June 23, 2022 • 31 mins
This week on the PlayBooked Podcast, University of Florida Gymnast Leah Clapper, shares her thoughts with host Chloe V. Mitchell on her first experience competing in the Gator’s O’Dome, winning an award at the NIL Summit, and “the why” behind the creation of her website called “NIL Island.” Tune in!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Playbooked is a production of I Heart Radio and the
College Athletes Network. Hey everybody, we are here with miss
Leah Clapper, and I'm super excited to get into this
podcast because we have known each other through the grapevine
(00:23):
for a while, but we recently met in person at
n I L Summit and let me tell you, it
was the most fantastic experience. Leah, would you like to
introduce yourself just give him a quick rundown to our listeners. Absolutely. So.
My name's Leah Clapper, and I'm on the Florida Gators
gymnastics team and I'm a rising super senior. Yes, she's fantastic.
(00:47):
She's taking her fifth year, Leah. What prompted you to
take this fifth year? Oh my goodness. When I first
heard that the n C Double A was granting an
extra year of eligibility to all the athletes affected by COVID,
I was just over the mood. It's like, this is unreal.
(01:08):
I get an extra year, no strings attached. Of course,
I was in the middle of my junior year, I
believe when that happened, so I couldn't make the decision
right then and there. But I knew that if my
body was still feeling good. After my senior year, I
totally wanted an extra year because why not elongate being
(01:29):
a student athlete as long as you can? Because for me,
it's just been the most surreal experience and I've loved
every minute and I just want as much as I can.
And also, this year, approaching the end of the season,
I just knew that I wasn't ready to be done
with gymnastics. Yet it was super clear that, you know what,
(01:52):
let me do my fifth year, let me make it
the best year yet. And I'm super motivated and excited.
Good I to hear it, and I'm sure you were
also influenced by the fact that you are an incredible
You're an incredible person to look up to for athletes
(02:12):
that want to learn how to really capitalize on their name,
image and likeness. And we're going to go and do
all the things that you are doing to make enterprising
athletes lives easier. Our listeners are going to freak out
when they hear about Mill Island, But I want to
ask you, what was it like for all of our
Florida Gator fans out here? What was it like performing,
(02:33):
not performing? Competing for the first time in the odom.
Oh my gosh, Chloe, you're taking me back. It's just
putting a huge smile on my face right now because
it's one of my favorite gymnastics memories ever. I actually
got put in last minute as the anchor on balanced theme,
(02:54):
which yes, which is the last person up. It's usually
a pressure situation and usually the anchor is supposed to
score the highest if everything perfectly. And it was my
very first competition as a Florida Gator and I was
just over the moon excited, but also so nervous because
(03:19):
I never competed in front of ten almost ten thousand
fans before. I never experienced Gator nation, which is just
insanely amazing, and they always bring the best energy to
the meats. I never been on a college competition floor
before and competed with my team, and it was just
(03:41):
going to be this crazy experience. I knew going in
nothing like I'd ever experience before, and it was. And
I nailed my routine, and the smile and the excitement
and invigoration that was happening to me after my landing
(04:02):
was absolutely incredible and I'll never forget it. I just
get chills over here on the other end of the
zoom college just hearing about that and being a young
student athlete who has worked all of her life to
get to this point and to nail her routine. Oh
my gosh, I love it. It It feels like I'm watching
a movie in my head. Do you remember a time
(04:25):
in which you thought so freshman year or or say
sophomore junior year, a time in which you were like, Okay,
I love being this smiley, happy, sunshine positive athlete. But
do you remember when your sparkle was old? Ever? And
how did you combat against that negativity? That is an
(04:47):
amazing question and I don't think I've ever been asked
that before. And yes, I always have been known as
a super smiley and optimistic neural and gymnast, and I
love being that. I love being that peppy person who
is always there with a smile for her teammates and
(05:08):
supportive and cheerful and loves being in the gym, loves flipping.
That's who I am and I identify with that. But
that doesn't mean that I'm a hundred percent happy and
positive and optimistic percent of the time, because nobody is
that way. And just being okay with the whole range
(05:33):
of emotions that everyone experiences and accepting that and knowing that, Okay,
if this is a bad day, that doesn't mean it's
going to be a bad week or a bad month.
Or if this was one bad routine, that doesn't mean
that the rest of the practice or the rest of
the day is ruined. And just being really mindful about
(05:54):
what you're experiencing and giving yourself grace to experience sadness,
for frustration and anger, whatever it is has been really
helpful for me and realizing that. And I know that
I want to show up as a smiley, positive person,
but it's okay too, you know, not have a smile
(06:18):
on my face all the time. And on that note,
I know I'm known as the girl that stiles during
her beam routine, and I absolutely love that because that's
the message that I want to send a message of
playfulness in sport and that serious athletes can have fun too.
That's super important to me and very true to my heart,
and it makes me happy that people notice that and everything.
(06:40):
But there is some extra information behind that because smiling
out on the competition floor that actually helps me be confident.
And I started it when I was really young because
my coach told me that when you smile, it changes
your brain chemistry and you'll be less nerve us and
you'll feel more confident. And I was out of options
(07:03):
at this point. I was super afraid of a skill
that I was working on. I was like, okay, whatever,
I can put a smile on my face. I can
fake it till I make it. And it worked, It
really worked. I started smiling every time before I did
this one skill that I was super afraid of, a
backhand spring on the high beam, and I took that
(07:24):
with me as a tool in my toolbox to combat
nerves and also to show up as the best me
and be normal because most of the time I am smiling. Yeah,
I mean, and it just it makes me. It makes
me happy because your positivity and your radiance is contagious
(07:44):
and I can't imagine how that positivity impacts your competitors.
