Versatility matters. Can you be the best you you can be? AND be whatever the team needs. Learning multiple positions makes you more adaptable and more desirable for future teams. Being open to opportunities can bring big payoffs. And you never know what lessons (or other gifts) can come from failure. You may meet your best friend being a role player on the bench.

How you can change your mindset to see challenges as opportunities for growth. I’m still learning, I’m not there yet. Look for opportunities, even when things don’t seem to go the way you thought. Be the best you, you can be. Every team doesn’t need all the same type of player, what is your superpower and how can you use that to be indispensable for your team.

We know it can be tough. Sara and Michelle chat about the ups and downs of playing sport, what they learned as “try hards” and also why sometimes the lesson learned from the struggle is the one that benefits you as you move on in life. Just know you are not alone! We have been there and want to help you navigate with a bit more kindness in your self talk.

Hey girls! Are you a volleyball player who sometimes can't quite perform like you hope? Do you feel anxious under pressure? Are you having trouble balancing training, school, work and friends?

We've got you! Lets talk about the challenges and strategies you can learn from experienced coaches, athletes facing similar challenges, and ex-pros who have learned a thing or two they can't wait to share with you. Sara and Michelle are looking forward to being in the conversation. 

Mindset shift required! What can I learn from this challenge? When coping with illness and injury its helpful to celebrate the small wins and what you can do. Then build resilience: work on your bounce back plan, who can help support you, keep in perspective what this bump may bring, and focus on the opportunity to work on the mental skills needed in your sport. 

Check out our Unstoppable Athlete 8 week program for your team! www.unstoppableathlete.ca
Sara shares about needing to listen to her own advice. Allowing life and expectations to build up, she is humbled that she was unable to show up as the coach she desires to be this past weekend. The conversation with Michelle and reflections around the process start to open big possibilities for showing up better for herself and her players in the future. 
Key takeaways: 1. Start with Gratitude and its amazing how many things pop up to be thankful for
2. Communication in relationship - be vulnerable and ask for help
3. Fail fast - growth comes from making mistakes and learning (especially when you are able to check your ego)

Balance isn’t perfect. Prioritize the BIG 3: sleep, school, training. Prepare: what supports do you need, can you schedule school work so you are doing little bits everyday, pre-plan meals and more.

After last week, Sara is taking a break but before leaving Michelle guides her on a few of the important questions behind why we coach.

Key Takeaways: 1. Seeing challenges as working for you

2.Coach for the relationships, with players, other coaches and the community

3. Growth and Life lessons from sport.

Recognize the perfectionist trap and reframe the inner dialogue. We are here to learn, not to be perfect or be the same as others, we are all on our own path. Keep it in perspective, it’s a game and it is supposed to be fun. Utilize strategies: pre-performance plan, post-game reflection and journal with a focus on gratitude. 

#10 - Athlete Interview with Mona. Track athlete, pilates instructor and counsellor

Key Takeaways

1. Reasons we compete can be varied and unique to each of us
2. The body doesn't always speak to us in words, its important to listen to the whispers and trust the intuition.
3. Its all okay! Learning to feel what's true and being okay that things can change. Your motivators of yesterday may not be right for you today. 

Check out our Unstoppable Athlete 8 week program for you or your team! www.unstoppableathlete.ca

Sara and Michelle really dig in to the topic of when future aspirations might be a detriment to your team and your experience in the present. 

Top 3 Take Aways

1. How can you show up for your team? With willingness and enthusiasm for what the team needs right now.
2. Don’t play for your highlight reel, play for your team.
3. Sport is the experience you are having right now, not where it might take you. Doors open when you stay present and may be more exciting that what you thought you were working towards. 

Check out www.unstoppableathlete.ca for our 12 week athlete mental resilience program upcoming dates and times for a parent information session that interested parents should definitely check out. 

How athletes need to take ownership for what they are learning from coaches or programs. Where does your fire from within come from and how does it motivate you to move towards your goals? Learning skills to take you to the next level and being motivated to apply them on a consistent basis will define your results.

Top 3 Take Aways

1. Be accountable to yourself
2. What am I willing to do to actually achieve my goals?
3. How do I apply the learning and coaching I receive?

Check out www.unstoppableathlete.ca for our 12 week athlete mental resilience program upcoming dates and times for a parent information session that interested parents should definitely check out. 

Sara and Michelle talk about a recent volleyball tournament their team was in and how the attitude of the players translates into playing opportunities.

