Episode #75 The Hidden Lessons from Elite Athletes: How Persistence and Self-Belief Create Champions

Unlock the secret to turning setbacks into comebacks — whether in your athletic career or everyday life. In this episode of The Second Opinion, sports medicine experts Dr. Pawen Dhokal and Dr. Dustin Glass delve into the power of full commitment, strategic patience, and mental resilience.

Imagine pushing yourself to the limit and realizing that the key to success isn’t just talent or luck, but a mindset of decisive, full-speed action. Dr. Glass shares inspiring stories from his years working with elite athletes, including how a simple choice like taking the stairs or the mindset shift of “trusting yourself” can dramatically impact performance, longevity, and overall health. Meanwhile, Dr. Dhokal emphasizes the importance of celebrating your wins — big or small — and sharing those victories to fuel future success.

You'll discover actionable insights on how to overcome the frustration of not starting or not getting the first opportunity. From how to handle competition in sports, like the story of an athlete fighting for a spot on the Olympic team, to strategies that promote mental toughness and resilience in everyday life, this episode is packed with gems. We break down the importance of preparation, timing, and self-trust, reminding you that it’s never too late to start or restart your health journey.

Whether you're an athlete, a parent guiding young talent, or someone striving to improve your physical or mental well-being, this episode offers the motivation and frameworks you need to keep going at full throttle. Missing out on these lessons could mean letting self-doubt, indecision, or regret hold you back from your fullest potential.

And, as a bonus, hear heartwarming stories from Dr. Glass about his Olympic journeys, memorable medals, and the importance of recognizing and sharing your wins. This episode is a celebration of perseverance, the value of resilience, and the power of a growth mindset — essential listening for anyone committed to winning at life.

Tune in and get inspired to act full speed, trust your process, and celebrate every victory on your path. Because in the game of life and sports, the greatest wins come from unwavering commitment and the courage to keep moving forward.

Perfect for athletes, coaches, parents, and anyone needing a mindset boost. Your next level awaits — hit play now.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:06

And we are live. This is the second opinion. We're a sports medicine podcast. I'm Dr. Dokal. I'm Dr. Glass. And it is great to be live with you, dude. It's great to be live. You're in high death. I got good audio.

unknown 0:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Sinkins are looking good. You told me about hyaluronic acid, and I'm letting the secrets out. Yeah, man. Keep it between us. I was mad you didn't tell me.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

You were giving me crap for that. How are you, bro? Good man. Just been busy traveling. Uh just last week. This was the longest I've taken off since uh well, since COVID, but um since uh traveling with the USA volleyball um when I was traveling internationally with them. This is the longest I've taken off. I took a whole uh 10, 11 days off to be with my daughter for her graduation and for her SOCON tournament, uh for softball. So it was a great great week being out in Tennessee, Georgia area. Yeah, it was nice to kind of get grounded and regroup, be with family, friends, see people out of the scene for a little while, and uh and then we get back here and back to the grind yesterday. But I'm glad we're we're doing this.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

So no, it's great. Well, also you get you got to come back to California. Yeah, you're not living in those places that you visited, not that there's anything wrong with it, but it's a blessing to be in California, I'd say, with uh the weather and the opportunity and you know the people that you work with. So I know what you mean.

SPEAKER_03 1:35

Yeah, no, I I I love that area though. I mean the the people, the places, um the the type of lifestyle, it's uh slower paced, obviously. Uh it just it's just it just hits a little different out there, and uh it was very welcomed. Uh so um I'm looking forward to getting back. My daughter turns 22 today. Shout out to my daughter Shane. Uh turns 22 today, and uh she graduated on Saturday, turns 22 today. She is then moving out, moving to Georgia on the 13th, and then has her orientation for work, which she's with the Atlanta Braves organization, so starting her little career doing that. So we're excited. So it's just bing, bang, bang. Once she gets settled in, I'm gonna get out there and um visit her and see what she's got going on for her next chapter.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Dude, let's not gloss over that. So she graduated school and now she is this her first job out of college?

SPEAKER_03 2:35

Yeah, so while she was in college, you know, playing softball, you know, it's a vigorous schedule. So she didn't have a lot of time to do a lot of internships, a lot of different opportunities, but she threw her networking, she had a lot of NIL deals and she was doing brand marketing and stuff for NIL type stuff. And one thing led to another. Part of this last year, she got an internship with the Cincinnati Reds organization. They have a uh triple A team out in Chattanooga, so she was she's been working with that organization and then um part-time, and now she got the full-time with the Braves.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Dude, that is awesome. Happy birthday to her.

