July 23, 2024 • 47 mins
Amanda Golini didn't step onto a field hockey field until high school, but she was a natural. She further excelled in the sport at Lafayette College before joining Team USA. AJ and Amanda discuss her path from the softball field to being named USA's Field Hockey captain, the disappointment of not qualifying for the 2021 Olympics, and how she and the team pulled together to earn their spot in Paris.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Hello friends, and welcome to the Powerful Podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I'm your host Aja McCord.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
In this podcast, we introduce you to powerful women who
are changing the game in and outside of their field
of play. These are women's stories, women who happen to
be doing things that many of us can only dream of,
but the lessons and inspiration they share is universal.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Welcome back to the Powerful Podcast. I am so excited
to be welcoming in our next guest. She is a
member of a US team that didn't get to compete
in twenty twenty one, but has punched their ticket to
twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
She played for Lafayette College.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
She played softball growing up, but that is not the
sport that she became an Olympian in.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Please welcome Amanda Galini.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
She's a midfielder and captain for Team USA field hockey.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Amanda, thank you so much for being here today.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to know
my story and be here with you.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
I'm so excited because, like I mentioned, field hockey did
not make it to the Olympics in twenty twenty one,
but it was a massive moment when you guys made
it to twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So we're going to get into that whole story.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
But first and foremost, field hockey is one of those
Olympic sports that not everybody understands the sport itself. Can
you explain to us what is field hockey like? How
would you describe it to somebody who doesn't know what
it is.
Speaker 5 (02:06):
Yeah, so, field hockey kind of similar to ice hockey.
We have a stick in our hand, but it is
played on astro turf, so not like your normal turf
that you went out to your public park and maybe
there's a turf there.
Speaker 6 (02:22):
It's a very specialized turf and it actually gets watered.
Speaker 5 (02:27):
The water helps the ball play properly and stay flat.
And yeah, there's no right there's only right sided sticks.
A lot of people get confused and are like, we're
the left sided sticks, but yeah, and you can only
play with one side of the stick. So there's a
lot of skill and tactical changes based on like some
(02:51):
of those like subsets alone.
Speaker 6 (02:54):
But yeah, it's a really fun sport.
Speaker 5 (02:56):
It's super fast when it's played well, it looks so,
but it's it's quite a unique sport and takes a
lot of skill and you're running around kind of lopsided
and in a lot of ways and super low and
trying to be agile.
Speaker 6 (03:13):
So yeah, it is.
Speaker 5 (03:14):
It is definitely a fun sport and if you haven't
seen it, highly recommend.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Well, we're all going to tune in in Paris twenty
twenty four because you guys are going to be back
in the Olympics, and like I said, this was a
big moment because it requires you guys to qualify in
India while you were at the fih Women's Hockey Olympic Qualifier,
and in order to even get to the spot where
you could punch your ticket to the Olympics, you had
(03:40):
to go. You did three back to back to back
shutouts against your opponents, and then you had to beat
Japan two to one to lock in your spot, and
I think you were like trailing in that game as well.
So give me take me inside that tournament. How did
you guys prepare for that moment knowing everything was on
(04:01):
the line.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Yeah, well, I think our coaching staff did a great
job of getting us a lot of games in before
that tournament to really help us feel prepared going into it.
But for some of us, the few athletes that were
there back in twenty nineteen when we didn't qualify for
the twenty twenty one Olympics, for us, it was really
(04:22):
a full circle moment because we lost that qualifier in
India and now here we were back in India again,
playing India on their home turf, and so I think
for a lot of us, we took, we leaned into
that experience and took a lot of pride out of
having had that experience.
Speaker 6 (04:45):
And just tried to.
Speaker 5 (04:45):
Really lead our team with composure and knowing that we
had been there before, and then I think as a team,
we really just locked into our culture and what that meant,
and took a lot of ownership and pride in our
in our defensive structures. And yeah, I think it was
a super fun tournament to play, and there were challenges
that were thrown at us along the way, and by
(05:07):
no means was a perfect tournament, but yeah, I think
it was. It was super special to experience with that
group and something that we've set our eyes on for
a very long time, and yeah, it was super special.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
So you mentioned being one of those players who was
there in twenty nineteen who did not make it to
qualify for the twenty what ended up being the twenty
twenty Olympics in Tokyo. How did you personally prepare for
this next tournament knowing everything that had happened the first time,
but now coming into this tournament as very much a
(05:44):
leader of this squad.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
Yeah, I think I think having played in those games
and making that decision to actually come back still with
no guarantees.
Speaker 6 (05:56):
Was something that actually helped in this moment.
Speaker 5 (06:01):
It helped me be kind of at peace with despite
the result, like I could, I could overcome and I
can could get through it. And I think that that
was super helpful in just keeping you know, me as
a leader, and also our team super level headed and
in a really good emotional and mental state. You know,
we didn't let our highs get too high and our
(06:21):
lows too low, and I think we were able to
be super even keel throughout the games. And I think
that that is honestly something that helped us, as you
mentioned earlier, come back in that game against Japan when
we were one down, not a single person, you know,
spent time into the future of what will the results
be or worrying about the mistakes that maybe had happened
(06:43):
earlier in the game.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
Everyone was focused on being.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Present and how to get the job done and had
super a lot of belief and a lot of faith
in in our process. And I think again that emotional
state and being even keeled help with that.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Did you guys have a mantra at all, like what
happening in that inside the locker room in between those games?
Like what was the go to thing that that you
came back to after the results continued to go your way?
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah? I think two things.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
I think the first was just like like next three
seconds or you know, after a game, next game is
what matters, and that's that's what we're preparing for. And
then I think the other thing is anything can happen
in tournament play. So we kind of stuck with that
mantra in the sense that like, we could win our first,
our first pool play game and not go through and
(07:34):
not qualify for the Olympics, and we could win our
last and go through. And so no matter what the
results were, it was about us staying super process oriented
and taking everything one step at a time in order
to get us where we wanted to go. So I
think those two things were the biggest thing in that
tournament that we focused on in terms of mantra. But
also I think our team has this motto as fly
(07:56):
as one, and that just kind of encapsulates our culture
and all the values that we have, and then just
is a good reminder for us to just do everything together.
We win together, we lose together, we challenge each other.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
And Yeah, so I want to go back even further
because you talked about how you we have to talk
about your decision to stay in field hockey, after not
making the Olympics in twenty nineteen. But before that, we
had to go back even further because you played softball
growing up.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
So how did you go from softball to field hockey?
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Yeah, great question. So I actually started playing field hockey
in high school. Just going into high school, I was
looking to play a fall sport. Thought it would be
a great way to meet new friends and try something new.
I was really into athletics, and yeah, it was between
the two fall sports, we're softball or we're field hockey
(08:52):
and volleyball, and I'm quite short. And then also I
thought that playing softball woodland well to playing field hockey.
So yeah, I picked up a stick and I loved it.
I think the two main things that are the three
things that probably drew me to the sport of field
hockey were the speed of the game, so I felt
(09:14):
like I was always involved in the play, and that
kind of lens to the second.
Speaker 6 (09:19):
Thing, which is.
Speaker 5 (09:21):
I really enjoyed that you can make a mistake in
field hockey and it not matter.
Speaker 6 (09:26):
You can back tackle.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
And get the ball back, and you always had it
like an opportunity in my opinion, to make up for
mistakes or just purely by hustle, you could have a
really great game. So that's something that I liked that
differed in my opinion, from softball.
Speaker 6 (09:44):
And then the third thing, I think just going into
a sport at that age, like it just was like
I was.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
Learning everything, Like there were so many new skills, and
like I wanted to learn how to throw an aerial.
Speaker 6 (09:57):
I wanted to learn how to do a three D
a backhand.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
So it just was like a super exciting time for
me because I just wanted to learn everything.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Okay, so I want to learn something now because I
was a gymnast. And so when you say throw an aerial,
I'm thinking we're gonna throw a cartwheel with no hands right,
either forwards or backwards. And now I'm picturing you doing
that with a field hockey stick as some sort of
like maneuver over your opponent. I'm assuming that's not what
you mean. So break down for me what it means
(10:29):
to throw an aerial yea.
Speaker 5 (10:31):
In field hockey, an aerial is basically when you like
lift the ball into the air. Usually it's over a
large distance. There are some rules surrounding like how far
a defender can be from you and whether or not
it's dangerous and things like that. But yeah, it's throwing
it up into the air, usually over Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Yeah, So more similar to like an icing sich, like
an in hockey, and in ice hockey, right you can't
go past the So more similar to an icing situation,
except it's okay in certain situations in field hockey to throw.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
An aerial really far exactly perfect.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Okay, great, very great, All right, field hockey one on one.
That's what we're gonna get on this podcast. Okay, So
you mentioned one of the things that I think stands
out to me, and again I'm kind of fascinated by
this because I was a gymnast, I am a surfer,
and so the sports that I watch and competed in
were very much perfection oriented, right, Like, I was raised
(11:34):
in a sport culture where I believed perfection was possible,
which has required a lot of therapy to unlearn in
my personal life, but in my sports life, like, I
truly believed that I could be perfect, and that was
one of the things that I think was.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Both a great thing for me as an athlete.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
But also definitely took a toll on the mental side,
because when you believe perfection is possible and then fall short.
