In this episode of The Mental Health Playbook, host Coach Trav opens with an MPP Spotlight on Team USA women's basketball and their FIBA World Cup gold medal run — a masterclass in veterans and young stars embracing different roles for one shared goal. He follows it with a personal check-in about a surprising new hobby that's been helping him recenter (and a long-overdue apology to Stanley from the movie Friday).

Then Coach Trav digs into this episode's core story: before the Super Bowls and the MVPs, Tom Brady was fighting for reps at Michigan and working with sports psychologist Greg Harden. That relationship shifted Brady's focus from how many opportunities other quarterbacks were getting to a single question — what are you going to do with the reps you actually have? Coach Trav connects that lesson to his own redshirt year, his work coaching running backs and offensive linemen, and why he ultimately moved into mental performance coaching full-time.

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00:02 – MPP Spotlight: Team USA Women's Basketball & Playing Your Role

00:56 – Welcome & Mental Health Check-In

03:22 – A New Hobby, a Texas Heat Wave & an Apology to Stanley from Friday

05:48 – Team USA's Gold Medal Run & Giving Women's Basketball Its Flowers

08:07 – NFL Week 1, the Dolphins' Rookies & Today's Topic

10:33 – Tom Brady at Michigan: Fighting for Reps

12:58 – Greg Harden & the Shift in Perspective

15:18 – Preparing Before the Moment Arrives

17:44 – Coach Trav's Redshirt Year & Learning to Wait

20:08 – Coaching Running Backs: What You Do When the Ball Isn't in Your Hands

22:30 – Building a Mindset of Dominance in the Trenches

24:49 – Why Coach Trav Became a Mental Performance Coach

25:00 – Journal Prompt: Celebrating Your Wins

27:24 – Closing Takeaway: Make Your Reps Count & Outro

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Mental Health Playbook is a podcast hosted by Coach Trav (Mario Hines) that puts pressure on the preparation and setbacks in the strategy — unpacking the mental side of sports and life through conversations, personal stories, and spotlights on athletes, coaches, and leaders turning adversity into impact. Produced by ATP, brought to you by the Underdog Podcast Network.

If this episode resonated with you, like the video, drop a comment with your all-time favorite quarterback (Coach Trav asks in the episode), and subscribe for new episodes every week.

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