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In this episode of Untapped Stories, we sit down with Joey Hewitt - former D3 standout, professional basketball player, and mental performance coach at https://www.findjoeflow.com/ - to talk about mindset, embracing the underdog journey, and what it really means to fall in love with the process.
After years of proving people wrong on the court and now helping athletes unlock their mental game, Joey has learned something that many players and parents overlook:
The grind is the destination, not the detour.
Stats, scholarships, and highlight reels may get attention, but lasting growth in sports comes from something far less flashy — developing a genuine love for the work itself, independent of outcomes, rankings, or recognition.
Joey explains that his own journey was built on being undersized and underestimated from the start. Rather than shrink from that reality, he learned to use it. The chip on his shoulder became fuel. And over time, fuel became identity — not as someone chasing results, but as someone who genuinely loved getting better every single day. That shift, from outcome-focused to process-focused, is what took him from D3 courts to professional leagues in Australia, England, and Mexico.
For young basketball players especially, that mental switch is often more valuable than any skill development. Confidence, resilience, and intrinsic motivation ultimately determine whether athletes keep growing — or burn out trying to meet someone else's expectations.
From there, the conversation shifts into one of Joey's most important beliefs as a coach and parent figure:
The best thing a parent can do is get out of the way at the right time.
Joey reflects on how his own parents never pushed too hard — and how that space allowed him to find his own fire. When kids are allowed to develop internal motivation without external pressure driving every decision, they build something that nobody can take away: a reason to compete that belongs entirely to them.
He emphasizes that in a world overloaded with training content, social media tips, and performance anxiety, the real edge isn't doing more — it's learning to quiet the noise and trust the process in front of you.
Throughout the episode, Joey highlights the core principles that help young athletes thrive mentally and emotionally:
- Developing an underdog mindset and using adversity as fuel
- Falling in love with the process rather than chasing outcomes
- Building intrinsic motivation that doesn't depend on external validation
- The role parents play in creating space for athletes to find their own drive
- Mental performance tools like focus, self-talk, and present-moment awareness
- Cutting through the noise of social media and over-coaching to find clarity
One of the biggest takeaways is that the most resilient athletes aren't the ones who avoided struggle — they're the ones who learned to embrace it early, with the right support around them.
Joey's story reflects both his lived experience as an underdog who made it to the pro level and his work now helping the next generation build the mental foundation to do the same.
This episode is a must-listen for basketball players, parents who want to support without over-directing, and coaches who believe the mental side of the game is just as important as anything that happens on the court.
🎙️ Untapped Stories is presented by https://athletesuntapped.com/ — the nation's leading platform for private sports coaching. We connect athletes and families with elite coaches who help players build strong fundamentals, confidence, leadership, and lifelong habits through sports.
👉 Follow https://www.instagram.com/athletesuntapped/ for more conversations with elite coaches and athletes, and explore private basketball coaching to elevate your game and development.
