From the Paint to a Purpose: Val Whiting on Survival, Silence, and the Mental Game Nobody Taught Her
Val Whiting is one of the most decorated college basketball players of her generation — two national championships at Stanford, Pac-10 Player of the Year twice, a pro career that took her from Italy and Brazil to the ABL and the WNBA. But behind the highlights was a player who was silently drowning, with no tools to combat performance anxiety, no one to talk to, and a coach who called her unmotivated. It took two hospitalizations, a pandemic, and a TikTok video for Val to turn her pain into purpose.
Now a credentialed mental performance consultant with a master's in sport and performance psychology, Val breaks down exactly what she wished she'd had as an athlete — from bounce-back routines to process-over-outcome thinking — and what parents and coaches are still getting dangerously wrong. Plus, Val doesn't hold back on the WNBA's hottest debates: trans athletes in women's sports, the Caitlin Clark phenomenon, and why the league's refereeing is letting everyone down.
Connect with Val
X: @iamcoachval
Instagram: iam.coachval
Website: www.mentallystrongher.com
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