Episode Description
To kick off our new Player POV series, Rhett sits down with Houston Astro's 2025 first round draft pick Xavier Neyens following the powerful parent episode with his dad, Steve Neyens. Player POV flips the perspective. After hearing from the parent navigating the journey, we now hear from the athlete living it.
Xavier reflects on what it meant to watch his dad step outside his comfort zone and what “it worked out” truly means to him. He shares how process over results shaped his development, what his parents did behind the scenes that made the biggest impact, and why relationships matter more than trophies or draft status. From travel ball memories to playing multiple sports, he offers a grounded reminder that development is not about chasing the next opportunity. It is about staying present and doing the work where your feet are.
For parents, athletes, and coaches, this short episode is a simple but honest look at what actually sticks when the game moves on.
“The person you are is going to reflect on the baseball player you become.” - X
Subscribe
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
YouTube
Key Takeaways
• “Working out” means becoming the right person, not just the right player
• Relationships built in youth sports last longer than wins and rankings
• Playing multiple sports created some of his best memories
• Nutrition, discipline, and daily habits matter more than hype
• There is no secret recipe. What you do outside the spotlight makes the difference
Soundbites
• “It’s not about him at all. He just enjoyed being along for the ride.”
• “The person you are is going to reflect on the baseball player you become.”
• “There’s no secret recipe.”
• “Stay in the moment. It goes by extremely, extremely fast.”
• “It’s what you do outside of playing that actually gets you better.”
Final Reflection
Success in youth sports is often measured by milestones. Draft picks. Championships. Scholarships.
But from Xavier’s perspective, what lasts are the habits, the relationships, and the character built along the way. The rest is a bonus.
Call to Action
If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe and follow the show.
Share this episode with a parent or athlete who needs a reminder to stay in the moment.
If you have a story to share, reach out. We are all just trying to keep on surviving youth sports.
Devon Brown on Burnout, Rankings, and Letting Kids Own Their Journey
This week on Surviving Youth Sports, Rhett sits down with coach, parent, endurance athlete, and fitness business owner Devon Brown for an honest conversation about burnout, pressure, rankings, recruiting, and what happens when youth sports starts taking over family life. Devon shares what it’s like ...
Matt Dumouchelle on Why Winning Too Early Can Hurt Development
Matt Dumouchelle joins Surviving Youth Sports to talk about youth hockey, athlete development, parenting, and the pressure surrounding modern youth sports culture. Matt is a contributor for The Coaches Site, host of Coaching Crossover, and someone deeply involved in helping youth sports organization...
Alonzo & Logwone Mitz: Discipline, Legacy, and Letting Kids Find Their Own Path
Alonzo Mitz and Logwone Mitz join Surviving Youth Sports as the show’s first father-son duo, bringing two different generations of football, parenting, and perspective into one conversation. Alonzo shares his journey from Florida to the University of Florida and the Seattle Seahawks, while Logwone r...
Derek Bingham: The Hard Part of Coaching Other People’s Kids While Raising Your Own
Derek Bingham joins Surviving Youth Sports for a personal conversation about what it really looks like to coach, parent, and stay present in the middle of a busy sports life. As the longtime head baseball coach at Lake Washington High School, Derek has spent more than two decades helping other peopl...
Jason Collinsworth: When Youth Sports Stops Being Fun
Jason Collinsworth, host of the I Hate Soccer Podcast , joins the show to talk about a question more families are starting to ask but don’t always say out loud: When did youth sports stop being fun? After more than 20 years of coaching and working closely with players and parents, Jason has seen the...
Drew Reiners: We Paid for Perfection — The Reality Behind Youth Sports Tournaments
Drew Reiners, founder of West Coast Premier Tournaments, joins Rhett Parker to unpack a side of youth sports that rarely gets talked about. With nearly two decades of experience running large-scale baseball events, Drew shares what it actually takes to organize tournaments that thousands of families...
Brandon Harmon: The Youth Sports Blender
Brandon Harmon is a college baseball coach at Gonzaga, a dad of three, and right in the middle of what he calls the youth sports blender. Something every day. Practices. Games. Car rides. Repeat. In this conversation, he and Rhett Parker talk through what that actually looks like. The nonstop schedu...
Andrew Walling: Who Are You Without the Game?
At one point, Andrew Walling was at the top. Throwing mid-90s. Big opportunities. A path that looked like it was only going one way. Then it didn’t. Injuries, pressure, and the weight of expectations started to take over. Confidence slipped. The yips showed up. And for the first time, he questioned ...
Marc Wiese: The Game Ends, The Relationships Don’t
Rhett sits down with longtime coach and mentor Marc Wiese, whose career spans youth baseball, high school state championships, college programs, and USA Baseball. Having coached his own sons and thousands of players along the way, Marc brings a perspective shaped by both success and reflection. This...