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Athletes will spend hours chasing improvement, overlooking the one thing that sets the great apart: mindset. Still living his dream as a professional quarterback, Nathan Rourke knows this story firsthand and shares it with us this week on Forged Youth Podcast.

Nathan opens up about his journey from Canadian high school football to NFL hopes, and then to CFL stardom. He shares how he learned to break down his goals into actionable steps, like acting as the athlete he wanted to become before he was there, and how this mindset built the grit that fuels him today. If you’re ready to elevate your confidence, embrace adversity as an advantage, and see performance as a reflection of your mindset, this episode is your playbook for life.

You’ll discover:

• How to reverse-engineering your goals to build discipline
• Why confidence is a byproduct of action, not a feeling to chase
• How routine and preparation create consistency and trust in your abilities
• The importance of separating your identity from your results
• Practical tools for emotional regulation that shift performance in seconds

Nathan reminds us that sport is a laboratory for leadership, resilience, and character... which a foundation for forging your ultimate legacy.

Perfect for young athletes, parents eager to support without pressure, and coaches shaping future leaders, this episode will leave you inspired to think bigger about your potential and more grounded in the core habits that turn dreams into reality.

Join our free 'Forged Youth' Skool group for more parent support and community!

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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.

Join our free 'Forged Youth' Skool group for more parent support and community!

Check out Eight Six Athletics

Keep up with Coach Elliot Allen on:

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What does it actually take to perform at your best without burning out, breaking down, or trying to squeeze yourself into a system that was never built for you?

In this episode, Mariel sits down with Dan Mickle, Mental Performance Coach, Head Women's Volleyball Coach at York College of Pennsylvania, founder of Soul Performance Academy, and host of The MentalCast podcast, for a wide-ranging conversation that covers everything from breathwork and journaling to neurodivergent athletes, hustle culture, and why "mental toughness" might be the wrong goal entirely.

Dan brings 30+ years of coaching experience and a deeply personal perspective on what it means to truly know your athletes. As a father of three neurodivergent children, a doctoral student researching coaching considerations for neurodivergent populations, and a former coach who once made his team do burpees during a timeout (his words), Dan keeps it refreshingly real throughout this whole conversation.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The three mental skills Dan carried from being a player into 34 years of coaching and why breathwork is the foundation of all of them
• Why journaling doesn't have to be a page a day (and what a quick prompt in the parking lot can do for your growth)
• How to build intention into every practice and what deliberate practice really means
• Why neurodivergent athletes are just coping and what coaches can do differently
• The difference between emotional control and emotional suppression, and why fighting your nerves wastes energy you need
• Dan's take on why "mental toughness" misses the mark and what "mental flexibility" gets right
• Why the youth sports system is broken, who's responsible, and what it would actually take to fix it

If you're a coach, a parent, an athlete, or anyone trying to perform with more clarity and less chaos, this one's for you.

Connect with Dan Mickle:

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About Dan Mickle:

Dan Mickle is a Mental Performance Coach, Head Women's Volleyball Coach at York College of Pennsylvania, educator, and founder of Soul Performance Academy. With over a decade of experience working with athletes, teams, coaches, and organizations, Dan specializes in helping performers build focus, confidence, emotional control, and sustainable high performance — especially for neurodivergent athletes and those who think and learn differently.

In addition to coaching at the collegiate level, Dan is an adjunct professor in sport behavior and psychology and is currently pursuing his Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) with a research focus on coaching considerations for neurodivergent populations. His work blends science, real-world coaching experience, and practical tools athletes can use immediately.

Dan is also the host of The MentalCast podcast, where he explores mindset, performance, leadership, and growth through conversations with coaches, athletes, and experts across disciplines. He has authored multiple books and created digital programs designed to make mental training simple, effective, and accessible.

Whether on the court, in the classroom, or behind the mic, Dan's mission is to help people perform at their best without burning out, breaking down, or trying to fit into systems that were never built for them.

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