Damon McLean: The Future is Human
A conversation about identity, pressure, and what it means to find yourself after you're done playing your sport.
Damon was one of the first people I connected with when starting Power Forward. He was building ADAK, the first platform built specifically for student-athletes to connect with alumni from their sport, and Soul Sessions, a podcast and platform that celebrates community.
He’s the one who pushed me out of my comfort zone - he invited me on for a recorded conversation for his ADAK audience before I felt anywhere near ready. That conversation made me realize and believe I have experiences worth sharing.
Damon is genuinely curious, about himself, about the people around him, about the world, and that curiosity is contagious. He inspires me to put myself out there, and I think he’ll do the same for you.
Takeaways
For Student-Athletes: You are not your results. Progress over perfection isn’t just a motivational phrase - it takes practice. Start building a sense of self that exists outside the scoreboard.
For Parents: Presence matters more than advice. Being someone a young athlete can talk to without fear of judgment is one of the most valuable things you can offer.
For Coaches: If mistakes are treated as failures, athletes learn to hide them. If they’re treated as information, athletes learn to use them. The latter builds a culture that develops resilient people.
Originally published on the Power Forward Substack.
