Welcome Kate Martin to Hurdle! This week on the show, the WNBA player for the Golden State Valkyries and Unrivaled competitor takes us on a deep dive into what it takes to thrive in the professional game, sharing how she's constantly evolving both on and off the court. Kate opens up about the major adjustments she’s made since leaving college—not just to the rigorous WNBA schedule, but to her own mindset. She discusses the chaotic travel and the importance of finding those small windows to optimize her body, sharing the hydration and mobility hacks that are her non-negotiable recovery tools.
Martin gets honest about her struggles with negative self-talk and how the identity of being the "glue" teammate actually helps her play better. Plus, Kate talks about the mental and physical comeback from a devastating ACL tear, explaining why that difficult experience taught her how to be a cheerleader first—a skill that has shaped her entire career.
IN THIS EPISODE
- The Post-College Grind: How she manages the WNBA travel schedule by prioritizing mobility work and drip-drop hydration (electrolyte packets) on every flight to combat dehydration and stay ready for immediate workouts.
- The Power of NIL: Her personal experience navigating the NIL landscape in college, and the hilarious story of how she was completely blindsided by her own draft pick while expecting to be fully focused on supporting Caitlin Clark.
- The Best Version of an Athlete: Why she is focused on becoming a more well-rounded player by working on attacking the rim and being consistent when shooting under fatigue.
- Adversity as Fuel: Why she views her major ACL injury in college as the "best thing that ever happened to me" because it taught her empathy and the importance of showing up as a great teammate.
- Personal Identity: Why being labeled an "underdog" doesn't bother her, and why she is okay with the balance of being a great athlete and a great person who prioritizes her family.
- Simple Wellness: Her simple, non-negotiable wellness routine, which includes chicken, rice, and cold tubs for physical and mental reset.
QUOTABLE MOMENTS
On self-talk:
"I would definitely say that [negative self-talk] is still a work in progress for sure. I would sit here and tell every single one of my teammates, 'Don't be so hard on yourself, negative self-talk is terrible, it benefits nothing.'"
On what she sees in the mirror:
"I want people to see a good person who cares about her teammates and who is a lot more than just a basketball player."
On coming back from injury:
"If you have a bad day, that's okay, too. Because you're going to have bad days... and you're going to eventually start trending upwards if you continue to do the right things."
On coming back after a loss:
“You cannot linger in the past, you really just got to keep pushing and looking forward. You have to have that goldfish mentality."
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Don't doubt yourself. Why not you? You know, really, if
you put your mind to anything like you can, you
can go get it.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
What's going on? Everyone? Emily A body here? You are
listening to Curdle.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
A show that dies into the true stories and mindset
secrets of the most inspiring women in sport and wellness.
What an incredible week of awesomeness for the show with
the launch on the Iheartwoman's Sports Network. Thank you to
all of you for your support for re sharing and
commenting and uh oh gosh, just spreading the good word
(00:48):
that is Hurdle.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I would not be able to.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Conquer any of these on my own without you. This week,
I am so amped to bring you my conversation with
the One, the Only, Kate Martin. She's a WNBA player
for the Golden State Valkyrie. She's also playing in the
upcoming second season of Unrivaled. In our conversation today, Kate
(01:11):
takes us on a deep dive on what it takes
to thrive in the professional game, sharing how she's constantly
evolving both on and off the court. She opens up
about the major adjustments she's made since leaving college. Playing
next to Caitlyn Clark at Iowa, not just to the
rigorous WNBA schedule, but also to her own mindset. We
(01:32):
talk about the unexpected challenges of playing a lot of
games in a short period of time and how the
chaotic travel schedule has forced her to quickly become a
student of her own body. Kate talks about dedicating her
off season to intentional growth and admitted that she's still
trying to figure out who she wants.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
To be as professional player.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
She shares some really inspiring takeaways from her devastating acl
teir in college and told me that despite it being
outsolutely misroll, she wouldn't have changed the thing because that
experience taught her how to be a cheerleader before anything else. Lastly,
she highlights the tools in her toolbox, ranging from recovery
(02:12):
techniques to drip drop hydration that help her feel her
best day after day.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Love this Combo again, Still on such.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
A high from the season twenty premiere, the iHeart Women's
Sports News, we are in the groove. Make sure you're
following along with Hurdle over on social It's over at
Hurdle Podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
You can check out.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
iHeart Woman's Sports as well as me over at Emily
A Body. Listen to Hurdle with Emily Body on the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
With that, let's get to it. Let's get to hurdling today.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
I am sitting down with Kate Martin. She's a pro
for THEMBA. How are we doing today, Kate, Welcome to Hurdle.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Thanks for having me. I'm great.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
How are you? I'm so good. I'm so excited to
have you.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
The first thing that I do every episode is to
take a deep breath and I ask you, how are
you doing?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Really?
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I'm actually really great. I really am so Yeah, just
been living life, enjoying the off season. Spent a lot
of time with family, so enjoying these moments for sure.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
What does the off season look like for you right
now and your enjoyment?
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yeah, honestly, I went on vacation for a little bit,
which was lovely, went home and spent time with my nephews,
my sister, my parents, my brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, you know,
really soaked in that quality time and then just working
out during all of that and getting better in the
(03:54):
off season. That's enjoyment for me, honestly, and then just relaxing,
like taking my downtime as my downtime, and yeah, like
doing fun I don't know, fun things, going to different restaurants,
exploring a little bit the Bay Area, and that's my
kind of fun. I guess you know what's so interesting.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I talk to a lot of athletes and they tell
me that they're quote unquote not good at relaxing. Are
you this person or are you fully embracing this time to
like be a little bit down.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
I think I'm a little bit in between. When I
was home, I definitely was doing everything that I possibly could,
feel like I make up for lost time because I'm
not home often. But then like being back in San Francisco,
like I can enjoy and just sit on the couch
for a few hours and RelA and relax. That's what's
(04:46):
nice about living alone, honestly. But I'm definitely an in
betweener for.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
That, an in between r and in between her being
good at relaxing and then going all in.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
You're two in the w down.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
How are you feeling looking forward ahead to unrivaled and
what will be your three?
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yeah? I mean definitely learned a lot in my first season,
learned a lot in my second season both looked a
lot different, and just going to take all of that
knowledge into my off season and getting better at the
things that I wasn't so great at this past year,
and then refining the skills that I was good at
(05:26):
and just continuing to grow with that and take that
into Unrivaled, and of course I'll learn even more about
my game, you know, and Unrivaled. And I think that's
something I'm realizing, is like, I'm still learning my game.
I'm only two years in and I, you know, hope
to have a very long career in the WNBA, and
so just figuring out, you know, what I am really
(05:47):
good at and what things I need to be better
about and learn that now while I'm still young and
you know, hopefully I'll have just a long and great career.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Then Yeah, I mean, the frequency in which you play
in the w is just so much different than what
happened at IOWA.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Talk to me about how that.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Adjustment was for you over the last two years, and
maybe the adjustments that you've made so that you can
keep showing up and playing your best with this busier schedule.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Yeah, I would definitely say, like I didn't really know
how to handle it in my rookie year, just with
all of the travel, I didn't like expect that. I
guess it's just you fly from one place to the next.
Maybe you go home for a day and then you're
flying somewhere else or whatever. And so I think this
year I definitely learned better tactics of how to keep
(06:38):
my body like ready to go and feeling better and
just like using like stem machines or you know, on
the plane, or just really hydrating, Like I literally drank
a drip drop every single flight because I would get
so dehydrated and not like just little things like that
really helped me. And then as soon as I got
(07:00):
off the plane, like going straight into the weight room
and like moving my body so I'm not so stiff,
Like mobility has been a huge thing for me. And
so just like learning just little tweaks like that honestly
has been super beneficial for me. And I'm sure even
next year, at the end of the season, I'll be like, oh,
like I found something else that really helps my body
and makes me feel good and ready to go. And
so I think that's also kind of what's cool about
(07:24):
the season, you know, being so busy is like in
the moment, you can figure out changes, but even after
the season, you're like, oh, I could have done this better,
Like I'll be able to implement that next year, like
with unrivaled or whatever. So that I think that like
I don't know, maybe I'm weird, but that stuff's fun
for me.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I think it's cool.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
And it's really a testament to who you are as
an athlete, right having this mentality of Okay, it's not like,
oh I'm doing this so bad. It's like, Okay, maybe
I'm not optimizing in this way. How can I take
that information and learn how to be better?
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Yeah, And that's a great point is like with the
busy schedule, you kind of have to learn how to
optimize your time as best as you possibly can. Like
you might not be able to get on the court
every single day, but like when you are on the court,
like how are you working out? Like what are you
working on? And then like you might not be able
to get into the gym hotel with your weight trainer
(08:18):
like right away. So it's like in that time that
you get to like how are you going to like
maximize and like optimize that time in there? And that's
like huge with the busy schedule.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
And so you've said twice now I know that there
are some things that you want to work on or
that I need to work on.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
What would you say some of those things are?
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Yeah, like I think I kind of said this, but
like I still am just figuring out my game and
like who I want to be as like a professional
basketball player. And I think last year, not to get
into too many details, I think I, you know, kind
of lived and died by the three a little too much,
and like I am a good, smart basketball player where
I make good reads, I can get downhill, I'm strong
(09:00):
finishing around the rim, and so, like, you know, just
working on getting back to that, you know, kind of
having an attack first mindset, and then just continuing getting
better defensively, like if you can play defense, you can
play you know, and so, but then also just being
more consistent from the three point line. I didn't shoot
as well as I would have liked to this season
(09:20):
as to how I know I can shoot, and so
being able to shoot under fatigue and be consistent under
fatigue is something that I've really been working on right now,
which is hard but great because you can only work
on shooting under fatigue when you're fatigued, So you know,
it's a lot of running and trying to get in
shape right now, which I think will ultimately benefit me.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
You know, it's really cool to hear you say I
recognize that I can be better, and I genuinely want
to work on it. How have you gotten to this
place where you're not so hard on yourself when it
comes to the things that maybe aren't going as well
as you'd hoped Aka, like the three pointer, as you said,
I could have been bed better at shooting from the three,
(10:04):
I could have made more baskets.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Yeah, I would say that that is still work in
progress for sure. Like I definitely could sit here and
tell every single one of my teammates, don't be so
hard on yourself. Like negative self talk is terrible. It
does nothing, it benefits nothing, and then they're all go
out there and I will have negative self talk. You know.
