Youth Inc. with Greg Olsen

Julie Ertz & Kealia Watt: Youth Soccer, the NWSL, and Raising the Next Generation 30.06.2026 47min

Greg Olsen sits down with USWNT legends and lifelong best friends Julie Ertz and Kealia Watt (Ohai), the duo behind the new podcast Style of Play. Friends since they were 13, youth and pro teammates, and now both moms married to former NFL players (Zach Ertz and JJ Watt), Julie and Kealia open up about how youth soccer in America has changed, why the NWSL is rewriting the path for the next generation of girls, and what it actually takes to develop an elite athlete.🔗 RESOURCES📩 Youth Inc. Newsletter — https://www.youth.inc/newsletter🌐 youth.inc — https://www.youth.incSettle the Score: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/settle-the-score/id1450401657Follow for weekly conversations with the coaches and athletes shaping youth sports.

Jon Gordon's Leadership Advice for Young Athletes 23.06.2026 21min

What does it really take to become a great leader and teammate? In this conversation, Jon Gordon joins Alec Ingold to share practical lessons on positive leadership, self-talk, team culture, resilience, and the mindset habits that help athletes grow on and off the field. From the power of encouragement and "I Am" statements to the importance of commitment, gratitude, and connection, Jon explains how young athletes, coaches, and parents can build stronger teams and become better leaders in every area of life.

Spencer Lee’s Dad on Raising a Champion Wrestler 19.06.2026 33min

3x national champ Spencer Lee sits down with his father, Larry Lee, for a conversation about youth sports, parenting, and the long-term approach that helped shape one of wrestling’s greatest champions. Larry shares why fun mattered more than winning, the lessons he learned from judo and coaching, and how parents can support their children without burning them out. From youth tournaments to the world stage, this is a must-watch conversation for every sports parent, coach, and athlete.

Brandi Chastain on the Shot That Changed Soccer 18.06.2026 16min

Brandi Chastain joins Shelby Bumgarner on Youth Inc. to reflect on the iconic 1999 World Cup moment that changed women's soccer forever. Chastain shares what was going through her mind before the legendary penalty kick, how injuries and setbacks shaped her career, and why resilience became one of her greatest strengths. She also discusses the future of youth sports, the importance of access for young athletes, and how the World Cup can inspire the next generation of players.

Men in Blazers' Roger Bennett: The World Cup Moment That Could Change U.S. Soccer Forever 09.06.2026 26min

This episode is brought to you by Players Health. To learn more, visit https://www.playershealth.com/Greg Olsen sits down with Roger Bennett, founder of Men in Blazers and author of We Are the World (Cup), as the 2026 World Cup kicks off on home soil. They get into why the U.S. dominates the women's game but lags on the men's side, how over-coaching and win-now youth culture stunt development, and the street-ball lesson behind players like Eberechi Eze. A sharp, funny conversation about raising better athletes and the tournament that could change American soccer for good.The 2026 World Cup kicks off this week, and Roger Bennett, founder and CEO of Men in Blazers and author of We Are the World (Cup), joins Greg Olsen on You Think for a conversation every soccer parent and youth coach should hear. Roger explains why the U.S. builds world-class women's players but keeps falling short on the men's side, why a Barcelona youth coach called the American model "idiotic," and what the World Cup on home soil could actually change.He gets into how Title IX turned the U.S. women into a global superpower while the men's development system stays stuck, why win-now youth culture stunts players, and how street ball forged Premier League stars like Eberechi Eze.🔗 RESOURCES📩 Youth Inc. Newsletter — https://www.youth.inc/newsletter🌐 youth.inc — https://www.youth.incMen in Blazers: https://www.meninblazers.com/Roger's Book: https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-World-Cup-Personal/dp/0063320770

EXCLUSIVE: Why Jason Williams LEFT the Women's College World Series Before the Final 03.06.2026 17min

