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TOGETHER WITH MOMENTUM
Youth Sports Isn’t Broken. But the System Might Be.
Today at 11am PT / 2pm ET, join a free, live conversation with Zach Lutz, former MLB player and a powerful voice challenging what youth sports has become.
Zach will discuss his candid views on adult-driven pressure, identity beyond performance, and how coaches can build environments that develop better athletes and better people.
This is a real, coach-to-coach conversation. If you care about standards, development, and doing this the right way, join this discussion today live.
💭 ONE THOUGHT
The Light Switch That Built an Olympian
Some stories hit differently when you’ve watched them unfold up close.
I’ve known Taylor Heise since she was born. I coached both of her brothers, and our families are great friends. And long before she was a hockey player or an Olympic athlete, I saw her competitiveness firsthand.
It showed up everywhere.
Wiffle ball games in the backyard with family friends. She wanted to win.
Youth basketball games. She could really play. Skill, feel, toughness. She stood out early.
And then there were tractor pulls.
Before packed arenas and Olympic dreams, Taylor was competing in state and national tractor-pull competitions. As a young kid, she practiced at home by loading a wagon with rocks and pulling it up and down her driveway on her pedal tractor.
No one told her to do that.
No one was watching.
That was just who she was.
Driven. Competitive. Curious about how to get better.
She grew up in a basketball family in Lake City, Minnesota.
A basketball town.
No high school hockey team.
Just an outdoor rink.
Basketball was the natural path, and she was really good at it.
But then… a simple flyer sent home from school changed everything.
A youth hockey experience at the outdoor rink.
One try.
Instant love.
She kept playing both sports through elementary school.
By middle school, the decision became real:
Stay in Lake City and pursue basketball, or open-enroll in a neighboring school district to chase hockey.
In sixth grade, she told her parents,
“You can’t take hockey away from me.”
That wasn’t emotion.
That was identity.
Taylor’s parents made the difficult decision to let her open-enroll at a neighboring school with a high school hockey team. Her grandpa and dad split the drive, taking her to school and practice every day.
Around that same time, Taylor wrote the following word on her bedroom light switch:
“Olympics”
Every time she left her room, she saw it.
Not motivation.
Direction.
When goals are visible, they shape decisions. They influence how you train, how you respond, and how you handle hard days when no one is clapping.
Taylor excelled in high school hockey, won Miss Minnesota Hockey, was the top recruit in the country, and became a star at the University of Minnesota.
As the 2022 Olympics approached, the light switch felt close.
Then came the cut.
Team USA went with experience.
Taylor was out.
She was the final cut.
It crushed her.
She gave herself a week to feel it. Then she made a choice: would this moment define her, or fuel her?
She chose fuel.
In her final college season, she won the Patty Kazmaier Award, the Heisman Trophy of women’s hockey. She refused to let rejection be the end of the story.
And since then:
#1 overall pick of the Minnesota Frost (PWHL)
Two Walter Cup championships
Selected to represent Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics
One of the best women’s hockey players in the world.
The light switch never lied.
This isn’t just a sports story.
It’s a reminder for coaches, leaders, and athletes:
Competitiveness shows up early.
Goals need to live where you can see them.
And resilience is built long before the moment demands it.
In a few days, I’ll be in the stands in Milan, Italy, cheering Taylor and Team USA on at the Olympic Games.
But the real work happened years ago.
In backyards.
In driveways.
On a bike.
At a light switch.
What’s written on yours?
Good luck,
Greg
P.S. 🎥 Watch the video below, and you’ll see firsthand why Taylor Heise is a champion we can all root for.
📜 GREAT QUOTES
"Champions keep playing until they get it right."
"The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory."
🔗 LINKS FOR LEADERS
🎥 Video: 10,000 Hours Motivational Video [LINK]
🆇 ICYMI: Coach K on goals and effort [LINK]
📰 Article: Can Your Players Count on You?
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