Claim OwnershipVoice In Sport
Subscribed: 21Played: 895
Subscribe
© 2023 Voice In Sport
Description
Voice in Sport® is on a mission to bring more visibility to female athletes and elevate their voice. Sport Industry Executive, Advocate, Former Athlete and Founder of VIS®, Stef Strack explores the journey of female athletes by sharing untold stories on topics rarely discussed like mental health, body image, female specific sports science and nutrition. Stef hosts a conversation with female athletes, at all levels, inspiring us all to raise our voice, keep playing and change more than just the game.
114 Episodes
Reverse
Athing Mu, a professional track & field athlete and 2x Olympic gold medalist in the 800m and 4x400m relay in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, shares her journey of having success in running at an early age, and the transition to becoming a pro athlete. In this episode she takes us through growing up in a Sudanese family in New Jersey and the impact her seven siblings have had on her passion for running. Athing discusses her time as a high school and college athlete and what it was like turning pro, landing Nike as a sponsor and winning a gold medal all before the age of 20. After a disappointing result at Worlds in Budapest - she takes us through how she managed the pressure and disappointment and the steps she took to build a strong support system around her and climb back to the top of the 800m podium at the Diamond League Championship by setting a new World Record. While running is a huge part of Athing’s identity she emphasizes the importance of having hobbies and passions outside of sport and surrounding yourself with inspirational teammates that help keep the joy of sport front and center. ““Pressure’s always going to be there. It’s about how to take that pressure and use it to fire you up for what you need to do and accomplish””. - Athing Mu
CLIF endurance athlete and a leader in the space of ski-mountaineering and endurance sports, Caroline Gleich shares with us how she has built her career and broken barriers as a woman and as an activist. She began her ski career while attending University of Utah and then went on to become the first woman to ski all 90 lines of the Chuting Gallery, climb Mount Everest and has competed in several ultra-marathons. Carolines legacy extends beyond her expeditions as she combines her passion for sport and advocacy as an activist for gender equity and environmental policy, traveling to Washington DC to testify in front of the House and Senate and organize climate rallies. Today she shares with us the pros and cons of social media, how to best protect yourself as a woman when faced with online harassment and how to build your brand with a powerful community of women and mentors. Caroline explores with us the path to becoming a pro and how to tear down the harmful narratives in sport around the “ideal” woman's body type. "Sometimes I feel like if I fail on an expedition that I'm not just failing for myself, I'm failing for all women and that's just simply not true.” - Caroline Gleich
Emma Schieck, Paralympic sitting volleyball player and gold medalist in the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games, shares her journey into adaptive sport and the challenges, relationships, and unforgettable rewards within it. She takes us through her childhood growing up without a knowledge of paralympic sports. She gives us an inside look at what it felt like to serve in the match point of a gold medal game. She emphasizes the importance of honoring our passions, never giving up, and believing in ourselves against all odds. Emma expresses hope for a future where paralympic sports gain more viewership and respect. She is such an inspiration for all female athletes and especially those with disabilities who dream of achieving their own goals. “They're challenging and competitive. No matter what your disability is, no matter what your sports background is, playing a paralympic sport is going to push you and it's going to be different.” -Emma Schieck
1Kaitlin Hawayek is Team USA Ice Dancer and a 2022 Pyeongchang Olympian. She is a 5x Bronze Medalist at the National Figure Skating Championship, 2018 Four Continents Champion, 2018 NHK Trophy Champion, and 2014 World Junior Champion. Kaitlin takes us through her junior career, highlighting the lessons she learned in competing in a multitude of environments at a young age. She shares her journey struggling with an eating disorder and how she grew into a healthy relationship with her body image. Later in her career, facing near career ending injuries, Katilin discusses how she took a pause from sport in order to take care of her physical and mental health. Through her journey, Kaitlin shares incredible advice for women athletes on how to take care of our bodies and minds, to advocate for our needs, and to find and develop resources for both our personal and athletic success and longevity."I am limitless. I am neither who I was or who I want to be, but I am who I am right now. I am a human that has so many values beyond sport. Sport is what I do. Art is what I share. But I love myself because of my kindness, because of my resilience, and because of my passion and creativity." - Kaitlin Hawayek
