Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Hey there, it's Connor Walsh, production and social media manager at MHA of Dutchess County. Before getting into multimedia production, I was a student athlete, just like a lot of you probably were or still are. In high school, I played soccer, lacrosse and basketball. And before that I played Little League baseball and I did karate. I loved playing sports when I was younger and it taught me a lot of valuable life lessons. It taught me resilience, work ethic and how to be a good teammate. It had a great impact on how I identified myself and on how I managed my physical and mental health. This September, we're in. Introducing our latest segment on youn Best yout Called Champions for Mental Health. It's a segment on athletics and identity as we speak with local and professional athletes, coaches and trainers. Today, we speak with Kristen Sheehan from Play Like a Champion Today. This organization takes its name from a motivational slogan most famously slapped by Notre Dame football players. Before heading onto the field, we talked to Kristin about the organization's roots to Notre Dame, along with her own personal ties to the college. We dive into what makes this program special and how it is serving student athletes across the country.
Hey there everybody, and thank you very much for tuning into your best you Mental Health America's podcast talking about real conversations around mental wellness. Not just that, but we are having one of our special segments, Champions for Mental Health. This is part of our Mental Health for Athletes initiative, which really got kicked off back at our coaches conference that happened in April. And we have one of the presenters from that conference there with us today. We have Kristen Sheehan, associate executive director and director of Community Impact with Play Like a Champion Today. She's been there since the inception of this program 21 years ago. There celebrating 21 years. They're doing so much good work with various sports programs in and around the country. We're going to get into a number of the programs along with Kristen's identity and her experience as an athlete as well. Really excited to get into all this. Also joining me today we have our production and social media editor and token sports fan, Dan McGuire. I'm more the resident techie and broadcasting guy and not to say that Dan isn't, but Dan is definitely our sports guy, hence why we got him here
[00:02:01] Speaker B: just a little bit. Connor could tell you from experience he could listen to. He's actually has listened to me ramble and endlessly about sports for numerous occasions, particularly the Yankees. And my memory with baseball, what about
[00:02:12] Speaker C: that new Cardinal who hit three home runs? Did you see that?
[00:02:16] Speaker B: Oh, Baez Yes. Yeah. First pitch, hits a home run and then in his second at bat hits another one. And then the third one in his last at bat.
[00:02:23] Speaker C: First time ever in his first major league game.
[00:02:26] Speaker B: Oh, it was, it was, it was incredible. The fact that the first, the first home run was on the very first pitch that he saw was amazing. And I also love that it was his home runs went around the park because he went to dead center, basically. Then he went to left field and then he went, went to right field. So he went all around the park with his home run. So it was a great moment for the Cardinals. And I love those Cardinal powder blue jerseys too.
[00:02:44] Speaker C: I do too. Yeah, I live in St. Louis for 12 years, so I'm a little bit of a fan too.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: Favorite, Favorite all time Cardinal then.
[00:02:51] Speaker C: Oh, you know who I like? That guy. Well, pool host, you gotta say. Oh, yeah, you gotta say him. He's. He was great. And he sponsored a prom for adults. Anybody with intellectual disorder every year. And it was. Those are just a great, great person.
[00:03:06] Speaker B: Yeah, I know there's a handful of Cardinals that come to mind for me too, just watching the game as long as I have. I think like going back like mid-2000s, like Scott Roland, who recently just got elected to the hall of Fame. Jim Edmonds, who's one of the best center fielders of the last 25 years, he had a really strong case for the hall of Fame and I wish they had a longer look at him to get in on that ballot. And of course, you've got some of the more iconic Cardinals of the most recent years. Yadi or Molina, iconic catcher.
[00:03:30] Speaker C: He's great.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: Adam. Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, so many other guys. David Freese hit the iconic home run in 2011 against the Texas Rangers.
So yeah, there's a lot of incredible Cardinal moments that I've also been lucky enough to see over the years as well.
[00:03:43] Speaker A: You see why I have him here.
[00:03:46] Speaker C: Okay, there we go.
[00:03:48] Speaker B: I'm going to shut myself up right now. Otherwise we're going to take all of your time and we've got other things to ask you about.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: Kristin, how are you?
