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In this special Q&A episode of Forged: Youth Legacy Within, Mariel invites editor Kyle Donen out from behind the mic and into the conversation. Both former competitive volleyball players, they reflect on how the landscape of mental health and performance training in sport has evolved over the past two decades, and what’s still missing.

Through candid questions and stories from their playing and coaching days, Mariel and Kyle explore the emotional weight of injury, the tools they wish they’d had as young athletes, and the power of preparation through visualization. They speak honestly about what it means to show up for athletes not just as competitors, but as people, and how great coaching can shape the rest of a person’s life.

This episode is filled with warmth, insight, laughter, and a powerful reminder that while you can’t change the past, you can still use your experience to build something better for the next generation.

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What if fear rather than skill is the biggest thing holding your athlete back? In this powerful episode, legendary Canadian basketball coach and mental toughness trainer Shawnee Harlee joins Mariel to dismantle the culture of fear-based performance in youth sports. From “playing not to lose” to the paralyzing weight of FOPO (Fear of People’s Opinions), Shawnee breaks down how athletes, parents, and coaches unknowingly sabotage potential. Together, they explore the antidotes: emotional intelligence, courageous self-awareness, and the radically underused skill of self-forgiveness.

You’ll learn why confidence isn’t reliable, how to shift from outcome to process, and the two words every athlete needs after a mistake: “That’s okay.” Whether you're a parent in the stands, a coach on the bench, or an athlete in the game—this episode gives you the tools to change the story.

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Shawnee Harle is a powerhouse in the world of coaching and mental performance, with over 27 years of elite experience that spans courts, classrooms, and boardrooms. As a two-time Olympian and former Assistant Coach for Team Canada Women’s Basketball, Shawnee has stood on some of the sport’s biggest stages; bringing grit, heart, and wisdom to every team she touches.

Her coaching résumé isn’t just about wins and titles, it’s about transformation. Shawnee holds a Master’s Degree in Coaching Studies and is a Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC), a designation of excellence from the Coaching Association of Canada. She is also a Master Coach Developer and Master Learning Facilitator for Canada’s National Coaching Certification Program, where she helps shape the next generation of coaches to lead with clarity, courage, and connection.

What makes Shawnee truly stand out is her commitment to mental and emotional performance. She doesn’t just build athletes, she builds resilient, antifragile humans. With a fierce passion for helping individuals find their inner fire, Shawnee helps youth athletes, parents, and coaches alike understand that true greatness comes from mastering the space between the ears. She teaches how to turn fear into fuel, pressure into poise, and setbacks into comebacks.

A straight-shooter with a sharp mind and an even bigger heart, Shawnee Harle equips people not just to compete; but to lead, to rise, and to thrive under pressure. Whether on the court or in life, she believes everyone deserves the tools to win from within.

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What if your biggest moment on the world’s stage was undone by a single thought? In this powerful conversation, tennis pro turned performance coach Jeff Salzenstein sits down with Mariel to unpack the mindset traps that sabotage success, even at the top. From playing Michael Chang in front of 24,000 fans to battling a 15-year-old slump and rewriting his own mental narrative, Jeff shares the turning points that reshaped his career—and life. You’ll hear about the “Champion’s Poem” that kept him grounded, the surprising advice he gives to athletes about failure, and the emotional story of his brother’s transformation and tragic loss. Whether you're an athlete, coach, or parent, this episode is packed with tools to reframe limiting beliefs, lean into growth, and lead with heart.

Jeff's bio and information:

Jeff Salzenstein isn’t just another high-performance coach—he’s lived it.

A former top-100 world-ranked tennis player, two-time Stanford All-American, national champion, and team captain, Jeff spent decades performing under pressure on some of the world’s biggest stages, including the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, and the French Open.

Today, as an executive performance coach, leadership speaker, and seasoned entrepreneur, Jeff helps high-achieving leaders and teams Own Their Zone™—so they can unlock excellence, thrive under pressure, and build resilience without sacrificing their well-being.

The problem isn’t a lack of talent or ambition. It’s the nonstop pressure to perform at peak levels—day after day, quarter after quarter. Over 55% of leaders report elevated stress that erodes communication, culture, focus, innovation, productivity, and long-term energy.