Sasha Digiulian, professional rock climber and CEO of Send Bars is a key figure in the world of climbing. She has won the World Championships for Female Overall and has placed Silver in the Bouldering World Championships, as well as Bronze in the Duel. Sasha has been the undefeated PanAmerican Champion from 2004 to the present, and also a three-time US National champion. She joins us to share her journey in the world of climbing, the mindset of a risk-taker, and how she navigates body image and scrutiny in the age of social media. Sasha also teaches us how she manages fear and self-doubt when performing her difficult climbs, and the lessons she’s learned from becoming a champion in climbing - which she also writes in her new upcoming book “Take the Lead: Hanging On, Letting Go, and Conquering Life's Hardest Climbs” available September 26, 2023. Sasha’s impact reaches far beyond climbing, she is an example to many young women to embrace their own potential and carve out their own paths. “It's women achieving something that opens the floodgates to other women seeing inspiration and possibility.” - Sasha DiGiulian
Dr. Allison Brager, an Army Neurobiologist who specializes in sleep and circadian rhythms, shares her college athletic journey as a track and field athlete and how she got into studying sleep and its importance for athletics. Brager graduated from Brown and Kent State with a Ph.D of psychology, and also serves as a VIS Expert, where she conducts sessions about sleep. She shares with us the science behind sleep and gives us tips for how to create a sleep routine that benefits our mental, physical, and emotional health. Allison dives into her role on the NCAA advisory board and the importance of athletes finding hobbies outside of sports to realize they are more than just an athlete. She reminds girls that sleep is the secret weapon in athletic performance. “This [sleep] is how the pros got to how they are, starting out at your age and doing the same things you were.”- Dr. Allison Brager
Ali Riley, captain of Angel City FC in NWSL and captain of the New Zealand women’s national soccer team, joins us to share her journey in women’s soccer. She has represented her country in four Olympic Games and five FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments, most recently helping New Zealand to secure their historic first World Cup win against Norway in this year's FIFA Women's World Cup. Ali has gathered a host of experiences playing professional soccer, both in the United States and around the world. Most importantly, Ali’s impact is reflected in her work off the pitch as she is a champion for empowerment and equality, using her platform to advocate for women athletes and for marginalized communities everywhere. In this week’s episode, we dive into her resilience in facing and overcoming obstacles in her career, the importance of representation, and her hopes for the future of women’s sports—from visibility to equal pay.For more information on equal pay, the Voice In Sport Foundation, and its initiatives, head to https://www.voiceinsport.com/press/side-of-equity “You don't have to have thousands of followers. If you just are yourself and confident and do something that you love and are passionate about, it's going to make an impression on someone younger than you.” - Ali Riley
Becky Sauerbrunn, 2x World Cup Champion, 2x Olympian, 3x NWSL Champion, and former captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team, joins us as we unpack her journey to becoming a leader in the world of women’s soccer. She speaks candidly about her time with the youth national teams, her collegiate soccer career at the University of Virginia, as well as her professional career—highlighting how she gradually grew into her role as a leader over many years. We dive into how Becky has channeled this leadership as captain of the USWNT and the intricacies of how her leadership manifested itself in the fight for equal pay for women’s soccer players. Becky challenges us to both reconsider our preconceived notions of what a leader is, and to channel the leadership within us to advocate for gender equity and accessibility of sport for all. For more information on equal pay, the Voice In Sport Foundation, and its initiatives, head to https://www.voiceinsport.com/press/side-of-equity “It's gonna get better, but we need everyone to own and feel responsible for where women are going in this country when it comes to sport.” - Becky Sauerbrunn
