Pro Mindset® Podcast

Unlocking the Winning QB Mindset with KJ Carta-Samuels

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In this episode of Pro Mindset® Podcast, host Craig Domann sits down with former 4-star prospect, Elite 11 quarterback, European champion, and LockedinQB coach, KJ Carta-Samuels. They explore the power of letting go of rigid expectations in sports, coaching, and everyday life. From navigating the shift toward athletic flow state to protecting high performers from the pitfalls of over-coaching, anxiety, and robotic perfectionism, KJ’s insight on body awareness, internal competition, and core discipline provides a vital playbook for growth.

KJ shares his experiences with building intentional athletic habits, the critical role of accepting failure in long-term success, and why ignoring personal flow can derail an athlete's dream of reaching their full potential. He emphasizes the importance of adaptability, managing internal mindsets over short-term mechanical fixes, and maintaining mental clarity in high-stakes environments. KJ also highlights the vital role of individual feel over rigid technique and embracing the lifelong journey of mastering your craft.

In this conversation, KJ balances his quarterback mechanics expertise with years of deep collegiate, international, and virtual coaching growth. His mutual respect with Craig shines through this conversation. It's a reminder that Craig entered this business not to guard territory, but to help people achieve their goals and dreams — and KJ’s collaborative approach to building elite mindsets is living proof of that.

Episode Takeaways: 

💡 Presence & Flow—Release Rigid Mechanics 

💡 The Inside Game—Build Self-Awareness 

💡 Holistic Growth—Overcome Internal Conflict 

📲Connect with KJ:

🤳Facebook: @KJ Carta-Samuels

👋LinkedIn: @KJ Carta-Samuels

📸Instagram: @kj_c.s.1

🌐Website: https://www.lockedinathlete.com/ 

🚀 Ready to Build a Mindset That Powers You Through Anything?
If KJ’s insights on self-awareness and holistic growth inspire you, the Pro Mindset® Coaching Program can help you align your potential with purpose and adaptability.
 👉 Learn more or apply at www.ProMindsetPodcast.com/coaching or reach out directly to Craig at Craig.ProMindset@gmail.com.

#ProMindset #Mindset #CraigDomann #ProMindsetPodcast #Transformation #Belief #Subconscious #KJCartaSamuels #UniversityofWashington #HuskyNation #GoHuskies #CSURams #RamsNation #NCAA #NCAAFootball #BCLions #CFL #GermanFootballLeague #DresdenMonarchs #AmericanFootballEurope

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (00:

00.15) Mm.

KJ Carta-Samuels (00:

00.366) Ha ha ha.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (00:

02.904) Hey, welcome everybody to Pro Mindset Podcast. This is your host, Craig Domann. Holy smokes, man. This is like episode like 265 or something like that. Still trying to figure it out. Today we have a rock star on as a guest. this guy's resume is he's a former four star quarterback coming out of high school. Went to the Elite 11, which is very prestigious. went to the University of Washington. End up doing the transfer portal before there was the transfer portal and went to Colorado State. played in Europe, won a championship in Europe. KJ Carta Samuels. Welcome to Pro Mindset today.

KJ Carta-Samuels (00:

47.583) Let's go, man. Let's go. Appreciate you having me on.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (00:

50.43) Bro, here's the deal, bro. I'm giving you permission to run this thing the way you want to run it. You can call audibles, you can make, you know, pre answer. You can have predetermined answers if you want. You can do the whole thing. that's what that's the game of a quarterback, man. You gotta you're running the show. You get the ball in your hands every single play. Right? And so, KJ, you are an entrepreneur.

KJ Carta-Samuels (00:

59.081) Yeah.

KJ Carta-Samuels (01:

19.658) Yes, sir.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (01:

20.362) And you train quarterbacks. Okay. Mostly virtually.

KJ Carta-Samuels (01:

22.345) Yes, sir. 26.211) Mm. Pretty mu yeah, pretty much entirely virtually. We do a little bit in person, but it's pretty much ninety nine percent virtual.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (01:

33.976) Well, there's more you have more followers than fans that you had at Colorado State Games.

KJ Carta-Samuels (01:

38.283) You're exact you're exactly right. You're exactly right. Unfortunately.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (01:

44.783) Okay. Okay. Let's start out with. Every seven year old, eight year old kid that that's playing quarterback dr has dreams. What were your dreams when you were a young man?

KJ Carta-Samuels (02:

01.919) My first dream when I was seven or eight years old was honestly to play in the MLB. that was my thing. My grandpa played in the minor leagues and he took me to Oakland Athletic Games always growing up and I had a pretty good swing. I was a lefty too, threw righty, batted lefty, and would watch reruns of baseball tonight over and over and over and thought that that was gonna be my thing, to be honest with you. when I was that age. So that was that was my dream when I was real little. But then as as time went on and as I kind of grew into just changed, evolved as a person, kind of it it moved to other other sports, other things and just rode with it.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (02:

46.2) So when you did Elite Eleven, you were in you were basically in community with the best of the best. Who were some of the guys that came out your year?

KJ Carta-Samuels (02:

56.051) Yeah, Deshaun Watson, he was top of the list for sure. Deshaun Kaiser, Brad Kaya, Will Greer, the yeah, but a bunch of different other guys also.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (03:

11.276) Yeah, Will Greer just retired this week. Yeah.

KJ Carta-Samuels (03:

13.851) really? I thought yeah, I th I thought I I thought I saw a picture or something that he was pla yeah, but I d I didn't know he just retired. That's that's pretty crazy. David Blow, he's I think he's the O C somewhere now in the league, in the NFL. Yeah. he Yeah, yeah, he went to Purdue. Yeah. he was my class as well. But yeah, a couple other guys as well for sure. Good.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (03:

26.434) He is. Did he go to Purdue? Where'd he go? Went to Purdue. 38.489) Well, David just came out this week on a short list of potential twenty twenty-seven NFL head coach candidates. But not too early, you know, hey, eight guys are gonna get fired no matter what. they gotta find, you know, new fresh meat for head coaching jobs. And so his name popped up on one of those lists, which is super dope for him.

KJ Carta-Samuels (03:

46.845) Wow, that's crazy. That's crazy. 52.477) Mm-hmm.