SPEAKER_03 3:18

Yeah, you know, yeah, no, and also Proud Dad moment. For sure, for sure. Yeah, man. Um, yeah, shed a few tears during graduation. Not gonna deny that. Just a big milestone. And uh I have zero reservations with her moving on and doing the next part of her life, and I'm happy about that. I think uh that's what we prepare our kids for, is to get to that level where you can let them go and let them do things and not have to um worry about it. And I'm glad I'm at that space with her, and she's gonna do just fine. And she's young, and just like we've experienced many things since our 20s, you know, she's gonna have lots of different opportunities, some good, some bad, but she's gonna learn from all of them. And so we've had opportunities to talk all about that. So I just want her to get as many experiences like you and I did early on. We just jumped in and, you know, even if you're not sure, just do it. As long as it I tell them, as long as it's not illegal, unethical, or immoral, if it's out of your comfort level, that probably means it's the right thing to do. Go for it and uh and figure it out as you go. And uh, you don't have to be perfect at everything for sure to get started, you know. So we had a lot of those conversations. We've had a lot of those conversations over the years, but um this kind of you know, coming to a closure of one chapter, opening up another one led us to have more conversations.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

So I'm excited for her. That's amazing, bro. I'm really, really happy for you, but I'm really happy for her. Happy birthday to you, Shana. I don't know her, know her, but I know her just you know, through conversations and just seeing her grow up and just know I can't believe she's graduated college. That's amazing. Yeah, and you should be proud of yourself too, because I mean, as any parent knows, it's you know, journey, ups and downs, and I know it's been especially challenging since, you know, the last five years. And I'm really proud of you, dude. I'm really proud of you. Thank you. Yeah, that's awesome. That's really awesome. I'm glad you got the time off too. Yeah. To be able to be out of state and just unplug because when you're sprinting the whole time, like yes, we can do it. This actually brings me to something I wanted to talk about later on down the road in the podcast. I just don't want to forget about stress and injuries in your nervous system. I know that you can push hard every day, and you do, and I feel like, you know, probably put in 350 days out of 365 in the last year, and I know I feel the same too. And it's it's not that you can't do it, but I've been really mindful of um at what cost, you know, at the cost of sleep, at the cost of your health, at the cost of you know, the late nights, the early mornings. And so um, I'm glad you got to reset a little bit and reflect. I think it's super important, bro. I think it's important for us to do that because we have plans and goals for this year, and that requires energy and it requires focus and requires our presence, most of all, you know. And so um, dude, I'm super excited that you got that time. I know I called you once and you normally hit me back and you didn't, and I thought to myself, he must still be out of town because he always hits me back, and so I was happy for you.

SPEAKER_03 6:20

Yeah, no, I feel bad for that. I literally got it yesterday when we were when I reached out to you know check in about today and next week, and I uh looked and I'm like, what? I got a message from him, and I don't even it was Thursday. So I have no clue. Never even popped up on my screen, nothing. So but I appreciated it. It was a nice little uh reach out just to say hi, see how things were going. So I always appreciate those. That's the nice thing about friendship that it doesn't always have to have something behind it, just uh just to check in. So I'm sorry, I apologize for not getting back. Um, but uh yeah, yeah, it's kind of crazy. But uh, what about you? Where have you been in the last two weeks with work and with travel? I know last time we did other podcasts you were just getting back from Florida and uh running crazy, burning the candle at both ends, like I'm doing right now. So we're kind of flip-flop that. But um, yeah, so what have you been doing?

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Take your vitamins, get a good night's rest because it did catch up to me yesterday or the day before, where I was like, yo, I'm like this, you know, my mom's sick right now, my dad is now sick too. And yeah, just been some late nights and some early mornings and you know, working on some side projects as well. So it's been it's been busy, but I had to take a little time where I had stuff planned to do, some admin stuff yesterday, and I just was like, I have to just rest, otherwise I'm gonna be I was right on the fence, you know. I woke up today feeling better, got a little workout in, do some water on my face, don't look too terrible, you know. But uh no, it's been good, it's been busy. I went to San Diego for a weekend of work, plugged in a day. I was supposed to have two days of work and two days off, ended up being three days of work and one day off. But that one day off was awesome. I got to see some friends, go to dinner, and you know, just get some time by the ocean and reflect. And yeah, it was it was mostly sweet. There was a little bit of bitterness in there just from nostalgia, you know. But it it was great, dude. It was nice. And then the drive up and the drive back, like I'm sure sometimes the drives can be tedious, but sometimes they're a little bit um what's the word, cathartic? Yeah, is that the right word? It's just like it feels nice to have some alone time.