There's a lot of worthiness that comes into question. And
so one of the things you said, or at least
it did for me, and so with field hockey being
maybe forgiving is the wrong word, but being a little
(12:12):
bit more sort of in the moment.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
You can make up for a mistake you made. Like
why do you think you were drawn to that style
of sport after playing softball? Yeah?
Speaker 6 (12:22):
I think well probably after softball.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
Like in softball, you never know how many at bats
you're gonna get or you never know how many groundballs
are going to be you're gonna get within a game,
And so it's not that your like time is more
predictable in field hockey, but you just have so much
more opportunity, and I think that that's something that really
should me and similar like I think, yeah, people make
(12:48):
mistakes all the time, and so I think I liked
the fact that like, Okay, I just need to work
hard and it doesn't matter whether I make mistakes. I can,
I can I still have a good game, Like I'm
not defined by one stake mistake. And I think obviously,
like as you mentioned, going up from high school level
field hockey to collegiate field hockey to like you twenty
(13:10):
one to then international hockey, you kind of find that
perfection and that maybe those sure moments kind of like
minimized where you feel like you have that opportunity. But
I think that's a beautiful, a beautiful part of the game.
Like no one in field hockey is going to have
a perfect game, and the best thing you can do
(13:31):
is honestly move on for mistakes as soon as possible.
And so, yeah, that's something that just really drew me,
and yeah, I enjoy.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Do you feel like, not to get like very deep
with this question, but do you feel like you were
able to apply that to your personal life more like
you're outside of the outside of the lines more because
I'm just like, I'm coming back to just how hard
it was for me to turn off that perfectionism. Yeah,
and I stepped away from from the gym or got
out of the ocean or whatever it was. Do you
(14:02):
feel so, I guess I'm curious from the other side
of playing a sport where where not only is it
is it's not really about the number of mistakes you made.
It truly is about the number of times you get
back up and make up for it. Do you feel
like that has translated it all to sort of the
way you approach life outside of field hockey.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
Yeah, I think so in a lot of ways, I think, yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
I think also just like my my path to the
national team kind of as we talked about, like was
just kind of unique, and that kind of was always
the case where I never, like from a young age,
I didn't necessarily like dream of being on the national team.
It came kind of late for me and I obviously
set that dream. And I think when we didn't qualify,
I you know, that was a moment of like hitting
(14:49):
that perfection like moment so to speak, where it was like,
oh my gosh, like you didn't accomp like you didn't
accomplish what you saught for.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
Like this is good enough.
Speaker 5 (15:01):
But I do think that also, like you said, I
think being in high performance athletics, despite despite kind of
this concept and perspective, you always find yourself like wanting
wanting to be perfect and kind of having to like
remind yourself that okay, like it's it's okay to have
balance and you know things aren't always going to be
(15:23):
perfect and you can't always control everything too, So I
think that pread. I think it's a balance, But I
think the biggest thing that has translated is maybe more
so that like grace for yourself and the process, Like
if you're doing all the things that you need to
be doing and you have to have grace for yourself
(15:48):
while doing it, I think is the most important thing,
at least for me.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Yeah, I know that it makes total sense.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
And so field hockey starts as this thing where you're like, Okay,
I kind of want to do fall sport to then
now you're on.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
The U twenty one team, you're going to play in college.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Like when did field hockey become less about Oh, I'm
going to sort of do this in the fall to
make friends and like it seems kind of fun to
actually I think I have some big dreams with this sport.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
Yeah, so it's funny. I actually.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
Just went to a Lafayette field hockey clinic when I
was a I don't even know, in high school, but
essentially my mom we were going to visit a friend
who played at Yale and we were going up to
the Yale camp that summer, and so my mom was like, Hey,
let's go to this Lafayete field hockey clinic.
Speaker 6 (16:42):
It's an hour away from home.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
It's like twenty five bucks you sharpen up your skills.
Speaker 6 (16:49):
Before we go to this Yale camp.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
And it was at that camp where the coach at
the time came up to me and was like, where
are you playing in college?
Speaker 6 (16:57):
Like what schools are you looking at?
Speaker 5 (16:59):
And that was the first time that I realized I
was even capable of playing in college, because being in
the softball world since I was very very young, everyone
is like looking to get recruited and talking about colleage.
Speaker 6 (17:14):
Like playing in college from a very young age.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
So I just didn't realize necessarily like that it was
possible to start.
Speaker 6 (17:21):
This late and go play Division one.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
And so then it was at that point where then
my parents and I started having conversations of like, Okay,
what is this, Like what does this look like?
Speaker 6 (17:33):
Could I could I even be a door athlete? Is
that a possibility? Is that what I want? What sport
do I want to play? Like do I have a preference?
Speaker 5 (17:43):
And yeah, So then those conversations started to happen, and
that's kind of where I had to like navigate and
do some self reflection and was like, no, I want
to play field hockey, and I really love this sport
and for all the reasons that I mentioned before, and
to see where I can go with this.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
So you go to play at Lafayette, your field hockey
star if you will, at Lafayette, and then you decide
to take this route to the national team and walk
me through.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
So like that was twenty.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Seventeen, right, was when you joined the national team just
out of college, So like twenty two ish. So now
take me inside twenty seventeen. You've got two years until
this qualifying event. How big of a deal was it
for field hockey to miss that twenty twenty one qualification?
Speaker 6 (18:35):
Yeah, I think it was. It was a huge deal.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
So coming out of college, the team had just gotten
back from Rio in twenty sixteen where they finished and
that was really awesome and like historic for the US
team in a lot of ways. And so I think
going from that to then joining the team and then
(19:02):
you know, being an integral member so to speak, for
those years leading up to the twenty nineteen Olympic qualification,
it was it was a big deal that we kind of, yeah,
weren't even on the international stage in that regard, and
so yeah, it's super obviously exciting to be back and
(19:25):
like come full circle. But yeah, it was absolutely like,
I think, a shock in a lot of ways.
Speaker 6 (19:33):
In that that was kind of like the.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Expectation, Yeah, what did you guys lean on in that
time to.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Like once you missed the qualification right or even leading
up to it, Like what made that? What made you
stick with it after sort of enduring a loss like
that where you don't make an Olympic team after finishing
fish in the one before, well, you don't make an
Olympics after making fifth in the twenty sixteen Rio Games.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Yeah, I think for everyone it was super individual. So
obviously we had some people walk away as well, but
I think personally for me, it was a few things,
and one of those being like kind of just like
where my path had taken me and gotten me to
this point so far was I wanted to reach my
(20:28):
full potential, and I, both as a athlete and as
a person, like didn't feel like I had completely done that,
and I didn't feel like this book was closed just yet.
But I also think that that decision came with a
lot of challenges both in like, Okay, you're going to
(20:49):
do this again for the next four years and there'd
be absolutely no guarantee, and there also comes with a
lot of sacrifices along the way through that. And then
also our team had gone through a lot of transitions,
so we ended up moving locations, we went through various
coaching staff and so I think the other thing that
(21:14):
really kept me going through all those challenges and obstacles
with this idea that like I felt like that experience
had lent me, had lend me to lead this team
in a way that I didn't want anyone else to
experience what we experienced in twenty nineteen, and if I
could be a part of helping others not experience that,
(21:36):
that was something that, in my opinion, would be worthwhile.
So yeah, I'm obviously glad I stick around, but I
definitely came with a lot of you know, challenges, doubt
at times.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
So yeah, how did you How did you learn to
navigate such a loss or such a blow? I guess
as that one because it seems like, I mean, I'm
sure there were ups and downs within your field hockey
and certainly your softball career before this, but from an
athletic perspective, right like you played softball, you kind of
found your way on the field hockey team. You made
(22:14):
it to a D one college, So in some ways,
would you say that not making this, not qualifying for
the Olympics as a team, was that the biggest sort
of blow that you'd been dealt athletically up until that.
Speaker 6 (22:26):
Point, Absolutely, without doubt.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
And I think something that people don't always realize, especially
in our sport, is you trained four years obviously right
to go to the olymp like in the hopes of
going to the Olympics. But in a lot of other
sports they get to just go back to their professional
leagues if they if they don't make that Olympic roster.
(22:52):
For US, our team is training four years for this
exact to make this exact roster among World's Cup roster
and things like that. But you only get four years
to do that, and US as athletes aren't then going
back and get to Okay, we're back with our club
teams playing professionally.
Speaker 6 (23:12):
So it is like a four year commitment that you.
Speaker 5 (23:17):
Know, you you buy into, And I think, yeah, sometimes
sometimes people forget that, I think personally for me, I
honestly it was extremely hard to navigate. I think in
some sense, like COVID gave gave me the time to
kind of process when it just happened, and then like
(23:43):
kind of use that time to be like, Okay, I'm
going to commit to X, Y and Z and this
is the what I want to do and just reflect
on that whole journey and then honestly, like my support
system has been what's gotten me through, including like my husband,
my like parents, and then my like mentors and my
(24:06):
college coaches and previous coaches.
Speaker 6 (24:08):
And also my teammates.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
Like to have them, you know, alongside for the journey,
whether it's old teammates, new teammates, I think that they've
been so pivotal in you know, just like encouraging and
you know, showing up and believing and seeing the vision
that you know we would want as in going to
(24:31):
Paris and it's this is possible. And yeah, just having
that unwavering it's been amazing.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
So after the twenty twenty one Olympics and you guys
get back into sort of like preparing for the next cycle,
what are the conversations like among you the other leaders
on the team, the other captains, the coaches, what are
those conversations like like right after you know, like take
(24:57):
me into like the few practices when you come back
after that twenty twenty one games happened, You guys weren't
a part of it.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
What's the tone?