Are you stuck in past mistakes? Is your attitude a detriment to the team?
Can you learn the skills to move on? Self awareness is a key to being able to say “next”, and control the things you can control, your attitude and energy.  Know your role and learn how to be the go to player that the coach will look to off the bench, be the best at it!

Top 3 Take Aways

1. Attitude is a choice
2. Find an expression that allows you to shift your attitude. What levers can you pull to make the attitude and energy you want to have happen?
3. Be the best you can be at your role and show the coach you own it.

Check out www.unstoppableathlete.ca for our 12 week athlete mental resilience program upcoming dates and times for a parent information session that interested parents should definitely check out. 

Check out our upcoming dates at www.unstoppableathlete.ca

Parent Workshop and 12 week Unstoppable Athlete workshop waitlist open now!

Michelle and Sara know what its like to watch athletes underperform, end up in tears and struggle to let go of perfectionist tendencies. Learn what this may mean and where you can go to learn how to support your athlete.

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Parents can embody a growth mindset

2. Emotional regulation happens when we can regulate our nervous systems and physiology

3. Embrace failures as opportunities, notice when perfectionism is creeping in and help your athlete reframe

Check out our upcoming dates at www.unstoppableathlete.ca

Parent Workshop and 12 week Unstoppable Athlete workshop waitlist open now!

Is not keeping score or giving MVP awards actually a good thing?

Are we allowing our girls to change, learn how to embody their competitive fire. Can we teach them to find their people who inspire and support excellence within them? You can be competitive and kind at the same time.

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Competition is not a dirty word
2. If everyone gets a medal it doesn't mean anything 
3. Inspire excellency versus mediocrity

Michelle surprises Sara with a prompt about playing time philosophy which leads into a conversation about the different strategies coaches may take. They also touch on all the ways coaches are considering different perspectives and maybe where both parents and coaches can become aware that their beliefs colour their reality.

Top 3 Takeaways

1. There is no right answer
2. Confirmation bias can cloud your perspective and its important to be aware that you may be filtering out facts that don’t support your opinion
3. Learn and grow from your experience by analyzing and reflecting on the process

Check out our upcoming dates at www.unstoppableathlete.ca

Parent Workshop and 12 week Unstoppable Athlete workshop waitlist open now!

Celebrating the journey and not just the final result. Sara and Michelle riff on the podcast and their volleyball seasons both club and high school. 

Highlights include - shining your light, focusing on the things we can control
 - redefining success - instead of winning we made it about trying new things and the success was in being brave and making the attempt to try something new (not the result!)

Our goals and intentions for the upcoming year. Doing more athlete interviews and improving our consistency (especially when life gets busy and throws us curveballs)

We invite feedback! Please leave a comment or send us a message to share what is insightful and maybe what you’d like to hear less of.

Check all our programming out at www.skool.com/unstoppable2026 and join our community to be part of the conversations.

#17 -  Importance of Self Talk - winning the mental game -

Our call to action for athletes - DON’T IGNORE THIS CONVERSATION! You have to do the mental work. Learn about self talk, recognize when what you tell yourself is not helping, RESET, and choose a different story. Become accountable to yourself and also to your teammates. If you notice them being hard on themselves, invite them to reset. "I can do this." Or "I don’t have this, YET." Do the mental preparation, visualize how you would like it to go. Then practice that. 

Top 3 Takeaways
 1. Awareness of 1st thought, in control of our 2nd thought and choose to make it affirmative
 2. Notice the opportunity to practice. Hold yourself and your teammates accountable. Don’t say that to yourself, choose positive self talk.
 3. Speak kindly, show up as our best selves. Parents be the model for this behaviour!

Check out our upcoming dates at www.unstoppableathlete.ca

Parent Intro Video, Workshop and 12 week Unstoppable Athlete workshop waitlist open now at www.skool.com/unstoppable2026

Develop the habit of goal setting. 

Start by writing them down. This will give you a map of where you want to go and also helps you keep your intention and motivations clear. You will build confidence as your stick to your plan, and can also notice when you might need some problem solving to get you back on track.

Start with performance goals - This is what you want to achieve, include both sport, school, relationships…

Then move to process goals - there are the efforts, habits and behaviours you can control and need to engage in on a daily basis to move you towards you goals. Make them measurable. 

Find an accountability buddy who can support you. 

And each night do a quick reflection of how today went, maybe a score from 1-10, or a celebration of something you did, or an area you can dial up tomorrow. 

