Untapped Stories

Athletes Untapped
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Untapped Stories shares the real journeys in youth sports - from pro athletes and Olympians to the parents and coaches behind them. Hosted by Gene Williams and Matt Chiusano from Athletes Untapped, hear the lessons, discipline, and mindset it takes to reach the top. Whether you’re a parent, coach, or athlete, Untapped Stories delivers insider advice, inspiring conversations, and practical tips to help you succeed on the field - and in life!

  1. 1d ago

    Is Your Kid’s Self-Worth Tied to Their Stats? Mental Coach Jason Sousa Explains

    In this episode of Untapped Stories, we sit down with Jason Sousa — mental performance coach, founder of Mental Edge Athletics, and former college soccer standout — to talk about the mental side of youth sports, how identity gets tangled up with performance, and what young athletes really need to thrive under pressure. After playing at a high level and now coaching athletes through the mental game, Jason has learned something that many parents and coaches overlook: Early success can quietly create fragility. Wins, trophies, and early praise feel great, but when a young athlete’s sense of self becomes tied to results, every mistake starts to feel like a verdict. Jason explains how that pressure builds, why it shows up as perfectionism, overthinking, and fear of failure, and what to do about it. From there, the conversation shifts into one of Jason’s core beliefs: Psychological safety comes first. Confidence and resilience don’t come from being pushed harder. They grow when athletes feel safe to take risks, make mistakes, and be themselves, with parents and coaches who stay curious instead of critical. Jason’s work centers on awareness and choice: helping athletes notice their patterns under pressure and choose a better response. For young athletes especially, the mental skills built in sports, like focus, composure, and bouncing back, carry far beyond the field into school, relationships, and life. Throughout the episode, Jason highlights the core principles that help young athletes build a lasting mental edge: - Separating identity from performance - Understanding how early success can create fragility - Building psychological safety at home and on the team - Developing awareness of the patterns that show up under pressure - Staying composed after mistakes - Supporting athletes as a parent without adding pressure One of the biggest takeaways is that mental strength isn’t about toughing it out. It’s about understanding yourself well enough to perform at the level you know you have. This episode is a must-listen for athletes, parents trying to support without over-directing, and coaches who want to develop confident, resilient competitors. 🎙️ Untapped Stories is presented by Athletes Untapped — the nation’s leading platform for private sports coaching. We connect athletes and families with elite coaches who help players build strong fundamentals, confidence, leadership, and lifelong habits through sports. 👉 Follow Athletes Untapped for more conversations with elite coaches and athletes, and explore private coaching to elevate your game and development.

  2. 3d ago

    Bet on Yourself: Savannah Bananas Coach Tyler Gillum on Culture, Fun & Winning

    In this episode of Untapped Stories, we sit down with Tyler Gillum — head coach of the Savannah Bananas, the fans-first Banana Ball phenomenon — to talk about culture, development, and what happens when you decide to do baseball differently. After years of coaching at a high level, Tyler has built a belief that runs through everything he does: Bet on yourself. Before Banana Ball became a global phenomenon, Tyler was a young coach with a big goal: to positively impact one million people through baseball, education, and exercise. He took the Bananas job in 2018 and helped build a team that won championships and sent 20-plus players to the MLB draft, all while making the ballpark the most fun place in the sport. Tyler explains that fun and excellence aren’t opposites. The best environments are built on high standards, great relationships, and the freedom to be yourself. Talent matters, but culture is what makes players want to show up, take risks, and grow. From there, the conversation shifts into one of Tyler’s strongest beliefs as a coach: Develop the person, and the player follows. Tyler’s roots run through Latta High School in Ada, Oklahoma, where he won four state championships and first realized he wanted to coach. Today, whether he’s leading a team in front of 100,000 fans or working one-on-one with a young player, the goal is the same: help people become the best version of themselves on and off the field. Throughout the episode, Tyler highlights the principles that help athletes and teams thrive: Betting on yourself, even when the path isn’t normalBuilding a culture of excellence that’s also funPutting people first, whether they’re fans, teammates, or playersDeveloping players on and off the fieldStaying hungry to learn and grow as a coach and leaderRemembering where you came from One of the biggest takeaways is that you don’t have to choose between joy and high performance. The best programs have both. This episode is a must-listen for baseball players, parents navigating youth and travel baseball, and coaches who believe culture and fun are the foundation of lasting success. 🎙️ Untapped Stories is presented by Athletes Untapped — the nation’s leading platform for private sports coaching. We connect athletes and families with elite coaches who help players build strong fundamentals, confidence, leadership, and lifelong habits through sports. 👉 Follow Athletes Untapped for more conversations with elite coaches and athletes, and explore private baseball coaching to elevate your game and development.

