Today's Play: Olympian and educator Steve Brown shares the incredible story of how sport shaped his identity—from a fearful 10-year-old in D.C. to representing Trinidad in the Olympic Games. Steve reflects on the hurdles he faced—literally and figuratively—and the unexpected people and institutions who showed up for his dream. He reminds us that keeping an open heart, and open mind, just might be the key to discovering the support you didn’t know you had.

Today's Coach: Olympian Steve Brown is the founder of the Steve Brown Academy and creator of the Complete Your Square curriculum, designed to support student-athletes in athletics, academics, character, and service. He competed in the 2000 Olympic Games for Trinidad & Tobago after a standout multi-sport career at Wake Forest. With degrees from Wake, Duke, and UPenn, Steve brings over 15 years of experience in independent school admissions and leadership development.

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Picking Teams: A Playbook for Parents is produced by: Amy Bryant and Sasha Melamud

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Today's Play: Kevin Ye discussed the importance of instilling life values like hard work and teamwork in young athletes. He emphasizes the need for perspective, noting that sports should be enjoyable and not all-consuming. He also highlights the significance of aligning college choices with personal goals, considering factors like division level, school size, and team culture. Kevin also reflects on the support from his parents, who focused on process-oriented goals rather than results.

Today's Coach: Kevin Ye is the co-owner of PATL, a padel company with locations in Atlanta and Louisville that offers coaching, community play, and instructions to all ages. Previously, Kevin Ye coached college tennis at Emory University and helped the team win the NCAA Championship in 2021, two UAA titles as well as the 2018 National Indoor Team Championship. He was named the NCAA Division III Regional and National Assistant Coach of the Year as well as part of the 2023-2024 UAA Coaching Staff of the Year. He also coached competitive juniors at ACE Academy in Norcross, GA as the Head Professional of Junior Development. In college, Ye played for Kenyon College, a NCAA Division III program in Gambier, OH. He helped lead the team to four NCAC Conference championships and reach the finals of the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2012, while the following year in 2013, helped lead the team to the NCAA Division III National Indoor Championship.

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Picking Teams: A Playbook for Parents is produced by: Amy Bryant and Sasha Melamud

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Today's Play: Coach Karl Hedley emphasizes the importance of allowing players to face adversity and develop resilience. Hedley stresses the value of sports in teaching teamwork, respect, and leadership, and advises parents to support their children's growth by stepping back and letting them learn from experiences.

Today's Coach: Karl Hedley is the Boys Soccer Director at Gwinnett Soccer Association. He's coached youth soccer for 20 years and specializes in coaching middle-school-aged players.

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Picking Teams: A Playbook for Parents is produced by: Amy Bryant and Sasha Melamud

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Today's Play: Coach Keenan Hickton shares his journey from multi-sport athlete in Pittsburgh to Emory University standout, and eventually to coaching one of the top-ranked Division III golf teams in the country. Keenan talks about what he looks for in recruits—highlighting the rare but powerful combination of confidence and humility—and why rankings don’t always tell the full story. He offers valuable advice to parents on how to support their young athletes through the emotional highs and lows of competitive sports, urging families to stay process-focused, trust the coach, and avoid overreacting to short-term results.

Today's Coach: Keenan Hickton is the newly appointed Head Men’s Golf Coach at The University of the South, Sewanee. He spent the last six years as assistant coach at Emory University, where the team achieved a No. 1 national ranking, placed in the top 5 nationally for most of his tenure, and won 22 tournaments—including three UAA championships. As a student-athlete at Emory, Keenan was a three-time UAA team champion, Tournament MVP, and two-time All-Scholar Team honoree, graduating in 2018 with a degree in Business Administration.

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Picking Teams: A Playbook for Parents is produced by: Amy Bryant and Sasha Melamud

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Today's Play: Coach Tommy Valentini offers practical strategies for parents to navigate the emotional highs and lows of youth sports. He emphasizes shifting the focus from wins and losses to effort, growth, and core values, fostering healthier conversations with young athletes. Tommy and amy also highlight the importance of collaboration between parents and coaches, with coaches playing a key role in setting clear expectations and engaging parents in supporting the team’s culture. The ultimate goal? Creating a positive, character-building experience that extends far beyond the game.