Jason Williams went viral at the Women's College World Series watching his daughter Mia Williams power Texas Tech to the national championship series. Then he left OKC before the final games. In this exclusive Youth Inc. interview, the former NBA guard known as "White Chocolate" explains why.🔗 RESOURCES📩 Youth Inc. Newsletter — https://www.youth.inc/newsletter🌐 youth.inc — https://www.youth.incHoopin N' Hollerin' Pod: https://open.spotify.com/show/2pnagsbUIRHTy8Lf45mXgM

How Northwestern Became a Lacrosse Dynasty | Kelly Amonte Hiller Full Interview 03.06.2026 42min

How did a program that started from club status turn into the greatest dynasty in women's lacrosse? Northwestern head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller just won her 9th national championship, and she built it in the Midwest by recruiting unranked athletes and developing them into Tewaaraton winners. Greg Olsen sits down with her to break down the recruiting philosophy, team culture, and player development system behind nine titles, plus hard-won advice for any youth sports parent or coach.🔗 RESOURCES📩 Youth Inc. Newsletter — https://www.youth.inc/newsletter🌐 youth.inc — https://www.youth.inc

How Coach RAC and Coach Ballgame CRASHED Youth Baseball Practices 02.06.2026 25min

In this episode of the Youth Inc. Podcast, Greg sits down with Coach Ballgame and Savannah Bananas star Coach RAC to go behind the scenes of the new season of Crashin' Practice. They break down what it's actually like to surprise a team of young players, the hidden coaching lessons built into every drill, and why the moments that look like chaos on camera are some of the most intentional. From hiding in equipment sheds before the big reveal to teaching kids to field the ball in ways that make them more athletic, this is the real story behind the surprise.They also get into Ballgame's Sandlot Tour, RAC's life on the road playing in front of packed stadiums, and what these crashes mean for the parents and coaches watching from the sideline.Watch Crashin' Practice: https://youtu.be/t8x_t7ucL6USign up for our newsletter at https://www.youth.inc/newsletterFor more, visit https://www.youth.inc/

The Pitching Ninja on Arm Care, Pitch Counts & Youth Baseball 26.05.2026 46min

The Pitching Ninja joins Greg Olsen for a deep dive into everything youth baseball parents and coaches need to hear — from managing pitch counts on tournament weekends to why he thinks baseball has become too expensive and too specialized. Rob Friedman breaks down how he'd build a young pitcher from scratch, why multi-sport athletes make better pitchers, and the aerospace discovery that changed how we understand pitch movement forever.🔗 RESOURCES📖 Rob Friedman's book "Unhittable" — https://pitchingninja.com/pages/book🥷 Follow Pitching Ninja — https://x.com/PitchingNinja📩 Youth Inc. Newsletter — https://www.youth.inc/newsletter🌐 youth.inc — https://www.youth.inc

Jon Gordon: The #1 Mistake Parents Make in Youth Sports 18.05.2026 39min

Bestselling author Jon Gordon (The Energy Bus, Training Camp, The Carpenter) joins Greg Olsen to unpack what he got wrong as a sports parent and the frameworks he wishes he'd known sooner. From the "two hats" rule that transforms the car ride home to the seven commitments that separate great teams from the rest, this is a playbook for any parent or coach who's ever struggled to find the line between pushing kids and supporting them.Greg and Jon dig into why positivity beats negativity without ignoring reality, how to connect before you correct, the brainwashing power of daily practice habits, and the parenting regret Jon wishes he could go back and fix.🔗 LINKSSign up for the Youth Inc. newsletter: https://www.youth.inc/newsletterFor more, visit: https://www.youth.inc/Follow Jon Gordon:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jongordon11/X: https://twitter.com/JonGordon11Books & Speaking: https://jongordon.com/

Is Youth Sports Destroying Your Kid's Self-Identity? | Dr. Paul Conti 12.05.2026 43min

Greg sits down with Harvard and Stanford-trained psychiatrist Dr. Paul Conti to talk about the mental side of youth sports — how failure shapes kids' brains, why pre-game anxiety isn't always a bad thing, and what parents and coaches get wrong about confidence, identity, and self-talk.Dr. Conti breaks down the shame reflex, explains why what you see on the outside of a kid isn't always what's happening inside, and shares the reframe that turns post-game frustration into forward momentum. Greg gets personal about his own parenting blind spots with his three kids.🔗 RESOURCES📖 Dr. Conti's book "What's Going Right" — https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Going-Right-Powerful-Optimizing/dp/1538776049🌐 Dr. Conti's website — https://drpaulconti.com🏥 Pacific Premier Group — https://pacificpremiergroup.comOur newsletter: https://www.youth.inc/newsletter