SPEAKER_03 8:26

Yeah, I like those drives. Uh yeah. I know I know what you're saying. Sometimes it's a grind, but um, for the most part, especially that drive, I I think is a beautiful part of the country, and you get to go through all of it. When you go from southern to northern, you get to go through central. So you get you get that, you know. I was trying to explain some to Tennessee how it is, you know, very different from place to place. You got the beach and the tropical type down here, then you got the central, you got the ag flatland agriculture, and then northern Carol California, you got a blend of the ag plus the mountains and the trees and the hills and stuff like that. So it's kind of cool, yeah. Um, to do that drive to go through it depending on which way you go.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Yeah, no, it's nice. I I'm trying to dial it in, Dustin's, to where um I have something trying to plant the seed up there. We'll see. Maybe I can be up there a little more frequently and then we can get some in-person pods going. I'm also lately on the mindset of speaking about the seed before it actually sprouts, even if it's rooting. I I feel like somebody could just come and stomp on that seed, you know what I mean? So I'm just like waiting for the for everything to sprout before I speak on it. And also just continuing to water and work the fields, you know, so to speak.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

But it's uh yeah, no, it's it was good. I feel I was reflecting just on you know, there's people who graduate school and just have really have a struggle to even open a practice or they're just destined to work for somebody else, and there's nothing wrong with that. But to be able to have your own place, it's a privilege, you know, and then to be able to have the trust of patience for a long time. Like I saw some people that I've known for 10, 15 years, and it was just nice, you know, they were saying kind things and it uh it made me reflect on being in a position to just have those relationships, you know. So sometimes I feel like we might forget about that being in practice or worried about getting people better or the process of running a business. And I know you have some really great, great relationships as well that this job has brought you. And um, yeah, I was I was just feeling grateful and thankful for that on the way back, really.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

Yeah. Very cool. Well, good for you to reflect on those.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Yeah, it's uh there's a balance in everything, you know. I think it's uh it's important. Especially during times of growth or times of challenge. I was talking to an athlete who was basically well, I'll just be honest, he was like, yo, I don't I don't know if all this effort is gonna pay off. You know? And I heard I wanted to jump right in right then and just be like, Well, that's everything, you know. But I heard him out and he was valid. Like he's like, I'm sacrificing this, I'm sacrificing this, I'm putting in this effort, I'm not starting, all these things. And essentially my message was nothing's guaranteed, but you'll feel good about putting full effort in versus tapping out and then always wondering, dude, could I have even if it was one percent, even if it was like you'll be thinking about that. I just know from people's competitive some people wouldn't, but his competitive nature, I just in the short time knowing him, I was like, dude, I promise you, in two years, you're gonna be like, could I have got that starting job and could I have got uh a scholarship? Could I be playing D1 football? Because he has that potential. The problem is it's not a problem, actually, it's a great thing. His position room has uh a lot of great athletes, and so like he's probably gonna be a great athlete as well. It's just there's only so many spots, you know. So with you know what are your thoughts on that for young athletes? This is a college athlete who you know is just having some doubts, and I was sharing some just lifetime experiences where I'm like, that's just not sports, but it's like everyone when you share something from the last year or two, and you have to make a decision and and commit. It's like being a quarterback. I had a coach tell me once, the worst decision is indecision, you know? And that really stuck with me. I take that into life of like, I'd rather let it rip and have it be an incomplete pass or an interception than just hold it and get sacked. You know what I mean? Because I'm just not decisive. So what do you what are your thoughts on that? What would you say to that or to your daughters who might have been in that position at one point in time?