Top 3 Take Aways

1. Process AND performance goals
2. Reflection - follow up each day with how things went
3. Accountability - enroll someone in the version of yourself that you want to be

Visit skool.com/unstoppable2026 to join our community, watch the Parent Intro Video, join a workshop or have your athlete on our waitlist for upcoming Unstoppable Athlete Program offerings. 

Habit of goal setting. 
Process vs performance goals.
Bounce back - the skill of recovering from a setback.
For perfectionism - focus on effort and know that change comes from stretching the edges, not staying safe in the middle. Fail fast so you can learn more and go further

Top 3 Take Aways

1. Be an example - lead your athlete by doing your own goal setting and tracking where they can observe your actions
2. Keep your language growth focused -define success as more about becoming and taking risks and less about outcomes. 
3. Create a structure - have a vision board session, use prompt questions in the car
   1. What did you learn?
   2. What felt good 
   3. More on www.skool.com/unstoppable2026

Visit skool.com/unstoppable2026 to join our community, watch the parent intro video, join a workshop or have your athlete on our waitlist for upcoming Unstoppable Athlete Program offerings. 

Michelle shares her key takeaways from the Empower Her Sport Summit she attended in Calgary, Canada this past weekend. https://www.empowerhersportsummit.com/

Visit www.skool.com/unstoppable2026 to join our community, watch the Parent Intro Video, join a workshop or have your athlete on our waitlist for upcoming Unstoppable Athlete Program offerings. 

Sara has a question for Michelle about when players choose to quit playing. What can we do as coaches, and what part can the athletes take responsibility for?

Top 3 Take Aways

1. Coaches care a lot but we can’t be everything to everyone. Parents are biased in their expectations and coaches can have a strong boundary to not take on coaching advice from these parents.
2. Find your support with others who are on the field (or the court). Mastermind with coaches support - coming soon to our Skool community!
3. Communicate our plans and expectations to the athletes often. And athletes if you are uncertain about your role - ASK! 

Visit ⁠www.skool.com/unstoppable2026⁠ to join our community, watch the Parent Intro Video, join a workshop or have your athlete on our waitlist for upcoming Unstoppable Athlete Program offerings. 

Sara and Michelle turn their camera on while they debrief from the past weekend. A few themes came up around team dynamics and the potential appearance of mean girl behaviour. What can parents and coaches do about it and what can an athlete recognize as her own responsibility in team relationships?

Attitude and Energy are what you are in control of. 

Connecting with teammates doesn’t mean you need to be besties with everyone but it does mean leading with kindness and respect. 
Team culture of playing for each other and making the people around you better, vs playing for yourself will payoff on and off the court. Giving shout outs!

Parents - be aware if it might be your daughter engaging in mean girl behaviour. 
- Ask the coach how to help with bonding; mixing up who drives with who, team dinners, crafting clips or bag tags

- ask questions and be curious if they are complaining about another

• Help them reflect and look deeper, how is it for the other person
• What part can they own?

Top 3 Take Aways

1. Team culture - a focus on kindness and respect on and OFF the court
2. Parents - recognize your role and ask questions. Also create situations for all to mingle.
3. Players - self reflection, how are you showing up?

Visit ⁠www.skool.com/unstoppable2026⁠ to join our community, watch the Parent Intro Video, join a workshop or have your athlete on our waitlist for upcoming Unstoppable Athlete Program offerings.  

As a parent we can rush to protective mode, but can we get curious first?

Asking our athletes questions to help them self-reflect.

1. What is the coaching looking for from you? Skill or effort wise?
2. Are you clear where  you might not be meeting expectations?
3. Are there things the coach has communicated that you are working on? And if not can you approach the coach to ask?
4. Where did you show up in support of your teammate? 
5. What was the play that you did that allowed your teammate to be successful?

Michelle and Sara also discuss how coaches can have a bias? Sometimes positive and sometimes in ways that don’t support the athlete. When athletes take responsibility for their growth, it can help address these and help the coach become aware where they may be unintentionally missing in how to create a supportive environment that fits this athletes needs.

Confidence is a skill that comes from within. Having courage to try and make mistakes in order to learn while feeling support. What happens when a player is feeling that “the coach doesn’t like me!” Girls often look for the support externally first instead of internally and dwell on mistakes. Michelle recommends this book on confidence - The Confidence Code by Katty Kay 

Be willing to make mistakes and grow from there. It is okay to be a beginner! And not everyone is the best player on the team, every role is important. Be the best you that you can be. Understand that there is strategy that you not playing may not be about you at all, more about team flow or someone else having a great game.

