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What if the thing holding your athlete back is what they're eating, how they're sleeping, and who they're spending time with?

In this episode, Mariel sits down with Coach Elliot Allen, sports performance coach, former college football player, and founder of Eight Six Speed & Athletics, for a conversation packed with practical, no-fluff tools for teen athletes and the parents who support them.

Elliot knows what it's like to have natural talent and still come up short. And he's spent years building the system he wishes he'd had at 16: simplified nutrition, smart training, solid recovery habits, and the mindset to stay consistent when it gets hard. In this episode, he breaks all of it down in a way that actually makes sense for families.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why nutrition is the most undervalued piece of the performance puzzle and what "fueling for a purpose, not for pleasure" actually looks like day-to-day
• How to track your food the same way you track your training (and why it's the most boring, most important habit you can build)
• The truth about hydration: why electrolytes alone won't save you, how much water your muscles actually need, and what happens when you overdo it
• Why sleep is when you actually get stronger and the specific habits (phones, TVs, bedtimes) that are wrecking your recovery
• How your environment and your circle shape your results more than almost anything else, and what to do if you're in a small town with no high-achieving athletes nearby
• The self-talk shift that took Elliot from wanting to quit his freshman year to finishing out and coming back stronger
• The "5-minute rule" for processing hard moments without getting stuck in them

This one is as much for parents as it is for athletes. Practical, honest, and full of real talk from someone who learned most of this the hard way.

About Coach Elliot Allen:

Elliot Allen is a sports performance coach and founder of Eight Six Speed & Athletics, where he mentors teen athletes and their parents on speed, strength, nutrition, and mindset so they can set themselves up with the best chance to play at the next level.

A former college football player, Elliot learned the hard way that talent alone isn't enough — and that experience drives how he coaches today. He helps athletes build the structure and discipline he wishes he'd found at a younger age, combining simplified speed work, progressive strength training, and athlete-focused nutrition to produce measurable performance results.

As a father and coach, Elliot leads by example and stays committed to helping young athletes build the habits that separate them from the rest.

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Check out Eight Six Athletics

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