#444 What Does it Take to be an Elite Youth Athlete? Baltimore Orioles Draft Pick Slater de Brun and 2x USA Swimming National Champion Campbell McKean Share Their Stories

Living in Bend, Oregon, our host John O'Sullivan has gotten to know some extraordinary young athletes, none more so than our two guests today, Slater de Brun and Campbell McKean. He has know both boys since elementary school, and had the privilege of coaching Slater for 5 years in soccer before he went full time into baseball. Slater was recently the 37th overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft, and signed a multi-million dollar contract with the Baltimore Orioles. Campbell is the US National Champion in the 50 and 100 meter butterfly, and recently won a bronze medal in the World Championships in Singapore. He will be swimming for the University of Texas in Fall 2025. Both boys, only age 18, have already achieved so much for their age, and it is worth exploring as there is so much misinformation out there regarding what it takes to be a truly elite youth athlete, not just a kid with the word "elite" on their uniform.

How was their childhood different from peers? How did their parents support their dreams and their journey? What did they give up to get to the top? How do they approach practice and competition? How do they tune out the outside noise? How it's not all glitz and glamor on the path of excellence. What is their best piece of advice for young athletes who are driven to reach the top of their sport? And so much more.

Parents always talk about how their kid has all this ability, and so many love to throw around the word elite, but as you will learn from two truly high achieving 18 year olds, ability might get you in the door, but it takes so much more to be a truly elite youth athlete.

Connect with Campbell: https://www.instagram.com/campbell.mckean

Connect wth Slater: https://www.instagram.com/slaterdebrun/

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This week’s podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sprocket Sports.  Sprocket Sports is a new software platform for youth sports clubs.  Yeah, there are a lot of these systems out there, but Sprocket provides the full enchilada. They give you all the cool front-end stuff to make your club look good– like websites and marketing tools – AND all the back-end transactions and services to run your business better so you can focus on what really matters – your players and your teams.

Sprocket is built for those clubs looking to thrive, not just survive, in the competitive world of youth sports clubs.  So if you’ve been looking for a true business partner – not just another app – check them out today at https://sprocketsports.me/CTG.

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