The Generation Youth Podcast with James McLamb

Ep. #159: Why Do Young People Struggle to Build Real Confidence and Resilience? With Kaz Langness

Why Do Young People Struggle to Build Real Confidence and Resilience? With Kaz Langness
🏆 Building stronger minds for life and sport. In this episode, James McLamb sits down with Kaz Langness, a mental performance coach who works with youth and collegiate athletes across the country, to unpack what truly shapes confidence, resilience, and performance under pressure. They explore where belief comes from, how it gets shaken, and why the adults in a young person’s life often matter more than they realize. 🧩This conversation is for parents, educators, coaches, and youth leaders who want more than quick motivation and surface-level advice. 🚀 Do not let this play in the background. Listen with intention, then carry what you learn into the next young person who needs you most. 🔥Connect with Kaz Langness:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kazlangness/?hl=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kazlangness/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kazlangness 
Episode highlights:(0:00) Intro(2:29) Kaz’s work with youth and college athletes
(4:28) Why confidence breaks down in young people
(7:11) The role of coaches, parents, and safe spaces
(11:59) How encouragement shapes lives
(13:31) Recognizing hidden self-doubt in youth
(16:36) Fear Vs. Scared
(20:32) Building resilience that lasts beyond sports
(25:26) A powerful first step for young leaders
(30:05) Outro

Ep. #158: How Can Adults Support Youth Growth In A Distracted World? With Kerri Scheetz

How Can Adults Support Youth Growth In A Distracted World? With Kerri Scheetz
In today’s episode of The Generation Youth Podcast, James interviews Kerri Scheetz, a lifelong educator, coach, school board member, and youth mindset leader with decades of experience supporting students and schools 🎓. Together, they explore the real tension facing today’s youth, from constant distraction and packed schedules ⚡ to the growing challenge of staying focused on what truly matters long term. The conversation looks at what effective guidance requires now, why pressure often backfires, and how adults can lead with clarity and patience rather than control 🌱.If you work with young people and feel the weight of getting this right, this episode will sharpen your thinking and challenge how you approach influence and growth. Listen all the way through and reconsider how lasting impact is built, one seed at a time 🌾.Learn more about Kerri Scheetz:Website: https://kerrischeetz.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerri-scheetz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kerrischeetztraining
Episode highlights:(0:00) Intro(2:27) Kerri’s lived view from every angle of education
(4:29) Attention, technology, and the focus crisis
(7:40) Helping youth see a bigger picture
(11:30) Planting seeds without pushing too hard
(14:25) Knowing when guidance becomes resistance
(16:24) Signs a young person lacks direction
(20:02) When busyness leads to burnout
(22:49) Teaching youth to choose better relationships
(30:40) Outro

Ep. #157: How Can We Support Teens Before Suicide Becomes an Option? With Amy Kathleen Lee

How Can We Support Teens Before Suicide Becomes an Option? With Amy Kathleen Lee
💬 What happens when the deepest pain young people carry goes unseen, even by the adults who care most?In this episode, host James McLamb welcomes Amy Kathleen Lee for a conversation many avoid, but youth live every day. 🧠❤️ Amy brings a powerful perspective shaped by lived experience as a suicide and eating disorder survivor, her work as an educator, and her role as a parent supporting a teen through mental health challenges. Together, they explore why these struggles feel more present today and how adult responses can either build trust or create distance.This episode is for parents, educators, coaches, and youth leaders who want to lead with clarity, empathy, and intention. 🎧 Press play and stay with a conversation that challenges assumptions and reshapes how we show up for youth.Reach out to Amy Kathleen Lee:Website: https://www.amykathleenlee.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amykathleenlee/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amykathleenlee/?locale=lv_LV LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amykathleenlee1/ Episode highlights:(0:00) Intro(2:24) Who is Amy Kathleen Lee?
(5:55) How language shapes understanding and stigma
(8:56) Suicide as a symptom, not the problem
(15:14) Why empathy changes everything
(17:11) Shifting from fixing to becoming
(19:11) When things look fine but aren’t
(21:50) Building trust so teens don’t hide
(24:31) How to battle hopelessness?
(27:11) Redefining resilience in youth
(29:37) What is postvention?
(32:11) How to connect with Amy?
(35:48) Outro

