Dobb Mayo

I’m a sports parent, same as you.

You’ve watched your kid fall apart over something that didn’t matter, and light up over something that did. You’ve sat in the car after a rough game not knowing what to say. You’ve wondered whether the thing in their head — the nerves, the doubt, the spiral — is normal, and whether you’re supposed to fix it or leave it alone.

That's what my work is about.

I'm Dobb Mayo. I write about the mental game behind youth sports — what's actually happening inside a young athlete under pressure, and what to do about it. Some of my books talk straight to the athlete in the arena. Some talk to the parents and coaches in the stands. Not vague mindset talk, either way — the real mechanics, made usable.

And if you're the athlete reading this — the nerves, the doubt, the spiral you can't explain — none of it means something's wrong with you. It means you have a nervous system. I wrote some of these for you.

Why me

I come by this honestly. I’m a parent of three high school student-athletes and an amateur baseball player myself, from a family that’s been at this a while — my father played college ball, and my grandfather, Eddie Mayo, was a World Series–winning Detroit Tiger. So the bleachers are home.

But the reason this publication is different comes from a different corner: I hold advanced degrees in biology and chemistry. When I write about pressure, focus, sleep, or confidence, I’m working from what the science of the body and brain actually says — then translating it into something you can use on a hard Tuesday. Rigor you can act on. That’s the whole idea.

The books

My Student Athlete Series is written for athletes aged 13–18, and read alongside the parents and coaches who guide them:

• Mental Toughness for Student-Athletes — Gold Medal, 2025 Global Book Awards (Sports & Outdoors). The Spanish edition was named Best Spanish Book of 2025.
• Overcoming Anxiety for Student-Athletes — Finalist, 2025 Global Book Awards (Health: Counseling & Psychology).
• Leadership for Student-Athletes — the newest in the series, out July 23.

And my newer series, the Sideline Parents Playbook, turns the lens around — written for you, the parent on the sideline. It opens with Behind Every Great Student Athlete, with two more books on the way.