(10:27):
I would just say, like, nobody's perfect, and I was
very fortunate to have such great teammates and such great
coaches around me who really believed in me and wanted
me to, you know, keep shooting even if I have
missed four or five in a row, and so having
that support system around me was very beneficial. But then
just knowing like I don't just like identify as a
(10:48):
basketball player, and I know just if I like if
I have a bad game or whatever, it doesn't define
who I am. And so just remembering that, but also
remembering like, this is the coolest job in the world,
and this is the best job in the world, and
so getting better at it is all I want to do.
You know, I eat, breathe, sleep, basketball, and so I
think that is you know, there's definitely a fine balance,
(11:10):
and I have not figured out the perfect balance yet,
but I definitely have gotten a lot better from my
younger years. For sure.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
I would be remiss if I didn't touch on this
reference to you kind of being the glue, like your
ability to hold a team together.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
You really stepped into that.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Role maybe more in year one, and then you stepped
up a little bit differently in year two.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
What does that glue role demand of you? Would you say?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I would say, like, really, what it means is just
like making sure everyone around you is good, you know,
trying to stay steady and you know, hold it together
for everybody. You know, being that like more calming presence.
I definitely would say I was more of that in college,
where people could come to me and I was gonna,
you know, be there for them no matter what. And
(12:00):
that's still me, like that's just who I am to
my core, still in the WNBA, but with a lot
of vets, Like when you're playing with Asia Wilson, Chelsea Great,
you know people like that. You know, it's not really
like you're I'm not being like this huge leader or anything,
but I am going to continue to be a great
teammate because that's just like, you know, what I value.
Wouldn't I wouldn't say it's the easiest role in the world,
(12:22):
but it's also just you know, checking in on everybody,
making sure everyone's good and just like putting others before you.
And I think that whenever I'm doing that, I feel
like I'm at my best, which ultimately helps me be
a better basketball player. When I'm feeling at my best,
it makes me play better. And so I kind of
found that to be my role and kind of ran
(12:43):
with it, and it's just kind of been my identity
I guess since then.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Yeah, makes you feel your best, but also ever gets exhausting.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Question mark, I.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Would I would say yes, as like any job could,
you know, like I think you're body can go on
for days and days, but mental fatigue is real, and
so like you know, leaning on the people around you,
like I lean on my family a lot, my dad,
my mom, my sister, my brother, and you know, sometimes
(13:13):
just getting away from basketball, not even talking about basketball,
that can be a little bit of a mental break,
or just ranting to them too. You know, they've been
there for me every step with the way, and so
I would say that's kind of how I combat that
mental fatigue with it.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Would you say that your upbringing contributed to you wanting
to welcome stepping into a role like being the glue
so to speak?
Speaker 2 (13:38):
For sure?
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I mean I grew up around sports, like my dad
football coach, played football, My aunts and uncles all played
basketball or football, and then my aunt coaches at Iowa,
So I grew up around the women's basketball team there,
and I just wanted to be like my siblings and
they were such leaders, good leaders to me, and so
(14:00):
we just I would kudos to my parents for me
and both my siblings are very strong and independent and
that's just kind of how they raised us, which I
feel very grateful for. And so I've just kind of
always been like a natural like leader, you know, where
I've just always wanted to, you know, be the first
(14:21):
one to step up, or like the teacher would be
like can any strong boys carry these books? And I'd
be like, hey, what about me? You know, like right here?
You know. So it's funny, I don't know, just like
a silly story, but I think that's just kind of
always been in my DNA. And yeah, shout out to
my family and my parents for sure.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
And shout out to your experience then playing football yourself. Yes, yes,
I love the really you know flag twenty twenty eight la,
but I guess maybe we have some sights set on
something else.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, I guess, no, I know. And like there's so
many women's flag football leagues and I just think it's amazing.
It makes me so happy. And women's wrestling as well,
Like my high school has women's wrestling or girls wrestling now,
and I wish I would have had that when I
was in high school, and so it just makes me
really happy to see it growing.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
It's so crazy to think about that now because there
were just so many misconceptions about why young girls shouldn't
have opportunities to do these sports previously, and so to
see the change coming. I mean, I can only speak
for myself, but I'm sure you feel the same way.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
It's just so invigorated, it really is.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
It makes me so happy, and like I'm literally only
twenty five years old, but like the fact that I
didn't even get those opportunities, it's just like cool to
see in ten years how much it's it's grown, and
it just makes me so happy because you know, when
I raise my own children, I want them to be
able to have those opportunities to play flag football if
they want, or wrestle if they want. I if you know,
(15:56):
a boy can do it, I don't see why a
girl can't. Like I've never understood that, Like it didn't
make sense in my brain. When my I asked my
dad if I could play tackle football, He's like, you know,
that's not for girls. I'm like, why not? You know
that doesn't make sense. It did like I was eight
years nine years old. It didn't make sense to me,
and so it's just kind of funny, I guess that's
what I mean. Like it's just kind of been in
my DNA, like why not?
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Why not me? I love that?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
So, I mean, speaking of things that weren't really a thing,
you were really you know, coming up at Iowa when
I NIL was really becoming a big thing as well,
and that definitely played a part in your rise to
being known on top of your game, right that people
(16:39):
were getting to know who you were because of your
success as a player, and then also the exposure that
you were getting through different Nile opportunities.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Talk to me a little bit about how it felt.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
For you as the human you, as the young woman,
getting all of this attention from such a young.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Age actually folk really weird, and being honest, I was
lucky to be in while I was in college for
what felt like thirty years. So I was there pre NIL,
I was there pre COVID, during COVID, and then post
COVID when NIL was also a thing, so I kind
(17:18):
of got to see all sides, and it was it
was different. I definitely didn't take advantage my last two
years of college as much as I could have in
the NIL landscape. I've definitely benefited off of it as
a professional way more now. But yeah, it definitely felt
odd because you know, there can be jealousy in the
college landscape with it, you know, one person might be
(17:41):
making hundreds of thousands and one person on the end
of the bench might not be making any money. So
I think, like you can definitely see that on college teams,
and so I always wanted to like keep everybody feeling
good and every you know, everybody, you know, everyone matters
in our goal and like there's not one person that's
(18:03):
higher or you know, lower than another. And I think
coach Bluter did a great job in college of making
that known, but there could have been a lot of jealousy.
There wasn't on our team, but there could have been,
And so I didn't like that personally because I just
wanted everybody to just feel valued. But I also think
that in so many ways it's just amazing and that
(18:26):
we did deserve to benefit off of our name, image
and likeness. And I'm so happy that everybody is getting
the opportunity to do that now because there have been
so many people that I've played with who have done
so much for their university or so much for the
game of basketball, and we all deserve to benefit from
that because we've worked extremely hard to get there, and
(18:48):
so it's like a sometimes I'm like, oh, this is
just so weird, but sometimes I'm like, man, this is
amazing and this is what we deserve. And so yeah,
I definitely think there's like a little bit I'm like
in between sometimes with it.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
I mean, it's good to hear that you felt that
coach did a good job like kind of diffusing it,
especially considering who you were playing with. I think that
for so many from the outside looking in, they could
make so many assumptions of what it could have been
like to be playing alongside Caitlin as she was gaining
so much name recognition. Rightfully, So do you think that
(19:25):
it helped to have one another as you were navigating
the unknown that was the world learning who you were?
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, for sure. It Actually, I think is part of
the reason why we made it to Final fours is
because we didn't listen to outside noise, We didn't care
about other people's opinion, and whenever all of that stuff
and all of the quote unquote fame was rising and
all of the tension we were getting, we knew that
we needed each other that much more and we didn't
(19:56):
want anything to break our circle. And so that was
really our mindset, and whenever you have that where nothing,
no outside noise, no outside opinions can break our circle,
then we just had that great chemistry and we just
stayed together. And I think it's a testament to coach
Blueter and the coaching staff, but also to the girls
that I was playing with, and then the reason why
(20:19):
we won a lot of games. There was a lot
of love in that circle, for sure.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
I read up that you liked to like completely get
off of social media when the pressure was really on.
Talk to me about that decision and how you think
that actually helped you mentally and your game.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Yeah, there was the twenty twenty three season. I deleted
social media for the whole year. It was like seven months,
and I loved it. I read so many books and
it was just nice. I didn't see what was going on.
It was honestly refreshing. You see a lot of negative,
a lot of people's opinions that do not matter. I
(20:57):
deleted it for a little bit this season too, for
a couple months, and it's just sometimes good to just
get a little break and not see so much negative,
see so much hate. And there's a lot of benefits
to social media and a lot of great things, but
there can be a lot of negative comments and remarks
that just don't benefit any human beings. So I always
(21:18):
think it's refreshing to get off of it for a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
I appreciated what you said before about really wanting to
support your circle and show up for each other, and
that's actually a really big.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Part of your draft day story.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
I love talk a little bit about this because here
you are just in New York thinking you're here to support.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Caitlyn, and you have quite the day yourself.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Tell me about the vibe surrounding that day where your
head was at, and so for yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
We had all decided we were going to pack nice
outfits to go to the draft and support Caitlin, and
so I just like, yeah, just whatever, We're like a
decently nice out And I remember.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Would you have changed your outfit if you projected.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Yes, of course I would have.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Called from the closet, right, Yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Would have tried to like, I don't know, look a
little cooler. But whatever it is, it just adds on
to the lore.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Uh so good.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
But Caitlin's agent, who is now my agent at the time,
was like, hey, like, if you hear your name called,
like you should go walk up on the stage, and
like every mock draft I had seen, it was like
late third round, and so I was like, no, I'm
not doing the pity walk across the stage, like that's
so embarrassing, which in reality, like I would have told
(22:40):
anybody else to do that, that's so cool, but like
for me, I was like, uh no, you know, we
actually rode the subway to the draft, so like I
rode the subway in New York City to the draft,
was with Jada and Gabby and middle of the second round,
you know, there's a camera on me like pick like
teen or sixteen, and I'm like, oh my god, Like
(23:02):
am I about to get picked? Somebody had just come
over and was like you need to move to the
outside right now, and I was like what is happening?
And like Gabby and Jada are already crying and they're like,
oh my god, Like I stopped. So I had just
texted my family and said, hey, I think I'm about
to get drafted, and they were having a watch party
at my cousin's house. And so then pick eighteen came
(23:24):
and the camera's right in front of my face, and
that's why. I Like, everybody's like, you didn't look surprised.