Ep. #156: What Happens When a Young Athlete’s Confidence Falls Apart? With Pat O'Malley

💪 Strength formed long before the scoreboard. In today’s episode, James McLamb sits down with Patrick O’Malley, a leader, mentor, recruiting coach, speaker, and advocate for young athletes, for a grounded conversation about what truly shapes them when results, rankings, and outside noise start to weigh heavy. Together, they explore confidence, identity, and the unseen moments that influence how athletes see themselves, carry pressure, and show up at home, in school, and in sport. 🎯This episode is for parents, coaches, and mentors who want to support athletes without breaking them, and for anyone who believes growth is built long before wins ever show up. Listen closely, then share this before pressure writes a story it never should. 🔁Connect with Pat O'Malley:Website: https://me2-we.org/ Email: me2wesmb@gmail.com Keep Going Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keep-going/id1646659885 Episode Reference:Pat’s Presentation: Love is the Best Thing That We Do - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knByM46pbB8 Episode highlights:(0:00) Intro(1:58) Who is Patrick O'Malley?
(3:24) Fear, comparison, and lost confidence
(6:16) Start with goals and daily routines
(8:42) Advice for parents supporting athletes
(13:44) Let kids fail and grow stronger
(17:10) Sports are not your identity
(19:18) Mental health perspective
(21:08) Two options
(24:26) Discipline, love, and trust that last
(30:29) Outro

Ep. #155: What Helps Kids Stick With Big Dreams? With Alessandro Concas

What Helps Kids Stick With Big Dreams? With Alessandro Concas
🎧 In this special episode of The Generation Youth Podcast, James interviews Alessandro Concas, a teenage creator who challenges how young people approach success, effort, and follow-through. 🚀 This episode offers a grounded look at why patience and discipline still matter in a world that pushes fast wins and instant results. ⏳ Parents, educators, and youth will walk away thinking differently about what it really takes to turn ideas into something real. 💡Alessandro Concas is a teenage author, entrepreneur, and speaker from Santa Clarita, California 📍. He is the founder of EterniCat, a creative platform that connects his books, speaking work, and youth-driven projects 🎤. He also hosts The EterniCat Podcast, where he shares practical perspectives that encourage young people to stay consistent, think long-term, and follow through on what they start. 📚Learn more about Alessandro Concas:Website: https://eternicat.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/entreprekid/ The EterniCat Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGqrTwPHKPuuUbw0cH0VHSg Episode highlights:(0:00) Intro(3:30) Writing a book at eight years old
(7:01) Why patience finishes projects
(8:20) Being a young entrepreneur
(10:03) Helping young dreams come true
(12:12) Discipline matters more than motivation
(14:03) Speaking plans and future projects
(17:30) A message directly for parents
(21:21) Outro

Ep. #154: How Does Self-Talk Affect Young People’s Stress? With Matt Kovatchis

How Does Self-Talk Affect Young People’s Stress? With Matt Kovatchis
What if the stress young people feel isn’t about workload, but about perspective? 🎧🎙️In today’s episode, host James McLamb welcomes Matt Kovatchis, an expert in vulnerability and compassion, dynamic keynote speaker, former corporate banker, mental health podcast host, and certified executive coach. 🔥Together, they unpack teen stress, young adult mental health, self-talk, and the daily habits shaping how adolescents and emerging adults respond to pressure. The conversation challenges hustle-first thinking and points toward healthier ways to build resilience, emotional regulation, clarity, consistency, and character under stress. It’s a grounded listen for anyone seeking stronger decision-making skills without burnout. 🔍If you care for, guide, teach, or influence young people, this episode will sharpen how you support youth mental health, leadership development, and long-term well-being for the next generation. 🌱Reach out to Matt Kovatchis:Website: https://mattkovatchis.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kovatchis-cpcc-1b74b3aa/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/mkovatchis23/?hl=en Episode highlights:(0:00) Intro(2:14) Success without purpose leads to burnout
(6:04) Why self-criticism increases stress
(9:37) What self-compassion really means
(11:26) Three parts of self-compassion
(13:52) Signs adults should watch for
(17:29) Helping youth respond to stress
(23:55) How friends can support without fixing
(30:38) Regulate first, then change habits
(35:17) Outro

