⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Introduction
02:00 – Why failure is an accumulation of lessons — and how athletes respond to it differently
07:00 – The Constraints-Led Approach and what authentic skill development actually looks like
10:00 – Multi-sport development, early specialization, and what diversification really builds
14:00 – Playing with boys until age 14 — and how that shaped Kerri's development and coaching
18:00 – Being coached hard versus being coddled — and what today's athletes are missing
24:00 – Redefining success beyond makes and misses 30:00 – Why decision-making is the number one skill in basketball
35:00 – Emotion as a constraint on decision-making — and how to train it 42:00 – Reset routines, journaling, and building emotional regulation into practice
50:00 – Be dangerous, be curious, be delusional — identity beyond the sport
56:00 – Outlasting everyone versus outworking everyone
01:00:00 – You don't have to lone wolf it — and why finding the right people matters
01:04:00 – "Your emotions will not be too big for me"

🧠 SHOW NOTES

In Episode 93, I sit down with Coach Kerri Kuzbyt of Transforming Basketball to talk about what player development looks like when you train the whole athlete — not just the skill.

Kerri played five years of Division I basketball in Canada and four years professionally in Australia, Spain, and Germany. She didn't encounter the Constraints-Led Approach until the final two years of her pro career. The difference it made was night and day — and it's the foundation of everything she does today.

We discuss:

Why failure is the fastest path to growth — and how the environment you create determines whether athletes use it as a catapult or a crutch.

Why context is king. Five hundred reps in an empty gym don't transfer to a contested game. Training has to be representative of the environment — including the emotional and physical constraints of competition.

Why decision-making is the number one skill in any sport — and why emotion is the primary constraint on it.

How emotional regulation is a trainable skill, not a personality trait. Reset routines, journaling, and intentional practice under pressure are the tools that build it.

The difference between outworking everyone and outlasting everyone — and why showing up at 40% capacity and giving it everything you have that day is still a win.

Why identity beyond sport is the foundation of sustainable confidence — and what it means to be dangerous.

Why you don't have to lone wolf it — and what it looks like to find people who can hold your emotions without flinching.

🤝 CONNECT WITH COACH KERRI KUZBYT

📷 Coach Kerri's Instagram
🏀 Transforming Basketball's Instagram
🌐 Transforming Basketball's Website

🤝 CONNECT WITH MIKE HUBER

🧠 10-Day "Level Up Your Mental Game" Challenge

📩 Free mental performance insights for athletes, parents, and coaches

🌐 Michael Huber's Website

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Introduction

01:30 – The #1 challenge Nick faces working with young athletes: consistency, not knowledge

03:30 – How Nick structures the initial intake meeting

06:00 – Getting athletes to buy into the "why" behind the plan

08:00 – Experimentation and the A/B test approach to building habits

10:00 – Building trust — and playing mediator between athletes and parents

12:00 – Earning your seat at the athlete's table

14:00 – The counseling side of being a dietitian — and why it matters more than the science

18:00 – Parents texting at 2am — and what Nick does with that

20:00 – Nick's background as a college baseball catcher at Mercy College and Queens College

24:00 – Two serious injuries and how they led him to nutrition

27:00 – Florida State, interning with Eric Cressy at CSP, and spring training with the Blue Jays

30:00 – Why young athletes can spot someone who doesn't care — and why it matters

33:00 – Starting with the school day: building structure where it already exists

36:00 – Adapting to weekends, tournaments, and travel

40:00 – Progress isn't pass/fail — it's an investment

43:00 – A Division I catcher, one flat week, and Nick's response: "And?"

46:00 – Finding motivation for the next goal after goal A is achieved

51:00 – Autonomy, competence, relatedness — and why all three have to be present

54:00 – What mental performance and nutrition have in common

55:00 – Nick's final message to every high school athlete: don't wait

🧠 SHOW NOTES

In Episode 92, I sit down with Nick Valenti — registered dietitian and founder of a sports nutrition practice — to talk about what it really means to build the right team around a young athlete.

Nick calls it the table.

It's the sports coach, the strength-and-conditioning coach, the mental performance coach, and the dietitian. Everyone talking. Everyone with a role. And at some point, each person has to be willing to step into the lead — and trust the others to do their job.

Nick has earned his seat at a lot of those tables. And this conversation is about what that actually takes.