Julie Foudy, former captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team, 2x World Cup Champion, 2x Olympian, National Soccer Hall of Fame member, and espnW Writer and Commentator, joins us as we unpack her experiences in the soccer world. She shares with us her journey in finding joy in sport and building confidence and how this not only led her to an incredible career with the USWNT from 1987-2004, but it also led to the eventual foundation of the leadership academy that she runs today for young women athletes. In our conversation, Julie emphasizes the importance of leadership that transcends the sports field; we see this in her discussion of the ongoing fight for equal pay in sport and her partnership with CLIF that supports her activism efforts. Julie Foudy is an inspiration to young women athletes everywhere, and her confidence, joy, and determination are truly gifts that we all can learn from. For more information on equal pay, the Voice In Sport Foundation, and its initiatives, head to https://www.voiceinsport.com/press/side-of-equity. “If we can teach these women to be amazing athletes, that's great. But most importantly, let's create amazing humans who wanna give back into their communities and realize that every single one of them is a leader.” - Julie Foudy
2-time Olympian and VIS League Mentor, Rosie Brennan is a professional cross country skier who has had multiple top 15 performances at the 2022 winter olympics in Beijing. Previously, Rosie attended Dartmouth college where she competed on the ski team.Rosie has had multiple ups and downs in her career including being cut from the National team twice, suffering two freak accidents including a bike and a car crash, and coming down with mono during her first Olympic Games. While Rosie may have thought about quitting, she never did and always came back with an even stronger fire. Today, she talks about her resilience and gives advice to young girls who may be going through similar obstacles. “It made me realise that part of the joy of competing is to have that feeling of being so immersed in something that you can have that many emotions and one of my biggest takeaways from the Olympics was how lucky I am to have had this experience that allows me to feel so much.” - Rosie Brennan
VIS Expert, Dr. Paige Roberts, a sports psychotherapist, athlete mental health advocate and a peak performance expert speaks about trauma injuries and how to recover from them. Paige specializes in helping athletes overcome performance anxiety, recover fully from sports injuries or failures, and rebound from performance slumps or blocks. As a high school and college athlete, Paige faced numerous challenges including overuse injuries, an eating disorder, addiction and multiple concussions. Today Paige shares the neuroscience behind overcoming all of them, and dives deep into the technique she uses called Performance Neuro Training, which is a combination of sports psychology, brainspotting, and hot & cold photobiomodulation laser-light therapy. This draws upon techniques from clinical social work, exercise and neuroscience along with health and wellness lifestyle coaching. “When we look at the results of Performance Neuro Training, athletes are loving sport again. They're energised, they're sleeping well, they're not having as intense anxiety.” - Dr. Paige Roberts
Lexi DuPont, professional big mountain skier, bush pilot, and entrepreneur talks about an exciting new event, the Sister Summit! The Sister Summit brings women snowboarders and skiers together to build a community, create more visibility for the sports, and learn about mindfulness and nutrition, much like the mission of VOICEINSPORT! Lexi also dives deep into her relationship with nature. She shares how she cultivates confidence as a love for yourself, for life, and for the people around you. Finally, Lexi’s journey with her mental coach highlights how beneficial it can be to learn to let go. “When we drop in on the mountain and we're going, we are unstoppable. I am unstoppable. I am fierce and I am going to charge down this mountain.” - Lexi DuPont
Andi Sullivan, professional soccer player, captain of the Washington Spirit, collegiate national champion, and Hermann trophy winner shares her journey in soccer. She takes us through her experience through the US Women’s National team programs from her early teens and then as only one of six players to land a spot on the women’s world cup roster before attending college. Andi highlights the importance of prioritizing mental health as she shares her recruitment process at a young age and how she overcame injuries. Andi shares important advice on how to build confidence through value-driven progress rather than result or statistic based metrics. Andi urges us to focus on our individual narratives, all the while bringing up the people around us to create stronger communities and teams!“Even when things were difficult and frustrating… every day I’d drive to the facility and say: I can control my attitude and my effort”. -Andi Sullivan
Julia Landauer, Champion Race Car Driver and VIS League Mentor speaks about her journey with sexism in racing, sponsorships and dealing with bad races! Julia is an incredibly accomplished competitor in a sport where women and men compete against each other. She was the first and youngest woman to win the Skip Barber racing series at 14 years old, and was the only female to be invited to the 2016 NASCAR Next Program. Julia is currently racing in the Xfinity Series for Alpha Prime Racing, and was the only woman at her debut race in July 2022. Today, she explains how to navigate a male dominated sport that is so reliant on sponsorships, and shares so many wise tips on male allyship for women athletes! “Focus on where you wanna be and then you'll have a better chance of getting there.” - Julia Landauer
