The Mental Matchup

In this week's episode, Kat chats with Michelle Deutsch, a former collegiate ice hockey player turned semi-pro powerlifter, who opens up about her incredible journey of resilience and healing. We discuss her experience with body dysmorphia and depression to surviving sexual assault, Michelle's story is one of strength and determination. She shares how a strong support system helped her through dif...

In this episode, we dive deep into the power of identity with transformational coach, Cate Wilkes. Cate shares her personal journey of success, stress, and self-discovery, unpacking the pivotal moments that led her to redefine her identity beyond her professional achievements. Cate emphasizes that our value is not in what we accomplish but in the essence of who we are. She discusses the importance...

#143 - In this episode, I'm excited to sit down with Kyra Schwartzman, current Women's Lacrosse Assistant Coach at Colby College. We chat about her unique journey from playing at Wheaton College to coaching at Colby College, her impactful role as Director of the Girls High School Program at 3D Lacrosse, and even her time working in health care before returning to the sport she's passionate about....

In this episode, Anthony Faraino shares a powerful journey of breaking the stigma surrounding mental health, especially for student-athletes. With a background in collegiate lacrosse and a career in finance, Anthony felt a strong pull toward supporting the mental well-being of athletes, leading to the founding of Mindflow , a mental health platform with a mission aligned with Morgan's Message. In...

In today’s episode, Kat chats with Nadine Crocker, an award-winning Director, Writer, Actress, and Producer, known for her impactful storytelling. Born in Nashville and raised in Fresno, Nadine moved to Los Angeles at 16 to pursue her passion for creating art that changes lives.  We discuss her deeply personal film, Continue , which is based on her own survival of a suicide attempt and will b...

Welcome to the final episode of our miniseries on mental health support systems! In this special episode, Ashton Miller joins TMM. Ashton and Schuyler met as freshmen on the Duke Soccer Team, and have been best friends since. Ashton now influences soccer culture as a photographer, creative director, and co-founder of The Footy Temple. She studied psychology and grew up in a family of professional...

This miniseries episode highlights how siblings can support each other’s mental health. Imani, Nia, and Trinity Dorsey all join Schuyler on the podcast to talk about how they show up for each other (@imdorsey @niamdorsey @trinmdorsey). The Dorsey sisters all are incredible soccer players and humans. In this episode, they share lots of valuable insights into how their parents founded their support...

In this episode, TJ Pura, a former captain of the Duke Men’s Tennis Team, joins our TMM Second Hand Stories miniseries. After a stint as a pro player, TJ found his passion in coaching, mentoring ATP player Tommy Paul and returning to Duke as the first assistant coach. Now living in Durham, NC with his fiancée, 2x Olympian Maddy Price, TJ discusses how he supports her journey as a professional trac...

In today’s episode, Schuyler speaks with Traci Pizzano, mother of three, including Dario Pizzano from Episode 85. Traci, a Multiple Sclerosis (MS) warrior, inspired Dario to create Mission Stadiums for MS, a nonprofit supporting MS research and families affected by the condition. Throughout the episode, Schuyler and Traci discuss key moments in Dario’s mental health journey and how Traci supported...

Sarah Kovan, MD, is a psychiatry resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, specializing in the treatment of individuals with complex behavioral health needs within publicly supported healthcare systems. She has been honored with the U.S. Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Award and studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Additionally, Sarah was a collegiate athlete at Mich...

This week, Kat sits down with Rohan Piple on The Mental Matchup. Rohan grew up in Maryland and played varsity basketball at Southern Vermont College. He then went on to become a Behavioral Health Specialist with a Master's in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown University. During the episode, he discusses the performance wellness company, AŠVA, he created and why he decided to focus on this...

This week, Vanessa Kara joins Kat on the podcast. Vanessa is from Burlington, New Jersey and went on to play college soccer at Drexel University then the University of Florida as a grad transfer. After college, she competed professionally in Finland and walks us through creating a career in the NWSL. She also touches on achieving her dream of playing for the Dominican Republic women's national soc...

This week, Bill Kvalheim, joins us on The Mental Matchup. Bill is a a former varsity football player at Kean University who has since become an educator and has also served as a college football coach. Bill is the founder of Tackle Depression, a non-profit organization providing knowledge, insight and resources for anyone battling mental illness. In the episode, he shares how his own struggles wit...

This week, Sarah Spaeth joins The Mental Matchup. Sarah is from Bel Air, Maryland and went to the Catholic University of America where she played softball. Sarah notes that she listened to her first TMM podcast episode during the fall of 2023 and was immediately impacted by other’s sharing their story. Now in her very own episode, Sarah is opening up about her own experience moving from being a st...

In this episode of The Mental Matchup, we sit down with Riley Walker, an At-Large Ambassador and mental health advocate. Struggling with anxiety and witnessing her sister's battle with depression, Riley made it a point to advocate for mental health and through seven years of dedication, including therapy and mindset shifts, she emerged stronger than ever. Now, she advocates for mental health, insp...

During this episode, Bella Raymond, a rising sophomore on Nazareth University's field hockey team, shares her inspiring journey of resilience. Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 10 and hypothyroidism on her second day of college, Bella walks us through how she was able to continue her goal of playing a collegiate sport. She also discusses the impact of hypothyroidism on her physical and mental well...

This week, Kat is joined by Brooke Lynch. Brooke plays college lacrosse at Scranton University and started playing at a young age. During the episode, she touches on her relationship with lacrosse and how it has changed over the years as well as her experience navigating COVID during her senior year of high school. Brooke is a great resource for talking about mental health, how sport can play an i...

In today's episode MJ Renaud sits down with Kat to discuss her experience with mental health as a student-athlete. MJ plays lacrosse for Canisius University, and is majoring in both Criminal Justice and Philosophy, and minoring in Forensic Psychology. MJ lives with OCD interlaced with social and generalized anxiety, along with bipolar depressive disorder and ADHD. She speaks about her tools she us...

Kat is joined by Erica Curry, LMFT. A former student-athlete who suffered a career ending injury at a young age and shifted her focus to diving. This led to a collegiate career in diving at Wagner College. Her athletic experience is what drove her into her work with mental health. This coupled with watching a family member struggle with multiple suicide attempts strengthened her passion to support...

This week, Bunny Nazari joins Kat on The Mental Matchup. Bunny is from Aldie, VA and currently in school at the College of Charleston where she plays soccer. Bunny opens up about this decision to stop playing collegiate athletics, her story of recovering from an injury and her goal of helping break the stigma that athletes must be “tough” in all aspects of life at all times. Bunny hopes to get her...

This week, Vanessa Scaringi joins The Mental Matchup. Vanessa is a licensed psychologist and mental health professional who currently co-owns a group therapy practice in Austin, TX called CALM Counseling. She was also a collegiate athlete in swimming and water polo. During the episode, Vanessa talks about how there is space for growth for talking about nutrition and eating disorders specially in s...

In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Josh Carlson joins the podcast. Josh is a former student-athlete and college coach at McKendree University for the water polo team. As an athlete, he opens up about experiencing anxiety and the pressures that he put on himself to do well. Josh touches on the importance of having transparency between coaches and athletes when it comes to mental health a...

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 t...

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....