Raising Thriving Athletes RaisingThrivingAthletes

In this episode of Raising Thriving Athletes, Dr. Matt Swift interviews Jeff Forsberg, the head softball coach at Huntington Beach High School. Jeff has been coaching youth sports since 1987. He also has had both of his kids grow up playing sports and play in college. Jeff brings a wise perspective of youth sports as he looks back at his time coaching and raising thriving athletes in his own home. 
Jeff recently made the news with his letter he wrote to his softball team during this COVID-19 shutdown of sports. You can read about it in this article in the OC Register 
https://www.ocregister.com/2020/04/18/coach-message-jeff-forsberg-tells-huntington-beach-softball-team-it-will-always-be-near-to-my-heart/
 
FREE DURING COVID-19 Crisis: We have released our Thriving Athlete 101 online course for free to all athletes during this crisis we are in. This is a great online course for athletes to go through individually, or for teams to walk through together to keep developing as athletes.
Find out more about Thriving Athlete 101 here!

In this episode Dr. Matt Swift, physical therapist, goes through the 5 steps he uses in the clinic to move young athletes from injury to return to play. Matt is the host of the show and has a doctorate in physical therapy. His 17 years of experience in getting athletes back to play started in the athletic training room as an undergraduate student and continues to this day in his private practice in Huntington Beach, CA.
The Recovery Roadmap is a simple process that Matt uses in the clinic to help guide and direct what type of treatment athletes are receiving along their road to recovery.
Click here to get your FREE PDF download of the 5 Steps to Get out of Pain
Announcement:
***In April 2020 we will be having our 21 Day Raising Thriving Athletes Online Summit.  Click here to register for the event!

On this episode we discuss the hot topic of youth specializing in one sport early on in their "career". Our host Matt Swift, PT, DPT has a conversation with Dr. Alfred Atanda a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. As a parent this question will eventually come up- "Should we just focus on one sport?" While there is not "right" answer to when, there are a lot of things to consider. There are risks involved when kids specialize in one sport early on. This conversation will give you the perspective of an orthopedic surgeon who sees the effects of kids specializing too early in their sport.
 
To find out more about Dr. Alfred Atanda:
You Tube: Alfred Atanda MD
LinkedIn
 
FREE DOWNLOAD THIS EPISODE: Annual Sports Cycle Planner

On this episode our host Matt Swift, DPT sits down with elite performance expert, Dr. Michelle Cleere, PhD,  to talk about moments in performance where the "demons" come out. These are moments where fear, anxiety, depression and other negative emotions arise in sports performance. The conversation covers some very practical ways we as parents and coaches can help young athletes overcome these challenges. 
You can connect with Dr. Michelle Cleere:
(415)860-9517
drmichellecleere.com/drmichelle@drmichellecleere.com
 
*This show is brought to you by the Thriving Athlete 101 Online Course: Foundations of Athletic Health and Performance

The mental health of young athletes should be a top priority for coaches and parents raising thriving athletes. In today's fast paced and sometimes high intensity sports culture, stress placed on young athletes can lead to mental health issues. In this episode with psychiatrist Dr. Clifford Feldman and clinical social worker David Washington from the Pre-Pro Institute for Sports Psychology, we listen in as our host Matt Swift, PT, DPT talks with them about mental health concerns in the youth athlete. Start your year off in 2020 with some good mental health habits and enjoy the conversation.
 
To get in touch with our guests on today's show:
Call (213) 334-3948
Email: info@preproinstitute.com
https://www.preproinstitute.com/
 
*This show is brought to you by the Thriving Athlete 101 Online Course: Foundations of Athletic Health and Performance
To download your free Annual Sports Cycle Planner, go to www.sportschange.com/planner

Kyle Winters from Next College Students Athlete (NCSA) joins the RTA Podcast to discuss the Top 3 Myths of College Recruitment for athletics. 
If college athletics is a plan you have for your young athlete, then this episode will be full of useful information for you. The college recruitment scene has changed over the years and continues to change. Enjoy a casual conversation between host Matt Swift, PT and Kyle Winters. 
 
About Kyle and NCSA
Kyle works as a Recruiting Manager for NCSA. NCSA helps connect high school athletes to colleges. They take the stress of uncertainty out of your recruiting journey by putting a plan in place to help you find your best college options.
Email: kwinters@ncsasports.org
Website: https://www.ncsasports.org/ncsa-staff/kyle-winters
Find Kyle of Facebook Here
Join Kyle on Facebook Live: NCSA Live is a live recruiting chat hosted by Senior Recruiting Manager, David Kmiecik, Senior Recruiting Coordinator Danny Koenig, and Kyle every Tuesday at 2pm CT. In their live chat they talk about a specific recruiting topic for 15 minutes, followed by live Q&A with parents and student-athletes across the country watching the broadcast via various social media outlets (Facebook/Twitter/Youtube). David and Kyle have been participating in these live productions for roughly 3 years.