I'm like, well, it's hard to look surprised when there's
a camera five feet in front of your face. So yeah,
but that was a dream come true. And I just
feel really grateful for Vegas and coach Hammond for giving
me that opportunity. And yeah, it's cool what's changed in
(23:45):
two years, But excited for the rest of my career.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
What's changed in two years, Kate? Besides obviously geography.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Geography for sure, I feel like, you know, really learning
from the vets that I was around, like how you
approach workouts, you know, the mental side to it. I
feel like, really this year I've been more focused on
like my recovery and how I fuel my body, just
(24:35):
figuring out like what works for me, what makes my
body feel the best, what makes me feel ready to
perform at the highest level that I can. And so
I'm still figuring that out and just learning and growing
on that has been like a big journey the last
couple of years being in the league.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Yeah, I mean, so admirable and obviously so many tools
in the toolbox. If you have to highlight a few
things that are kind of non negotiables for you. Right now,
when you think about wellness routine, how you take care
of you, what comes to mine.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, I would definitely say fueling my body, whether it
comes to food or hydration. I am a very simple girl.
I just eat the same foods every single day. I
do not straight away. I know what I like and
that's okay with me. So I just always have eggs
and rice in the morning. During my workout, I have
(25:31):
a drip drop and water every single day. And for lunch,
I'll eat whatever is provided, typically a chicken breast or
like a Caesar salad, you know, like a salad with chicken.
And then for dinner I make chicken, rice and broccoli
pretty much every night every night. It's a chef right though.
(25:53):
I but seriously, I have been trying not to eat
out as much and that has made like a huge difference.
I used to to just order food all the time,
but really like focusing on my hydration drip drop has
really benefited me making sure I'm good during my workouts
and afterwards. And then yeah, just honestly, if people could
(26:17):
cut out eating out, and it's also so expensive in
San Francisco, not to knock but boy, I have been
saving some money.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Wait, do you have a favorite San Francisco rac I mean,
I don't want to. I want to ask you this
is I want your rack, but I don't know if
I want like the world to show up at your restaurant.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
But can you tell us what the what the spot is?
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Yeah, I'm I'm obsessed with Bluestone Cafe just at Okay. Yeah,
it's just a little cafe. I love the breakfast. I
haven't even been since I've been back in San Francisco
because I literally used to go every single day, and
I swear it it did not help me in the
fitness category.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
It ain't it.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
It ain't it.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
It's so good though, it's so good when you reflect
on the last two years. We're talking about, you know,
different wellness habits that help you feel your best. But
what would you say the most difficult part has been
for you in your last two years in the league.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Yeah, I would say like the time management and not
like maybe like preparing meals beforehand or you know, just
doing something that's convenient and so just like eat going
and like picking up food. You know that might not
always be like it's not always necessarily unhealthy, but still
eating you know, clean foods at home is definitely more
(27:34):
beneficial for me. So that has been something that I
have definitely had to you know, hone in on. And
then recovery is something that's just huge that the WNBA,
like our teams, our team here with the Valkyries, really
really emphasizes, and so just figuring out like what recovery
(27:55):
methods like I really like I love the cold tub,
you know, all sauna, But like, mobility has been huge
for me, just trying to really work on my hit mobility.
If I'm being honest, just like it's just kind of
like the segue to like all of my like, if
I'm having me pains, it's probably because my you know,
quads are super duper tight. And so that has been
(28:18):
really big for me because I used to just be
I'm not gonna warm up, I'll just go out there,
I'll be fine. But that is not how it works anymore.
And so I would definitely say that's a big thing
that I've had to focus on.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
I hear that.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
I mean, I'm in my thirties, and it's a lot
different as you get older, for sure, just by being
a professional athlete over here. I know that you yourself
are also super familiar with injury. It's something that you
really navigated pretty gnarly stuff in college.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Talk to me about how.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Those difficult moments having to take a backseat to doing
what you love have helped you have more appreciation for
what you get to do today.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Yeah, I would definitely say it was like the best
that's happened to me. Humbled me a lot. When you
go through injury, you have to set out take a
backseat to what you love. It first of all, teaches
you empathy for your teammates who have ever gone through that.
Teaches you, you know, how to support any of your
(29:20):
teammates if they ever go through that, which you never
ever would wish that upon anybody. But it really taught
me how to be a good teammate first and to
cheer for others. I think, you know, coming out of
high school going into college, you kind of think you're,
you know, the top dog, you were the best in
high school, and then you go to college and it's
like I went through that injury and I really got
(29:42):
to watch the older players in front of me and
see how they spoke to their teammates. And then like
I've really just took that mindset of being super positive,
cheering everybody else on being the number one cheerleader, and
then it just kind of stuck with me because, Yeah,
I just realized, Like when I was cheering for one
(30:03):
of my teammates and I just kept telling her she
was the best at this specific thing. And I remember
she was a senior, I was a freshman. She came
up to me one time and just told me like, hey,
like I really appreciate that, Like it makes me feel
really good, you know, and like she didn't have to
say that, and I didn't even realize I was doing it.
And then I just, you know, same thing for me,
like when I'm feeling like confident, you know, I'm gonna
(30:24):
give my best effort and I'm going to play probably
my best and so really embracing that and continuing that.
And that's kind of what I've learned from going through injuries,
how to be a cheerleader before anything else.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Yeah, I mean, tearing your acl and lateralminiscus isn't an
easy thing to go through. It is so refreshing and
really beautiful to hear your takeaways from that because so
many people could go through a moment like that and
really fall into that victim mindset. Would you say that
(30:57):
there were points where you experienced the vicar the mindset
and if so, how are you able to pull yourself
out of that?
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Yeah? Yeah, definitely. I mean I think going through injury,
there's gonna be highs and lows. There's gonna be plateaus,
like you're going to go through a range of emotions,
and just like knowing that it's just one day at
a time, you know, you have to really just focus
on the journey and the process over the results right away,
because it is just a journey. And like it took
(31:24):
me probably a full two years to even feel mentally
like healthy and to mentally come back from that getting
knocked down a few times in a few games and
realizing like, oh I got back up and my knee
is fine. You know. So that's a side that people
might not talk about as much, is the mental comeback
from that. And yeah, so I would say if anybody's
(31:45):
going through injury, like stick with it, you know, find
the positives and every single day and if you have
a bad day, that's okay too, because you're gonna have
bad days. And if you plateau for a little bit.
That's all right, because you're going to eventually, you know,
start trending upwards if you he continued to do the
right things and take care of your body. And you know,
I've seen so many teammates unfortunately go through injury and
(32:08):
it's it's not all sunshine and rainbows. You know, there's
gonna be hard days, especially whenever you can't play the
game that you love. Like that's hard in itself. So yeah,
I would definitely say just got through it with a
lot of support as well.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
This circles me back to this concept of playing more
regularly in the WANBA because although not injury like you
do then experience more loss. Right, how did you learn
how to deal with losing more as a professional?
Speaker 2 (32:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (32:37):
I remember in Vegas last year and we had lost
a few games, and like people were so positive, and
I was just like, man, I like talk to one
of my teammates I can't remember who, and she's like,
it's a long season. We play tomorrow and I was like,
oh yeah, She's like, you got to move on. And
I think, just like with that busy schedule, you cannot
(32:58):
linger in the past. You know, you have to have
that goldfish mentality, you know, short term, because you might
play the next day or you're gonna have practice tomorrow,
and so you cannot dwell on the past, and you
really just got to keep pushing and looking forward.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Looking forward.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
You've also, in addition to being the glue back in college,
you've been called an underdog.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
What do you think about that, Kate?
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Yeah, I think it like it is what it is,
Like I.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
How you really feel?
Speaker 1 (33:27):
No, I like it doesn't. It does not bother me
at all. I mean, I guess I would rather just like,
if people are going to call me an underdog, then
I'll just exceed people's expectations, you know, when I do
something well. So I think I've won and done a
lot of great things at every single level. You know,
I am, you know, kind of an underdog. Like people
(33:48):
have always looked past me, looked over me my whole life.
And that's fine with me because people's opinions don't bother
me and it's not going to change who I am,
And so it is what it is.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
What do you want people to see when they look
at you?
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Yeah, I think that's a great question. Really, Like obviously
I want people to see a good basketball player. Like
that's like, I am a basketball player. That's my profession.
That's what like I've like, you know, always love basketball,
and like I will continue to love basketball. Like I
want people to be like dang, like she can play,
you know, but I also want people to see like
a good person who cares about her teammates and who
(34:25):
is a lot more than just a basketball player.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
I mean I usually hold this specific question for the end,
but I'm going to loop it in here. So many
people do look at you on social something like over
five hundred thousand followers keeping up with you, seeing this
player for the Valkyries. But when you look in the mirror, key,
what is it that you see looking back at you?
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Yeah, I see a sister, I see a daughter, I
see a friend, a teammate, I see an aunt. You know,
I have a lot of amazing things in my life,
but I also see a basketball player. You know, Like
basketball isn't my identity, but like it is a lot
of who I am, and basketball has taught me so
(35:08):
many amazing things. And so you know, I can't sit
here and be like, oh, I'm so much more than
a basketball player. I know I am, but like at
the same time, like this is like all I've ever wanted.
I care about how well I play, I care about
being good, and like these things are important to me,
and that's just how it is, and that's how it
(35:29):
always will be for the rest of my life. Yeah,
And I just want to be the best in every
single category that I can be. I want to be
a great sister, I want to be a great daughter,
I want to be a great friend, teammate, I want
to be a great basketball player. And so putting myself
in the positions to help me grow and continue to
be great in all of those areas is, you know,
(35:50):
kind of my goals always, And that's what I see
when I look in the mirror, and that's okay with me.
You know.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
You say that you're hard on yourself Gate for sure.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Yeah, I don't think I would be here if I wasn't.
I don't think i'd be in this position if I wasn't.
And I think there's definitely a balance that I'm still
figuring out. But like a lot of professional athletes are
hard on themselves. And if you're just like, oh, it's okay,
I just went oh for nine, Like, I don't think
you'd be a professional athlete, you know.
Speaker 3 (36:22):
Yeah, yeah, I mean again, not a professional athlete in
any sense of the word over here. But recently I
ran a marathon and I didn't run it as fast
as I want to, Thank you. I didn't run it
as fast as I wanted to, despite like it being
a major accomplishment, and it took me a few days.