[00:03:55] Speaker C: Hello, Connor and Dan. I am wonderful today and I really appreciate the opportunity to have this conversation with you and your listeners.
[00:04:01] Speaker A: Absolutely. No, we're so grateful to have you here and we're really happy to have you back for the coaches conference in April. You and I didn't get a chance to kind mingle as much since you were doing it over Zoom then too, so it was a little tougher. But I really appreciated your presentation. There was a lot of kind words that was said about it afterwards. And we're really excited that you came a part of something in really it's inaugural year as we're trying to get this initiative going and thank you for being here on this podcast now as we're trying to get the champions for mental health aspect of the show going. So before we really dive into the minutiae of it all, let's give a brief overview of what exactly Play like a Champion today is.
[00:04:39] Speaker C: So Play Like a Champion today is. It's obviously the mantra that hangs in the Notre Dame football locker room. And the football players hit that sign as their commitment to be champions on the field when they play, but also in life. And that's what we do in our program. So we take that mantra and we spread it all across the country. It's not just for elite athletes like Notre Dame football players, but it's really a mantra that everybody can live their life by. And we train coaches and parents of athletes to elevate the youth sport culture. Youth in high school sports is a space we work in because a lot of times coaches, they aren't aware of the motivational techniques that are really most impactful with youth. And so Play Like a Champion trains those coaches and parents to ensure that kids are getting the best experience in the sport environment that they can. We also, that's our educational piece. We also have a mission and a heart to ensure that every child has the opportunity to play sport. And we find in our pay to play sport culture that many times children from under resourced communities are left out of the game. And so we have a mission that we call a team for every child. And we work in under resourced communities to increase access for children to have a space to play.
[00:05:52] Speaker A: Oh, beautiful, Kristen. I think that's beautiful. And the stuff that you guys are doing, you know what we were able to learn through the presentation that you did. And obviously looking at your social media and website, you guys are all over the place and helping out on a variety of different sports. Want to learn more about that in the various programs in a second. But before we get into that, now I really want to get into your background. Not only are you a Notre Dame graduate, I found here that you got your bachelor's in 1990, masters in 93. You were a varsity cheerleader there at Notre Dame. That's so impressive. But honestly, blue and gold have been in your blood from the very beginning. Tell us where your love of the Notre Dame spirit came from.
[00:06:29] Speaker C: Oh, you, you've done your research?
[00:06:31] Speaker A: We try.
[00:06:32] Speaker C: I love that. Yes. My, my dad was a 1959 Notre Dame graduate and he would take us, my sister, my brother and I, to one game every year. And it was electric, you know, the environment, the joy that it brings, and seeing the campus, which was beautiful. And the other thing he did was he, we would always go to mass afterwards. And I was really struck by the beauty of the faith experience that's also very much present on campus at Notre Dame. And that, that spoke to my soul. So I told my dad I was wanted to work really hard in high school in order to gain the opportunity to attend Notre Dame, which I did have that fortune. And I have two of my three children also went to Notre Dame. And, you know, you. I was a cheerleader. Our, our son was actually the leprechaun when he was at. On campus. Yes. So that's so cool. Yes, it was really, it was really cool. But I, I should back up. My husband also was a cheerleader, and so we kind of met through that. And when two cheerleaders married, they get a leprechaun.
[00:07:33] Speaker A: I love that.
Oh, that's fantastic. Well, one thing's for sure. Connor Walsh, Dan McGuire, we got some very Irish names here. We appreciate the leprechauns when it comes to being a cheerleader there at Notre Dame. First of all, prestigious school, great school, known for that, for its athletics. So being able to have that opportunity, that's great. One of the big things that we want to emphasize on this podcast is talking about the identity that comes with being an athlete. So what was that like? Tell us how cheerleading got interwoven with your identity through school.
[00:08:05] Speaker C: Well, growing up, I was a gymnast, and that's really what helped me gain a spot on the cheer team. And it was, I guess what my identity, my identity was as a cheerleader at Notre Dame. You really are an ambassador for the university. We did a lot of charity events, we did a lot of alumni events. And you represent the energy, the joy, the enthusiasm of that space of Notre Dame's athletics. That's just a joyful space. I also think that being a part of a team, that is a co ed team too, is a unique experience.
