Car Ride Conversations

About Car Ride Conversations

The ultimate podcast for parents, coaches, and youth sport athletes who want to unlock the secrets to mental toughness, confidence, and resilience. Whether you're on your way to practice, a big game, or just tackling the daily grind, these bite-sized episodes are designed to spark meaningful conversations to equip young athletes with actionable tools to thrive in school, sports and life while building strong relationships with their parents, one car ride at a time. Hosted by Valerie Alston, former D1 athlete, sport psychology expert, and resilience coach, each episode dives into key topics like building effective self-talk, staying calm under pressure, and bouncing back from setbacks. With real-life stories, practical tips, and relatable insights, you'll discover how to support your youth sport athlete's journey while strengthening your connection along the way. Buckle up and join us for a ride full of inspiration, growth, and the skills needed to become Confident, Calm, and Clutch! Questions? Comments? Ideas? ✉️ Email me: valerie.alston@valstoncoaching.com Follow Me On: 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valstoncoaching 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valstoncoaching ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valstoncoaching9666 ✨ For exclusive tips, tools, and updates, join my newsletter: 📬 https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/newsletter

Publisher

Valerie Alston

Category

health & fitness · kids & family · sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Jan 2025

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

89 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Oct 2026

   When Something Feels Wrong: Teaching Young Athletes How to Speak Up

   Teaching Young Athletes to Speak Up: Notice, Own It, Act After Arizona State hockey player Matthew Mayich collapsed during an outdoor workout and remained hospitalized with severe injuries, teammates challenged parts of the university’s account and the head coach was placed on paid administrative leave, prompting a broader discussion about why athletes may fear speaking up. Valerie Alston explains a problem-independent framework for intervention: noticing when something physical, behavioral, or environmental seems off (without diagnosing), owning responsibility despite barriers like the bystander effect, expert bias, or fear of repercussions, and acting with a simple menu of options—directly acknowledge, distract/interrupt, get help, and keep telling if the first adult doesn’t respond. She emphasizes creating psychologically safe environments, helping athletes distinguish hard from harmful, building a “trusted adult bench,” and provides family discussion questions to practice these skills. 00:00 ASU Heatstroke Fallout 00:51 Why Athletes Stay Silent 01:43 Three Steps to Speak Up 04:00 Notice the Warning Signs 06:17 Own the Responsibility 09:32 Act With Simple Options 11:39 Keep Telling Until Help 13:33 Adults Create Safe Space 16:39 Build a Trusted Bench 18:10 Family Discussion Questions 21:31 Final Takeaways and Next Steps Thanks for joining me on Confident, Calm, and Clutch Car Ride Conversations! If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a moment. Share it with other parents or coaches who could use a little extra inspiration on the go. 🧠 FREE Mental Skills Assessment for Your Athlete Does your athlete perform great in practice but struggle with nerves, pressure, confidence, or bouncing back from mistakes during competition? Stop guessing about what might be getting in the way. With my FREE Mental Skills Assessment, your athlete will complete the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI), receive a short personalized report, and join me with you for a FREE 15-minute Zoom call to discuss what we're seeing and identify practical next steps. There are no good or bad scores and no labels. We're simply discovering where your athlete is strong and where they may need to build their mental toughness muscle. Assess. Discover. Build a game plan. 👉 Get Your Athlete's FREE Mental Skills Assessment: https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/assessment (http://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/assessment) For exclusive tips, tools, and updates join my newsletter at www.confidentcalmclutch.com/newsletter (http://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/newsletter) For more specific tips on building mental toughness, buy my book Confident, Calm and Clutch: How to build confidence and mental toughness for young athletes using sports psychology (https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/confidentcalmandclutchbook) If you are a coach looking for ways to build mental toughness into your practices then check out my coaching resources (books, assessments, conversation starters, community and more) here (https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/coaches). Parents join my Facebook group to Help Your Athlete Gain Mental Toughness for Parents (https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1XBC48thLu/) Have an idea for a topic? Submit your idea here. (https://valstoncoaching.typeform.com/carridetopic) Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email me: valerie.alston@valstoncoaching.com Follow Me on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valstoncoaching Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valstoncoaching YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valstoncoaching9666 Watch every episode of Car Ride Conversations here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOjguEFjF88w5Wl-eA9dlkwLk7f_sI12V (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOjguEFjF88w5Wl-eA9dlkwLk7f_sI12V)

2. 

   28 Sept 2026

   Who Will You Be When Nobody Is Keeping Score?

