Episode 82: Joy Harris, Mom and Entrepreneur, "Don't be afraid of NIL"

Kirsten and Joy have a fascinating discussion of NIL and youth sports. Have you wondered how this NIL thing works? Joy and Kirsten try to unpack this process of NIL, entrepreneurship and building your own brand (spoiler – it’s not all about sports!). They talk also about how much NIL is doing for women. Did you know women are getting paid 3:1 to their male counterparts!?

Joy Harris is a successful entrepreneur with over 10+ years of experience helping others scale their ambitions. CEO of Score and Co-founder of Connect Electric, Joy is passionate about student-athlete success and helping families gain the leverage necessary for them to win on-and-off the field. Joy is also a speaker and the author of the book series "How to Get Paid Before Going Pro".

Episode 81: The Happy Sleeper, Julie Wright, MFT and Heather Turgeon, MFT

Kirsten had such a great conversation on SLEEP with Julie Wright, MFT and Heather Turgeon, MFT — psychotherapists, authors, and sleep experts.

The Happy Sleepers join Kirsten to uncover one of the greatest threats to our teenagers’ physical and mental health: sleep deprivation.

Based in NYC / LA, they help people of all ages (babies, little kids, teens and adults) improve their sleep. As their first book, The Happy Sleeper became a popular parenting book, they’ve expanded to develop tools that help all ages. Adolescents are now the most sleep deprived group in human history.

With that in mind, Heather and Julie written a new book, Generation Sleepless: Why Tweens and Teens Aren't Sleeping Enough and How We Can Help Them, an intimate glimpse inside a silent epidemic that is harming teens and how parents can help them reclaim the restorative power of sleep.

If you could protect your teen from unnecessary anxiety, depression, and chronic stress, and foster a greater sense of happiness and well-being in their life, wouldn’t you?

Episode 80: Frankie Valdez, Club and HS Volleyball Coach, Dominican National Team

Kirsten had a blast talking to Frankie Valdez about his story and how he shapes young people. Kirsten laughs at loud at Frankie's answer to, "The Best Athletes I Know Do This" :)

Francisco Valdez played for the Dominican National team for 14 years, starting in their youth program and continuing to the elite men’s team. After winning the USAV Open division championship, Frankie was recruited to play NCAA D1 volleyball at Long Beach State. He went on to play overseas in Venezuela, Turkey and Puerto Rico.

Frankie is a multiple National title holder in the Dominican Republic, playing pro plus a few USA Open championships. He started out as a tennis player, but once he transitioned to volleyball he never looked back. This is his 7th year coaching with Sunshine VBC and first year as head coach of Louisville High School.

Episode 79: Coach Dan Blewett, Author, Professional Baseballer and Mindset Coach

Dan Blewett is an author, speaker, YouTuber, former professional pitcher, and mindset coach. He took his up and down career as an athlete and morphed that passion into helping sports families find their way.

As former athletes and current coaches, Kirsten and Dan have very interesting takes about making sports intensely fun, prioritizing the family and how sports help divert us from the hardship of daily life.

A resident of Washington, D.C., Dan is passionate about helping sports families - giving young athletes, parents and coaches the tools to have healthier careers in sports. He is the author of four books - This Slump Shall Pass (2023), Clean Your Cleats (2022), Dear Baseball Gods (2019), and Pitching Isn't Complicated (2013).

@coachdanblewett

Episode 78: Cari Klein Returns, 2021 National HS Coach of the Year, Marymount High School Volleyball

Two years to the day, 2021 National HS Coach of Year returns to talk about her current 2023 Marymount High School team, loving the season you're in and being where your feet are. Her current team isn't 35-0 but is battling in tournaments and at 13-7 is poised to make a playoff run. Cari talks about controlling the controllables (Strength and Speed, Form and Fitness) and how it's her job as a coach to push her team to compete so that she honors each of her senior classes to leave better than they started.

It's always fun when Kirsten and Cari get together!

Episode 77: Talking to the Student Athlete: Holy Cross Men's Soccer Captain, Matt McGonigle

Kirsten continues her discussions in the Talking to the Student Athlete Series, speaking to Holy Cross Soccer Player, Matt McGonigle. Matt has been a 4-year starter at Holy Cross, serving as one of the Crusaders’ team captains for the fourth straight year. Matt enters the season tied for 11th all-time at Holy Cross with 10 career assists. Matt played four seasons of varsity soccer at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Kirsten and Matt talk about the Captain’s arm band, leadership and accountability. They talk about leaders on the pitch and leaders on the bench as these teams have 30 players with 11 on the field at a time, and empowering all the roles. Listening is one of his strengths – pushing Matt towards a learning and growth mindset. Matt talks about what’s next and how his growth mindset is leading him towards traveling and living overseas after his graduation. There’s a ton of good information here and always fun to hear from the Student Athlete!

Episode 75: Ryan Adams, William and Mary Head Volleyball Coach

Kirsten had the pleasure of sitting down with the new head coach at William and Mary Volleyball, Ryan Adams. As you will hear, the episode has some hometown feel as Kirsten was a proud member of Tribe Volleyball in the '90s. Ryan talks about how he's a learner and that's the most successful skill his players can learn in Volleyball and Life. Kirsten and Ryan talk leadership, recruiting and how good people make great volleyball players.

Ryan Adams was named the tenth head volleyball coach in school history in January 2023. Adams earned his first win as head coach of the Tribe on opening day of the 2023 season at the Mountaineer Classic in Boone, North Carolina, in a five-set victory over Tennessee Tech. Adams comes to Williamsburg after leading the Lafayette College program for the last four seasons. During his tenure with the Leopards he earned multiple honors, including Patriot League Coach of the Year in 2021.