WEBVTT - Ep 112: Libby Mascaro 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:06.400 The winning Difference knows that true winning does not have 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:09.520 to be dictated by the scoreboard. Winning is engaging kids 0:00:09.520 --> 0:00:15.000 in character, building, building confidence, and creating successful habits using sports. 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:17.560 That's our goal. That's what we need to be doing. 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:18.600 That's where we're lost. 0:00:19.120 --> 0:00:22.079 This is the Reform Sports Project, a podcast about restoring 0:00:22.120 --> 0:00:25.320 healthy balance and perspective in all areas of sports through 0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:28.960 education and advocacy. Hi, this is Nick Bonacor from the 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:32.680 Reform Sports Podcast. My guest today is Libby Mascaro, a 0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:37.000 decorated athlete, soccer coach, and mental health advocate. A standout 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:39.839 soccer player when she attended Mount Lebanon High School, she 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:42.600 went on to compete at the NCAA Division One level 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.880 for Penn State University. She is a fierce advocate for 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:49.400 mental health awareness and works closely with the Upper Saint 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:53.000 Clear Wellness Committee, which she co founded in twenty seventeen, 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:57.520 the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the American Foundation 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:01.240 for Suicide Prevention. She was recently awarded Citizen of the 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:04.400 Year for her mental health focused work in the Upper 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:07.280 Saint Clair community. Libby and I discuss her passion for 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:11.160 mental health advocacy. The commodification of young athletes and sports, 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:15.360 particularly in youth soccer, and the importance of prioritizing well 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:19.160 being of young athletes as they navigate the complex dynamics 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:20.760 of sports and adolescents. 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:23.520 I've been very much looking forward to having this guest 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:26.760 on We Connected, you know, through Reformed Sports project. Through 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:29.080 social media, I kind of became a big fan of 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:31.399 hers and the work that she does, and you know, 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:32.959 I've gotten to know her a little bit, you know, 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:35.520 just through posting and of course doing some due diligence 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:38.120 reading about her and such, and she's paving the way 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:40.280 for some really special things and a big advocate for 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:44.240 youth sports and a coach, former athlete, and mom and 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:47.200 all these great things. Coach Libby mescarroll, coach, thanks so 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:48.040 much for hopping on. 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:51.320 Hey, Nick, First, thank you so much for having me 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:52.440 to super big. 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.200 Honor and I'm super grateful, so thank you so much 0:01:55.200 --> 0:01:56.000 for taking the time. 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:58.400 Oh my god, no, no, worse, thank you. You have 0:01:58.440 --> 0:01:59.520 a very I mean. 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:03.720 You're a deck rated athlete, your coach, club coach, you're 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:05.920 a mental health advocate. I mean, can you kind of 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:08.320 give me your backstory, Like, who the hell is Libby 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:08.840 Matt Carroll. 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:13.400 Okay, well that's a loaded question, But I would say, 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:15.480 first of all, I'm a super huge fan of yours. 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:17.639 Like you said, we connected on social media a couple 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:18.160 of years ago. 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:20.000 I noticed a post of yours. 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:22.360 And it just kind of resonated and clicked with me 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:26.720 and your huge inspiration for me and how I lead 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.840 my teams, our team, and so I just wanted to 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.560 point that out and thank you for the insanely awesome 0:02:32.560 --> 0:02:35.240 work you're doing. And you're talking about stuff that needs 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:37.640 to be talked about and a lot of people aren't, 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.960 so thank you for that. So I am, yes, first 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:45.040 and foremost a mom. I have two daughters, who wants 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:48.240 a sophomore in high school, one's a freshman. Both play 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:51.360 high level soccer club soccer for the club that I 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:54.680 also coach for here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It's called Bealing 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:58.280 Soccer Club. We play in the Girls Academy League. But 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:01.400 I most importantly my role as a mom. But yes, 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.839 of course, like I said, I'm a coach, and I 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:09.240 got into coaching many years ago. Actually I was in 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:11.280 high school and I did a volunteer coach for our 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:15.120 local travel team. And fast forward when my kids were 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:17.600 old enough to kick a ball around, I started coaching 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:20.320 them and then just kind of have continued in this 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:22.600 coaching role. I've coached to the high school level, but 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:27.720 most recently with club soccer here in Pittsburgh. But you 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:31.359 talked about my work with mental health advocacy and awareness. Unfortunately, 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:35.000 ten years ago, my mother who suffered pretty much most 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:38.480 of her life, but certainly the last ten to fifteen 0:03:38.560 --> 0:03:40.360 years of her life were the worst. She had a 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:44.000 very serious mental illness. She unfortunately died by suicide on 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:47.960 June first of twenty thirteen, And at that point myself 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:52.640 and my brother kind of catapulted into just throwing ourselves 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:55.440 into the droves of how we can help people with 0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:59.640 mental illnesses and disorders. So fast forward to today, it's 0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:03.040 actually transform not only how I. 0:04:02.360 --> 0:04:07.920 Help others, but how I coach specifically young female. 