Speaker 3 (25:06):
What's the message that you come out with and say, Hey,
this is how we're not going to avoid this or
this is how we're going to avoid this and not
feel this way again.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
So it's actually quite interesting because even after that games
and even after we came back, we had a few
coaching changes and honestly a lot of player changes as well,
So it was almost like you have this brand new
squad of people, some who experienced this trauma so to speak,
(25:39):
and some who have absolutely no idea and trying to
almost like mend and blend that into understanding. Like, Okay,
there is such beauty and grace in you know, having
people who who don't understand, and you know, it's like
a fresh perspective. But then also like had you kind
(26:00):
of like translate this experience without it being burdenfull on
other people. So I think it was interesting because that
definitely took some time in terms of like, again, we
went through a lot of coaching, a lot of not
coaching change, coaching changes, but also player changes and just
organizational changes between twenty twenty one and even twenty twenty three,
(26:24):
So it's it was more about, like I think, building
those relationships and figuring out like, Okay, how how will
this team look in in the most important time and
what do we need to do, who are the connections
we need to make with and kind of then like
building from there. And then I think once we got
(26:45):
some stability in terms of location where we're going to
be coaching staff, then we could really like start to
build as a team. And then it was I think
more conversations of Okay, we want better what does that
look like?
Speaker 6 (27:00):
And that is.
Speaker 5 (27:00):
Both on field and off field, like what do we
need different from like our staff or organization? What do
we expect better from ourselves on and off the pitch?
So yeah, I think I think there was a lot
of a lot of different conversations and variety and Nay,
(27:20):
it was a very dynamic situation.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
So yeah, well okay, and so you talk about the
dynamic situation, right, and you bring up a great point
that like if you don't make a team USA basketball
roster or a team USA soccer roster, right, like there's
still the WNBA, there's still the NWSLA Olympic Surfers. If
you don't make the Olympic team, then you still have
the World Surf League and you have these like avenues
(27:44):
to compete yere in and you're out in your sport.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Contextualize for me.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
What it looks like in non Olympic years to be
a member of USA Field Hockey and like, what did
you have to put on hold?
Speaker 1 (27:58):
What did you have to sacrifice to choose that?
Speaker 5 (28:01):
Again? Yeah, so for again, it's kind of fluctuated since
just because we've had, you know, so many transitional changes.
But in a non Olympic gyear like, we are a
fully centralized program. So you are training with the team,
(28:22):
you know, every day of the week in what is
now Charlotte at our home base, and you know, you're
just going through the day to day grind and we
have tournaments here and there. So we used to be
in what was called the Pro League and that was
an international tournament. But again that all those games are
(28:43):
US games. So a lot of times you'll see that
as athletes, we put our worth in whether we make
a roster selection because we don't have your day to
day like professional leagues, which again are games they are
like very important, don't get me wrong, but there's just
not that much opportunity for us as athletes to play
(29:07):
games on the regular So a lot of it is
just training year round, year round, in hopes and in
wait in a waiting period for that next game that
we play, whether that's a tournament, whether that's a lead game.
And so yeah, I think it's you sacrifice a lot
in terms of your professional career, your finances in a
(29:28):
lot of ways because you commit to the program full time.
And then for a lot of people like they don't
get to, you know, be around family as much as
maybe they would like. And that's kind of on a
case by case basis, but yeah, I think the day
to day grind is a hard one, and you know,
(29:50):
everyone experiences that in different ways, and we're very fortunate
in a lot of ways, but there are definitely sacrifices
that that we make. And I think the other thing
that I'll add to that is just the emotional toll,
Like the emotional story that comes with sports and high
performance is tough and is something that I think the
(30:11):
average person might underestimate but is certainly is certainly you
know something as you mentioned that can affect your mental health.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Yeah, how did you personally navigate that emotional toll after
after everything that happened with Tokyo, after COVID and coming
back and knowing like, hey, not only am I committing
to this, but I'm going to need to be a
really solid, steady presence.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
On this team to make sure that Paris happens.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
How did what did you, Amanda do to set yourself
up for that kind of success?
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (30:45):
I think it's funny.
Speaker 5 (30:47):
I think I am a problem solver, like naturally so
to speak. But I think I definitely, like in terms
of problem solving, like probably took that to the nth
degree in terms of you know, I wanted to make
sure that if I was going to come back, I
was going to do everything in my power and if
(31:12):
the same result happened, then so be it. But you know,
I'm gonna I'm going to have the hard conversations whether
or not I like it, because that's the only way
that we're going to get to where we want to go.
And then I think the other thing was about pulling
people in around me that also understood that, and you know,
(31:32):
empowering my teammates to also believe in themselves and to
use their strengths, because strengths that I bring are are not,
you know, differ from strengths that someone else on my
team brings, and both are so valuable, and so how
can we capitalize that and empower each other to show
up as our best self? I think we're a few
(31:54):
things that I was like, Okay, if I'm going to
come back like we're going to do this and we're
going to commit, because there's there's just no other way, Like,
you can't have ass this.
Speaker 6 (32:05):
Yeah, it won't be worth it in the end.
Speaker 5 (32:07):
Honestly, it would be worth it if you know, you
just didn't get there and did everything that I could.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
So well, Okay, so you talk about committing full time,
and I know that I did a little poking on
your Instagram and there are some other hobbies for you
outside of being a captain for a team, say field hockey.
So where did the design touch come from? Because I
saw a few little little reno's and as a an
(32:35):
amateur dii y are myself, I built this show, Thank
you so much. As an amateur dii wy are myself,
where did that come into play?
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (32:44):
So, actually back when we lived in Lancastar as a team,
I got my real estate license and so that kind of,
like I think, you know, piqued my interest into just
like the real estate world and whatnot. And my in
laws actually are into you know, design as well. My
(33:07):
mother in law she's a fantastic like she's not an
interior designer by trade, but she really enjoys that stuff,
and I think having conversations with her, you know, really
like sparked my interest and my joy in it. And
then since then my husband and I have renovated a
few houses and so that's been really fun, both from like,
(33:31):
uh an interest and to like enjoy and learn. And
we're both very practical people, so that's been been fun
as well. But I think also from like a couple aspects,
it's it's been fun to like enjoy that and like,
(33:51):
you know, ask each other questions and yeah, just have
that kind of like side hobby that that we both
enjoy so well.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
I bet there's an instant gratification too. I mean, if
you were grinding day in, day out to try and
make a roster that comes around once every few years, Yeah,
my goodness. I can sit down in a weekend and
I can I can paint a wall, I can't put
on some molding, you know, like I bet there's some
instant for gratification that you're like feeding with.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
That as well.
Speaker 6 (34:18):
Oh my god.
Speaker 7 (34:18):
Absolutely, And it's just and again it goes back to
even like problem solving, like you never know what you're
gonna get when you start renovating, but then you're like
problem solving and then coming up with a plan and whatnot.
Speaker 6 (34:30):
So yeah, it is definitely, it's it's been fun.
Speaker 5 (34:33):
And it's also I think like low well depending on
your project, but can be low risk as well of
like okay, so what if I paint this on I
don't like it? Like so right in a different color.
Oh yeah, it's been super fun.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
This wall had like seven different greens on it. Yeah,
this wall was like seven. Now where I committed to
this one?
Speaker 5 (34:57):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (34:57):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Yes, this is it. We've the other thing again.
Speaker 3 (35:03):
I was like trying to, you know, get to know
you a little bit before the interview, and I think
that this is another similarity we have.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Are you blasting Kelsey Vallerini while you are doing your home?
You know, just like I am.
Speaker 6 (35:14):
Yes, I love her Kelsey Ballerini. I love you, and
we need to meet the three the three.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Kelsey same, same, same, same, because I just not only
like every in fact we're recording this when Kelsey just
dropped a new song and listened to it times, you
want to talk about it.
Speaker 8 (35:34):
But in addition to like, I just feel like her
music has so many like whatever my mood is, yeah,
Kelsey's got me covered, and it is just so freaking fun,
And so I want to like, what is what is
your go to Kelsey Vallerini song.
Speaker 5 (35:51):
Oh, if you go down, I'm going down to. It's
just like a good girls. I love it. But I
all her music like she she crushes it, like her
lyrics and then her delivery, and she just honestly, like
if you follow her, she's just fun and always is down.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Yes, yes, And I just love like whatever we could
do apparently a whole podcast how much she likes Kelsay Valerini.
But I just felt like she was so she was
so raw in the way that she shared everything that
she was going through personally, and it's like we have
this really beautiful side, this like really fun, loving girls
vibe and this side of her. But then in her
(36:32):
most recent album, before the new one that she's dropping
hopefully soon.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Kelsey, we can't wait. You know, she really led us.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Into some some ways to process things and like to
work through hard times, and my gosh, I just love her.
So anyway, sometime we'll get together and we'll do it.
We'll do a DIY project and we'll blast Kelsey Vallerini.
Well yeah, because maybe maybe Kelsey evolved.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
Kelsey knows We've got you. You need anything done, your ut,
come on here, We've got it.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Between the two of us, we can do this, and
we promise to sing your songs terribly, but with so
much passion.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Maybe you have a great voice. I don't, but I
doesn't stop voice. I am a lout and.
