In episode 36 of the Coaching the Athletic Mind podcast, host Megan Weaver continues part two of a three-part series with longtime coach and sports parent Mike Dickerson, noting a shout-out to the West Genny baseball team’s first state title. They discuss coaching and raising male versus female athletes, including how boys often struggle more with listening, impulsiveness, and processing emotions at younger ages, while girls tend to take instruction quickly but can become harder on themselves as they get older, sometimes driven by expectations and perfectionism. Mike shares his “24-hour rule” of not revisiting games unless athletes bring it up, emphasizes teaching athletes to operate in the “gray area” by valuing small, winning plays like moving runners, and describes both support and bias encountered when his daughter played baseball. Mike says he enjoys coaching female athletes more and stresses knowing each player to communicate effectively.

In episode 35 of Coaching the Athletic Mind, host Megan Weaver interviews longtime coach and sports parent Mike Dickerson about the mental game and how youth sports have changed. Dickerson shares how baseball became his safe space growing up in a broken home, helping him redefine himself and learn life lessons through adversity. He describes a pivotal coaching moment that shifted his pitching mindset from trying to strike everyone out to trusting the seven teammates behind him, emphasizing encouragement after mistakes and the importance of positive self-talk and confidence, citing examples like Aaron Donald and Deion Sanders. He notes modern athletes have more training tools and access to film, but social media increases pressure because mistakes follow kids beyond the field; despite changes, college evaluators still seek good teammates who handle failure well. Weaver previews a three-part series covering coaching male vs. female athletes and building youth mental skills.

In episode 34 of the Coaching the Athletic Mind podcast, host Megan Weaver interviews her dad about his 20-year coaching background and compares coaching youth softball in the 1990s/2000s with today's players Megan now coaches. They discuss his laid-back, encouraging coaching style; strong feeder programs and facilities in Madison; the intensity shift from JV to varsity; Megan’s junior-year bench experience, late-night batting cage work, and creating a VHS highlight reel that helped her get recruited to play at Le Moyne. They explore mindset topics like shaking off mistakes, players spiraling after errors, negativity bias, and the need to practice celebrating “wins,” including examples Megan forgot but her dad remembered, plus her over-the-fence home run. They also cover parent reactions to playing time, team roles, and how sports built family memories.