The Mental Matchup

Welcome back to Season 6! During this episode, we are joined by Hannah Terry. Hannah is a Morgan’s Message Ambassador and a member of the Johns Hopkins women’s lacrosse team. Throughout the episode, Hannah speaks about her experiences with the recruiting process, working through people pleasing and learning how to combat intrusive thoughts. Kat and Hannah also touch on the importance of learning h...

#100: to have Dennis Gillan join the podcast. Dennis is the Executive Director of the Half a Sorrow Foundation , a foundation that strives to improve the mental health of individuals and organizations through conversation. He also has a TedX Talk and is the author of the book Nice Shoes!: A Little Compliment Can Go a Long Way , which we will link below. During the episode, Dennis speaks about losi...

Dr. Madison Bailey joins The Mental Matchup this week! Madison grew up in Phoenix, AZ and was a three sport athlete who ultimately focused on softball. She went to Manhattan College and graduated in 2016 before going to grad school to get her Masters and Doctorate at California Lutheran University. During the episode, Madison discusses how her experience with anxiety and control issues was one of...

In this week's episode of The Mental Matchup, Brock Turnbaugh joins the podcast. Brock grew up in Northern Maryland and was a three sport athlete at Hereford High School. He went to play lacrosse as a goalie at Johns Hopkins University and discusses the transition from high school to college and how he was often hyper focused on other people versus focusing on himself. During the episode, Brock op...

This week on The Mental Matchup Glory Johnson joins the podcast. Glory grew up in Syracuse, NY and graduated from Old Dominion University in 2020 as a member of the Women's Lacrosse team. As an athlete, she experienced many ups and downs including performance anxiety, falling out of love with the sport and transferring schools. She now works as a breathwork facilitator and life coach and we are ex...

For this week’s story submission episode, we’re highlighting 2 incredible stories. First off we have “Finding My Purpose” by Lily Parker who shares her experience with the college recruiting process and how it affected her overall mental health. Next up, Alexandra Castro Iberico wrote a story titled “Ambivalence”. As a competitive rower, she discusses the unrealistic expectations of perfection as...

This week on The Mental Matchup, Kat and Schuyler are joined by Sydney Zeszotarski. Sydney grew up in New Jersey and currently swims at Stevenson University. Throughout the episode, she gives us a closer look at her experiences dealing with a chronic illness, Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and how that negatively affected her mental health to the point where she attempted suicid...

In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat speaks with Matt Graham and Taylor Mead. Matt is a Special Olympics athlete, health messenger and athlete leader and Taylor is the Director of Health programs for Special Olympics New York who oversees health programming across the state. Special Olympics New York is a sports organization that provides inclusive opportunities for people with intell...

In this week’s episode, Leah Jantzen joins The Mental Matchup. Leah is the creator of Train Your Brain, a program that she uses to help athletes achieve their goals by focusing on their mental fitness. She works with high school students and helps them work through an array of differing realities - finding their identity outside of athletics, performance and more. During the episode, she talks abo...

Show Notes: This week we are joined by Betsy Brenner on The Mental Matchup. Betsy grew up in western NY and currently resides outside of Providence, RI. She is an author, speaker and mentor who opens up about her journey with an eating disorder and ultimately helps others with their recovery process by sharing her own story. Betsy’s memoir , The Longest Match: Rallying to Defeat an Eating Disorder...

#92: In this week’s episode, Caitlin Beacom joins The Mental Matchup. Caitlin grew up in Naperville, IL and graduated from Wofford College this past May. She started playing lacrosse in third grade and medically retired from collegiate lacrosse at the beginning of her senior year. Throughout the episode, Caitlin walks us through her mental health journey and how she has learned how being compassio...

#91: In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat speaks with Anna Beth Baker who is a rising senior on the Lander University Women’s Lacrosse team and also studies nursing. Throughout the episode, Anna Beth talks about the performance anxiety she experienced once getting to college, trying to overcome the overwhelming fear of perfectionism, and the importance of getting support from coa...