Speaker 6 (37:11):
Proud I am terrible singer.
Speaker 5 (37:14):
But it is funny because we all have like belt
the national anthem, and I yeah, I'm always just.
Speaker 6 (37:21):
Like, gosh, darn, I wish I had a good voice.
But you know what, I'm going to sing it loud
and proud.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
Yes, I am the biggest fan of sing it, sing
it loud, sing it proud.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
It is what it is.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
And like you know, at the end of the day,
I don't feel like there's not many great voices in
the world because they're all on the radio, So whoever's
judging me in the moment is.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
Probably whatever, probably not that much better. Yeah, exactly, okay, perfect,
Well I cannot wait for that.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
So before we switch gears here Paris twenty twenty four,
just weeks away, if there's one thing that you want
us to know about this team and why we should
be so excited to watch y'all compete and represent Team USA,
what would it be?
Speaker 5 (38:06):
Well, two things. One thing is not maybe it is
why you should watch us, But I think every single
athlete that is going to take the field, and even
you know, our team is twenty athletes and only sixteen
get to go to the Olympics. But every single athlete
on our team has such like an inspiring story, and
I wish more people knew every every single athlete and
(38:29):
what they've overcome and to get to this point, and
those that you know haven't made it what they've overcome
in their personal lives.
Speaker 6 (38:37):
So I wish I could share everyone's stories.
Speaker 5 (38:41):
But this is such an inspiring group and I am
like so extremely grateful and honored to lead them. But
I honestly think that we're an exciting bunch to watch.
I think we're unpredictable in a lot of ways, and
we're an underdog going into this tournament, but that is
exactly where where we want to be and we're really
(39:02):
excited by that and what that means for us, and
we hope people underestimate us. Yeah, and I think that
anything is possible in tournament play and that is something
that we're sticking true going into it.
Speaker 6 (39:16):
And maybe that's our mantra for the Olympic Games.
Speaker 5 (39:19):
But we're really excited and I think we thrive in
tournament hockey.
Speaker 3 (39:23):
So stay tuned, cannot wait, cannot wait to watch it,
Stay tuned indeed. Okay, before we let you go, let's
move into Are Something to Sip On segment.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
This is brought to you by the Sports Bra.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
It is the women's sports bar in Portland, Oregon, and
so the week of your episode, my dear, they're going
to have a featured cocktail.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
And so I want to know what is Amanda sipping on?
Speaker 3 (39:46):
What is your go to after a hard day, especially
in those North Carolina summers where I know is a
bit humid.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
What are we reaching for?
Speaker 6 (39:55):
I would say a mohito?
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Oh okay, any particular flavor.
Speaker 6 (40:00):
No, just your just your regular, You're basic, You're regular.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
Okay, So we had you and Churis and more. Are
gonna have to get together after the Olympics. Because Carissa
uh tsa surfer. She was the first episode of the
Powerful podcast in our inaugural season. She has a Lily
Koy mohto that was her her favorite, her favorite cocktail. So,
y'all are gonna have to get together compare mohedo. Yeah,
(40:26):
there you go. Next, we're gonna move into our Powered
Up segment, which means we have a bunch of rapid
fire questions to send your way.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
I will warn you I'm not great at rapid fire.
Speaker 6 (40:37):
Is what I learned.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
I want to know the story too much.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
I tend to like get distracted with what I So
I'm gonna try really hard.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
This is on me.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
I'm gonna work really hard to stay rapid and are
rapid fire. Okay, Okay, here we go. Coffee or tea?
Speaker 6 (40:52):
Oh coffee?
Speaker 1 (40:54):
Okay, favorite ice cream flavor.
Speaker 5 (40:56):
Ooh mint chocolate chip fudge us specifically in uh it's
not Lancaster but near Lancaster at Greco's.
Speaker 3 (41:06):
Oh okay, a little Pennsylvania local knowledge. I got it
lay faster Pennsylvania, right, So next time, four years, I'm
the best ice cream very obviously, the only place is
defined by its ice cream.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Okay, go to meal before or after playing field hockey?
Speaker 5 (41:25):
Ooh, I love chocolate milk after after playing field hockey.
Speaker 6 (41:33):
But you said favorite meal and this is not after
field hockey comes to my mind?
Speaker 5 (41:38):
Is just.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
You said chicken farm.
Speaker 5 (41:42):
Yeah, I don't eat it after field playing, but that's
favorite meal.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
That's my favorite. Okay, that works. See that's perfect. Well
at first you said chocolate milk and I was like,
I said a meal, right, Like, man, that's not a meal.
Speaker 5 (41:54):
No, No, milk is absolutely not meal, but it is
something that I love when I come.
Speaker 6 (42:00):
Home, like post practice.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
Okay, perfect. So we really like worked our way through
that question. I'm obsessed. Okay, are you a night owl
or an early bird?
Speaker 8 (42:11):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (42:12):
Early early bird? But honestly, I get into routines that
it becomes what I.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Okay, fair enough, See you're not as good as that
I am either. That's great. What is the favorite place
that your sport has taken you?
Speaker 6 (42:26):
Ooh mm hmmm mmm the Netherlands.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Oh that's cool. That would be really cool.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
Okay if you, oh, I like it if you were
not a field hockey player, and it doesn't have to
be softball, so just but like this is like, what
would what did you want to compete in the Olympics in?
It doesn't have to be doesn't have to be something
that actually you'd be good at. But if you could
choose anything to be good at, what would your other
Olympic sport be?
Speaker 6 (42:57):
Tennis?
Speaker 1 (42:58):
Tennis? Okay, I like it. What is your favorite dessert?
Speaker 6 (43:03):
Ooh? Ice cream?
Speaker 1 (43:04):
Ice cream?
Speaker 5 (43:05):
Me too?
Speaker 1 (43:06):
Okay? And what is the best piece of advice that
you have ever gotten?
Speaker 6 (43:10):
Ooh?
Speaker 5 (43:12):
It's this quote about aggregate marginal gains. So it's it's
basically like the idea that you know, we think things
happen in like like one standalone event, but really it's
the idea of like, you make decisions every day, and
you can make decisions that will you know, get you
to where you want to go or take away, and
(43:34):
none are necessarily right or wrong, but it's aggregate marginal gains.
Speaker 1 (43:39):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (43:39):
I this is where I'm can get distracted, But I
always think of the quote from MLK where he's talking
about you just take the next step in the latter
and so you can only control taking the next best
step and as long as you do that, then like
that's all you can control.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
And to me, that like is a.
Speaker 3 (44:01):
Really important reminder in my life, is like, don't worry
about the end destination.
Speaker 1 (44:06):
Try really hard to just focus on the next best step.
Speaker 6 (44:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (44:10):
And the funny thing is like when you put your
head down like that, like you probably will end up
somewhere you didn't even realize, and like probably further than
what you can even imagine.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
So you look up and you're an Olympian. Yeah, I
mean I'm not. You are.
Speaker 3 (44:24):
That's very fun. That's that's exactly it. Okay, And what
is the wildest mishap you have ever had in your sport?
Speaker 1 (44:34):
In playing field hockey?
Speaker 3 (44:36):
What is like the wildest sort of like, oh my gosh,
I can't believe that happened.
Speaker 6 (44:41):
Did it have to be to me or just in general?
Speaker 3 (44:43):
No, you could have observed it, but yeah, you could
have observed it.
Speaker 5 (44:48):
So like a skirt splitting down, so we were kilt
and a skirt like splitting down the butt crack in
the middle of the game.
Speaker 3 (44:58):
How does that happen? Do is this Are we pulling
on each other's skirts and field hockey?
Speaker 5 (45:03):
No, I think it's just like an accident, like, oh,
I don't know, that's right, I have no idea.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
But that was a wildness that that that qualifies as
a wildness app okay. And then the last question is
a two parter. The first one is this is the
Powerful podcast. We're all about high highlighting powerful women in sport.
And so what does powerful mean to you?
Speaker 6 (45:30):
M M. That's a good question.
Speaker 5 (45:33):
I think for me, powerful means like empowering others to
be their best self. And so I think that that
can look like a lot of different things. That can
be encouraging someone, That could be challenging someone.
Speaker 6 (45:50):
That can be just getting to know someone and building.
Speaker 5 (45:53):
That trust to then be able to eventually challenge them
or help them in times of need. But yeah, I
think I think powerful is like making an impact and that's,
in my opinion, the most powerful thing is to make
an impact on people.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
When do you feel the most powerful?
Speaker 5 (46:12):
Mmm? I think I feel the most powerful when I
feel connected to others and like my teammates and things
like that. But I also think I feel powerful when
I am like really living out my truest values and yeah,
just acting like with integrity and knowing and like trusting that. Yeah,
(46:38):
what I put forth is like a good representation of
who I am and who I want to be.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
Amanda, Thank you so much for joining us this week.
Cannot wait to root you guys on in field Hockey
Team USA the Underdog. We absolutely love it and fully
believe that you can bring home that metal.
Speaker 5 (46:58):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I really
appreciate it, and thanks for sharing the story of course.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
Okay, we'll see y'all next week.
Speaker 3 (47:05):
Thanks for joining us on this episode of The Powerful Podcast.
This is a reminder to check us out every Tuesday
all summer long everywhere you get your podcasts. And if
you really enjoy this and don't want to miss an episode,
be sure to hit that subscribe button.