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:10.120 Athletes, which that is what I coach with two other 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:13.520 coaches who are amazing. We have a roster of sixteen 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:18.240 players that are just wonderful, amazing young female athletes. But 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:21.640 there's a certain way, in my opinion, to lead young 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:22.680 female athletes. 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:25.160 First of all, I'm sorry you know that you get 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:28.160 your mom passed and that's okay's and all of that, 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:30.400 But I love how you're kind of spearheaded, You're kind 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:33.719 of using that your platform as a way, And I 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:36.440 guess I want to ask, like, why do you see 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:39.240 because I've read some articles and you were recently awarded, 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.200 like you have to give me the exactly what it was, 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:43.760 but you had a big award like Female person of 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:46.039 the Year, whatever the heck it was, But like, what 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:50.960 about the correlation and youth sports and mental health? Why 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:52.720 do you see a correlation there and why do you 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:55.520 think that that platform is a good place to you know, 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:56.760 kind of spearhead your mission. 0:04:57.160 --> 0:04:59.800 So the award was given by a local judge who 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:02.039 give away an award every year or too. 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:04.200 That the award is called Citizen of the Year. 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:07.760 So I was awarded that for a couple of reasons, 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:11.120 which I am insanely humbled. And it's mostly based on 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:14.200 sort of the community outreach stuff that I've been doing 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:17.839 the last ten years, mainly with mental health advocacy and awareness. 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:20.640 I work with a couple of local organizations here, but 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:23.320 then I do a lot of work in our school 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:28.200 district specifically for kind of you know, taking care of 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:30.039 our students here. We have four thousand students in our 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:33.640 school district. A few years ago, myself and another amazing 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:37.440 human being started something called the Wellness Committee, where we 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:39.400 our mission is to make sure the students in our 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:43.359 district are taken care of, both physically but certainly mentally. 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:47.159 So I would have to say having two teenage daughters 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:51.880 and then coaching the exact same age of my daughters. 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:54.760 For the past I've had this team with a couple 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:58.240 other coaches our team for I think this is our. 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:02.160 Fifth season together. So I've seen these girls come up from. 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:04.960 You ten basically to where we are right now at 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:05.560 you fifteen. 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:08.960 But I also live with two teenage daughters. 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:12.839 So the concept of being this coach but also a 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:16.640 female but also who happens to be a mom is 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:22.560 this dynamic that sometimes is hard because you're seeing every 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:27.720 aspect of the game, the coaching, the leadership, the players. 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:31.599 I'm seeing it everywhere. I'm seeing the whole circle of 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:34.920 where we are with this age. So my biggest concern 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:40.160 is making sure that these players are taking care of 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:44.880 as a person, a human being, a young female athlete 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:50.320 before anything else. We need to focus on the person, 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:55.640 the child the female before they are that player coming 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:56.320 onto the pitch. 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:57.280 It's vital. 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:00.320 So is that a shift, like you know, I would 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:02.560 assume I have. You know, we just talked about it. 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:04.160 I have a few more kids than you, but we 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:06.840 got to be somewhere in the ballpark of around the same. 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:09.440 You know, I'm probably a few years older than you, maybe. 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:13.040 But I don't recall when I was growing up there 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:15.320 being any It was almost like a stigma, like, dude, 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:17.400 you don't talk about now I'm a guy. Now, maybe 0:07:17.400 --> 0:07:20.600 that's just a gender stereotype and guys are supposed to, 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:22.480 you know, stick their chest out and make preten everything's 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:24.800 okay and yad YadA, YadA. I feel like you have 0:07:24.880 --> 0:07:26.840 a lot of you know, high level athletes that are 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:29.560 that are really turning that and kind of that that 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:31.880 Scarlett letter is kind of going by the wayside, which 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:32.600 is a blessing. 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:34.960 But why, in particular. 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:37.320 From an overall just youth standpoint, do you feel like 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:39.040 there's been such a shift from the time that you 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:40.800 and I may have been coming up and now the 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:42.360 emphasis on mental mental health. 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.960 I know one thing for sure is as leadership, I 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:53.559 think the idea of leadership, whether that means a coaching role, 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:56.480 a parent role, a. 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:57.880 Director of a club role. 