KJ Carta-Samuels (04:

01.641) Yeah, definitely, definitely.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (04:

04.16) Okay, so what was different when you're an elite eleven and you're in the competition? was it because here's what I find in sports is when you're the baddest dude on the field, there really isn't any pressure. If you know you should be you you know everybody's eyes are looking at you, you know you're the best quarterback in the game.

KJ Carta-Samuels (04:

23.423) Right. 28.715) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (04:

30.424) There's just a certain amount of pressure that's not there. But as soon as you get to college, as soon as you get to lead 11, and everybody's kind of like you, maybe some guys have a little bit better attributes than you in some areas, maybe you're better in other areas. I feel like the whole, like the mindset for both guys, all guys, changes. How do you do you remember what your mindset was when you got to?

KJ Carta-Samuels (04:

33.042) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 43.424) Mm-hmm. 52.061) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (04:

57.89) That was it in Eugene, Oregon that or not in Eugene, was it in Beaverton when you did eleven?

KJ Carta-Samuels (05:

02.833) Yeah. Yeah, I was in Beaverton at the Nike headquarters and mindset wise I would say that I I've always been a competitive dude. I mean I I remember going up against Jared Goff in seven on seven tournaments and which was a really cool experience too. And always I elevated when I was playing against better competition, when I was competing against better competition. that's when the best got brought out of me for sure. I always rose to my level of competition and honestly fell to my level of competition at times when I would play lesser teams or I noticed that I would I would play worse. To be honest with you, I I don't know if that's innate to me. but I didn't feel pressure rise. I I yeah, I mean, I to be honest, like that's that's what I live for. That's what I crave, like is is those moments. And but I'm not sure if if other people are the same way or not. but yeah, I I absolutely loved it. I loved that environment and and having those guys around because I was like, let's freaking go. Like l let's get after it. Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (06:

15.424) Okay, so that those kind of guys are typically the most the guys that think like you are more successful because you're always gonna run into somebody bigger than you. The bigger the the sample size, the higher the competition. there's only 32 jobs in the NFL for starting quarterbacks. So when you got to Washington, describe for us.

KJ Carta-Samuels (06:

22.185) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 27.787) For sure. 34.569) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (06:

44.65) What was that journey like first year, first spring ball when you first probably got a real shot to see what you're about? what were your successes? What were your challenges? physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, you whatever it was.

KJ Carta-Samuels (06:

59.871) Yeah. Yeah, totally. I mean, showing up first. Obviously, you show up during summer school. So you're taking a bunch of credits. you're with your freshman class and just adjusting to a a completely being away from home, being out of out of my parents, out of my family. Like I love my family, super close with my family, have two incredible parents, and I mean I'm yeah, w staying with them right now and they're amazing. And so honestly, just having that freedom and now kind of being a little homesick, like just battling homesickness for the first time in my life. And just because now it it's really up to me. Like I have all the responsibility in the world, which is what I've been craving, but also, okay, now I I gotta go figure out some things. I got I gotta be accountable for everything that I do from this point on. and then hopping into fall camp. I mean, everyone knows that first fall campus is something different. You know, when you're up there at four or five AM and you're leaving the facility at ten PM, eleven PM and you're like going to bed and you're every day is the same day and you're like, my gosh, like I I love ball, but I didn't I didn't know it it was like this. And so that's a shock for sure. and that's a shock to anyone, even after a couple of years, you know, it's it it's still it's still a grind for sure, but now you're at least aware of it. So I think, yeah, becoming aware of that at first. But then I think the biggest thing for me, especially hopping into it, was just mentally learning the game. I came from a more run heavy offense in high school and didn't throw the game, didn't throw that much in high school and didn't run like a full spread offense where I'm reading, you know, two high, one high, high lowing mic and will defenders based on different concepts and knowing so mentally just processing the game. And learning my offense was the biggest hurdle for sure. just getting familiar with that. And so that's kind of why I knew and was okay, honestly, with redshirting my freshman year, because I don't feel that I was equipped mentally as far as knowing my offense and then being able to process the game in real time. And I didn't need to force that either. and so my plan was yeah, to redshirt and then

KJ Carta-Samuels (09:

20.507) learn as much as I could, grind as much as I could. I mean, physically I physically I I I had no limitations. I was two hundred and thirty-five pounds when I showed up on campus at Washington. I mean, and that wasn't fat. That was that was muscle. That was that was that was a big boy. and so my limitations weren't physically in the gym. I mean I remember when I showed up, everyone was like you're a linebacker and I was like, No, I'm I'm the quarterback I'm I'm the I'm the quarterback. And and they're I'm I'm twenty pounds heavier than our linebackers that we had coming in in my class. And so, yeah, it was pretty it was pretty interesting to to walk that dynamic and just because that's that's very rare. Most guys are are showing up to campus and they're getting put into a strength program where they need to gain weight. They need to get stronger because their high school programs haven't developed them enough. That was something that I took on my own and really ran away with because I just wanted to give myself every advantage that I could physically. And yeah, it it it really helped me out in high school stand out amongst the rest of my competition. But then as we know, as you get older, everything's about the mind. That's where it all that's where that's where the difference is, is how you process the game, how you lead your teammates, all of it. How you just handle your own thoughts. And that's where I needed to develop more. And so really took that that red shirt year to try and do that as much as I could.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (10:

53.359) All right, so let me regurgitate back what I heard. Just the normal adjustment stuff. You know, I think what a lot of athletes don't realize, and we did it for our boys, you just do stuff for your kids. Make sure that their laundry's clean, make sure their breakfast is everything's just ready. Gas is in the car. Just kind of like so that everything goes smooth. So what ends up happening is the parents end up making the life.

KJ Carta-Samuels (10:

56.149) Mm-hmm. For sure.

KJ Carta-Samuels (11:

12.533) For sure. Mm. For sure.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (11:

20.503) Of their son or daughter if they're playing another sport. Smooth. You get to college, you gotta do it all yourself. Yeah, nobody, hey, you know what? Mom's not tapping you on the shoulder. It's like, KJ, bro, it's it's hey, get up, got game day today or get practice today. No, you gotta get up on your own. And if you got a cool roommate, he might, he might wake you up, but if he wants to be kind of you know honry, he he won't let you oversleep, right?

