Did You Win? (And Why We Can't Stop Asking)

Did You Win? (And Why We Can't Stop Asking)

From The Struggle Bubble by Chad Kutting and Craig Surgey

March 16, 2026 · 52 min · Episode 35

About this episode

Chad and Craig discuss the pressures of youth sports and the impact on children and parents.

Episode 35 Presented by Gaimplan This week it's just Chad and Craig — no guest, no filter, a lot of real talk. They kick things off in the middle of their own Struggle Bubble: Chad's packing for a youth soccer tournament in Davis while baseball opening day looms, and Craig's sneaking in a podcast recording while Brittain manages a dance competition across town. Chaotic? Yes. On-brand? Absolutely. From there the conversation goes deep on a question they keep circling back to: why are we doing this? Not "this" as in the podcast — but all of it. The travel tournaments. The pressure. The sideline screaming. The dad who's keeping a mental scorecard of which league his ten-year-old is in. They dig into comparison culture in youth sports, what actually happens to the kids who aren't getting game time, and what it means to reframe a tournament as a mini vacation rather than a must-win. They also get into a wild real-life story: an opposing coach who pulled his entire team off the field mid-game over a physical-but-legal soccer match — and what it says about the state of youth coaching, burnout, and the economic pressures that are quietly running the show. The back half of the episode…

People in this episode

Hosts: Chad Kutting, Craig Surgey

Topics covered

  • youth sports
  • parenting
  • comparison culture
  • coaching
  • personal struggles
  • mental health

Keywords

  • youth sports
  • parenting
  • tournaments
  • coaching
  • comparison culture
  • mental health
  • personal struggles

Sponsors

Gaimplan

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Davis

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