Unstoppable Athlete - Mental Resilience for Teen Athletes
Jun 2, 2026 · 22 min · 10 segments
Fresh off what may be her final Nationals as a youth volleyball coach, Sara reflects with Michelle on the lessons that mattered most—not the wins and losses, but the growth, resilience, and…
Sarah, I want to start by asking you how you're feeling right now because you just coached your last nationals of your youth volleyball coaching career.
Maybe.
Maybe.
Maybe.
I think I was really emotional when you and I talked on the Friday.
So we were in Calgary, and we had a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and that Friday feeling.
And I think it came on the heels of we had a rough Thursday.
Our first couple games out were ...
This isn't, this isn't quite the girls playing, you know.
This isn't quite how I saw it ending.
And so it was pretty emotional, and they came back on the Friday.
And, you know, we had mixed success, but they had fun, and they played.
And I think what really stood out is the things we've been talking about all season.
I had a ref come up to me at the end of the game and say, "Hey, Coach.
I just wanted to say what incredible coaching." And what he was saying was, "You took a timeout at 0-3." And he's, "But I saw what you were doing.
You saw your team didn't have it, and you just reset them, and then they came out and they played." And he's like, "That was just so well done." And I think that same day, that was ...
A coach came up to me and he said, "Hey, I always give an MVP." He's like, "I'm giving this to you because I heard the way you talk to your players.
It was so great to play against you." And that struck me not as a skill thing but as a, somebody is noticing there's a different tone in the interactions that happen with the players, and that's everything that we've been talking about, right? And it was just, it so hit home, especially because it was, my girls weren't out crushing the other team.
Like, there were moments when everybody was having a moment.
Somebody wasn't playing great.
Somebody was making unforced errors.
All of those things were happening.
Oh, and then I had another player say, "Hey, Coach.
Somebody just came up to me," like a parent, was, "I just wanted to let you know how fun it was watching your team play." And I was, "Yes, that's it." These girls are out there having fun even if the scoreboard didn't say so.
And that to me was such a win.
Sarah, I want to start by asking you how you're feeling right now because you just coached your last nationals of your youth volleyball coaching career.
Maybe.
Maybe.
Maybe.
I think I was really emotional when you and I talked on the Friday.
So we were in Calgary, and we had a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and that Friday feeling.
And I think it came on the heels of we had a rough Thursday.
Our first couple games out were ...
This isn't, this isn't quite the girls playing, you know.
This isn't quite how I saw it ending.
And so it was pretty emotional, and they came back on the Friday.
And, you know, we had mixed success, but they had fun, and they played.
And I think what really stood out is the things we've been talking about all season.
I had a ref come up to me at the end of the game and say, "Hey, Coach.
I just wanted to say what incredible coaching." And what he was saying was, "You took a timeout at 0-3." And he's, "But I saw what you were doing.
You saw your team didn't have it, and you just reset them, and then they came out and they played." And he's like, "That was just so well done." And I think that same day, that was ...
A coach came up to me and he said, "Hey, I always give an MVP." He's like, "I'm giving this to you because I heard the way you talk to your players.
It was so great to play against you." And that struck me not as a skill thing but as a, somebody is noticing there's a different tone in the interactions that happen with the players, and that's everything that we've been talking about, right? And it was just, it so hit home, especially because it was, my girls weren't out crushing the other team.
Like, there were moments when everybody was having a moment.
Somebody wasn't playing great.
Somebody was making unforced errors.
All of those things were happening.
Oh, and then I had another player say, "Hey, Coach.
Somebody just came up to me," like a parent, was, "I just wanted to let you know how fun it was watching your team play." And I was, "Yes, that's it." These girls are out there having fun even if the scoreboard didn't say so.
And that to me was such a win.
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