Seeing that you were just unashamed with being this, you know,
ray of sunshine in a very serious setting. It's fantastic
in a way. I also think it's very like it's
intimidating to your competitors, and I want to talk about
We talked about this when we went to dinner at
(08:06):
then I L summit, and we talked about your sister
who she is going into this upcoming year. Correct me
if I'm wrong. She's going to be a freshman at
you of M on the gymnastics team, right, and Leah's
from ann Arbor for our listeners, so she knows the
area well. But your sister is a little different than you.
If you were to give any notes to your sister
(08:27):
who's about to be a freshman, only in terms of
not in terms of n I L, just in terms
of being, you know, an elite athlete, what would you
have to say to her. That's such a good question.
Oh my gosh, there's so much going through my brain
right now. But the number one piece of advice that
(08:47):
I would give is stay true to who you are
and be confident in yourself. I know that when I
came to University of Florida, I was coming from a
gym where I was one of the best gymnasts at
that gym, and I was super pumped to enter the
NT double A. But when I got here, I was
(09:08):
one of the worst people on the team because I
was on a team with national champions, and you know,
people that went to Worlds and we're on the U
S national team and amazing stuff. And it hit me
a little bit hard as far as my confidence goes,
(09:29):
because I felt like I was the weakest link on
the team and I didn't handle that well. And it
took me a while to remember that I'm here for
a reason and I'm deserving of being on the Gators
gymnastics team, and I can do this, and I can
really make a difference and bring my strength to this team.
(09:53):
And it doesn't matter if I am not scoring the
highest at every meet or winning things. I'm still contributing
to the team in so many different ways, and not
just gymnastics, but also as the person that I am.
And I definitely believe that my sister is going to
(10:13):
be an amazing asset to the University of Michigan gymnastics team.
And I'm she's by far not going to be the
weakest length, that's for sure. She's an absolutely incredible gymnast.
But I hope that she can remember that she has
a ton to offer and don't compare yourself to other people,
(10:35):
because that is only draining your energy and bringing your
own strengths is the best thing that you can do.
For yourself and your team, and just all that comparison
stuff and that getting down on yourself. It doesn't it
doesn't work, It doesn't help you in any ways. One
of my biggest struggles when I came to college gymnastics,
(10:58):
and I'm confident that it. My sister Lily is totally
going to kill it, and I just hope she has
an absolute blast as well, because college gymnastics is super fun,
so fun. What stuck with me about that statement is
the comparison piece, and even in all walks of life,
(11:19):
even outside of sports, if I've learned anything, it's that
comparison is the thief of joy. And that's some famous
person said way back when I should probably know who
said it, but it's stuck with me for so long because,
like you said, if you're comparing yourself to others, you're
not doing yourself any good. In fact, you comparing yourself
(11:41):
to others is actually being a detriment to the team.
And you overcoming that and telling a wee athletes, hey,
I know it's all about competition in comparison, but like
you gotta peel back that layer in order to rise above.
I think that's a fantastic statement. I love it. I
love it. I love that quote. That's so true. So yes, yes, Wow,
we're going to head into our first break. You are
(12:02):
listening to the Playbook podcast. I am your host, Chloe B.
Mitchell and this is the College Athletes Network. Welcome back
(12:31):
to the Playbook podcast on the College Athletes Network. This
is Chloe B. Mitchell. I'm here with Leah Clapper, and
subscribe to my podcast so you don't miss a show.
Leah and I were just talking about being an elite
athlete and what advice she would give to her sister
who's about to be a freshman at you event. Now
let's delve into the nil space and what advice you
(12:52):
wish you would have been told when the nail bill
was first past. Oh that is a good question, and
I'm not sure I answer. I think that everyone has
to experience n I l themselves and figure it out
(13:15):
because I learned the most by just diving in and
keeping an open minds, starting to experiment and just trying
new things. Because by jumping in head first and figuring
out how to get a brand deal, what that process
(13:36):
looks like, how to negotiate learning on my own through
podcasts or videos or articles or other people, talking to
my teammates and figuring out how to launch a direct
to consumer business, which is one thing that I did
which has been the most rewarding part of n I
(13:57):
L for me. I did start a gymnastics game company
and we launched the first ever gymnastics board game, which
was really exciting. But that's a side, No, tell us
more about that, that's tell us more. Absolutely so, I
co founded a company with my former club gymnastics coach,
(14:18):
and we designed and launched the first ever gymnastics board game.
It's called Balance Palace, and I'm sorry, I was, Oh,
it's all good. The game is called Balance Palace and
there are two versions of the game, one for gymnasts
(14:39):
to play in the gym and one for families and
gymnasts to play at home. And it's a ton of fun.
It's all about bringing extra joy into the gymnastics experience.
And like I mentioned before we were talking Chloe, I
really care about sharing a message of playfulness and spo
(15:00):
and I got to do that through sharing this game.
And it felt like everything was brought together from my
life because I love gymnastics, I love playing games in
the gym, and having fun because sports are supposed to
be fun. And also I'm a mass communication advertising student
(15:24):
and I got to bring in a ton of things
that I learned here at University of Florida to market
the game. So everything came together and it was so
much fun, and it was one of those amazing learning
experiences that you don't know what you don't know, and
you come out of the other end with a ton
of skills and knowledge that you never knew that you
(15:46):
didn't have, and now you feel so confident in creating
your own success in the world. And that's been my
entire N i L experience. I'm quite honest that I've
gained so much professional experience by just trying new things
in N I L. And it's been the most amazing thing.