And we had a wonderful comradery. We hung out together outside of our practices and our travel together and that, that we still keep in touch. There are reunions every year and people come back and it's fun to still follow and be part of their lives.
[00:08:50] Speaker A: That's so cool. I think that's great. I Actually got a buddy of mine who, he was a cheerleader in Wilmington, Delaware and he talks about his experience with it as well. So I can understand the camaraderie to his sense and doing team sports all of my life. Dan can speak that as well. There is something about being on a team and what you're doing.
[00:09:07] Speaker C: It's bigger than, than who you are as a person. You're part of a group, you're part of a whole. And that means a lot when you're a member of a community, not just an individual.
[00:09:16] Speaker B: Big time.
[00:09:16] Speaker A: Big time. And that goes in line with exactly what you're saying. And I would like to talk about. Now you mentioned being an ambassador. You're being an ambassador as your time as a cheerleader for Notre Dame in the sports program. Now through Play Like a Champion today, as the program director, you are an ambassador for sports for so many children, schools, programs, nation wide. Would you say that time as a cheerleader at Notre Dame and your experience in that sports program really led you to become the ambassador that you are today in your current role?
[00:09:47] Speaker C: I love that ambassador. And I guess you're right. I, I am an ambassador for doing all that kids need good in sport. And it's a joyful space to be in. You know, I get to work in sports every day and I get to meet the most wonderful people from schools and sport organizations all across the country. And it is amazing to have play like a champion, be like a hub for all of those people. You know, we have conference every June and people come together and they are like minded and they feel like they have friends now all across the country.
So yes, I love that idea that I'm an ambassador for, for doing what's good for kids in sport. Yeah.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: Well, that's one of the fun things that I like doing about these interviews. I use like the words like ambassador or activist or something like that for various people and everybody's like, yeah, I never thought of myself like that, but I guess I am, aren't I? So it's, it's a cool moment where people get to realize like, oh, wow, I am badass. This is neat. I'm just curious now, when it comes to Play Like a Champion today you are working with a variety of different sports. But how often are you still intertwined with the cheerleading community?
[00:10:45] Speaker C: Oh, gosh, we, like I said, we have a Notre Dame alumni cheer group, we have a Facebook page and an Instagram and. And we do have a reunion every year. So really entwined still with it.
[00:10:57] Speaker B: Kristen, thank you Again for joining us and speaking with us. This question I have is kind of twofold. First off in your goings about, you know, carrying on your ambassador duties when you're seeing kids today and the sports that they're playing, if you had to self analyze it, what are some of the most popular sports that kids are attracted to and that they are playing nowadays?
[00:11:15] Speaker C: Well, we are a big proponent first of all for sports sampling. Trying as many sports as you can. Sometimes like when we go to under resourced communities, we see there's football and basketball. Well let's introduce rowing, tennis, yoga, let's get dance. Let's get a lot of variety of sport happening so that kids can find their passion in that. What are the most popular sports? Well, you know, a lot of the ones that we work with in this are the school sponsored sports. Basketball, football, volleyball, track and field. But we are seeing expansion into those non traditional sports. Like in our local South Bend schools they're offering futsal now they're having pickleball, baton twirling is something they're offering kind of untraditional sports. We like to see those celebrated.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: That's beautiful. And you know, you mentioned a point in there early on about your answer. They're talking about going to specific areas that would be more underprivileged, so to speak. I was curious in terms of the aspects of sports that it's a huge factor in it. It's actually the cost of entry into sports. You know I was just yesterday I was out with my siblings, we went to the mall and me and my sister and my brother we went to Dick's Sporting Goods. And my sister and I, we've been saying for a while that we wanted to get new baseball gloves because frequently her and I will still, you know, have a game of catch every now and then. And I was stunned at just looking at some of the prices of how much a baseball glove costs today. And that's just like a single glove. I was seeing one glove cost as high as $150 or more just for one glove. So I was curious, the literal pay to play aspect of this, how has that affected kids abilities to get into certain sports and what are some of the things that we could do to navigate those barriers and make it more accessible for kids to get involved in a lot of these sports?
[00:13:00] Speaker C: You know, youth sports is a 40 billion dollar industry. It's astounding.
[00:13:05] Speaker B: It's incredible.