If you're listening to this podcast, we know one thing
for absolute certain you are a fan of women's sports.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
And there's nothing better than enjoying women's sports with community,
and no better place to find that community than The
Sports Bra in Portland, Oregon, the very first women's sports.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Bar in the world.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
The owner Jenny Wynn and her team have created the
best atmosphere combined with top tier menu and cocktail options
to root on your favorite team. So next time you're
in Portland, be sure to stop by the sports Bra
and don't forget All summer, the sports Bra will be
featuring drinks picked out by our powerful women.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
So stop by, have a sip, and enjoy the summer.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Sports season jam packed with women's sports at the Sports Bra.
Hello friends, and welcome to the Powerful Podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I'm your host Aja McCord.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
In this podcast, we introduce you to powerful women who
are changing the game in and outside of their field
of play. These are women's stories, women who happen to
be doing things that many of us can only dream of,
but the lessons and inspiration they share is universal.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Welcome back to the Powerful Podcast. I am so excited
to be welcoming in our next guest. She is a
member of a US team that didn't get to compete
in twenty twenty one, but has punched their ticket to
twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
She played for Lafayette College.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
She played softball growing up, but that is not the
sport that she became an Olympian in.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Please welcome Amanda Galini.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
She's a midfielder and captain for Team USA field hockey.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Amanda, thank you so much for being here today.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to know
my story and be here with you.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
I'm so excited because, like I mentioned, field hockey did
not make it to the Olympics in twenty twenty one,
but it was a massive moment when you guys made
it to twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So we're going to get into that whole story.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
But first and foremost, field hockey is one of those
Olympic sports that not everybody understands the sport itself. Can
you explain to us what is field hockey like? How
would you describe it to somebody who doesn't know what
it is.
Speaker 5 (02:06):
Yeah, so, field hockey kind of similar to ice hockey.
We have a stick in our hand, but it is
played on astro turf, so not like your normal turf
that you went out to your public park and maybe
there's a turf there.
Speaker 6 (02:22):
It's a very specialized turf and it actually gets watered.
Speaker 5 (02:27):
The water helps the ball play properly and stay flat.
And yeah, there's no right there's only right sided sticks.
A lot of people get confused and are like, we're
the left sided sticks, but yeah, and you can only
play with one side of the stick. So there's a
lot of skill and tactical changes based on like some
(02:51):
of those like subsets alone.
Speaker 6 (02:54):
But yeah, it's a really fun sport.
Speaker 5 (02:56):
It's super fast when it's played well, it looks so,
but it's it's quite a unique sport and takes a
lot of skill and you're running around kind of lopsided
and in a lot of ways and super low and
trying to be agile.
Speaker 6 (03:13):
So yeah, it is.
Speaker 5 (03:14):
It is definitely a fun sport and if you haven't
seen it, highly recommend.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Well, we're all going to tune in in Paris twenty
twenty four because you guys are going to be back
in the Olympics, and like I said, this was a
big moment because it requires you guys to qualify in
India while you were at the fih Women's Hockey Olympic Qualifier,
and in order to even get to the spot where
you could punch your ticket to the Olympics, you had
(03:40):
to go. You did three back to back to back
shutouts against your opponents, and then you had to beat
Japan two to one to lock in your spot, and
I think you were like trailing in that game as well.
So give me take me inside that tournament. How did
you guys prepare for that moment knowing everything was on
(04:01):
the line.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Yeah, well, I think our coaching staff did a great
job of getting us a lot of games in before
that tournament to really help us feel prepared going into it.
But for some of us, the few athletes that were
there back in twenty nineteen when we didn't qualify for
the twenty twenty one Olympics, for us, it was really
(04:22):
a full circle moment because we lost that qualifier in
India and now here we were back in India again,
playing India on their home turf, and so I think
for a lot of us, we took, we leaned into
that experience and took a lot of pride out of
having had that experience.
Speaker 6 (04:45):
And just tried to.
Speaker 5 (04:45):
Really lead our team with composure and knowing that we
had been there before, and then I think as a team,
we really just locked into our culture and what that meant,
and took a lot of ownership and pride in our
in our defensive structures. And yeah, I think it was
a super fun tournament to play, and there were challenges
that were thrown at us along the way, and by
(05:07):
no means was a perfect tournament, but yeah, I think
it was. It was super special to experience with that
group and something that we've set our eyes on for
a very long time, and yeah, it was super special.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
So you mentioned being one of those players who was
there in twenty nineteen who did not make it to
qualify for the twenty what ended up being the twenty
twenty Olympics in Tokyo. How did you personally prepare for
this next tournament knowing everything that had happened the first time,
but now coming into this tournament as very much a
(05:44):
leader of this squad.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
Yeah, I think I think having played in those games
and making that decision to actually come back still with
no guarantees.
Speaker 6 (05:56):
Was something that actually helped in this moment.
Speaker 5 (06:01):
It helped me be kind of at peace with despite
the result, like I could, I could overcome and I
can could get through it. And I think that that
was super helpful in just keeping you know, me as
a leader, and also our team super level headed and
in a really good emotional and mental state. You know,
we didn't let our highs get too high and our
(06:21):
lows too low, and I think we were able to
be super even keel throughout the games. And I think
that that is honestly something that helped us, as you
mentioned earlier, come back in that game against Japan when
we were one down, not a single person, you know,
spent time into the future of what will the results
be or worrying about the mistakes that maybe had happened
(06:43):
earlier in the game.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
Everyone was focused on being.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Present and how to get the job done and had
super a lot of belief and a lot of faith
in in our process. And I think again that emotional
state and being even keeled help with that.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Did you guys have a mantra at all, like what
happening in that inside the locker room in between those games?
Like what was the go to thing that that you
came back to after the results continued to go your way?
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah? I think two things.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
I think the first was just like like next three
seconds or you know, after a game, next game is
what matters, and that's that's what we're preparing for. And
then I think the other thing is anything can happen
in tournament play. So we kind of stuck with that
mantra in the sense that like, we could win our first,
our first pool play game and not go through and
(07:34):
not qualify for the Olympics, and we could win our
last and go through. And so no matter what the
results were, it was about us staying super process oriented
and taking everything one step at a time in order
to get us where we wanted to go. So I
think those two things were the biggest thing in that
tournament that we focused on in terms of mantra. But
also I think our team has this motto as fly
(07:56):
as one, and that just kind of encapsulates our culture
and all the values that we have, and then just
is a good reminder for us to just do everything together.
We win together, we lose together, we challenge each other.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
And Yeah, so I want to go back even further
because you talked about how you we have to talk
about your decision to stay in field hockey, after not
making the Olympics in twenty nineteen. But before that, we
had to go back even further because you played softball
growing up.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
So how did you go from softball to field hockey?
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Yeah, great question. So I actually started playing field hockey
in high school. Just going into high school, I was
looking to play a fall sport. Thought it would be
a great way to meet new friends and try something new.
I was really into athletics, and yeah, it was between
the two fall sports, we're softball or we're field hockey
(08:52):
and volleyball, and I'm quite short. And then also I
thought that playing softball woodland well to playing field hockey.
So yeah, I picked up a stick and I loved it.
I think the two main things that are the three
things that probably drew me to the sport of field
hockey were the speed of the game, so I felt
(09:14):
like I was always involved in the play, and that
kind of lens to the second.
Speaker 6 (09:19):
Thing, which is.
Speaker 5 (09:21):
I really enjoyed that you can make a mistake in
field hockey and it not matter.
Speaker 6 (09:26):
You can back tackle.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
And get the ball back, and you always had it
like an opportunity in my opinion, to make up for
mistakes or just purely by hustle, you could have a
really great game. So that's something that I liked that
differed in my opinion, from softball.
Speaker 6 (09:44):
And then the third thing, I think just going into
a sport at that age, like it just was like
I was.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
Learning everything, Like there were so many new skills, and
like I wanted to learn how to throw an aerial.
Speaker 6 (09:57):
I wanted to learn how to do a three D
a backhand.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
So it just was like a super exciting time for
me because I just wanted to learn everything.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Okay, so I want to learn something now because I
was a gymnast. And so when you say throw an aerial,
I'm thinking we're gonna throw a cartwheel with no hands right,
either forwards or backwards. And now I'm picturing you doing
that with a field hockey stick as some sort of
like maneuver over your opponent. I'm assuming that's not what
you mean. So break down for me what it means
(10:29):
to throw an aerial yea.
Speaker 5 (10:31):
In field hockey, an aerial is basically when you like
lift the ball into the air. Usually it's over a
large distance. There are some rules surrounding like how far
a defender can be from you and whether or not
it's dangerous and things like that. But yeah, it's throwing
it up into the air, usually over Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Yeah, So more similar to like an icing sich, like
an in hockey, and in ice hockey, right you can't
go past the So more similar to an icing situation,
except it's okay in certain situations in field hockey to throw.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
An aerial really far exactly perfect.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Okay, great, very great, All right, field hockey one on one.
That's what we're gonna get on this podcast. Okay, So
you mentioned one of the things that I think stands
out to me, and again I'm kind of fascinated by
this because I was a gymnast, I am a surfer,
and so the sports that I watch and competed in
were very much perfection oriented, right, Like, I was raised
(11:34):
in a sport culture where I believed perfection was possible,
which has required a lot of therapy to unlearn in
my personal life, but in my sports life, like, I
truly believed that I could be perfect, and that was
one of the things that I think was.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Both a great thing for me as an athlete.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
But also definitely took a toll on the mental side,
because when you believe perfection is possible and then fall short.
