“The Sports Gene” author, David Epstein, joins me for a conversation that will empower young athletes, their parents, and coaches.  Our launching point is the case of late blooming QB Carson Wentz, the number 2 pick in the 2016 NFL draft.  Did Wentz rise to the top despite the fact that he was a late bloomer, or because of it?  The answer has profound implications for youth sports. Epstein’s superb synthesis of sports science studies (combined with his personal experience as an athlete) finds that, in most sports, specializing early puts young athletes at a disadvantage as they approach college age.  What is the best approach to maximizing a person’s athletic potential?  Epstein provides actionable intelligence on the key concept of “trainability.”  And it does not depend on 10-thousand hours of practice. 

The Late Bloomer Advantage In Sports

6’2” Carey Kauffman, a March Madness veteran of the Duke University Blue Devils, couples her insights from a life in basketball with her experience as the mother of two children born with rare diseases.  Kauffman, the daughter of an NBA all-star. will help make you one of the most insightful people in the room during the Final Four – and help give your kids an edge if they play the game.  But it’s her mission in life, which she pursues through her company WellSelf 360, that will inspire you.  She applies what she learned on the court to empowering those who suffer from rare and chronic health conditions.  If you listen to the entire episode, I think you’ll find Carey Kauffman’s resilience is contagious.

A March Madness Special:  Thriving in College Basketball & Living With Rare Disease

A podcast for the insanely curious, featuring in-depth conversations with the most creative thinkers, respected leaders, and preeminent authors in a wide variety of fields including sports, the arts, parenting, business, psychology, politics, history, and medicine. Host Michael Schulder created the new journalism platform, Wavemaker, following 17 years as a Senior Executive Producer at CNN and 5 years as Peter Jennings’ Writer at ABC News. 

The Late Bloomer Advantage In Sports

Wavemaker Conversations

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