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:03.080 I just think that we have gotten to a point 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:08.080 where a couple of things are leading away money ego 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:15.040 and then this person, this this amazing, wonderful, incredibly talented 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:16.240 thing in front of you. 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:19.560 Your player is being kind of tossed to the side. 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:21.720 It's win it all costs. 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:29.440 It's transactional versus transformational leadership. We just we've gotten to 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:32.080 a point where we really, when it comes down to it, 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:33.480 do we really. 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:36.040 Care about the player the person? Do we? 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:38.800 Yes, we care about the player and the athlete winning 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.920 for us, scoring goals, making baskets, whatever it is. 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:44.240 But how did we get to that point? 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.079 We have to get back to the point of taking 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:52.080 care and loving the person before what they're doing for 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:54.040 us on the court, on the pitch. 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:57.439 I've heard it said that almost like you know, kids 0:08:57.600 --> 0:09:00.600 are becoming commodities, you know, to a certain degree. So 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:02.280 I'm listening to you and I'm going, is that kind 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:04.880 of it, like we're almost using and I say we, 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:07.560 I'm saying in general our generation, like the transformation, like 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:10.360 is it a matter of rather than looking at young 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:14.200 people as let's help mold and shape these human beings 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:16.680 into becoming the best versions of the cellphone and using 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:20.160 sports as a as a mechanism to do so, versus 0:09:20.240 --> 0:09:22.280 you think it's kind of become I need to use 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:24.839 these kids to help elevate my status as a coach 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:25.760 or as an adult. 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:28.400 Do you think that's kind of yes, gotten out of balance? 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:32.200 Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes yes. And it's not just 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:32.960 club soccer. 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:36.120 It's not just the realm that I'm in that I 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:38.360 live in every day. It's not just club soccer. It's 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:41.319 all sports. It's all youth sports. We have early specialization. 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:43.760 We have kids being told that they can't play multiple 0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:46.640 sports at ten years old because you know, their soccer 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:49.120 season is a year long and their parents are paying 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:50.080 four thousand dollars. 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:51.240 It's just we've. 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:54.280 Gotten to this point where we and I say we 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:57.920 again as a general term, the goal is not the 0:09:58.320 --> 0:09:59.360 person and the player. 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:02.040 The goal is the coach. What the coach can get 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:03.079 out of it, what. 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:06.400 The coach can make, what the coach can do, what 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:10.079 the club has done. It's all about what we're doing 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:13.959 for that ego. I think it's a huge issue. 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:16.880 And there's this quote and one of my biggest. 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:21.920 Inspirations besides you and several other people. Is the winning difference. 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:24.319 So it's a guy that I started following on Twitter. 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:26.760 I'm sure you know you've probably followed him to, Yeah, 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:29.200 this is an awesome quote and you just touched on it. 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:32.679 The winning difference knows that true winning does not have 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:35.760 to be dictated by the scoreboard. Winning is engaging kids 0:10:35.760 --> 0:10:41.959 in character, building, building confidence, and creating successful habits using sports. 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:43.240 That's our goal. 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:46.360 That's what we need to be doing. That's where we're lost. 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:47.680 That is not what we're doing. 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:50.440 So I got to ask you, how do you, as 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:53.880 a club coach juggle the balance of and I don't 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:55.920 know any fees or what about, but how do you 0:10:56.080 --> 0:11:00.320 juggle the performance demands of say a paying customer, write 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:03.320 a parent versus you know, I guess being able to 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:07.840 navigate what you believe your core values are your wise 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:10.960 to coaching. Do you convey that? Do parents come to 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:14.319 your club knowing like, hey, it's more than sports, O 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:17.360 Libby coach Mets Carroll like we're doing it for this reason? 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:20.520 And how do you convey that and navigate? Because I mean, 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:23.320 let's face it, if you're not winning, you might lose 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:25.600 all your players and then you have no more kids 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:27.280 to coach, right, So there's an element of that. 0:11:27.320 --> 0:11:28.480 How do you juggle so a. 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:29.200 Couple of things. 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:33.840 The number one job of a coach, in my opinion, 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:37.400 the only thing that you should be focusing on, of course, 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:40.600 other things than you know skills. The number one job 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:45.360 of myself and the other coaches is to build an intentional, 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:47.160 established culture. 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:48.920 And I will be totally honest. 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:52.120 When I first started coaching, I knew nothing about culture. 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:54.600 I didn't even know what the word meant. I didn't 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:57.520 know anything. I didn't know anybody who talked about culture. 