SPEAKER_03 12:32

Yeah, so a couple things on that, on that last point you just made, like just let it rip. Uh one of my one of the teams I coached, uh, one of our mantras that I started was um one speed 100% of the time, um, or one speed, full speed 100% of the time. So it was just the mantra. So I would yell out once, you know, one speed, and then they'd yell out full speed and then 100% of the time, right? And so the whole thing, we would repeat that over and over and over. And the whole idea is yeah, you you go full, no matter what you're gonna do, as soon as you go to pull that trigger, it's full speed 100% of the time, you know. So, um, and it's one speed. We only have one speed in competition, you know, and if you've prepared enough, and the the hesitations or the trying to figure out if it's the right move is taken care of in the preparation. So you don't have to think when you're competing, right? So you've already done that during practice and preparation. That's the time to do the calculations when it comes to go and do full speed, there's no calculations on that part, it's just reaction. So that's why you know, um, one speed, full speed 100% of the time goes. But um, so I I like what you said just um but on the other part with uh a couple things. One of the things like with the with different players, and when you're not starting, and if you're a good player, so there's several things. If you're a good player and you know you have the talent, you have the skill, and you're just not getting the call because you have a team full of great players, and the people ahead of you are great and amazing as well. And for some reason, you're just not getting that call. All things everything else equal, at that point, it's up to the coach and it's his opinion on who's gonna start or not. So at that point, the conversation with these athletes is don't let don't let these coaches dictate your value, right? Just because their opinion is you're gonna somebody's starting over you, that's their opinion. Because another coach might say, No, I'm gonna start this on any given day. So that's the thing. Don't let somebody else's opinion dictate you know what you value your worth at. Again, it's just their opinion on who they're gonna start when it comes down to it and pen to paper, they have to make a decision. And at that point, that decision is their opinion of practice on game, on who's been most consistent. There's a lot of factors, not whether you're good or not good. So that another coach might see the value in for that game or that position. And so, but if you quit, you'll never know, or you haven't met that coach yet, you know, that that sees where you have that potential. I have so that's one thing on that. Now, if you're so a lot of times if you're not getting a start and there's people ahead of you, then I'd say, hey, have that conversation with the coach and ask them straight up, you know, how can I not why am I not starting, but how what can I do to improve to get it? Not even about the opportunity. A lot of kids make a mistake by asking the coach for the opportunity, and then the coach will give them an opportunity, and then if it's a fail, then the coach will come back. Well, I give you your opportunity, you didn't succeed. So, so the question more is not on opportunity, but what can I do to make the lineup or make the make you know, make a start and stay in that position? What do I need to do? What do I need to work on? And then once coach gives you that, you might just have to work a little harder on certain things. But if you don't know what the coach is looking for, or you're missing that mark and you're just assuming that you're doing everything right, the coach might have mentioned something in the past that didn't resonate with you. But if you go in and they say, Hey, I need you to work on XYZ, and you go back and work on XYZ, and at least at that point you've filled in the bucket of what the coach wants. And if at that point they're still not getting the start, then at least you know, hey, I've done everything I could based on what he told me or she told me, and then you you chalk it up for that. But um, but then you at least you've taken it out of the equation. Um, I had and then sometimes, like you said, the people ahead of you, it's just really hard to bust through. I had one patient a long time ago who was in the New York Yankee organization, triple A, and he made up triple A. And and great organization, the best organization at the time that you could be playing for and be in triple A because you're one one step away from making the big league. But the problem was the people ahead of him were Jeter and A-Rod. So he's in AAA and he has Jeter and A-Rod in front of him. Yeah, so talk about a depth chart, you know, like yeah, you know, those are the guys that and you're not wishing anything upon there, you know, they are who they are, but you know, and they got they're gonna be there for a long time. So it's like it's one of those things. Sometimes it just doesn't, you know, pan out, you know, but that doesn't mean he's not a good player, right? Get traded to another team and then you're that guy, you know. But anyways, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

