Coaching the Human First: Youth Sports, Unstructured Play, and Athlete Mental Health with Eric Kussin

Real Talk for Sport Parents Podcast

Hosted by Samantha Livingstone

Ep. 17 - Coaching the Human First: Youth Sports, Unstructured Play, and Athlete Mental Health with Eric Kussin

In this episode of the Real Talk for Sports Parents podcast, host Samantha Livingstone introduces guest Eric Kussin, a seasoned professional sports executive and founder of the Same Here Global mental health movement. Eric shares his gripping life story, spanning from his childhood marked by his brother's severe health issues to his successful career in the sports industry, including roles with the NBA, Chicago Sky, Phoenix Suns, New Jersey Devils, and Florida Panthers. Eric opens up about his two-and-a-half-year mental health crisis and the pivotal moment that led him to embrace holistic healing and mental health advocacy. Together, Samantha and Eric explore the profound impact of mental health on performance, the significance of human connection, and how sports parents can better support their children. The episode closes with encouragement to use practical tools like the Scale app to foster open mental health conversations and build stronger relationships.

· 00:35 Meet Eric Kussin: A Journey Through Sports and Mental Health

· 03:25 Eric's Early Life and Sports Involvement

· 06:24 Navigating Challenges and Finding Purpose in Sports

· 12:19 The Impact of Coaching Decisions

· 30:12 Transition to College and the Reality of Walk-On Tryouts

· 34:26 First JV Game Triumph

· 38:14 Career Beginnings and NBA Experience

· 41:16 Sales Challenges and Successes

· 50:37 Struggles with Mental Health

· 01:03:40 Understanding Chronic Stress and Trauma

Quotes

• "I loved coaches that were hard on me. I mean, so, so that's, I know that's not, you know, necessarily in fashion right now. Um, Yeah, it was, it was coaches who were as fiery and competitive as I was, right?" [12:20]

•  "And then all of a sudden I start losing interest in things outside of sport, outside of my work. And I'm not wanting to see friends, I'm not wanting to go to the gym and I'm not wanting to, uh, go out for eats and not wanting to, to play in rec league games. And I, I justified that by saying, this is the world's way of telling me I need to focus on, you know, what's going on in the office. [50:46]

•  "It's not just the events so that people don't think you have to have been through major events. It's the thoughts that we tell ourselves related to the events that dysregulate the nervous system as much as maybe sometimes even more than the events themselves." [01:07:00]

Social Media and Links

· RTSP Instagram

· samanthalivingstone

· Instagram: @samehere_global

· samehereglobal.org