But then I was able to like zoom out and
be like, Yo, this is pretty dope, right, And so
(36:42):
for you, coming from someone who else can clearly be
quite hard on herself, does anything come to mind when
I ask you, like, when was the last time that
maybe you realized after a little while that you were
a little too hard on yourself?
Speaker 1 (36:56):
I mean this week? Yeah, yeah, like pretty much every day,
every day, you know, I guess, like even like the
national championship, Like we would have loved to have won
one of the national championships, But then like when we
zoom out and look at the big picture of all
of the lives we've touched, all of the you know,
(37:19):
cool things we got to experience with that, I think,
you know, second place was a pretty great accomplishment for us,
even though we would have loved to have been number one.
But even for example, like this week, just like first
week back working in San Francisco, and I've like, you know,
been working really hard while I'm home, and I've just
been shooting terribly and I'm just like, gosh, you know,
(37:41):
being negative. And then I told my teammates who are here,
I was like, Okay, tomorrow today which is today. Now,
I'm like, I'm going to be super positive and I'm
not going to say anything bad, you know, And I
was a little bit better, so it's progress. And then
I think about it at night and like, what, what
is that really benefiting? It's not benefiting anything, So that's
(38:04):
it's silly. And I wouldn't want my teammates to talk
to themselves like that. So it's always it's always funny
when you like zoom out and think like would I
ever talk to my teammates the way I talk to myself?
Absolutely not. So what's what's the point.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
So give me an example of like what the negative
language could look like.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
You're like, oh, I'm so scared to put this on display.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
Yeah, honestly, I can't really probably say everything that I think.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
They're so swearing in here.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Yeah, but just like, what are you doing like, you know,
doubting like that I'm even good enough to be in
the WNBA, things like that, Like that's so silly, all
because I missed four shots in a row. Like that's
just when you zoom out of it, you're like, oh wow,
that is very dramatic. That's what I think of myself.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
Something I do when I am going through moments where
I feel as though I'm missing all of the shots right,
is that I'll sit down and all write out a
ton of I AM statements that affirm me in like
what I know to be true.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
So if we're.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
Talking about like being a podcaster, I am someone that
has good conversations. I am someone who has a top
one hundred health in well on this podcast. I am
someone that has been a journalist for almost two decades. Like,
there are things that I can say out loud that
affirm me and remind me who the hell I am.
So right now, if I was to ask you to
(39:29):
tell me some I AM statements about who you are
as a basketball player.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
What would you say?
Speaker 1 (39:34):
Oh my gosh, I just want you to know this
is like my worst nightmare.
Speaker 2 (39:41):
Oh God, Like I've just talked about my feelings and like.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
Counseling. I'm in therapy. You Oh gosh, Okay, here we go.
I'll say a couple I am a smart basketball player.
I am good at making the right reads on the
basketball court. I am a hard worker, and I am
(40:09):
a person who really cares.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
Yeah, I'm hyped out because it's true. And then maybe
tomorrow when you go back into it and you were
a little bit better today, you're going to be shooting
tomorrow and you're like, I am someone that makes really
good reads.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Come on, let's go nothing about it for sure.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Talk to me a little bit about Unrivaled.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
It's kind of like what we were talking about, how
you went through such an interesting time period in college
pre COVID, post COVID, COVID, pre nil, post nil. Now
with Unrivaled and not just having the WNBA women's basketball
and women's sports as a whole is getting so much
more attention and eyes.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
How has Unrivaled been good for you? And what are
you looking forward to in the next year.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Yeah, I always say in my family jokes too, like
I'm like the luckiest personal live I just was born
at the perfect time. Like I just cannot believe it
because I am a home body, and so being able
to stay in the States and continue to play and
get better is something that is just amazing and I'm
so grateful for because it's just another cool place for
(41:29):
my family to be able to come visit, which they love.
And I'm grateful that I have a family who wants
to come visit me and see me and all these
cool things that I get to do, and so that
right there, being able to stay in the States is huge.
But then just like working on a different aspect of
my game, like the three on three styles, a lot
of one on one defense and there's not a lot
(41:50):
of help side. You can't really hide your errors in
three on three, and also a lot of offensively, like
a lot of ball screen reads, and working on my
ball handling is something that I've just really always wanted
to need it to get better at and continuing to
get better at, and so three on three is a
lot of that, and so and it's a lot of
(42:12):
ballscreen defense on the other end, and that's like something
I can always and everyone, well, there's a lot of
great defenders, but I can always get better at and
so just it's really benefit of my game, and I'm
excited for another year of that. And it's also nice
to kind of get out of the five on five
format and just like play something different. You know, sometimes
(42:33):
if you're playing for twelve months of the year, like
you can get burnt out a little bit, and so
it's fun to have a little different variation of basketball
while continuing to get better a.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
Little different variation.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
I love the way that you talk about like working
on your skills as an opportunity. I love the way
you talk about your family, and I also know that
you're very passionate about the opportunity to give back, which
goes hand in hand with you being a part of
athletics Power of She collective.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
Where were you when you.
Speaker 3 (43:03):
Got the call that this was something that could happen
for you And how did it make you feel?
Speaker 1 (43:08):
It made me feel amazing. First of all, I just
align with their brand and what they stand for so much,
and I feel grateful that I've gotten the opportunity to
work with them, because you know, not a lot of
people get that opportunity. And then for a brand to
really just like uplift women and have the power of She,
(43:30):
you know, and be represented by so many great women.
Simone Biles Lexihole, Katie Ledecki, you know, and the list
goes on and on, and so I think that's just
something super cool where I, you know, get a lot
of benefits working with Athleta, but also it's like I
am not just saying yes to something just because I
think it's cool, but it's like, oh, I really align
(43:52):
with everything that they believe in, and like it really
reflects like how I feel as well. And so that's
that's something super cool. And I remember when, you know,
my agent said this and I was like, oh my god,
like this is really cool. Like I had to act
like like I wasn't too excited, you know, keep them
on their toes a little. But it's just been a
(44:13):
really great partnership and the fact that they're based here
in San Francisco too. Literally the Athletic store is a
couple of blocks away from me, and so I hop
in there and talk to them quite often or get
me clothes and yeah, so it's really special.
Speaker 3 (44:28):
It's really cool because I think there's no two ways
about it, Like you're obviously a girls girl, and so
to be someone that's so supportive of other people, it
like it it makes so much sense, which I don't
feel like you get to say very often when we
think about you know, like different partnerships and different opportunities.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
Yeah. Yeah, And I love that. It's like a you know,
like Athleta isn't a huge, huge brand, like we're we're
going that way, you know. But it's also like it
makes it feel so like special and you know, and
it's not just something like I'm just saying yes to
this because i think it's just gonna be cool and
(45:08):
I'll get like free stuff or whatever. It's like no,
like they really like talk the talk and walk the walk,
like they really invest in women and they give back
to the community, and that's something that is really really special.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
What are you looking forward to you now, Kate?
Speaker 1 (45:25):
What am I looking forward to now? In life? In basketball?
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Whatever you want, my girl, the world is your oyster.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
The world is my oyster. That's what I'm looking forward to.
I think I'm really looking forward to this upcoming unrivaled season,
you know, being able to just continue working on the
skills that I've been working on this off season. Really
looking forward to next year's WNBA season, interested to see
what's going to happen. It's going to be a really
(45:52):
interesting off season in the WNBA, and I'm looking forward
to spending the holidays with my family, and I love
any time with my nephews, And you know, those are
moments that I really cherish during my off season because
when I'm in the WNBA season, I don't get to
come home and unrivaled. I won't be able to either.
So looking forward just to quality time with the people
(46:13):
I love and care about and looking forward to playing basketball.
That's you know, I actually couldn't have scripted this up
any better myself, you know, any better myself. This is
just you know, I really am living out my dream.
Speaker 3 (46:27):
It's so awesome for someone that hears this from you,
that has a dream that they're aspiring to. Obviously, hard
work is a big piece to the puzzle. But when
you think about offering advice to someone that wants to
chase one of theirs, whether it is athletically related or not,
what comes to mind for you?
Speaker 2 (46:44):
Kate?
Speaker 1 (46:45):
Don't doubt yourself? Why not? You? You know it? Really,
if you put your mind to anything like you can,
you can go get it. Find people around you that
have the same vision as you. Don't be hanging around
a crowd that doesn't you know, align with you morally
or have the same goals and vision that you do,
because you know, you really are who you surround yourself with.
(47:08):
And so I think surrounding yourself with people who are
like minded, who are driven, who have goals, I think
that's super important and something I've always done my whole life,
and it makes a difference. And so if you're around
the wrong crowd, they'll only bring you down. And so
I think that's something that is really huge whenever you're
(47:30):
trying to reach goals.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
When you got immersed into the WNBA, you obviously had
the opportunity to play alongside some of the best to
ever do it. Was there any bit of starstruckness with
that playing with the people that you looked up to
since you were young in the game yourself?
Speaker 1 (47:48):
For sure, it's like impossible not to like let that
hit you. It's like a pinch me moment.
Speaker 2 (47:54):
I mean, like going on Supbirds podcast.
Speaker 1 (47:57):
I know it, it really is. It really is crazy.
I've yeah, Like I said, my family always jokes that
I was just born at the perfect time. I've just
gotten to meet some really cool people and have gotten
to do some really really cool things. And I am
forever grateful for basketball for taking me to the most
(48:18):
amazing places and meeting some amazing people. But yeah, like
I've gotten to play with some of the best in
the world, and I've gotten you know, coached by some
of the best in the world, and I feel very
grateful for that. I've learned a lot, and I you know,
I just want to, you know, hopefully one day, you know,
(48:41):
when I'm old and retiring, somebody's like, man, I got
to play with Kate Martin. You know, that would be
cool to me, you know, so I kind of hope
that's what you know, will happen in like twenty years.
Speaker 3 (48:56):
We just got to keep working on flipping that negative
self top. Yeah, you're gonna be in it for the
long game.
Speaker 1 (49:01):
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (49:02):
Well, I'm so happy that we were able to sit
down today before I let you go. Right now, Kate,
you have an opportunity to offer yourself a piece of advice.
Let's go back to that Hurtle moment when you were
working through all of the mental difficulties that went hand
in hand with those rough injuries back in college.