There's a lot of worthiness that comes into question. And
so one of the things you said, or at least
it did for me, and so with field hockey being
maybe forgiving is the wrong word, but being a little
(12:12):
bit more sort of in the moment.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
You can make up for a mistake you made. Like
why do you think you were drawn to that style
of sport after playing softball? Yeah?
Speaker 6 (12:22):
I think well probably after softball.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
Like in softball, you never know how many at bats
you're gonna get or you never know how many groundballs
are going to be you're gonna get within a game,
And so it's not that your like time is more
predictable in field hockey, but you just have so much
more opportunity, and I think that that's something that really
should me and similar like I think, yeah, people make
(12:48):
mistakes all the time, and so I think I liked
the fact that like, Okay, I just need to work
hard and it doesn't matter whether I make mistakes. I can,
I can I still have a good game, Like I'm
not defined by one stake mistake. And I think obviously,
like as you mentioned, going up from high school level
field hockey to collegiate field hockey to like you twenty
(13:10):
one to then international hockey, you kind of find that
perfection and that maybe those sure moments kind of like
minimized where you feel like you have that opportunity. But
I think that's a beautiful, a beautiful part of the game.
Like no one in field hockey is going to have
a perfect game, and the best thing you can do
(13:31):
is honestly move on for mistakes as soon as possible.
And so, yeah, that's something that just really drew me,
and yeah, I enjoy.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Do you feel like, not to get like very deep
with this question, but do you feel like you were
able to apply that to your personal life more like
you're outside of the outside of the lines more because
I'm just like, I'm coming back to just how hard
it was for me to turn off that perfectionism. Yeah,
and I stepped away from from the gym or got
out of the ocean or whatever it was. Do you
(14:02):
feel so, I guess I'm curious from the other side
of playing a sport where where not only is it
is it's not really about the number of mistakes you made.
It truly is about the number of times you get
back up and make up for it. Do you feel
like that has translated it all to sort of the
way you approach life outside of field hockey.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
Yeah, I think so in a lot of ways, I think, yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
I think also just like my my path to the
national team kind of as we talked about, like was
just kind of unique, and that kind of was always
the case where I never, like from a young age,
I didn't necessarily like dream of being on the national team.
It came kind of late for me and I obviously
set that dream. And I think when we didn't qualify,
I you know, that was a moment of like hitting
(14:49):
that perfection like moment so to speak, where it was like,
oh my gosh, like you didn't accomp like you didn't
accomplish what you saught for.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
Like this is good enough.
Speaker 5 (15:01):
But I do think that also, like you said, I
think being in high performance athletics, despite despite kind of
this concept and perspective, you always find yourself like wanting
wanting to be perfect and kind of having to like
remind yourself that okay, like it's it's okay to have
balance and you know things aren't always going to be
(15:23):
perfect and you can't always control everything too, So I
think that pread. I think it's a balance, But I
think the biggest thing that has translated is maybe more
so that like grace for yourself and the process, Like
if you're doing all the things that you need to
be doing and you have to have grace for yourself
(15:48):
while doing it, I think is the most important thing,
at least for me.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Yeah, I know that it makes total sense.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
And so field hockey starts as this thing where you're like, Okay,
I kind of want to do fall sport to then
now you're on.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
The U twenty one team, you're going to play in college.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Like when did field hockey become less about Oh, I'm
going to sort of do this in the fall to
make friends and like it seems kind of fun to
actually I think I have some big dreams with this sport.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
Yeah, so it's funny. I actually.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
Just went to a Lafayette field hockey clinic when I
was a I don't even know, in high school, but
essentially my mom we were going to visit a friend
who played at Yale and we were going up to
the Yale camp that summer, and so my mom was like, Hey,
let's go to this Lafayete field hockey clinic.
Speaker 6 (16:42):
It's an hour away from home.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
It's like twenty five bucks you sharpen up your skills.
Speaker 6 (16:49):
Before we go to this Yale camp.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
And it was at that camp where the coach at
the time came up to me and was like, where
are you playing in college?
Speaker 6 (16:57):
Like what schools are you looking at?
Speaker 5 (16:59):
And that was the first time that I realized I
was even capable of playing in college, because being in
the softball world since I was very very young, everyone
is like looking to get recruited and talking about colleage.
Speaker 6 (17:14):
Like playing in college from a very young age.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
So I just didn't realize necessarily like that it was
possible to start.
Speaker 6 (17:21):
This late and go play Division one.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
And so then it was at that point where then
my parents and I started having conversations of like, Okay,
what is this, Like what does this look like?
Speaker 6 (17:33):
Could I could I even be a door athlete? Is
that a possibility? Is that what I want? What sport
do I want to play? Like do I have a preference?
Speaker 5 (17:43):
And yeah, So then those conversations started to happen, and
that's kind of where I had to like navigate and
do some self reflection and was like, no, I want
to play field hockey, and I really love this sport
and for all the reasons that I mentioned before, and
to see where I can go with this.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
So you go to play at Lafayette, your field hockey
star if you will, at Lafayette, and then you decide
to take this route to the national team and walk
me through.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
So like that was twenty.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Seventeen, right, was when you joined the national team just
out of college, So like twenty two ish. So now
take me inside twenty seventeen. You've got two years until
this qualifying event. How big of a deal was it
for field hockey to miss that twenty twenty one qualification?
Speaker 6 (18:35):
Yeah, I think it was. It was a huge deal.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
So coming out of college, the team had just gotten
back from Rio in twenty sixteen where they finished and
that was really awesome and like historic for the US
team in a lot of ways. And so I think
going from that to then joining the team and then
(19:02):
you know, being an integral member so to speak, for
those years leading up to the twenty nineteen Olympic qualification,
it was it was a big deal that we kind of, yeah,
weren't even on the international stage in that regard, and
so yeah, it's super obviously exciting to be back and
(19:25):
like come full circle. But yeah, it was absolutely like,
I think, a shock in a lot of ways.
Speaker 6 (19:33):
In that that was kind of like the.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Expectation, Yeah, what did you guys lean on in that
time to.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Like once you missed the qualification right or even leading
up to it, Like what made that? What made you
stick with it after sort of enduring a loss like
that where you don't make an Olympic team after finishing
fish in the one before, well, you don't make an
Olympics after making fifth in the twenty sixteen Rio Games.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Yeah, I think for everyone it was super individual. So
obviously we had some people walk away as well, but
I think personally for me, it was a few things,
and one of those being like kind of just like
where my path had taken me and gotten me to
this point so far was I wanted to reach my
(20:28):
full potential, and I, both as a athlete and as
a person, like didn't feel like I had completely done that,
and I didn't feel like this book was closed just yet.
But I also think that that decision came with a
lot of challenges both in like, Okay, you're going to
(20:49):
do this again for the next four years and there'd
be absolutely no guarantee, and there also comes with a
lot of sacrifices along the way through that. And then
also our team had gone through a lot of transitions,
so we ended up moving locations, we went through various
coaching staff and so I think the other thing that
(21:14):
really kept me going through all those challenges and obstacles
with this idea that like I felt like that experience
had lent me, had lend me to lead this team
in a way that I didn't want anyone else to
experience what we experienced in twenty nineteen, and if I
could be a part of helping others not experience that,
(21:36):
that was something that, in my opinion, would be worthwhile.
So yeah, I'm obviously glad I stick around, but I
definitely came with a lot of you know, challenges, doubt
at times.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
So yeah, how did you How did you learn to
navigate such a loss or such a blow? I guess
as that one because it seems like, I mean, I'm
sure there were ups and downs within your field hockey
and certainly your softball career before this, but from an
athletic perspective, right like you played softball, you kind of
found your way on the field hockey team. You made
(22:14):
it to a D one college, So in some ways,
would you say that not making this, not qualifying for
the Olympics as a team, was that the biggest sort
of blow that you'd been dealt athletically up until that.
Speaker 6 (22:26):
Point, Absolutely, without doubt.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
And I think something that people don't always realize, especially
in our sport, is you trained four years obviously right
to go to the olymp like in the hopes of
going to the Olympics. But in a lot of other
sports they get to just go back to their professional
leagues if they if they don't make that Olympic roster.
(22:52):
For US, our team is training four years for this
exact to make this exact roster among World's Cup roster
and things like that. But you only get four years
to do that, and US as athletes aren't then going
back and get to Okay, we're back with our club
teams playing professionally.
Speaker 6 (23:12):
So it is like a four year commitment that you.
Speaker 5 (23:17):
Know, you you buy into, And I think, yeah, sometimes
sometimes people forget that, I think personally for me, I
honestly it was extremely hard to navigate. I think in
some sense, like COVID gave gave me the time to
kind of process when it just happened, and then like
(23:43):
kind of use that time to be like, Okay, I'm
going to commit to X, Y and Z and this
is the what I want to do and just reflect
on that whole journey and then honestly, like my support
system has been what's gotten me through, including like my husband,
my like parents, and then my like mentors and my
(24:06):
college coaches and previous coaches.