  3. Oct 6

    From $6k in college to a $13M sports company - lessons from Greg Kenneally, ECD Lacrosse co-founder

    In this episode of Untapped Stories, we sit down with Greg Kenneally - co-founder and President of ECD Lacrosse, one of the most recognized brands in the sport - to talk about building something from nothing, why athletes make great entrepreneurs, and what it really looks like to bet on yourself before anyone else believes in the idea. Greg's story doesn't start in a boardroom. It starts in a college bedroom in 2011, where he was stringing and dyeing lacrosse heads for teammates — the best "stick doctor" on the team — and quietly wondering if the passion could become something more. With $6,000, a gap in the market, and the kind of relentless work ethic that only athletes tend to have, he and his twin brother Mike turned that bedroom operation into a 21,000-square-foot facility outside Baltimore and one of the most trusted names in lacrosse equipment. The lesson Greg carries from all of it: Building early isn't a distraction. It's an advantage. In a culture that tells young athletes to focus on the sport and worry about everything else later, Greg is living proof that the entrepreneurial instinct — the hustle, the problem-solving, the willingness to start before you're ready — is something worth developing in parallel, not in sequence. He started ECD while still playing college lacrosse, and that timing wasn't a liability. It was the foundation. From there, the conversation opens up into something athletes and parents rarely hear said out loud: The skills that make a great athlete are the same skills that make a great entrepreneur. Discipline, coachability, the ability to handle failure and get back up, performing under pressure, functioning within a team — these aren't just sports virtues. They're business fundamentals. Greg reflects on how his years as a lacrosse player shaped the way he built ECD, made decisions under uncertainty, and pushed through the early days when the company was running out of a single room and no one outside the lacrosse community knew the name. He also gets into the nuts and bolts of what it actually looks like to build something from the ground up — the early risks, the pivots, the moment ECD bet on a line of lacrosse shafts and told retailers they'd take them back if they didn't sell. They sold. And the brand never looked back. Throughout the episode, Greg covers the core parallels between athletic and entrepreneurial development: - Why starting early — in business and in sports — builds compounding advantages - How athletic discipline, resilience, and coachability translate directly to entrepreneurship - What ECD Lacrosse looked like from bedroom to 21,000-square-foot operation - The mindset it takes to bet on yourself before you have proof it'll work - Why lacrosse players and athletes in general are wired for business success - How the "hard work pays off" mentality becomes a company culture, not just a slogan One of the biggest takeaways is that the competitive edge athletes develop on the field doesn't disappear when the sport ends — it transfers. The question is whether you put it to work. This episode is a must-listen for lacrosse players and parents, young athletes thinking about life beyond sports, and anyone who believes that the habits built through competition are the same ones that build businesses. 🎙️ Untapped Stories is presented by https://athletesuntapped.com/ — the nation's leading platform for private sports coaching. We connect athletes and families with elite coaches who help players build strong fundamentals, confidence, leadership, and lifelong habits through sports. 👉 Follow https://www.instagram.com/athletesuntapped/ for more conversations with elite coaches and athletes, and explore private lacrosse coaching to elevate your game and development.