Socializing that failure as the place you need to go if you want to improve. Staying safe and not making mistakes will not lead you to grow. Also “saying I’m no good” is an excuse to not be vulnerable, or to be willing to try and maybe get it wrong. Be a problem solved instead of attention seeker.

Top 3 Take Aways

1. Athletes - be solution focused! Approach your coach with curiosity and ask “What do I need to work on?” Watch game tape and find wins to celebrate but also something specific you can work on. If you don’t know - ASK!
2. Have self-compassion. Be kind and forgiving (like you would be with a friend). Having courage to develop confidence requires that you give yourself a chance. 
3. Use the tool of Self- reflection. Review game tape with a mission to find your successes and also pick one thing to work on from a positive light. Not "I wasn't good at that” but what was I missing to allow me to succeed?

Before believing that you aren’t good enough, ask is that true? (From Byron Katie https://thework.com/2017/10/four-liberating-questions/)

1. Is it true?
2. Can you absolutely know that it’s true?
3. How do you react when you believe that thought?
4. Who would you be without the thought?

Visit ⁠www.skool.com/unstoppable2026⁠ to join our community, watch the Parent Intro Video, join a workshop or have your athlete on our waitlist for upcoming Unstoppable Athlete Program offerings.  

Sara has a chat with Sadie about a pretty bumpy first two years playing US college volleyball. When a coach turns “bad” how to do you stick it out or decide to change plans. 

Learning who you are without volleyball. And staying optimistic to move schools and bring your lessons from the challenge to your teammates as this new team struggles to find a few wins.

Sadie maintained grateful for the struggle as she knew she could keep a positive outlook and reinforced that she can handle hard things. Her mindset was the big deal as  focused on what she could control - her Attitude and Effort!

Sara’s long time friend, and former teammate, Kim is the mom of Sadie and shares about the experience of allowing her daughter to figure it out through her challenges. 

Key learnings of doing your due diligence, but also to allow them to figure it out while continuing an ongoing conversation of what is in your childs control. The family moto of maintaining - PMA -positive mental attitude was essential. 

As a former college volleyball player herself, Kim also reminded Sadie she could control her attitude and her serve. Mom’s pride was evident as Kim shared that Sadies work ethic was the key for creating the opportunity to play beyond high school and that she was a “Swiss Army Knife”, able to fill any role the team needed.

Finally, parents can support their athletes by creating ongoing conversation and safety at home when athletes need to fall apart a little in order to put themselves back together and show up for their team as a leader. 

The drive home after a game is one of the most powerful moments in your athlete’s week. Emotions are high. Identity feels fragile. And what you say — even casually — can either build resilience or quietly chip away at confidence. When parents criticize coaches, compare teammates, or overanalyze performance, girls often internalize it as pressure or inadequacy. But when we shift the conversation toward ownership, team celebration, and personal growth, the car ride becomes a confidence-building ritual. The goal isn’t to ignore mistakes. It’s to create a culture where athletes can celebrate others without feeling diminished, acknowledge their own strengths without shame, and take responsibility without spiraling.

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Focus on the good in others - service mindset
Build a mindset where someone else’s success expands the team and let them know!

2. Be a great role model
Learn to accept compliments.

3. Work with what we’ve got - own your role and excel
Appreciate the skills you have. 

In this episode, Sara and Michelle unpack one of the toughest parts of youth girls volleyball: balancing playing time, confidence, fairness, and team success. Drawing on real tournament experiences, they explore why coaching decisions are rarely simple, how athletes earn roles through practice, and why coming off the bench can feel so emotionally difficult for girls. The conversation also highlights the value of consistency, adaptability, and team-first thinking, reminding both parents and players that growth does not always look flashy. This is a thoughtful, honest episode for volleyball families trying to better understand the dynamics behind court time, confidence, and what it really means to support player development.

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Take a moment to reflect how far a player has come
2. Playing time is a dynamic thing, understanding this can go a long way to answer the question - what do I need to do to get on the court?
3. Do the best by most - as a team sport there are a lot of lessons that can be learned by expanding in your role even if its on the bench

This conversation unpacks the tension between confidence and performance in youth sports, highlighting how many athletes wait for success to feel confident, when in reality confidence must come first to enable strong play. Through reflections on volleyball and hockey experiences, the coaches explore how mindset, team culture, and coaching decisions (especially around playing time and competition) shape both individual development and team outcomes. They also surface a deeper truth: sport is a microcosm of life—where confidence, resilience, and self-belief are learned through experience, reinforced by environment, and tested under pressure.

