Ep. 160: Ryan Davis is not a great coach despite his anxiety; he is a great coach because of it.

Ep. 160: Ryan Davis is not a great coach despite his anxiety; he is a great coach because of it.

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Roanoke Benson girls basketball coach Ryan Davis for a powerful conversation about anxiety, expectations, coaching, and vulnerability. Ryan shares his personal story of battling severe performance anxiety as a high school athlete—a struggle that ultimately cut short the playing career he loved. But this isn't a story about overcoming anxiety and leaving it behind. It's a story about how that struggle shaped the coach he would become. Together, Matt and Ryan discuss: • How anxiety impacted Ryan's basketball career • The hidden connection between expectations and anxiety • Growing up trying to play under pressure • Why athletes often put more pressure on themselves than anyone else does • How vulnerability helps coaches build trust • Why empathy may be a coach's greatest leadership tool • The "Play Fearless" philosophy and helping athletes compete freely • Why mental skills deserve practice just like physical skills • The importance of controlling the controllables • How adversity can become a superpower when used to serve others One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation is that Ryan isn't a great coach despite his anxiety. He's a great coach because of it. His struggles gave him empathy. They taught him how pressure feels. They helped him connect with athletes in ways many coaches never can. If you're an athlete, coach, parent, educator, or anyone navigating the pressures and expectations of life, this conversation is for you. Subscribe for more conversations on mental toughness, resilience, leadership, and personal growth. Connect with Coach Matt / Mental Mettle www.mentalmettlecoach.com matt@mentalmettlecoach.com

Ep. 159: Be Willing to Be Bad – From Hoops to Team USA Handball with Katie Timmerman

Most people think mental toughness is just grinding harder at what you’re already good at. This episode is about the opposite: choosing to be a beginner again on purpose. In this conversation, I sit down with USA Team Handball player and Olympic hopeful Katie Timmerman. Katie went from being a high-level college and pro basketball player to a complete novice in a sport she’d never even heard of… and did it knowing she’d be bad at first. We get into: * From Hoops to Handball * How an Instagram DM from USA Team Handball changed her path * What it was like walking into her first camp with no real idea how to play * Going from “expert” in basketball to “day-one rookie” in handball * Choosing Hard Paths on Purpose * Flying to Korea on a one-way ticket with no guarantee she’d be drafted * Living in a foreign country, new language, new league * Leaving pro basketball to chase an Olympic dream in a pay-to-play sport * Mental Mettle, Not Just Skill & Strength * How she realized her mindset was actually hurting her game * The books and tools that helped her flip her self-talk * What she does mentally when she knows she’ll fail more than she’ll succeed * Turning the COVID Shutdown Into an Advantage * Why COVID hit during the worst mental stretch of her career * How losing access to gyms forced her to attack the mental side * Using therapy, reading, and reflection to come back as a different player * The Reality of Underfunded Olympic Sports * What “Team USA” actually looks like in a sport with almost no funding * Tradeoffs: delayed career, part-time jobs, and financial strain * Why she still says it’s worth it If you’re an athlete, coach, or competitor in any field, this episode is a playbook for: * “Vulnerability reps” – intentionally doing things you’ll be bad at to grow faster * Reframing setbacks – using shutdowns, cuts, losses, and “no’s” to build your mental game * Building true mental mettle instead of just more reps and more weights Follow Katie on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/katie_timmerman/]! @katie_timmerman  To learn more about the American Paragons Foundation: americanparagons.org [https://americanparagons.org/] For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching: Sign up here for the FREE Resilient Parents Playbook: www.resilientparentsplaybook.com [http://www.resilientparentsplaybook.com/] Contact: matt@mentalmettlecoach.com [matt@mentalmettlecoach.com] for a free coaching session with Coach Thomann www.mentalmettlecoach.com [http://www.mentalmettlecoach.com/]

Ep. 158: When Lightning Strikes: Responding to Life’s Hardest Hits with Author Scott Lackey.

When life changes in an instant, who you are after matters more than what happened. In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt sits down with Scott Lackey — U.S. Army veteran, former college basketball player, patented inventor, Ironman finisher, newspaper columnist, and leadership author — to talk about what he calls “lightning‑strike moments”: those shocks that split your life into before and after. Scott opens up about losing everything, hitting rock bottom with a pregnant wife and young kids, and realizing that no matter how impressive your “scoreboard moments” look from the outside, they don’t protect you from pain on the inside. From there, the conversation goes deep into how you actually respond when the rug gets pulled out from under you. We get into: * Why it’s never really about what happened to you, and always about how you respond to it. * How sudden hits — a firing, a diagnosis, a stroke, a betrayal — can become turning points instead of end points. * The idea of “waking up to die again”: * the destructive version, where you wake up every day and slowly die inside, and * the powerful version, where you choose daily sacrifice, discipline, and hard things that forge you into someone better. * What Scott learned from the military and Ironman about intentional adversity — training yourself to do hard, uncomfortable things so you’re ready for the adversity you don’t choose. * Vulnerability as real toughness: letting people see you’re not invincible, telling the truth when you’re not the hero, and why Scott chose to write his book in a way that exposes his flaws instead of hiding them. * Forgiving your past self, including forgiving “the person you never became,” so you’re not dragging old weight into every new day. * Living a Carpe Diem mindset and focusing on direction over distance: caring less about five‑year plans and more about taking the next right step today. * How Scott’s faith anchored him at rock bottom, and his belief that God isn’t running to meet you in the dark — He’s already there when you arrive. If you’ve been blindsided by an injury, getting cut, a health scare, a business failure, or a personal crisis, this episode is for you. It’s an honest look at suffering, mindset, and faith — and how to start moving forward when the lightning has already struck. Connect with Scott Lackey w [https://scottlackey.com/]ww.scottlackey.com Connect with Coach Matt / Mental Mettle www.mentalmettlecoach.com matt@mentalmettlecoach.com If this conversation hit home, subscribe, share it with someone going through their own lightning‑strike moment, and keep building your mental mettle.

