The Mental Cast

One of the most challenging episodes I have done to date.  It is hard when you worry that you may have failed as a coach, not only those you worked with in the past but maybe those closest to you.  It is time we, as coaches and educators, work to understand how to coach neurodivergent athletes/performers better, to get their best, and to set them up for success.

Show: Season 5 - Episode 04 (May 2023) Host: Dan Mickle Topic: Nue...

Continuing my five-part series on being a better coach. In this episode, we are going to look at empathy!

Show: Season 5 - Episode 03 (April 2023) Host: Dan Mickle Topic: Taking over a successful program

*Podcast now available with video on YouTube (link below)!

Feel free to reach out to us at podcast@mentalcast.comor across all social media @717Soul and @RealDanMickle

Dan Mickle on social YouTube |Facebook | Twitter | Instag...

Taking over a successful program can be rewarding.  It can also be very challenging.  In this episode, we explore some of the issues a new coach may have when taking over a successful program, as well as some tips to help them make it their own, while still honoring the past success.

Show: Season 5 - Episode 02 (March 2023) Host: Dan Mickle Topic: Taking over a successful program

*Podcast now available with video on YouTube (li...

As I stated in the Season 4 finale, I was going to focus on fixing myself to kick off Season 5.  This is the first of many episodes where you can follow me on my self-reflective journey.  I am going to look at the values that mean the most to me, and I have can be better living them.

Show: Season 5 - Episode 01 (February 2023) Host: Dan Mickle Topic: Fixing Dan - Part 1

*Podcast now available with video on YouTube (link below)!

My annual recap of the past year and the roadmap for 2023.  Warning, this is pretty personal and unscripted.  I decided I wanted to open up a little more about my struggles and how I plan to be better in 2023.

Show: Season 4 - Episode 08 (December 2022) Host: Dan Mickle Topic: State of the Universe 2022

Feel free to reach out to us at podcast@mentalcast.comor across all social media @717Soul and @RealDanMickle

Dan Mickle on soc...

Losing sucks.  I get that.  However, we can learn and grow from it.  The key is making sure we know how to use losing and failure to grow.  It is time to ditch the stupid sayings on the back of t-shirts and really dig deep into failure, loss, and growth.

Show: Season 4 - Episode 07 (December 2022) Host: Dan Mickle Topic: Benefits of Losing

Feel free to reach out to us at podcast@mentalcast.comor across all social media @717Soul...

I think it is time to look at this narrative that players aren't coachable and that maybe it is how we are trying to reach them.  We need to first look and understand WHO are players are.  More than their position and value they bring.  Really work on knowing what relationship you have.  We have to also understand that generations change, and so do their needs.  It does not make them weaker or "less of an athlete".  It makes them u...

Are we headed for a cliff in the youth sports world?  Possibly.  Can we avoid it? Absolutely.  We need to stop finger-pointing and help educate everyone on ALL the aspects of youth sports.  We need to get all the stakeholders involved (coaches, parents, players, administration, and officials) all to the table to fix it.  I am not saying time is running out, but it certainly is not on our side.

Show: Season 4 - Episode 05 (October...

This is the first episode back from Dan's month-long hiatus on content creation.  He opens up about living in "the grey" and the mental struggles he battles on a regular basis.  There is a space between happiness and depression where many people live, but do not talk about it.  Thank to reading Jay Glazer's new book "Unbreakable", a lot of people (Dan included) are finally able to put a name to and a plan to combat it.  This episod...

Going back to our Mental Cast Podcast roots, we bring you a new interview.  This session is with travel writer, blogger, and volleyball super-fan; Pam Brant.  Pam talks about becoming a travel writer, the life of a "volley mom" and of course the pivots she made with COVID.  I wanted to bring a great story about someone who had to change their life path and create something new.  Often we talk about the creation of new projects afte...

I always hated playing with Legos as a kid.  As I got older, I also developed the same feeling for the board game Scrabble.  I always passed it off as just being bad at both (not being artistic and not comfortable with language skills).  What I would come to realize was that my feelings were not about inadequacies, but fear of people's opinions.  In this episode, I explore my journey and some of the information behind FOPO. 

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The season 4 kickoff show.  In this episode, Dan discusses the concept of "walking away".  How, why, and when it is time to walk away.  This episode also gets a little personal for Dan.  We are excited to bring you another season of podcasts for mental performance, coaching, and education topics.

Show: Season 4 - Episode 01 (April 2022) Host: Dan Mickle Topic: Say Goodbye

Feel free to reach out to us at podcast@mentalcast.com or ...

Continuing with the theme of being open, personally, I decided to open up and talk about why I walked away from being a youth club director, the struggles with culture, and the new path and vision I have.  This is straight from the heart, unscripted and un-edited.  I want to thank everyone who has been there on this journey so far!

Show: Season 3 - Episode 08 (November 2021) Host: Dan Mickle Topic: Why I Walked Away

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This is the most open and vulnerable podcast episode I have ever done.  I decided to talk about where I have been the last 2 months and the struggles I have been fighting.  I have opted to make this unedited and unscripted, so I apologize for some of the rambling and being all over the place.  I just felt like I need to explain my burnout, how I fought it, and coming back!

Show: Season 3 - Episode 07 (September 2021) Host: Dan Mic...

Episode 6 of season 3 brings us a great chat with Dr. Laura Cobb, a life coach and certified counselor from the Chicago area (via a few other places).  Dan and Dr. Laura talk about imposter syndrome and how our past challenges help to define our future makeup.  What it is like being bullied and being a bully and how to reflect on those choices.  A great chat for sure!

Show: Season 3- Episode 06 (July 2021) Host: Dan Mickle Topic:...

This episode finds Dan having a chat with Sadie Mae Evans an accomplished author, speaker, and podcast host.  Dan and Sadie talk about what motivated her to write her books and what drives her to move forward.  It is also a great look at how early adversity can turn into a great message.

Show: Season 3- Episode 05 (June 2021) Host: Dan Mickle Topic: Chat with Sadie Evans - Author, Speaker, and Podcast Host

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Dan sits down and has a chat with Joanna Pohorski, a UK-based Accountability and Mindset coach.  Joannah discusses the framework she created with the Accountable Mindset program.  The two have a great discussion about the need for business planning and holding yourself accountable for growth and success.  They also have a discussion on the changes in the business due to the pandemic.

Show: Season 3- Episode 04 (May 2021) Host: Dan...

Dan gets to chat with an international PR rock star, Tracy Lamourie.  It is a great session about making the jump and starting a company, why everyone needs a PR person, and how the pandemic has changed things a little.  Oh yeah, she also helped save a man from death row (check out the Jimmy Dennis article in the show notes.  It will blow your mind).  I have to admit that I know little to nothing about PR, but this episode was grea...

Dan and Colin have a great chat about coaching in the current pandemic, life & soft skills and transitioning from a college athlete to the business world.  Colin joins the podcast via Shanghai where he is also working on the cutting-edge world of Blockchains.  Colin also discusses his passion for running, which was not always the case.  We hope you enjoy this chat.

*Technical Note: There was a system outage around the 52-minute mar...