The Rooted Athlete Podcast

You know that buzzer beater feeling? When it comes down to the wire and at the last min, you hit the shot, submit the assignment, win the race, whatever it is, you succeeded. Today's guest knows this feeling all too well. The last year of her college basketball career at VCU consisted of zero plans for the pros. Although it was a dream, the WNBA, started in 1996 was only 14 years old at the t...

One of the biggest challenges we face in life after sports, ironically, is the motivation to exercise again! Today guest, Hannah Ford, shares how her health spiraled out of control after her sport was over. It took a BIG wake up call for her to realize she needed to make a change, she has now taken control of her weight and has relearned what it means to take care of herself. Her passion for the l...

Have you ever felt overstimulated, unable to focus and struggling to bring your mind back to a calm state? Today's guest, Mackenzie Flynn shares her out-of-body, life changing experience with ONE breathwork session. As a former athlete herself, she understands the emotions that sports require and swears by this ONE method for setting her day up for success, in all seasons of life.    TOPICS: ...

Tim Kontos, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist in his 24th year at VCU as the Associate Athletic Director of Sports Performance & Student Athlete Wellness. September 2018 until June of 2021, Kontos oversaw the Sports Medicine, Sports Nutrition as well as Sports Performance departments. A firm believer in leading by example, Kontos retired from a long career of powerlifting, and s...

Today we are speaking with Andrew Belcik, former D1 Baseball Player at Notre Dame University. He is one of the many athletes that had their senior year taken from them by Covid-19. However, he did not allow this to come between him and his dream of being a professional baseball player. As an athlete with NO plan B, he continued on to play at the University Of Houston post Covid-19. He is now one y...

Bridget Belcik grew up in Tampa area and had been swimming her whole life up until Feb of 2017, when her college swimming career came to an end. She was a 2 time captain on her college team and after working in the corporate world for about 2 years after graduating, she decided to go all in on a new business. After 3 years of finding her true niche, brand changes and putting true blood, sweat and...

Welcome back to another episode of The Lifeletics Podcast. Today is the FIRST Solo Episode with host Megan Reuter. On todays episode, I share my upbringing and how I got into swimming. I dive into where I went once I was done with my sport, how I eventually got back into working out and WHY I did. I share my why behind Lifeletics and what I commit to you all!   I appreciate you, my friends.    Hel...

Today we are speaking with Colby Thibault. She played collegiate soccer at Johnson and Wales university, graduated in 2018 and has been pursuing her passion of Culinary Nutrition ever since. She is a trained chef, registered dietitian, certified personal trainer and is a business owner focusing on coaching former female athletes.   In this episode, we will talk about: -What does the word "bal...

Today we welcome Maddie Kane! She is West Texas A&M Track Alumni and recently graduated with her degree in Sports & Exercise Science with her masters in Exercise Physiology and is becoming a Sports Performance specialist. After college, she took a gap year, thinking she would pursue her passion of Physical Therapy, however, after working as a PT Tech, she realized this was not the path for...

Erica Quam is a leadership guru. After swimming all four years at the Big 10 School, Indiana University, she spent five years as the assistant women's coach at Southern Methodist University with the legendary Steve Collins. She then spent nine seasons coaching in the Pac-12 conference as the Head Women's Swimming coach at Washington State University. Over her career she has worked with O...

Today we are joined by Sara Doell. Sara played golf at Penn state from 1996-2000, and is now entering her 12th year as a College Golf Head Coach. Starting her career as the first Women's Golf head coach at Seton Hall, she was to create a program that could live on well after she left. She did just that. Now she is entering her 6th year as the Women's Golf head coach at University of San...

At an early age Chaz found his passion for wrestling. His wrestling career led him to the World Wrestling Federation (WWE) where he is better known by his ring names, Chaz & Mosh. After a successful wrestling career, Chaz transitioned into the business world selling copier machines. Today Chaz manages the South Florida Region at DEX imaging. He still wrestles minimally, but mostly plays profes...

On today's episode we are speaking with Alex Demchak. A former baseball player from Boca Raton, FL. He played college baseball at FIU and eventually went on to play for the Red Sox. Today he works for equitable advisors and gets fufillment through helping families with financial security and retirement planning. He is a wealth (no pun intended) of knowledge and we are lucky to have him on her...

Moving from Spain to the US, solely to play your sport and study, takes a lot of courage. Pablo Mena, former aspiring PGA tour golfer, did just that. Leaving his family thousands of miles away, to a new culture, friend group, and life, at just 18 years old. He surely took away some lessons. On today's episode, we dive into the fear and doubt he took on while making this shift and how he overc...

On today's episode, Taylor Grabenhorst shares her journey to the Olympic Trials. After qualifying in late 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic quickly turned future events for many athletes. Forcing her to choose between an extra year of training and hanging up her suit. She chose to go after her childhood dream. At just 23 years old, Taylor has a true sense of not letting even the biggest things get...

On todays episode, we speak with Kelsey Witkay. From San Francisco, CA, she moved across the country to pursue her D1 college swimming goals. She quickly became a highly respected teammate through her positive attitude and willingness to help. Today she expresses her experience being a two time captain. How she found her passion early on and how to stay proactive before you get into the real world...

Akin Ayodele is a former NFL Linebacker from Dallas TX. Played college football at Purdue and in 2002 was drafted to play for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Since then, he played for Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills. He is now a business development executive for Sapoznik Insurance. In this episode, we discuss his why behind sports and how he overcame the pressures of pro football. How some of his most...

Alice McCall travelled from the UK to the US to pursue her collegiate swimming career. The international transition itself, has taken a toll on many athletes around the world. As someone that is infinitely passionate about her sport, she decided to keep pursuing swimming in a different perspective, as a D1 coach. She is eager to help other athletes achieve their goals. Today, we will dive into a c...

In this episode we speak with Laura Conoscenti, a badass recruiter that has traveled the world to staff an entire cruise ship. She has coined herself the name "Linked-In Laura" and has truly learned the in's and out's of resume building. As a Former D1 Student Athlete - she understands the demanding schedule required to really "just get by" in college.    SHOW NOTES:...