KJ Carta-Samuels (11:

28.052) No doubt. 39.231) Yep. Yep. 48.074) Yeah. Yeah. One hundred percent. One hundred percent. I mean, even to speak on that real quick, yeah. I mean, even in, you know, my line of work now is I work with so many athletes all across the country that I mean, really I'm looking athletes really resonate with me because they're looking for something that they're missing within their development that is going to help them get to that next stage. Usually that thing that they're missing is the thing that they're avoiding, is the thing that they're fearful of.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (11:

51.863) And then

KJ Carta-Samuels (12:

14.387) Why do they not step into that fear? Why do they not step into that thing that they're avoiding? It's because they've been sugarcoated. It's because they've been babied a little bit at times that they don't want to step into that because their parents have taken care of it for them. And I see that a lot of my athletes usually it's not the parents, the parents' fault, but it is kind of the parents' fault that they've wanted to provide the best life possible. But in wanting to provide the best life possible, you are now aiding them in. not taking agency over their direction and what they're trying to get done for themselves. And you're actually kind of making them soft a little bit as opposed to, yeah, developing their inner confidence to know that they can figure things out and get things done on their own. Which is, yeah, just a side tangent. But yeah. Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (13:

03.747) No, that's real stuff. That's real stuff. One of the things that we do with our NIL is we we teach the players on how to be a pro before they become a pro. And being a pro is being professional. Doesn't matter if you're a senior in high school, you can still be professional. You can be a sophomore in college and be professional. We're not talking about pro ball. We're talking about the player being professional. And the first step in that is becoming a man.

KJ Carta-Samuels (13:

28.671) Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (13:

30.607)'Cause there's there's fifty five year old guys walking around that are still boys. They are

KJ Carta-Samuels (13:

34.635) Well that's what I was gonna say. I think the first step to becoming a man is taking responsibility for your life.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (13:

39.854) Yes. Yeah. Completely. Com completely. So I think there's a lot of people that have nine and a half toes in on being a man. They take responsibility for everything except the thing, whatever that is. And everybody's got one. Right. And then going back to your challenges here, the grind is is unavoidable. I think

KJ Carta-Samuels (13:

41.543) Ultimately I think that I think that's all it is. I think that's all it is. Mm-hmm. 50.571) Mm-hmm. 55.66) Exactly. Yeah. Yep. Mm-hmm. You're exactly right.

KJ Carta-Samuels (14:

07.019) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (14:

07.853) The grind, even at the NFL level, is one of the biggest reasons guys retire the week before camp. I just can't I can't do this again. They can play ball. They just can't get through camp. Right. And then the last thing, I think this is almost applicable to every young man that plays quarterback in high school, unless you're at a top like elite offensive program.

KJ Carta-Samuels (14:

14.223) Mm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (14:

35.629) where the level of sophistication of your scheme is on the same par as a college, which most high school coaches don't have the capacity to do. So probably 95% of the quarterbacks coming out of high school are not ready for college.

KJ Carta-Samuels (14:

45.408) Right.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (14:

53.227) And I would even say that a lot of ninety-five percent of the guys that come out of college are not ready for the pros for that same reason, especially with no huddle, you know, signs and signals, you know, short play calls, you know, all those kind of things where we get to the league. There's so many tags and you know, it's like you're reciting an encyclopedia when you're just calling a play in the huddle, you know. So, well, let's go back because you said that everything is mental.

KJ Carta-Samuels (15:

16.735) Right. Yeah. 22.89) Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (15:

25.753) Assuming everybody assuming like the quarterback room, everybody's talented, everybody's got a strong arm, everybody's reasonably athletic, there is no doubt the differentiator is going to be between the years. But let's go back in time, whether it was in football or baseball or another sport where you failed. Whether it's seventh grade, sophomore year, senior year in the in the playoffs, what was your, what was the failure that you had that made an impression on you early in your career? Because everybody's got one. Some people got lots, but guys are four stars don't have that many. So what was yours?

KJ Carta-Samuels (16:

03.029) Mm-hmm. 11.273) Yeah. I mean, I would say there were two major failure points, technically failure points. because it's actually interesting how football became very important for myself was that again, as I was getting older, I was trying to figure out what my thing was going to be. I was watching my brother play college football. at this point when I was a freshman in high school and I wasn't as good at baseball anymore and I wasn't spending as much time in the cage. And I actually started playing golf a good amount. And I played my freshman year football and had a decent season, but actually wasn't that great. and then I went out for the golf team actually and didn't make the team by one stroke. And I remember when I didn't make the team by one stroke, I went, Football's it, football's gonna be it. And even though I'm not playing my best right now, I'm watching my brother play and He was lifting like crazy in high school. I had a blueprint of exactly what I could do to become like him, but more. And so just went, this is gonna be it. This is my ticket. because at the point, at that time, actually it sounds kind of crazy, but what inspired me so much to really dive into something, find something, was that I was a very academic kid. growing up. I had all very good grades and my parents, yeah, like just I don't know, like just instilled kind of thoughts about me being like super intelligent and all of these things. And so I actually wanted to use football to get a very good degree. And so I was looking at football as more of a vehicle to getting to a really good school. So at first I started going on visits to Ivy League schools. I remember going to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, as a sophomore in high school. And I was thinking I was gonna use football to attend one of those schools. And so really that failure of golf was what birthed me into football being my only option and in my head being my only option because also my family's not super poor, but I we're not super wealthy and and I knew the cost of school and I was like, How am I gonna afford this? I don't I don't wanna put them in that situation. I don't wanna so

KJ Carta-Samuels (18:

29.559) Again, my brother was on scholarship at Wyoming and I was like, this is a way that I can do it. Like, all right, so football's gonna be it. So that that was at that age, at a very young age, that was my reasoning for why football became so important to me, which is a very different kind of path than most. as far as, you know, normally it's they just love the game and this, like mine was I wanted to get a very good education, afford it. And then honestly, as I started committing myself to it, really attacking it, pushing myself in the gym like crazy, I saw I was a pretty damn good player. And then and then s and then other things snowballed from there. And then and then that kind of birthed it even more into these other things. But then the other failure would be my junior year. I mean losing the CIF championship to go to state and which was That was tough. We lost in overtime and got on the one yard line. couldn't punch it in. And yeah, I just remember not even taking off my helmet for a couple hours after the game, sitting on the bus in full pads, helmet, just bawling my eyes out, just absolutely attacking the gym the next like Jalen Hurts videos, you know, like attack like going straight to the gym and being like, All right, I'm never letting this happen and So it was really those were like two, two big failures that just like made me hungry, like insanely hungry to just be the very best that I could be. Just yeah. A first not feeling like I had another option. I that's that's what I had created in my mind was that if I didn't earn a scholarship or I didn't know how I was going to go to college or how I was going to afford college and and these things. So Because when you have that level of desperation, you're gonna get where you wanna go. Like because you're just you you're so much hungrier than the rest of your competition. It's it's gonna bleed over into every decision that you constantly make. So that just set me on a path. I was very, very different than my peers for sure.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (20:

48.001) Okay, let's unpack that a little bit more. missing the golf team by one stroke.

