The Next Act

Listen to Kirsten’s First Act of Tennis in “ACT 16 Part 1” -  Life after tennis was unique for Kirsten. Because she had already unexpectedly experienced what life without her sport was like, she was able to fully feel the gratitude and joy at the end of her second chance at tennis. She wasted no time finding ways back into the tennis world, only this time on the coaching side of the court. The les...

Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to be a professional athlete when you grew up? Now imagine you find a sport where you discover a hidden talent and lots of early success. Not only are you winning against your age group, you’re beating kids 4 years older than you. Then come the sponsors and you’re ranked as a top prospect and not only is your dream a possibility, you’re actually on a tra...

In College Football, some bowl games make you cringe when your team plays. There's no extra prestige or bragging rights in winning or even being there. So which bowl games throughout history have the most Aura? The games where it feels like there's more on the line. The bowls that carry more pride in victory, and more sting in defeat? Keiton and Matthew's picks may surprise you in another installm...

Many athletes dive into their Next Acts in sports media, especially as part of a gameday crew for the sport they played in their First Act. Which ones do it the best? The first BLIND RANKING kicks off a new series for The Next Act hosts.

College football is one of the most demanding activities to subject yourself to. It requires you to be “all-in” just to give yourself a chance at success at one position, let alone all over the field. Players from the state of Michigan that have proven it’s possible to be a football Swiss Army Knife include Jabril Peppers, Josh Metellus, and Chaz Moore.  Growing up the son of a football coach, Cha...

In life, there are what I like to call “Bottom Line” People. These are the ones who, in spite of adversity, unexpected obstacles, and against all odds, get the job done at the end of the day. You’ll be hard pressed to find someone who embodies the bottom line more than Jake Palomaki. Jake grew up eating, sleeping, and breathing baseball, which led him to an accomplished career. He may not have bee...

What does a D1 golf career and teaching a 6th grade classroom have in common? Kelsey Eichenauer would be that missing link. Kelsey was a student-athlete at Valparaiso University, and a key member and leader of the Women's Golf Team. She's our first guest who is still partially navigating the transition phase between First Act and Next Act, even while she's begun her Next Act as an educ...

What are some of the things that make Division 3 different from other levels of college athletics? In the second Next Act Draft, Co-Hosts Matthew and Keiton are back taking turns choosing their 5 biggest struggles of being a D3 student-athlete. Some may be obvious, others may be controversial. We don't make the rules here. Follow us on social media: Tik Tok - tiktok.com/thenextactpod Instagram...

If you HAD to choose, what are the best things about being a Division 3 Student-Athlete? Welcome to the First Next Act Draft. Co-Hosts Keiton and Matthew take turns making their picks of 5 of the best things from their experience. What ranks the highest, and what doesn't make the cut? You might be surprised. Follow us on Social Media: Tik Tok - tiktok.com/thenextactpod Instagram - instagram.co...

One of the show’s most impressive guests to date, former Wittenberg baseball star Jack Hollinshead joins The Next Act to share his journey of playing a key piece in a historic program turnaround, buying into a culture of accountability, testing the jump from D3 to D1, gratitude gained through reflection, and what steps are required on his road to becoming an athletic director. Can’t miss highlight...

Michigan State Spartan Basketball program was a dark horse pick to win the 2020 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship heading into March Madness, which was never played because of the start of the Covid pandemic. What happens after your career gets cut short by things completely out of your control? Conner George progressed from walk-on, to scholarship player, to fan favorite on a stretch of hist...

What's the difference between making a play and avoiding a mistake? Why does it matter even if there is one? If you were in the Garden of Eden and were told you can't have fruit from one tree, your mind likely would go to the forbidden fruit. If you only focus on not eating the fruit, you become stagnant and may ignore the other fruit you can go an eat. Eventually if you stay focused on th...