Most stress management strategies only add more complexity and confusion. But elite performers don’t just grind harder—they train differently. They master the longevity game by expanding their capacity mentally, physically, and emotionally to handle pressure with precision.

Through his transformational Own Your Zone™ framework, Jeff equips leaders to:

Expand mental, emotional, and physical capacity to handle high-stakes pressure

Apply the same fundamentals elite athletes and performers use to stay at the top

Navigate adversity, conflict, and failure with confidence and composure

Balance ambition with strategic recovery and long-term sustainability

Build resilience, sharpen focus, and sustain energy through uncertainty

Jeff’s journey—from elite athlete to executive coach and entrepreneur—has been shaped by reinvention, adversity, and a relentless commitment to growth. He’s battled career-threatening injuries, high expectations, and personal setbacks—not just to survive, but to evolve.

With over 25 years of research and real-world experience in high-stakes performance, Jeff helps leaders model what elite performers do to stay grounded, focused, and at their best—even under relentless pressure.

As the world accelerates and demands intensify, Jeff offers more than inspiration—he delivers a proven path to help leaders perform at their peak, prevent burnout, and create high-performance cultures built to last.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/jeffsalzenstein/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsalzenstein/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/jeffsalzenstein
www.jeffsalzenstein.com

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From Volleyball Courts to Life’s Crossroads | Mariel’s Story of Grit and Survival

What if the mental skills you learn in sports could actually save your life? For mental performance coach Mariel Anderson, they did.

In this powerful episode, Mariel takes us deep into her journey, from being a homeschooled kid who barely knew how to play sports, to discovering her love for volleyball, rising as a national athlete, and training under a visionary coach who taught her the secrets of mental toughness. But her story doesn’t end with medals and victories.

A single night at nationals changed everything when Mariel experienced a traumatic assault that derailed her athletic dreams and left her fighting for her identity, her future, and her mental health.

Hear how the mental tools she learned on the volleyball court became her lifeline through trauma, how she rebuilt her life from zero more than once, and why she’s dedicated her career to helping young athletes develop the grit and resilience to navigate both sport and life’s toughest moments.

This is not just a story about sports, it’s a raw, honest look at the power of mindset, healing, and forging strength from unimaginable pain.

Tune in and discover why Forged Youth | Legacy Within exists , and how the same mental skills that make champions on the court can save lives off it.

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This is the last episode under our old brand of 'Probably Important Podcast'. We believe this was the perfect transition between a podcast that was geared soley towards the general umbrella of 'mental health' to the new focus of elite athletes ages 12-24, their parents and coaches; with the mission of making mental training techniques accessible to all! Seth is the perfect example of the power behind mental training! July 1st Forged Youth Ep1 drops!

Seth Pepper's journey is one of radical transformation, driven by vision, discipline, and a relentless curiosity about human potential. Raised in a non-athletic household steeped in the arts; his mother a writer, his father a classical guitar maker. Seth didn’t begin his athletic career until the age of 14. Inspired by the Olympics and fueled by an unshakable desire to compete at the highest level, he embarked on a path most would deem impossible.

Without experience or accolades, Seth approached the YMCA swim coach in his small town and declared his intention to go to the Olympics, despite not yet knowing how to swim. What could have been a moment of ridicule instead became the first spark in a life-changing journey. Training alongside children less than half his age, Seth endured early humiliation and countless failures, but through his mindset of studying failure, not fearing it, he developed rapidly.

A turning point came when his father introduced him to a study on visualization in sports. The study demonstrated that athletes who trained mentally performed nearly as well as those who trained physically. Seth was captivated. He realized that if he could train both body and mind, he could accelerate his progress. This insight birthed a love affair with mental training; visualization, subconscious programming, breath control, and the science of peak performance.

He would later describe this training as second nature, like riding a bike. You start consciously, but over time it becomes automatic. He plastered his walls with Olympic imagery and imagined himself achieving greatness. Within just four years, Seth went from not knowing how to swim to becoming a state champion.

