SPAN Athletics

03/09/2026

Unpopular Opinion: There isn’t a “better” way. 🙄

✅ Travel sports are fine.
✅ Local youth leagues are fine.

☑️ Playing a sport at 5 is fine.
☑️ Starting at 15 is fine.

💰 Paying for private lessons, trainers, nutritionists? Totally fine.
💰 Skipping all that? Also fine.

Here’s the truth: The kid in travel ball might quit at 15. The one who played rec league might be the one getting college offers. The athlete with private coaching might find their stride—or decide they’re done after high school.

There is no formula. No secret path.

What matters is who’s driving the passion. When it’s the athlete pushing, growing, showing up—that’s when the magic happens. But when parents are the ones grinding to “look the part”… that’s when kids start burning out.

Kids are kids. They’ll change, explore, get busy, find love, lose interest. And that’s okay.

Most athletes won’t play beyond high school—and that’s not failure, that’s life.

So, parents, be what they need: supportive, proud, and present.

You’re not the main character in their story—they are.
Sit back, watch their chapters unfold, and soak up every single moment. ❤️

03/06/2026

💪 Fuel. Recover. Perform. Real Talk on Protein For Every Athlete
In the latest episode of The Winning Edge Podcast, host Stacy Bates sits down with Dr. Kristen Hicks-Roof, RD, PhD—host of the Nutrition Communications Podcast—to unpack how our understanding of protein is evolving across all stages of life.
From the new Dietary Guidelines to what “protein quality” really means, they dig into why getting enough protein—at the right times—matters for muscle maintenance, recovery, and healthy aging.
🔍 Topics you’ll uncover:
Animal vs. plant proteins (and which matters more)
How protein impacts fullness, hormones, and metabolism
The science behind bedtime snacks & protein powder myths
Realistic ways to build a more protein-forward plate
🎧 Tune in to hear how small nutrition shifts can create major changes for your performance, energy, and longevity.
🔗 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube

03/05/2026

Keep going — the roadblocks are just testing your drive. 💪 Success doesn’t grow from ease; it’s rooted in the obstacles you overcome.

02/21/2026

🎙️ New Episode Alert 🚨

RED-S or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport is one of the most underrecognized threats to young athlete health and performance, and it's something we're seeing more and more at SPAN Athletics.

That's exactly why this conversation with McConville hit so close to home. Rebecca is one of the leading voices in the country on RED-S, and her depth of knowledge in this space is truly unmatched.

From recognizing the early warning signs of underfueling to understanding the full physiological cascade it creates. Rebecca brings the clinical expertise and real-world experience that every provider, coach, parent, and athlete needs to hear.

I'll be honest, this episode was as much a refresher for me as it was content for our community.

RED-S is complex, evolving, and having trailblazers like Rebecca pushing the education forward is exactly what our athletes need. 💪

🎓 Want to go deeper?

Rebecca has created the REDs Informed Provider Certification — the first-of-its-kind course designed for anyone who works with athletes. Whether you're a dietitian, coach, physical therapist, or clinician, this course will help you:

✅ Recognize and screen for RED-S in your athlete population
✅ Understand the organ-by-organ physiological impact of underfueling
✅ Build assessment tools tailored to your practice setting
✅ Know when RED-S crosses into eating disorder territory — and how to navigate it

👉 Learn more and enroll: beccamcconville.com/the-reds-provider-masterclass/

If you're working with young athletes, coaching a team, or a parent trying to support your athlete — start with this episode.

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/season-3-episode-5-red-s-energy-deficiency-nutrition/id1824742493?i=1000749990286

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0YRgij5gHu9aWWinvhKWQp?si=u3HZvrqoRheV4TeMTp4N7A

▶️ YouTube: https://youtu.be/wYC0bxjAtaU?si=XCW4bfbmYzPbPSFU

Let's keep our athletes fueled, healthy, and performing at their best. 🏆

In this episode, we dive into one of the most overlooked challenges in youth sports—Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)—and its impact on health, gro...

02/13/2026

Is “food as medicine” the future?

In this week’s episode, host Stacy Bates sits down with Mike Lee, , a leader in food innovation and sustainability, to unpack the trends that are actually shaping what—and how—we eat.

From the power of biodiversity and soil health to the rise of AI in agriculture, this conversation dives into how science, tech, and sustainability are creating a healthier planet and smarter nutrition systems.

Tune in to learn how to spot real movements vs. passing food fads, how data is transforming farming, and why the next generation may hold the keys to our global food future.

If you care about the intersection of health, sustainability, and technology, this episode is your roadmap to what’s next.

Listen now on all streaming platforms!


🎙️ Listen here →
Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gYMNSDRF
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gkMRTnnJ
YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gBMD8Crc

02/06/2026

“You look tired.”

Nope. Pretty sure this is just my sports mom face now.

I have kids who basically live at the ball field.

Fueled by coffee, concession stand dinners, and whatever’s left of my voice after yelling “Let’s gooo!” for the 900th time this weekend. 😂🤷‍♀️😜

Tag a sports mom who’s permanently exhausted but wouldn’t trade it for anything. 💕🥎🏀⚽️🏈🥎⚾️🎾🏐🏉🏒🥍🥊🏅⛳️🙌

Stacy Bates
Lindsay Werkhoven Patrick

02/04/2026

As our kids inch closer to adulthood, youth sports has to become their journey…not ours.

If your 17‑year‑old is starting to say, “I want to step back from this,” it’s not automatically quitting or being lazy.

It’s actually them practicing a critical life skill: choosing what fits their interests, values, and limits. That’s how they build real autonomy and confidence, not just rack up activities.

Saying yes to one thing and no to another teaches them how to manage time, energy, and stress. All skills they’ll need when you’re not there to sign the forms, pay the fees, and rearrange the family schedule.

And honestly, I’d rather my teen learn from “small” mistakes now (like overcommitting or dropping an activity) while I’m still here to support, guide, and debrief with them.

When we give our older athletes a real voice in these decisions, we’re saying: “I see you as an emerging adult. I respect you. I trust your judgment.” That respect keeps communication open far more than pressuring them to power through something they no longer love.

You can still hold firm on non‑negotiables like work ethic, discipline or other core family values. But inside those guardrails, letting them decide which sports and activities they lean into or step away from is one of the best “training grounds” for adult life.

And if they’re not asking to quit everything, just one sport or team, it’s a pretty good sign they’re using thoughtful judgment, not just taking the easy way out.