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:00.720 I probably if I look back, I might be I 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:04.160 made so many mistakes. The self reflection from my beginning 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:07.120 days of coaching are enormous, and from what I've learned 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:09.839 until this point, the number one job is to build 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:13.600 that culture. So myself up top, looking down with my 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:16.400 other two coaches to our players, right, we're the ones 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:17.559 that build this culture. 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:21.280 You teach them. Does it happen overnight? No way. It's 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:24.920 an arduous process. It takes time, it takes. 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:29.600 Commitment, it takes learning, It takes reading, researching, meeting people 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:30.680 nick like yourself. 0:12:30.880 --> 0:12:32.880 Right, have I learned this. 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:35.400 Am I doing stuff that I've learned from other people. 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:38.840 Of course, I have so many people, John Gordon, Kate Levell, Lanceloya, 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:42.600 Brett Ledbetter Yourself, Great Burge, I mean, greatest coaches of 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:46.200 all time, Nick Saban, Pat summon Ands Durance Right, all 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:50.080 of them have created this idea that I lead by, 0:12:50.280 --> 0:12:53.560 so I give them full credit. However, it has taken 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:55.920 me a lot of time to get where we are today. 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:59.600 The biggest thing also is teaching your players, your team, 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.240 how to be good teammates. The expert on that is 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:04.959 a guide, in my opinion, named Lanceloya. 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:07.720 He's local, He's at a do Boys Pennsylvania. He's insane. 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:09.360 He wrote a book called The Wee Gear. 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:14.240 The concept is how your success as a player is 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:19.320 determined directly by the success of your teammates, meaning you 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:23.360 will not succeed if your teammates do not succeed. You 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:26.840 have to teach your players to want their teammates to succeed. 0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:31.000 You cannot want them to fail. You will not be successful. 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:33.400 Is it a concept that we all think, Wow, that's 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:36.240 a pretty easy concept to understand, But it's not. 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:39.760 We have to lead them and teach them. 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:48.400 I'd also have to say that it's putting everybody's egos aside, coaches, players, directors, owners. 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:53.079 The other thing is teaching them about servant leadership. Leadership 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:57.520 is about serving others, period and once you kind of 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:01.079 develop this established culture, we always have a team meeting 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:02.400 before our season starts. 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:03.200 We sit down. 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:07.680 It's a player led also huge thing. Player led teams win. 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:11.199 We sit down, the girls are broken up into small groups. 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:13.600 We talk about what our team goals are, We talk 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:16.720 about personal goals. We create a team mantra for the 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:20.400 entire year, but it's player led. The groups come back, 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:22.840 they present what they decided on. 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:25.120 And then the team votes. Do I vote? Do our 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:27.520 other coaches vote? No, it's player led. 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:30.000 They come up with the culture of the Pillars, what 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:32.480 they want, their expectations of each other, and. 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:35.680 That is what we live, breathe by the entire season. 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:38.720 When we return, Libby and I dive deeper into building 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:42.640 a strong team culture and mental health awareness in youth sports. 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:45.120 Before we go to break, I wanted to share some 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:48.240 exciting news from Team Snap as they have acquired Mojo, 0:14:48.440 --> 0:14:51.760 a leading youth sports technology and media platform. In addition 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.720 to the best in class sports management solutions used by 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:57.760 two million plus daily active users and more than nineteen 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:03.000 thousand sports organizations. Mojo brings in award winning library of games, drills, 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:05.920 and session by session support for youth coaches, as well 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:10.640 as robust interactive multimedia tools including live streaming for families 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:13.120 and fans to engage on and off the field. The 0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:17.120 combination of the two industry leading consumer tech platforms also 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:20.400 creates the most comprehensive suite of B to B tools 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:25.280 available for youth sports organizations, including powerful content distribution capabilities 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:29.240 to drive adoption of coaching and training programs, registration tools, 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:33.680 payment processing, organization management tools, and much more. Head to 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:37.280 teamsnap dot com slash Mojo today to learn all about it. 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:43.880 Where we left off, Libby and I were about to 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:47.560 discuss the importance of culture and accountability in a team's success, 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:51.240 and her belief that clubs should provide mental health education 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:54.480 for coaches to better support their players' mental well being. 0:15:55.240 --> 0:15:58.560 You mentioned that word culture, but that takes time, right 0:15:58.560 --> 0:15:59.240 you believe in it? 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:02.000 How often do you you as a coach revisit your why? 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:02.160 Like? 