[00:13:06] Speaker C: It is. And when, when did we decide we were going to profit off a child's play?
Because that takes it away from some children. And that's a.
[00:13:14] Speaker B: That's agreed.
[00:13:15] Speaker C: That's an injustice for our kids. We believe that every child has the right to play and should play. And we it affordable or free. It's if it's part. If we know it's good for kids, it's part of the educational process. We have it in our schools. We got to lower those barriers and create access for kids to play for free.
You know, I just have a personal story. So my boys grew up in South Bend playing what they we called play baseball. It was a park down the street and you know, kids all walked in neighborhood around there. And we were actually in transition to moving to St. Louis during one summer. And I heard the parents saying, oh, you should go over and play. And I won't name the league but this travel baseball team team. And we moved to St. Louis. But two years later, guess what happened? Clay baseball was no longer. Because the families that could afford the travel baseball team went to the travel baseball team. And then there, there was no more recreational baseball, no more clay baseball where we paid $40 to be a part of it. So kids who couldn't afford the thousands of dollars are left without baseball. That's. That's just tragic. And we don't need to have kids traveling at 9 and 10 years old. There's not a need for that. Kids can play, you know, in. In the clay park just as much travel across the country. So we are a huge proponent of saying this. This isn't something our children need. It's. It's actually overstressing families as well. Not only for the cost, but the commitment time it takes. So we really try to just raise awareness that kids don't need that kind of experience.
[00:14:41] Speaker B: 100 agree with you on that. I mean, I can remember just, you know, my like playing little league days, just like seeing the beginnings of how big that industry was really becoming in terms of how much. How much it literally cost to play, the preference to travel teams, so on and so forth.
[00:14:54] Speaker A: One of the things that I found fascinating, you know, I played baseball in middle school, but then I transitioned to lacrosse in high school. And that was a sticker shock to see what it was like going from baseball and how much I had to pay for that to all the equipment that I needed for lacrosse. And I was a goalie too, so I probably had the most pads. So that's. That's a very difficult thing. Speaking of how you guys are advocates for trying to make it more accessible to students, what are some of the Ways that play like a champion today makes things more accessible. What kind of programs do you have that helps with the equipment and the, the cost for plane?
[00:15:27] Speaker C: So we, when we work in an under resourced community, the very first thing we do is we walk with the people in the community and we do what we like to call a needs assessment. So what is available in the community and what is, what isn't and so what do we need? Our very first site that we worked in is in North Lawndale which is on the west side of Chicago. It's neighborhood on Chicago's west side. And we from our needs assessment we learned that there were organizations offering sport experiences for kids, but they weren't connecting with one another. And in some cases they almost felt like they were competing with one another for limited resources.
So what we said is what if we bring all of those organizations together into an association and they can connect, collaborate, share resources when available. And also we were able to teach those organizations how to keep deep data and tell their story and then be able to earn more resources to build their programs up. So we created the North Lawndale Athletic and Recreation association and we also then kept data for all of the organizations together and we were able to prove collective impact of those programs for North Lawndale. And the association as a result earned grants. And that's grants that they can then distribute to their members so they have more resources and more can can share their program at a, at a bigger level. And so in South Bend we use the same model and we created the Michiana. It was first called the Michiana Athletic and Recreation association, but our community members, because it's members, anybody who's providing sport in South Bend comes together into an association. They voted and they said let's change our name to Michiana Academic and Recreation alliance because we attend to the whole child.
And so we have a third site now in North Philadelphia that we're working and building up. So what our goal is is to increase opportunities for kids to play, to help them to have trained mentor coaches who are trauma informed, who then make a difference in their, in the kids lives and then to also be able to tell the story, to be able to gain more resources, to expand access even for them.
[00:17:39] Speaker A: What you're saying there about having all these different groups come together, it just goes to show you that you can, if you, if you're trying to go fast, go alone. But if you're trying to go far, go together as the common phrase goes. And that's a perfect example of it. I'm happy to hear that. Uniting everybody was able to make resources more abundant for everybody involved with it. I think that's incredible. So you mentioned about the trauma informed and trained coaches. Definitely want to get into that factor. I come from a long line of athletes and coaches. My grandfather was the athletic director for Cornwall and Windsor here in New York. And one thing's for sure, every time somebody comes up to us, says like, hey, I had your grandfather as a coach or whatever, I said, I'm so sorry, we'll pay for your therapy. He was, he'd probably be arrested by today's standards, but revered in his own right for the time. But that being said, what is play like a champion today doing to help right some of the wrongs of the past so that these coaches are trauma informed and trained to handle the specificities that students bring on and off the field?
