The Mental Game with Sam Brief

Episode 67 of The Mental Game brings on Josh Reddick, a 13-year MLB veteran, World Series champion and Gold Glover winner. Reddick played from 2009-2021 for the Red Sox, A’s, Dodgers, Astros and Diamondbacks, winning the 2017 World Series with Houston. Why Reddick on The Mental Game? Reddick’s mental game journey is marked by resilience and a sharp edge. He was cut from his middle school baseball...

The Mental Game is now on Patreon. For just a few bucks per month, you can become a Mental Gamer and unlock access to exclusive bonus episodes, Q&As and more: ⁠ patreon.com/TheMentalGamePod ⁠ We’ve arrived at the second episode of My Playbook, an all-new Mental Game Podcast series. In case you missed the first “My Playbook” with Reggie Hearn, click HERE . To catch you up: On My Playbook, the w...

I’m thrilled to introduce a new feature of The Mental Game podcast: My Playbook. On My Playbook, the world’s top athletes, coaches, psychologists and more will peel back the curtain on their personal playbooks for dealing with the ups and downs of life, mental health and their careers. The first guest on My Playbook is former NBA guard Reggie Hearn.  Retired from playing, Hearn now enters his seco...

Episode 64 of The Mental Game brings on Shannon Suffoletto, a certified mental performance consultant and licensed clinical professional counselor. I met Suffoletto this summer as she worked with the Chicago Dogs baseball team, who I broadcast for. Suffoletto consulted the team amidst their run to the American Association Championship Series. Why Suffoletto on The Mental Game? Suffoletto’s system...

Episode 63 of The Mental Game brings on Leslie Bonci (MPH, RD, CSSD, LDN), a nutrition consultant who has worked with professional and collegiate teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Toronto Blue Jays,  Washington Nationals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates and Penguins. Bonci is the owner of Active Eating Advice , a nutrition consulting company, and advises clients from Gatorade to General...

Episode 62 of The Mental Game brings on Mads McKenna, Mental Health Advocacy Graduate Assistant at the University of Wisconsin–Parkside. Why McKenna for The Mental Game? First, she is a former NCAA student-athlete. McKenna played volleyball at the California University of Pennsylvania (DII) and experienced the unique life of a 21st century student-athlete. She’s also plugged in. For five years, Mc...

Episode 61 of The Mental Game brings on baseball pitching coach, former player and father Jim Bennett. Bennett boasts three decades of professional baseball coaching experience, including:  Stints as manager for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks and Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association Pitching coach for Team Australia and the Australian Baseball League’s Brisbane Bandits. Pitching coach...

Episode 60 of The Mental Game features Brent Sass , one of the greatest dog mushers in the world. A titan of the industry, Sass has etched his name as one of just six to win the two biggest sled dog races: the Iditarod (2022) and the Yukon Quest (2015, 2022). Born in Minnesota, Sass has desperately wanted to live in Alaska and pursue dog mushing since he was a little kid. Now, he lives a life comp...

Episode 59 of The Mental Game features Reed Myers, a recently graduated men’s basketball student-athlete out of Rice University. In April, Myers penned a cogent essay in The Rice Thresher titled “I hope to be an example for future Asian-American hoopers.” Myers attended Rice for four years after earning All-State honors at Arizona’s Scottsdale Christian Academy. In high school, he earned a state c...

Episode 58 of The Mental Game brings on Chris Helbig, quarterback for the European Football League’s Vienna Vikings. Helbig is in his second season quarterbacking in Europe. Last season, he starred for the Potsdam Royals in the German Football League. The European chapter of Helbig’s career follows college football stints at Butler Community College (KS), Southern Utah University and Eastern Michi...

Episode 57 of The Mental Game features Freddie Stevenson, a former NFL and Florida State fullback, author and, now, filmmaker. His film, “Trials to Triumph” was recently released and is available on Prime Video, Apple TV and more. Stevenson first joined The Mental Game in January 2022 and detailed his dramatic rise from a childhood of homelessness and poverty to the NFL. His football career featur...

Episode 55 of The Mental Game features Dr. Harold Shinitzky, a world-renowned sports psychologist, author and motivational speaker. Shinitzky makes his third appearance on The Mental Game after appearing in November 2020 and July 2021. Shinitzky works with Olympic and professional athletes from every major association (PGA, NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL). He also serves as president of the Florida Psycho...