(16:08):
And I'm so glad that I get to take a
fifth year to experience and I ll even further and
help other athletes instead of having to find out all
of this stuff on their own, help them figure it
out and we can we can get back to that
a little bit later, but it's been an amazing journey
and the piece of advice that I would give to
(16:31):
other athletes, this is something that I felt like I
knew when N I L was starting, and I do
think that most athletes out there already feel this way,
which is just a huge testament to college athletes in general.
But stay true to yourself and stay true to your brand.
It's so important. You're gonna feel so much better about
(16:55):
all of the NIL activities that you do and the
things that you create if it's something that you care
about and then believe in. Amen. And we saw, we
saw that brings me right back to NIL summit again.
Tim Tebow speak on this and he was so adamant
(17:15):
about really not becoming disingenuous because of a dollar sign.
And it's so easy as a as an a lee
athlete who can't work and can't make that money that
that all their friends who aren't playing sports are making.
It is so easy to see that paycheck and be like,
oh my gosh, I don't care if this doesn't you know,
portray who I really am. I want this money, But
(17:38):
not budging on your morals is huge, is massive. And
the other thing I also wanted to say, I wanted
to brag on you a little bit, um listeners. Leah
is getting her second masters. That's correct, right, Leah second too.
T w oh Man, are you kiddy? Are you kidding?
You're fantastic. So not only is she creating a board game, well,
(18:01):
not only did she create a board game and is
an enterprising athlete, she's also doing so many other fantastic things,
so much so that she was awarded Scholar Athlete of
the Year at Middle Summit. So this girl went up
on stage, won this award, did this beautiful, eloquent speech.
And I want you to tell me about your experience
and how you feel. Is it easy to accept this success?
(18:25):
I know that I sometimes feel a little bit of
like imposter syndrome, like, oh my gosh, I can't believe
I've accomplished all this. Do I deserve? You know what
I mean? Walking you through your headspace? Totally? Totally. I
feel that all the time. And it's so crazy, and
I just can't believe that out of the thousands and
thousands of student athletes in the nation, I was picked
(18:50):
to be Scholar Athlete of the Year at the n
I L Summit. It's just so surreal and such a
huge honor. And I'm so thankful because I already have
gotten to talk to amazing people and connect with incredible
(19:10):
athletes who are doing amazing things like you, Chloe, and
other businesses in the n i L space, and it's
been so much fun. And a lot of that has
come from getting invited to the n i L Summit
and being awarded the Scholar Athlete of the Year, which
is so much more meaningful than the award itself. All
(19:32):
of the connections that have come out of this experience.
And I had one goal when I came to University
of Florida and started my career as a student athlete,
and that was to make the absolute most of my
time as a Gator, and so far, I feel that
(19:52):
I've accomplished that. Of course, there's little things that I
could have done better along the way, but looking back
at the past four years, I can say that I
made the most of it, and I'm excited to make
the most of my fifth year. And I think that
this this award is a testament to to that making
(20:14):
the most of it. That I'm not the only person
that you know believe that other people have noticed that
as well, which is really cool and so flattering, and
I'm just humbled beyond belief because I'm totally having imposter syndrome.
How do I deserve this? But I'm just gonna go
with it because confidence is key in You've got to
(20:36):
stop comparing yourself to other people. Yes, yes, practice what
you preach. I love it, and you are doing just that.
And again I'm bragging on you because I'm just so
proud to be a friend of yours and hopefully future
business partner. I could see us after college was building
an empire. But you are so making the most of
(20:56):
your time because I remember looking down at my phone
a few days ago. This is for our listeners, and
Leah had put together a group chat called nil Legends.
So not only is leon networking for herself, she is
bringing together athletes and just you're creating this community of people.
And we're going to talk about your website because that
(21:18):
goes right into our next break, and we're gonna talk
about it right after this break. You are listening to
the Playbook podcast. I'm your host, Chloevie Mitchell and this
is the College Athletes Network. Welcome back to the Playbooks
(21:51):
podcast on the College Athletes Network. This is your host,
kholiebe Mitchell, and I'm here with miss Lea Clapper. And
subscribe to my podcast, so you don't miss a show.
So we were just talking about Leah and her ability
to just catalyze community in a space when there really
isn't much community right now. It's the wild wild West
out here, and I L is still so new and so, Leah,
(22:14):
would you love to tell our listeners what you told
me at dinner a few days ago that completely blew
my mind. I'm obsessed with this idea. Go ahead, Well,
thank you for letting me share it, because this is
something I've been working on for months and I am
so excited to finally get to share it with the world.
(22:34):
It's genius, you guys, is genius. I've already used I'll
talk to you afterwards about how I've used it. It's fantastic.
Oh my gosh, I can't wait. Yeah, that makes me
so so happy. Clothe, you don't even know. Well. What
I've created is called NIEL Island, and in one sentence,
it's the community where student athletes can come together to
(22:56):
help each other succeed in n I L. And there
are two main functions of n I L Island, one
being that community part of it. So when you join
n I L Island, you'll get access to our community
chat and exclusive events and unique n i L opportunities
just for being a member. And then the other piece
(23:18):
of it is enhancement, which is a better word than
saying education, because nobody wants to be educated. We're informed,
we're doing that in school. It's not that, But it's
providing tools and resources and knowledge that can help athletes
(23:38):
get ahead in n i L without having to dive
in on their own and figure it all out, because
let's be honest, that takes a lot of work. And
there's shortcuts and things that you asked me earlier what
I wish I knew, there are some more practical, tactical
things that I wish i'm you, and just like knowing
(24:02):
about how to negotiate deals better, or what's your worth,
or how to even get a brand dealer, how to
start your own company. These are all things that athletes
are wondering about and and I L Island can provide
tools to figure out the answers to those questions. And
(24:24):
it's all supported by communities. So that's the biggest part.
