Youth Sports, Identity, and Life After the Medal (with Paralympic Gold Medalist Mike Schultz) – a collaboration with Parents.com

This conversation is an extended version of my interview with Mike Schultz for Parents’ 100-Year Digital Issue, where he’s being spotlighted as one of today’s most inspiring parents.

What actually lasts when the season ends? What happens once you step off the podium and go back to real life?

In this episode, Jonathan sits down with Paralympic gold medalist, inventor, and dad Mike Schultz to talk about what it really looks like to chase something big while raising a 12-year-old athlete.

Mike has competed at the highest level in the world. He’s also spent 170 days on the road in a single year trying to balance training for the Paralympic Winter Games with being present for his daughter’s gymnastics meets and middle school milestones. He knows the pull of ambition and the guilt that can come with it.

We talk about:

What his life-changing injury taught him about identity beyond performance Why progression, not winning, is what truly motivates long-term success The difference between supporting your kid and pushing them How to help kids discover their own internal drive What he hopes his daughter learns from watching him compete

Mike shares honestly about the tension of being “just dad” at home while also being a world-class athlete. He explains why pushing only works for so long, why losing teaches more than winning, and why the point of youth sports has to go deeper than medals.

If your kid’s sport ended tomorrow, what would you hope remained?

This conversation is about making sure the answer to that question is bigger than the scoreboard.

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FROM OUR PARTNER:

For 100 years, PARENTS has provided millions of caregivers with trustworthy advice and a supportive community as they raise the next generation of confident and compassionate kids.

Read my full feature on Mike Schultz

Read the full Parents 100 Years Issue digital magazine

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