So no, it's about opportunity and preparation. That's what I was saying to him is the last thing you want to do is get the opportunity and you're not prepared because your mind wasn't right or you didn't expect it, or you didn't prepare like you're a starter. If you want to be a starter, you gotta prepare like you're a starter when you're not a starter. Yeah, you don't start preparing to be a starter once you get the call. That's too late. You're not gonna be in there too long, you know? And also there's nothing wrong with the discussion and trying to figure it out, you know. Like with him, he was trying to like talk about it and figure out like, should I be all in or should I change this? And I think that's it's a valid thought process, you know, to have honest reflection and talk with people that yeah, that is very mature, I would say. That's a great way of putting it. And talk to your trusted people. I would say don't talk to everybody, everybody has an opinion. Yeah, but I appreciate him asking me my opinion. And, you know, he's like, I talked to my dad, and I talked to my physician, and I said, What'd they say? And he's like, My position coach was like, keep working. Like you're too good to be like you're exceptional at this. It's just it's just not your time, you know. But keep working and it will be your time. And his dad was uh, you know, very supportive, was like, I'll support you in whatever you're gonna do, but you're not gonna quit this season. Like, you gotta ride out this season. Yeah. So like you have to give it a hundred and ten now, and then at the end of the season, we can have another discussion, you know? And um, I kind of was along the lines of just put in the effort a hundred percent and and wait for your opportunity. And I shared a story with him about um someone in the league who the position his position coach didn't like him. He came from college and he was treating NFL guys like a college coach would, you know, so like re-rating him and he had known him from college. This coach's rookie year in the NFL was this player's rookie year. And so for whatever reason, he's like, he was really like on me, and some other player verified, like, yeah, he'd be super aggressive, you know. Long story short, he was thinking about like, man, maybe this isn't for me, maybe I should quit. I'm definitely not gonna get at one point in time he was told he was gonna get 40 reps, and the other guy was gonna get 40 reps, and it ended up being something like 70 to 10 or 68 to 12. Yeah. And so he's like, I'm definitely getting cut. And so uh a veteran was basically said, be prepared, take advantage of your opportunity. The next practice, he had one rep and got an interception. The next practice, he had two reps, dropped an interception, had a tip ball. Then in the game, the guy pulled his hand, somebody pulled like a hammy or got hurt, and he got in to the preseason game, balled out, didn't look back, was in the league. And that was it. And it's like, dude, what if he just wasn't and he said he looked in the mirror and was like, actually, I heard this on a podcast, and he said he looked in the mirror and was like doubting himself, and he was like, No, you're the like you know what you're doing. You're the man, like you know what you're doing, trust yourself. And he's like, I was going out for my pro day workout, and I was having a conversation in the mirror. Like, are you not him? Like, are you like maybe and then he's like, No, he's like, I just was like, You are, you know what you're doing, trust yourself. And then he went out. And so maybe that's a unique case and he got lucky, but I would say he uh believed and kept working, you know? Yeah, and that I think is critical. And it's not just for sports, you know. I think it's in everything. So yeah, it was uh it's interesting to see. I'm I'm excited to kind of see what this next year brings for him. I'll be rooting for him, you know.

SPEAKER_02 20:58

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

You know what I wanted to ask too, Dustin? It's a little bit of a change of a subject, but how's the USA volleyball going? I know you're back involved in that. Yeah, and the day that I saw you post something about it or you were there, I had a high school girl who's probably gonna be a collegiate swimmer, but she plays high school volleyball as well. And I'd like to talk about her issue after you answer this question. She has a shoulder instability problem. But uh, how was your experience with USA volleyball? Because coincidentally I saw it that same day, and I was like, man, I gotta ask Dustin how that's going and like what the experience has been like.

SPEAKER_03 21:32

Yeah, so this is my they call it quads. When you're working with the national team and the Olympic team, they break it down into quads, the Olympic seasons. So this is my fourth quad, which means fourth Olympics involved with them. So pretty exciting, pretty cool. A lot of transition from when I first started between coaches and players. In the first two quads, probably first eight years or so, we had a pretty solid same, same team because it was. Really young when I first came in, and then they kind of phased out over eight years. So pretty, pretty cool to see the transition. And then a couple more stuck around last quad, and then they're pretty much all gone. So the players I started with are no longer there. So it's kind of come full circle. But we have a whole new group, um, young, very talented. I work with men and women's indoor teams. We're getting ready for the 2028 Olympics, and that um start, you know, I started with them when was that? Um end of April, so middle of April, and we go through August. So um I'm working with them a couple days a week. Sometimes they'll come to the office if needed. And then we got a couple games coming up that'll be pretty fun for the public to go watch coming up. Is there one in San Diego? What's that? Is there one in San Diego? I thought I saw like an exhibition somewhere. I'll have to look. I'll let you know for sure. The last one I saw was going to be in Manhattan Beach. But um Oh, that's where it was. I know they do tour around, but um, yeah, those are fun in Manhattan Beach. If people can go to those, those are a lot of fun because it's really typically smaller venues, really intimate. You get a really good feel. I would recommend going to see the men and the women because they're even though it's the same sport, they're totally different approaches. Men just try to kill each other. The speed at which they hit it. I mean, both the the power and the execution on both men and women is amazing, but the men's longer levers and you know muscle mass, it's just it comes at you. They're just they just there's not a lot of finesse in the game. There's not a lot of rallies. It's just serve and kill, serve, serve past, kill, serve, pass, kill. Where with the women it's more I think it's more exciting game.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

No, I can see that for sure. I volleyball isn't like such a fun sport to watch, you know. Like in college we had a really good men's and women's team, and I had friends on both. They were competing for the national championship each year. And I can't imagine uh, you know, in fact, a couple of them were trying out for the Olympic team, so they must be like of the same caliber, actually better now a couple decades later. But I mean, there must be guys who are already 6'4, 6'5, 6'6 who have a 40-inch vert plus a reach. So like they're hitting that ball down probably from 12 feet, maybe. Yeah, at least 10. At least 10 minimum. Right? Yep. Yeah. And then the velocity of that. I took one like this on time, and when I say my forearms were not red, but stinging for about 10 minutes. Yeah, like I don't, yeah. Do you ever see them knock it and be like, yeah, I'm not getting in the way of that?