Other athletes sharing their sharing their experiences and their struggles
and their questions. And I know the brand is going
to evolve over time, but really my goal is to
make that oasis that is away from all of the
(24:45):
overwhelmed and confusion of N I L. Because it's pretty
crazy and eleven months ago I had no idea what
I was doing either, and just jumping in it can
feel really scary. But I want to help athletes get
a start in n I L and you know, make
(25:08):
great friendships and connections along the webs. And your website
has already Can I call it a website? Can I
what should I call it? Company? Organization? How would you
like me to reference it? You know, it is all
of those things I suppose I have. There is a
website which is where you can join and it's really
(25:30):
a community. That's the community. That's the word for it. Yes,
I love it. In the community that you are constructing
is so it is something that I've told all my
friends about all of the enterprising athletes that I know
about thus far, because there are two unique features that
I haven't seen anybody else do, and that is the
(25:53):
ability to review how athletes anonymously review brands that they've
worked with. And so this is a one stop shop.
This is for our listeners for you to go to
this website and say, oh my gosh, somebody reviewed I
don't know Jim Shark and they were fantastic to work with,
whereas somebody reviewed another brand and they were horrible. Maybe
I don't take this deal, Maybe I don't put myself
(26:14):
in this position. And like that community of athletes supporting
athletes is beautiful and it's empowering. And now that the
power has been dispersed and we are able to capitalize
our name, image and likeness, having this community, having n
I L. Island there is comforting and like I said, empowering.
(26:35):
The second thing that I love about n L Island
is this just like this just sent me, This just
sent me into orbit. I was so excited. She has quizzes. Listeners,
you better be listening right now. Turn up your volume.
She has quizzes on should I work with this brand?
What are my rates? These are questions that athletes have
(26:56):
been asking for months and months and months, and Leah
has construct did these assessments on what you should be charging,
Like you, guys, this this is the most fantastic website
and you can I wish you could see my face.
Lee is looking at me like a crazy person because
I'm way too excited over it making me so happy. No,
I'm just so proud of you and I'm so passionate
(27:18):
about it because you saw a need and you have
fulfilled it and now the cup is the cup is
overflowing with amazing nous. So I just I just really
wanted to talk about that, and if you'd like to
keep talking about that, we totally can. But I do
want to talk about your like your deals that you're
doing with Public wreck with Yeah, so how you're getting
in contact with these brands and your vetting process on
(27:42):
if you want to work with them or not. Yeah. Absolutely, Well,
first of all, I just want to say thank you
so much. You hype N I L Island up. I'm
your biggest fan over here, I'm your biggest Gators. I'm
I'm your biggest fan. I love it so much and
you pitched it better than I could, and I I
(28:04):
think there needs to be in a YELP for n
I L. And that's what n I L Island is
starting to do. And also those educational enhancing resources that
I was talking about, my number one priority is to
make them fun. So that's why it's quizzes and personality
tests and things because it's so much better that way.
(28:27):
I don't know, we're thinking yelp, slash buzz one but
around n I L. So, yes, you're interested. Anybody listening
to this, go check it out at n I L
Island dot com. Yes, and go follow Lea on Instagram
as well. She has a link tree because she knows
how to do n I L best and she's Oliver
(28:48):
links there as well. Leah, what's your user name? At
Leah Clapper five on Instagram and then at Lea Clapper
everywhere else. So TikTok, Twitter, etcetera awesome shameless lug. So
tell me when you are vetting these brands that either
reach out to your you reach out to them. What's
the first question you ask yourself? That is a great question.
(29:11):
And there are seven questions that I asked myself every time,
and I made a quiz of them. How about this?
How about this? How about you don't even tell us,
don't even tell our listeners. We're gonna make them go
to n I L Island to get this answer because
they need to go there. I'm serious. It's so helpful,
(29:31):
and you guys don't even get to get to know
the answer because you need to stop there. So you
know what, guys, We're gonna leave you on a cliffhanger.
And if you want to learn more about Leah, if
you want to contact Lea, We've already told you where
to find her. And as always, thank you for listening
to the Playbook podcast on the College Athletes Network. Leah,
do you have any final words? Were stopping abruptly because
(29:53):
I want to leave our listeners, you know, at the
edge of their seats. I want them to get to
know more about you and be as obsessed with you
I as I am with you. That makes sense, So
give us your final spiel. Oh, it totally makes sense.
And I'm so honored. Thank you so much, Chloe. This
has been so much fun. I'm so thankful that we
(30:13):
got to do this and we got to meet and
hopefully get to work together in the future. I'm super
pumped about it. But yeah, my final words would be,
just be you. Be you when you're pursuing n I
l be you by being a great teammate and a
great athlete, or a great friend or a great family member.
(30:35):
However you identify yourself. Just be true to your values
and who you are because when your actions align with
what you believe and what you think, that's where you'll
find the most happiness and the most contentment. And I
didn't make that up, that's for sure. I can't take credit,
(30:55):
but it's so true in being who you are, it's
it's the best thing that you can do for yourself,
and my number one piece of advice always Playbooked is
a production of I Heart Radio and the College Athletes Network.