Ep: 157: Full Send: Paralympic Powerlifter Ashley Dyce on Persistence and Progress

In this episode of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Matt sits down with Team USA para powerlifter Ashley Dyce, who was born with spina bifida and has fought her way onto the world stage through a decade of relentless commitment. Ashley shares how she went from discovering the Paralympics on TV to representing the United States, what it really looks like to stick with one path for 10+ years, and how she’s handled injuries, surgeries, missed lifts, and seasons that felt like setbacks instead of breakthroughs. She talks about chasing a 300 lb bench, preparing for the Paralympic Games, and using both her faith and sports psychology tools to stay locked in when progress isn’t linear. We get into: * Choosing a lane and committing fully to para powerlifting * Coming back from injuries and health issues without quitting on the dream * How faith and sports psychology work together in her mental game * Practical tools: visualization, music, and routines to manage nerves on the big stage * Competing as a woman with a disability and why representation matters If you’ve ever wondered how far you can go by going “full send” on one goal—and refusing to back off when it gets hard—Ashley’s story is a powerful example of what persistence and progress really look like. Subscribe for more conversations on mental toughness, mindset, and high performance from athletes, coaches, and performers at the highest level. Timestamps (approximate): 00:00 Intro 00:40 Ashley’s journey into para sports 03:30 Discovering para powerlifting 05:00 From 135 to chasing 300 on bench 08:00 Failing in the gym and building real resilience 11:30 Injuries, surgery, and non-linear progress 18:00 Training, recovery, and daily life as a Team USA athlete 19:30 Faith as a foundation for mental toughness 21:30 Working with a sports psychologist 24:30 Visualization, nerves, and reframing anxiety as excitement 28:30 Competing on the Paralympic stage 31:00 Representation, purpose, and lifting for something bigger than medals 34:00 Ashley’s goals and final thoughts on persistence and progress Follow Ashley: www.instagram.com/ashley_dyce/ [https://www.instagram.com/ashley_dyce/] To learn more about the American Paragons Foundation: americanparagons.org [https://americanparagons.org/] For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching: Sign up here for the FREE Resilient Parents Playbook: www.resilientparentsplaybook.com [http://www.resilientparentsplaybook.com/] Contact: matt@mentalmettlecoach.com [matt@mentalmettlecoach.com] for a free coaching session with Coach Thomann www.mentalmettlecoach.com [http://www.mentalmettlecoach.com/]

Ep. 156: Raising Superheroes: Megan Gilmore on Mental Health & Well‑Being for Kids

In this episode of The Mental Middle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Megan Gilmore—founder and executive director of Larksong, certified coach, and author—to talk about how early we should be building mental health and well‑being skills in kids. (Spoiler: much earlier than most people think.) We cover: * Why well‑being and “mental health” for kids should start as early as physical health * How a single caring adult can radically buffer a child from adversity (ACEs vs. PACEs) * The science showing that well‑being education boosts grades, graduation rates, and resilience * Megan’s children’s book that turns brain parts into fun characters kids can understand * “Mind Bandits” (kids’ version of limiting beliefs) and how to help children name and tame them * Larksong’s Superhero Camp: a five‑day experience that teaches kids real tools for stress, emotions, and self‑talk * Why parents and teachers don’t have to be experts to start this work—they just have to start If you’ve ever wondered: “How young is too young for mindset and mental skills?” or “Am I going to mess my kid up if I try this and don’t know what I’m doing?” …this conversation will give you both the why and some concrete how. 🔗 Learn more about Larksong & Superhero Camp Website & Superhero Camp info: www.larkssong.com/superherocamp [https://www.larkssong.com/superherocamp] (Volunteering, sponsoring, and donating options are all there.) 📚 Megan’s Children’s Book Amy Dala and the Answer Amy Dala and the Answer: 9781087933382: Amazon.com: Books [https://www.amazon.com/Amy-Dala-Answer-Megan-Gilmore/dp/1087933382] Resilent Parent's Playbook by Mental Mettle Coaching. resilientparentsplaybook.com Contact Coach Thomann matt@mentalmettlecoach.com