Top 3 Takeaways

1. It depends. Experience as a role player or playing all the time. Team belonging matters.
2. Embrace what we are good at and accept the compliment.
3. Parent perspectives on playing time. For every player at the bottom worried about not playing, how is it for the players at the top. If my kid plays will it hurt the team? And is this a year as a parent I can help them learn to manage the disappointment in not always playing to develop for when they get their turn to shine?

In this episode, Sara and Michelle start with a conversation about travel, discomfort, and the value of being open to unplanned experiences, using Sara’s upcoming trip to Vietnam with her daughter as a metaphor for growth. That reflection leads naturally into a bigger conversation about coachability: the willingness to stay open, adaptable, and teachable even when things feel uncomfortable. They explain that coachable athletes are the ones who listen fully, respond without defensiveness, try new techniques even when it feels awkward, and show they are eager to improve. Through tryout stories, team examples, and practical advice, they show that coachability is not something you either have or do not have—it is a skill that can be learned, and it matters not just in volleyball, but in school, work, and life.

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Coachability is a skill you can learn
2. Take it personally. You are valued and your coach is willing to invest in you.
3. Confidence comes from being willing to be uncomfortable.

In this episode, Sara and Michelle unpack a provincial silver medal weekend that became a powerful lesson in team culture, resilience, and competitive maturity. Sara reflects on a group of athletes who had the team “rolling” together—competing hard, recovering quickly from mistakes, encouraging each other, and staying composed under pressure. The heart of the episode is a bench player’s reminder to her coach: “We want to win, and if us sitting on the bench is how that happens, don’t feel bad.” For parents, this is a valuable reframe around playing time, showing how athletes can understand roles, buy into a team plan, and still contribute through energy, readiness, and support. 
Top 3 Takeaways

1. Three steps of reflection for provincials
   1. Who do I choose to be out there?
   2. What does my best look like today?
   3. How do I bounce back?
2. Players want to win - even if it means sitting on the bench (in high stakes games)
3. Execution (physical) vs mental errors

Fresh off what may be her final Nationals as a youth volleyball coach, Sara reflects with Michelle on the lessons that mattered most—not the wins and losses, but the growth, resilience, and relationships built along the way. They discuss how controlling attitude and energy as coaches shaped their athletes’ experience, why fun and team culture matter more than the scoreboard, and how sport continues to teach life skills that extend far beyond the court. From overcoming adversity and embracing growth to finding your people and developing a lifelong love of sport, this episode is a heartfelt reflection on what success really looks like when the season comes to an end. 

Top 3 Takeaways

1. As coaches we have to control our attitude and energy while holding the vision of what the team and the players can be
2. Life skills from sport! Find your people and do hard things
3. Lifelong love of sport is the real goal. While school is 3-6yr of playing, Michelle has had over 20+ years of adult sport

BONUS - its all about the relationships

In this episode, Sara and Michelle explore the tender and tricky stage of adolescence, when teen girls naturally begin pulling away from their mothers while forming their own identities. Through the lens of coaching 12- to 16-year-old athletes, they discuss why girls need strong adult women outside their family, how sport provides healthy role models and peer examples, and why parents need to guide—not “lawnmow”—their kids through discomfort. For parents, this conversation is a reassuring reminder that the push-pull of the teen years is normal, and that teams, coaches, captains, and trusted adults can help girls build independence, confidence, communication skills, and resilience. 

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Pulling away is developmentally appropriate, as a mom we can hold space to allow this process 
2. Healthy role models, like your athletes female coach, team mom and older team mates can be very valuable
3. Supporting our children through the challenging times when things may not be going their way, acknowledging the emotion but allowing them to find their own ways through

Many well-meaning parents and coaches believe confidence comes from praise, but confidence is actually built through effort, growth, and overcoming challenges. In this episode, Sara and Michelle explore the difference between empty praise and meaningful feedback, and why constantly telling athletes they’re amazing can sometimes undermine their development. Instead, they discuss how to recognize and reward the behaviors that truly matter—showing up consistently, embracing hard work, learning from mistakes, and responding to setbacks with resilience. By shifting the focus from outcomes and natural talent to effort and growth, parents and coaches can help athletes develop authentic confidence, stronger self-talk, and the belief that success is something they can create through their actions rather than something they either have or don't have. Inspired by lessons from successful athletes and teams, this conversation offers practical ways to foster a growth mindset that supports both performance and personal development. 

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Praise attitude and effort to create growth mindset
2. Inquire with your athletes to guide them how to excel in the role they have
3. Let go of bad days and keep out of the perfectionist mindset