Dialed & Driven Mentality Podcast

Welcome to Episode 77 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc tackle one of the most emotional moments in an athlete's journey: getting drafted, getting cut, or feeling like you've been left behind. Whether you weren't drafted, got released from a tryout, or watched teammates move on without you, it's easy to beli...

Welcome to Episode 76 of the Dialed & Driven Mentality Podcast! Up next in The Goalie Nation Series, Jeff Lerg and Natalie Ferenc welcome back PWHL New York Sirens goaltender Callie Shanahan following the completion of her rookie season in professional hockey. After joining us shortly after being drafted last fall, Callie returns to share what life is really like as a first-year professional g...

Welcome to Episode 75 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc tackle one of the most difficult experiences every athlete faces: failure. Whether it's a bad game, getting cut from a team, making a costly mistake, or simply feeling like you're falling short of your goals, failure can quickly become something athletes are asha...

Welcome to Episode 74 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! In this episode, Jeff Lerg and Natalie Ferenc continue the Goalie Nation series with The Ohio State University goaltender Kristoffer Eberly. Kris’ journey to Division I hockey has been anything but conventional. From Tier 2 youth hockey and Michigan high school hockey, to the Metro Jets, Compuware, the NCDC, the USHL, and ultimately...

Welcome to Episode 73 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! "The Longevity Formula for Athletes: Chris Phillips" In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc sit down with one of the most experienced sports medicine and performance professionals in the industry, Chris Phillips , Founder and Owner of Compete Sports Performance & Rehab. Chris is a board-certified...

Welcome to Episode 72 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! “How Athletes Build Grit Before the Season Starts” In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc break down one of the most important traits every athlete needs before the season begins: grit. Every athlete says they want to get better. They say they want to make the team, earn the role, play at the next level, or bec...

Welcome to Episode 71 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! In this episode, Jeff Lerg and Natalie Ferenc continue the Goalie Nation series with Michigan Tech University goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz. Owen’s path through college hockey has been anything but ordinary.  From youth hockey in Metro Detroit, to Wichita Falls, Youngstown, the University of Minnesota, a return to junior hockey, Li...

Welcome to Episode 70 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! “The Best Find a Way, the Rest Find Out: Building a No-Excuses Mentality” In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc break down one of the core principles of the Dialed and Driven mentality: no excuses. Every athlete says they want to do whatever it takes. They start the season, the offseason, or a new training pro...

Welcome to Episode 69 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! In this episode, Jeff Lerg and Natalie Ferenc continue the Goalie Nation series with one of the brightest young goaltenders in hockey — Detroit Red Wings prospect and Michigan State standout Trey Augustine.  From youth hockey with Honeybaked to the USA National Team Development Program, World Junior Championships, and now the start...

Welcome to Episode 68 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! In this episode, Jeff Lerg and Natalie Ferenc sit down with 2026 National Champion and University of Denver goaltender Johnny Hicks — or more famously “Johnny Bricks.” From starting the season as Denver’s third-string goalie to becoming the backbone of a national championship run, Johnny shares one of the most inspiring goalie stori...

Welcome to Episode 67 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! “Confident Athletes Don’t Guess—They Decide” In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc break down one of the most underrated skills in sports: trusting yourself when it matters most. Every athlete has heard “trust your gut”—but what does that actually mean when the game is on the line, the pressure is high, and yo...

Welcome to Episode 66 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! “The Mindset You Need to Come Back From Injury” In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc tackle one of the toughest realities athletes face: injuries—and not just the physical side, but the mental battle that comes with them. When you get injured, you don’t just lose time on the ice or field. You lose confidence....

In Episode 65 of the Dialed & Driven Mentality Podcast, we break down one of the most overlooked — yet most important — elements of athletic success: character. Athletes today spend countless hours developing their skills, training in the gym, and chasing performance gains. But when was the last time you worked on who you are as a teammate, competitor, and person? We dive into why talent may g...

Welcome to Episode 64 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast! “The 3 Real Signs You’re on the Right Path” In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc take on one of the most frustrating questions athletes face: How do you know if you’re actually on the right path? When you have big dreams, it’s easy to get caught up in the noise — the teams, the jerseys, the rankings, the tour...

Welcome to Episode 63 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast — brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports! “The Season's Over… Now What?” In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc tackle one of the most uncertain — and most important — moments in an athlete’s journey: the offseason. The season ends, the jersey comes off, and suddenly the questions hit: What now? Where am I...

Welcome to Episode 62 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast — brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports! “You Carry the Answer in Your Pocket — And Still Don’t Use It” In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc flip the script on one of the biggest conversations in sports today: your phone. You’ve heard it before — phones are distractions, phones are the problem. But what if th...

Welcome to Episode 61 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast — brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports! In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc dive into a concept that might be the most underrated skill in sports: encouragement .  While athletes often focus on training harder, getting stronger, or improving their technique, the team explores how the energy you bring to you...

Welcome to Episode 60 of the Dialed and Driven Mentality Podcast — brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports! In this episode, Jeff Lerg, Chris Palmer, and Natalie Ferenc break down a powerful concept that goes far beyond the gym: stacking gains . While the term is often used in the weightlifting world, the team explores how the real power of stacking gains lies in the mental side of performance — bu...

Welcome to episode 59 of the Dialed and Driven Hockey Mentality Podcast — brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports! In this episode, host Jeff Lerg is joined by our producer, Natalie Ferenc while Chris Palmer is away speaking to U.S. Army Special Operations Forces. From Olympic gold medal moments to powerful lessons on practice habits, specialization, and joy in sport, this episode dives deep into w...

Welcome to episode 58 of the Dialed and Driven Hockey Mentality Podcast — brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports ! In this episode, hosts Jeff Lerg and Chris Palmer , joined by Natalie Ferenc , dive into the reality of chaos in sport — using powerful storylines from the Winter Olympics to explore what really separates athletes who fold under pressure from those who rise when it matters most. Episo...

Welcome to episode 57 of the Dialed and Driven Hockey Mentality Podcast — brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports! In this episode, hosts Jeff Lerg and Chris Palmer , joined by Natalie Ferenc , take you inside the mental battle of the Olympics — where pressure is highest, distractions are everywhere, and the world is watching. This conversation breaks down what truly separates athletes who crumble...

Welcome to another episode of the Dialed and Driven Hockey Mentality Podcast — brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports ! Today, hosts Jeff Lerg and Chris Palmer , joined by Natalie , dive into one of the most important (and unavoidable) realities of sport and life: learning how to manage chaos when things don’t go as planned . From youth hockey to the Olympics, this episode breaks down why setbacks...

Welcome to episode 55 of the Dialed and Driven Hockey Mentality Podcast — brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports! Today, hosts Jeff Lerg and Chris Palmer are joined by Natalie as they tackle one of the biggest challenges athletes face at every level: how to stay mentally strong when the grind gets heavy, burnout creeps in, and the big picture gets lost in the day-to-day chaos . This conversation h...

Welcome to Episode 54 — Suck It Up and Deal With It vs. Real Mental Strength … brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports!  Today, host Jeff Lerg and Chris Palmer discuss the main topic focused on managing future anxiety and comparison during the competitive season. Noting the struggle with players getting opportunities on other teams while others don't. It's emphasized that this time of yea...

Welcome to Episode 53 — Hockey Is What You Do, Not Who You Are: Identity, Mindset, and Growth … brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports!  Today, host Jeff Lerg and Chris Palmer discuss the main topic: identity and the dangers of over-identification with being “a hockey player”. We also dive into why we linked identity to standards, or daily codes of conduct— and how youth systems that push single-s...