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:04.560 Does that something you have to go back to? Because 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:07.160 I know, even me, if I'm not intentional. I can 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:09.480 get lost in results, like I can get lost in 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:11.520 the weeds of things that I know in the long 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:14.200 term out hey start focusing on short term right what's 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:16.080 in front of you. So at times I got to revisit, like, 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:18.120 hold on, let's keep this perspective. Is that something that 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:20.000 you try to practice and also do you try to 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:21.240 teach you know your kids? 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:24.240 That So part of the working hard on it and 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:27.560 learning and taking the time is staying committed to it 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:29.840 and being consistent to the culture that the girls have 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:31.120 established and. 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:34.880 Holding them accountable. And when the question is every single day, I. 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:38.680 Mean every single training session, every single huddle, right before 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:41.360 we you know, we say the starting lineup, and we're 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:42.160 in our huddle. 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:43.080 Hugged up really close. 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:45.960 I say to the girls, who are you playing for? 0:16:46.520 --> 0:16:48.360 They all say each other, and then they go off 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:51.840 onto the pitch. It's every single training session we talk 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:52.840 about it. 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:54.400 It's something that's at the forefront. 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:56.400 We spend a lot of time with x's and o's. 0:16:56.440 --> 0:17:00.840 Of course, we have insanely talented coaches on this staff tactically, 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:04.640 but I'm sorry, it's a smaller portion in my opinion, 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:07.840 to what really drives our team's success. And I'll tell 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:12.240 you Nick, we have had incredible success. This team, the 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:15.160 wea coach is very successful. We don't have a whole 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:16.240 lot of superstars. 0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:19.320 We have a lot of kids who love each other, 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:22.120 who play for each other. That's why we win. Are 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:27.080 they talented skills wise? Of course they are. They're incredibly talented, hardworking, 0:17:27.160 --> 0:17:28.480 but they love each other. 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:32.200 They would run through a brick wall for each other 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:33.439 when they are on that shield. 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:36.600 So these girls know each other really well. Right, you're 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:39.200 building that culture where they love each other. They're building 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:43.920 that relationship. I know that as a teammate, you hold 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:47.960 each other accountable, but you also are reluctant at times 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:53.000 to you know, perhaps convey to a coach if something's 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:55.480 going on with your teammate. Right, kids keep each other's 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:57.840 secrets at times you kind of build that bond. How 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.800 do you, as someone who has experience it's with mental health, 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:04.359 mental illness, how do you handle if you see something 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:06.240 Because a lot of parents out there, listen, I have 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:08.359 teenage kids, and sometimes you see something it's just a 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:10.960 teenage kid being a teenage kid. But when do you 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:13.439 know that, hey, I maybe need to pay attention to this, 0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:15.760 and I guess, how do you handle that? Because I 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:17.600 feel like it's something that all of us parents need 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:20.040 education on it. Some have no experience, I have none, 0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:21.400 and somewhere in the weeds confused. 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:22.919 That's a really good question. 0:18:23.119 --> 0:18:28.600 And I think sometimes coaches, leaders, directors, owners, they're not 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:34.040 experts on mental illness and disorders and necessarily advocacy and awareness. 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:36.720 But we're in this leadership role, so we're kind of 0:18:36.760 --> 0:18:40.520 expected to be educated in that, and I think we're 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:44.160 trying our best, and I think every coach has their 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:47.640 way of dealing with it. But for me, it's mostly 0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:54.600 making sure that our players are confident and we have 0:18:54.960 --> 0:18:58.840 open relationships with each other, meaning the communication they're not 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:02.840 afraid to to me, to our other two coaches. We 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:09.400 have this very very strong bond and the relationship. 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:11.399 That we have with each other and that they have 0:19:11.600 --> 0:19:12.080 with each. 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:14.879 Other, they're confident enough to have those tough conversations or 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:16.840 even come to us and say, hey, this. 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:18.080 Is what's going on. I need help. 0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:23.200 So I also think that clubs, maybe in every sport, 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:27.120 youth sport, there should be maybe some sort of education 0:19:27.320 --> 0:19:31.320 that happens. You know, we get CPR certified, we get 0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:35.600 AED certified. Why are we not having some sort of 0:19:36.400 --> 0:19:38.880 you know course, like kind of like safe sport where 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:40.480 you go in you have to take something and get 0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:42.879 a certification, you know, a coaching course. 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:45.200 We have to do certain things to be a coach 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:46.920 in order to coach at certain levels. 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:51.520 Right, So this mental health part of sports is so enormous. 0:19:51.920 --> 0:19:54.840 I think it would be wonderful if we had coaches 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:56.160 being you. 0:19:56.080 --> 0:20:01.560 Know, responsible for taking some sort of know, baseline course 0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:04.520 for mental health, just so you know the signs and 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:07.359 the symptoms and the questions to ask or how you 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:11.000 can help them. And certainly since COVID, you know, we're 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:16.399 dealing with unfortunately a very large and serious epidemic with 0:20:16.440 --> 0:20:17.320