The Next Play: How to Keep Going When Things Don't Go Your Way

The Most Important Play Is the Next Play: Helping Young Athletes Bounce Back | Richie ContartesiHost Valerie Alston welcomes former college football player Richie Contartesi to discuss helping young athletes respond to mistakes, setbacks, and disappointment with a “next play” mindset. Richie shares his journey from being an undersized, overlooked high school athlete to earning an FCS scholarship, transferring to Ole Miss, walking on, and eventually earning a full-ride scholarship, emphasizing the importance of marketing yourself to coaches. He explains how a coach taught him that the most important play is always the next one, and how he and his parents reinforced it with three action questions: what will you do, how will you do it, and when will you do it by. Valerie closes with discussion rules, four reflection questions for parents and athletes, and a free mental skills assessment offer.00:00 Mistakes And Setbacks00:20 Meet Richie And The Lesson01:48 Recruiting Struggles And Breakthrough03:56 Next Play Mindset07:11 Parents As Support System09:19 Where To Find Richie09:36 Host Wrap Up Key Takeaways10:28 Car Ride Questions Rules11:06 Guided Questions For Families13:37 Final Takeaway And Next EpisodeThanks 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 AthleteDoes 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 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