In this Clutch Academy episode, host interviews Minnesota high school hockey coach Nate Buck (20 years on staff in Hermantown) about developing athletes who are confident, calm, and clutch through mindfulness, trust, and mental resilience. Buck explains “fix it, flush it, forget it,” being present, controlling breathing, and responding pragmatically without getting stuck in past mistakes or future worries. He details team mindfulness routines on game days (five minutes of quiet focus) and daily practice starts (30 seconds of silence to reflect on what to improve, what they’re struggling with, and gratitude), plus using competition and high-pressure scenarios in practice. Buck also describes a phone-free locker room culture to build connection, recommends resources like Mind Game and Legacy, and emphasizes balancing high expectations with positivity to help kids handle modern sports pressure.

00:00 Youth Sports Mental Game

00:53 Show Intro and Sponsor

01:46 Meet Coach Nate Buck

03:47 Defining Calm and Clutch

05:39 Game Day Mindfulness Routine

06:57 Pressure and Expectations

09:02 Trust and Team Resilience

10:29 Mindfulness in Daily Practice

14:34 Gratitude and Team Culture

17:19 Training Under Pressure

18:36 Keeping Practice Fresh

19:23 Phone Free Locker Room

20:59 Trauma Bonding Teams

22:39 Decoy Phone Stories

23:56 Mindfulness Book Picks

27:24 Coach Learning Resources

29:16 Lessons From Experience

34:41 Final Words On Mindset

And one more time if you want to give your athlete a science-backed process to take them to the next level without changing anything about their physical practice and training routine, then you need to learn the three secrets at www.confidentcalmclutch.com/coaches.

All links below include affiliate links. I will receive a small commission from the sale of services/resources linked in this video.

Resources from this episode

• Confident, Calm and Clutch: How to build confidence and mental toughness for young athletes using sports psychology - Valerie R. Alston https://amzn.to/3PI7ieJ
• How to Teach Mental Skills to Athletes: Confident, Calm, and Clutch Coaching Companion - The Ultimate Guide to Coaching Mental Toughness https://amzn.to/4dEGwNH
• Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence https://amzn.to/4xcvcA5
• Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success - Phil Jackson https://amzn.to/4uqhdUz
• Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About The Business of Life https://amzn.to/4xmSymG

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In this Clutch Academy episode, host Valerie Alston interviews high school volleyball coach Laura Watling, who shares how mental pressure—not technique—often causes athletes to miss fundamentals like serving, and how she builds confident, calm, clutch performers. Watling explains the importance of relationships and understanding athletes’ lives so coaching corrections don’t deflate confidence, and describes challenges with a young team that struggled to perform under pressure. She discusses how social media and comparison increase pressure, plus the high-stakes postseason qualification system in Colorado. Watling outlines strategies including summer camps and open gyms to prepare athletes early, building a program-wide culture across three teams, daily pressure-serving and goal-based drills that add fatigue and consequences, faster-than-game practice tempo to make matches feel slower, and teaching players to think for themselves rather than relying on constant coaching.

00:00 Why Athletes Miss

01:01 Clutch Academy Intro

01:56 Meet Coach Laura

02:45 Defining Calm Clutch

05:21 Coaching Confidence

07:08 When Pressure Hits

10:04 Social Media Comparison

13:32 Summer Prep Strategies

15:31 Building Program Culture

16:54 Culture Does The Work

17:30 Competitive Love Balance

17:55 Building a Program

19:15 Pressure Proof Practices

19:41 Serving Under Pressure

22:29 Fast Tempo Training

24:12 Explaining the Why

25:05 Empowering Athlete Leaders

26:45 Teaching Self Reliance

29:07 Community of Coaches

30:08 Wrap Up and Resources

And one more time if you want to give your athlete a science-backed process to take them to the next level without changing anything about their physical practice and training routine, then you need to learn the three secrets at www.confidentcalmclutch.com/coaches.

All links below include affiliate links. I will receive a small commission from the sale of services/resources linked in this video.

Resources from this episode

• Confident, Calm and Clutch: How to build confidence and mental toughness for young athletes using sports psychology - Valerie R. Alston https://amzn.to/3PI7ieJ
• How to Teach Mental Skills to Athletes: Confident, Calm, and Clutch Coaching Companion - The Ultimate Guide to Coaching Mental Toughness https://amzn.to/4dEGwNH

Follow Me on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valstoncoaching

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valstoncoaching

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valstoncoaching9666

This episode of Clutch Academy features veteran softball coach Jack Smithlin, who shares how confidence leads to calmness and enables athletes to perform clutch under pressure. He emphasizes that skill alone doesn’t keep athletes on the field; the mind, heart, and body must work together, with relaxed muscles and a relaxed mind producing better performance. Smithlin discusses coaching tactics such as repetition and “perfect practice,” focusing on controllables, redefining success beyond stats, and teaching players to react rather than overthink. He describes using Valerie Alston’s books and weekly team sessions to develop mindset skills like positive self-talk, handling failure as learning, and building grit and character for life beyond sports, while adapting coaching to individual athletes’ needs.

00:00 Mind Over Skill

00:35 Show Intro and Mission

01:29 Meet Coach Jack

02:18 Defining Confident Calm Clutch

06:54 Control the Controllables

09:22 Practice Mindset Tactics

14:06 Teaching Flow at the Plate

17:00 Where the Title Came From

21:30 Growth Mindset and Failure

25:07 Passion Drives Progress

26:36 Resources for Coaches

29:43 Final Thanks and CTA

All links below include affiliate links. I will receive a small commission from the sale of services/resources linked in this video.

Resources from this episode

• Confident, Calm and Clutch: How to build confidence and mental toughness for young athletes using sports psychology - Valerie R. Alston https://amzn.to/3PI7ieJ
• Mindset: The new Psychology of Success - Carol Dweck https://amzn.to/4nyMjYn
• The Mental Game of Baseball : A Guide to Peak Performance - H.A. Dorfman https://amzn.to/491GkW0
• Secrets of Sports Psychology Revealed by Rick Wolf https://amzn.to/42GF6vD
• You Haven’t Taught Until They’ve Learned - Swen Nater & Ronald Gallimore https://amzn.to/3RfCi6e

Follow Me on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valstoncoaching

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valstoncoaching

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valstoncoaching9666