The Minor League: Emotional IntelligenceThe Minor League: Emotional Intelligence
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Savannah and Blu Robinson talk through a powerful school exercise where teens openly face grief, body image, and trauma, showing how emotional safety can change a whole classroom’s dynamic. Their conversation highlights empathy, boundaries, and how simply listening can support both young people and those in recovery.
36:49•8 Nov 2020
Lines, Tears and Truth: Teen Emotional Intelligence on Addict II Athlete
Episode Overview
- Emotional safety has to be built deliberately before asking young people to share deeply personal experiences.
- Simple exercises like “cross the line” can reveal hidden grief, trauma, and loneliness that classmates carry in silence.
- Seeing others’ pain first-hand can completely change how someone views a peer they previously judged harshly.
- Offering presence, hugs, and short, honest words of support can help without taking on everyone else’s problems.
- Parents are encouraged to listen carefully, take time to understand their children’s feelings, and create a home where it’s okay to say things are not okay.
“Out of all 13 years I’ve done this, yesterday I had a group of students come up and ask me how I was. That was the first time anyone’s ever done that.”
Curious about how others handle heavy emotions and still show up for each other? This conversation on Addict II Athlete’s Minor League series follows 14-year-old host Savannah Robinson as she shares a powerful week in her ninth-grade health class and what it taught her about emotional intelligence, empathy, and real connection. Savannah walks through a classroom exercise called “cross the line”, where students silently step forward if a deeply personal question applies to them.
It starts light – “cross over the line if you wear glasses or contacts” – but soon becomes raw and emotional: grief, body image, feeling alone, being hurt by adults, and losing loved ones to addiction. She describes the shock of seeing classmates, including the “intimidating” boy she’d never liked, step over when asked about losing someone to drug use.
In her words, “my entire outlook on this kid switched”, a moment that perfectly shows how easy it is to misjudge people’s pain. Co-host and therapist Blu Robinson highlights how the teacher carefully built emotional safety ahead of time, shared his own losses, and reassured students: “you will never feel that in my classroom” when they admitted adults had hurt them.
Savannah explains how the entire school’s atmosphere shifted for the day – kids checking in on each other, teachers asking if students were okay, and even she and her friends going back at lunch to ask their teacher how he was doing. He admitted, “I’m not okay… it doesn’t get easier each year I do this,” and said it was the first time in 13 years students had checked on him.
Aimed at teens, parents, and anyone in recovery who wants healthier relationships, this episode leans into courage, vulnerability, and the power of simply listening. It quietly asks: when was the last time you really asked someone, “Are you alright?” and meant it?
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