Coach Your Brains Out, by Gold Medal Squared

Lucas Jadin is a performance coach at Train 2B Clutch who has worked with Major League Baseball, Fortune 500 companies, and NCAA teams. In this podcast, he talks about what he calls “Dungeon Moments,” those fearful, challenging moments in sports, and how our bodies and brains respond to those low points. These dark periods that lead to self-doubt usually stem from outside expectations—when we are worried about what others think. Lucas says these dungeon moments aren’t a sign that something is wrong; it’s simply a sign that we are human. “By signing up for be an athlete or going all in on something, we have to navigate the dungeon.” And being in the dungeon isn’t an excuse to quit or give any less. “Just because you’re feeling the dungeon, doesn’t mean you can be an energy vampire.” These moments will come and players can still perform regardless of how they are feeling. As Ken Ravvisa puts it, “Are you that (bad) that you have to feel good all the time in order to play well?” An important job of coaches is to create safe learning/practice environments where athletes can make mistakes and push themselves to their limits. This trust comes from the relationships coaches build. One of Jordan’s key principles is, “Your value comes from who you are, not what you do.” When players believe their coaches care about them regardless of how they perform on the court, they will be more willing to take risks and grow. In this episode, Lucas also talks about matching game environments in practice, self-talk, and communicating with resistant or guarded players. It’s a great listen on navigating the mental ups and downs of sports.