What if instead of going for gold, sports taught us to strive for virtue, allowing us to understand that we only find true satisfaction through sacrifice?

The newest episode of the Conor Gallagher Show dives deep into the psyche and the soul of world-class athletes with Catholic sports psychologist Dr. Bill Thierfelder.

In a way that only longtime friends can, Conor and Bill's wide-ranging conversation covers:

- Why Bill is known as The Man Who Saved Belmont Abbey College

- Bill's athletic career as an elite high jumper

- Incorporating Catholicism into sports psychology

- How superhuman feats are possible

- Why pursuing virtue is the true pinnacle in sports

- How love, not money, is the biggest motivating force in life

This can't-miss conversation premieres this Wednesday at 7 p.m. EDT.

CHAPTERS:

(03:21) The Man Who Saved Belmont Abbey College
(05:06) Writing The Book: Less Than a Minute To Go
(11:11) Bill’s Athletic Career
(22:11) Advising Athletes When Their Careers End
(24:01) Joy in Suffering and Incorporating the Catholic Faith Into Sports Psychology
(25:39) Assessing People Spiritually, Physically, and Mentally Within 10 Minutes of Meeting Them
(37:21) The Kinds of Athletes with Which Bill Worked
(39:26) NFL Stigma Around Working With A Sports Psychologist
(45:31) The Ability to Focus
(54:21) Making Golf Putts With Your Eyes Closed
(01:00:42) How Super-Human Feats Are Possible: John Landy 1956 Run
(01:11:49) Nine-Year-Old Jeremy Schill
(01:19:54) "Seriously Sifting Sand" - The Genius of Children Focusing
(01:21:15) The Lenny Skutnik Story
(01:27:44) The Two Things We Desire Most: Objective Truth & Authentic Love
(01:31:34) God Made Us to Play
(01:32:54) Sport Vs. Play
(01:35:09) The Problem Is Not Sports
(01:36:37) Sport Obsession Starts with Family
(01:38:54) Every Football Player I Worked with Was a Unique Specimen Made by God
(01:43:22) The Money Problem in Sports
(01:44:04) Virtue and Athletic Performance
(01:48:24) Improving Your Team through Virtue
(01:51:25) Bill's “Thank you Jesus” Story
(01:56:40) A Common Coaching Mistake
(01:59:54) No Happiness without Sacrifice
(02:02:59) The 10-Minute Morning
(02:05:30) The Biggest Motivator is Love
(02:08:31) Finding the Love at the Ballet
(02:09:35) The Architect
(02:17:24) Union with God is Union with the Present Moment
(02:22:28) Comparing Ourselves to Other People

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Catholic Sports Psychologist: Olympic Insights on Winning with Virtue | Dr. Bill Thierfelder

The Conor Gallagher Show