Ever watch your kid completely fade out or lose focus in the fourth quarter, or during a grueling weekend tournament? Before you assume they lack mental toughness, ask yourself a different question: What did they eat today? In this episode of The Mental Approach , host Todd Arkell sits down with Jeremy Fouts—soil scientist, founder of Corviv sports nutrition, and dad to elite competitive athletes—to expose a quiet epidemic in youth sports: Our kids aren't soft. They are severely underfueled. We

Walter Beede and I unpack the realities of the modern baseball recruiting landscape. Drawing on his experience as a former college coach and father of two recruited players, Walter explains why today’s parents are often stuck in an outdated mindset, chasing early exposure, showcases, and rankings instead of focusing on long-term development and honest evaluation. We talk about how the true recruiting window has shifted later, why time is the most wasted resource, and how strength, speed, nutriti

This week we turn the tables on host Todd Arkell as he no longer gets to ask the questions. Instead Matt Cundill host of You May Also Like interviews Todd . They discuss the evolution of youth sports, emphasizing the shift from informal play to highly organized, expensive travel teams. Matt digs into why Todd launched his "Mental Approach to Youth Sports" podcast to address the mental health challenges faced by young athletes. Discussion highlights the financial pressures on parents and the prof

Think your athlete is ready for the next level? Most NCAA coaches say they aren’t even close. In this powerhouse series finale of The Mental Approach, we’re stripping away the highlight reels and the "guru" fluff to deliver the ultimate reality check. We’ve synthesized the best moments from nine deep-dive interviews with NCAA coaches and recruiting experts to reveal what it actually takes to survive—and thrive—in college athletics. This isn't just another recruiting talk. It’s a masterclass in t

Your kid isn't getting recruited. And it's probably not for the reason you think. A 4.0 student can be ineligible for the NCAA. A five-star talent can lose his spot to a "glue guy." And that $3,000 exposure tournament you just paid for? One Power Four coach compares it to waiting 90 minutes for a three-minute Disney ride. In this two-part compilation, Todd Arkell sits down with recruiting coordinators and compliance experts from Michigan, Oregon, Boston College, William & Mary, Sam Houston State

In this episode of The Mental Approach , we sit down with Morgan Kane-Brons of Winning Edge Coaching to talk about what it actually looks like to build a championship mindset from the ground up. Morgan went from winning a Big 12 title at Iowa State to becoming a mental performance coach, but her path wasn’t always smooth. She’s incredibly open about the fact that as a freshman, she basically laughed off the idea of sports psychology—until the pressure of D1 ball hit her and she realized that the