Ep. #153: What Will Help Today’s Youth Grow Strong Again? With Tom Horner

What Will Help Today’s Youth Grow Strong Again? With Tom Horner
🎯 What if the key to helping the next generation grow stronger starts with simple, small steps? In this episode, James McLamb talks with Tom Horner, an educator, speaker, endurance athlete, and Mental Health and Wellness Coordinator for Pine Island Schools, about how schools can build confidence, teach life skills, and support kids through hard moments. 🌼 Tom shares how his role came to life, why students need steady tools for real challenges, and how small habits can shape character, courage, and community. 🌿
 
🔥 Together, they shine a light on what kids need most and open a clearer way of thinking about how we guide them. This conversation invites parents, teachers, coaches, and caring adults to see the hearts of young people more clearly and to help them grow into capable, confident, resilient leaders. ⭐Get to know Tom Horner:Website: https://sites.google.com/view/tomhorner-wellness/home LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-horner-b988b857/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/mr_horner_/ X: https://x.com/HornerPe Episode highlights:(0:00) Intro(2:50) Tom’s role and mission in schools
(6:36) Creating a wellness role from scratch
(8:44) Post-COVID confidence, mental health, and how Hope Squad saves lives
(12:04) School-wide wellness and prevention ideas
(15:50) What makes a school truly healthy
(21:09) Doing hard things and growing confidence
(28:30) Helping youth face fear instead of avoiding it
(31:46) Where to find Tom and learn more
(33:54) Outro

Ep. #152: What Breaks When Coaches, Athletes, and Parents Stay Silent? With Janine Tucker and Tracey Currey

What Breaks When Coaches, Athletes, and Parents Stay Silent? With Janine Tucker and Tracey Currey
🎙️ In today’s special episode of The Generation Youth Podcast, James sits down with Janine Tucker and Tracey Currey for a powerful look at the pressure young athletes face 🏅 and the unseen weight carried by the adults guiding them 🤝. This conversation opens the door to the heart-level moments that shape confidence, identity, and connection in youth sports ❤️. It is honest, human, and full of insight that can shift how families and coaches support the kids they care about 🌱.Janine Tucker and Tracey Currey are the leaders behind ISNation 🌈, a growing movement supporting the mental and emotional health of young athletes, parents, and coaches 🧠💬. Janine is a celebrated coach with more than 30 years of athlete-centered leadership at Johns Hopkins 🎓. Tracey, ISNation’s founder, built the platform after witnessing the quiet battles her own children faced in sports 💛. Together, they are creating a connected community where no athlete, coach, or parent has to navigate the journey alone 🌍.Learn more about:🌐 Website: https://www.isnation.com/ Connect with Janine Tucker: 📧 Email: janine.tucker@weareisnation.com💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janine-tucker-52865336/ 📸 IG: https://www.instagram.com/janinetucker1/  Connect with Tracey Currey:📧 Email: tracey@isnation.com 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracey-currey-b4a08622a/ 📸 IG: https://www.instagram.com/tm.currey/ 
Episode highlights:(0:00) Intro(2:32) Coach Janine Tucker’s mission after 30 years
(4:40) The real pressures young athletes carry
(7:25) A mother’s story that changed everything
(11:35) How coaches can support mental health
(15:45) When sports become numbers over people
(18:51) The shift toward connection and community
(22:42) Coaches’ mental health and rising burnout
(26:09) Parents and coaches as partners
(35:11) ISNation’s daily tools for support
(38:40) Outro