Unstoppable Athlete - Mental Resilience for Teen Athletes
Feb 16, 2026 · 22 min · 9 segments
Sara’s long time friend, and former teammate, Kim is the mom of Sadie and shares about the experience of allowing her daughter to figure it out through her challenges. Key learnings of doing your…
Now, I think on like that side of being able to excel in those areas, I think what I heard from Sadie's story is, and then you meet this adversity.
So what do you think the most important things that were present either with Sadie or you as a family to help her in that situation of adversity?
Well, I think to listen, I guess I was just grateful that she was calling home and she was telling us what was going on.
I think we've always really tried to create a safe space.
Like I don't care how hard it is or what you have to tell us or, you know, like we're here and we want to support you.
You know, even when she had great seasons and great opportunities on the court, She went out there and always had a positive outlook in public, but to have a safe space at home for your athletes to be able to come home and maybe fall apart a little bit if... you know, they need that space to do that.
So just ongoing conversation and listening to what they are struggling with and allowing them to figure it out themselves, I think was the hardest part.
Was there anything you wish you would have done
differently?
Yeah.
And when I was thinking about, you know, some of your questions for this interview and stuff, it just, I think it's so different right now.
The focus is so strong on let's go to college and let's get that scholarship and let's take it to the next level.
And, you know, when you and I were playing, it was, okay, I'm going to choose my school and then I'm going to see if there's an opportunity to play.
And we would go try out for the team.
Whereas... you know, create these profiles and they shop themselves out and they have highlight videos that it's so focused on, you know, that next step and getting the scholarship and going to college to play where, you know, sometimes I think it should be a little bit more focused on the educational opportunity first and, you know, the athletic experience second.
And I heard what Sadie was saying, and I think maybe I wonder in the U.S., like with the cost of school and Sadie saying like the opportunity to play volleyball, but also to get a scholarship was a big motivating factor.
And I imagine for some athletes, that's the only way they're going to get to go to university at this time.
Yeah, it's true.
I mean, the cost of education here is definitely a little more substantial if you're going out of state.
But I mean, the group of high school girls that she played with, 12 out of 13 of them got college scholarships and some of them to D1 schools where they're traveling across the United States to go play.
So the opportunities are just completely different these days and the pressure is substantial.
Right.
Now, I think on like that side of being able to excel in those areas, I think what I heard from Sadie's story is, and then you meet this adversity.
So what do you think the most important things that were present either with Sadie or you as a family to help her in that situation of adversity?
Well, I think to listen, I guess I was just grateful that she was calling home and she was telling us what was going on.
I think we've always really tried to create a safe space.
Like I don't care how hard it is or what you have to tell us or, you know, like we're here and we want to support you.
You know, even when she had great seasons and great opportunities on the court, She went out there and always had a positive outlook in public, but to have a safe space at home for your athletes to be able to come home and maybe fall apart a little bit if... you know, they need that space to do that.
So just ongoing conversation and listening to what they are struggling with and allowing them to figure it out themselves, I think was the hardest part.
Was there anything you wish you would have done
differently?
Yeah.
And when I was thinking about, you know, some of your questions for this interview and stuff, it just, I think it's so different right now.
The focus is so strong on let's go to college and let's get that scholarship and let's take it to the next level.
And, you know, when you and I were playing, it was, okay, I'm going to choose my school and then I'm going to see if there's an opportunity to play.
And we would go try out for the team.
Whereas... you know, create these profiles and they shop themselves out and they have highlight videos that it's so focused on, you know, that next step and getting the scholarship and going to college to play where, you know, sometimes I think it should be a little bit more focused on the educational opportunity first and, you know, the athletic experience second.
And I heard what Sadie was saying, and I think maybe I wonder in the U.S., like with the cost of school and Sadie saying like the opportunity to play volleyball, but also to get a scholarship was a big motivating factor.
And I imagine for some athletes, that's the only way they're going to get to go to university at this time.
Yeah, it's true.
I mean, the cost of education here is definitely a little more substantial if you're going out of state.
But I mean, the group of high school girls that she played with, 12 out of 13 of them got college scholarships and some of them to D1 schools where they're traveling across the United States to go play.
So the opportunities are just completely different these days and the pressure is substantial.
Right.
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