A Playbook for Finding Your Edge (feat. Spence Cowand)

Send us Fan MailThe fastest way to stall a young athlete’s growth isn’t a bad coach or a tough loss. It’s when the sport stops being fun and every practice feels like a test you can’t fail. I sit down with Spence Cowand, Co-Founder and President of Edge Elite Athletics, to talk about the reality behind youth sports pressure: self doubt, performance anxiety, and the burnout that hits when your identity gets swallowed by the grind.Spence shares his own journey through high level hockey, including the moment he realized he was playing “like it was a job” and how stepping back helped him return with a clearer mind and better results. From there, we get practical about athlete development: why cookie cutter workouts miss the mark, why “winning the workout” is a trap, and how recovery and readiness are just as important as training intensity for sports performance and injury prevention.We also dig into the tech side, including how AI and athlete intelligence can help coaches act on what matters most. Think personalized training plans by sport and position, age-appropriate progressions, form feedback, readiness tracking, and injury reporting that can change what a coach does today, not just summarize yesterday. The goal isn’t to replace coaching, it’s to make coaching more human by giving coaches better insight and more time for real connection.If you care about youth sports, mental health, smarter training, and building resilient athletes, hit play, subscribe, share this with a coach or parent, and leave a review. What’s one change you’d make to protect the joy of the game?