#102 - During this episode, we are joined by Hannah Terry. Hannah is a Morgan’s Message Ambassador and a member of the Johns Hopkins women’s lacrosse team. Throughout the episode, Hannah speaks about her experiences with the recruiting process, working through people pleasing and learning how to combat intrusive thoughts. Kat and Hannah also touch on the importance of learning healthy coping mechanisms when you experience negative thoughts or experiences. In Part 2 of our conversation we focus on Hannah’s journey through injury, advocating for herself and her healing journey.

#101: Welcome back to Season 6! During this episode, we are joined by Hannah Terry. Hannah is a Morgan’s Message Ambassador and a member of the Johns Hopkins women’s lacrosse team. Throughout the episode, Hannah speaks about her experiences with the recruiting process, working through people pleasing and learning how to combat intrusive thoughts. Kat and Hannah also touch on the importance of learning healthy coping mechanisms when you experience negative thoughts or experiences. We can’t wait for you all to listen to all of the amazing guests we have lined up for Season 6!

In our 100th episode of The Mental Matchup, we are excited to have Dennis Gillan join the podcast. Dennis is the Executive Director of the Half a Sorrow Foundation, a foundation that strives to improve the mental health of individuals and organizations through conversation. He also has a TedX Talk and is the author of the book Nice Shoes!: A Little Compliment Can Go a Long Way, which we will link below. During the episode, Dennis speaks about losing two of his brothers to suicide and how that impacted his own mental health. He truly embodies the belief that an open dialogue with others will help break the stigma surrounding talking about your own mental health and we are honored to have him as our guest for such a milestone episode!

TW: Suicide

#99: Dr. Madison Bailey joins The Mental Matchup this week! Madison grew up in Phoenix, AZ and was a three sport athlete who ultimately focused on softball. She went to Manhattan College and graduated in 2016 before going to grad school to get her Masters and Doctorate at California Lutheran University. During the episode, Madison discusses how her experience with anxiety and control issues was one of her first introductions to the world of mental health and how she dealt with a series of life altering events. She is such a great advocate for mental health and we can’t wait for everyone to hear this episode!

This week on The Mental Matchup Glory Johnson joins the podcast. Glory grew up in Syracuse, NY and graduated from Old Dominion University in 2020 as a member of the Women's Lacrosse team. As an athlete, she experienced many ups and downs including performance anxiety, falling out of love with the sport and transferring schools. She now works as a breathwork facilitator and life coach and we are excited to welcome her onto the podcast!

This week on The Mental Matchup, Kat and Schuyler are joined by Sydney Zeszotarski. Sydney grew up in New Jersey and currently swims at Stevenson University. Throughout the episode, she gives us a closer look at her experiences dealing with a chronic illness, Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and how that negatively affected her mental health to the point where she attempted suicide. She talks about how the community around her was unaware of how to start the conversation regarding mental health and her message is that any struggle an individual is going through will eventually pass. We are lucky to have Sydney share her story with our community and help bring awareness to the importance in holding onto the hope that things will get better!

In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat speaks with Matt Graham and Taylor Mead. Matt is a Special Olympics athlete, health messenger and athlete leader and Taylor is the Director of Health programs for Special Olympics New York who oversees health programming across the state. Special Olympics New York is a sports organization that provides inclusive opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities while also focusing on their overall health and wellness. Throughout the episode, they discuss the implications of living with intellectual disabilities and how that can impact an individual’s mental health. A huge thank you to Matt and Taylor for joining us this week!

#94: In this week’s episode, Leah Jantzen joins The Mental Matchup. Leah is the creator of Train Your Brain, a program that she uses to help athletes achieve their goals by focusing on their mental fitness. She works with high school students and helps them work through an array of differing realities - finding their identity outside of athletics, performance and more. During the episode, she talks about her experience as a triathlete and competing in Ironmans! Leah is such a great resource to highlight the importance of mental health specifically in athletes and we are so lucky to have her on the podcast!

#93: This week we are joined by Betsy Brenner on The Mental Matchup. Betsy grew up in western NY and currently resides outside of Providence, RI. She is an author, speaker, and mentor who opens up about her journey with an eating disorder and ultimately helps others with their recovery process by sharing her own story. Betsy’s memoir, The Longest Match: Rallying to Defeat an Eating Disorder in Mid-Life, is an incredible message and her openness helps normalize the idea that eating disorders can happen to anyone at any time and that it’s never too late to begin the journey to recovery. Throughout the episode, Betsy also talks with Kat about dealing with her parents’ challenging divorce, the pressures of being a student-athlete and her identity being tied to a sport. We are so grateful to have Betsy join us this week!

TW: This episode talks about disordered eating, anxiety, and depression

#92: In this week’s episode, Caitlin Beacom joins The Mental Matchup. Caitlin grew up in Naperville, IL and graduated from Wofford College this past May. She started playing lacrosse in third grade and medically retired from collegiate lacrosse at the beginning of her senior year. Throughout the episode, Caitlin walks us through her mental health journey and how she has learned how being compassionate towards herself ultimately helps her understand her mental wellness even better. She also expresses how important it is to look back on hard times and consider how far you’ve come, whether that be mentally or physically!

#91: In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat speaks with Anna Beth Baker who is a rising senior on the Lander University Women’s Lacrosse team and also studies nursing. Throughout the episode, Anna Beth talks about the performance anxiety she experienced once getting to college, trying to overcome the overwhelming fear of perfectionism, and the importance of getting support from coaches. She is a great resource for others to show how affirmative self-talk and positive visualization can impact confidence both on and off the field!

This week we are welcoming Kyle Taylor to the podcast. Kyle is a Tampa native and went to The University of Tampa for undergrad and grad school. Growing up, sports played a huge role in his life and he ultimately got into Cross Country to stay in shape for soccer season. During the episode, Kyle opens up about his experience with anxiety and disordered eating, what it's like participating in an individual sport like running versus a team sport, and the highs and lows of being a collegiate athlete.

In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat speaks with Jennifer Hammel. Jenn grew up in Mountaintop, PA and attended Crestwood High School before graduating with an undergraduate degree from UConn in 1994 and a Masters of Education in Athletic Administration from Endicott College in 2018. Jenn played softball and field hockey growing up and continued her field hockey career at UConn. Throughout the episode, Jenn opens up about her struggle with the transition from being a student-athlete to life after athletics while also getting married at a young age and raising a family. She is currently the director of athletics and activities at West Bridgewater High School and emphasizes the importance of having a strong support system to help navigate each individual’s journey!

#87: In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat connects with John Hutchins. John is on the football team at St. Lawrence University and grew up in Yardley, PA. John dealt with multiple setbacks including a broken leg in high school, COVID affecting his football season, and being diagnosed with a rare condition called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in college. Despite all of these complications, John opens up about seeking help and ultimately working on his mental and physical health. Thank you John for coming on to share your story and breaking the stigma surrounding phrases like “fake it till you make it” or “man up” since asking for help is truly a sign of courage!