  4. Aug 27

    You Don't Have to Give Up Your Childhood to Play College Soccer | Izi Murray

    In this episode of Untapped Stories, we sit down with Izi Murray — NCAA Division I soccer player turned college recruiting coach, founder of Push The Goal, and one of the most refreshingly honest voices in youth soccer development — to talk about what it actually takes to play college soccer, why your performance is not your worth, and how kids can get better without burning out before they ever get there. After being turned away by club after club as an 11-year-old who started later than most, Izi knows exactly what it feels like to be overlooked — and exactly what it takes to get seen anyway. She went on to play semi-professionally and earn her spot at NCAA Division I MTSU, and has since guided over 300 athletes through the recruiting process with a 90% success rate. Her message isn't about doing more. It's about doing the right things — for the right reasons — at the right time. And it starts with one belief that runs through everything she does: Your performance is not your worth. In a youth sports culture that ties a child's identity to their last game, last result, or last coach's evaluation, Izi pushes back hard. Kids who grow up believing their value as a human being rises and falls with their soccer performance don't just burn out — they lose the game long before they've had a real chance to play it. The athletes who make it furthest are the ones who love the game for its own sake, not for what it can prove about them. From there, the conversation opens up into something a lot of soccer families need to hear: You don't have to sacrifice your entire childhood to play college soccer. The pressure to specialize early, commit to elite club programs year-round, and dedicate every weekend from age nine onward to the recruiting pipeline is real — and largely overblown. Izi breaks down what college coaches actually want to see, what the recruiting timeline really looks like, and why the path to a college roster spot doesn't require a kid to give up everything else that makes childhood worth having. Strategy beats sacrifice every time. She also gets practical in a way most coaches don't — sharing real workouts and training habits kids can build at home, on their own, without expensive gear or elite club access. The fundamentals that separate recruited players from overlooked ones are more accessible than the industry wants families to believe. Throughout the episode, Izi covers the core principles behind her holistic approach to soccer development and recruiting: - Why tying your identity to performance is the fastest way to fall out of love with the game - How to pursue college soccer without over-specializing or burning out early - Simple, effective at-home workouts that build real soccer skill - What college coaches are actually looking for — and what they're not - The recruiting timeline most families don't know exists until it's almost too late - How to develop the whole athlete — mentally, physically, and emotionally Izi's own story — overlooked at 11, D1 by her early twenties — is proof that the recruiting process has more room for late starters, underestimated athletes, and unconventional paths than most families are ever told. This episode is a must-listen for soccer players and parents wondering whether college soccer is realistic, families feeling the pressure of the club soccer machine, and coaches who believe holistic development builds better athletes than early specialization ever could. 🎙️ Untapped Stories is presented by Athletes Untapped — the nation's leading platform for private sports coaching. We connect athletes and families with elite coaches who help players build strong fundamentals, confidence, leadership, and lifelong habits through sports. 👉 Follow Athletes Untapped for more conversations with elite coaches and athletes, and explore private soccer coaching to elevate your game and development.

  5. Aug 21

    "Zip it, Mom": Vanessa & Cara from Less Awkward on the sports parenting truths you need to hear