SPEAKER_03 24:42

My first time, my first time traveling internationally went to Japan.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

I'm listening, but I gotta, I got I'm sorry, I'm listening, but I gotta do something real quick.

SPEAKER_03 24:49

Yeah, no, no, no. The first time was uh in Japan for World Cup and my first trip traveling, and I didn't realize, you know, everybody pitches in, the whole staff. So during practices, you know, the docks would be out there and the staff would be out there shagging balls. And uh I learned really quick that um you gotta be paying attention at all times and you better be ready to move lateral or forward back, whatever you need to do to get out of the way, because if you get hit with one of those, it's gonna leave a mark for sure. So it's like when we used to play dodgeball, but times, you know, a thousand or whatever. I remember the first time I got hit and never wanted to get hit again. It is is very painful. There's no forgiving on those balls either. So but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:35

So who's the uh without naming names, you don't, but like obviously your fourth Olympic, so that's 16 years, and but there must be some people that were on the previous Olympics in 2024, right? Just a couple years later in 2026 now. Is there anybody from 2020 that's still on the squad on either side?

SPEAKER_03 25:58

There may be, I guess. Yeah, I'm sure there are. No, there are spot. There are there, there's there's more men than there are women. I think there's like two women that are still on, and then I think there's four or five guys that are still on.

SPEAKER_01 26:15

So you know the reason I ask is just the Olympics are so unique that depending on what age like if you hit the f your first Olympics at 18, you could probably be in three Olympics, you know. You hit the first Olympics at twenty one or something, then maybe you only have two opportunities. It's a blessing to even have one, you know. For sure. I'm I'm really excited, dude. I think the next couple of years life's really gonna change for us. And the opportunities that you're gonna have, like with the Olympics being in LA, I just hope everything is uh safe, you know. It's like just gonna be crazy congestion, and you know, I'm sure they'll plan it out the best they can. But yeah, dude, it's gonna be fun. It's it feels very like like historic Olympics do to me, you know? Something about the amateur status, about not getting paid, about it being for the love of the game. Not that you can't become a star through the Olympics, but look, there's high school kids who are now in college making more NIL money than some of the best sprinters in the world, you know, which I think we gotta figure that out. Like, we can't have our Olympic athletes having poor nutrition unless they're sponsored and only certain numbers get sponsored.

SPEAKER_02 27:24

Like yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

Bro, we're already like the best in the world, and we're not like always super forward thinking, I feel like, when it comes to some things around athletics, you know.

SPEAKER_02 27:36

I agree.

SPEAKER_01 27:37

But with the Olympics, anyways, getting back to the point, it's just it's gonna be very cool to see people that you know compete at the highest level on the world stage, but to be the best in the world.

SPEAKER_02 27:49

Yeah. It's a it's it's a medal, yeah, be on a podium in your country, yeah, dude.

SPEAKER_03 27:56

Yeah, it's it's pretty right now. I was in Italy when we won um uh World Champions and um and uh for the first time ever, uh USA won that tournament. And um I remember it just going crazy and um coach uh uh uh Kartskarai, the goat of volleyball, he basically pulled us all up on the podium with them. And to have I got pictures on the podium or on the platform, and all the girls holding their medals, holding their trophy, and uh Betty raining down everywhere. And um, I got a picture of me up there and um where is that picture? Uh USA warm-up, you know, that you see with the embroidered USA, not just uh you know the screen print USA. And uh, you know, I that was a proud moment. Uh and then crazy story. Um my first travel time was be in Japan, all that. Um, Coach Hugh, um he uh presented me with one of their medals that they won. And so I got and then another crazy story on my last trip, years later, like even last year or so, I get a package in the mail. And Coach Karai, who moved from the women's to the men's last year, he said he sent me a medal in the in the mail with a nice handwritten note saying that he had saved this for me all these years, and it was in his drawer, got lost. And when he was moving from office to office and the move to the men's team, he wanted to get it to me. But he didn't have to do that, right?

