Episode 165: "I know I'll be ok" with USA Handball Player Julia Taylor

What gives someone the confidence to say, “I know I’ll be ok”?

In Episode 165 of The Mental Mettle Podcast, Coach Matt Thomann sits down with Team USA women’s handball athlete Julia Taylor for a powerful conversation about resilience, purpose, and servant leadership. Julia’s story is shaped by early loss, unexpected opportunity, and the long grind of building a life and career in a sport most Americans rarely see. What emerges is a deeply human reminder that confidence is not always loud — sometimes it sounds like steady trust in the face of uncertainty.

Julia shares how losing both of her parents as a child forced her to grow up fast and eventually discover a level of inner strength she didn’t know she had. From picking up handball in college to training in Europe, representing Team USA, and stepping into leadership roles within the sport, her journey shows how adversity can shape not just character, but calling. This conversation goes beyond athletics and gets to the heart of what it means to keep moving forward when life changes everything.

Together, Coach Matt and Julia explore how purpose sustains people when motivation fades, why community matters, and how leadership often means making things better for the people who come next. They also dig into the mental side of high-level performance, including the value of preparation, consistency, and learning to handle pressure without losing sight of the bigger picture.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why adversity can become one of our greatest teachers.
• How purpose helps us endure hard seasons.
• What servant leadership looks like in sport and life.
• The mental skills elite athletes use to perform under pressure.
• Why sports can prepare us for life far beyond competition.
• How to keep going when the path is uncertain.

Julia’s story is a reminder that resilience is not about avoiding hardship. It’s about learning, through hard experience, that whatever comes next, you can make it through.

Special thanks to Shane Fisher and American Paragons for connecting us with another outstanding Team USA athlete.

Connect with American Paragons: americanparagons.org

For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching, sign up for the FREE Resilient Parents Playbook or contact matt@mentalmettlecoach.com for a free coaching session with Coach Thomann.

Visit www.mentalmettlecoach.com.