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AthMindset | Coach Chris Meadows Talks Basketball, Development, and Mindset

March 29, 2022
AthMindset | Coach Chris Meadows Talks Basketball, Development, and Mindset

“Process over outcome.” In this AthMindset episode, Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CSW, shares space with Chris Meadows, coach, trainer, and basketball mind. He has helped over a thousand athletes develop into collegiate athletes.


Chris Meadows speaks the truth in this episode on these topics and more:


  • skill vs will
  • elite mindset
  • skill development
  • his book “I Am D1”
  • emotional retreat
  • The 4 C’s: compete, consistent, competent, composed

More about Chris Meadows:


“Coach Chris Meadows is one of the most highly respected Skills Performance Coaches both nationally and internationally. As a student-athlete, he started his college journey in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona at South Mountain Community College, where he helped transform the program and lead them to their first ever post-season appearance. Coach Chris received a scholarship to play basketball at St. Bonaventure University where he earned his B.A. in Elementary Education and later his M. Ed. in Special Education. Upon graduation, Coach Chris immediately committed to the principles that shaped him as a young man, by “investing into the lives of those who are to come.”


Coach Chris’s Player Development and coaching career started in the small community of Jamestown, New York, where he resurrected many of the life lessons that shaped his mindset and poured them into the players of Western New York and Pennsylvania. It was there that he started the travel program, Western New York Shooting Stars. Developing a Mindset that would focus on “maximizing your potential” was always a priority for Coach Chris. This mindset was able to transform his players into talents that would go on to elevate their style of play and eventually earn college scholarships.


Upon relocating to Charlotte, North Carolina, Coach Chris hit the ground running and would establish the renowned MOMENTUM SKILLS ACADEMY (MSA), which elevated player development in the Carolinas in the mid 2000’s. MSA brought players from around the country and as far away as Europe and South America. He would also impact the travel basketball landscape by coaching and training with boys’ programs Team United and Team Charlotte as well as girls’ programs, NC Spartans, WP Celtics, ASGR Select, and FBC. Coach Chris would go on to win multiple National Showcase Championships. 


After many successful years of developing what he calls, the D-1 Mindset and elevating the skills of basketball players, Coach Chris decided to expand his reach and began to work with national organizations to share his formula with players from around the country as well as internationally. He would work with the ASGR brand in the role of Director of Player Development for the TOP TEN ALL-AMERICAN CAMP, SELECT 60, Co-Founder for Play Maker University, Show & Prove, Co-Director G3 Hoops, Wooten McDonald’s All- American Camp and conduct NBA Pre-Draft Development Sessions. Coach Chris has played a role in developing over 1000 Division 1 basketball players, 12 McDonald’s All-Americans, and multiple NBA, WNBA & foreign professional basketball players. 


As the co-author of I AM D-1: How to Conquer the World of Travel Basketball, Coach Chris’s mission is to empower the world of rising basketball players and their families by sharing the keys of the D-1 MINDSET.” (source)



This is the AthMindset Podcast Series on SportsEpreneur. And it’s all about mental health in sports.


From Lisa:


I’m Lisa Bonta Sumii and this is the AthMindset Podcast Series on SportsEpreneur. 


This podcast series is a space for conversations with athletes, coaches, practitioners, and stakeholders in sports. And it’s where those individuals share their perspectives, experiences, and thoughts on mental health in sports. 


Eric Kasimov of SportsEpreneur is generously hosting the AthMindset Podcast Series on his platform as he deeply believes that these conversations are essential and deserve to be prioritized.


This is the AthMindset Podcast Series on SportsEpreneur. SportsEpreneur — the content platform where sports, entrepreneurship, and mental health collide!


If you are looking to start a podcast or create original content, you have to talk with the team at SportsEpreneur. I work with them and I vouch for them. It’s that simple. Go to SportsE.io to learn more. 


Are you an athlete or entrepreneur looking to create content? Learn More.


Useful web pages from this episode:


More content on mental health and basketball:


Let’s Connect:


That’s a wrap:


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