Speaker 2 (49:18):
Right now, knowing what you know now.
Speaker 3 (49:21):
What advice would you give to your younger self during
that hurdle moment.
Speaker 1 (49:25):
Man, Honestly, I don't think I would change anything. I would.
My only advice is just saying positive, you know, leaning
on the people that you know are around you and
care about you. And I'm just going to keep it
at that because really, like, I would not change a
single thing of how I handled any of that, because
(49:46):
it's just kind of made me into who I am today.
So stay positive, stay the course, and lean on the
people around you.
Speaker 3 (49:53):
Lean on the people around you, keep Martin so happy
we were able to do this. For those that aren't
following along with you just yet, give me the info.
Where can they find you online? How they keep up
with you?
Speaker 2 (50:03):
What's up?
Speaker 1 (50:04):
Oh god, social media?
Speaker 2 (50:07):
I guess you're like, I have to send them to
my Instagram.
Speaker 1 (50:11):
Instagram, TikTok, yeah, all the goodness.
Speaker 3 (50:16):
Yeah, So there, I guess I'm over at Emily Body
at Hurdle Podcast, Another hurdle conquered.
Speaker 2 (50:24):
Catch you guys next time,
Don't doubt yourself. Why not you? You know, really, if
you put your mind to anything like you can, you
can go get it.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
What's going on? Everyone? Emily A body here? You are
listening to Curdle.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
A show that dies into the true stories and mindset
secrets of the most inspiring women in sport and wellness.
What an incredible week of awesomeness for the show with
the launch on the Iheartwoman's Sports Network. Thank you to
all of you for your support for re sharing and
commenting and uh oh gosh, just spreading the good word
(00:48):
that is Hurdle.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I would not be able to.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Conquer any of these on my own without you. This week,
I am so amped to bring you my conversation with
the One, the Only, Kate Martin. She's a WNBA player
for the Golden State Valkyrie. She's also playing in the
upcoming second season of Unrivaled. In our conversation today, Kate
(01:11):
takes us on a deep dive on what it takes
to thrive in the professional game, sharing how she's constantly
evolving both on and off the court. She opens up
about the major adjustments she's made since leaving college. Playing
next to Caitlyn Clark at Iowa, not just to the
rigorous WNBA schedule, but also to her own mindset. We
(01:32):
talk about the unexpected challenges of playing a lot of
games in a short period of time and how the
chaotic travel schedule has forced her to quickly become a
student of her own body. Kate talks about dedicating her
off season to intentional growth and admitted that she's still
trying to figure out who she wants.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
To be as professional player.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
She shares some really inspiring takeaways from her devastating acl
teir in college and told me that despite it being
outsolutely misroll, she wouldn't have changed the thing because that
experience taught her how to be a cheerleader before anything else. Lastly,
she highlights the tools in her toolbox, ranging from recovery
(02:12):
techniques to drip drop hydration that help her feel her
best day after day.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Love this Combo again, Still on such.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
A high from the season twenty premiere, the iHeart Women's
Sports News, we are in the groove. Make sure you're
following along with Hurdle over on social It's over at
Hurdle Podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
You can check out.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
iHeart Woman's Sports as well as me over at Emily
A Body. Listen to Hurdle with Emily Body on the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
With that, let's get to it. Let's get to hurdling today.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
I am sitting down with Kate Martin. She's a pro
for THEMBA. How are we doing today, Kate, Welcome to Hurdle.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Thanks for having me. I'm great.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
How are you? I'm so good. I'm so excited to
have you.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
The first thing that I do every episode is to
take a deep breath and I ask you, how are
you doing?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Really?
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I'm actually really great. I really am so Yeah, just
been living life, enjoying the off season. Spent a lot
of time with family, so enjoying these moments for sure.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
What does the off season look like for you right
now and your enjoyment?
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yeah, honestly, I went on vacation for a little bit,
which was lovely, went home and spent time with my nephews,
my sister, my parents, my brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, you know,
really soaked in that quality time and then just working
out during all of that and getting better in the
(03:54):
off season. That's enjoyment for me, honestly, and then just relaxing,
like taking my downtime as my downtime, and yeah, like
doing fun I don't know, fun things, going to different restaurants,
exploring a little bit the Bay Area, and that's my
kind of fun. I guess you know what's so interesting.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I talk to a lot of athletes and they tell
me that they're quote unquote not good at relaxing. Are
you this person or are you fully embracing this time to
like be a little bit down.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
I think I'm a little bit in between. When I
was home, I definitely was doing everything that I possibly could,
feel like I make up for lost time because I'm
not home often. But then like being back in San Francisco,
like I can enjoy and just sit on the couch
for a few hours and RelA and relax. That's what's
(04:46):
nice about living alone, honestly. But I'm definitely an in
betweener for.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
That, an in between r and in between her being
good at relaxing and then going all in.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
You're two in the w down.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
How are you feeling looking forward ahead to unrivaled and
what will be your three?
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yeah? I mean definitely learned a lot in my first season,
learned a lot in my second season both looked a
lot different, and just going to take all of that
knowledge into my off season and getting better at the
things that I wasn't so great at this past year,
and then refining the skills that I was good at
(05:26):
and just continuing to grow with that and take that
into Unrivaled, and of course I'll learn even more about
my game, you know, and Unrivaled. And I think that's
something I'm realizing, is like, I'm still learning my game.
I'm only two years in and I, you know, hope
to have a very long career in the WNBA, and
so just figuring out, you know, what I am really
(05:47):
good at and what things I need to be better
about and learn that now while I'm still young and
you know, hopefully I'll have just a long and great career.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Then Yeah, I mean, the frequency in which you play
in the w is just so much different than what
happened at IOWA.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Talk to me about how that.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Adjustment was for you over the last two years, and
maybe the adjustments that you've made so that you can
keep showing up and playing your best with this busier schedule.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Yeah, I would definitely say, like I didn't really know
how to handle it in my rookie year, just with
all of the travel, I didn't like expect that. I
guess it's just you fly from one place to the next.
Maybe you go home for a day and then you're
flying somewhere else or whatever. And so I think this
year I definitely learned better tactics of how to keep
(06:38):
my body like ready to go and feeling better and
just like using like stem machines or you know, on
the plane, or just really hydrating, Like I literally drank
a drip drop every single flight because I would get
so dehydrated and not like just little things like that
really helped me. And then as soon as I got
(07:00):
off the plane, like going straight into the weight room
and like moving my body so I'm not so stiff,
Like mobility has been a huge thing for me. And
so just like learning just little tweaks like that honestly
has been super beneficial for me. And I'm sure even
next year, at the end of the season, I'll be like, oh,
like I found something else that really helps my body
and makes me feel good and ready to go. And
so I think that's also kind of what's cool about
(07:24):
the season, you know, being so busy is like in
the moment, you can figure out changes, but even after
the season, you're like, oh, I could have done this better,
Like I'll be able to implement that next year, like
with unrivaled or whatever. So that I think that like
I don't know, maybe I'm weird, but that stuff's fun
for me.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I think it's cool.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
And it's really a testament to who you are as
an athlete, right having this mentality of Okay, it's not like,
oh I'm doing this so bad. It's like, Okay, maybe
I'm not optimizing in this way. How can I take
that information and learn how to be better?
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Yeah, And that's a great point is like with the
busy schedule, you kind of have to learn how to
optimize your time as best as you possibly can. Like
you might not be able to get on the court
every single day, but like when you are on the court,
like how are you working out? Like what are you
working on? And then like you might not be able
to get into the gym hotel with your weight trainer
(08:18):
like right away. So it's like in that time that
you get to like how are you going to like
maximize and like optimize that time in there? And that's
like huge with the busy schedule.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
And so you've said twice now I know that there
are some things that you want to work on or
that I need to work on.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
What would you say some of those things are?
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Yeah, like I think I kind of said this, but
like I still am just figuring out my game and
like who I want to be as like a professional
basketball player. And I think last year, not to get
into too many details, I think I, you know, kind
of lived and died by the three a little too much,
and like I am a good, smart basketball player where
I make good reads, I can get downhill, I'm strong
(09:00):
finishing around the rim, and so, like, you know, just
working on getting back to that, you know, kind of
having an attack first mindset, and then just continuing getting
better defensively, like if you can play defense, you can
play you know, and so, but then also just being
more consistent from the three point line. I didn't shoot
as well as I would have liked to this season
(09:20):
as to how I know I can shoot, and so
being able to shoot under fatigue and be consistent under
fatigue is something that I've really been working on right now,
which is hard but great because you can only work
on shooting under fatigue when you're fatigued, So you know,
it's a lot of running and trying to get in
shape right now, which I think will ultimately benefit me.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
You know, it's really cool to hear you say I
recognize that I can be better, and I genuinely want
to work on it. How have you gotten to this
place where you're not so hard on yourself when it
comes to the things that maybe aren't going as well
as you'd hoped Aka, like the three pointer, as you said,
I could have been bed better at shooting from the three,
(10:04):
I could have made more baskets.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Yeah, I would say that that is still work in
progress for sure. Like I definitely could sit here and
tell every single one of my teammates, don't be so
hard on yourself. Like negative self talk is terrible. It
does nothing, it benefits nothing, and then they're all go
out there and I will have negative self talk. You know.
(10:27):
I would just say, like, nobody's perfect, and I was
very fortunate to have such great teammates and such great
coaches around me who really believed in me and wanted
me to, you know, keep shooting even if I have
missed four or five in a row, and so having
that support system around me was very beneficial. But then
just knowing like I don't just like identify as a
(10:48):
basketball player, and I know just if I like if
I have a bad game or whatever, it doesn't define
who I am. And so just remembering that, but also
remembering like, this is the coolest job in the world,
and this is the best job in the world, and
so getting better at it is all I want to do.
You know, I eat, breathe, sleep, basketball, and so I
think that is you know, there's definitely a fine balance,
(11:10):
and I have not figured out the perfect balance yet,
but I definitely have gotten a lot better from my
younger years. For sure.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
I would be remiss if I didn't touch on this
reference to you kind of being the glue, like your
ability to hold a team together.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
You really stepped into that.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Role maybe more in year one, and then you stepped
up a little bit differently in year two.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
What does that glue role demand of you? Would you say?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I would say, like, really, what it means is just
like making sure everyone around you is good, you know,
trying to stay steady and you know, hold it together
for everybody. You know, being that like more calming presence.
