Season 1

Season 1

Ep. 6

Ep. 6

Valerie Alston on Mental Performance, Resilience, and Coaching What Actually Works

Valerie Alston on Mental Performance, Resilience, and Coaching What Actually Works

38 min

In this episode of the Skull Sessions Podcast, Andy Riise and Nate Last talk with Valerie Alston, a former Division I softball player and Certified Mental Performance Consultant with over 15 years of experience helping athletes, soldiers, and leaders build resilience and mental toughness. Valerie shares practical strategies for performing under pressure, developing strong mental habits, and creating environments that support growth and confidence, while also discussing the important role parents and coaches play in shaping young athletes.

In this episode of the Skull Sessions Podcast, Andy Riise and Nate Last talk with Valerie Alston, a former Division I softball player and Certified Mental Performance Consultant with over 15 years of experience helping athletes, soldiers, and leaders build resilience and mental toughness. Valerie shares practical strategies for performing under pressure, developing strong mental habits, and creating environments that support growth and confidence, while also discussing the important role parents and coaches play in shaping young athletes.

Hosts:

Hosts:

Nate Last

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Episode Summary

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Skull Sessions Podcast, Andy Riise and Nate Last sit down with Valerie Alston, a mental performance expert who has spent over 16 years helping soldiers, athletes, and leaders build resilience, mental toughness, and high-performance habits.

Valerie shares her journey from college athlete to working with the U.S. Army, where she applies sport psychology principles in high-stakes environments. She breaks down the real process behind mental performance—moving beyond theory to practical tools that actually help people perform under pressure.

The conversation dives into the gap between knowledge and application, why most mental skills training fails, and how coaches, parents, and leaders can create environments that support both performance and well-being.

Valerie also opens up about building her own business (Valston Coaching), the challenges of working with youth athletes, and the critical role parents and coaches play in shaping mindset and development.

Key takeaways:

  • The simple framework to assess, build, and apply mental skills

  • Why “control what you can control” is more than a cliché

  • How to translate complex psychology into practical tools

  • The biggest mistakes parents and coaches make with young athletes

  • Why mental toughness requires both challenge and support

  • Lessons from working with military leaders in high-pressure environments

  • The reality of building a business in performance psychology

Valerie's books:

If you’re a coach, parent, athlete, or leader looking to improve performance and build stronger mental habits, this episode delivers practical, real-world insight you can apply immediately.

Listen now and learn how to kick ass between the ears.

Follow Valerie: @valstoncoaching
Follow us on social: https://linktr.ee/skullsessionspodcast

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