    In this episode of Untapped Stories, we sit down with Vanessa Kroll Bennett and Cara Natterson - authors, co-founders of https://lessawkward.com/, and two of the most trusted voices on raising tweens and teens — to talk about sports parenting, what we're getting wrong on the sidelines, and why girls are walking away from sports far too soon. After working with thousands of parents, educators, and young people — and between them raising kids of their own — Vanessa and Cara have developed a perspective on youth sports that every sports parent needs to hear: Your job on the sideline is smaller than you think. And that's actually a good thing. Cheering, encouraging, and showing up matter enormously. But coaching from the stands, narrating every mistake, and turning the car ride home into a film session? That's where things go sideways fast. Vanessa knows this firsthand — her own son told her to zip it during a game. Not as a metaphor. Literally. And she'll be the first to tell you: he had a point. Cara and Vanessa explain that one of the most powerful things a sports parent can do is create a clear boundary between the field and home — a space where kids can decompress, feel supported unconditionally, and come to you on their own terms rather than being debriefed the moment they get in the car. The research backs it up, and so does lived experience: kids perform better and stay in sports longer when they feel safe rather than evaluated. From there, the conversation shifts to something both Vanessa and Cara feel urgently about: Girls are leaving sports too early, and we need to stop it. The dropout rate for girls in youth sports — particularly as they enter adolescence — is a quiet crisis with enormous long-term consequences. Girls who stay in sports longer develop more confidence, more resilience, more leadership skills, and a stronger sense of identity heading into the teenage years. But somewhere along the way, the experience stops feeling like theirs — and they leave. Vanessa, who founded Dynamo Girl specifically to build girls' self-esteem through sports, brings a deeply personal lens to this conversation. The answer isn't pushing harder — it's listening better, creating more welcoming environments, and making sure girls feel like sports belong to them, not just to the scoreboard. The episode also gets into one of the more entertaining debates in sports parenting right now: Should moms let their kids play football? Cara and Vanessa don't shy away from it. It's a real question, it deserves a real conversation, and the way families navigate it says a lot about how we weigh risk, autonomy, and a kid's right to choose their own athletic journey. Throughout the episode, they highlight the core principles that define thoughtful, effective sports parenting: - Staying quiet on the sideline — even when it's hard - Creating a "no debrief zone" after games and practices - Understanding why girls drop out of sports and what parents can do about it - Letting kids own their athletic identity rather than borrowing yours - Navigating the real conversations around contact sports and risk - Building the kind of relationship where kids actually want to talk to you about sports This episode is a must-listen for any parent navigating youth sports, anyone trying to raise confident, resilient girls, and anyone who's ever had to resist the urge to shout something from the stands — or gotten told to zip it when they didn't. 🎙️ Untapped Stories is presented by https://athletesuntapped.com/ — the nation's leading platform for private sports coaching. We connect athletes and families with elite coaches who help players build strong fundamentals, confidence, leadership, and lifelong habits through sports. 👉 Follow https://www.instagram.com/athletesuntapped/ for more conversations with elite coaches and athletes, and explore private coaching to elevate your game and development.

  6. Aug 17

    Irish Rugby's Head Performance Coach on Communication, Movement, and Developing Great Athletes

    In this episode of Untapped Stories, we sit down with Nick Winkelman, PhD - Head of Athletic Performance & Science for the Irish Rugby Football Union, former director of education at EXOS, and author of the widely acclaimed book The Language of Coaching: The Art & Science of Teaching Movement - to talk about what separates great coaches from good ones, why the words you use matter more than you think, and what it really takes to build an elite athlete from the ground up. After working with athletes across the NFL, NBA, MLB, international rugby, and beyond, Nick has arrived at a belief that reshapes how most people think about coaching: The program is only half the job. The language is the other half. X's and O's, training loads, and periodization plans all matter. But when it comes to actually changing how an athlete moves and performs in the moment, it's the words a coach chooses — the cues, the analogies, the feedback — that determine whether the message lands or gets lost. The best coaches in the world aren't just the most knowledgeable. They're the most engaging communicators in the room. Nick explains that coaching language isn't about being flashy or entertaining. It's about meeting athletes where they are — building cues that connect to how the body actually learns movement, and creating environments where athletes can feel the difference, not just hear about it. Whether you're coaching elite rugby players in Dublin or youth athletes in a local gym, the principles are the same: speak to the body, not just the brain. From there, the conversation shifts into something Nick feels strongly about outside the elite performance world: Get kids moving early — and keep it varied. In a world where early specialization has become the default, Nick makes a compelling case for mobility, physical literacy, and multi-sport participation as the foundation of long-term athletic development. Kids who develop broad movement vocabularies early don't just become better athletes — they become more coachable, more adaptable, and more resilient as they move through increasingly competitive environments. The body learns by doing many things, not one thing over and over again. The conversation also explores one of Nick's most thought-provoking observations about elite athletes: The best ones are almost always talented AND tested. Across years of working with world-class performers, Nick has noticed a consistent pattern — the athletes who reach the highest levels rarely had it easy. Natural talent opened the door, but adversity, setbacks, and obstacles shaped what happened once they walked through it. The athletes who've had to fight for something tend to bring a quality to their training and their competition that raw talent alone simply can't produce. Throughout the episode, Nick highlights the core principles that drive elite development at every level: Why coaching language and cueing are as important as programmingUsing analogies and external cues to unlock better movementThe case for getting kids into mobility and physical literacy earlyWhy multi-sport backgrounds build more complete, adaptable athletesHow adversity and talent together create elite performersBridging the gap between sports science and real-world coaching This episode is a must-listen for coaches at every level, parents thinking about how to set their young athletes up for long-term success, and anyone who believes that how you say something matters just as much as what you say. 🎙️ Untapped Stories is presented by https://athletesuntapped.com/ — the nation's leading platform for private sports coaching. We connect athletes and families with elite coaches who help players build strong fundamentals, confidence, leadership, and lifelong habits through sports. 👉 Follow https://www.instagram.com/athletesuntapped/ for more conversations with elite coaches and athletes, and explore private coaching to elevate your game and development.

