143: From Florida Softball to the Pro Leagues, Skylar Wallace Shares What Makes Her Fearless

143: From Florida Softball to the Pro Leagues, Skylar Wallace Shares What Makes Her Fearless

In today's episode, Coach Kara and our Warriors interviewed Skylar Wallace, a professional softball player for the AUSL's Chicago Bandits and the Japan Diamond Softball League, as well as a three-time All-American, NFCA National Player of the Year, and three-time All-SEC First Team selection at the University of Florida. She opens up about self-talk, the transfer decision that changed everything, and why the six inches between your ears matters more than anything else on the field. Episode Highlights: * The importance of embracing pressure as a privilege * The ANTs framework — how to identify and squish automatic negative thoughts  * Why surrounding yourself with the right five people is one of the most important decisions you will ever make as an athlete * Why being terrible at basketball made her a better softball player * Why self-talk is not something you master once Connect with Skylar: IG: @skylar.wallace [https://www.instagram.com/skylar.wallace/] Ready to join Fearless Warriors and train the mental game? See details below or message us the word WARRIOR on our social channels. https://www.skool.com/fearlesswarriors/about [https://www.skool.com/fearlesswarriors/about] More ways to work with Fearless Warrior * Learn about our proven Mental Skills Program, The Fearless Warrior Program [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/22uSwvx7/checkout] * Book a One on One Session [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/rQrd4LAB/checkout] for your Athlete * Book a Mental Skills Workshop [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/NdSXjCsz/checkout] for your Team or Organization Follow us on Social Media * Facebook @fearlesswarriors.org [https://www.facebook.com/fearlesswarriors.org/] * Instagram @fearlesswarrior [https://www.instagram.com/fearlesswarrior/] * Instagram @fearless.coach.ab [https://www.instagram.com/fearless.coach.ab/] * X @CoachAB_ [https://twitter.com/CoachAB_] * YouTube @fearlesswarriorcoaching [https://www.youtube.com/@fearlesswarriorcoaching]

142: The Visualization Behind One of Softball's Most Decorated Catchers, Jocelyn Erickson

We are so excited to share this mentorship call with Jocelyn Erickson, a University of Florida alum, two-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, 2024 NFCA National Player of the Year, SEC Player of the Year, and now a professional player for the Chicago Bandits She sat down with Coach Kara and our Warriors for a raw, honest conversation about visualization, identity, team culture, and what it really means to get over yourself and play for something bigger. Episode Highlights: * Getting hyper-specific in visualization practice is exactly what prepares you for big game moments * Why thinking about your teammates instead of yourself actually makes you perform better * The ACL and double meniscus injury that sidelined her for almost a full year, and why she says she is grateful it happened * How surrounding yourself with the right people is the fastest way through the hardest seasons of your career * The one thing she would tell her younger self about time, presence, and never taking a practice for granted Connect with Jocelyn: IG: @joceyerickson [https://www.instagram.com/joceyerickson/] Ready to join Fearless Warriors and train the mental game? See details below or message us the word WARRIOR on our social channels. https://www.skool.com/fearlesswarriors/about [https://www.skool.com/fearlesswarriors/about] More ways to work with Fearless Warrior * Learn about our proven Mental Skills Program, The Fearless Warrior Program [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/22uSwvx7/checkout] * Book a One on One Session [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/rQrd4LAB/checkout] for your Athlete * Book a Mental Skills Workshop [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/NdSXjCsz/checkout] for your Team or Organization Follow us on Social Media * Facebook @fearlesswarriors.org [https://www.facebook.com/fearlesswarriors.org/] * Instagram @fearlesswarrior [https://www.instagram.com/fearlesswarrior/] * Instagram @fearless.coach.ab [https://www.instagram.com/fearless.coach.ab/] * X @CoachAB_ [https://twitter.com/CoachAB_] * YouTube @fearlesswarriorcoaching [https://www.youtube.com/@fearlesswarriorcoaching]

141: [Cool Careers in Sports] Unapologetically You: The Real Secret to College Recruiting with Susan Forbes

