Unstoppable Athlete - Mental Resilience for Teen Athletes
Aug 18, 2026 · 12 min · 9 segments
Tryouts aren’t just about how well you play—they’re about how you show up. In this quick episode, Sara and Michelle break down what athletes can do in the weeks leading up to tryouts to arrive…
And you know, the, some of the responses were, "A little bit," "A lot." And I think the biggest thing the girls should start doing right now is getting physically ready for tryouts, because that week of camp before we start school is going to kill you if you're not physically ready.
That's right.
I think you don't want to miss the opportunities to have good reps in team drills.
You're gonna be put right into it, and so you need to come not complaining day two that you were sore because day one was so hard.
Not, you know, dragging near the end of practice, 'cause all of a sudden a two-hour session is way more than you've done all summer.
The most important thing I think you need to be thinking is, "How can I be going for two hours?" And find ways to build that stuff into your day.
Yeah.
Start today.
Can you go and do a couple sprints up a hill? Can you go and, you know, do something that's quick bursts.
Like, don't go out for a long, slow jog, which if you've been doing that, awesome.
Good base building.
But you're two weeks out.
We need some high-intensity interval stuff happening so that when a drill's going hard and the drill ends, you're not the one with your hands on your knees panting trying to recover.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And the older the girls get, the less they can just wing it, right? I, I found like the 14s can kind of come and go from stuff like this and it doesn't affect them, but for the, the girls who are 15, 16, and they're getting into their women's bodies, it's a lot harder, so they need to actually be prepared.
And I think you're right.
I think it's gotta be very specific.
Sprint training, plyometric jump training.
Do some very specific activities that are volleyball, uh, focused.
Yeah.
And then pick three workouts and mix them up and do them three times a week.
I think that girls need to make a very specific goal and then stick to it for the rest of this month.
Yeah, and I think it's really important to realize sometimes you're held back thinking you need to be doing the exact right thing.
And you know, the, some of the responses were, "A little bit," "A lot." And I think the biggest thing the girls should start doing right now is getting physically ready for tryouts, because that week of camp before we start school is going to kill you if you're not physically ready.
That's right.
I think you don't want to miss the opportunities to have good reps in team drills.
You're gonna be put right into it, and so you need to come not complaining day two that you were sore because day one was so hard.
Not, you know, dragging near the end of practice, 'cause all of a sudden a two-hour session is way more than you've done all summer.
The most important thing I think you need to be thinking is, "How can I be going for two hours?" And find ways to build that stuff into your day.
Yeah.
Start today.
Can you go and do a couple sprints up a hill? Can you go and, you know, do something that's quick bursts.
Like, don't go out for a long, slow jog, which if you've been doing that, awesome.
Good base building.
But you're two weeks out.
We need some high-intensity interval stuff happening so that when a drill's going hard and the drill ends, you're not the one with your hands on your knees panting trying to recover.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And the older the girls get, the less they can just wing it, right? I, I found like the 14s can kind of come and go from stuff like this and it doesn't affect them, but for the, the girls who are 15, 16, and they're getting into their women's bodies, it's a lot harder, so they need to actually be prepared.
And I think you're right.
I think it's gotta be very specific.
Sprint training, plyometric jump training.
Do some very specific activities that are volleyball, uh, focused.
Yeah.
And then pick three workouts and mix them up and do them three times a week.
I think that girls need to make a very specific goal and then stick to it for the rest of this month.
Yeah, and I think it's really important to realize sometimes you're held back thinking you need to be doing the exact right thing.
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