This week, Kat sits down with Sophia Dzwonkowski. Sophia is a junior at Middletown High School North in New Jersey and opens up about her story battling performance anxiety in sport as she became older. She also touches on experiencing burnout, perfectionism, and how her mental health shifted after quitting basketball.

#127: On this episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat is joined by Emily Cumberland. Emily is a junior at Rollins College and a member of the Women’s Lacrosse team. Throughout the episode, Emily talks about her experience with a major knee injury and how impactful it can be to have a positive mindset. She also touches on the recruiting process and we know this episode will be helpful for anyone going through a difficult time as an athlete!

Episode #126: Mary Beth Hurley joins The Mental Matchup this week! Mary Beth went to undergrad at Ohio State and played tennis all four years. As someone who has struggled with mental health in the past, she wanted to come on the podcast to share her story with other student-athletes. Mary Beth touches on topics such as the ongoing pressure to perform in all aspects of life and overcoming injury. She also discusses the importance of breathwork and journaling to help manage her anxiety. Mary...

On today's episode, we welcome Collette Herring to The Mental Matchup! Collette is a senior at Kennett High School in Kennett Square, PA. She shares her unique story of dealing with complications with her brain health and how social isolation can contribute to depression and anxiety. Collette grew up playing field hockey and lacrosse and is also helping to coach younger girls while also spreading the message that being an athlete does not make up your entire identity. Additionally, she is an...

On today’s episode, we are joined by Glenn Østen Anderson. Glenn has been a professional media producer for over 20 years and is now an Associate Professor of Media and Communication Studies at Catholic University. He grew up as an athlete and competed at some of the highest levels for race walking. He saw firsthand how the experience of mental health can alter an athlete’s performance and how identity can be tied to your sport. Glenn recently applied to film school and is working on a...

In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat sits down with Jerry Dorneker. Jerry lost his daughter to suicide in 2020 and speaks candidly about the grief you experience as a parent after losing a child. He also opens up about finding strength through faith and how he has ultimately found purpose in pain. In addition to him sharing his own side of the story as a parent, he shares what he would tell someone having suicidal thoughts in order to express that they are not alone. CW:...

#122: In our second episode of Season 7, Emily Monahan-Morang, M.Ed., LPCC joins The Mental Matchup. Emily shares her journey working with athletes and performers and helps talk through the difference between mental health services and sport and performance. She also helps talk through how student-athletes can help others who are struggling and how to find a therapist that is best for you.

Welcome back to Season 7 of The Mental Matchup! To kick off the new season, we are joined by Alexa Beyer. Alexa plays Division I lacrosse at Youngstown State and got inspired to start playing after watching her brothers pick up the sport. During the episode, Alexa and Kat talk about her experiences handling an injury and the mental health struggles that come with recovery. She also touches on how academic challenges can also impact your overall mental wellbeing and the importance of...

This week, we are joined by Rares Judele during our final episode of Season 6. Rares is a Morgan’s Message Ambassador and mental health advocate. He was born in Romania and attends Wooster High School in Wooster, OH. Rares is a multi-sport athlete who shares mental health's role in his own life. He speaks about switching sports, dealing with his emotions, and learning how to vocalize what he is going through. Rares touches on an important topic, adversity, and the impact that it has had on...

In this week’s episode, Abbey Sallila joins Kat on The Mental Matchup. Abbey is a junior at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY, majoring in psychology and is also a member of the women’s lacrosse team. During her sophomore year of college, Abbey faced multiple injury setbacks and talks us through how she dealt with each experience and overcame them. She highlights the importance of a strong support system and you can also go check out her story featured on The Mental Matchup Stories site...

A special episode this week, Emily Weible joins The Mental Matchup to chat about brain health and mental health. Emily graduated from Washington State University in 2019 and is currently in grad school at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, teaching an undergraduate course and a lab each semester. Emily recently started a coaching business called Brain+Body Foundations where she offers strength and conditioning and mentorship platforms.

This week, Emily Weible joins The Mental Matchup. Emily graduated from Washington State University in 2019 and is currently in grad school at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, teaching an undergraduate course and a lab each semester. Emily rowed in college at WSU and opens up about the importance of finding a community outside of sport, educating others about suicidality and self advocating for yourself. Emily recently started a coaching business called Brain+Body Foundations where she...

This week on The Mental Matchup, Brooke Kelly joins the podcast. Brooke is on the women’s lacrosse team at Lander University. She opens up about how her love of lacrosse started, how she learned that it’s ok when things don't go perfectly, and what drew her to the school she eventually transferred to. Brooke emphasizes the importance of being grateful and we are so grateful that she is on The Mental Matchup!