KJ Carta-Samuels (20:

49.694) Mm-hmm. 56.104) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (20:

57.667) gave you clarity. It gave you like that you became a hundred percenter in ball. Right? Where before you were like dipping your toes in multiple sports and you're like, football's my ticket. Okay. Then let's go to that junior year loss. You shared the loss, you shared the grief, but you didn't share what you

KJ Carta-Samuels (20:

59.401) Mm-hmm.

KJ Carta-Samuels (21:

05.023) Yeah. One hundred yeah. Mm-hmm. 10.634) Yeah. 13.909) Yeah. 18.827) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (21:

24.749) did or didn't do to contribute to that loss. So my question to you is in that loss, most people when they face that kind of like disappointment, they go back and replay the game. They watch every play and they go, dang it, I wish I would have done X on this play. What was the what was the play in the game that if you would have made it, that you didn't make, but if you would have made it,

KJ Carta-Samuels (21:

27.978) Mm-hmm. 39.091) Mm-hmm. 43.563) Mm-hmm. 48.075) Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (21:

52.865) You wouldn't you'd have been continuing on to the state.

KJ Carta-Samuels (21:

56.478) Yeah. it was that fourth down. It was that fourth down. We were on the one yard line. We could have kicked a field goal to go up, but our kicker had missed a field goal earlier in the game. And we're very again run heavy offense. And I'm actually lead like literally lead blocking in some of these plays. Like I would pitch it to my guy and I would go get up in the hole and block. and he was the I think MVP of the league too. He played linebacker at Colorado, Kenneth Olibade. and yeah, we we just called the toss to him. I pitched it to him and I got him in the hole. And I can't even tell you. I don't know if I've watched the film back, but I don't know if I missed a block or not. I might have missed a block or he I I'm not even sure. Like actually still now. but just the thought that like I didn't carry it in or that I didn't make that or like know for sure, or just that we didn't we weren't able to get it was just Yeah, it was it was disgusting, honestly. I couldn't I couldn't wrap my head around it. And so that, honestly, just just that. Yeah. that yeah, that that that killed me.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (23:

12.931) Fourth down and goal to go from the one to to move on or not.

KJ Carta-Samuels (23:

15.499) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Exactly. It's like some what's it called? Friday Night Lights. That's a that's a Friday Night Lights moment right there. Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (23:

25.091) That is. That is. Okay. Did you just out of curiosity, did you ever have any coaches since you were like a a stud athlete, did you have any coaches along the way say, Hey man, I'm not I'm not sure you got what it takes because of X? Like maybe the lack of sophistication of your offense.

KJ Carta-Samuels (23:

35.083) Mm-hmm. 44.928) Mm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (23:

45.058) Or lack of processing speed. Did you ever run into a situation at the University of Washington when you were doing your post-spring reviews with your quarterback coach where you said, hey, bro, this is something you got to get better at? And it was it was true, and there's no shame in that. Every single player needs to get better at something. what would what was kind of your thing where somebody told you, like for my son Brock, it was, hey, you need to increase your. Arm strength. Improve your arm strength. Every quarterback's got something. Pocket presence. What was yours?

KJ Carta-Samuels (24:

16.107) Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. 22.419) Yeah, Mine was just like pure just confidence. like simply just like energy as far as leadership and taking command over the offense. that was more of of my thing was yeah, just just not being that commander, honestly, of the offense and I completely agreed. I completely agreed. and the problem was, and we'll dive into this heavily, but is that I, when you talk about playing two opponents, or that you have to play, you know, you're on you're on a field and you you got your opponent on the other side. You got 11 on your side, you got 11 on the other side, and all right, so it's it's us versus them. I was playing an opponent in my own head the entire time. I wasn't playing the opponent across the field, and that's a problem. And because I was playing the opponent in my own head, I didn't have the presence to be there for my team. to be the commander for my team because I was so stuck in the thoughts that I was having of my own self on the field that I couldn't attend to my guys.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (25:

53.273) Two questions. I want to keep going on this. One was what was the story you were telling yourself?

KJ Carta-Samuels (25:

54.856) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

KJ Carta-Samuels (26:

00.911) So much perfectionism. I was obsessed with I was obsessed with the mechanics for sure. That's a huge part of what I do now within what I teach. So much is body awareness and getting to a place of trusting yourself. I was always told to throw the ball a specific way, which was very over-the-top, this over-the-top style of throwing. And I was a good player, no doubt, in high school, Elite Eleven, all of it. But I had arm pain. and I always felt like when I watched Aaron Rodgers, it looked easier. When I felt the way that I played, I was a good player, but I didn't feel as easy as what I'm watching Aaron Rodgers do on the TV. And because yeah, and because of that.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (26:

56.867) Wasn't that?

KJ Carta-Samuels (27:

00.509) Always in the back of my head, I was like, there's something wrong. There's something to this. But every coach that I had worked with at the Elite 11, at these things, had told me I had to throw over the top. And so I never questioned it. I did, I respected my elders, I did what they said, and I, you know, what got accolated. I was a four-star, all of this stuff. But I never questioned that. And so I feel slightly off within my play when I'm delivering the ball, when I'm out there competing at Washington, I'm playing, and I'm playing good. I'm throwing 70%. I'm I'm doing these things, hitting guys at times. But it doesn't feel like 100%. And I I am a perfectionist. I I and I don't need to hit every guy 100%, but I want to feel like I can feel that when that comes off my hand, that's going where I want it to. Like when you shoot basketball, you know. Moment it leaves your hand, you know what's going. I didn't have that feeling. I didn't have that connection with my body. So that always bothered me because it felt like there was something I was missing. And I was obsessed with constantly trying to tweak things, try things out, but I never got rid of this thought that it had to be over the top. Well, when you're sliding in a game and you have to move because your left tackle just got beat. And you have to slide forward and you have to throw over the top, but yet this is putting you in a position to move your body and manipulate a different angle to deliver that ball to your guy or get it around someone. That is now limiting you from you making plays because you have a way that you are telling yourself you have to do something when the way in the game is putting you in a position to do something else. That's forcing you to not be in flow. And not play athletically and not flow with what the game is asking you to do. That hindered my game because I was forcing something into every scenario instead of playing with the game, being an athlete, and moving within the game. Because of that, I wasn't playing the game freely. I was playing the game like a robot.

