Blake Dietrick Seifert: Building Confidence Through Hard Work
A conversation about confidence, competition, and what it really means to show up for your teammates.
The affiliations and accomplishments are impressive, and of course we love to name-drop Team USA, the WNBA, and Darden for SEO purposes. But that’s not why I chose my teammate Blake as my first podcast guest.
She pulled me under her wing in a way I didn’t know I needed at the time. She was my “buddy” during the hardest year of my life. Our coach Courtney Banghart paired us up with a new accountability “buddy” each year: the idea being that we’d call each other for early practice wake-ups, lift together, set goals together, and check in on each other.
Our teammates still joke about Blake’s intensity. How she would do absolutely anything to win every drill, and if you were in her way… get out. We also know we wouldn’t have accomplished what we did without her. Looking back, I think Coach paired us because she wanted me to find some of that fire and focus within myself.
Blake probably didn’t sign up for asking me the hard questions and sitting with me while I cried, but she did and she’s a big part of why I never quit the team.
She’s driven. She’s confident. She’s loyal. And I’m so glad she came in person to share a bit of her journey with us.
Takeaways
For Student-Athletes: You build belief before the game, not during it. The more work you put in by yourself, the quieter your mind gets when the moment arrives.
For Parents: Your job on the sideline is supporting, not coaching. If your kid doesn’t ask for feedback, hold it. And if they mess up? They already know. Pick them up instead.
For Coaches: Create an environment where mistakes are moved through, not dwelled on. Demand effort, not perfection. As long as your athletes are giving everything they have, that’s all you can ask.
Originally published on the Power Forward Substack.
