Student Athlete Performance

Your athlete is training harder than ever. They have the skills. They have the work ethic. And college coaches are still not calling. The reason might not be what you think. In this solo episode, I'm breaking down what I keep seeing with the athletes I work with — from football and baseball to soccer and basketball — who are doing all the right training but completely missing the one piece tha...

The second a game goes bad, your confidence disappears. That's the moment most of this episode is about. Zach Willis is the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Pacific Lutheran University and a certified mental performance consultant. In this episode, he breaks down confidence as a skill that can be trained, not a switch that's either on or off. We get into the four real ways confi...

If you feel like you've stopped getting better or like you're doing everything right and still going 0 for 4, the problem probably isn't your swing. Steve Springer spent 14 years in professional baseball, including 11 years in Triple A. He went on to become a mental performance coach for the Blue Jays, a pro scout, and a player agent. He's worked with MLB All-Stars, minor leaguers,...

Youth baseball players have now surpassed Major League pitchers as the largest group needing Tommy John surgery. The UCL ligament a pitcher throws with doesn't even fully mature until age 26 and kids are blowing it out at 14 and 15. Dr. Kevin McGovern is a physical therapist who has spent over 30 years working with baseball pitchers from high school to the pros. He knows exactly what's cau...

This offseason was littered with stats and stories of transfer portal athletes who never made it out. Athletes who didn't realize just how touch it would be to find a new home. Andy Gerasenko could have been one of these athletes. He found out his program was dropping from D1 to D3 AFTER he had already committed to them his senior year. Decided to stick it out his freshman year, but entered th...

If coaches have stopped responding to you, there's a reason... and most athletes never find out what it is. Brant McAdams is the head football coach at Pacific Lutheran University. He played college football himself and has spent years making the final call on who gets recruited and who quietly gets moved off the board. In this episode, he shares what that process actually looks like from the...

If you're putting in the reps and still not seeing results in games, the problem probably isn't your swing. Rob Crews is the founder of Complete Game and creator of the See Think Move method. He's worked with college programs like UCLA, Florida, and LSU and consulted with MLB organizations including the Padres and Mariners. His take: most hitters are training the wrong thing entirely....

Your athlete just had a rough game. They're quiet. You want to help, so you start talking. And that might be the exact moment the damage happens. In this episode, I sat down with Chad Hermansen, first round draft pick, former big leaguer, former MLB scout, and now mental performance coach to talk about what parents are doing after games, in the stands, and at home that is quietly destroying th...

Most high school baseball players have no idea what MLB scouts are actually looking for, and you're likely focusing on the wrong stuff. In this episode, I sat down with Nate Metzger, a scout for the Chicago Cubs and former college coach, to pull back the curtain on the scouting and recruiting process. We talk about what tools scouts prioritize, how size really factors in, and what separates th...

What changes after you commit D1? In this episode, Nick talks with Carter Macanas, an Arizona State baseball commit, about what it actually takes to keep developing after an early commitment. Carter committed to ASU as a freshman, played at national events like Jupiter, and was named a PG All-Tournament hitter. But after committing, he had to learn that the work does not stop once the offer comes....

Confidence is something every athlete struggles with at some point. But most athletes misunderstand where confidence actually comes from. In this episode, Nick sits down with Adalyne Fettig to talk about what it takes to build real confidence through development, consistency, and trusting the process. This conversation is especially helpful for athletes who feel stuck, unsure, or behind in their p...

Too many athletes quit when it gets hard. The ones who don't are the ones who make it. In this episode, Nick sits down with Brian Barnes, athletic director, coach, speaker, and author of Conquer Your Fears, Be a Rock. They talk about the one thing every athlete faces but few actually know how to handle: adversity. Not the highlight reel version. The real version. Bad games, injuries, losing yo...