KJ Carta-Samuels (29:

25.159) And that that's a problem because this game is dynamic. This game is changing at all times. We're not playing the game in seven on seven. We're not playing the game in shorts. We're playing the game when our left tackle gets beat. All those mechanics and everything that you've been working are out the window, bro. You better get it to your guy, or you are on the sideline right now. And that's a different philosophy than honestly what. People doing a lot of spaces. This isn't just quarterback. This isn't just these things. We like to, I mean, I could go forever on this. This is this is part of the industrial age of American economy and and all of this stuff. This is trying to put a system to everything and turning things into robotic and and just ways instead of having this free flow of the game is dynamic. We have to move with it. We have to change our body. Depending on angles. You watch golfers, they're they're they're shaping shots around trees. They're doing like we have to be able to do that, or you're gonna be limited. And so I did not have that mindset. And so I could make the plays when I was cleaning a pocket, when it was but when the game broke down and when these things I I couldn't make those plays as much. And so what's the difference? Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (30:

49.123) So let me let me I get it and I love that. And you're not you're not like a unicorn. There's a lot of quarterbacks that deal with the same thing. I think one of the things I've seen in the league happen over and over and over again.

KJ Carta-Samuels (30:

51.709) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Uh-huh. For sure.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (31:

04.791) Everybody has a people pleasing mode. So they show up they show up in training camp and the coach says, I want you to do the footwork my way. I want you to do this my way, the technique my way. So the athlete does it the coach's way and looks and then doesn't play. Doesn't play because he's not exploded. It doesn't matter the position. I'm not talking about quarterback. Now I'm talking generally speaking, you know, let's say you're a D lineman. You're an edge player. You gotta do it my way. You know, and the kid.

KJ Carta-Samuels (31:

08.139) For sure. 16.223) Mm-hmm. 20.383) Yep. Yep. 31.029) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (31:

33.326) Got there, was drafted there because he did it his way, not because he did it the position coach's way. And so what I started telling my clients to do is tell the coach you're going to do it his way. Take one shot at doing it his way and then do it your way. And then when he gets on you again, my bad coach, I got you, brother. I got you. Then take one rep at doing it his way. So he goes and picks on somebody else and then do it your way again.

KJ Carta-Samuels (31:

39.219) No doubt. 51.861) Mm-hmm.

KJ Carta-Samuels (32:

01.107) Yeah. Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (32:

04.139) And then when you get in the game, don't apologize for doing it your way when you get a sack. Don't, you know, when you make a play and you're a quarterback because you threw it your way, you don't have to apologize. I mean, that's that's the Brett Favre thing we talked about before we went on air. He didn't give a shit what anybody thought. He did it his way and it worked. So the thing that I see is you described me in golf. When I'm thinking about how I'm supposed to swing.

KJ Carta-Samuels (32:

19.413) Yeah. Mm-hmm. No doubt. No doubt. 29.749) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (32:

34.177) I'm not very good. But if I just swing, I'm not bad. And so there's this technique mind conflict that a lot of athletes run into because the coaches have a tendency to want to overcoach. Coaches want they so think about this. In a controlled environment like practice, they can't kill a quarterback. You guys we're

KJ Carta-Samuels (32:

39.357) Exactly. 46.292) Mm-hmm. For sure. 53.277) Yeah. Mm-hmm.

KJ Carta-Samuels (33:

00.478) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (33:

03.609) Pink shirts or whatever. He just wants to know you're doing it his way, so it's gonna be hopefully predictable outcome or results on game day. Well, what the coach doesn't realize is he's creating an athlete that can't perform even to the ability he has because of the overcoaching.

KJ Carta-Samuels (33:

12.139) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 25.739) Exactly.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (33:

27.927) And that sounds like it happened to you.

KJ Carta-Samuels (33:

30.515) One hundred percent. You're exactly right. You're exactly right. Yeah, just the amount that now they become shackles. They become shackles to where you're so overly coached, exactly like you said, over technique that you're just thinking way too much. You're not present.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (33:

51.748) Think think about me being your position coach and I just want to put my my fingerprints on you. First thing I'm gonna do is say, hey, KJ, show me how you grip the ball. bro. You need to spin the ball a little bit, move these fingers a little bit, different places. that's how you throw the ball. Now let's go see how you throw it. bro. Man, you're gonna get passes knocked down. Throwing it like that.

KJ Carta-Samuels (33:

55.093) Mm-hmm.

KJ Carta-Samuels (34:

12.543) Mm-hmm. Mm. 19.627) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (34:

21.347) I mean if you played baseball, you had a little bit of a baseball arm. And if you had a if you threw a baseball, if you played baseball and you were successful at it, you probably had a strong arm, 'cause you don't play baseball unless you got a strong arm.

KJ Carta-Samuels (34:

24.981) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (34:

35.071) And what are they doing? They're taking it away from you. 41.325) So how do you in coaching, that's a trick question, but I'm telling you ahead of time it's a trick question. As a coach now, how do you coach kids so that you don't duplicate what your coaches did to you?

KJ Carta-Samuels (34:

45.727) Mm-hmm. 58.067) Yeah, I mean I honestly sometimes undercoach a lot. I give them pointers, I give them feels, but I ask them constantly, what did that feel like to you? I make them answer that question because I don't want them trying to impress me or trying to. I want them to understand their own body. They have to understand what they're doing, what they're feeling. If they're not asking themselves how that rep felt, why it felt that way, and what could be better, they're not developing that self-awareness with their body physically. And so that's my route is just asking them constantly, how did that feel? What did you feel? And making them talk about it. If they can't talk about it, they don't understand it. They don't know their body. And so yeah, that's that's step one of it, honestly, is that for sure, just establishing that kind of environment and that kind of container for them to and honestly a lot of the times they're they don't know what to say because they've never been asked that question. Which is crazy. It's crazy to me. Like, but but yeah, that's step one is just simply asking them and making them communicate what they felt and and why.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (36:

37.697) Okay, so I'm gonna add to your brand a little bit. I'm gonna regurgitate back to you, what you told me. when a young man is trying to figure out how to do something, you might give him multiple ways to do it and let him decide which one feels the best. Because there's not one way to swing a golf club, there's not one way to throw a football. And then the way you get to flow is through feel, not through technique.