For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the I
heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Playbooked is a production of I Heart Radio and the
College Athletes Network. Hey everybody, we are here with miss
Leah Clapper, and I'm super excited to get into this
podcast because we have known each other through the grapevine
(00:23):
for a while, but we recently met in person at
n I L Summit and let me tell you, it
was the most fantastic experience. Leah, would you like to
introduce yourself just give him a quick rundown to our listeners. Absolutely. So.
My name's Leah Clapper, and I'm on the Florida Gators
gymnastics team and I'm a rising super senior. Yes, she's fantastic.
(00:47):
She's taking her fifth year, Leah. What prompted you to
take this fifth year? Oh my goodness. When I first
heard that the n C Double A was granting an
extra year of eligibility to all the athletes affected by COVID,
I was just over the mood. It's like, this is unreal.
(01:08):
I get an extra year, no strings attached. Of course,
I was in the middle of my junior year, I
believe when that happened, so I couldn't make the decision
right then and there. But I knew that if my
body was still feeling good. After my senior year, I
totally wanted an extra year because why not elongate being
(01:29):
a student athlete as long as you can? Because for me,
it's just been the most surreal experience and I've loved
every minute and I just want as much as I can.
And also, this year, approaching the end of the season,
I just knew that I wasn't ready to be done
with gymnastics. Yet it was super clear that, you know what,
(01:52):
let me do my fifth year, let me make it
the best year yet. And I'm super motivated and excited.
Good I to hear it, and I'm sure you were
also influenced by the fact that you are an incredible
You're an incredible person to look up to for athletes
(02:12):
that want to learn how to really capitalize on their name,
image and likeness. And we're going to go and do
all the things that you are doing to make enterprising
athletes lives easier. Our listeners are going to freak out
when they hear about Mill Island, But I want to
ask you, what was it like for all of our
Florida Gator fans out here? What was it like performing,
(02:33):
not performing? Competing for the first time in the odom.
Oh my gosh, Chloe, you're taking me back. It's just
putting a huge smile on my face right now because
it's one of my favorite gymnastics memories ever. I actually
got put in last minute as the anchor on balanced theme,
(02:54):
which yes, which is the last person up. It's usually
a pressure situation and usually the anchor is supposed to
score the highest if everything perfectly. And it was my
very first competition as a Florida Gator and I was
just over the moon excited, but also so nervous because
(03:19):
I never competed in front of ten almost ten thousand
fans before. I never experienced Gator nation, which is just
insanely amazing, and they always bring the best energy to
the meats. I never been on a college competition floor
before and competed with my team, and it was just
(03:41):
going to be this crazy experience. I knew going in
nothing like I'd ever experience before, and it was. And
I nailed my routine, and the smile and the excitement
and invigoration that was happening to me after my landing
(04:02):
was absolutely incredible and I'll never forget it. I just
get chills over here on the other end of the
zoom college just hearing about that and being a young
student athlete who has worked all of her life to
get to this point and to nail her routine. Oh
my gosh, I love it. It It feels like I'm watching
a movie in my head. Do you remember a time
(04:25):
in which you thought so freshman year or or say
sophomore junior year, a time in which you were like, Okay,
I love being this smiley, happy, sunshine positive athlete. But
do you remember when your sparkle was old? Ever? And
how did you combat against that negativity? That is an
(04:47):
amazing question and I don't think I've ever been asked
that before. And yes, I always have been known as
a super smiley and optimistic neural and gymnast, and I
love being that. I love being that peppy person who
is always there with a smile for her teammates and
(05:08):
supportive and cheerful and loves being in the gym, loves flipping.
That's who I am and I identify with that. But
that doesn't mean that I'm a hundred percent happy and
positive and optimistic percent of the time, because nobody is
that way. And just being okay with the whole range
(05:33):
of emotions that everyone experiences and accepting that and knowing that, Okay,
if this is a bad day, that doesn't mean it's
going to be a bad week or a bad month.
Or if this was one bad routine, that doesn't mean
that the rest of the practice or the rest of
the day is ruined. And just being really mindful about
(05:54):
what you're experiencing and giving yourself grace to experience sadness,
for frustration and anger, whatever it is has been really
helpful for me and realizing that. And I know that
I want to show up as a smiley, positive person,
but it's okay too, you know, not have a smile
(06:18):
on my face all the time. And on that note,
I know I'm known as the girl that stiles during
her beam routine, and I absolutely love that because that's
the message that I want to send a message of
playfulness in sport and that serious athletes can have fun too.
That's super important to me and very true to my heart,
and it makes me happy that people notice that and everything.
(06:40):
But there is some extra information behind that because smiling
out on the competition floor that actually helps me be confident.
And I started it when I was really young because
my coach told me that when you smile, it changes
your brain chemistry and you'll be less nerve us and
you'll feel more confident. And I was out of options
(07:03):
at this point. I was super afraid of a skill
that I was working on. I was like, okay, whatever,
I can put a smile on my face. I can
fake it till I make it. And it worked, It
really worked. I started smiling every time before I did
this one skill that I was super afraid of, a
backhand spring on the high beam, and I took that
(07:24):
with me as a tool in my toolbox to combat
nerves and also to show up as the best me
and be normal because most of the time I am smiling. Yeah,
I mean, and it just it makes me. It makes
me happy because your positivity and your radiance is contagious
(07:44):
and I can't imagine how that positivity impacts your competitors.