Speaker 6 (24:08):
And also my teammates.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
Like to have them, you know, alongside for the journey,
whether it's old teammates, new teammates, I think that they've
been so pivotal in you know, just like encouraging and
you know, showing up and believing and seeing the vision
that you know we would want as in going to
(24:31):
Paris and it's this is possible. And yeah, just having
that unwavering it's been amazing.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
So after the twenty twenty one Olympics and you guys
get back into sort of like preparing for the next cycle,
what are the conversations like among you the other leaders
on the team, the other captains, the coaches, what are
those conversations like like right after you know, like take
(24:57):
me into like the few practices when you come back
after that twenty twenty one games happened, You guys weren't
a part of it.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
What's the tone?
Speaker 3 (25:06):
What's the message that you come out with and say, Hey,
this is how we're not going to avoid this or
this is how we're going to avoid this and not
feel this way again.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
So it's actually quite interesting because even after that games
and even after we came back, we had a few
coaching changes and honestly a lot of player changes as well,
So it was almost like you have this brand new
squad of people, some who experienced this trauma so to speak,
(25:39):
and some who have absolutely no idea and trying to
almost like mend and blend that into understanding. Like, Okay,
there is such beauty and grace in you know, having
people who who don't understand, and you know, it's like
a fresh perspective. But then also like had you kind
(26:00):
of like translate this experience without it being burdenfull on
other people. So I think it was interesting because that
definitely took some time in terms of like, again, we
went through a lot of coaching, a lot of not
coaching change, coaching changes, but also player changes and just
organizational changes between twenty twenty one and even twenty twenty three,
(26:24):
So it's it was more about, like I think, building
those relationships and figuring out like, Okay, how how will
this team look in in the most important time and
what do we need to do, who are the connections
we need to make with and kind of then like
building from there. And then I think once we got
(26:45):
some stability in terms of location where we're going to
be coaching staff, then we could really like start to
build as a team. And then it was I think
more conversations of Okay, we want better what does that
look like?
Speaker 6 (27:00):
And that is.
Speaker 5 (27:00):
Both on field and off field, like what do we
need different from like our staff or organization? What do
we expect better from ourselves on and off the pitch?
So yeah, I think I think there was a lot
of a lot of different conversations and variety and Nay,
(27:20):
it was a very dynamic situation.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
So yeah, well okay, and so you talk about the
dynamic situation, right, and you bring up a great point
that like if you don't make a team USA basketball
roster or a team USA soccer roster, right, like there's
still the WNBA, there's still the NWSLA Olympic Surfers. If
you don't make the Olympic team, then you still have
the World Surf League and you have these like avenues
(27:44):
to compete yere in and you're out in your sport.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Contextualize for me.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
What it looks like in non Olympic years to be
a member of USA Field Hockey and like, what did
you have to put on hold?
Speaker 1 (27:58):
What did you have to sacrifice to choose that?
Speaker 5 (28:01):
Again? Yeah, so for again, it's kind of fluctuated since
just because we've had, you know, so many transitional changes.
But in a non Olympic gyear like, we are a
fully centralized program. So you are training with the team,
(28:22):
you know, every day of the week in what is
now Charlotte at our home base, and you know, you're
just going through the day to day grind and we
have tournaments here and there. So we used to be
in what was called the Pro League and that was
an international tournament. But again that all those games are
(28:43):
US games. So a lot of times you'll see that
as athletes, we put our worth in whether we make
a roster selection because we don't have your day to
day like professional leagues, which again are games they are
like very important, don't get me wrong, but there's just
not that much opportunity for us as athletes to play
(29:07):
games on the regular So a lot of it is
just training year round, year round, in hopes and in
wait in a waiting period for that next game that
we play, whether that's a tournament, whether that's a lead game.
And so yeah, I think it's you sacrifice a lot
in terms of your professional career, your finances in a
(29:28):
lot of ways because you commit to the program full time.
And then for a lot of people like they don't
get to, you know, be around family as much as
maybe they would like. And that's kind of on a
case by case basis, but yeah, I think the day
to day grind is a hard one, and you know,
(29:50):
everyone experiences that in different ways, and we're very fortunate
in a lot of ways, but there are definitely sacrifices
that that we make. And I think the other thing
that I'll add to that is just the emotional toll,
Like the emotional story that comes with sports and high
performance is tough and is something that I think the
(30:11):
average person might underestimate but is certainly is certainly you
know something as you mentioned that can affect your mental health.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Yeah, how did you personally navigate that emotional toll after
after everything that happened with Tokyo, after COVID and coming
back and knowing like, hey, not only am I committing
to this, but I'm going to need to be a
really solid, steady presence.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
On this team to make sure that Paris happens.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
How did what did you, Amanda do to set yourself
up for that kind of success?
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (30:45):
I think it's funny.
Speaker 5 (30:47):
I think I am a problem solver, like naturally so
to speak. But I think I definitely, like in terms
of problem solving, like probably took that to the nth
degree in terms of you know, I wanted to make
sure that if I was going to come back, I
was going to do everything in my power and if
(31:12):
the same result happened, then so be it. But you know,
I'm gonna I'm going to have the hard conversations whether
or not I like it, because that's the only way
that we're going to get to where we want to go.
And then I think the other thing was about pulling
people in around me that also understood that, and you know,
(31:32):
empowering my teammates to also believe in themselves and to
use their strengths, because strengths that I bring are are not,
you know, differ from strengths that someone else on my
team brings, and both are so valuable, and so how
can we capitalize that and empower each other to show
up as our best self? I think we're a few
(31:54):
things that I was like, Okay, if I'm going to
come back like we're going to do this and we're
going to commit, because there's there's just no other way, Like,
you can't have ass this.
Speaker 6 (32:05):
Yeah, it won't be worth it in the end.
Speaker 5 (32:07):
Honestly, it would be worth it if you know, you
just didn't get there and did everything that I could.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
So well, Okay, so you talk about committing full time,
and I know that I did a little poking on
your Instagram and there are some other hobbies for you
outside of being a captain for a team, say field hockey.
So where did the design touch come from? Because I
saw a few little little reno's and as a an
(32:35):
amateur dii y are myself, I built this show, Thank
you so much. As an amateur dii wy are myself,
where did that come into play?
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (32:44):
So, actually back when we lived in Lancastar as a team,
I got my real estate license and so that kind of,
like I think, you know, piqued my interest into just
like the real estate world and whatnot. And my in
laws actually are into you know, design as well. My
(33:07):
mother in law she's a fantastic like she's not an
interior designer by trade, but she really enjoys that stuff,
and I think having conversations with her, you know, really
like sparked my interest and my joy in it. And
then since then my husband and I have renovated a
few houses and so that's been really fun, both from like,
(33:31):
uh an interest and to like enjoy and learn. And
we're both very practical people, so that's been been fun
as well. But I think also from like a couple aspects,
it's it's been fun to like enjoy that and like,
(33:51):
you know, ask each other questions and yeah, just have
that kind of like side hobby that that we both
enjoy so well.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
I bet there's an instant gratification too. I mean, if
you were grinding day in, day out to try and
make a roster that comes around once every few years, Yeah,
my goodness. I can sit down in a weekend and
I can I can paint a wall, I can't put
on some molding, you know, like I bet there's some
instant for gratification that you're like feeding with.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
That as well.
Speaker 6 (34:18):
Oh my god.
Speaker 7 (34:18):
Absolutely, And it's just and again it goes back to
even like problem solving, like you never know what you're
gonna get when you start renovating, but then you're like
problem solving and then coming up with a plan and whatnot.
Speaker 6 (34:30):
So yeah, it is definitely, it's it's been fun.
Speaker 5 (34:33):
And it's also I think like low well depending on
your project, but can be low risk as well of
like okay, so what if I paint this on I
don't like it? Like so right in a different color.
Oh yeah, it's been super fun.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
This wall had like seven different greens on it. Yeah,
this wall was like seven. Now where I committed to
this one?
Speaker 5 (34:57):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (34:57):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Yes, this is it. We've the other thing again.
Speaker 3 (35:03):
I was like trying to, you know, get to know
you a little bit before the interview, and I think
that this is another similarity we have.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Are you blasting Kelsey Vallerini while you are doing your home?
You know, just like I am.
Speaker 6 (35:14):
Yes, I love her Kelsey Ballerini. I love you, and
we need to meet the three the three.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Kelsey same, same, same, same, because I just not only
like every in fact we're recording this when Kelsey just
dropped a new song and listened to it times, you
want to talk about it.
Speaker 8 (35:34):
But in addition to like, I just feel like her
music has so many like whatever my mood is, yeah,
Kelsey's got me covered, and it is just so freaking fun,
And so I want to like, what is what is
your go to Kelsey Vallerini song.
Speaker 5 (35:51):
Oh, if you go down, I'm going down to. It's
just like a good girls. I love it. But I
all her music like she she crushes it, like her
lyrics and then her delivery, and she just honestly, like
if you follow her, she's just fun and always is down.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Yes, yes, And I just love like whatever we could
do apparently a whole podcast how much she likes Kelsay Valerini.
But I just felt like she was so she was
so raw in the way that she shared everything that
she was going through personally, and it's like we have
this really beautiful side, this like really fun, loving girls
vibe and this side of her. But then in her
(36:32):
most recent album, before the new one that she's dropping
hopefully soon.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Kelsey, we can't wait. You know, she really led us.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Into some some ways to process things and like to
work through hard times, and my gosh, I just love her.
So anyway, sometime we'll get together and we'll do it.
We'll do a DIY project and we'll blast Kelsey Vallerini.