KJ Carta-Samuels (36:

41.138) Yeah. Yeah. 45.621) Mm. 57.557) Yeah.

KJ Carta-Samuels (37:

01.874) Exactly. 07.691) One hundred percent. Yeah. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Exactly. No, exactly. I don't want you stuck with vocabulary in your head. I don't want you stuck with feeling in your head. It def yeah, it's not words. It's I felt that. This is what I do to fix that. It's not even so much of speaking. Yeah, like the actu yeah. I because I don't want an I don't want a repetitive I mean, because this is something that we can

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (37:

08.281) And that's your brand. It's field of flow. Right?

KJ Carta-Samuels (37:

36.064) touch on next, but it was all connected as far as like just my mental patterns as far as like I w I had so much anxiety too at this time in college when I was struggling heavily with this stuff and had this replaying of words constantly in my head as a way of control, as a way of trying to yeah, control my outcome. and that's the last thing I want someone to be thinking is as they're throwing elbow up, elbow here, da-da-da-da-da. It's like, dude, like what? Like we can't have a sentence playing in our head as we're throwing the ball. You gotta throw the ball. Like, you know, so exactly what you just said, like getting them to feeling as opposed to a sentence.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (38:

18.499) Well, something that I think is really important based upon your experience and what I've seen as well is that too many coaches coach the process instead of coach the results. And so when you coach the process, you start nit nitpicking technique. Hey, your your plant you know, your your foot wasn't the wrong wasn't going at your target, all these things. You know, the ball was too low, too high. I mean, kids gonna hold the ball where it's gonna feel comfortable most most of the time. But at the end of the day, the goal of every pass play is once a quarterback makes a decision of where he's going with the ball, does it end up in that kid's hands? That's the objective. Complete the pass. So if it flutters a little bit, maybe it's a little bit of a higher arc than others. You can tweak those a little bit. But at the end of the day, did he complete the pass or not?

KJ Carta-Samuels (39:

00.085) Mm-hmm. Yep. 17.127) Exactly. Exactly. You're exactly right.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (39:

20.631) And I think college coaches do this more than pros because the pro coaches get told by their players to shut, you know, shut the F up because bro, I'm making ten times more than you. Why you trying to, you know, I've been doing this for 12 years. You just became a quarterback coach. Why are you trying to tell me that? Now, if you wanna you wanna plan the birthday parties in in our in our position room, you know, if you want to decide what we're gonna do for indie, I'm cool with that. But don't start messing with my game.

KJ Carta-Samuels (39:

30.123) No doubt. 36.553) Yeah. Why do to tell the Right. 49.671) Right. Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (39:

50.5) But in college, you got everybody that walks in the door for the most part is a people pleaser. Every single quarterback has to be a people pleaser because his mommy and daddy told him, hey, you got to have a good relationship with your coach, or you're not going to get on field. Well, to have a good relationship with your coach, he's got to like you. Well, if he ain't gonna like you if you don't do it his way.

KJ Carta-Samuels (40:

05.525) For sure. For sure. 11.402) Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (40:

17.155) So I see I see a trap. I see a trap and the players walk right into the trap.

KJ Carta-Samuels (40:

19.466) Mm-hmm. 24.317) No doubt. No doubt. Yeah, it's crazy. It's crazy.'Cause that's yeah, I mean that's a lot of the times why Guys, yeah, show up or or it's it's also interesting to, you know, see the Quin youers that come out of high school that is the five star and they're like, Yeah, Mike, okay, like if you're not him, like you know, just this whole like label of stuff of like, that's him, like he can do it and he can get away with it. That whole idea is fascinating too to me as well. Like, you know, just the the whole like you think you're Rogers or something, it's like Rogers was at Butte College, like why Like, but he eventually got there. Like just this line of you know what I'm saying? Like the whole freak idea and stuff and all of this. It's like no one no one's like I I don't I I just don't know when that started or when because that puts a limitation on you, you know. Like for me, like honestly, even me, like literally the reason I never tried being like Aaron Rodgers was because I would watch NFL football. Literally the commentator would say, Don't study him. He's one-on-one, he's a freak, he and that's literally limiting everyone else below that to becoming that.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (41:

44.888) Okay, so here's another brand message. Every single client you have, every single quarterback you coach is one of one. They are one of one too. Every single person is one of one because everybody's unique. Everybody's got different body mechanics. Certain people are tight in certain ways. Some people, you know, played baseball, some didn't play baseball. It's like everybody's one of one.

KJ Carta-Samuels (41:

58.294) Yeah.

KJ Carta-Samuels (42:

07.829) Yeah. 13.725) No doubt. No doubt.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (42:

16.131) Here's what I see in an overarching like global perspective is athletes either play a an inside game or an outside game. And the outside game is you're trying it it's it's perfection. You're comparing what you're doing to what you think you're supposed to do. The coach has told you he's rewarded the guy that's starting by saying these certain things and showing these certain clips from practice. Hey, this is how we do it. So you're playing the outside game because you want to be like that guy.

KJ Carta-Samuels (42:

25.067) Mm-hmm. 33.824) Mm-hmm. 41.237) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (42:

44.729) Because you want to be in the position he's in.

KJ Carta-Samuels (42:

47.114) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (42:

49.411) The athlete that can walk in the door and make plays and play an inside game and not and be respectful to coaching. Take coaching when it have a filter for when it does apply, you adopt it. Just like we go out and have beers with some friends and they say, Hey, bro, how's your business going? And you say, Hey man, I'm struggling with this and that. And they go, Hey, why don't you try this? And you walk away going, That's that's a really good idea.

KJ Carta-Samuels (43:

18.634) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (43:

18.989) Sometimes I say, try this, and you go, that guy has no idea what he's talking about. That doesn't apply to me. That doesn't apply to my business. So when you're playing an insight game, you have a stronger filter to not let to not allow coach feedback to impact the adjustments you make.