#115: This week, Dan Maigler and Mags Roemer join Kat on The Mental Matchup. Dan and Mags both work for Paws for Patrick, a non-profit organization connecting young people with Emotional Support Animals and therapy dogs to help with their mental health. They discuss why the organization was founded, the benefits of having an emotional support animal and how Paws for Patrick works!

This week, Cami Nelsen joins The Mental Matchup. Cami grew up in Lancaster, CA and attends Antelope Valley College, where she plays volleyball. Cami has had her share of ups and downs, both mentally and physically, and we get into everything during this episode. She shares her chronic kidney disease diagnosis, anemia episodes, and struggles with disordered eating. This past September, Cami spoke in Washington, DC on Capitol Hill  with the Eating Disorders Coalition. We are so grateful to have...

#113 - This week on The Mental Matchup, we are joined by a mother-daughter duo, Kirsten and Joey Early. Kirsten, an Ambassador for Morgan’s Message, and her family moved from the US to England and throughout the episode, discusses the differences in culture, making new friends, and adapting to life across the Atlantic Ocean. The pair also shares both of their unique experiences when it came to Joey’s disordered eating. They talk about everything from the fear and concern of a parent to Joey’s...

In this week’s episode, Paul Macrina joins The Mental Matchup. Paul is from Wrentham, Massachusetts. Growing up, he was on the football and lacrosse team as well as a member of student council. Paul started his own podcast called Smoove Talk Podcast after learning more about young athletes taking their own life. His mission is closely aligned with The Mental Matchup and we are honored to have Paul come on the show this week!

This week, we are excited to welcome Chibuike “ChiChi” Odo to the podcast. ChiChi is a first generation Nigerian-American, his parents being originally from Nigeria and eventually settling in McKinney, TX. After growing up in Texas, ChiChi went on to play football and was pre-med at Davidson College in North Carolina. He talks about the struggle to balance academics and athletics in addition to experiencing multiple injuries throughout his 4 years in college. ChiChi was also honored as a 2022...

#110: This week, we are joined by Andrew Mackiewicz on the podcast. Andrew is a fencer who went to Penn State and graduated in 2018. Growing up, Andrew’s family bounced around between the US and Canada after immigrating from Poland. Andrew opens up about his own mental health struggles as a collegiate athlete and how important talking to others is when you're going through a darker period. Andrew also opens up even more about his story in a written piece featured on our Mental Matchup Stories...

In this week’s episode, Kat is joined by Niki Castle. Niki grew up in San Diego and went to a top-ranked high school for women’s basketball. She went to Washington State, where she played basketball and graduated in 2000. During her freshman year, Niki began to experience changes in her health but had difficulty explaining what was wrong. Throughout the episode, she opens up about these experiences and a diagnosis that she ran from for years. Niki now works with organizations like NAMI's...

#108: In this week’s episode, we have Part 2 of Emily Perrin’s conversation with Kat. After discussing her own student-athlete journey during Part 1 of her episode, this episode touches on her work with athletes and her company, Perrin Wellness and Performance. It’s clear that Emily’s passion is to spread mental health awareness and we are so appreciative that she works with Morgan’s Message! We discuss using mindfulness to check in and gain awareness, validation, compassion, breath work,...

Show notes: This week we are joined by Emily Perrin, LMSW. Emily is the Director of Medical Advisory Council for Morgan’s Message and owns her own company, Perrin Wellness and Performance. She played collegiate soccer at University of Virginia before becoming a D1 coach and understands the importance of mental health awareness and recovery for athletes. During Part 1 of Emily’s episode, she opens up about her own student-athlete experience and how that has impacted her work now. Stay tuned...

This week we are joined by John Armistead on The Mental Matchup. John is from northern California and went on to play college lacrosse at the University of Richmond before heading to grad school and using his 5th year of eligibility to play football at the University of Southern California. During the episode, John speaks with Kat about moving across the country to attend college and the social anxiety that accompanied the move. He opens up about dealing with multiple injuries, learning to...

#105: This week, Kat sits down with Kristen Vacca, a student athlete and Morgan's Message Ambassador at McKendree University. Throughout the episode, Kristen opens up about her experience as an international student both through the recruiting process and also as a student living in a new country for college. Kristen talks about her own struggles with mental health and how she has helped spearhead initiatives to bring about changes at her school to give student athletes more safe spaces...