Today's Coach: Dr. Tommy Valentini is in his 16th year as head coach of the Gustavus Adolphus College men's tennis team where he holds an overall record of 273-104. The Gusties are the third winningest program in the history of Division III tennis with an all-time mark of 1303-532-3 (.710 winning percentage). Gustavus has claimed two NCAA Team Championships (1980, 1982), while also winning six national titles in doubles and four national titles in singles. Tommy has also coached at Emory University and University of Nebraska, written a book chapter titled: Love-Love: A Fresh Start at Finding Value and Virtue in Tennis and presented a Ted Talk on Purposeful Character Building Through Sport. He's also a youth hockey coach and runs a coach education/team culture building education program for the Minnesota River Bulldogs. Last, but not least, Tommy is a professor in the philosophy department at Gustavus Adolphus College where he teaches sport ethics and philosophy.

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Picking Teams: A Playbook for Parents is produced by: Amy Bryant and Sasha Melamud

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Today's Play: Coach Kirk Wagner and Amy Bryant explore the challenges of coach-parent relationships in youth sports, with an emphasis on managing emotional parental feedback. Kirk and Amy highlight the importance of coaches preparing for parental involvement while maintaining clear boundaries, and advise parents to be thoughtful in their communication to coaches to avoid negatively impacting their child's future opportunities.

Today's Coach: Kirk Wagner is the Head Boys Soccer Coach at St. Pius X Catholic High School. Kirk has extensive playing experience at the collegiate level (NAIA St. Edwards University where he is a member of the Hall of Fame), and professional levels (in Germany). His coaching career, spans over 35 years across high school, club, and collegiate levels.

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To learn more about Bryant College Coaching, and download our new e-book, click here or go to www.bryantcollegecoaching.com

Picking Teams: A Playbook for Parents is produced by: Amy Bryant and Sasha Melamud

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Today's Play: Kyle Gookins shares insights on navigating the recruiting landscape to uncover meaningful opportunities, beyond prestigious school names. He acknowledges that the college recruiting process can be a minefield of parental pressure and misplaced priorities. Amy and Kyle remind parents that it's crucial for student-athletes and their families to focus on finding the right fit - a place where the student can thrive academically, develop as an athlete, and be truly happy.

Today's Coach: Kyle Gookins is a former Division I Head Men's Soccer Coach who currently is the Director of My College Soccer, a college soccer recruiting consulting agency. He has over 23 years of coaching experience at every level of youth and amateur soccer and has also been a US Soccer Scout for the USSF Youth national teams.

To note: The NCAA's partial scholarship limits discussed in this episode will no longer exist as of April 2025 should the House vs. NCAA settlement take effect. Instead, the new NCAA roster limits will dictate how many players can be on each Division I team, each of whom will be allowed to receive up to a full scholarship + revenue sharing (most sports will continue to divvy out partial scholarships and some institutions will opt out of revenue sharing).

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To learn more about Bryant College Coaching, and download our new e-book, click here or go to www.bryantcollegecoaching.com

Picking Teams: A Playbook for Parents is produced by: Amy Bryant and Sasha Melamud

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Today's Play: Karl Hedley impresses the importance of allowing children to organically develop a passion for their sport, rather than forcing it upon them. Karl also emphasizes the need to make sport accessible and available, but then let the child's own interest and love for the game grow naturally. He cautioned against overly enthusiastic parenting that can dampen a child's passion, sharing examples of parents pushing their children too hard and leading to burnout. Ultimately, a parent should be focused on developing not only successful athletes, but well-rounded individuals who demonstrate maturity, sportsmanship and the ability to handle adversity - qualities that are cultivated through sport, and extend far beyond just winning games.


Today's Coach: Karl Hedley is the Boys Soccer Director at Gwinnett Soccer Association. He's coached youth soccer for 20 years and specializes in coaching middle-school-aged players.

Send us your feedback!

To learn more about Bryant College Coaching, and download our new e-book, click here or go to www.bryantcollegecoaching.com

Picking Teams: A Playbook for Parents is produced by: Amy Bryant and Sasha Melamud

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