Episode 73: Dan Blewett (Coach, Speaker, Former professional baseball player, author)
🎙 In this episode: I sit down with Dan Blewett, former professional baseball player, current author, coach and speaker, for a reflective conversation about masculinity, sports culture, and what it truly means to be “tough.” Dan unpacks how our culture shapes boys and how sports can still be a healthy place to figure it all out.
🔹 The Pressure to Perform
We kick off with the intense pressure young boys feel not just to play sports, but to be good at them.
🔹 Baseball in Japan vs. America
Dan recalls watching kids in Japan play baseball purely for fun and realizing how rare that is in the U.S.
🔹 The “Play Catch” Experiment
A laugh-out-loud story of Dan using dating apps in D.C. just to find someone to toss a baseball with.
🔹 The “Toxic Masculinity” Debate
We break down why the term can feel one-sided, and how both genders are capable of toxic behavior.
🔹 Growing Up Male
How young boys wrestle with mixed messages about being competitive, emotional, or “too aggressive.”
🔹 Balancing Toughness and Authenticity
Dan shares his personal struggle with wanting to be the “tough guy” while staying true to himself.
🔹 Sports as a Safe Space
How athletics provide a controlled arena to learn teamwork, conflict, and coexistence.
🔹 Coaching Boys vs. Coaching Girls
We debate whether coaches should approach boys and girls differently—and why girls might be more coachable.
🔹 Modeling Steadiness
Dan believes the best thing a coach can model isn’t intensity…it’s consistency and calm.
🔹 Redefining Toughness
Toughness isn’t just muscle. It’s resilience, grit, and compassion. Sometimes it looks like a single mom or a sick dad still showing up.
🔹 Sports as the Village
How being part of a team creates belonging, accountability, and purpose beyond the self.