Seeing that you were just unashamed with being this, you know,
ray of sunshine in a very serious setting. It's fantastic
in a way. I also think it's very like it's
intimidating to your competitors, and I want to talk about
We talked about this when we went to dinner at
(08:06):
then I L summit, and we talked about your sister
who she is going into this upcoming year. Correct me
if I'm wrong. She's going to be a freshman at
you of M on the gymnastics team, right, and Leah's
from ann Arbor for our listeners, so she knows the
area well. But your sister is a little different than you.
If you were to give any notes to your sister
(08:27):
who's about to be a freshman, only in terms of
not in terms of n I L, just in terms
of being, you know, an elite athlete, what would you
have to say to her. That's such a good question.
Oh my gosh, there's so much going through my brain
right now. But the number one piece of advice that
(08:47):
I would give is stay true to who you are
and be confident in yourself. I know that when I
came to University of Florida, I was coming from a
gym where I was one of the best gymnasts at
that gym, and I was super pumped to enter the
NT double A. But when I got here, I was
(09:08):
one of the worst people on the team because I
was on a team with national champions, and you know,
people that went to Worlds and we're on the U
S national team and amazing stuff. And it hit me
a little bit hard as far as my confidence goes,
(09:29):
because I felt like I was the weakest link on
the team and I didn't handle that well. And it
took me a while to remember that I'm here for
a reason and I'm deserving of being on the Gators
gymnastics team, and I can do this, and I can
really make a difference and bring my strength to this team.
(09:53):
And it doesn't matter if I am not scoring the
highest at every meet or winning things. I'm still contributing
to the team in so many different ways, and not
just gymnastics, but also as the person that I am.
And I definitely believe that my sister is going to
(10:13):
be an amazing asset to the University of Michigan gymnastics team.
And I'm she's by far not going to be the
weakest length, that's for sure. She's an absolutely incredible gymnast.
But I hope that she can remember that she has
a ton to offer and don't compare yourself to other people,
(10:35):
because that is only draining your energy and bringing your
own strengths is the best thing that you can do.
For yourself and your team, and just all that comparison
stuff and that getting down on yourself. It doesn't it
doesn't work, It doesn't help you in any ways. One
of my biggest struggles when I came to college gymnastics,
(10:58):
and I'm confident that it. My sister Lily is totally
going to kill it, and I just hope she has
an absolute blast as well, because college gymnastics is super fun,
so fun. What stuck with me about that statement is
the comparison piece, and even in all walks of life,
(11:19):
even outside of sports, if I've learned anything, it's that
comparison is the thief of joy. And that's some famous
person said way back when I should probably know who
said it, but it's stuck with me for so long because,
like you said, if you're comparing yourself to others, you're
not doing yourself any good. In fact, you comparing yourself
(11:41):
to others is actually being a detriment to the team.
And you overcoming that and telling a wee athletes, hey,
I know it's all about competition in comparison, but like
you gotta peel back that layer in order to rise above.
I think that's a fantastic statement. I love it. I
love it. I love that quote. That's so true. So yes, yes, Wow,
we're going to head into our first break. You are
(12:02):
listening to the Playbook podcast. I am your host, Chloe B.
Mitchell and this is the College Athletes Network. Welcome back
(12:31):
to the Playbook podcast on the College Athletes Network. This
is Chloe B. Mitchell. I'm here with Leah Clapper, and
subscribe to my podcast so you don't miss a show.
Leah and I were just talking about being an elite
athlete and what advice she would give to her sister
who's about to be a freshman at you event. Now
let's delve into the nil space and what advice you
(12:52):
wish you would have been told when the nail bill
was first past. Oh that is a good question, and
I'm not sure I answer. I think that everyone has
to experience n I l themselves and figure it out
(13:15):
because I learned the most by just diving in and
keeping an open minds, starting to experiment and just trying
new things. Because by jumping in head first and figuring
out how to get a brand deal, what that process
(13:36):
looks like, how to negotiate learning on my own through
podcasts or videos or articles or other people, talking to
my teammates and figuring out how to launch a direct
to consumer business, which is one thing that I did
which has been the most rewarding part of n I
(13:57):
L for me. I did start a gymnastics game company
and we launched the first ever gymnastics board game, which
was really exciting. But that's a side, No, tell us
more about that, that's tell us more. Absolutely so, I
co founded a company with my former club gymnastics coach,
(14:18):
and we designed and launched the first ever gymnastics board game.
It's called Balance Palace, and I'm sorry, I was, Oh,
it's all good. The game is called Balance Palace and
there are two versions of the game, one for gymnasts
(14:39):
to play in the gym and one for families and
gymnasts to play at home. And it's a ton of fun.
It's all about bringing extra joy into the gymnastics experience.
And like I mentioned before we were talking Chloe, I
really care about sharing a message of playfulness and spo
(15:00):
and I got to do that through sharing this game.
And it felt like everything was brought together from my
life because I love gymnastics, I love playing games in
the gym, and having fun because sports are supposed to
be fun. And also I'm a mass communication advertising student
(15:24):
and I got to bring in a ton of things
that I learned here at University of Florida to market
the game. So everything came together and it was so
much fun, and it was one of those amazing learning
experiences that you don't know what you don't know, and
you come out of the other end with a ton
of skills and knowledge that you never knew that you
(15:46):
didn't have, and now you feel so confident in creating
your own success in the world. And that's been my
entire N i L experience. I'm quite honest that I've
gained so much professional experience by just trying new things
in N I L. And it's been the most amazing thing.