[00:18:43] Speaker C: Yeah, so we, we do talk about that, that sometimes people say, I'm an old school coach. Well, that is, you know, in some ways it's not something to be proud of that we have to take what we know now, knowledge of mental health, and apply it in a, in a real way so that we as coaches are not infusing further trauma on kids. Right. That we want them because we know the sport experience is one of the best places for previous traumas to be healed and for athletes to gain resilience, to manage other challenging situations.
Environment does have to be trauma informed. And so we say there are six principles of being trauma informed. Well, before I get into that, let me, let me tell you what we, what we teach coaches. And there's a little bit of a neuroscience research that we, we share. It's called near P Science. And near P is an acronym. The. And I always start with explaining this to coaches. The A is adverse childhood experiences. And these are experiences of toxic stress or trauma early in a young person's life that impact their neurodevelopment developmental period. And then we go to the E, which is epigenetics, which stands for kind of above the genes. So this trauma kind of presses on your DNA and then it impacts the neuroscience, which is our patterns of behavior. This is true for, for everybody. Everybody has different, varying types of trauma in their life that they're managing. Now the good news about this is the R, which is, stands for resilience. And this is the capacity to adapt positively to additional adverse events and actually be more resilient, more confident. And how does this happen? It happens through P, which stands for two things. And the first one is positive childhood experiences. What, what is sport? Sport should be a positive, joyful space. And so that's first and foremost, we want it to be a positive space. And so coaches have to bring the joy, you know, that environment, that space, supportive so that it is a.
It is a positive experience for kids. The P also stands for protective factor. Protective factor means an adult who is a trusted person. And our health outcomes, our health research will say that if we have even just one protective factor, one adult in our lives that we can go to, our health outcomes are going to be better. Well, what, what is a coach?
Coach has the opportunity to be that protective factor for kids to build their resilience. But they need to coach in that trauma informed light. And so we teach coaches the six principles of being trauma informed. And the number one is safety. Is the sports space physically and psychologically safe? Number two is trustworthy. Is the coach trustworthy? Are they being that protective factor for kids?
Then number three is peer support. We talked earlier about a team. It's a team that gets together. So are the athletes, athletes caring for and supporting one another? And is the coach facilitating that environment?
And then number four and five kind of go together. Four is about collaboration. This is allowing decisions. Decisions are made by all of the players for the good of the team. And when that happens, it's empowering. That's number five. By giving kids choice and voice, they are empowered as they're heard. And then number six is paying attention to any cultural or historic or gender issues that arise on the team experience.
So these are the six principles around which we can create this trauma informed, healthy, positive environment in sport that will really help kids not only want to go to the experience, but find a space where they belong. They're heard, they have a team to call their own. They have a coach they can trust. That's what we call trauma informed.
[00:22:23] Speaker A: Thank you for diving into all of that, because that's extremely important. I want to ask one more thing. It's in regards to the coaching and everything that you just said there. Do you have any examples that you might feel comfortable sharing of a coach coming back to you guys from a program be like, wow, I did not realize X or thank God I learned this, because why any examples like that jump at you right now?
[00:22:47] Speaker C: Yeah, because coaches, sometimes they talk too much and they're not listening.
Right. And. And so we really say, you gotta listen. So I'm gonna tell you about a coach in Philadelphia and he has, he has like what he calls Fireside chat cats. And this is where following a training, everyone sits in a circle and the circle is the important shape. Because a circle has no beginning, no ending. Everybody in the circle is equal, including the coach. The coach shouldn't necessarily look at themselves as more powerful than the kids. They're part of the team experience and they have a conversation about something that's happening. Maybe it could be something on the team, how are we communicating?
