Valiant Sports Society

Be Valiant — Episodes

Real conversations. Real stories. Real change.

Be Valiant Podcast Episodes

Featured Series

Sit Down With the Daughters

Todd Merkow sits down with his two daughters — Madison and Sydney — across three conversations that trace the full arc of what youth sports can give, take, and leave behind.

The Proctor Family Series

A three-part series exploring youth sports, identity, injury, and resilience through the eyes of one family — Jeff, Lisa, and Will Proctor.

Volleyball

October 22, 2025

From Indoor to the Sand: Finding Your Position, Your Sport & Yourself

Madison Merkow

In Episode 2 of Be Valiant, Todd Merkow sits down with his oldest daughter Madison — a three-sport high school athlete, collegiate beach volleyball player at MiraCosta College, student athletic trainer for the ASU football program, and now an entrepreneur with her own fitness and wellness company, Lyt Active. What unfolds is a conversation about a young athlete who spent years being shuffled between positions, misread by coaches, and playing through injuries she probably should have sat out — until she found the one version of her sport that finally made sense.

CoachingParent EducationVolleyballInjuries & RecoveryMental HealthMulti-Sport AthletesIdentity & Identity LossYouth Athletes
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April 1, 2026

Have a Voice and No Fear to Use It

Liz Masakayan

Todd Merkow sits down with Liz Masakayan — Santa Monica High School alumna, two-time NCAA national champion at UCLA (1984, 1985), Broderick Award winner for collegiate player of the year in 1985, UCLA Female Athlete of the Year in 1988, five-year Team USA member, Olympian at Seoul 1988, World Championship bronze medalist in Beijing, and one of the most decorated careers in the history of American volleyball. On the pro beach side: 47 tour career wins, 61 finals appearances, a 13-year pro career, WPVA World Champion in 1991, FIVB World Champion in 1994 (with Most Outstanding Player honors), and a 1999 World Championship bronze. As a coach she led teams to Olympic bronze in Athens 2004 and a fifth-place finish in Beijing 2008. She was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1996. Todd also notes she should be in the Santa Monica High School Hall of Fame — if one existed.

VolleyballBeach VolleyballFemale AthletesMulti-Sport AthletesSports ParentingCollege RecruitingEarly SpecializationYouth Sports CultureMental HealthOlympics
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