I definitely would say I was more of that in college,
where people could come to me and I was gonna,
you know, be there for them no matter what. And
(12:00):
that's still me, like that's just who I am to
my core, still in the WNBA, but with a lot
of vets, Like when you're playing with Asia Wilson, Chelsea Great,
you know people like that. You know, it's not really
like you're I'm not being like this huge leader or anything,
but I am going to continue to be a great
teammate because that's just like, you know, what I value.
Wouldn't I wouldn't say it's the easiest role in the world,
(12:22):
but it's also just you know, checking in on everybody,
making sure everyone's good and just like putting others before you.
And I think that whenever I'm doing that, I feel
like I'm at my best, which ultimately helps me be
a better basketball player. When I'm feeling at my best,
it makes me play better. And so I kind of
found that to be my role and kind of ran
(12:43):
with it, and it's just kind of been my identity
I guess since then.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Yeah, makes you feel your best, but also ever gets exhausting.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Question mark, I.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Would I would say yes, as like any job could,
you know, like I think you're body can go on
for days and days, but mental fatigue is real, and
so like you know, leaning on the people around you,
like I lean on my family a lot, my dad,
my mom, my sister, my brother, and you know, sometimes
(13:13):
just getting away from basketball, not even talking about basketball,
that can be a little bit of a mental break,
or just ranting to them too. You know, they've been
there for me every step with the way, and so
I would say that's kind of how I combat that
mental fatigue with it.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Would you say that your upbringing contributed to you wanting
to welcome stepping into a role like being the glue
so to speak?
Speaker 2 (13:38):
For sure?
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I mean I grew up around sports, like my dad
football coach, played football, My aunts and uncles all played
basketball or football, and then my aunt coaches at Iowa,
So I grew up around the women's basketball team there,
and I just wanted to be like my siblings and
they were such leaders, good leaders to me, and so
(14:00):
we just I would kudos to my parents for me
and both my siblings are very strong and independent and
that's just kind of how they raised us, which I
feel very grateful for. And so I've just kind of
always been like a natural like leader, you know, where
I've just always wanted to, you know, be the first
(14:21):
one to step up, or like the teacher would be
like can any strong boys carry these books? And I'd
be like, hey, what about me? You know, like right here?
You know. So it's funny, I don't know, just like
a silly story, but I think that's just kind of
always been in my DNA. And yeah, shout out to
my family and my parents for sure.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
And shout out to your experience then playing football yourself. Yes, yes,
I love the really you know flag twenty twenty eight la,
but I guess maybe we have some sights set on
something else.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, I guess, no, I know. And like there's so
many women's flag football leagues and I just think it's amazing.
It makes me so happy. And women's wrestling as well,
Like my high school has women's wrestling or girls wrestling now,
and I wish I would have had that when I
was in high school, and so it just makes me
really happy to see it growing.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
It's so crazy to think about that now because there
were just so many misconceptions about why young girls shouldn't
have opportunities to do these sports previously, and so to
see the change coming. I mean, I can only speak
for myself, but I'm sure you feel the same way.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
It's just so invigorated, it really is.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
It makes me so happy, and like I'm literally only
twenty five years old, but like the fact that I
didn't even get those opportunities, it's just like cool to
see in ten years how much it's it's grown, and
it just makes me so happy because you know, when
I raise my own children, I want them to be
able to have those opportunities to play flag football if
they want, or wrestle if they want. I if you know,
(15:56):
a boy can do it, I don't see why a
girl can't. Like I've never understood that, Like it didn't
make sense in my brain. When my I asked my
dad if I could play tackle football, He's like, you know,
that's not for girls. I'm like, why not? You know
that doesn't make sense. It did like I was eight
years nine years old. It didn't make sense to me,
and so it's just kind of funny, I guess that's
what I mean. Like it's just kind of been in
my DNA, like why not?
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Why not me? I love that?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
So, I mean, speaking of things that weren't really a thing,
you were really you know, coming up at Iowa when
I NIL was really becoming a big thing as well,
and that definitely played a part in your rise to
being known on top of your game, right that people
(16:39):
were getting to know who you were because of your
success as a player, and then also the exposure that
you were getting through different Nile opportunities.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Talk to me a little bit about how it felt.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
For you as the human you, as the young woman,
getting all of this attention from such a young.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Age actually folk really weird, and being honest, I was
lucky to be in while I was in college for
what felt like thirty years. So I was there pre NIL,
I was there pre COVID, during COVID, and then post
COVID when NIL was also a thing, so I kind
(17:18):
of got to see all sides, and it was it
was different. I definitely didn't take advantage my last two
years of college as much as I could have in
the NIL landscape. I've definitely benefited off of it as
a professional way more now. But yeah, it definitely felt
odd because you know, there can be jealousy in the
college landscape with it, you know, one person might be
(17:41):
making hundreds of thousands and one person on the end
of the bench might not be making any money. So
I think, like you can definitely see that on college teams,
and so I always wanted to like keep everybody feeling
good and every you know, everybody, you know, everyone matters
in our goal and like there's not one person that's
(18:03):
higher or you know, lower than another. And I think
coach Bluter did a great job in college of making
that known, but there could have been a lot of jealousy.
There wasn't on our team, but there could have been,
And so I didn't like that personally because I just
wanted everybody to just feel valued. But I also think
that in so many ways it's just amazing and that
(18:26):
we did deserve to benefit off of our name, image
and likeness. And I'm so happy that everybody is getting
the opportunity to do that now because there have been
so many people that I've played with who have done
so much for their university or so much for the
game of basketball, and we all deserve to benefit from
that because we've worked extremely hard to get there, and
(18:48):
so it's like a sometimes I'm like, oh, this is
just so weird, but sometimes I'm like, man, this is
amazing and this is what we deserve. And so yeah,
I definitely think there's like a little bit I'm like
in between sometimes with it.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
I mean, it's good to hear that you felt that
coach did a good job like kind of diffusing it,
especially considering who you were playing with. I think that
for so many from the outside looking in, they could
make so many assumptions of what it could have been
like to be playing alongside Caitlin as she was gaining
so much name recognition. Rightfully, So do you think that
(19:25):
it helped to have one another as you were navigating
the unknown that was the world learning who you were?
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, for sure. It Actually, I think is part of
the reason why we made it to Final fours is
because we didn't listen to outside noise, We didn't care
about other people's opinion, and whenever all of that stuff
and all of the quote unquote fame was rising and
all of the tension we were getting, we knew that
we needed each other that much more and we didn't
(19:56):
want anything to break our circle. And so that was
really our mindset, and whenever you have that where nothing,
no outside noise, no outside opinions can break our circle,
then we just had that great chemistry and we just
stayed together. And I think it's a testament to coach
Blueter and the coaching staff, but also to the girls
that I was playing with, and then the reason why
(20:19):
we won a lot of games. There was a lot
of love in that circle, for sure.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
I read up that you liked to like completely get
off of social media when the pressure was really on.
Talk to me about that decision and how you think
that actually helped you mentally and your game.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Yeah, there was the twenty twenty three season. I deleted
social media for the whole year. It was like seven months,
and I loved it. I read so many books and
it was just nice. I didn't see what was going on.
It was honestly refreshing. You see a lot of negative,
a lot of people's opinions that do not matter. I
(20:57):
deleted it for a little bit this season too, for
a couple months, and it's just sometimes good to just
get a little break and not see so much negative,
see so much hate. And there's a lot of benefits
to social media and a lot of great things, but
there can be a lot of negative comments and remarks
that just don't benefit any human beings. So I always
(21:18):
think it's refreshing to get off of it for a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
I appreciated what you said before about really wanting to
support your circle and show up for each other, and
that's actually a really big.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Part of your draft day story.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
I love talk a little bit about this because here
you are just in New York thinking you're here to support.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Caitlyn, and you have quite the day yourself.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Tell me about the vibe surrounding that day where your
head was at, and so for yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
We had all decided we were going to pack nice
outfits to go to the draft and support Caitlin, and
so I just like, yeah, just whatever, We're like a
decently nice out And I remember.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Would you have changed your outfit if you projected.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Yes, of course I would have.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Called from the closet, right, Yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Would have tried to like, I don't know, look a
little cooler. But whatever it is, it just adds on
to the lore.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Uh so good.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
But Caitlin's agent, who is now my agent at the time,
was like, hey, like, if you hear your name called,
like you should go walk up on the stage, and
like every mock draft I had seen, it was like
late third round, and so I was like, no, I'm
not doing the pity walk across the stage, like that's
so embarrassing, which in reality, like I would have told
(22:40):
anybody else to do that, that's so cool, but like
for me, I was like, uh no, you know, we
actually rode the subway to the draft, so like I
rode the subway in New York City to the draft,
was with Jada and Gabby and middle of the second round,
you know, there's a camera on me like pick like
teen or sixteen, and I'm like, oh my god, Like
(23:02):
am I about to get picked? Somebody had just come
over and was like you need to move to the
outside right now, and I was like what is happening?
And like Gabby and Jada are already crying and they're like,
oh my god, Like I stopped. So I had just
texted my family and said, hey, I think I'm about
to get drafted, and they were having a watch party
at my cousin's house. And so then pick eighteen came
(23:24):
and the camera's right in front of my face, and
that's why. I Like, everybody's like, you didn't look surprised.
I'm like, well, it's hard to look surprised when there's
a camera five feet in front of your face. So yeah,
but that was a dream come true. And I just
feel really grateful for Vegas and coach Hammond for giving
me that opportunity. And yeah, it's cool what's changed in
(23:45):
two years, But excited for the rest of my career.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
What's changed in two years, Kate? Besides obviously geography.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Geography for sure, I feel like, you know, really learning
from the vets that I was around, like how you
approach workouts, you know, the mental side to it. I
feel like, really this year I've been more focused on
like my recovery and how I fuel my body, just
(24:35):
figuring out like what works for me, what makes my
body feel the best, what makes me feel ready to
perform at the highest level that I can. And so
I'm still figuring that out and just learning and growing
on that has been like a big journey the last
couple of years being in the league.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Yeah, I mean, so admirable and obviously so many tools
in the toolbox. If you have to highlight a few
things that are kind of non negotiables for you. Right now,
when you think about wellness routine, how you take care
of you, what comes to mine.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, I would definitely say fueling my body, whether it
comes to food or hydration. I am a very simple girl.