Blake Bolden is a professional Ice Hockey player for the Boston Blades, where she won two national titles and works to pave the way in the sport for young black girls such as herself. She is also an NHL reporter on ESPN and a professional scout as well as a growth and inclusion specialist for the LA Kings!In this podcast, Blake discusses her journey with ice hockey from a young age to her mid-thirties and her struggles to fit in, accept who she was, and deal with the ups and downs that come with being an elite athlete. “Just tell yourself you can do this, you can be bold and face whatever fear, whatever doubt. Just face it, head on.” - Blake Bolden
Dr. Stacy Sims, VIS Expert, a performance physiologist and researcher specializing in women athletes, shares the science behind periods and performance. As a former runner, rower, and cyclist, Stacy dove into studying movement and sports sciences at Purdue University. In her Master’s program, Stacy researched sex differences and overtraining in women athletes. As a professional, Stacy has directed research programs at Stanford, AUT University, and the University of Waikato that focus on women athlete health and performance. In today’s episode, Stacy brings her expertise and experiences as an athlete to share her research and work about menstrual cycles, training, and nutrition. We also discuss the underrepresentation of women in scientific studies, the misconceptions about women’s physiology, and the myths relating to our periods. “At any point in the menstrual cycle, you can come and bring your A-game.” - Dr. Stacy Sims.
Sierra Brooks, a gymnast at the University of Michigan, NCAA Champion, 2022 Big 10 Gymnast of the Year, and 13x All-American shares with us her dedicated relationship with athletics and academics. As a highly competitive gymnast and also an avid learner, Sierra gives us great advice on how we can better ourselves inside and outside of sport. Sierra also encourages us to seize career and professional opportunities to better understand ourselves and interests. With a focus on the importance of relationships, Sierra shares just how crucial our support systems are. “Once you really buy into the mindset that you're doing things as a team, you're more successful individually” -Sierra Brooks.
Chari Hawkins, the 2022 US Indoor Champion in the Heptathlon, and creator of the “30 Days with Chari” program, talks about mental health and the importance of this program for young athletes in the VIS community. ‘30 Days with Chari’ is a 30-day mental and physical strengthening plan. Each day participants accomplish three tasks: listening to a podcast hosted by Chari, completing a fun mental challenge, and crushing a workout. On today’s episode, Chari breaks down three days: accountability, dreaming big, and purposeful rest. “I think a lot of people who win and who get their goals have a little bit of a secret sauce and I think it's that they have a little bit more control over their mind, especially within their sport.” - Chari Hawkins. Head to charihawkins.com to check out the program! Today, VIS listeners can get 33% off with code “VIS” at checkout.
In this week’s episode, we are talking with VIS League Mentor, professional runner for Nike and Stanford alumna, Vanessa Fraser. Vanessa graduated from Stanford in 2018 as a 10-time All American and school record holder in the 5000m. Today, Vanessa speaks about why she chose Stanford, how she recovered from her double Achilles surgery, and how she pursues her audaciously big goals, with small, bite-sized steps! “Never let anyone tell you that your dreams are too big, or that you are too audacious and bold in the pursuit of those dreams”. - Vanessa Fraser
Courtney Gano, a professional softball player in the Athletes Unlimited league, Team USA member, and former member of the University of Washington women’s softball team shares how vulnerability, injury recovery, and mental health challenges have shaped her highly successful softball career. Through lessons of self-embrace, Courtney emphasizes how we can learn to take care of ourselves and become better versions of ourselves by seeking resources like a therapist or sports psychologist; her numerous injuries forced her into learning how to find the much needed resources she utilized to grow into the best version of herself. These recovery cycles catalyzed her firm belief that sport does not completely define us and that we can foster a more compassionate and caring sports environment that benefits every athlete. Courtney compassionately reminds us that love and motivation for sport is not always constant, so “when you can take a step back and get a different perspective, you can find that love again, figure out why do I play this sport? Is this something that I wanna do? Because if you're not having fun with it, you're not gonna be at your best.” - Courtney Gano
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States