He was a catcher at Mercy College and Queens College. Tore his ankle on the first play of his college career. Transferred. Tore his labrum a week before the season at his new school. Two years in the rehab room, watching PT guys work, asking questions, learning how the body responds to stress and recovery. That experience didn't just change his career path — it changed how he thinks about athletes and what they need.

After Florida State, an internship with Eric Cressy at CSP, and a spring training stint with the Toronto Blue Jays, Nick built a practice that now works with athletes from youth through the professional level.

We discuss:

Why consistency — not knowledge — is the real challenge in working with young athletes.

How Nick earns trust before he builds a plan — and why the first few weeks are never about the scale.

Why athlete autonomy is non-negotiable. If they feel like you're just another adult telling them what to do, they'll tune you out, too.

What it means to play mediator between athletes and parents — and how Nick navigates that without losing either one.

The counseling skills Nick developed as a dietitian — and why he believes they're 10x more important than the nutrition science itself.

How autonomy, competence, and relatedness show up in nutrition the same way they show up in mental performance.

Nick also shares the story of a Division I catcher with a pro future who walked into a weekly meeting devastated — because his weight stayed flat for one week. After months of consistent gains. Nick's response: "And?"

It's a small moment. But it says everything about what it means to truly be in an athlete's corner.

If you've ever wondered what the right support system actually looks like for a developing athlete — and what it takes to build one — this episode is an honest, experienced answer to that question.

🤝 CONNECT WITH NICK VALENTI

📷 Instagram: @valenti_nick

🌐 Website: 👉 https://limnt.com/

🤝 CONNECT WITH MIKE HUBER

🧠 10-Day "Level Up Your Mental Game" Challenge

📩 Free mental performance insights for athletes, parents, and coaches

🌐 Michael Huber's Website

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Introduction

01:15 – How Dan and Trevor met — high school teammates to business partners

03:30 – How Backside Groundballs Media started during COVID

06:00 – Their experience as college coaches and why they left

09:00 – Transitioning from coaching to media

12:00 – What they've learned traveling to college programs

18:30 – The analytics vs. old-school baseball debate

22:30 – Why compete and baseball IQ are coming back

26:00 – Leadership lessons from the best college coaches

30:00 – What great programs are actually teaching

36:30 – The biggest challenges freshmen face on campus

40:00 – The weight room, durability, and the physical demands of college baseball

42:00 – Adjusting to college life — freedom, stress, and identity

46:00 – Coach-player communication and how players can advocate for themselves

51:00 – The "de-recruiting" effect and managing expectations

54:00 – The transfer portal — what it's doing well and what it's costing players

59:00 – Do freshmen have unrealistic expectations about playing time?

01:03:00 – What it actually takes to have a chance at professional baseball

01:10:00 – Final takeaways: being tough and vulnerable, and leading with humility

🧠 SHOW NOTES

In Episode 91, I sit down with Dan Galati and Trevor Powers — former college coaches and co-founders of Backside Groundballs Media — to talk about what the high school-to-college transition in baseball actually looks like for the players living it.

Dan and Trevor have done something unique. They've traveled to college programs across the country, sat in film sessions, watched practices, and had real conversations with the coaches building these programs from the inside. What they've seen has shaped how they think about player development — and what they believe young athletes are missing.

We discuss:

Why compete and baseball IQ have become the great differentiators at the college level.

What the best college coaches are actually teaching — and how they build culture.

The biggest physical and mental challenges freshmen face when they arrive on campus.

Why the transition from "recruited athlete" to "one of the guys" is harder than players expect.

How the transfer portal is changing the landscape — and what it might be costing players developmentally.

What it truly takes to have a shot at playing beyond college.

Dan and Trevor also share what they've taken away from conversations with some of the top coaches in college baseball — including a lesson from Penn State's Mike Gambino that Dan says changed how he thinks about what it means to be both tough and vulnerable at the same time.

If you've ever wondered what separates the players who thrive at the college level from the ones who struggle — or how young athletes can put themselves in the best position to succeed — this episode gives you a clear, honest, and experienced perspective.

🤝 CONNECT WITH DAN GALATI & TREVOR POWERS

🌐 Backside Groundballs Media: https://backsidegbmedia.beehiiv.com/

📷 Instagram: @backsidegroundballsmedia

X: @BacksideGB

🤝 CONNECT WITH MIKE HUBER

🧠 10-Day "Level Up Your Mental Game" Challenge

📩 Free mental performance insights for athletes, parents, and coaches

🌐 Michael Huber's Website