KJ Carta-Samuels (43:

22.539) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (43:

42.52) So I wonder how many young men have played football at the quarterback position that were highly touted coming out of high school, had all the raw materials that because of the coaching, and because they were people pleasers and never grew out of that, they never went anywhere because the coach dumbed them down. I'm not trying to hate on coaches, it's it's it's just reality.

KJ Carta-Samuels (44:

12.179) No, one hundred percent. I think endless. I think endless would be your answer. and it's interesting actually, as as you bring that up, because the way that like I think about it is for myself, like honestly, I don't think that that was a huge struggle for me. was the outside game. I've always been an inside game competitor. and I deep down know. And it it's interesting, like even my brother and stuff, like we are very just different. Like he he is more outside and and it's interesting this dynamic, what I want to bring is like the dynamic of these two competitive mindsets, the difference and how they have their positives and negatives in two completely different ways, which is that my brother is a much more outside competitively person, where he sees someone across the line and he's like, I don't care what I need to do, but I'm gonna whoop your ass. Whereas I am Internally focused where I'm like, if I know my game is right and I'm the best that I can be, I don't care who's on the other side of that sideline because I'm going to whoop your ass. Like one is more like outwardly looking, one is more inwardly looking. And because of that, I know that if my game isn't to the standard that I want it to be at, that's where I'm gonna tap out because. I I'm not playing at my highest, so I can't s tap into playing at a higher level. Whereas my brother isn't worried about whatever his game is at individually, his skill level at, he's gonna w he's gonna whoop you no matter what. And that's a very interesting dynamic as far, yeah, just with within that, how it has its positives and negatives. Because yeah, it just I I don't know, it fascinates me. It's something that I like think about a lot. Just competitive temperaments and the way that we go about it differently is is is super super interesting. But that's where I would say, like, yeah, my my failure, my failure, whatever at Washington, not stepping on the field wasn't because of my competition. Wasn't because of that. I knew that my le my level of play was not where I wanted it to be. And that's why I didn't that's why I wasn't the guy.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (46:

34.125) I'm just gonna guess that if somebody's playing an inside game and they're focusing on what their job is and how they do what they do, they're going to be more consistent, independent of who's on the other side of the field. Whether your defense is doing great, you're got a punt blocked, the scoreboard's tilted the wrong way. If you're playing an inside game, you're gonna be more consistent. But if you play an outside game, you're

KJ Carta-Samuels (46:

46.516) Mm-hmm.

KJ Carta-Samuels (47:

00.19) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (47:

03.203) Your performance is going to be much more fluctuating. And the only positive I see in that is you rise to the occasion when somebody that you're playing against actually is better than you. But if they're the same or maybe worse than you, you might play down to their competition. And if you're capable on a scale of one to 10, 10 being perfect, which nobody is, let's say 8.5 is your top. If you're playing an

KJ Carta-Samuels (47:

06.539) For sure, for sure. 16.351) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 21.376) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (47:

31.883) Inside game, you should show up at 8-5 every every week. If you're playing an outside game, you might show up at a 7-2 because you think that's going to be good enough to win. And then those guys bring in more than you expected, and you end up losing a game you should have won. So I as a coach and as a mentor and as a mindset coach, I would rather people play their inside game because you can control that. Right?

KJ Carta-Samuels (47:

35.307) True. Yeah. 46.987) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 56.598) For sure, for sure. Yeah, no doubt. Heck yeah. Heck yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (47:

59.598) Nothing against your brother, 'cause I mean it can work. It can work. You can go there's guys playing in the NFL right now that play outside games.

KJ Carta-Samuels (48:

06.547) Heck yeah. Heck yeah. One hundred percent. Well, and what I would say too, you know, is the d like just along with that is like he wasn't so much thinking about his technique. I've been this way ever since I was little. I'm thinking about my golf stroke, how I shallow the club, how I do this, you know, how I come at the ball and and and cre create like that different shot shape and stuff like that. That to me is an inside game of like, you know, body awareness and this stuff. Or when I'm talking about, you know, my technique within like throwing the ball and stuff like this is that I'm thinking about like, how like if I spin my wrist this way, like, does that make the ball kind of do this? So when I'm in that situation, I can do that with my wrists as opposed to this. Like, whereas like he's not thinking about that. He's thinking about execute the play, guys open, hit him. And that's a different stop. That's a different style of of play. You know, like, and again, there's positives and negatives. If I get to a place where I have mastered my inside game of my technique, feeling like, I don't care what situation this guy's in. I don't care if my body's leaning over halfway left, if my body's right this way, I know how to turn my body and do this and deliver that ball, which I do know how to now. And that's where, I mean, towards the end of my career at Colorado State and then even after in Dresden, that's how I felt on the field. It's ridiculous. The amount of confidence that I have is ridiculous because I truly feel that. I don't care what the situation is, I don't care what it is, I can make a play, I can complete that ball. Like that's a different level of confidence. It took me a while to get there, but that's how I feel. and so yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (49:

48.986) Time out for a second, boss. What's the gap between what you had at Washington when you showed up as a freshman and that confidence you just communicated that you had? And what's the gap? And then when you're training an athlete, how can you help him close that gap?

KJ Carta-Samuels (50:

11.701) Mm-hmm. The gap is letting go of it needing to be done a specific way. Allowing myself the experimentation and allowing myself to fail. Accepting failure. Allowing yourself to experiment with things, try things out. 35.965) And throw away this idea that it needs to be done a specific way. Letting go of that Opened and changed my entire world because now I could play the game. I was free. I didn't have these shackles. I didn't have these things weighing me down. It was do whatever you feel. If you have to do this, do that. If you have to do that, do that. Now I was truly in a state of presence. When you're forcing the rules, when you're forcing the way, the technique, that's not presence. That's a fixed mindset. And so yeah, I think that that that that was the gap for me. was releasing control, releasing control and allowing myself to be in the moment and experiment all of it. Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (51:

40.272) So a lot of coaches see quarterbacks as technicians, game operators, extensions of the coach, and for quarterbacks that play like what you described with flow and freedom, and by any means possible, that's the standard I love. Just get it done. By any means possible. Mahomes exemplifies that.

KJ Carta-Samuels (51:

44.575) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 57.086) Mm-hmm.

KJ Carta-Samuels (52:

00.647) Mm. Mm-hmm. Right. Exactly.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (52:

05.687) He throws a left-handed, he throws it underhanded, he does some crazy stuff. He's free. I've never seen a quarterback play that free. Josh Allen's becoming like that too. And there's more and more guys doing it. But here my the bottom line is.

