MINDSET SPORTS PODCAST

Welcome to Episode 34 of the Mindset Sports Podcast. In this episode Mayf & I continue with the story of 2021 Missouri Teacher of the Year Darrion "Mr. DC" Cockrell. We've gone from talking survival to discussing how he has grown through his journey of playing sports while figuring out life. If you haven't learned by now Mr. DC is a positive energetic guy. Towards the end of this episode he shares with us something extremely vulnerable about himself. We all have a battle we face within ourselves and we couldn't be more excited for DC's courage and willingness to share. We need each other now more than ever. Let's put it this way, if you are reading this you've waited to long to start listening!! Enjoy!!

This is our 2nd episode with Darrion "Mr. DC" Cockrell. In this episode DC shares his story of being taken in by his middle school football coach's family. He continues to drop nuggets of wisdom by sharing with us all that he's been through. It's amazing how light hearted and open to share DC is. Be prepared for laughter because there's a ton of it in this one!!

Welcome to Episode 32 of the Mindset Sports Podcast. In this episode Mayf and I welcome the 2021 Missouri Teacher of the Year Mr. Darrion DC Cockrell. DC shares his story of growing up in survival mode. His father was a drug dealer who got murdered, his mother was strung out on drugs and his brother also got murdered.  His story of overcoming and persevering through unimaginable circumstances is a true inspiration. You'll learn how his middle school football coach became an influential figure that helped turn his life around. He will tell you that most people in the situation he was in don't make it out.  But he did and now he's making a difference!! 

Mayf & I were blessed with the opportunity to have Hall of Fame Sports Directors Chris Duerr & Rod Smith on our Coach D & Mayf Live Show.  There were some unexpected internet & sound issues throughout the episode.  However, the time spent with these two was a true blessing.  If you can hang through those issues, I will guarantee you that the content is worth it!!  These two "Ambassadors for the True Meaning of Sports" are of the best kind: Servant Leaders.  God Bless!!

Tune in to see what I believe should be "The #1 Rule For Every Coach". Do I have a story behind it? You better believe it!!   If you're a coach at any level I'm going to issue a challenge for you as you begin 2022.   Have a Happy New Year!! May God Bless you and your loved ones!!

Welcome to Episode 30 of the Mindset Sports Podcast "10 Lessons Headed Into 22". In this episode I wrap up telling my story and give the listeners 10 lessons I've learned that can be helpful as they head into the new year. As we wrap up 2021 and celebrate the milestone of hitting 30 episodes, we invite you to celebrate with us as we head into 22.

Welcome to Episode 29 of the Mindset Sports Podcast "Burnout". In this fifth episode of telling my story, I share with the listeners how I let my drive and desire to be successful lead to burnout. We all have different personalities and different ways of coping with our weaknesses. Working harder and always thinking I needed to do more became a way of coping for me. Mayf leads me through sharing stories of how hard work and taking on to much led me to be out of balance in different aspects of my life. Which eventually led me to experience complete burnout. Regardless of our age it is so so important to understand that the foundation and the fundamentals are absolutely necessary to live a happy, healthy life. It is my hope that this episode will lead you go do some reflecting. We can all learn from our past mistakes and use them to grow and improve. I hope and pray that is the plan for you!!

Welcome to Episode 28 of the Mindset Sports Podcast. This is a GAMEDAY Episode ' No Holds Barred Steel Cage Match'.   Mayf loves pro-wrestling and said he would like to do an episode covering his favorite the WWE. I've had my days as a fan so I said what a great idea.  In this episode we will talk about our favorite wrestlers and dive into the mentality these men have to bring to compete night in & night out. To cap off the episode Mayf & I will debate on who would win a 'No Holds Barred Steel Cage Match'. As you'll learn this is a debate where you will have to come up with your own conclusion on who would win.  Ding, Ding, Ding!!

Welcome to Episode 27 of the Mindset Sports Podcast "Inclusion". Recently Mayf & I received some news that stirred up some emotions in both of us. We don't have all of the details and through experience I know we won't get all of the details. For that reason we decided to have this episode focus on the importance of inclusion. Mayf & I sit down and have a casual conversation telling stories about how inclusion has impacted our lives. You listeners have gotten to know Mayf pretty well but let me tell you something he is one of my best friends for a reason. He's loyal, loving, caring and values every single person he comes across. We all have a small circle of people in our lives that we feel like we can trust and Mayf is definitely in mine. After listening to this episode, if you haven't yet go back and listen to episodes 2-6 where we tell Mayf's story. These episodes spotlight how inclusion has impacted May'f life but more importantly how it has impacted thousands of others. Help us spread the word about the importance of inclusion and take it a step further by seeing how you can bring inclusion to your school or work place. It's not if you can or you can't, it's if you will or you won't!!

