Joe Neal | From Youth to Pro in the Private Sector

In the private sector, you are always auditioning. Joe Neal, owner of 2SP Sports Performance based near Detroit, MI, shares a blueprint for serving athletes from youth to the professional ranks. Those foundational principles support off-season training for National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) players. Neal reflects on his untraditional path from an underserved college baseball athlete to a business owner. Along the way, his coaching was guided by self-experimentation, creative training techniques, and relentless learning. He explains what makes a strong private-sector program: coaches should be prepared, moving, and communicating, not buried in screens or programming. Neal also breaks down how he uses technology to individualize training, track progress, and support better decisions without losing supervision. He emphasizes long-term development, where overlooked athletes can keep growing, stay healthier, and outperform early expectations. Listen for practical lessons on culture, coaching, business, and private-sector development across every level of sport. Connect with Joe on Instagram: @joeneal2 or by email: [email protected] | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA Entrepreneur Special Interest Group (SIG) on LinkedIn to connect with other coaches and explore ideas for building and leading in the private sector.Show Notes“If you want to go into the private sector, you got to be willing to bet on yourself constantly. And always be ready to audition, because that's what I feel like I deal with every single day.” 15:25 “If we can do a really competitive and compelling job to get them in there, it’s going to make a difference, you know, a change in their outcomes. [...] I was that athlete who really needed it and that athlete who we probably wouldn't have had, we probably wouldn't be talking if I didn't go through that process myself at this point and just kind of coasted through my career. And it was a game changer for me.” 23:25 “One thing that we want is we want our coaches prepped and ready to go. They shouldn't be programing during, during the session and those type of distractions are really problematic. [...] If they have high energy than our then our athletes are going to have high energy.” 29:40