"Working while you wait" is a concept that we experienced in different shapes and forms as student-athletes. How have we found ways to work while we wait in our current Next Acts of our lives? This episode acts as an introduction for two significant pieces of the podcast moving forward. First, Matthew Roop officially joins The Next Act as Co-Host, and we kick off another new series: Usin...

The first installment of a new series titled "Biggest Adjustments", where I talk about the most significant changes that I had to adjust to when I transitioned out of my First Act and into my Next Act.    There is a certain physical expectation you develop for what your body is able to do as an athlete. I spent years pushing my body to its limits and beyond, both in performance of my spo...

They say "Experience is the best teacher", and when you listen to Tom Lewis, there's a lot of experience to learn from in all areas of life. Growing up playing sports and then going into coaching didn't make his story unique, but the way he's leveraged his experiences has.  I'm honored to have a guest with such wisdom, credibility and success to open Season 2, let alone to have been impacted...

Grit. Grace. Beauty. Brains. World class physical and mental performance. Hannah Miller makes you think her last name is Montana the way she has embodied the best of both worlds in her life. A First Act made up of national and international figure skating while maintaining valedictorian status is ambitious and impressive to merely set as a goal, let alone actually achieve it (spoiler, she did). Ho...

Robbie Johnson is a prime example of who The Next Act is about. A former teammate of mine at Manchester University, I had never seen anyone eat, sleep, and breathe basketball like Robbie, and his ability on the court proved it.  He found great success in his First Act, finishing his college career as the 4th all-time leading scorer in Manchester program history. So how does one find ways to f...

Joining the The Next Act as the first former soccer player, Matthew Roop is the embodiment of carrying the competitive edge of one's First Act into their Next Act. A leader of the winningest class in Manchester Men's Soccer history, Roop was one of the most respected student athletes I had the privilege of sharing a campus with during our college careers. We talk about the importance of balance in...

Riley Lewis joins The Next Act as the first former basketball guest. Riley is the all-time leading scorer at Williamston High School, was one of the most talked about prep players in the Lansing, Michigan area, and played for the storied program at Hope College.  One of my favorite former teammates, we talk about our experience as teammates, life of a Division 3 athlete, highs and lows of fin...

What happens when you fail in your First Act, and there is no next time to get it right? When I came to the end of my playing career, there was an unprecedented weight of finality that came with not achieving the some of my big goals and dreams. At that moment, I was faced with a question:   How does one handle the realization that they have spent years on years, and thousands on thousands of...

What does graduating and moving across the country to pursue your dream look like? Growing up and having a dream to become an actor on the big screen or be in shows on tv is not uncommon. What is uncommon, is doing the required work for years in order to make it happen. Brett Schaberg has taken steps to do exactly that. We talk about Brett's life growing up, what deepened his interest for acting m...

How does one use their First Act as a football player to help them in their Next Act? Trainer Abdullah Muhammed is a perfect example. A linebacker for Central Michigan University, Abdullah is a strength and fitness trainer in Lansing, Michigan. He not only works with sport specific training for athletes, but has helped countless people of all ages in their fitness journeys in life. Abdullah shares...

How do you make your Next Act better than a Hall of Fame First Act? Look no further than Michigan State Men's Tennis Head Coach Gene Orlando. A Ball State University Hall of Fame inductee from his days as a player, "Coach O" has cemented his name in MSU Spartan athletic department history as the program's all-time winningest coach. Gene shares how lessons he learned as a player have helped him in...

In this inaugural episode, former NCAA Track & Field athlete Jade Bollet joins The Next Act. We talk about life in her First Act as a student athlete all the way through college, how she relates to the recent rise in women's sports and NIL activity, and how she found her Next Act managing a million dollar business. Jade shares how she used lessons learned from overcoming loss and injuries, how...

Jake Summey makes his appearance as the first baseball player on The Next Act. Jake played Division II baseball at Palm Beach Atlantic University, where he started for four years and earned his degree in Exercise Science. This background led him to his current position as one of the head strength and performance coaches at Pinnacle Performance in Atlanta, Georgia. We talk about the grind of being...