  7. Aug 7

    "Shooting is really just the transfer of energy " - elite shooting coach, Mike Dunn, explains

    In this episode of Untapped Stories, we sit down with Mike Dunn — elite basketball shooting coach, founder of the Keep Shooting Academy, and one of the most respected voices in the art of shooting the basketball — to talk about what it really takes to become a great shooter, why multi-sport athletes have a hidden edge, and how the fundamentals of shooting are more universal than most people think. After working 1-on-1 with thousands of athletes — from complete beginners all the way to NBA players — Mike has developed a perspective on shooting that goes far deeper than mechanics: Shooting is the transfer of energy. Full stop. It's not about hand placement, elbow alignment, or following the latest drill on social media. At its core, a great shot is the efficient movement of energy from the ground through the body and out through the fingertips. Once you understand that, everything else starts to make sense — and a lot of what clutters the modern game starts to fall away. Mike explains that his philosophy of "less is more" isn't a shortcut — it's a commitment to stripping down unnecessary motion and finding the cleanest, most natural expression of an athlete's shot. The goal isn't to build a textbook shooter. It's to optimize what's already there. From there, the conversation opens up into one of Mike's most compelling beliefs as a coach: Multi-sport athletes make better basketball players. Kids who grow up playing baseball, soccer, football, volleyball — sports that demand different movement patterns, spatial awareness, and body coordination — often arrive at basketball with physical tools that single-sport players have never had to develop. The transfer of athletic skill is real, and Mike sees it constantly in the shooters he works with. The footwork of a soccer player, the kinetic chain of a baseball pitcher, the timing of a volleyball hitter — it all shows up on the court. The conversation also takes a fun turn when Mike weighs in on Mitchell Robinson's well-documented shooting struggles — and makes the case that the right coaching framework might be exactly what Robinson needs to finally get it going from the line. Throughout the episode, Mike shares the core principles that define his approach to shooting and player development: - Understanding shooting as energy transfer from the ground up - The "less is more" approach to shot mechanics and improvement - Why multi-sport backgrounds create more complete, fluid shooters - How to identify and remove unnecessary motion from a player's shot - The mental side of shooting — confidence, consistency, and trusting your mechanics - Why great shooting is a learnable skill for athletes at every level One of the biggest takeaways is that becoming a great shooter isn't about doing more — it's about doing the right things with clarity, confidence, and intention. Mike's approach has earned the respect of coaches at every level, from youth programs to the NBA sideline, because it works — and because it's rooted in understanding the body, not overcomplicating it. This episode is a must-listen for basketball players looking to improve their shot, coaches searching for a cleaner framework to teach shooting, and anyone who believes the fundamentals of the game are more connected to athleticism and feel than any drill or YouTube breakdown. 🎙️ Untapped Stories is presented by Athletes Untapped — the nation's leading platform for private sports coaching. We connect athletes and families with elite coaches who help players build strong fundamentals, confidence, leadership, and lifelong habits through sports. 👉 Follow Athletes Untapped for more conversations with elite coaches and athletes, and explore private basketball coaching to elevate your game and development.