(16:08):
And I'm so glad that I get to take a
fifth year to experience and I ll even further and
help other athletes instead of having to find out all
of this stuff on their own, help them figure it
out and we can we can get back to that
a little bit later, but it's been an amazing journey
and the piece of advice that I would give to
(16:31):
other athletes, this is something that I felt like I
knew when N I L was starting, and I do
think that most athletes out there already feel this way,
which is just a huge testament to college athletes in general.
But stay true to yourself and stay true to your brand.
It's so important. You're gonna feel so much better about
(16:55):
all of the NIL activities that you do and the
things that you create if it's something that you care
about and then believe in. Amen. And we saw, we
saw that brings me right back to NIL summit again.
Tim Tebow speak on this and he was so adamant
(17:15):
about really not becoming disingenuous because of a dollar sign.
And it's so easy as a as an a lee
athlete who can't work and can't make that money that
that all their friends who aren't playing sports are making.
It is so easy to see that paycheck and be like,
oh my gosh, I don't care if this doesn't you know,
portray who I really am. I want this money, But
(17:38):
not budging on your morals is huge, is massive. And
the other thing I also wanted to say, I wanted
to brag on you a little bit, um listeners. Leah
is getting her second masters. That's correct, right, Leah second too.
T w oh Man, are you kiddy? Are you kidding?
You're fantastic. So not only is she creating a board game, well,
(18:01):
not only did she create a board game and is
an enterprising athlete, she's also doing so many other fantastic things,
so much so that she was awarded Scholar Athlete of
the Year at Middle Summit. So this girl went up
on stage, won this award, did this beautiful, eloquent speech.
And I want you to tell me about your experience
and how you feel. Is it easy to accept this success?
(18:25):
I know that I sometimes feel a little bit of
like imposter syndrome, like, oh my gosh, I can't believe
I've accomplished all this. Do I deserve? You know what
I mean? Walking you through your headspace? Totally? Totally. I
feel that all the time. And it's so crazy, and
I just can't believe that out of the thousands and
thousands of student athletes in the nation, I was picked
(18:50):
to be Scholar Athlete of the Year at the n
I L Summit. It's just so surreal and such a
huge honor. And I'm so thankful because I already have
gotten to talk to amazing people and connect with incredible
(19:10):
athletes who are doing amazing things like you, Chloe, and
other businesses in the n i L space, and it's
been so much fun. And a lot of that has
come from getting invited to the n i L Summit
and being awarded the Scholar Athlete of the Year, which
is so much more meaningful than the award itself. All
(19:32):
of the connections that have come out of this experience.
And I had one goal when I came to University
of Florida and started my career as a student athlete,
and that was to make the absolute most of my
time as a Gator, and so far, I feel that
(19:52):
I've accomplished that. Of course, there's little things that I
could have done better along the way, but looking back
at the past four years, I can say that I
made the most of it, and I'm excited to make
the most of my fifth year. And I think that
this this award is a testament to to that making
(20:14):
the most of it. That I'm not the only person
that you know believe that other people have noticed that
as well, which is really cool and so flattering, and
I'm just humbled beyond belief because I'm totally having imposter syndrome.
How do I deserve this? But I'm just gonna go
with it because confidence is key in You've got to
(20:36):
stop comparing yourself to other people. Yes, yes, practice what
you preach. I love it, and you are doing just that.
And again I'm bragging on you because I'm just so
proud to be a friend of yours and hopefully future
business partner. I could see us after college was building
an empire. But you are so making the most of
(20:56):
your time because I remember looking down at my phone
a few days ago. This is for our listeners, and
Leah had put together a group chat called nil Legends.
So not only is leon networking for herself, she is
bringing together athletes and just you're creating this community of people.
And we're going to talk about your website because that
(21:18):
goes right into our next break, and we're gonna talk
about it right after this break. You are listening to
the Playbook podcast. I'm your host, Chloevie Mitchell and this
is the College Athletes Network. Welcome back to the Playbooks
(21:51):
podcast on the College Athletes Network. This is your host,
kholiebe Mitchell, and I'm here with miss Lea Clapper. And
subscribe to my podcast, so you don't miss a show.
So we were just talking about Leah and her ability
to just catalyze community in a space when there really
isn't much community right now. It's the wild wild West
out here, and I L is still so new and so, Leah,
(22:14):
would you love to tell our listeners what you told
me at dinner a few days ago that completely blew
my mind. I'm obsessed with this idea. Go ahead, Well,
thank you for letting me share it, because this is
something I've been working on for months and I am
so excited to finally get to share it with the world.
(22:34):
It's genius, you guys, is genius. I've already used I'll
talk to you afterwards about how I've used it. It's fantastic.
Oh my gosh, I can't wait. Yeah, that makes me
so so happy. Clothe, you don't even know. Well. What
I've created is called NIEL Island, and in one sentence,
it's the community where student athletes can come together to
(22:56):
help each other succeed in n I L. And there
are two main functions of n I L Island, one
being that community part of it. So when you join
n I L Island, you'll get access to our community
chat and exclusive events and unique n i L opportunities
just for being a member. And then the other piece
(23:18):
of it is enhancement, which is a better word than
saying education, because nobody wants to be educated. We're informed,
we're doing that in school. It's not that, But it's
providing tools and resources and knowledge that can help athletes
(23:38):
get ahead in n i L without having to dive
in on their own and figure it all out, because
let's be honest, that takes a lot of work. And
there's shortcuts and things that you asked me earlier what
I wish I knew, there are some more practical, tactical
things that I wish i'm you, and just like knowing
(24:02):
about how to negotiate deals better, or what's your worth,
or how to even get a brand dealer, how to
start your own company. These are all things that athletes
are wondering about and and I L Island can provide
tools to figure out the answers to those questions. And
(24:24):
it's all supported by communities. So that's the biggest part.