SPEAKER_02 29:33

Like that's amazing.

SPEAKER_03 29:34

I didn't even know about it, so he could have just like okay, but uh so I get a package in the mail with this nice handwritten letter from one of the winningest uh medalists in USA history. He did it in both indoor and in beach um medals. And anyways, so that was a special moment to recognize and so I actually I think oh no, this is another one, but from the last Olympics, I got a USA, this was in the mail, USA note, and then a signed jersey from and all. Um that's fire. Name on the back.

SPEAKER_01 30:12

Dude, that is so dope.

SPEAKER_03 30:14

That's pretty cool. Yeah. I forgot. Yeah, what are you talking about? Yeah, all the signatures from that was from last Olympic.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

Okay, timeout. I'm interrupting you. I was actually I was hitting you with the timeout and you didn't recognize it. You probably thought that was like a podcast signal. I was like trying to interrupt you to like ask you a question. I was like, time out, time out. Yo, I'm 99% happy and enthusiastic and like thrilled for you. But I'm 1% upset, and I'm gonna let you guess at what it is before I tell you why.

SPEAKER_02 30:50

I don't know, man. Is that right?

SPEAKER_01 30:52

I've never seen that picture. I was just I've never seen that medal. Yeah, I've never heard this story. Are we not friends? And also, I'm putting it out there. We are in the era of there's a difference between celebrating wins and bragging.

SPEAKER_00 31:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:10

We are not braggers, but we're in the era of celebrating all our wins, and I want you to not do that again. Like when you have something amazing like that, you need to post that so at least I can see it. Yeah, so other people can recognize you. You know, you deserve that recognition from your players, from your patients. Dude, those aren't things that you just hide. You got that jersey just wrinkled over there. You need to frame that thing.

SPEAKER_02 31:37

Yeah, what?

SPEAKER_01 31:38

Yeah. We need to start sharing all of our wins. We have too many wins in the closet that just every so often we open the door and look at them and then shut it back again because we think it's gonna keep us from winning more, bro. We're winners, we're gonna keep winning. We need to share those wins. So I'm gonna keep arguing.

SPEAKER_03 31:53

Well, I appreciate that. Yeah, dude.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

That's amazing, dude. That's so crazy. Also, shout out to Coach for pulling you up on stage. That's very, very like that. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 32:07

Unbelievable coach.

SPEAKER_01 32:08

Because everybody, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

And it's not like you would have gone up there and been like, I'm a part of this, even though you were a part of it. So to be invited up, that just is extra special, dude.

SPEAKER_03 32:18

Yeah. Yep. No, he was so he he's he's he he was during the that phase, he he brought in so he brought in Kobe to speak to the girls at one point. So he he's a big motivational guy. He brought in Kobe, he brought in um the sports psychologist that worked with us, that was also with uh Pete Carroll with the U uh USC and with the Seahawks. And so he would come in and do you know special talking with us, and uh coach would allow us to come in and a handful, whoever wanted to, to sit in on the back of the team meetings. And so I would take advantage of that all the time because when the when the athletes are in the not in the training room, what are we doing? We're in the hotel or whatnot. So I would go and sit in these meetings in the very back room, in the back of the room, and just uh be a fly on the wall and to hear just the wisdom just spew out and these good coaching uh moments and um just to be part of it. Uh I learned so much from being able to sit in there. But again, to his credit, allowing and just opening that door, you know, he didn't have to do that for you know whoever wanted to. And I think I was one of the only ones that would usually take him up on it. Um, but uh yeah, and I remember traveling back from Grand Prix, uh, one of the trips because it was during it was right before the Olympics, um they they had to narrow it down. So they had pretty much their 18, but it came down like four more spots, right? So this is critical time. And so half the team that already knew they were on the that made the cut went back to United States. The other half went back. Well, I went back with um Coach Karayan with um the players that were already on the Olympic team made the cut. And so as me and him traveled, I think there might have been one other staff member, but I remember being with him, and he's the one that since this day we were in the airport, busy airport, elevator going up to the next floor, and he and he's 20, 30 years older than me, takes the stairs and bypasses everybody. You've seen those videos of these people doing that, yeah. And it's because he could, not because he wanted to, or but because he still could. He's very competitive, competitive everything he does, and so it was a challenge to him. And so I I went right with him, and uh, I was out of breath going up those stairs, and he did it like it was nothing. And since then, I've always done that now. Every airport, I never take the escalator or hardly ever. If I have an opportunity, I take the stairs just because I can, I will, you know, and I learned that from him, you know. You know, yeah, anybody could take the elevator, and most people do. 99% of the people do take the elevator. Nobody takes those three-story stairs, right? But with luggage. So, but if you can, you should. So as long as I can, I still will.