And, or it could be something, maybe there's been harm done on the team. Let's have a conversation on how to repair that harm. And so every, and the thing about the circle is everybody has a chance to, to talk, but it's also it when it, and, and when one person is talking, everybody else listens so that everybody's voice is heard. And it's also a choice. If somebody doesn't want to talk, they can pass. That's also a choice. And, and that's respected as well. One of his kids, kids broke into a car and stole, I think it was a computer out of the car. And so they had this circle conversation on what happened because the guy whose car it was came and told him. And so this guy said, look, I wanna, I wanna be part of kind of repairing this harm. So this guy came in, they had a circle conversation about respecting others property and there was a beautiful reconciliation and this young man was able to apologize for what he had done.
And, and then he offered to repair that harm and he said, well, can I do something to help? I can't afford to pay it back, but can I do something that will help you? And he had a business up the street and he had him clean up some things on his business, around his business.
So taking the time to listen to what kids are going through and help them to work through it and giving them that voice.
[00:24:46] Speaker A: That's a powerful story right there. And I don't know if you know this information or if you can share it at this time, but the reason why the kid even stole the computer from the first place, I know from stories in and around this area, it's because of a lack of something where they either need it for themselves or they need the money and they would sell it for themselves. Is it anything in regards to that?
[00:25:09] Speaker C: Well, right, because there, there's definitely a lack. What we were talking about earlier, you know, in under communities people don't have the necessities, the basics of life and, and striving to actually, actually just be able to get those. You know, sometimes it leads to something
[00:25:24] Speaker A: that is not legal and that's unfortunate. And it's unfortunate that so many people feel like they have to, you know, stoop to something like that as a last resort. And unfortunately, there are a lot of people who do feel that way when resources of whatever kind seem to be at a lack, whatever that might be. So having a program like this, play like a champion today and making it accessible for as many people and just having the awareness about it just shows that people have somewhere to go with all that.
[00:25:51] Speaker B: Kristen, to kind of piggyback off of what Connor was just saying, you talked a little bit there about coaches, the roles that coaches play, some of the things that you teach coaches to go about their job.
What are some of the key points that you tell to parents in terms of their role in the organization as well? Do you have, you know, a curriculum, so to speak, for parents to go over for their role with their kids in the sports that they play?
[00:26:15] Speaker A: Play?
[00:26:16] Speaker C: Yes, we do. We have parent like a champion.
We say we want our kids to be champions, but parents can also be champions in their own parenting and how they parent their child. If you hang around youth sports at all, you're going to see a lot of misbehaviors from parents screaming at kids, yelling at referees, coaching from the sideline. All of these things actually are not a good thing for parents to do. And so we just lay it out, you know, don't do these things, and here's what you can do.
I'll tell you. I'll leave with a story. So coaching from the sidelines. We were doing a parent workshop and North Lawndale, and one of the parents brought her son with her. And he raises his hand when we mentioned coaching from the sideline. He says, you know, I play football, and I am in the huddle. We're in the tunnel, ready to come out and, you know, trying to listen to my coach. And we're getting geared up and we're trying to get in the zone and focus, and. And all of a sudden, I hear all these parents giving me instructions. And he says, it's. It's. I look around and. And it's very distracting.
And so he said, it really takes me out of my zone. And one of the parents that was in the room turned around, and he goes, I'm sorry that you heard me. I'm sure you heard me. I'm sorry, I won't do that anymore.
So we really do. I know we change behaviors. One of the other things that we learned from our parent workshop evaluations is that parents all of a sudden realize there are other children on the team other than their own child and that they should care about all the kids. They're all children.
Right.
So parent like a champion is a great workshop too because parents, you know, parents, they're, they want, they love their children and so sometimes it just gets a little overwhelming for them and they fall into some misbehaviors. So this is about talking about not, not just what not to do, which we do a little of that, but what they can do to support their child in a positive way. And one of those things is to lower the pressure on kids.
We talk about the car ride home where, you know, sometimes kids will tell me when I'm doing a high school athlete workshops, can you tell my parents not to talk to me on the way home?
Everything I did wrong.
And so one of the little techniques we offer to parents and is, you know, if, if your child set up a little cue, if your child wants to talk about the game, following the game, have them climb into the front stage seat. But if they just, they've had enough, they need a little break. They don't want to talk about the game, just climb into the back seat. And that gives the, the ownership to the athlete. It's really their game. And sometimes, you know, maybe they aren't ready to talk about it with their parents. And so that's, that's one of the cues we give.