#90:  In this week's episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat sits down with Carly Ellman, MSW, LCSW. Carly received her master’s degree in social work (MSW) from Fordham University and is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in Florida and Pennsylvania. Carly currently works in the student counseling center at Thomas Jefferson University East Falls campus and as a consultant with the United St...

This week we are welcoming Kyle Taylor to the podcast. Kyle is a Tampa native and went to The University of Tampa for undergrad and grad school. Growing up, sports played a huge role in his life and he ultimately got into Cross Country to stay in shape for soccer season which led to a collegiate career in the sport. During the episode, Kyle opens up about his experience with anxiety and disordered...

 In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat speaks with Jennifer Hammel. Jenn grew up in Mountaintop, PA and attended Crestwood High School before graduating with an undergraduate degree from UConn in 1994 and a Masters of Education in Athletic Administration from Endicott College in 2018. Jenn played softball and field hockey growing up and continued her field hockey career at UConn....

#87: In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat connects with John Hutchins. John is on the football team at St. Lawrence University and grew up in Yardley, PA. John dealt with multiple setbacks including a broken leg in high school, COVID affecting his football season, and being diagnosed with a rare condition called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in college. Despite all of these complications,...

#86: Today we’re sitting down with Katie Kuzma. Katie is currently a freshman at a community college in Warrenton, VA, and will be attending Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA in the fall of 2023 to play soccer. In the episode, Katie talks about her experience with her recruiting process and how she struggled throughout the process. She also touches on how she came to the decision to step away f...

#85: Today we’re sitting down with former Division 1 baseball student-athlete and professional baseball player, Dario Pizzano. Dario joins us today to discuss his experience playing professional baseball, how his transition from professional sports to a “desk job” has impacted his mental health, his ability to ask for help, and his passion project, Mission Stadiums for Multiple Sclerosis a non-pro...

In today’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat is joined by Lexi Guerin. Lexi is based out of Minnesota and plays lacrosse at Arizona State University. Throughout the episode, Lexi walks us through transferring to boarding school in high school, why she decided to play collegiate lacrosse, and her recruiting process. It’s a jam-packed, ca n’t-miss episode!

 In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat speaks with Jenna Mango. Jenna is a certified personal trainer, fitness nutrition specialist and the author of the book Choose to R1se . The book focuses on striving to become the best version of yourself and ultimately getting 1% better every day. Throughout the episode, Jenna touches on her experience with bullying, therapy, and dealing wit...

 In today’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat connects with Emily Markley. Emily is a player on the Washington College women’s lacrosse team and grew up in Fauquier County, VA. During the episode Emily talks about her recruiting process, the importance of teammates and coaches having candid conversations about mental health, and being a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Emily also shared a bea...

 In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat speaks with Kelsey Thoensen. Kelsey is from New Holland, Pennsylvania, and played collegiate lacrosse at Slippery Rock University. During her senior year of school, she was diagnosed with Melanoma and also developed a stress fracture in her hip that prohibited her from playing lacrosse. During the episode, Kelsey shares how each difficult eve...

In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat and Schuyler speak with Ky Lane. Ky grew up in Maryland and fell in love with the sport of lacrosse. During the episode, Ky opens up about his intrusive thoughts, the importance of prioritizing your own happiness, and his efforts to get his friends to open up about their feelings. Ky is currently a social media influencer and pursuing his acting ca...

 In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat is joined by Kayla Mitchell. Kayla grew up in Long Island surrounded by an Italian family that sparked her interest in food. During the episode, Kayla opens up about how her knowledge of food turned into a fear of food and how diet culture impacted her early in high school. She also talks about her experience in a residential eating disorder...

In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat and Schuyler are joined by Jarett LoRusso. Jarett grew up in Purcellville, VA, and is currently getting his Master’s degree at the University of Richmond. Throughout the episode, Jarett walks us through his recruiting process, being injured for the majority of his career, and how his relationships benefitted when he opened up about his feelings.