Welcome to this Bonus Episode of the Mindset Sports Podcast "Community, Teamwork & Mental Health". This episode is like no other Episode Mayf & I have done before. In fact it's probably the longest episode we will ever do. Why you ask? We've been presented the opportunity to spotlight community leaders working together to bring Mental Health into the spotlight. In this episode you'll learn how a leadership group I'm a part of teams up with a local health network as they open up multiple Mental Health Crisis Access Points. You will get to learn about two great organizations, who these Mental Health access points will serve and get to hear some open, personal conversations surrounding Mental Health. If you have takeaways from this episode let them be this: Get involved in your community & break the stigma of Mental Health by encouraging others to get help by having honest, open conversations.

Welcome to Episode 26 of the Mindset Sports Podcast. This is a GAMEDAY episode titled "Once A Pirate Always A Pirate".  In this episode my wife Gala joins me on the podcast for the very first time. Our hometown Hannibal High School football team has made the Missouri State Championship for the first time since 2006 and the second time in their history. Once A Pirate Always A Pirate has become a hashtag amongst Pirate parents and alumni to support the team as they head towards the big game. So I thought the GAMEDAY episode would be a great opportunity to join in on the fun. To make this more relevant it's important for you to know that Gala and I met in 8th grade at Hannibal Middle School. I thought it would be fun for us to team up to talk community, high school sports and the love we have for our hometown. We have a great time remembering where we came from, where it all started for us and discussing the impact schools can have on their community. Gala goes glory days on me a few times but I do my best to keep her in check.  At the end I use the Mindset Minute to share some advice with the Pirate players & coaches from my experiences in big games. I hope this episode gives you a quick moment to reminisce on the positive moments of your high school days and encourages you to always be involved in your local schools. 

Welcome to Episode 25 of the Mindset Sports Podcast "My Story: Getting Fired". This is the 4th episode of me sharing my story with our listeners. In this episode I begin to share my journey as a teacher & a coach after the passing of my mother. I talk about getting fired from my first head coaching job and how you never know in life what pitch is going to be thrown your way. As I share this chapter of my story it is my hope to spread the message that there is an opportunity to learn and grow from every situation. Even when you feel like you've been completely wronged there is a place where you can take ownership. Taking ownership and striving to continue to personally develop allows for that next chapter to be better than the last. Thank you for continuing on this journey with me.  May God continue to bless you and your loved ones during the holiday season!!

Welcome to Episode 24 of the Mindset Sports Podcast. This is a GAMEDAY episode where I'm discussing "Gratitude in Sports & Beyond". You'll hear me say this time and time again, having balance in your life plays a crucial role in having consistent success. And having gratitude has to be included in that balance. Gratitude isn't a word we hear often when we are talking sports. Well in this episode I'm going to do my best to convince you that it should be. Being thankful & appreciative is something we all need to include in our every day lives. For some reason we see this lost when it comes to what we put into our sports & competition. You can help by setting an example of gratitude in whatever aspect of sports you are involved in. Remember kindness mixed with a positive attitude is contagious.  I can't thank you enough for your continued support of the Mindset Sports Podcast. I appreciate you and look forward to you helping me spread the word!!

Welcome to this Bonus Episode of the Mindset Sports Podcast, 'The Gift of Life' Thanksgiving Edition. For this Coach D & Mayf LIVE Show Thanksgiving episode, Mayf and I wanted to bring on a guest who has a true understanding of the gift of life. As we all know Thanksgiving is a time of being thankful and showing gratitude for all of our blessings. Unfortunately, we are all guilty of taking our health, our relationships and our opportunities for granted at times. Our super special guest Dr. Crystal Moseley is able to share with us a story with a perfect perspective for the Thanksgiving holiday. She recently was the recipient of a life saving kidney transplant from a complete stranger. But that's just a small part of the story. Her positive attitude, her drive, her love of exercise and her understanding of needing others sets a beautiful example for all of us to follow. And this is coming from someone who truly understands the gift of life. Happy Thanksgiving to all of our amazing listeners. May God Bless you and all of your loved ones!! 

Welcome to Episode 23 of the Mindset Sports Podcast, "My Story: Blessed with Adversity". In the third episode of telling my story listeners are able to see how the adversity I had been through began to become a blessing. We all have moments in our lives where we feel stuck with nowhere to go and I'm a true believer that just continuing to inch forward will allow that adversity to become a blessing in your life. I've learned how critical decision making and the choices we choose to make are in our lives. If we allow our suffering to get the best of us, chances are we will make choices that keep us in that suffering. It is my continued hope that you are able to see that my failures, my mistakes and the lessons learned from those are what is shaping me into what I believe is the person God wants me to be. Remember your gift is in your story. If listening to my story or the stories of our guests has encouraged you to share yours don't hesitate to reach out to me. There is no doubt we can relate it to sports and it is a fact that you will gain two new friends along the journey.