  8. Jul 28

    Performance Coach - Joey Hewitt - on Building an Underdog Mindset and Learning to Love the Process

    In this episode of Untapped Stories, we sit down with Joey Hewitt - former D3 standout, professional basketball player, and mental performance coach at https://www.findjoeflow.com/ - to talk about mindset, embracing the underdog journey, and what it really means to fall in love with the process. After years of proving people wrong on the court and now helping athletes unlock their mental game, Joey has learned something that many players and parents overlook: The grind is the destination, not the detour. Stats, scholarships, and highlight reels may get attention, but lasting growth in sports comes from something far less flashy — developing a genuine love for the work itself, independent of outcomes, rankings, or recognition. Joey explains that his own journey was built on being undersized and underestimated from the start. Rather than shrink from that reality, he learned to use it. The chip on his shoulder became fuel. And over time, fuel became identity — not as someone chasing results, but as someone who genuinely loved getting better every single day. That shift, from outcome-focused to process-focused, is what took him from D3 courts to professional leagues in Australia, England, and Mexico. For young basketball players especially, that mental switch is often more valuable than any skill development. Confidence, resilience, and intrinsic motivation ultimately determine whether athletes keep growing — or burn out trying to meet someone else's expectations. From there, the conversation shifts into one of Joey's most important beliefs as a coach and parent figure: The best thing a parent can do is get out of the way at the right time. Joey reflects on how his own parents never pushed too hard — and how that space allowed him to find his own fire. When kids are allowed to develop internal motivation without external pressure driving every decision, they build something that nobody can take away: a reason to compete that belongs entirely to them. He emphasizes that in a world overloaded with training content, social media tips, and performance anxiety, the real edge isn't doing more — it's learning to quiet the noise and trust the process in front of you. Throughout the episode, Joey highlights the core principles that help young athletes thrive mentally and emotionally: - Developing an underdog mindset and using adversity as fuel - Falling in love with the process rather than chasing outcomes - Building intrinsic motivation that doesn't depend on external validation - The role parents play in creating space for athletes to find their own drive - Mental performance tools like focus, self-talk, and present-moment awareness - Cutting through the noise of social media and over-coaching to find clarity One of the biggest takeaways is that the most resilient athletes aren't the ones who avoided struggle — they're the ones who learned to embrace it early, with the right support around them. Joey's story reflects both his lived experience as an underdog who made it to the pro level and his work now helping the next generation build the mental foundation to do the same. This episode is a must-listen for basketball players, parents who want to support without over-directing, and coaches who believe the mental side of the game is just as important as anything that happens on the court. 🎙️ Untapped Stories is presented by https://athletesuntapped.com/ — the nation's leading platform for private sports coaching. We connect athletes and families with elite coaches who help players build strong fundamentals, confidence, leadership, and lifelong habits through sports. 👉 Follow https://www.instagram.com/athletesuntapped/ for more conversations with elite coaches and athletes, and explore private basketball coaching to elevate your game and development.

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About

Untapped Stories shares the real journeys in youth sports - from pro athletes and Olympians to the parents and coaches behind them. Hosted by Gene Williams and Matt Chiusano from Athletes Untapped, hear the lessons, discipline, and mindset it takes to reach the top. Whether you’re a parent, coach, or athlete, Untapped Stories delivers insider advice, inspiring conversations, and practical tips to help you succeed on the field - and in life!

Information

  • Creator
    Athletes Untapped
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    65
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Athletes Untapped
  • Show Website
    Untapped Stories