Why Your Kid Needs Sports To Be Bigger Than Sports (with Lisa Willis, retired WNBA player)
About this episode
This episode discusses the deeper lessons youth sports can teach kids beyond just competition and performance.
Youth sports can feel like they’re all about the next game, the next season, or the next level. But what if the bigger opportunity has nothing to do with any of that? In this episode of Healthy Sports Parents , Jonathan Carone sits down with Lisa Willis to talk about what sports are really meant to give our kids. From her journey through UCLA and the WNBA to her work as a coach today with Texas Sports Academy, Lisa shares how the lessons that mattered most had nothing to do with stats or accolades, and everything to do with mindset, resilience, and identity. Together, they unpack why so many young athletes are more skilled than ever but often struggle with confidence, pressure, and failure, and what parents can do to help shift that. Lisa explains why habits matter more than highlight moments, how to help kids handle tough emotions after games, and why separating identity from performance is one of the most important things we can teach them. This conversation keeps coming back to one simple idea: sports should be bigger than sports. Not because of what kids achieve, but because of who they’re becoming in the process. If you’ve ever felt the tension between…
People in this episode
Host: Jonathan Carone
Guest: Lisa Willis
Topics covered
- youth sports
- mindset
- resilience
- identity
- parenting
- athlete development
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: UCLA, WNBA, Texas Sports Academy
More episodes of Healthy Sports Parents
- Youth Sports Need a Place For Every Kid (with Amanda Carey, multi-time Pro MTB Champion)
- What 32 Years of Coaching Taught Me About Youth Sports (with Coach Travis Hudson, WKU Volleyball)
- Every Kid Is On Their Own Timeline (with Jordan Palmer, retired NFL QB)
- How To Raise Confident Kids Through Youth Sports (with David Epstein)
- What Kids Actually Need From Youth Sports (with Abby Wambach)
- BONUS: Could this be the future of youth sports? (with Renata Simril, CEO of LA84 Foundation)
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Healthy Sports Parents podcast page.