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Car Ride Conversations For Sports Families

Car Ride Conversations For Sports Families

Written by: Valerie Alston
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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/newsletterCopyright 2026 Valerie Alston Hygiene & Healthy Living Parenting Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Relationships
Episodes
  • The College Question Most Families Forget to Ask With Shellee Howard

    The College Question Most Families Forget to Ask With Shellee Howard
    Jun 15 2026
    Stop Asking “Where Do You Wanna Go?” | Starting the College Conversation the Right Way (with Shelly Howard)Host Valerie Alston welcomes college funding and admissions consultant Shelly Howard, founder of College Ready, to discuss why families should not start the college process by picking a school. Howard explains her approach begins with helping students gain clarity about who they are, what excites them, and their priorities - academic, social, athletic, and financial - before building a balanced list of reach, target, and safe schools and setting realistic expectations about rejection. She emphasizes starting early, normalizing “fail forward,” and using community service and campus visits to help students test interests and build motivation. The episode offers practical family conversation prompts, including asking what excites the student about their future, whether they see themselves going to college, and listening beyond job labels to the deeper goals behind them.00:00 Start With Who You Are00:53 Meet College Consultant Shelly01:28 Her Origin Story02:45 Clarity Before College Lists04:15 Athletes Priorities And Fit06:17 Undecided And Fear Of Failure06:52 Serve To Discover Yourself10:34 Start Early And Adaptable Careers12:20 Organic Chem Reality Check14:08 Family Alignment First17:11 Conversation Prompts For Parents18:09 Front Seat Future Vision20:52 Do You Even Want College21:25 Botanist Story Listen Deeper24:20 Campus Visits Spark Ownership26:32 Wrap Up And Next Episode You can reach Shelley on social media here:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelleehoward/Facebook:Shellee Maree Howard 5.3K followerswww.facebook.com/shellee.howard1College Ready Page 4.8k followerswww.facebook.com/CollegeReadyPlanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/collegereadyplan/Youtube: @collegereadyplanhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr_WodPHDfSWEbiPdsRDbyQTikTok: collegereadyplanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@collegereadyplan?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pcGoogle: College ReadyTwitter: https://x.com/GoCollegeReadyThanks 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.For exclusive tips, tools, and updates join my newsletter at www.confidentcalmclutch.com/newsletterFor 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 psychologyIf 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.Parents join my Facebook group to Help Your Athlete Gain Mental Toughness for ParentsHave an idea for a topic? Submit your idea here.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email me: valerie.alston@valstoncoaching.comFollow Me on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valstoncoachingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/valstoncoachingYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valstoncoaching9666Watch every episode of Car Ride Conversations here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOjguEFjF88w5Wl-eA9dlkwLk7f_sI12V
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    27 mins
  • What Young Athletes Can Learn From the Playoffs: Thriving Under Pressure

    What Young Athletes Can Learn From the Playoffs: Thriving Under Pressure
    Jun 8 2026

    3 Things Young Athletes Can Learn From Playoff Games (Confidence, Resilience & Pressure)

    Valerie Alston of Car Ride Conversations for Sports Families explains how young athletes can learn from watching playoff sports beyond entertainment by studying confidence, resilience, and performance under pressure. She highlights that pressure doesn’t eliminate mistakes, elite athletes are mistake-resistant and focus on resetting quickly after errors, then explains that pressure reveals preparation, so routines, breathing, body language, and trained habits show up most in big moments. She also emphasizes that championships are won by teams, not superstars, and encourages noticing role players, communication, trust, and small contributions that lead to wins. The episode closes with family discussion prompts about athlete responses to mistakes, composure under pressure, role-player impact, and which personal habits or routines are most trustworthy if a championship game were tomorrow.

    00:00 Playoff Season Lessons

    01:49 Mistakes Under Pressure

    03:51 Preparation Shows Up

    06:21 Teams Beat Superstars

    08:13 After Things Go Wrong

    09:32 Support The Podcast

    10:02 Conversation Rules

    10:27 Discussion Questions

    13:08 Final Takeaways

    Discussion questions:

    1. When you watch playoff games, what do you notice athletes doing after they make a mistake?
    2. Which athlete or team seems the calmest under pressure? What are they doing that helps them stay composed?
    3. What role players or teammates have you noticed making important contributions even if they aren't getting all the attention?
    4. If a championship game was tomorrow, what habit or routine would you trust most about your preparation?

    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.

    For exclusive tips, tools, and updates join my newsletter at 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

    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.

    Parents join my Facebook group to Help Your Athlete Gain Mental Toughness for Parents

    Have an idea for a topic? Submit your idea here.

    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
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    15 mins
  • How to Stay Motivated All Summer: A Guide for Young Athletes

    How to Stay Motivated All Summer: A Guide for Young Athletes
    Jun 1 2026
    How to Stay Motivated to Train in the Summer (Even When You Don’t Feel Like It)Valerie Alston discusses why summer can be a challenging time for young athletes to stay consistent with training when daily school and team structure disappears and distractions increase. Using self-determination theory, she explains motivation as a continuum, starting with intrinsic enjoyment and moving through four additional sources: rewards/punishments, shame/guilt/pride, valuing the outcomes of training, and identity-based motivation (“I am the kind of athlete who prepares”). She notes the limits of relying on external rewards or guilt, highlights discipline and routine when motivation is low, and emphasizes balancing training with rest, recovery, and being a kid to prevent burnout. The episode closes with family conversation questions about current motivators, upcoming goals and how summer training supports them, desired athlete identity, and creating a realistic summer plan.00:00 Summer Motivation Problem00:37 Host And Show Intro01:08 Freedom And Training Rhythm03:37 Motivation Spectrum Explained05:08 Rewards And Punishments09:02 Shame Guilt And Pride11:16 Value The Outcome13:00 Identity Based Motivation15:51 Balance Rest And Recovery18:04 Summer Plan And Start Small19:56 Family Conversation Questions23:21 Final Takeaways And OutroEpisodes on Habit Formation:Episode 50: Build better habits - Make it Obvioushttps://youtu.be/ZOIc0xkLmiohttps://3cscarrideconversations.captivate.fm/episode/50/Episode 51: Build Better Habits For Young Athletes: Law 2 - Make it Attractivehttps://youtu.be/o4RJQjrTXjYhttps://3cscarrideconversations.captivate.fm/episode/51/Episode 52: Build Better Habits for Youth Athlete- Make It Easyhttps://youtu.be/jq9VS9ozVmYhttps://3cscarrideconversations.captivate.fm/episode/52/Episode 53: Help Youth Athletes Build Better Habits - Make It Satisfyinghttps://youtu.be/eqACu5UdD60https://3cscarrideconversations.captivate.fm/episode/53/Discussion questions: When you train during the summer, what usually motivates you most right now? Rewards, avoiding guilt, reaching a goal, becoming the athlete you want to beWhat are your biggest goals for this upcoming season, and how does summer training help you reach them?"What kind of athlete do you want to be known as by your teammates and coaches?How can we make sure you work hard this summer while still having time for fun, family, and recovery?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.For exclusive tips, tools, and updates join my newsletter at www.confidentcalmclutch.com/newsletterFor 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 psychologyIf 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.Parents join my Facebook group to Help Your Athlete Gain Mental Toughness for ParentsHave an idea for a topic? Submit your idea here.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email me: valerie.alston@valstoncoaching.comFollow Me on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valstoncoachingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/valstoncoachingYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valstoncoaching9666Watch every episode of Car Ride Conversations here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOjguEFjF88w5Wl-eA9dlkwLk7f_sI12V
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    25 mins
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