His self-driven efforts didn’t stop there. Refusing to wait for recruitment, he sent personalized packets to top college swim programs. His determination landed him a spot at the University of Arizona, where he trained under a future Olympic coach and competed against the best in the world. Seth’s focus on learning over results allowed him to use every loss as valuable data. That mindset helped him become a national champion, nearly break the American record, and ultimately be recognized as one of the fastest swimmers ever.

One of his most remarkable contributions came through mentoring his younger brother. Applying the same mindset and visualization practices, Seth helped him become a national champion too, making them the first brothers in history to win the same title in the same event.

But Seth’s story doesn’t end with medals. After retiring from competitive swimming, he suffered debilitating panic attacks. Stripped of his athletic identity, he had to relearn who he was outside the pool. This breakdown became a breakthrough: the realization that humans are beings, not doings. Failure became a teacher. Identity became flexible. And self-worth was no longer tied to outcomes.

Today, Seth is a renowned mindset coach helping elite performers, including professional athletes, tap into their subconscious and unlock flow states. He teaches practical tools to return to the body, regulate the nervous system, and let go of ego and external validation. Whether through faith, science, or pure grit, Seth helps others reach levels they never thought possible, reminding them, always, that the real superpower is trusting the process, the moment, and themselves.

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This is the second last episode of 'Probably Important Podcast', before we turn the page to our new chapter of 'Forged Youth | Legacy Within'.

In this powerful episode, Mariel sits down with Bob Conlin, ontological coach, father, and founder of transformative men's retreats. Bob shares his raw journey through addiction recovery, the life-altering challenges of becoming a father during a high-risk pregnancy, and the courage it took to redefine masculinity through vulnerability and personal growth. Together, they explore the philosophy of ontological coaching, the importance of identity over occupation, and how curiosity and courage fuel meaningful change. You’ll laugh, reflect, and maybe even cringe as Bob recounts being pranked with Aztec death whistles at a retreat; proving that growth doesn’t have to come without a sense of humor.

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Hello all of you incredible humans who are proactive about gaining resources and tools!

We wanted to give you a quick update. For those of you who are here for the first time and expecting it to be a podcast geared towards elite youth athletes, their parents, & coaches; you are in the right place!

The first 46 episodes of this podcast were recorded over the last year and a half when it was 'The Probably Important Podcast' and was geared towards mental health and wellness in general. If you are interested, there is SO MUCH VALUE in these episodes to binge while you wait for us to begin releasing the 'Forged Youth | Legacy Within' episodes.

We are deep in recording mode for 'Forged Youth | Legacy Within'. So far our roster holds; Olympians (their parents and coaches!), World record holders, pro athletes, retired pro athletes, covers of National Geographic, CEO's, entertainers.. this list goes on!

If you give us a follow, you will be notified when the first episode drops, you won't want to miss it!

Enjoy binging the archives and getting to know your host, Mariel Nichole, in the meantime!

Want to join other like minded individuals who are working to build up their own mental toughness and gain tools to pass onto the athletes in their lives?

Join our Facebook group! Click Here

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This isn’t just another podcast episode. It’s an unmasking.

Formerly known as Probably Important, we’re now Forged Youth: Legacy Within—a space where transformation isn’t just talked about, it’s lived. In this episode, Mariel sits down with coach, retreat leader, and modern alchemist Alex Terranova to explore the raw terrain of what it means to be a man in emotional evolution.

Alex talks candidly about the grief of infertility, the unexpected healing found in men’s retreats, and what happens when we stop avoiding pain and finally sit in the fire. It’s a conversation that swirls with authenticity, courage, and the kind of wisdom that doesn’t come from textbooks—but from living through the things that almost broke you.

🔹 What made a retreat of 14 men burst into collective tears
🔹 The untold cost of toxic stoicism in men’s lives
🔹 How infertility cracked open something deeper
🔹 Reframing anger and sadness as signals—not weaknesses
🔹 Why being “too much” is actually the beginning of healing

Whether you’re someone who’s carried the weight of silence, or someone who loves someone who has—this episode is your invitation to feel, to see, to heal.