Hear Her Sports

Naya Tapper, rugby superstar, top try scorer for the USA Women's Eagles Sevens team began rugby career at UNC in 2012. In 2016 earned spot on USA Women's Eagles. She’s now training for the 2020 Olympics at the Olympic Training Center with her teammates. Because opportunities rugby brought her, Naya works to grow the sport for women and youth.

Jen Gurecki, CEO of Coalition Snow, a woman founded ski & snowboard company, Editor in Chief, SISU magazine, Co-host Juicy bits podcast, and Founder of Sawadisha joins HHS to talk about creating quality women’s equipment versus “pinking down” something designed and made for by men, LBGTQ, being kind, speaking up, dealing with making mistakes, and her next adventure, cycling in Nepal.

Gymnast Rachel Haines was a two-time member of the US Women’s Gymnastics team, two-time National Champion, and Division 1 college gymnast at University of Minnesota where she studied child psychology and earned a master’s degree in family social science. She’s just come out with her memoir, Abused, about her time as a gymnast and as Survivor 195 in the Larry Nassar case. She writes in detail about breaking her back in 3 places and everything she did to stay in the sport after that. Mostly Rachel uses the lens of her psychology training to dissect her time in the sport. She focuses on the culture of gymnastics, being a driven teenager, her own process of healing, forgiving, moving on, and creating a great life after sport. Rachel now coaches young gymnasts and implements her own ideas about improving the sport. We talk about balancing being a strong competitor, safety, and the process of improving and becoming a good person.

Lisa Keller owns Multisport Training of Alaska, is General Manager of Running Free Alaska, bringing running to the women prisoners at Hiland prison in Anchorage. She’s a founding board member of the Alaska Run for Women, two-time Alaska Triathlete of the Year and has achieved All-American status in USA Triathlon age group rankings. Lisa has stories of how sports power gives power to women. Long-form interviews with female athletes breaking boundaries, sharing secrets to speak up, live with power & confidence, and do amazing things.

Runner and Nurse Mallory Hatmaker talks postpartum depression, being a mom running as treatment, taking care of herself first, work-family-exercise balance, meditation, speed, competition, and constraints of real life and body. All in Episode 55. Long-form interviews with female athletes breaking boundaries, sharing secrets to speak up, live with power & confidence, and do amazing things.

Ashli Pratt senior track sprinter at Laurel on wanting more African Americans in movies, finding a voice, winning, being confident and vibrant, choosing a college, neuroscience, women of color as part of #metoo, living in Glenville, plus nutrition and weight lifting. Long-form interviews with female athletes breaking boundaries, sharing secrets to speak up, live with power & confidence, and do amazing things. Conversation recorded for Hear Her Sports Glenville, a neighborhood stories project sharing the power of sports for girls and women to break through barriers.  

Meagan Martin – Ninja Warrior superstar, professional climber, USA Team climber, powerful model for Athleta, and commentator for USA Climbing on ESPN joins HHS for Episode 53. Meagan shares her thoughts about the impact of sports for kids, girls and women, the value of mentors, painted nails, body image, goals, aging, and she has some final wise words. Long-form interviews with female athletes breaking boundaries, sharing secrets to speak up, live with power and confidence, and do amazing things.

Mary Grace Stocker talks solo adventures, financial security, saving money, climbing in Yosemite, empowering other women, vertical wilderness, breaking from expectations all in Episode 52. Long-form interviews with female athletes breaking boundaries, sharing secrets to speak up, live with power and confidence, and do amazing things.

Sporty Esquire Cecelia Townes is a former tennis player at Howard University and a graduate of UCLA School of Law. She founded GladiatHers LLC to empower women who want to achieve their maximum potential. She is dedicated to helping women discover and walk in their purpose, improving the image of women in sports, and on preparing athletes for life after sports. Cecelia serves on the Board of Directors of the national non-profit Play Like a Girl! and is a contributing writer for ESPNW. There’s lot’s of goodies in the conversation including about scarcity, meditating, negotiating, and my favorite -- a bit about how meal planning is rubbish. Long-form interviews with female athletes sharing secrets to speak up, live with power & confidence, and do amazing things.

USA Biathlete Deedra Irwin loves putting in the work to improve herself. She's training for the 2020 winter Olympics in Beijing. We get into details of shooting and skiing, managing nerves, injuries and recovery, her supportive biathlon teammates, traveling, donuts (nutrition) and dogs.

Sarah Ditmars, kinesiologist, hockey coach, and personal trainer joins Hear Her Sports to talk heartbreak, who’s an athlete, breaking boundaries, fitting workouts into a already packed schedule, being an underdog, and nutrition. She is the 2017 Ontario Junior Hockey League Trainer-of-the-Year and recently introduced her Former Female Athlete Program. Long-form interviews with female athletes sharing secrets to speak up, live with power & confidence, and do amazing things.

Sophie Calabrese won GOLD medal in the Quad Scull at the CanAmMex Regatta in Mexico City this summer. She talks about the race, competing, the intense selection process, training, coaching herself, backwards treadmilling, how music and sports relate, the Head of the Charles, and not losing. This is an excellent episode to share with high school athletes or their parents, with rowers, and athletes that need just a little extra motivation to get a bit more from their sport. Sophie loves being competitive, loves being an athlete, and is pursuing elite rowing with real smarts.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody. Welcome to Hear Her Sports! We are taking this week off for the holiday but will be back with a new episode next week.

Youngstown State Women's Rugby players, Laelae Amituanai and Hannah Hall join the podcast in Episode 47. We talk rugby, team bonding, training, aggression, strategy, nutrition, Chipotle, their two coaches and conditioning trainer, fundraising, and so much more about being a college athlete.

Jude Gerace, owner of Sugar Wheel Works, joins us in Episode 46. We talk wheel building, running a small business, being one of the few women in the cycling industry, mentors, getting involved in the community, bike riding, sustainability, Safe Routes to Schools, and a bit about puppies. Hear Her Sports Female where athletes share secrets to speak up, live with power & confidence, and do amazing things.

Cross Country Skier Alayana Sonnesyn is a first year pro with the Straton Mountain T2 Elite Team. In Episode 45 we talk about the transition from college to a professional athlete, pre-season training in New Zealand, ski techniques, good climbing tips, and goals for the nordic season and beyond to 2022 Olympics. Hear Her Sports podcast is long-form interviews with female athletes sharing secrets to speak up, live with power & confidence, and do amazing things.

Margo Burke is a funny, politically opinionated middle schooler. She also speed skates. In Episode 44 we talk training, skates, dry land training, value of sports, books, school, World War II, politics, and teamwork vs going at it solo.

Collette Smith is 1st African American female coach in the NFL, 1st female coach of the NY Jets, former player with NY Sharks women's professional football team, and founder of Believe N You, Inc. In Episode 43 we talk empowering black youth, girls and women, value of mentors, coaching, Up2Us, learning from family, loving herself through football, and National Women's Football Conference. Hear Her Sports podcast where athletes share secrets to speak up, live with power & confidence, and do amazing things.

Iris Slappendel, founder The Cyclists’ Alliance women’s sport union talks about current state of women's cycling, the needs of women athletes, and successes in the past six months, UCI, insurance, sporting ethics and safety. Episode 42 Hear Her Sports where female athletes share secrets to speak up, live with power & confidence, and do amazing things.    

Benita Fitzgerald Mosley Olympic Gold Medalist in 100 meter hurdlers talks about role as CEO of Laureus, the power of sport to improve lives of youth and unite communities, also Tabata, USA Women's Hockey, and using biomechanics to improve performance and win Olympic Medals.