BONUS MOTHER'S DAY EDITION: IG Influencer Nicki Marie's Best Youth Sports Takes 07.05.2026 9min

What sport should your kid play? How do you keep it fun and avoid burnout? Shelby Bumgarner sits down with Nicki Marie (@nickimarieinc) — mom content creator with 1M+ followers on Instagram and 2M+ on TikTok — for her unfiltered youth sports hot takes.They talk about the youth sports landscape in 2026, what Nicki wants her kids to play, her friendship with Kylie Kelce and their shared field hockey background, and advice for sports parents navigating it all. Happy Mother's Day!

Inside the League Changing Women's Volleyball w/ Courtney Thompson & Lexi Rodriguez 05.05.2026 37min

Learn more at https://www.youth.inc/lovbGreg Olsen sits down with two of the most important voices in women's volleyball for back-to-back conversations on the rise of League One Volleyball, the state of the women's game, and what it means for the next generation of girls coming up through club and college.First, Greg talks with two-time Olympic medalist and LOVB Head of Player Experience Courtney Thompson about her journey from club gyms to Olympic podiums to building the architecture of America's first-of-its-kind pro volleyball league — one that connects youth clubs directly to the pro game.Then, Greg sits down with Lexi Rodriguez — All-American libero, former Nebraska standout, and one of the brightest young stars in the LOVB Pro league — about her path from junior club volleyball to going pro stateside, the responsibility that comes with being a role model for girls watching, and why she believes American volleyball is just getting started.This episode kicks off the year-long partnership between Youth Inc. and League One Volleyball, including the launch of The Courtney Thompson Show — a flagship monthly interview series hosted by Courtney, featuring LOVB players and coaches.Learn more at https://www.youth.inc/lovb

The Emotions of a New Youth Sports Parent with Barstool's KFC 28.04.2026 42min

Kevin Clancy — better known as KFC from Barstool — went viral last week with a video about his eight-year-old son Keegan's baseball journey, and the reaction from parents across the country told him everything he needed to know. In this episode, KFC sits down with Greg Olsen to unpack the full story: putting his kid on a travel team where the competition was elite but the fit was wrong, watching his son lose confidence and nearly walk away from the sport entirely, and the tryout his ex-wife convinced him to attend that changed everything. They get into the real tension every sports parent faces — competition versus confidence, pushing versus backing off, and knowing when your kid needs to be the star versus when they need to be the role player. Greg shares coaching advice he's carried for years, KFC talks about wanting to step into coaching as a divorced dad looking for every extra minute with his kids, and they both get honest about the part of youth sports nobody warns you about: it's always the parents, never the kids.Greg also kicks things off with This or That and wraps with listener questions.Subscribe to the Youth Inc. newsletter: https://www.youth.inc/newsletter

ESPN's Chiney Ogwumike on What Parents Get Wrong About Youth Hoops 21.04.2026 46min

Greg kicks things off with a new round of Youth Sports This or That before sitting down with ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike for a wide-ranging conversation on raising young athletes, the WNBA's explosive new era, and the remarkable sibling story behind one of the most unlikely stat lines in sports: she and her older sister Nneka are the only siblings in major American sports history to both be drafted #1 overall.Chiney shares the blueprint behind the Ogwumike household — starting with gymnastics (yes, at the same Houston gym that trained Simone Biles), a long driveway, a dad nicknamed "Playoff Pops" who flew in from Nigeria for every big game, and the $1-per-rebound strategy that turned her sister into a rebounding machine at age 11.She and Greg also dig into what top college coaches like Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma are actually looking for when they walk into an AAU gym (hint: it's not what most parents think), why she wasn't good at basketball until she was 14, and the case for raising specialists over stars.Plus: the WNBA's "janky to fancy" transformation, $250M expansion fees, how NIL is reshaping the international pipeline, and why Chiney believes today's young players face more pressure than any generation before them.Greg closes the episode by answering listener questions from the Youth Inc. community.