I just eat the same foods every single day. I
do not straight away. I know what I like and
that's okay with me. So I just always have eggs
and rice in the morning. During my workout, I have
(25:31):
a drip drop and water every single day. And for lunch,
I'll eat whatever is provided, typically a chicken breast or
like a Caesar salad, you know, like a salad with chicken.
And then for dinner I make chicken, rice and broccoli
pretty much every night every night. It's a chef right though.
(25:53):
I but seriously, I have been trying not to eat
out as much and that has made like a huge difference.
I used to to just order food all the time,
but really like focusing on my hydration drip drop has
really benefited me making sure I'm good during my workouts
and afterwards. And then yeah, just honestly, if people could
(26:17):
cut out eating out, and it's also so expensive in
San Francisco, not to knock but boy, I have been
saving some money.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Wait, do you have a favorite San Francisco rac I mean,
I don't want to. I want to ask you this
is I want your rack, but I don't know if
I want like the world to show up at your restaurant.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
But can you tell us what the what the spot is?
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Yeah, I'm I'm obsessed with Bluestone Cafe just at Okay. Yeah,
it's just a little cafe. I love the breakfast. I
haven't even been since I've been back in San Francisco
because I literally used to go every single day, and
I swear it it did not help me in the
fitness category.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
It ain't it.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
It ain't it.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
It's so good though, it's so good when you reflect
on the last two years. We're talking about, you know,
different wellness habits that help you feel your best. But
what would you say the most difficult part has been
for you in your last two years in the league.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Yeah, I would say like the time management and not
like maybe like preparing meals beforehand or you know, just
doing something that's convenient and so just like eat going
and like picking up food. You know that might not
always be like it's not always necessarily unhealthy, but still
eating you know, clean foods at home is definitely more
(27:34):
beneficial for me. So that has been something that I
have definitely had to you know, hone in on. And
then recovery is something that's just huge that the WNBA,
like our teams, our team here with the Valkyries, really
really emphasizes, and so just figuring out like what recovery
(27:55):
methods like I really like I love the cold tub,
you know, all sauna, But like, mobility has been huge
for me, just trying to really work on my hit mobility.
If I'm being honest, just like it's just kind of
like the segue to like all of my like, if
I'm having me pains, it's probably because my you know,
quads are super duper tight. And so that has been
(28:18):
really big for me because I used to just be
I'm not gonna warm up, I'll just go out there,
I'll be fine. But that is not how it works anymore.
And so I would definitely say that's a big thing
that I've had to focus on.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
I hear that.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
I mean, I'm in my thirties, and it's a lot
different as you get older, for sure, just by being
a professional athlete over here. I know that you yourself
are also super familiar with injury. It's something that you
really navigated pretty gnarly stuff in college.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Talk to me about how.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Those difficult moments having to take a backseat to doing
what you love have helped you have more appreciation for
what you get to do today.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Yeah, I would definitely say it was like the best
that's happened to me. Humbled me a lot. When you
go through injury, you have to set out take a
backseat to what you love. It first of all, teaches
you empathy for your teammates who have ever gone through that.
Teaches you, you know, how to support any of your
(29:20):
teammates if they ever go through that, which you never
ever would wish that upon anybody. But it really taught
me how to be a good teammate first and to
cheer for others. I think, you know, coming out of
high school going into college, you kind of think you're,
you know, the top dog, you were the best in
high school, and then you go to college and it's
like I went through that injury and I really got
(29:42):
to watch the older players in front of me and
see how they spoke to their teammates. And then like
I've really just took that mindset of being super positive,
cheering everybody else on being the number one cheerleader, and
then it just kind of stuck with me because, Yeah,
I just realized, Like when I was cheering for one
(30:03):
of my teammates and I just kept telling her she
was the best at this specific thing. And I remember
she was a senior, I was a freshman. She came
up to me one time and just told me like, hey,
like I really appreciate that, Like it makes me feel
really good, you know, and like she didn't have to
say that, and I didn't even realize I was doing it.
And then I just, you know, same thing for me,
like when I'm feeling like confident, you know, I'm gonna
(30:24):
give my best effort and I'm going to play probably
my best and so really embracing that and continuing that.
And that's kind of what I've learned from going through injuries,
how to be a cheerleader before anything else.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Yeah, I mean, tearing your acl and lateralminiscus isn't an
easy thing to go through. It is so refreshing and
really beautiful to hear your takeaways from that because so
many people could go through a moment like that and
really fall into that victim mindset. Would you say that
(30:57):
there were points where you experienced the vicar the mindset
and if so, how are you able to pull yourself
out of that?
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Yeah? Yeah, definitely. I mean I think going through injury,
there's gonna be highs and lows. There's gonna be plateaus,
like you're going to go through a range of emotions,
and just like knowing that it's just one day at
a time, you know, you have to really just focus
on the journey and the process over the results right away,
because it is just a journey. And like it took
(31:24):
me probably a full two years to even feel mentally
like healthy and to mentally come back from that getting
knocked down a few times in a few games and
realizing like, oh I got back up and my knee
is fine. You know. So that's a side that people
might not talk about as much, is the mental comeback
from that. And yeah, so I would say if anybody's
(31:45):
going through injury, like stick with it, you know, find
the positives and every single day and if you have
a bad day, that's okay too, because you're gonna have
bad days. And if you plateau for a little bit.
That's all right, because you're going to eventually, you know,
start trending upwards if you he continued to do the
right things and take care of your body. And you know,
I've seen so many teammates unfortunately go through injury and
(32:08):
it's it's not all sunshine and rainbows. You know, there's
gonna be hard days, especially whenever you can't play the
game that you love. Like that's hard in itself. So yeah,
I would definitely say just got through it with a
lot of support as well.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
This circles me back to this concept of playing more
regularly in the WANBA because although not injury like you
do then experience more loss. Right, how did you learn
how to deal with losing more as a professional?
Speaker 2 (32:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (32:37):
I remember in Vegas last year and we had lost
a few games, and like people were so positive, and
I was just like, man, I like talk to one
of my teammates I can't remember who, and she's like,
it's a long season. We play tomorrow and I was like,
oh yeah, She's like, you got to move on. And
I think, just like with that busy schedule, you cannot
(32:58):
linger in the past. You know, you have to have
that goldfish mentality, you know, short term, because you might
play the next day or you're gonna have practice tomorrow,
and so you cannot dwell on the past, and you
really just got to keep pushing and looking forward.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Looking forward.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
You've also, in addition to being the glue back in college,
you've been called an underdog.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
What do you think about that, Kate?
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Yeah, I think it like it is what it is,
Like I.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
How you really feel?
Speaker 1 (33:27):
No, I like it doesn't. It does not bother me
at all. I mean, I guess I would rather just like,
if people are going to call me an underdog, then
I'll just exceed people's expectations, you know, when I do
something well. So I think I've won and done a
lot of great things at every single level. You know,
I am, you know, kind of an underdog. Like people
(33:48):
have always looked past me, looked over me my whole life.
And that's fine with me because people's opinions don't bother
me and it's not going to change who I am,
And so it is what it is.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
What do you want people to see when they look
at you?
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Yeah, I think that's a great question. Really, Like obviously
I want people to see a good basketball player. Like
that's like, I am a basketball player. That's my profession.
That's what like I've like, you know, always love basketball,
and like I will continue to love basketball. Like I
want people to be like dang, like she can play,
you know, but I also want people to see like
a good person who cares about her teammates and who
(34:25):
is a lot more than just a basketball player.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
I mean I usually hold this specific question for the end,
but I'm going to loop it in here. So many
people do look at you on social something like over
five hundred thousand followers keeping up with you, seeing this
player for the Valkyries. But when you look in the mirror, key,
what is it that you see looking back at you?
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Yeah, I see a sister, I see a daughter, I
see a friend, a teammate, I see an aunt. You know,
I have a lot of amazing things in my life,
but I also see a basketball player. You know, Like
basketball isn't my identity, but like it is a lot
of who I am, and basketball has taught me so
(35:08):
many amazing things. And so you know, I can't sit
here and be like, oh, I'm so much more than
a basketball player. I know I am, but like at
the same time, like this is like all I've ever wanted.
I care about how well I play, I care about
being good, and like these things are important to me,
and that's just how it is, and that's how it
(35:29):
always will be for the rest of my life. Yeah,
And I just want to be the best in every
single category that I can be. I want to be
a great sister, I want to be a great daughter,
I want to be a great friend, teammate, I want
to be a great basketball player. And so putting myself
in the positions to help me grow and continue to
be great in all of those areas is, you know,
(35:50):
kind of my goals always, And that's what I see
when I look in the mirror, and that's okay with me.
You know.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
You say that you're hard on yourself Gate for sure.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Yeah, I don't think I would be here if I wasn't.
I don't think i'd be in this position if I wasn't.
And I think there's definitely a balance that I'm still
figuring out. But like a lot of professional athletes are
hard on themselves. And if you're just like, oh, it's okay,
I just went oh for nine, Like, I don't think
you'd be a professional athlete, you know.
Speaker 3 (36:22):
Yeah, yeah, I mean again, not a professional athlete in
any sense of the word over here. But recently I
ran a marathon and I didn't run it as fast
as I want to, Thank you. I didn't run it
as fast as I wanted to, despite like it being
a major accomplishment, and it took me a few days.
But then I was able to like zoom out and
be like, Yo, this is pretty dope, right, And so
(36:42):
for you, coming from someone who else can clearly be
quite hard on herself, does anything come to mind when
I ask you, like, when was the last time that
maybe you realized after a little while that you were
a little too hard on yourself?
Speaker 1 (36:56):
I mean this week? Yeah, yeah, like pretty much every day,
every day, you know, I guess, like even like the
national championship, Like we would have loved to have won
one of the national championships, But then like when we
zoom out and look at the big picture of all
of the lives we've touched, all of the you know,
(37:19):
cool things we got to experience with that, I think,
you know, second place was a pretty great accomplishment for us,
even though we would have loved to have been number one.
But even for example, like this week, just like first
week back working in San Francisco, and I've like, you know,
been working really hard while I'm home, and I've just
been shooting terribly and I'm just like, gosh, you know,
(37:41):
being negative. And then I told my teammates who are here,
I was like, Okay, tomorrow today which is today. Now,
I'm like, I'm going to be super positive and I'm
not going to say anything bad, you know, And I
was a little bit better, so it's progress. And then
I think about it at night and like, what, what
is that really benefiting? It's not benefiting anything, So that's
(38:04):
it's silly. And I wouldn't want my teammates to talk
to themselves like that. So it's always it's always funny
when you like zoom out and think like would I
ever talk to my teammates the way I talk to myself?
