We've built elite athletes.

But are we building strong humans?

In this episode of WINNERS FIND A WAY, I sit down with Gary Thrapp — youth sports advocate, author, and owner of Beyond The Baseline — to talk about where youth sports is headed… and what it's costing us.

This conversation isn't soft.

It's real.

With over 40 years in youth sports, Gary Thrapp has facilitated more than 50,000 games at his facility in Davenport, Iowa

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. He's the owner of Beyond The Baseline, a premier basketball and volleyball event center, and author of The Wild World of Youth Sports.

Gary focuses on:

• Leadership development

• Character formation

• Community engagement

• Creating equitable opportunities for kids

He works on the front lines of youth development every single day

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.

And what he's seeing should get every parent's attention.

The money conversation isn't going away.

But when recruiting replaces development…
When metrics replace fundamentals…
When ego replaces effort…

We have a problem.

We talked about:

• NIL filtering down to youth levels

• The transfer portal mindset

• Winning vs. developing

• Recruiting talent vs. building skill

Gary told a story that hit me hard.

A third grader asked him:

"Why are you making us work while the adults are staring at their phones?"

That's leadership.

From a third grader.

We discussed:

• Attention spans collapsing

• Coaches competing with TikTok

• Parents missing the moments

• The competitive edge of focus

If you want your child to have an advantage?
Put the phone down.

Gary's book Developing Your Success Map centers on one powerful idea:

Ask kids what matters to them.

Not what matters to you.

We talked about:

• Purpose

• Dreams

• Monthly and daily goals

• Asking questions instead of lecturing

You don't build resilience by talking at kids.

You build it by engaging them.

You can recruit talent.

Or you can develop it.

You can chase wins.

Or you can build people.

The scoreboard isn't the ultimate measure.

Character is.

• GaryThrapp.com

• BeyondTheBaseline.net

• The Wild World of Youth Sports (Available on Amazon)

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• Leading Winning Teams (Trent M. Clark)

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leadershipity
🎙 Podcast Page: https://podcast.winnersfindaway.us/podcast

And if you believe in building disciplined, resilient athletes — support the Olympic journey here: 👉 https://trent-clark.com/olympic--2026

If you care about your kids.
If you coach.
If you lead.

This one's for you.

Because winners don't drift.

Winners Find A Way.