SPEAKER_01 35:16

No, that's so true because when you stop doing something is when you can't do it anymore, you know? And it happens at a slow burn. I was talking to somebody who's in their late 60s and they're having some issues, and he's like, Man, I wish I would have started this like last year. And I said, actually, low-key, you should have started this like 10 years ago. You know? Yeah. And like it wouldn't even be starting something, it'd just be like, don't stop squatting. Yeah. Ten years ago, I said, if you just do uh 10 squats a day, forget even 10 squats a day, if you just did five squats a day every day 10 years ago, you wouldn't be in this position now. And how long does that take? That takes 10 seconds. That's it. And he like kind of didn't believe me, and then he came back the next week and he was like, you know what? I've been thinking about that. And like, yeah, you're right, because there's stuff that I can do now that I'm like, I don't really want to, but I can. And if I stop, I'm like, well, when I'm 80, am I gonna be wishing that I had continued to? He's like, you kind of mess me up. He's like, now I'm like trying to be like, oh, it's just 10 seconds. He's like, but the thing is, I got like 20 things that take 10 seconds, and he's like, next thing I know, it's like a half hour a day thing. And I'm like, is a half hour a day too much of a commitment to make sure that you can still play golf when you're 80, or you can get in and out of your car, you know what I mean? Like I just don't think we think about it like that. And I don't know, I've been nerding out really thinking about how you're gonna feel in five years, ten years, twenty years, fifty years. Like, yeah. I could be wrong, but we could be dang near close to a hundred and still be cognizant and mobile, you know?

SPEAKER_03 36:54

Yeah, yeah. Well, that goes back to that point I mentioned on the podcast before I heard somebody say, you know, you can't expect to be a badass in your 60s, 70s, or 80s if you don't start being a badass now. If you're not a badass now and you don't change that, what makes you think you're gonna be a badass in 10, 20 years? Right? Like so, and not even talk about being a badass, just being functional. If you're not functional now, what makes you think time, if you don't change anything, will make it any easier?

SPEAKER_01 37:25

No, that's so true. I mean, there are there are the exceptions, but you really gotta be an outlier. Like I've had people in their 60s who took up cycling and took up running because of things in their life, and they've really been dedicated. However, like to your point, had they started that earlier, they'd be in better shape and you know, have less injuries due to you know their body not being used to it and starting late.

SPEAKER_03 37:49

So yeah. But to that point, them in their 60s adding the bicycle, they're doing that for them even in the 80s, right? Yeah, it's not too late to your point. It's never too late. So if I'm talking to a 70-year-old, one of our dad or mom, you know, and they're like, Well, I've never done that. Well, hopefully you have another 20 years, so you know, you might as well start now. It's not too late. Think of how much better you'll be in 20 years if you start cycling now, you know.

SPEAKER_01 38:15

Dude, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 38:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:17

There's a world where like my dad could go viral if I just recorded him with some meta glasses, because every time I pull out my phone, he knows. But yeah, if I just meta glassed him and been like, here's this guy now, and he just did what I said 20 minutes a day. I was talking to my cuz. I'm like, this guy could be a whole different person in 12 months, and people would trip out, you know. Yep. He doesn't even know what going viral means, but you know, maybe that could be his job. We'll see. Uh well, hey, dude, I know we're coming up against the clock here as I look at it. I think it's a good point to end on for today, and I look forward to recording with you here in a couple days again. I'm glad we're getting a couple sessions in this week. And now I appreciate the combo. It was good to catch up with you and hear about your trip and things like that.

SPEAKER_03 38:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

Our next episode we're gonna talk about a couple different things shoulder issue, a hip issue, and then I know you had a patient case you wanted to talk about. So yeah, I'm excited to discuss those things at our next Epi. Sounds good. All right, bud, any last words?

SPEAKER_03 39:11

No, let's just have a great week. Thanks for everybody tuning in. And uh we appreciate you.

SPEAKER_01 39:18

Absolutely. Thank you, listeners. Well a friend, if you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe if you haven't. We appreciate that, and uh, we will be with you next week again. We'll talk to you soon. This is the second opinion. We're sports medicine podcast. I'm Dr. Dochel. I'm Dr. Glass. And it's been uh great chatting with you, Dustin. I'll talk to you soon, okay? Thank you, buddy. Sounds good.