Derek Anderson: From Sleeping in Project Housing to Winning an NBA Title 14.04.2026 39min

What happens when a kid has every excuse to fail and chooses not to? Derek Anderson grew up without parents, raised himself in Louisville project housing, and became a dad at 15. He still made it to Kentucky, the NBA, and a world championship. In this conversation with Greg Olsen, Derek shares why he requires parents to attend his practices, how coaches are the first business leaders kids ever meet, and what he's seen working as a mental health counselor with NBA players through the Players Association. Whether you're a parent, coach, or just someone who cares about the next generation, this one is worth your time.Subscribe to the Youth Inc. newsletter: https://www.youth.inc/newsletter

Why a 3x Olympic Medalist Won't Put Her Kids in Gymnastics | Dominique Dawes Interview 07.04.2026 47min

Three-time Olympian and Magnificent Seven gold medalist Dominique Dawes sits down with Greg Olsen for one of the most honest conversations we've ever had on Youth Inc.Dominique opens up about the emotional and physical toll of elite gymnastics, the coaching culture she grew up in, why she started the Dominique Dawes Academy to do things differently, and why she doesn't want her four children to go through what she went through — even though it made her a champion.They also cover the pressure of representing her race as one of the first African American women in Olympic gymnastics, what it means to develop the whole child, and why she believes gymnastics is still the best foundation any young athlete can have — just not the way it used to be done.Plus, Greg answers listener questions.Learn more about the Dominique Dawes Academy: https://www.dominiquedawesacademy.comSubscribe to the Youth Inc. newsletter: https://www.youth.inc/newsletter#YouthSports #DominiqueDawes #Gymnastics #GregOlsen #Olympics #USAGymnastics #YouthGymnastics

The College Sports Problem Hiding in Plain Sight | IMG Academy CEO Brent Richard 01.04.2026 36min

IMG Academy CEO Brent Richard joins Greg Olsen to break down what's really happening at the intersection of youth sports and college athletics. Beyond IMG's world-class boarding school and development platform, Brent dives into the supply-and-demand crisis squeezing high school athletes out of college roster spots — from extended eligibility and the transfer portal to why Olympic sports are more financially viable than headlines suggest. They unpack the Add More Athletes campaign, why families are reclassifying at record rates, and how the NCAA's inability to enforce rules is creating a system where age and experience trump development. This one gets into the business, the economics, and the policy — and it's a conversation every sports parent needs to hear.Sign up for our newsletter at https://www.youth.inc/newsletterFor more, visit https://www.youth.inc/

Daniel Jones Interview , Working Out with Christian McCaffrey, and the Best Youth Sports Movies 24.03.2026 19min

This week: Greg recaps a trip to LA that somehow ended with a 5:30 AM workout alongside Christian McCaffrey. Then Daniel Jones joins the show to open up about life off the field and the cause closest to his heart. Plus, listener questions and the debate everyone's been waiting for — what's the greatest youth sports movie of all time?

Olympian Kerri Walsh Jennings on What it Actually Takes to Reach the Highest Level 17.03.2026 25min

Kerri Walsh Jennings is the most decorated beach volleyball player in history. Three Olympic gold medals, a decade alongside Misty May-Treanor, and a competitive fire she'll be the first to tell you made her insecure. In this episode, digital host Shelby Bumgarner sits down with Kerri to trace the full arc: a childhood in the Santa Cruz mountains, a multi-sport path that built grit before it built greatness, and the fundamentals-obsessed coaches who shaped everything that followed. They get into what it really took to build one of the greatest partnerships in sports history, what it felt like to compete on the Olympic stage while pregnant, and what Kerri sees now as a parent and club founder that has her worried about where youth sports is heading.Sign up for our newsletter at https://www.youth.inc/newsletterFor more, visit https://www.youth.inc/