The Mental Mettle Podcast

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with 24-year coaching veteran and fellow Millikin alum, Coach Lee Mateer of Taylorville High School. By his own words, Lee used to be “the raging psychopath” on the sideline — yelling, screaming, cursing, and tying his entire identity to wins and losses. He was the classic old school, outcome-obsessed coach who wore misery...

Today’s episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast is all about what you do after you hit rock bottom, in sport and in life. My guest is Olympian discus thrower Joe Brown (@joethethrower on Instagram) —one of only a handful of Division II athletes to make it all the way to the 2024 Paris Olympics . Joe is the: 2019 NCAA Division II national champion in the discus (won on his final attempt) 4x USATF nati...

Before the crisis hits, your team has already decided how it will respond. In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast , Coach Matt Thomann sits down with IBCA Hall of Fame coach Chad Cluver to unpack how daily habits, standards, and relationships shape a team’s response to adversity long before the big moment arrives. Across 36 years on the sidelines and over 450 career wins, Coach Cluver has bu...

On this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Matt sits down with 2020 Olympian and NCAA national champion hammer thrower Alex Young to talk about what it really means to “do all your labor as unto the Lord.” Alex grew up in Laverne, Tennessee as a football and weight-room kid before a high school coach pulled him into track and field. Inspired by watching Reese Hoffa at the Olympics, he took up t...

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast , Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Pat Ryan, Director of High School Relations for Illinois Football and longtime head coach at Metamora High School. 📌 About Pat Ryan Pat Ryan is the Director of High School Relations for the University of Illinois football program. Before joining Illinois, he spent decades as the head football coach at Metamora High S...

Team USA discus thrower Gabi Jacobs didn’t start track dreaming of the Olympics. She joined in 7th grade just to hang out with friends, then quietly became a three-time All-American and three-time SEC champion at Mizzou. After a heartbreaking Olympic Trials in 2021 and the pressure of juggling demanding jobs with elite training, she walked away from the sport completely—fully believing she was don...

Former pro hockey player, Air Force veteran, and sport & performance psychologist Dr. Dave Jones joins The Mental Mettle Podcast to unpack the battle between fear and faith—and how “toxic motivators” quietly drive so many athletes and high performers off course. Dr. Dave shares how a brutal slap shot to the face ended his early hockey career, led him into the Air Force, and unexpectedly opened...

McKenna McKee is a 16-time National Champion in sprint cycling, she is an Olympic hopeful for Team USA, and she is also in school to become a nurse.  She is an impressive young woman and her accomplishments are notable.  What makes it even more impressive is that she was diagnosed with diabetes at age 6. Or does it?   Does the diagnosis make it harder for her to be an elite athlete or did it actua...

👉 Get the free playbook here:  resilientparentsplaybook.com Resilient Parents Playbook: 5 Mistakes Killing Your Athlete’s Confidence (and What to Do Instead) In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann pulls back the curtain on the real mental performance coach in every young athlete’s life: their parents. Drawing on hundreds of hours working with athletes, coaches, and his o...

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast , Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Team USA climber Ben Hanna , one of the grittiest and most consistent competitors in American climbing. Ben was never the “young phenom” who won everything. He never won Youth Nationals, watched peers win titles and World Cups, and almost quit multiple times. Instead, he built a world‑class career on longevity, stubbo...

Skydiving with Sharks with Travis Thomas: Improv Tools for Athletes and Coaches In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with performance coach, keynote speaker, and author Travis Thomas to unpack how improv isn’t just for comedians—it’s a powerful mental performance tool for athletes, coaches, and high performers. Travis shares his journey from being a self-descr...

Olympian and U.S. Nordic Combined national champion Niklas Malacinski joins The Mental Mettle Podcast to break down the real mental side of elite performance. Nordic combined is already wild: ski jumping plus cross-country skiing in one event. But the psychology behind mastering two completely different disciplines? That’s next level. In this episode, we dive into: How Niklas uses meditation and d...