Welcome to Episode 22 of the Mindset Sports Podcast. This is a GAMEDAY episode where I'm discussing "Handling Entitlement". Having spent years as a teacher, coach and administrator, I've been a part of thousands of conversations around the feelings of entitlement that surround our younger generations. While all of the finger pointing takes place the importance of taking responsibility continues to crumble. Because of this we've all looked for the easy button and have become entitled in our own way. The age of instant gratification right? Well it's not working and it is my hope that this episode sheds some light on the issue. Athletes, teachers, coaches, parents and organizational leaders listen up!! I'm pretty fired up in this episode. It's time for all of us to invest and take responsibility.  In the long run hard work crushes entitlement every single time!! If you enjoy this episode or any of our other episodes help us spread the word by giving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Please know we are extremely thankful for your listenership & we pray that God Blesses you and your loved ones!!

Welcome to Episode 21 of the Mindset Sports Podcast "My Story: Going Cold Turkey & the Turning Point. In this episode I continue telling my story shifting from my high school years to my college years. It truly is amazing how the struggle can continue, the results can be similar but growth and development can still occur.  Mayf does another great job of serving as host in this episode as I share that I barely graduated college and had no clue what I was going to do with myself afterwards. The same story as the end of my high school years.  Through my teenage and college years I think I told my mom every single day that I just wanted to feel good and she wasn't going to stop until that happened. You'll learn how I hit a breaking point going cold turkey on all the psychiatric medications I was on and how it led to the turning point I needed in my life. These first two episodes of telling my story really do lay the foundation of our listeners being able to see how God has blessed my life in so many ways. It's so easy for us to forget or not even think of the blessings that come from the adversity you face in your trials in and tribulations. I just hope that me sharing my story is a good reminder that it's not easy, it never will be and you really don't want it to be. Happiness and joy are on the other side of hard. Please never forget that!!

Welcome to Episode 20 of the Mindset Sports Podcast. In this GAMEDAY episode we discuss 'The Importance of Body Language' for athletes, coaches, parents and game officials. I believe that poor or negative body language has become an under addressed issue in youth and high school sports across the country. It is important that our leaders, our coaches and our parents set the example with positive body language as well as hold accountability to our young athletes by teaching them that negative body language is unacceptable. If you are interested in some great opportunities for athletes at Mindset Sports stay tuned until the end for the Mindset Minute. I will discuss the 'Earn Your Sunrise' small group in season Mindset & Performance coaching as well as the 'Attack Your Week' planning membership. Thank you so much for tuning-in to the Mindset Sports Podcast.

Welcome to this Veterans Day Bonus Episode on the Mindset Sports Podcast 'Mental Toughness with Army Veteran Travis Crutcher.  This is a recording from our Coach D & Mayf LIVE show on Labor Day but we felt it would be appropriate to release it on Veterans Day to celebrate all of our veterans out there!! In this episode Mayf and I dive into the topic of Mental Toughness with Travis. He has tremendous leadership experience from his time in the military and now is a speaker & coach with a podcast that is inching towards the to top 1% in the world.  He shares some really awesome stories and gives tremendous value on getting aligned with your purpose. Travis is just a stand up amazing guy who is using his story to fuel his passion and his purpose. We are extremely thankful for him and all of our veterans out there. On behalf of Mayf & I thank you for your service!! May God bless all of you, your families and the United Stats of America!!

Welcome to Episode 19 of the Mindset Sports Podcast 'My Story: I'm Sharing Mine to Encourage You to Share Yours'. I just figured out this morning that I scheduled to begin sharing my story on the same day we are announcing the official launch of Mindset Sports. To me that is everything coming full circle and has God written all over it. In this episode I begin to tell my story from age 13 through high school. I talk about surviving a terrible car accident, suffering a traumatic brain injury and what that was like in the mid to late 90s. The relevancy of my story is the same as everyone else. I've found my passion, my purpose and most importantly my gift in my story. My gift of my love for people and passion for sports comes from what I have experienced along my journey. It has been extremely hard and challenging at every turn but I wouldn't want to have it any other way.  I hope you can find something relatable in my story that will encourage you to share yours. Because you matter and so does your story!! Thank you in advance for coming on this journey with me over the next few episodes. And thank you to 'Mayf the Motivator' for stepping in as the host!!