   Who Are You Besides an Athlete? Redefining “Elite” When Youth Sports Ends Valerie Alston closes a six-week series on the pressure to be elite by reminding families that every athlete eventually plays their last game and that true success includes who athletes become through sport, not only performance outcomes like rankings, scholarships, and trophies. She discusses the risks of tying self-worth solely to athletic identity and encourages athletes to broaden their identity through friends, hobbies, school, and non-sport interests so setbacks like being benched, cut, injured, or not recruited don’t create an identity crisis. Alston reframes “elite” as lasting life skills, resilience, discipline, communication, handling feedback, losing well, leading and following and offers reflection prompts and family conversation questions about what sports has already given, what to carry forward, and what makes sport worthwhile without external rewards. She also invites listeners to subscribe, share, and take a free mental skills assessment at confidentcalmclutch.com/assessment. 00:00 The Last Game 01:32 Why Sports Matter 02:16 Athlete Identity Trap 05:01 Redefining Elite 06:21 Skills That Travel 07:09 Build Life Beyond Sport 10:11 Future Self Reflection 11:23 Parents Big Picture 12:54 Fill In The Blanks 15:15 Share And Subscribe 15:39 Conversation Ground Rules 16:03 Four Family Questions 18:38 Final Perspective Reset 20:04 Free Assessment Offer 20:43 Closing Thanks Thanks for joining me on Confident, Calm, and Clutch Car Ride Conversations! If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a moment. Share it with other parents or coaches who could use a little extra inspiration on the go. 🧠 FREE Mental Skills Assessment for Your Athlete Does your athlete perform great in practice but struggle with nerves, pressure, confidence, or bouncing back from mistakes during competition? Stop guessing about what might be getting in the way. With my FREE Mental Skills Assessment, your athlete will complete the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI), receive a short personalized report, and join me with you for a FREE 15-minute Zoom call to discuss what we're seeing and identify practical next steps. There are no good or bad scores and no labels. We're simply discovering where your athlete is strong and where they may need to build their mental toughness muscle. Assess. Discover. Build a game plan. 👉 Get Your Athlete's FREE Mental Skills Assessment: https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/assessment (http://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/assessment) For exclusive tips, tools, and updates join my newsletter at www.confidentcalmclutch.com/newsletter (http://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/newsletter) For more specific tips on building mental toughness, buy my book Confident, Calm and Clutch: How to build confidence and mental toughness for young athletes using sports psychology (https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/confidentcalmandclutchbook) If you are a coach looking for ways to build mental toughness into your practices then check out my coaching resources (books, assessments, conversation starters, community and more) here (https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/coaches). Parents join my Facebook group to Help Your Athlete Gain Mental Toughness for Parents (https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1XBC48thLu/) Have an idea for a topic? Submit your idea here. (https://valstoncoaching.typeform.com/carridetopic) Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email me: valerie.alston@valstoncoaching.com Follow Me on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valstoncoaching Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valstoncoaching YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valstoncoaching9666 Watch every episode of Car Ride Conversations here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOjguEFjF88w5Wl-eA9dlkwLk7f_sI12V (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOjguEFjF88w5Wl-eA9dlkwLk7f_sI12V)

3. 

   21 Sept 2026

   When More Training Isn’t Making You Better

   Mental Toughness in Youth Sports: When to Push Through vs When to Recover (Green/Yellow/Red Signs) Valerie Alston challenges the “do more” mindset in competitive youth sports, explaining that mental toughness includes knowing when pushing harder stops helping and recovery is needed. She distinguishes growth discomfort from depletion, emphasizing that recovery is part of training physically, mentally, and emotionally. Using a personal story of burnout from playing multiple varsity sports plus travel softball, she highlights how overloading can reduce focus and performance. The episode teaches families to recognize signs of fatigue and burnout and introduces a stoplight framework—green (push through), yellow (adjust/caution), red (stop and address)—to build self-awareness and self-regulation. Alston outlines recovery options beyond rest, including sleep, nutrition, lighter sessions, fun activities, and mental breaks, and offers discussion questions to help families evaluate what’s truly helping versus fear of falling behind. 00:00 More Isn't Always Better 01:29 Series Context And Myth 04:14 Stress Needs Recovery 06:20 Freshman Year Burnout 08:43 Tired Or Burned Out 11:18 Recovery Beyond Rest 14:15 Green Yellow Red System 18:36 Weekly Check In Plan 19:57 Family Discussion Questions 22:52 Wrap Up And Next Week Thanks for joining me on Confident, Calm, and Clutch Car Ride Conversations! If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a moment. Share it with other parents or coaches who could use a little extra inspiration on the go. 🧠 FREE Mental Skills Assessment for Your Athlete Does your athlete perform great in practice but struggle with nerves, pressure, confidence, or bouncing back from mistakes during competition? Stop guessing about what might be getting in the way. With my FREE Mental Skills Assessment, your athlete will complete the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI), receive a short personalized report, and join me with you for a FREE 15-minute Zoom call to discuss what we're seeing and identify practical next steps. There are no good or bad scores and no labels. We're simply discovering where your athlete is strong and where they may need to build their mental toughness muscle. Assess. Discover. Build a game plan. 👉 Get Your Athlete's FREE Mental Skills Assessment: https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/assessment (http://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/assessment) For exclusive tips, tools, and updates join my newsletter at www.confidentcalmclutch.com/newsletter (http://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/newsletter) For more specific tips on building mental toughness, buy my book Confident, Calm and Clutch: How to build confidence and mental toughness for young athletes using sports psychology (https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/confidentcalmandclutchbook) If you are a coach looking for ways to build mental toughness into your practices then check out my coaching resources (books, assessments, conversation starters, community and more) here (https://www.confidentcalmclutch.com/coaches). Parents join my Facebook group to Help Your Athlete Gain Mental Toughness for Parents (https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1XBC48thLu/) Have an idea for a topic? Submit your idea here. (https://valstoncoaching.typeform.com/carridetopic) Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email me: valerie.alston@valstoncoaching.com Follow Me on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valstoncoaching Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valstoncoaching YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valstoncoaching9666 Watch every episode of Car Ride Conversations here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOjguEFjF88w5Wl-eA9dlkwLk7f_sI12V (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOjguEFjF88w5Wl-eA9dlkwLk7f_sI12V)

Who has been a guest on Car Ride Conversations

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Justin Bogers
• Justin Boger
• Valerie Alston's father
• Ireland

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

14,708

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

13 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 69 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

72

Social presence

91

YouTube

72

Engagement

51

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