The Bench Player Blind Spot That's Sending Girls Home for Good

March 23
40 mins

Episode Description

A D1 soccer player. She had a full ride, two ACL tears, and a front row seat to what breaks girl athletes. Coaches need this → coachfreetraining.com

If you coach girl athletes and you've ever had a player pull back, check out, or lose the love for the game, this one's for you.

My guest today is Lyrik Fryer. She is the co-founder of Work Play Branding, a multimillion dollar media company. But before all of that, she played Division I soccer player at Florida International University and is a two-time ACL survivor. Lyric is now an entrepreneur, brand strategist, and an open book on all things college athletics and mental performance. Find her on Instagram: @lyrik.fryer

In this episode, Lyrik shares what was actually going on behind the scenes of her soccer career. We also discuss:
👉 What coaches get wrong about athlete identity 
👉 Why your bench players are running your culture (not your captains) 
👉 The captain selection mistake that quietly tanks team chemistry 
👉 What girls actually need to hear when the pressure gets too heavy 
👉 How perspective - not pep talks - is the real mental skill nobody's teaching

👋🏼 I'm Coach Bre, a 4-time state champion volleyball coach and Certified Mental Performance Coach. I've spent 14+ years coaching girl athletes and built The Elite Competitor to give coaches proven, plug-and-play mental training systems that actually work.

🕓 Key Moments: 
00:00 Introducing Lyrik Fryer
02:02 Growing Up in Love With Soccer
03:43 When the Pressure Started
06:33 The Mental Game of Perfectionism
12:08 Two ACL Tears and the Road Back
14:55 Choosing Business Over a Fifth Year
23:44 The Role of Parents and Coaches
26:39 What the Bench Players Get Wrong
30:02 What Soccer Really Taught Her
33:06 Advice to the 14-Year-Old Athlete

💬 Drop your biggest takeaway from this episode in the comments below ⬇️

📩 Work with Coach Bre: coachfreetraining.com

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P.S. Here's what the research shows: 
⚡️ Girls quit sports at twice the rate of boys by age 14, with "emotional cost" cited as a primary driver. (Women's Sports Foundation, 2023) 
⚡️ 70% of youth athletes quit organized sports by age 13, with most citing "it's not fun anymore" (Aspen Institute Project Play, 2019)
⚡️Female athletes experience ACL tears at 2-8x higher rates than male athletes in the same sports (American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020)

The Coach Her Game YouTube channel is hosted by The Elite Competitor and is dedicated to helping coaches of girl athletes strengthen their mental game and team culture in order to develop a competitive edge.

#coachinggirls #mentalperformance #girlsinsports #highschoolcoach #athletemindset

Head to coachfreetraining.com to grab our free training for coaches to quickly level-up your team's mental game!

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