Every coach has the athlete who's easy to reach, and the one who's checked out, arms crossed, wall fully up. This episode is about that second athlete, and why they're usually the one who needs you most.

Tex breaks down the Coach-Athlete Reinforcing Loop, the five-stage cycle of trust extended, coaching delivered, athlete response, outcome, and reinforcement, and explains why it never resets to neutral.

We unpack the five real reasons athletes resist coaching, none of which are usually about defiance at all, and why treating resistance as data instead of a discipline problem changes everything about how a coach responds to it.

Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training -
15 Min Dynamic Warm Up Flow - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/warmupflow
Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com

It has to be earned. Not given.

Fairfax Hackley spent 34 years with the Arnold Classic. He trained with legends like Vince Gironda and Steve Maholic. He is the Senior Vice President for the International Sports Hall of Fame, now in its 15th year, inducting names like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronda Rousey, David Goggins, and Marcus Allen.

But this episode isn't about bodybuilding. It's about mentorship. It's about standards. It's about what happens when you hit rock bottom and have to decide who you are on the other side of it.

Fairfax shares the story of catching a falling Lou Ferrigno mid-collapse, getting tested by legends who didn't hand out respect, and the moment he had $69 to his name and asked the devil if that was the best he had.

This one stays with you.

Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training - 15 Min Dynamic Warm Up Flow - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/warmupflow Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com

Most coaches don't praise enough. The ones who do often praise the wrong way without ever knowing it.

In this episode, Tex breaks down why coaches stay silent when athletes get it right, the three mindset blocks holding that silence in place, and a concept from neuro-linguistic programming that changes how you think about the words you use around your team. You'll learn the three distinct types of praise (and why the one most coaches rely on is actually the weakest), why an overheard compliment can shape a kid's identity more than anything said to their face, and the warning that comes with that same power: it works exactly the same way in reverse.

Then the episode turns to the trap waiting on the other side of good praise. Drawing on trauma-informed research into performance-based confidence, Tex unpacks how praise tied only to outcomes can quietly teach an athlete that their worth has to be re-earned every single day, and what to do instead so the confidence you're building actually holds up when the scoreboard doesn't cooperate.

If you've ever wondered whether you're praising your athletes enough, or praising them in a way that's actually working, this episode is for you.

Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training - 15 Min Dynamic Warm Up Flow - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/warmupflow Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com