The Balanced Athlete Car Convos; About Purpose, Balance and Play!

Mandi Clouse - Military Mom of Four Unique Athletes

Mandi Clouse grew up in MN, swam on a swim team from third grade through colleague. Mandi has been active all her life and has enjoyed many different types of athletic activities including marathons, CrossFit games and body building competitions! She was married in 2003 to a man in the Air Force and has moved every two years, taking her and her family all around the world. She is the mom of four athletes all in different sports and with different personalities. God is the center of their family. Mandi's husband has just recently retired, and they have decided to make OK their forever place. Mandy shares with us some great insight on how success can look different for each athlete and how working hard and giving your 100% can pay off and leave a legacy even if you're not the team's top scoring MVP.

Happy New Year - Highlights from 2025 guest episodes

This live unedited episode was something I wanted to do on the first day of 2026 to highlight the amazing humans that I had on as guests! I took some of my favorite talking points from each guest's episode along with the books and podcasts they recommended! I also share my two words to set my intention and filter for 2026! Happy New Year! Buckle up and enjoy the ride! Thank you to all my guests for being vulnerable and sharing your story to help those in this world around you! Love you guys!!!

Finding Your Life's Purpose - Ikigai

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that is centuries old and it is a holistic way of uncovering your life's meaning or purpose by tapping into what you love, what this world needs that only you can give in your uniqueness, what you are good at, and what you can get paid for. In today's episode we dig a bit deeper into this concept and how to apply it to your life. After all, it is easy to fall into the idea that you are your title, whether that be the title of an athlete in a specific sport or whether your job title. We are all human beings, and we are not limited to our titles that only tell you what we do, we are much more than that! Uncovering your unique purpose frees you up to live a life full of purposeful meaning that is tailored to who you are and what you can contribute to the world around you on and off the field, court, classroom or job!
https://linktr.ee/jessiebrodmerkel?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=2f992062-0d1d-4203-9f66-d7778b5afc34

Are You Striving or Surrendering and Aligned? Tiffany Bankston

Tiffany Bankston is my dear friend a fellow volleyball mom and main character in my self-help book Journey of a Volleyball Mom: Surviving the First Club Season - You can do it! She is a reinvention and identity coach, speaker and founder of ThriveOLOGY Health and Wellness, LLC. As a practicing Physician Assistant of 20 years, Tiffany felt God calling her to help powerhouse, high-functioning women break free from burnout and rediscover who they are beyond their titles, to-do lists and perfectionism. 
Through her signature faith-based transformational coaching experiences, THE R.O.O.M (Release ->Open->Own->Move) and BecomingHER (Healed. Empowered. Restored.), Tiffany helps women detox from performance pressure, rest their identity in Christ, and step into a more peaceful, purpose-filled rhythm of life. She's passionate about helping women stop striving and start surrendering by creating lives that are both wildly productive and deeply aligned with who God designed them to be. 
When she's not coaching, Tiffany is a wife and proud mom of two teen athletes, and a fur mom to two dogs that think they're human! 
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https://a.co/d/dpROheY Journey of a Volleyball Mom book

Jonathan Carone - Healthy Sports Parenting

Jonathan Carone is the creator of Healthy Sports Parents, a podcast and social platform helping parents lead their kids through youth sports without losing their minds. With a background in sport management, coaching, and student ministry, Jonathan brings 20 years of experience across all levels of youth sports. From rec leagues to Division I athletics, he has seen how the right kind of support can shape a kid’s experience and strengthen the parent–child relationship. Today, he helps parents focus less on raising great athletes and more on raising great humans.
HealthySportsParents Youtube
Healthy Sports Parents Facebook
Healthy Sports Parents Instagram
Healthy Sports Parents Threads
Healthy Sports Parents Youtube
 

Lauren Whalley Adventure Therapy Part. 2

This is a continuation of my interview with Lauren Whalley Adventure Therapist and my sister! We had such a great conversation about purpose, balance and play that we split it into two parts. I always end each podcast with asking questions that are the four pillars of the Japanese concept called Ikigai - a holistic way of uncovering and incorporating your purpose into your life, and it is always the richest part of the conversation! If you haven't listened to part 1, I highly recommend listening to that first. Then drop into this conversation to hear what she has to say about the best way to connect and support your teen athlete through the pain points of life/sports and performance anxiety. 
p.s. the word we couldn't remember in this episode is biophilia!
Lauren Smith (Whalley) 
Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Lauren Whalley - Adventure Therapy Part 1

Lauren is Jessie's sister, an Oklahoma native who spent time in Kentucky for graduate school to become a psychotherapist before moving to Canada in 2012 to pursue her dream job as a wilderness therapist. She’s lived in Ottawa since 2015 with her husband, their 10-month-old daughter, and their dog. Lauren currently runs a private psychotherapy practice, providing therapy to individuals, couples, and families, including walk-and-talk sessions that integrate the outdoors. She takes a curious and compassionate approach, helping people understand their emotions, even the uncomfortable ones, and connect more deeply with themselves. Lauren is also the founder of the Ottawa Adventure Therapy Networking Group and continues to explore creative ways to bring nature and adventure into her work.
Lauren Smith (Whalley)
Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Danny Brown - Superman Cape and New Pair of Shoes!

Danny Brown is a firefighter/paramedic in the Oklahoma City metro, where he's served for 13 years. He's also a devoted husband and father- his son Zac plays varsity tennis, and his daughter Ashley is a competitive dancer. Away from the firehouse, Danny is the host of The Pretend Painters' Show and Podcast, a unique project where painting becomes the backdrop for powerful conversations. Through art and storytelling, he helps guests share their journeys while raising awareness and funds for meaningful causes. Danny believes in turning struggle into strength and creating community through creativity, hope and love. 
Buckle up and take a listen! 
The Pretend Painter
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The Pretend Painters' Show Podcast

Your Personality Becomes Your Personal Reality

My purpose is to help parents and teen athletes uncover their purpose by discovering their gifts and strengths and then putting them on paper to create their personal mission statement. In this episode, I talk about why that can be such a life changing event and why I believe it is so important for curating the life that you want and the life that makes room for purpose, balance and play!
Buckle up and enjoy the ride! 
The Balanced Athlete

Black Friday Sale on The Balanced Athlete Mission Statement Bootcamp!!

Why set a New Year's Resolution when statistics show that only 1% of people who set one, follow through reaching their goals 12 months later?
Instead, uncover your personal mission statement so you can thrive on and off the field, court, classroom or job! Take a deep dive into who you are, what your unique strengths and gifts are and craft a personal mission statement to live by, starting each day in 2026 you can reflect on that mission statement and use it to catapult you towards a life that is in alignment with where you are wanting to go and how you want to live! Join me on Dec. 20th in my workshop! It's on sale now through Nov. 30 for only $11!!! Hope to see you there! 
https://linktr.ee/jessiebrodmerkel?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=2f992062-0d1d-4203-9f66-d7778b5afc34