[00:28:50] Speaker B: Yeah, in, in that way. Just that example there of like the sitting in the front seat compared to sitting in the back seat. It's a small example, but it's kind of like a, a physical action of like creating a barrier that's like informs the, the parent that like you were just saying whether or not the, the child is ready to, or not wanting to speak about the, the game that day or the play that happened or so on and so forth. So actually I really like that analogy. It's such a simple method but it
[00:29:15] Speaker C: speaks profoundly and it's, it's the child's journey. Right. So parents, their athletic eligibility is up, they're playing days. I'm hopefully they're still playing something for good exercise and, and camaraderie for their own selves but you know, let their child, child run their own race.
[00:29:34] Speaker B: 100 and you kind of already were touching there with my follow up question which is, you know, sometimes the, the issue of parents living vicariously through their kids when watching them play whatever sport it is that they have, you know, sometimes it almost can't be helped by the parent that they remember, you know, quote unquote, their Glory days about what it was like to play. And, you know, they. They cared so much back then, and they want to see the same type of. Of caring from their kid as well. Whether it's subconsciously or consciously, parents can really take their kids out of. Out of the flow of the game and push them away from whatever sport it is that they're in. Have you ever had or maybe seen for yourself, like, any examples of that that were potentially detrimental to a child? And if so, how did you navigate that situation, both for parent and for child?
[00:30:21] Speaker C: So, you know, parents can instill a lot of guilt in kids. You know, I just, in my personal experience with my own children, I've seen, you know, parents saying, how could you let me down like that? You know, where their play is letting the parent down, and it's really demeaning their child or screaming at their child following the competition. If we're trying to create a safe psychological space for kids to play and demeaning kids is not the. Is not the right way to proceed. So, you know, we try to give parents an idea, a reminder, too, that it's not just about the outcome, it's about the journey. And so. And if we say that sports builds character, are we pointing out when character has been shown in that journey, or are we encouraging our child to be. Be a good sport in their play? Are we helping them to set goals that are focused around, that we talked about? There are three levels of goals for parents, and. And if they're helping their child to set those, there are physical goals in sport that makes sense, the X's and O's. But there are also mental goals that have to do with attention and focus. Then there's a third level of goals, and these are sportsmanship goals. These are moral goals. And I was taking my kids, they're grown now, but I was taking them to their games. I would say, hey, what are your three goals for today? And this is like a tangible way parents can actually be helpful, is to help their child focus on just three goals that they can set in that game. A physical goal, a mental goal, and a sportsmanship goal. And then on the ride home, you can say to your child, giving them the ownership if they climb in the front seat, did you meet your goals today? And how. And if they didn't, well, that's okay. We can reset and, and try that again next time. So that's. That's a productive conversation that a parent can have. Have. Most important thing I think a parent can do is, is just reminding their child to have a good time out there, too, that lowers the pressure. You know, it's just fun to watch you play and have a good time out there.
[00:32:05] Speaker B: You saying all that, it kind of reminds me of some of my time, like, playing baseball back in the day, like playing Little League and stuff like that. And, you know, my dad was, you know, at home, was the primary, you know, provider in the family, and he would do everything that he could to make sure he saw as many games that I played as possible. But there were a lot of times where he wasn't able to make it. But recently, and it's funny, but recently I remember him telling me this. This story about, you know, an interaction he had with one of my old little league coaches. And it never dawned on me, but the coach, I guess, talked with my dad and said, you know, he's better when you're not here. Which was a very strange because it wasn't like my dad was harping on me or anything like that. He wasn't a loud parent from the bleachers. He wasn't a. A yell and scream or anything like that. He would literally just show up in. The most interaction I would have would be him coming over to the dugout and like, giving me a bottle of Gatorade because he stopped at the gas station prior to. Or a pack of Big League Chew or something like that. So it was just you saying that. It just reminded me of that now and just, just a very, like, funny interaction. But that it also wasn't the same if, say, it was like my mom and my siblings there. Is there a dynamic there that you see where maybe a particular parent at a child's game, like, plays a role? Like maybe the. A child feels more pressure when mom is there or dad. Is there a vice versa? Versa?