KJ Carta-Samuels (52:

08.059) Exactly. Exactly. Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (52:

23.149) When you're in competition, you have to decide if you want to be an artist or a technician.

KJ Carta-Samuels (52:

28.351) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (52:

32.845) Brett Favre was an artist. And most of the guys in the Hall of Fame were artists. There are a few technicians. But it's like, I think the, you know, and if you think about an artist, like painting a picture, you know, an art teacher's not going to go, hey, you made this this this little band of color too wide. It is what it is, bro.

KJ Carta-Samuels (52:

34.613) Mm-hmm. 56.711) Exactly. Yeah, no doubt.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (53:

01.389) That's it's your it's your it's your picture. You make it however you want. Then you step out of art class and you go to the football field and the coach's like, what are you doing, bro? You need to do it this way. You're like, okay, you want to keep your position. You yes, sir. But I think I I I'm a s I'm up we're operating on the basis of the player has competency. Once a player has competency, he should be.

KJ Carta-Samuels (53:

04.607) Yeah. 17.301) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (53:

29.965) like 90% an artist. When he's learning skills, he's gotta be a he's gotta he's he's gotta be a scientist because he's gotta try this technique and try that technique and figure out which one works for him.

KJ Carta-Samuels (53:

39.04) Yeah. 43.614) Mm-hmm. No doubt. No doubt. Well, it's just adding tools to your tool belt, right? Same thing with painting, same thing with all of these all of these techniques that you're trying out. Okay, trying over the top. Like, I'm not saying you shouldn't throw the ball over the top. But there's time and place where I should. There's also time and place where I should bring it lower. There's also time and place where I should even bring it lower. If I'm not practicing that technique, that technique. That technique, painting, if I'm not practicing a brushstroke, then I'm not practicing a thin line, then I'm not practicing this. That's limiting what I can bring to the canvas. So that's why it takes so long to become a master because you gotta master all of these techniques to have all of those tools in your tool belt to be able to make those plays. And so yeah, that's that's what's so tough about it is okay, cool. You've mastered this one technique. That took you 10,000 hours. Now you got six more that you gotta go for 60,000 hours. Like so.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (54:

51.053) Well what I see is when a guy fails, he throws across his body, he does something that looks crazy on TV, maybe he throws a pick, and the announcers say, man, that's a cardinal sin. Don't do that.

KJ Carta-Samuels (54:

54.547) Mm. Mm-hmm.

KJ Carta-Samuels (55:

05.087) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (55:

07.779) you know what, maybe you should have did that. Because then he can learn, hey, that's that's I can't do that. That's that's you know, and that's how you kind of like narrow down where your zone of genius is. And coaches should allow the players to figure that out.

KJ Carta-Samuels (55:

10.346) Yeah. 14.496) Yeah. 19.934) Mm-hmm. 24.157) Mm-hmm. Totally. Totally. You're exactly right. You're exactly right.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (55:

31.235) Let's talk about let's talk about the people that sometimes care more about the quarterback than the quarterback. Let's talk about dads of quarterbacks. Okay, they love their sons, they want their kid to be the next Josh Allen. What are the what's the one thing you see from time to time that

KJ Carta-Samuels (55:

41.653) Mm. Mm, mm-hmm. 50.249) Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (55:

57.836) A dad by subtraction could actually add to the performance of a son. Stop doing what?

KJ Carta-Samuels (56:

02.635) Mm-hmm. 06.091) Stopped it on on the dad's part.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (56:

08.227) Yeah. This is coaching dads. You're not hating on them. You're not dogging them. It's just like, hey, if you're you know, someday you're gonna be a dad, you're gonna have a son potentially, and he might wanna play quarterback. And what do you gotta not make sure you don't do? Because you've seen other people do it and it doesn't work, it backfires.

KJ Carta-Samuels (56:

10.72) Mm-hmm. 17.749) Mm-hmm. 24.829) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 30.463) I mean, I I think it's really simple. It's honestly just not wanting it more than the kid. Like and If you want him to be the quarterback and more than the kid wants to be, you are absolutely going to push him the other direction. For sure. Because you're going to apply pressure. You're going to talk about it when he doesn't want to talk about it. You're going to Yeah, just force him to anytime there's outside pressure, more than what you are bringing to the table. As a kid, you go the other direction, for sure. And so if you're exuding that energy at all to your son you can almost a hundred percent ensure that he's going to burn out and yeah, be pretty no longer enjoy it, like for sure. because he's if and even if he does, if he is playing, he's gonna feel like he's doing it just to make you happy instead of making himself happy.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (57:

48.055) You can only do that for so long.

KJ Carta-Samuels (57:

48.233) Which is exactly, exactly, exactly.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (57:

53.345) I would add to that, and very few dads are like this, but if you're too critical and you try to overcoach you gotta let the coaches coach. Take him to the fields, drop him off, let the coaches coach, bring home. and don't don't overcoach. unless you're Peyton Manning or somebody like that that played the position pretty good. Give him a a hall pass that he can coach his kid, give him feedback. But for most of us that didn't play at that level,

KJ Carta-Samuels (57:

57.781) Totally. One hundred percent.

KJ Carta-Samuels (58:

09.225) One hundred percent. 13.897) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (58:

23.287) You're helping your kid burn out again.

KJ Carta-Samuels (58:

25.449) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. One hundred percent.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (58:

29.113) KJ, this time has flown. What where can people find you? I know you're big on Graham. Where can people find you?

KJ Carta-Samuels (58:

32.448) Mm-hmm. 36.667) Yeah. Yeah. Instagram at Kj underscore C dot S dot one. I also have YouTube channel that I'm going to be building more and more for sure. But that's KJ Carter Samuels at KJ Carter Samuels. those would be the two main places right now for sure.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (58:

58.659) Well, I've really enjoyed visiting with you today about leadership, quarterback play, mindset, all those type of things. I want you to go out and have a great day. Enjoy your time in California.

KJ Carta-Samuels (59:

09.459) Heck yeah. Heck yeah. No, I appreciate you. This was this was a blast and I know we could go a lot longer for sure, but I'm happy we're connected and I'm happy we got the chance to be able to do this.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (59:

20.94) Awesome. Hang tight.