Other athletes sharing their sharing their experiences and their struggles
and their questions. And I know the brand is going
to evolve over time, but really my goal is to
make that oasis that is away from all of the
(24:45):
overwhelmed and confusion of N I L. Because it's pretty
crazy and eleven months ago I had no idea what
I was doing either, and just jumping in it can
feel really scary. But I want to help athletes get
a start in n I L and you know, make
(25:08):
great friendships and connections along the webs. And your website
has already Can I call it a website? Can I
what should I call it? Company? Organization? How would you
like me to reference it? You know, it is all
of those things I suppose I have. There is a
website which is where you can join and it's really
(25:30):
a community. That's the community. That's the word for it. Yes,
I love it. In the community that you are constructing
is so it is something that I've told all my
friends about all of the enterprising athletes that I know
about thus far, because there are two unique features that
I haven't seen anybody else do, and that is the
(25:53):
ability to review how athletes anonymously review brands that they've
worked with. And so this is a one stop shop.
This is for our listeners for you to go to
this website and say, oh my gosh, somebody reviewed I
don't know Jim Shark and they were fantastic to work with,
whereas somebody reviewed another brand and they were horrible. Maybe
I don't take this deal, Maybe I don't put myself
(26:14):
in this position. And like that community of athletes supporting
athletes is beautiful and it's empowering. And now that the
power has been dispersed and we are able to capitalize
our name, image and likeness, having this community, having n
I L. Island there is comforting and like I said, empowering.
(26:35):
The second thing that I love about n L Island
is this just like this just sent me, This just
sent me into orbit. I was so excited. She has quizzes. Listeners,
you better be listening right now. Turn up your volume.
She has quizzes on should I work with this brand?
What are my rates? These are questions that athletes have
(26:56):
been asking for months and months and months, and Leah
has construct did these assessments on what you should be charging,
Like you, guys, this this is the most fantastic website
and you can I wish you could see my face.
Lee is looking at me like a crazy person because
I'm way too excited over it making me so happy. No,
I'm just so proud of you and I'm so passionate
(27:18):
about it because you saw a need and you have
fulfilled it and now the cup is the cup is
overflowing with amazing nous. So I just I just really
wanted to talk about that, and if you'd like to
keep talking about that, we totally can. But I do
want to talk about your like your deals that you're
doing with Public wreck with Yeah, so how you're getting
in contact with these brands and your vetting process on
(27:42):
if you want to work with them or not. Yeah. Absolutely, Well,
first of all, I just want to say thank you
so much. You hype N I L Island up. I'm
your biggest fan over here, I'm your biggest Gators. I'm
I'm your biggest fan. I love it so much and
you pitched it better than I could, and I I
(28:04):
think there needs to be in a YELP for n
I L. And that's what n I L Island is
starting to do. And also those educational enhancing resources that
I was talking about, my number one priority is to
make them fun. So that's why it's quizzes and personality
tests and things because it's so much better that way.
(28:27):
I don't know, we're thinking yelp, slash buzz one but
around n I L. So, yes, you're interested. Anybody listening
to this, go check it out at n I L
Island dot com. Yes, and go follow Lea on Instagram
as well. She has a link tree because she knows
how to do n I L best and she's Oliver
(28:48):
links there as well. Leah, what's your user name? At
Leah Clapper five on Instagram and then at Lea Clapper
everywhere else. So TikTok, Twitter, etcetera awesome shameless lug. So
tell me when you are vetting these brands that either
reach out to your you reach out to them. What's
the first question you ask yourself? That is a great question.
(29:11):
And there are seven questions that I asked myself every time,
and I made a quiz of them. How about this?
How about this? How about you don't even tell us,
don't even tell our listeners. We're gonna make them go
to n I L Island to get this answer because
they need to go there. I'm serious. It's so helpful,
(29:31):
and you guys don't even get to get to know
the answer because you need to stop there. So you
know what, guys, We're gonna leave you on a cliffhanger.
And if you want to learn more about Leah, if
you want to contact Lea, We've already told you where
to find her. And as always, thank you for listening
to the Playbook podcast on the College Athletes Network. Leah,
do you have any final words? Were stopping abruptly because
(29:53):
I want to leave our listeners, you know, at the
edge of their seats. I want them to get to
know more about you and be as obsessed with you
I as I am with you. That makes sense, So
give us your final spiel. Oh, it totally makes sense.
And I'm so honored. Thank you so much, Chloe. This
has been so much fun. I'm so thankful that we
(30:13):
got to do this and we got to meet and
hopefully get to work together in the future. I'm super
pumped about it. But yeah, my final words would be,
just be you. Be you when you're pursuing n I
l be you by being a great teammate and a
great athlete, or a great friend or a great family member.
(30:35):
However you identify yourself. Just be true to your values
and who you are because when your actions align with
what you believe and what you think, that's where you'll
find the most happiness and the most contentment. And I
didn't make that up, that's for sure. I can't take credit,
(30:55):
but it's so true in being who you are, it's
it's the best thing that you can do for yourself,
and my number one piece of advice always Playbooked is
a production of I Heart Radio and the College Athletes Network.
For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the I
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Host
Chloe V. Mitchell
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