[00:33:18] Speaker C: Oh, for sure. It just depends on the dynamics between the. The parent and child. Parents should behave as a guest at their child's game.
[00:33:26] Speaker B: Right?
[00:33:27] Speaker C: Game belongs to the children the children could play with without the parents. Right. And so parents are, are, should be respectful, guest and behave as such. That seems to hit home for parents. Okay, how would I behave if I went to dinner at your house? Right.
And that's, that's the way the sport experience is, because the game belongs to the kids.
[00:33:46] Speaker A: Kristen, we really appreciate your time. Before we completely wrap things up and we learn more about how people can get involved with play. Like a champion today, I want to end on a really high note. One of the things when it comes to sports, we all have our sports memories. The moments that we are the most proud. For me, I think about the time where I set the record for most saves in a game in lacrosse. Is there a moment where you felt most proud in your athletic career? Whether that could be be as an ambassador now with play like a champion today, that could be when you were cheerleading. If you have an example from both, I would love to hear it.
[00:34:18] Speaker C: Well, let's see. I'm gonna go back to. One of the things we train coaches on is helping athletes to have a peak performance and getting into the zone. And one of the, the things about being in the zone is when you're performing at your personal best, sometimes it's almost like an out of body experience.
And it's almost like you can see yourself doing the physical activity, which is really the psychological, mind blowing thing.
And so as a gymnast, my best kind of routine was the floor. And when I would have a really good floor routine in a competition, I felt like I was floating above myself and watching myself. And I would have the same experience at Notre Dame. When a touchdown is scored, the cheerleaders get to tumble across the end zone and you, you have this out of body experience because you're tumbling and you're doing backflip all the way across the end zone and the crowd, crowd is cheering and it, it propels you on. And if something really interesting about as you go, you go faster and it's from that energy that, that lifts you up and that those would be my best moments where you feel that energy. You almost see yourself doing that. And that's crazy that a mind can almost go out of the body like that. So the other, this isn't really a physical activity. But when you, when you're at, at Notre Dame, the cheerleaders link hands and they lead the players out of the tunnel. Tunnel. And that's. You're running really, really, really fast because you don't want to get trampled. And that also feels like you're almost flying across the field, which is really a powerful experience. And you're linked, your hands are linked with your teammates. So again you're part of something bigger than yourself.
[00:35:53] Speaker A: Incredible memories to have from that. Absolutely. I can speak definitely to like that roar of the crowd kind of feel. As much as I was an athlete, I'm still very much a musician and I play out and I'm on stage and there's the energy, the high that you get, get from having everybody around you and the cheers and the camaraderie that you have. Absolutely beautiful. It's a high that cannot be replicated. So that's awesome that you can still feel that and you can sense that and that's in your heart. Kristen. That is beautiful. As we completely wrap up this episode of Champions for Mental Health, part of your best you how can people get involved with Play Like a Champion today? Whether they're in an individual or they're representative of a school or program, how can they reach out and how can they they get involved?
[00:36:34] Speaker C: So there our website is very easy playlikeachampion.org and they can reach out to us directly. My direct line is 574-329-0266 and our play like a champion line is 574-250-6424. Either way, you can reach out and get to know us. And we would love to work with any school if they're looking for coach training, parent workshop, athlete servant leadership training we offer as well. We're here to walk together partnership with those schools and those sport organizations.
[00:37:06] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. Amazing. And again, go to the description of this episode where you can find the links and information around Play Like a Champion today. If you'd like to learn more or get involved with their association, I think that's great. Kristen, thank you so much for being here on this episode. I know that we'll continue to do some really good work together. We're really trying to ramp up this Mental Health for Athletes initiative and we're very grateful that you're here on the ground floor of it. So thank you.
[00:37:29] Speaker C: Dan and Connor, thank you to my Irish friends and I appreciate the work you do and look forward to maybe meeting you in November when I when we have our next in person.
[00:37:39] Speaker B: Yes, finally echo Connor's sentiments there. Kristen, thank you very much for the time. It's been a pleasure speaking with you. Definitely look forward to meeting you in the future as well if we have that opportunity.
[00:37:47] Speaker C: Wonderful. Thank you.
