sits down with Lisa Proctor —attorney, former ranked junior tennis player in Texas, marathoner, and the mother at the center of the Proctor family's youth sports journey. Lisa shares her own athletic story first: a highly competitive tennis career that unraveled in her senior year as she struggled with what we now recognize as the...

In this episode of Be Valiant , host Todd Merkow is joined by longtime friend, sports media executive, and Valiant Sports Society board member Jeff Proctor for the first conversation in a three-part family series examining youth sports, pressure, injury, and identity. From Jeff's perspective as a former collegiate athlete and father of two, this episode explores what it's like to support a child n...