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Astronaut Steve Smith: How Youth Sports Took Him To The Outer Limits

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Listen in as Positive Coaching Alliance goes 1-on-1 in interviews with top pro and college players, coaches, executives and other major sports figures who provide tips, tools, information and inspiration for youth and high school sports coaches, parents and student-athletes.

This 1-on-1 interview features Steve Smith, a PCA National Advisory Board Member, who has served as the NASA International Space Station Program Liaison to the European Space Agency and was a two-time NCAA Champion water polo player at Stanford University, where he captained the 1980 team.

Jim Thompson (@JimThompson18), PCA Founder, talks to Smith about how youth sports shaped his future career. After four rejections from NASA, Smith eventually went on to become one of the top five astronauts on the worldwide spacewalk duration list. He credits the same mentality as a Triple-Impact Competitor® (makes himself, his teammates, and the game better) for this turnaround. He earned his spot in space by proving to NASA he was a hard worker, good communicator, and a dependable team member. Here's where you'll find Steve talking about featured topics:

  • Specialization- 1:40
  • Mistakes- 13:50

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