Talent opens doors. Your decisions decide if they stay open. In this episode, Nick sits down with Jose Rijo-Berger, a former pro baseball player drafted by both the Dodgers and the Mets, a 10-year MLB scout with the Pirates, Brewers, and Cardinals, and a performance coach who now works with athletes at every level. Jose's story is not a highlight reel. It starts with being born to a 15-year-ol...

What if the thing holding you back has nothing to do with your speed, strength, or skill? In this episode, Nick sits down with Mike Martin, a sports writer for the University of Washington who has spent decades quietly working with elite athletes on the one thing nobody talks about: fear. Mike has coached and mentored athletes at every level. He's also the author of the upcoming book Coaching...

A lot of linebackers have the size, strength, and speed, but still struggle to play fast on the field. So what’s actually holding them back? In this episode, Nick sits down with Brian Burke , founder of Threshing Floor Athletics, who has coached linebackers from high school to the professional level. They break down why many linebackers play slow, how overthinking impacts performance, and what it...

Are you a baseball player that can hit in practice, but struggle when it matters (in games)? In this episode, Nick sits down with Eddie Marrero , founder of Probound USA Baseball, to break down what actually separates hitters who perform in games from those who don’t. They dive into hitting approach, development strategies, and why many players train in ways that don’t translate when they are faci...

It's one thing to win a state championship. It's another to win back-to-back state championships, especially when you start the season 2-3. In this episode Nick sits down with Coach Keith Ross, head coach of the back-to-back state champion football program at Sumner High School in Washington State. Coach Ross shares what actually separates winning teams from everyone else. From leadership...

If you're a high school athlete who feels under recruited, overlooked, or behind... listen in on this one. Dylan Scott went from having zero real traction after his junior year to signing Division 1 football at Eastern Washington University his senior year. He did not come from a powerhouse program. He did not have elite private trainers. He did not have offers lined up early. So what changed?...

Pitching injuries are at an all-time high and too many high school pitchers don’t realize they’re following the same patterns that lead to surgery. In this episode, Nick sits down with Carter Hohn , founder of Full Send Performance Training, to break down why elbow and shoulder injuries are skyrocketing and what pitchers can do to stay healthy while building velocity. Carter shares insights from h...

Recruiting doesn’t reward entitlement. It rewards effort, consistency, and humility. In this episode, Nick sits down with Nate Paxton , a former under-recruited athlete who walked on at the Division I level, earned a scholarship, played professionally, and later coached at the college level. Nate breaks down what athletes and parents misunderstand about recruiting, from visibility and communicatio...

Some athletes quit because they’re not good enough. Most quit because the road gets harder than they expected. In this episode, Nick sits down with Nate Paxton , whose journey includes homelessness, walking on to a Division I football program (Georgia State), earning a scholarship, playing professional football, and later returning to the college game as a coach. Nate shares what it took to keep s...

Committing Division 1 sounds like the finish line. For most athletes, it’s where the pressure actually starts. In this episode, Nick sits down with Drew Wicklander , a 2026 baseball player committed to University of Portland , to walk through his full high school journey. From being the skinny freshman told he wasn’t physical enough, to transforming his body, committing D1, and navigating new chal...

How do baseball players actually know when they’re ready for the next level? In this episode, Nick sits down with Rob Hardy , a minor league pitching coach in the Chicago White Sox organization, to break down what real baseball development actually looks like. Rob shares why dominating your current level matters more than chasing exposure, how players should think about velocity in context, and th...

Too many high school football players think recruiting happens to them. In reality, recruiting only works when athletes learn how to advocate for themselves. In this episode, Nick sits down with Jason Thedsombandith , head football coach at Redmond High School and former Division 1 assistant coach and recruiting assistant, to break down how recruiting actually works behind the scenes. They dive in...

When time feels limited and pressure is high, most high school baseball players try to do everything . More training. More metrics. More showcases. More stress. In this episode, Nick sits down with Jake Lindmeier , assistant baseball coach at Brookhaven College, to break down what actually matters for player development when results aren’t coming as fast as you want. They talk honestly about chasi...