Episode 54 of The Mental Game features Sha Carter, a basketball standout who just finished her fifth-year senior season at Florida Gulf Coast. In this year’s NCAA Tournament, Carter’s Eagles pulled off a 12-over-5 upset of Washington State in the first round before falling to No. 4 Villanova in the Round of 32. Carter dives into the mental game of a March Madness upset in this episode. Prior to jo...

After four months Down Under broadcasting in Australia , The Mental Game is back ! A Note From Sam: Thank you for bearing with me during this hiatus. I had a life-changing time in Australia (working in the Australian Baseball League), and I missed producing The Mental Game immensely. I'm thrilled to be back and am thrilled to be making several significant upgrades to the show, including a vide...

Episode 52 of The Mental Game features Lee Elias, an award-winning author, professional speaker, podcast host and coach. Elias, a former athlete himself, has long been dedicated to helping young athletes reach their full potential by teaching them about the importance of trust, teamwork, and mental fitness. He also serves as the director of GRIT, a Pivotal Moments Media Channel, which aims to brea...

Episode 51 of The Mental Game features Solomon Bates, a fifth-year professional pitcher and former San Francisco Giants prospect. In August, Bates publicly came out, becoming just the second Minor League Baseball player to come out publicly as gay. In an Instagram post on August 9, Bates wrote, “Being gay in this sport you don't know what comes at you! … I’m still going to open up doors for gay at...

Episode 50 of The Mental Game features Reggie Hearn, a nine-year professional basketball guard who played for the Detroit Pistons in 2018 and spent the majority of his career in the NBA G League.  Hearn played his college basketball at Northwestern University, where he grew from a walk-on to the team’s leading scorer and an all-Big Ten honoree as a senior. In 2020, Hearn joined for the second...

Episode 49 of The Mental Game features a conversation with Sam Brief and Paul Marlow of Never Alone: How to believe in yourself like a professional athlete.  Inspired by Episode 48 of The Mental Game (ft. pro baseball player Zach Nehrir) , Sam and Paul dive into self-belief, mindset changes and feeling free. In this episode, you’ll learn how broadcasting in a car and flying to Bali changed th...

Episode 48 of The Mental Game brings aboard Zach Nehrir, an eight-year veteran of pro baseball. Drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 16th round of the 2015 MLB Draft, Nehrir spent three seasons with Arizona, reaching High-A in the Minor Leagues. He was released after the 2017 season and has spent the past five years in the American Association of Professional Baseball, where he now stars as...

Episode 47 of The Mental Game features the second episode with endurance sports author, coach and athlete  Matt Fitzgerald . If you missed Part I with Matt, click here . From childhood, Fitzgerald has been engrossed in running and has since become a leading author and coach in the sport. Fitzgerald has authored nearly 30 books, many of which zone in on the mental side of endurance sports. Mos...

As The Mental Game presents its 46th episode, I’m thrilled to make a special announcement… The Mental Game is proud to partner with Never Alone , a multi-dimensional mental health brand spearheaded by Paul Marlow. Paul, a former Toronto Blue Jays draftee and guest of The Mental Game ( listen to his episode here ), started Never Alone after a traumatic period in his life during which he lost his fa...

Episode 45 of The Mental Game features Jon Laaser, former play-by-play voice of the Virginia Tech Hokies who now is a mental health advocate and founder of Laaser’s Ladybug Society.  In the midst of his own lifelong battle with depression and anxiety, Laaser stepped down from Virginia Tech in 2019 to pursue full-time mental health advocacy. He and his wife, Renée, founded Laaser’s Ladybug Soc...

Episode 44 of The Mental Game brings on Olympic figure skater Jason Brown. Brown, a two-time Olympian, won a bronze medal in at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and most recently appeared at the Bejing Games this winter. After becoming one of the youngest male figure skating Olympic medalists ever, Brown achieved international stardom, known for his effervescent personality and artistry on the ic...

Episode 43 of The Mental Game features Carrie Jackson, a mental skills coach, author and podcaster who focuses on mental recovery from physical injury. Jackson started the “Injured Athletes Club” podcast and co-authored “Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger From Sports Injuries.” In her expansive work, she coaches athletes on accepting injury, battling through and how to navigate rehab...

Episode 42 of The Mental Game features Sports Illustrated copy chief Julie Kliegman . Kliegman is set to release her book, “Mind Game: Inside the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes,” in 2023. Kliegman, whose work has also appeared in The Washington Post, The Ringer, BuzzFeed and more, has written extensively on mental health in sports, including this Sports Illustrated Daily Cover from April...