Welcome back to our Cool Careers in Sports series! Susan Forbes is a recruiting advisor, life coaching certified consultant, and host of the number one volleyball recruiting podcast, the NXTVB Podcast. With over a decade of experience, she has built a career around one powerful idea: athletes should be in the driver's seat of their recruiting journey, and the right program wants who they actually are and not who they think they need to be. Episode Highlights: * Why trying to be who you think coaches want you to be is one of the fastest ways to end up at the wrong program * The "world's best peach" analogy that will completely change how your athlete thinks about rejection in recruiting * How optimal performance states connect directly to recruiting  * Why NIL is not just about money and how athletes are already building bridges to life after sport  * Her one piece of advice: your success is inevitable as long as you do not give up Connect with Susan: IG: @hey.susank [https://www.instagram.com/hey.susank/] Podcast: NXTVB Podcast [https://www.nxtvb.com/] More ways to work with Fearless Warrior * Learn about our proven Mental Skills Program, The Fearless Warrior Program [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/22uSwvx7/checkout] * Book a One on One Session [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/rQrd4LAB/checkout] for your Athlete * Book a Mental Skills Workshop [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/NdSXjCsz/checkout] for your Team or Organization Follow us on Social Media * Facebook @fearlesswarriors.org [https://www.facebook.com/fearlesswarriors.org/] * Instagram @fearlesswarrior [https://www.instagram.com/fearlesswarrior/] * Instagram @fearless.coach.ab [https://www.instagram.com/fearless.coach.ab/] * X @CoachAB_ [https://twitter.com/CoachAB_] * YouTube @fearlesswarriorcoaching [https://www.youtube.com/@fearlesswarriorcoaching]

140: [Cool Careers in Sports] Matt Woods with Motor Preferences Experts Explains Movement Science

Welcome back to our Cool Careers in Sports series! In this week's episode, I interviewed Matt Woods, who is part of the Motor Preferences Experts team, the first and only performance company in the US specializing in a science-backed system based on an athlete's unique, natural movement patterns. If you have seen the colored tape on catchers' chest protectors at college games, or spotted those side-by-side mechanical case studies on social media, that is Motor Preferences in action. Episode Highlights: * The aerial vs. terrestrial framework and how two completely different pitchers can produce elite results with the same pitching coach * Why the mental flow state and physical Motor Preferences are more connected than most coaches and parents realize * How finding your natural movement profile gives athletes their battery back and frees up mental energy for what actually matters * Why the best cue is the one the athlete comes up with themselves and what that means for coaches and parents * Why separating your identity as an athlete from your identity as a person was the mindset shift that changed everything for Matt Connect with Matt and Motor Preferences Experts: Website: motorpreferencesexperts.com [http://motorpreferencesexperts.com] IG: @motorpreferencesexperts [https://www.instagram.com/motorpreferencesexperts/] More ways to work with Fearless Warrior * Learn about our proven Mental Skills Program, The Fearless Warrior Program [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/22uSwvx7/checkout] * Book a One on One Session [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/rQrd4LAB/checkout] for your Athlete * Book a Mental Skills Workshop [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/NdSXjCsz/checkout] for your Team or Organization Follow us on Social Media * Facebook @fearlesswarriors.org [https://www.facebook.com/fearlesswarriors.org/] * Instagram @fearlesswarrior [https://www.instagram.com/fearlesswarrior/] * Instagram @fearless.coach.ab [https://www.instagram.com/fearless.coach.ab/] * X @CoachAB_ [https://twitter.com/CoachAB_] * YouTube @fearlesswarriorcoaching [https://www.youtube.com/@fearlesswarriorcoaching]

139: [Cool Careers in Sports] From Fearless Warriors to Minnesota Twins Mental Performance with Hana DeGuzman

Welcome back to our Cool Careers in Sports series! Hana DeGuzman served Team Fearless from 2021-2025 and is now serving as a Certified Mental Performance Consultant at Premier Sport with the Minnesota Twins. In this episode, Hana unveils what it actually takes to build a career in sports psychology, the difference between mental health and mental performance, and why open-mindedness is the superpower that changed the entire direction of her life. Episode Highlights: * The real difference between mental health counseling and mental performance coaching  * Why athletes do not have to wait until something is wrong to seek out either * Why motivational self-talk alone is not enough, and what instructional self-talk actually sounds like in the moment * How she discovered sports psychology as a junior in college by simply Googling how to be a better softball player * The leadership lesson she learned her senior year that she still thinks about as a coach and practitioner today Connect with Hana: IG: hana_deguzman [https://www.instagram.com/hana_deguzman/?show_story_unavailable=1#] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanadeguzman/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanadeguzman/] More ways to work with Fearless Warrior * Learn about our proven Mental Skills Program, The Fearless Warrior Program [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/22uSwvx7/checkout] * Book a One on One Session [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/rQrd4LAB/checkout] for your Athlete * Book a Mental Skills Workshop [https://www.fearlesswarriors.org/offers/NdSXjCsz/checkout] for your Team or Organization Follow us on Social Media * Facebook @fearlesswarriors.org [https://www.facebook.com/fearlesswarriors.org/] * Instagram @fearlesswarrior [https://www.instagram.com/fearlesswarrior/] * Instagram @fearless.coach.ab [https://www.instagram.com/fearless.coach.ab/] * X @CoachAB_ [https://twitter.com/CoachAB_] * YouTube @fearlesswarriorcoaching [https://www.youtube.com/@fearlesswarriorcoaching]