In Part 2 of my conversation with Team USA bobsled pilot Shane Fisher, we go deeper into the real cost of chasing an Olympic dream—and why mindset alone isn’t enough when the bills keep coming. Shane pulls back the curtain on the financial side of being an elite athlete for Team USA: How little funding most athletes actually receive The sacrifices and side jobs required just to stay in the game Th...

Shane Fisher is an elite athlete on a mission to become an Olympian. He started in tennis, moved into the decathlon, and now competes as a pilot for the USA Bobsled Team. Along the way, Shane has learned that mental skills matter more than physical talent. Yes, he trains hard—but his unwavering self-belief is what truly drives his success. He’s also discovered a tougher truth: being an athlete for...

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Matt sits down with Morgan (Kane) Brons —former Iowa State women’s basketball standout, D2 Sweet 16 finisher at Nova Southeastern, and founder of Winning Edge Coaching . Morgan’s journey is a masterclass in resilience, identity, and mental toughness: In this episode, we cover: Morgan’s path from Utah standout to Iowa State post player The ego hit and s...

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Coach Greg Geisinger to dig into what it really means to “coach the heart first.” After more than 20 years in boys’ high school basketball and a successful run as the head boys coach at Arcola High School, Greg made a surprising move: stepping away from a winning boys program to take over the girls team in a really tou...

“Football should be the best part of a kid’s day.” In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, host Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Coach Garrett Mueller, head football coach at Stewartville High School (MN), to unpack how a shift in philosophy transformed his program on the field and in the minds of his athletes. Garrett’s resume is stacked: 18 years coaching, 15 at Stewartville 8 years as he...

Welcome back to The Mental Mettle Podcast with Coach Matt Thomann – the show where we break down the habits, mindset, and systems behind real mental toughness in sport and life. In this episode, Coach Adam Lewandowski of Andrew High School in Tinley Park shares how owning both your strengths and limitations is at the core of great coaching, leadership, and athlete development. We dig into: How his...

If your idea of toughness is resisting all change and never admitting your weaknesses, you’re blocking your own growth. It really is that simple. True strength means being willing to see where you fall short—and yes, even asking for help. It’s scary. It’s risky. But the reward is the chance to grow into a stronger, more honest version of yourself. I only learned to be vulnerable when I had no choi...

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Thomann talks with former Purdue University captain and professional defender Maya Lambert about how  her soccer journey prepared her for life and work beyond the game. We talk about: How competing in the Big Ten and serving as a leader at Purdue shaped her confidence and communication The mental toughness and perspective she gained from recoveri...

In Episode 133 of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann breaks down his framework for **100% Mettle**—the ability to recognize your strengths and limitations in adversity while embracing the repetition of positive actions that demonstrate real growth and change. Every coaching session Coach Thomann delivers centers on this idea. Growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it requires adversity. Rec...

Derek Gordon is a Ministry Coordinator at a men’s homeless shelter in Peoria, and he understands the power of hope. In this episode of the Mental Mettle Podcast, Derek sits down with Coach Matt Thomann to discuss how his own mistakes—and his work at the shelter—have shaped his belief that hope is both necessary and, fortunately, an innate ability for moving forward. If you would like to learn more...

Coach Matt Thomann hosts The Mental Mettle Podcast with guest Brett Miller—Air National Guard Sergeant, Caterpillar auditor, youth coach, and founder of Way of the Warrior Leadership Academy. Brett takes us inside his Captain’s Class program, where athletes learn to lead themselves first, build real confidence through self-trust, and develop team cultures that outlast wins and losses. We dig into...

If someone hands you a wrapped gift, you take it, open it, smile, and say thank you. But when someone gives you the gift of gratitude—a compliment—do you do the same? Or do you deflect it with “It was nothing” or “I just got lucky”? When we don’t accept thanks, we rob the giver of the good feelings that come from expressing it. In this Mental Mettle episode, Coach Thomann flips “Thanksgiving” into...

Coach Thomann turns 50 this week, so on this week's episode he drops some knowledge about things he's learned from being a father, a husband, a teacher, a believer, and a coach.  Tune in to hear him talk about positivity, confidence, aggressive patience, living your 100, and forging your mettle! Subscribe for more episodes and insights from top coaches and leaders! For more information a...