The Athletes to Athletes Podcast

Jessica used swimming to make it to the top of the academic podium despite having to fight through her learning disabilities. After finishing her time at SMU with two degrees, she made her way back into the pool to give back to her community of Midland, TX. --- LEARN MORE ABOUT THE A2A ACADEMY The A2A Academy is a comprehensive, non-biased college preparation service specifically designed for stud...

Originally from Cameroon, Ivan moved to the United States when he was 6 years old, finding basketball soon after in a gym class. His passion for the game grew and ultimately led to an opportunity to play at Concordia College. It was not too long after college that he and his cofounder create The Zone, a personalized and data-driven mental wellness platform. During today's conversation, we dis...

Dr. Matt Bowers has dedicated his educational career to studying the role of sports in generating positive experiences and outcomes, with a particular emphasis on youth development in and through sports. His work has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Wired, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, SXSW, and the Aspen Institute’s Sport for All, Play For Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game. I...

Malcolm Lemmons set a goal to play basketball at a high level from a young age and after putting in the work he accomplished that goal by playing at Niagara University before heading over to Japan to play professionally. But it was his entrepreneurial side that took over once he hung up his sneakers and put basketball behind him.  --- LEARN MORE ABOUT THE A2A ACADEMY The A2A Academy is a comprehen...

Nate Jackson and his wife, Raychelle, became parents at a very young age. And after that they refocused their goals and set out to accomplish everything one step at a time. Now, Jackson has his eyes set on his goals of fighting an injury to claim a spot on this year's US World Team and win a world title. Listen as Jackson talks about becoming a father at a young age, balancing school, wrestli...

To get an inside look at what it’s like to step on the NCAA Wrestling Championship finals stage, we chat with NC State’s NCAA Champion Mike Macchiavello, who made his way to the top of the podium in 2018. We also dig into how he became a wrestler as well as the habits he created to earn the crown at 197 pounds a few years ago. --- LEARN MORE ABOUT THE A2A ACADEMY The A2A Academy is a comprehensive...

As we turn the page to Women’s History Month, we knew that the perfect way to get things started would be to bring on someone who was a mentor and an inspiration to our host Ryan Holmes along with being an all-around amazing human.  That individual is former University of Texas softball player Chez Sievers.  --- LEARN MORE ABOUT THE A2A ACADEMY The A2A Academy is a comprehensive, non-biased colleg...

After a month of celebrating Black history by having conversations with some very impactful black voices, host Ryan Holmes had to take a moment to thank each one of them and reflect on the Black history he's had the chance to witness and historical figures he's been able to meet.  --- LEARN MORE ABOUT THE A2A ACADEMY The A2A Academy is a comprehensive, non-biased college preparation serv...

Until recently not one HBCU athletic program included wrestling. But thanks to Executive Director Jahi Jones, a former Maryland NCAA wrestler, and the HBCU Wrestling Initiative, that is no longer true.  Through the organization's efforts, it was announced in 2021 that Morgan State will be the first historically black college to have a wrestling program with more on the horizon. --- LEARN MORE...

Keisha J Kelley didn't set out to work in sports but her passion for HBCU athletics grew into something she never imagined as she created Black College Experience. Now Kelley is one of the strongest voices and her platform has become a staple on the HBCU sports scene. In today's conversation she discuss how she got to where she is and what made her stay consistent.  --- 🎙 Welcome to the...

Tarrin Morgan tells us about how he didn't have the smoothest path, but ultimately found his way to Morgan State where he is now a professor and creator of the Esports program comprised of nearly 200 students. --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We are a team of former college athletes passionate about helping prospective student-athletes find the right fit for their college program, on and o...

Today Ryan continues his Black History Month conversations and chats with Derrick Furlow Jr, the former University of Tennessee football player who had to overcome an injury during his final high school season to earn an opportunity on the Volunteers' team and reinvent himself to find his way when his NFL dreams didn’t come to fruition after college.  --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We ar...

With today being the first day of the celebration of Black History we would like to kick things off by introducing Tylene Braswell, our newest addition to the A2A team. As an LSU grad she comes with a wealth of knowledge, experience and ideas that will all be channeled into creating growth opportunities for A2A and our community. --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We are a team of former college...

Chelsea Potter has amassed just about every award you can in the world of competitive baton twirling. Being in the sport for 30 years saw her on the cover of magazines, winning World Championship gold medals all around the world, and earning a full scholarship to star as the Hawkeye Golden Girl feature twirler during the University of Iowa's football halftime show. --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A co...

Derek Guimond took an unorthodox route to further his volleyball career which turned into a business-creating opportunity.  Now, after taking a chance on himself and leaving the country to pursue his passion on the court, he is helping others do the same. --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We are a team of former college athletes passionate about helping prospective student-athletes find the righ...

Co-founders Justin Ullestad and Reid Meyer join today's conversation to discuss the transfer portal window, evolution of NIL and it' impact, state of admissions and Reid's trips and campus tours. -- 🎓 Schedule your FREE session with us today! https://www.athletestoathletes.com/podcast 👇 Follow us on our other social channels! Twitter - https://twitter.com/A2Aadvising Instagram - h...

Katie Lever found her way to her families alma mater of Western Kentucky where she excelled on the track. While at WKU a few things happened during her career propelled her to the current landing spot as an NCAA policy researcher and doctoral candidate at the University of Texas in Austin. --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We are a team of former college athletes passionate about helping prospec...

Sierra Brooks found out pretty early that her gymnastic future was bright. In our conversation with her she discusses when she fell in love with the sport, dealing with being recruited as a 6th grader and what the future holds for her post-collegiate career. ----- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We are a team of former college athletes passionate about helping prospective student-athletes find the...

Parker Navarro moved all the way from California to North Carolina to run Track and Cross Country at UNCW. She figured out from early on that she wanted to leave home to explore new surroundings, but she also realized exactly when it was time for her to move on from her favorite sport and focus on her post-collegiate career. --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We are a team of former college athle...

Natalie Allport started out wanting to represent the Canadian hockey team, then she changed paths and hit the slopes as a snowboarder before making another pivot to crossfit along with content creation and so much more. --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We are a team of former college athletes passionate about helping prospective student-athletes find the right fit for their college program, on...

Keirsten Sires isn't afraid to bet on herself. After devoting her time and effort to a career on the tennis court, she put in the work and switched to the soccer field as a college sophomore. Now she spends her days as the CEO and Founder of 2aDays. --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We are a team of former college athletes passionate about helping prospective student-athletes find the right...

Former Penn State national champion volleyball player Katie Kabbes reflects on her time being recruited and what it was like being molded by the championship culture on the Nittany Lion campus. --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We are a team of former college athletes passionate about helping prospective student-athletes find the right fit for their college program, on and off the field 🏈🏀⚽️...

People can be mentally tough enough to play in front of thousands of screaming fans, but still suffer from mental health issues that hinder you from facing the day or doing what you'd consider a menial task. In today's discussion with former DI soccer player Lauren Hess she digs into how she overcame injury, decided to transfer and her own mental battles.  --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A commun...

Does Division I cheerleading have recruiting? What's the training schedule like for elite cheerleaders? How do you represent your country in the world of cheerleading? We sit down with former University of Alabama and Team USA World Champion cheerleader Millery Ingallina as she gives us the insight on how she became a highly decorated cheerleader. --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We are a...

Taj Dashaun didn't have the college career on or off the field that he wanted. And when he left Stony Brook he was lost and looking for the right path. He ultimately found it but it wasn't easy. --- 🎙 Welcome to the A2A community! We are a team of former college athletes passionate about helping prospective student-athletes find the right fit for their college program, on and off the fie...