Absolutely not. So what's what's the point.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
So give me an example of like what the negative
language could look like.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
You're like, oh, I'm so scared to put this on display.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
Yeah, honestly, I can't really probably say everything that I think.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
They're so swearing in here.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Yeah, but just like, what are you doing like, you know,
doubting like that I'm even good enough to be in
the WNBA, things like that, Like that's so silly, all
because I missed four shots in a row. Like that's
just when you zoom out of it, you're like, oh wow,
that is very dramatic. That's what I think of myself.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
Something I do when I am going through moments where
I feel as though I'm missing all of the shots right,
is that I'll sit down and all write out a
ton of I AM statements that affirm me in like
what I know to be true.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
So if we're.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
Talking about like being a podcaster, I am someone that
has good conversations. I am someone who has a top
one hundred health in well on this podcast. I am
someone that has been a journalist for almost two decades. Like,
there are things that I can say out loud that
affirm me and remind me who the hell I am.
So right now, if I was to ask you to
(39:29):
tell me some I AM statements about who you are
as a basketball player.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
What would you say?
Speaker 1 (39:34):
Oh my gosh, I just want you to know this
is like my worst nightmare.
Speaker 2 (39:41):
Oh God, Like I've just talked about my feelings and like.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
Counseling. I'm in therapy. You Oh gosh, Okay, here we go.
I'll say a couple I am a smart basketball player.
I am good at making the right reads on the
basketball court. I am a hard worker, and I am
(40:09):
a person who really cares.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
Yeah, I'm hyped out because it's true. And then maybe
tomorrow when you go back into it and you were
a little bit better today, you're going to be shooting
tomorrow and you're like, I am someone that makes really
good reads.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Come on, let's go nothing about it for sure.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Talk to me a little bit about Unrivaled.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
It's kind of like what we were talking about, how
you went through such an interesting time period in college
pre COVID, post COVID, COVID, pre nil, post nil. Now
with Unrivaled and not just having the WNBA women's basketball
and women's sports as a whole is getting so much
more attention and eyes.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
How has Unrivaled been good for you? And what are
you looking forward to in the next year.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Yeah, I always say in my family jokes too, like
I'm like the luckiest personal live I just was born
at the perfect time. Like I just cannot believe it
because I am a home body, and so being able
to stay in the States and continue to play and
get better is something that is just amazing and I'm
so grateful for because it's just another cool place for
(41:29):
my family to be able to come visit, which they love.
And I'm grateful that I have a family who wants
to come visit me and see me and all these
cool things that I get to do, and so that
right there, being able to stay in the States is huge.
But then just like working on a different aspect of
my game, like the three on three styles, a lot
of one on one defense and there's not a lot
(41:50):
of help side. You can't really hide your errors in
three on three, and also a lot of offensively, like
a lot of ball screen reads, and working on my
ball handling is something that I've just really always wanted
to need it to get better at and continuing to
get better at, and so three on three is a
lot of that, and so and it's a lot of
(42:12):
ballscreen defense on the other end, and that's like something
I can always and everyone, well, there's a lot of
great defenders, but I can always get better at and
so just it's really benefit of my game, and I'm
excited for another year of that. And it's also nice
to kind of get out of the five on five
format and just like play something different. You know, sometimes
(42:33):
if you're playing for twelve months of the year, like
you can get burnt out a little bit, and so
it's fun to have a little different variation of basketball
while continuing to get better a.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
Little different variation.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
I love the way that you talk about like working
on your skills as an opportunity. I love the way
you talk about your family, and I also know that
you're very passionate about the opportunity to give back, which
goes hand in hand with you being a part of
athletics Power of She collective.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
Where were you when you.
Speaker 3 (43:03):
Got the call that this was something that could happen
for you And how did it make you feel?
Speaker 1 (43:08):
It made me feel amazing. First of all, I just
align with their brand and what they stand for so much,
and I feel grateful that I've gotten the opportunity to
work with them, because you know, not a lot of
people get that opportunity. And then for a brand to
really just like uplift women and have the power of She,
(43:30):
you know, and be represented by so many great women.
Simone Biles Lexihole, Katie Ledecki, you know, and the list
goes on and on, and so I think that's just
something super cool where I, you know, get a lot
of benefits working with Athleta, but also it's like I
am not just saying yes to something just because I
think it's cool, but it's like, oh, I really align
(43:52):
with everything that they believe in, and like it really
reflects like how I feel as well. And so that's
that's something super cool. And I remember when, you know,
my agent said this and I was like, oh my god,
like this is really cool. Like I had to act
like like I wasn't too excited, you know, keep them
on their toes a little. But it's just been a
(44:13):
really great partnership and the fact that they're based here
in San Francisco too. Literally the Athletic store is a
couple of blocks away from me, and so I hop
in there and talk to them quite often or get
me clothes and yeah, so it's really special.
Speaker 3 (44:28):
It's really cool because I think there's no two ways
about it, Like you're obviously a girls girl, and so
to be someone that's so supportive of other people, it
like it it makes so much sense, which I don't
feel like you get to say very often when we
think about you know, like different partnerships and different opportunities.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
Yeah. Yeah, And I love that. It's like a you know,
like Athleta isn't a huge, huge brand, like we're we're
going that way, you know. But it's also like it
makes it feel so like special and you know, and
it's not just something like I'm just saying yes to
this because i think it's just gonna be cool and
(45:08):
I'll get like free stuff or whatever. It's like no,
like they really like talk the talk and walk the walk,
like they really invest in women and they give back
to the community, and that's something that is really really special.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
What are you looking forward to you now, Kate?
Speaker 1 (45:25):
What am I looking forward to now? In life? In basketball?
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Whatever you want, my girl, the world is your oyster.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
The world is my oyster. That's what I'm looking forward to.
I think I'm really looking forward to this upcoming unrivaled season,
you know, being able to just continue working on the
skills that I've been working on this off season. Really
looking forward to next year's WNBA season, interested to see
what's going to happen. It's going to be a really
(45:52):
interesting off season in the WNBA, and I'm looking forward
to spending the holidays with my family, and I love
any time with my nephews, And you know, those are
moments that I really cherish during my off season because
when I'm in the WNBA season, I don't get to
come home and unrivaled. I won't be able to either.
So looking forward just to quality time with the people
(46:13):
I love and care about and looking forward to playing basketball.
That's you know, I actually couldn't have scripted this up
any better myself, you know, any better myself. This is
just you know, I really am living out my dream.
Speaker 3 (46:27):
It's so awesome for someone that hears this from you,
that has a dream that they're aspiring to. Obviously, hard
work is a big piece to the puzzle. But when
you think about offering advice to someone that wants to
chase one of theirs, whether it is athletically related or not,
what comes to mind for you?
Speaker 2 (46:44):
Kate?
Speaker 1 (46:45):
Don't doubt yourself? Why not? You? You know it? Really,
if you put your mind to anything like you can,
you can go get it. Find people around you that
have the same vision as you. Don't be hanging around
a crowd that doesn't you know, align with you morally
or have the same goals and vision that you do,
because you know, you really are who you surround yourself with.
(47:08):
And so I think surrounding yourself with people who are
like minded, who are driven, who have goals, I think
that's super important and something I've always done my whole life,
and it makes a difference. And so if you're around
the wrong crowd, they'll only bring you down. And so
I think that's something that is really huge whenever you're
(47:30):
trying to reach goals.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
When you got immersed into the WNBA, you obviously had
the opportunity to play alongside some of the best to
ever do it. Was there any bit of starstruckness with
that playing with the people that you looked up to
since you were young in the game yourself?
Speaker 1 (47:48):
For sure, it's like impossible not to like let that
hit you. It's like a pinch me moment.
Speaker 2 (47:54):
I mean, like going on Supbirds podcast.
Speaker 1 (47:57):
I know it, it really is. It really is crazy.
I've yeah, Like I said, my family always jokes that
I was just born at the perfect time. I've just
gotten to meet some really cool people and have gotten
to do some really really cool things. And I am
forever grateful for basketball for taking me to the most
(48:18):
amazing places and meeting some amazing people. But yeah, like
I've gotten to play with some of the best in
the world, and I've gotten you know, coached by some
of the best in the world, and I feel very
grateful for that. I've learned a lot, and I you know,
I just want to, you know, hopefully one day, you know,
(48:41):
when I'm old and retiring, somebody's like, man, I got
to play with Kate Martin. You know, that would be
cool to me, you know, so I kind of hope
that's what you know, will happen in like twenty years.
Speaker 3 (48:56):
We just got to keep working on flipping that negative
self top. Yeah, you're gonna be in it for the
long game.
Speaker 1 (49:01):
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (49:02):
Well, I'm so happy that we were able to sit
down today before I let you go. Right now, Kate,
you have an opportunity to offer yourself a piece of advice.
Let's go back to that Hurtle moment when you were
working through all of the mental difficulties that went hand
in hand with those rough injuries back in college.
Speaker 2 (49:18):
Right now, knowing what you know now.
Speaker 3 (49:21):
What advice would you give to your younger self during
that hurdle moment.
Speaker 1 (49:25):
Man, Honestly, I don't think I would change anything. I would.
My only advice is just saying positive, you know, leaning
on the people that you know are around you and
care about you. And I'm just going to keep it
at that because really, like, I would not change a
single thing of how I handled any of that, because
(49:46):
it's just kind of made me into who I am today.
So stay positive, stay the course, and lean on the
people around you.
Speaker 3 (49:53):
Lean on the people around you, keep Martin so happy
we were able to do this. For those that aren't
following along with you just yet, give me the info.
Where can they find you online? How they keep up
with you?
Speaker 2 (50:03):
What's up?
Speaker 1 (50:04):
Oh god, social media?
Speaker 2 (50:07):
I guess you're like, I have to send them to
my Instagram.
Speaker 1 (50:11):
Instagram, TikTok, yeah, all the goodness.
Speaker 3 (50:16):
Yeah, So there, I guess I'm over at Emily Body
at Hurdle Podcast, Another hurdle conquered.
Speaker 2 (50:24):
Catch you guys next time,
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