The Ready State Podcast2 Loka 2025

From Injury to Recovery: The Truth About ACL Rehab for Young Athletes with Coach Carmen Bott

ACL tears used to be rare in high school sports. Today, they’re an epidemic. Behind the headlines, there’s one voice cutting through the noise with hard truths, practical solutions, and decades of experience: Coach Carmen Bott. Known online as “Coach Bott,” she’s become the go-to expert on youth athletic development and late-stage ACL rehab, guiding parents, athletes, and coaches through one of the most pressing crises in sports performance.

In this episode of The Ready State Podcast, Kelly and Juliet Starrett sit down with Coach Bott to dig into why so many kids are getting hurt, why recovery takes longer than most parents realize, and how we can protect the next generation of athletes.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

Why ACL rehab isn’t 12 weeks—it’s a full year
The difference between yesterday’s athletes and today’s single-sport kids
Red flags parents should watch for in youth sport programs
How to support kids when insurance and the system fall short
The myths around strength training and growth in young athletes
Why prevention starts with play, variety, and strength—not fear
The real story behind the menstrual cycle and ACL injury debates

Key Highlights:

(00:00) - Intro

(00:54) - Carmen's Background

(05:26) - Athletes 25 Years Ago

(10:00) - Good Rehab Program Criteria

(13:18) - Ideal Club System for Athletes

(16:40) - Supporting Kids in Sports

(23:46) - Post-Acute Rehab Strategies

(29:32)) - Return to Play: Getting Fitter

(32:23) - Importance of Exposure in Rehab

(39:34) - Returning to Contact Sports

(44:51) - Preventing ACL Injuries in Kids

(52:30) - Menstrual Cycle and Athletic Performance

(56:04) - Myth Busting in Sports

(58:20) - Where to Find Carmen

(59:34) - Outro

Jaksot(211)

Joel Jamieson: How to Use HRV, Zone 2, & VO2 Max to Train Smarter

View This Week's Show NotesStart Your 7-Day Trial to Mobility CoachJoin Our Free Weekly Newsletter: The AmbushWhat if the fitness metrics you’re obsessing over aren’t telling you what you think they a...

1 Loka 1h 8min

RECESS: New Ferritin Thresholds, CTE Research & the Outplay Book

View This Week's Show NotesThis one's a first: Juliet and I are recording from different states. I'm up in Evergreen, Colorado, fresh off the Farren Summit in Boulder, where Juliet and I ended up in t...

24 Syys 32min

From Combat Zones to the White House: The Physical Therapist Behind Two U.S. Presidents | Drew Contreras

View This Week's Show NotesStart Your 7-Day Trial to Mobility CoachJoin Our Free Weekly Newsletter: The AmbushWhat does it take to keep someone performing when their job leaves almost no room for down...

17 Syys 1h 14min

RECESS: Ted Lasso, Women's Sports, Private Equity in Youth Sports & Aesthetic Wellness

View This Week's Show NotesJuliet and I have been saying yes to everything this fall. We're calling it the Fall Travel Junket, and it's stacked with events from Phoenix to Vail to Antarctica. Follow o...

10 Syys 31min

The Science of Women’s Health: Strength, Creatine, Body Composition, & Aging | Dr. Abbie Smith-Ryan

View This Week's Show NotesStart Your 7-Day Trial to Mobility CoachJoin Our Free Weekly Newsletter: The AmbushWhat if the biggest breakthrough in women’s health isn’t a brand-new protocol… but learnin...

3 Syys 1h 21min

RECESS: Empty Nesting, Women's Pain Tolerance, a Youth Sports Myth & Two Years Inside the Starrett System

View This Week's Show NotesJuliet and I are officially empty nesters. Both girls are launched, the bathroom is clean every morning, and we're figuring out what the next phase looks like. It rhymes wit...

27 Elo 34min

Building Resilience, Finding Clarity, and Staying Calm Under Pressure | Andy Stumpf

View This Week's Show NotesStart Your 7-Day Trial to Mobility CoachJoin Our Free Weekly Newsletter: The AmbushAndy Stumpf spent years navigating some of the most extreme environments imaginable as a N...

20 Elo 1h 27min

RECESS: Hiking the Haute Route, Thorne Sold to P&G, Kasia Niewiadoma's Historic Climb & GLP-1 Watch

View This Week's Show NotesWe're back from one of the most bonkers trips of our lives. Juliet and I just finished hiking the Haute Route, the classic alpine traverse from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, ...

13 Elo 31min