Send us Fan Mail Travel sports can turn a family calendar into a battlefield. Between practices, tournaments, money, school, and the emotions that come with watching your kid compete, it’s easy to feel like you’re failing at everything at once. We sit down with Dr. Lena Fagan, a psychologist, family therapist, and author, to talk honestly about what youth sports parenting looks like in real life and what actually helps. We get into the hidden workload on parents, why the right club structure matters, and how to support consistency without creating burnout. Dr. Fagan shares what she sees in her private practice with young athletes and their families, including the risk of kids building a single identity around being “the athlete,” and the mental health fallout when a dream ends through injury, performance limits, or simple loss of interest. We also talk about the transition many athletes face later, when the sport ends and meaning, money skills, and career direction suddenly matter. The most practical takeaway is emotional regulation. We unpack the difference between reacting and responding, how nonverbal disappointment can crush confidence, and why consequences teach better than punishment. You’ll also hear simple tools for raising independent kids, including “affordable mistakes,” open-ended questions that build judgment, and a clean allowance framework that teaches giving, saving, and spending. If you care about resilience, adaptability, athlete mental health, and better communication at home, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a sports parent who needs it, and leave a review so more families can find the show. ThePodolskiyMethod.squarespace.com Facebook, Instagram, YouTube: @SharpSkateNY @IlyaPodolskiy @thepodolskiymethod