Well yeah, because maybe maybe Kelsey evolved.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
Kelsey knows We've got you. You need anything done, your ut,
come on here, We've got it.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Between the two of us, we can do this, and
we promise to sing your songs terribly, but with so
much passion.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Maybe you have a great voice. I don't, but I
doesn't stop voice. I am a lout and.
Speaker 6 (37:11):
Proud I am terrible singer.
Speaker 5 (37:14):
But it is funny because we all have like belt
the national anthem, and I yeah, I'm always just.
Speaker 6 (37:21):
Like, gosh, darn, I wish I had a good voice.
But you know what, I'm going to sing it loud
and proud.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
Yes, I am the biggest fan of sing it, sing
it loud, sing it proud.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
It is what it is.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
And like you know, at the end of the day,
I don't feel like there's not many great voices in
the world because they're all on the radio, So whoever's
judging me in the moment is.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
Probably whatever, probably not that much better. Yeah, exactly, okay, perfect,
Well I cannot wait for that.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
So before we switch gears here Paris twenty twenty four,
just weeks away, if there's one thing that you want
us to know about this team and why we should
be so excited to watch y'all compete and represent Team USA,
what would it be?
Speaker 5 (38:06):
Well, two things. One thing is not maybe it is
why you should watch us, But I think every single
athlete that is going to take the field, and even
you know, our team is twenty athletes and only sixteen
get to go to the Olympics. But every single athlete
on our team has such like an inspiring story, and
I wish more people knew every every single athlete and
(38:29):
what they've overcome and to get to this point, and
those that you know haven't made it what they've overcome
in their personal lives.
Speaker 6 (38:37):
So I wish I could share everyone's stories.
Speaker 5 (38:41):
But this is such an inspiring group and I am
like so extremely grateful and honored to lead them. But
I honestly think that we're an exciting bunch to watch.
I think we're unpredictable in a lot of ways, and
we're an underdog going into this tournament, but that is
exactly where where we want to be and we're really
(39:02):
excited by that and what that means for us, and
we hope people underestimate us. Yeah, and I think that
anything is possible in tournament play and that is something
that we're sticking true going into it.
Speaker 6 (39:16):
And maybe that's our mantra for the Olympic Games.
Speaker 5 (39:19):
But we're really excited and I think we thrive in
tournament hockey.
Speaker 3 (39:23):
So stay tuned, cannot wait, cannot wait to watch it,
Stay tuned indeed. Okay, before we let you go, let's
move into Are Something to Sip On segment.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
This is brought to you by the Sports Bra.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
It is the women's sports bar in Portland, Oregon, and
so the week of your episode, my dear, they're going
to have a featured cocktail.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
And so I want to know what is Amanda sipping on?
Speaker 3 (39:46):
What is your go to after a hard day, especially
in those North Carolina summers where I know is a
bit humid.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
What are we reaching for?
Speaker 6 (39:55):
I would say a mohito?
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Oh okay, any particular flavor.
Speaker 6 (40:00):
No, just your just your regular, You're basic, You're regular.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
Okay, So we had you and Churis and more. Are
gonna have to get together after the Olympics. Because Carissa
uh tsa surfer. She was the first episode of the
Powerful podcast in our inaugural season. She has a Lily
Koy mohto that was her her favorite, her favorite cocktail. So,
y'all are gonna have to get together compare mohedo. Yeah,
(40:26):
there you go. Next, we're gonna move into our Powered
Up segment, which means we have a bunch of rapid
fire questions to send your way.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
I will warn you I'm not great at rapid fire.
Speaker 6 (40:37):
Is what I learned.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
I want to know the story too much.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
I tend to like get distracted with what I So
I'm gonna try really hard.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
This is on me.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
I'm gonna work really hard to stay rapid and are
rapid fire. Okay, Okay, here we go. Coffee or tea?
Speaker 6 (40:52):
Oh coffee?
Speaker 1 (40:54):
Okay, favorite ice cream flavor.
Speaker 5 (40:56):
Ooh mint chocolate chip fudge us specifically in uh it's
not Lancaster but near Lancaster at Greco's.
Speaker 3 (41:06):
Oh okay, a little Pennsylvania local knowledge. I got it
lay faster Pennsylvania, right, So next time, four years, I'm
the best ice cream very obviously, the only place is
defined by its ice cream.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Okay, go to meal before or after playing field hockey?
Speaker 5 (41:25):
Ooh, I love chocolate milk after after playing field hockey.
Speaker 6 (41:33):
But you said favorite meal and this is not after
field hockey comes to my mind?
Speaker 5 (41:38):
Is just.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
You said chicken farm.
Speaker 5 (41:42):
Yeah, I don't eat it after field playing, but that's
favorite meal.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
That's my favorite. Okay, that works. See that's perfect. Well
at first you said chocolate milk and I was like,
I said a meal, right, Like, man, that's not a meal.
Speaker 5 (41:54):
No, No, milk is absolutely not meal, but it is
something that I love when I come.
Speaker 6 (42:00):
Home, like post practice.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
Okay, perfect. So we really like worked our way through
that question. I'm obsessed. Okay, are you a night owl
or an early bird?
Speaker 8 (42:11):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (42:12):
Early early bird? But honestly, I get into routines that
it becomes what I.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Okay, fair enough, See you're not as good as that
I am either. That's great. What is the favorite place
that your sport has taken you?
Speaker 6 (42:26):
Ooh mm hmmm mmm the Netherlands.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Oh that's cool. That would be really cool.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
Okay if you, oh, I like it if you were
not a field hockey player, and it doesn't have to
be softball, so just but like this is like, what
would what did you want to compete in the Olympics in?
It doesn't have to be doesn't have to be something
that actually you'd be good at. But if you could
choose anything to be good at, what would your other
Olympic sport be?
Speaker 6 (42:57):
Tennis?
Speaker 1 (42:58):
Tennis? Okay, I like it. What is your favorite dessert?
Speaker 6 (43:03):
Ooh? Ice cream?
Speaker 1 (43:04):
Ice cream?
Speaker 5 (43:05):
Me too?
Speaker 1 (43:06):
Okay? And what is the best piece of advice that
you have ever gotten?
Speaker 6 (43:10):
Ooh?
Speaker 5 (43:12):
It's this quote about aggregate marginal gains. So it's it's
basically like the idea that you know, we think things
happen in like like one standalone event, but really it's
the idea of like, you make decisions every day, and
you can make decisions that will you know, get you
to where you want to go or take away, and
(43:34):
none are necessarily right or wrong, but it's aggregate marginal gains.
Speaker 1 (43:39):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (43:39):
I this is where I'm can get distracted, But I
always think of the quote from MLK where he's talking
about you just take the next step in the latter
and so you can only control taking the next best
step and as long as you do that, then like
that's all you can control.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
And to me, that like is a.
Speaker 3 (44:01):
Really important reminder in my life, is like, don't worry
about the end destination.
Speaker 1 (44:06):
Try really hard to just focus on the next best step.
Speaker 6 (44:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (44:10):
And the funny thing is like when you put your
head down like that, like you probably will end up
somewhere you didn't even realize, and like probably further than
what you can even imagine.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
So you look up and you're an Olympian. Yeah, I
mean I'm not. You are.
Speaker 3 (44:24):
That's very fun. That's that's exactly it. Okay, And what
is the wildest mishap you have ever had in your sport?
Speaker 1 (44:34):
In playing field hockey?
Speaker 3 (44:36):
What is like the wildest sort of like, oh my gosh,
I can't believe that happened.
Speaker 6 (44:41):
Did it have to be to me or just in general?
Speaker 3 (44:43):
No, you could have observed it, but yeah, you could
have observed it.
Speaker 5 (44:48):
So like a skirt splitting down, so we were kilt
and a skirt like splitting down the butt crack in
the middle of the game.
Speaker 3 (44:58):
How does that happen? Do is this Are we pulling
on each other's skirts and field hockey?
Speaker 5 (45:03):
No, I think it's just like an accident, like, oh,
I don't know, that's right, I have no idea.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
But that was a wildness that that that qualifies as
a wildness app okay. And then the last question is
a two parter. The first one is this is the
Powerful podcast. We're all about high highlighting powerful women in sport.
And so what does powerful mean to you?
Speaker 6 (45:30):
M M. That's a good question.
Speaker 5 (45:33):
I think for me, powerful means like empowering others to
be their best self. And so I think that that
can look like a lot of different things. That can
be encouraging someone, That could be challenging someone.
Speaker 6 (45:50):
That can be just getting to know someone and building.
Speaker 5 (45:53):
That trust to then be able to eventually challenge them
or help them in times of need. But yeah, I
think I think powerful is like making an impact and that's,
in my opinion, the most powerful thing is to make
an impact on people.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
When do you feel the most powerful?
Speaker 5 (46:12):
Mmm? I think I feel the most powerful when I
feel connected to others and like my teammates and things
like that. But I also think I feel powerful when
I am like really living out my truest values and yeah,
just acting like with integrity and knowing and like trusting that. Yeah,
(46:38):
what I put forth is like a good representation of
who I am and who I want to be.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
Amanda, Thank you so much for joining us this week.
Cannot wait to root you guys on in field Hockey
Team USA the Underdog. We absolutely love it and fully
believe that you can bring home that metal.
Speaker 5 (46:58):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I really
appreciate it, and thanks for sharing the story of course.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
Okay, we'll see y'all next week.
Speaker 3 (47:05):
Thanks for joining us on this episode of The Powerful Podcast.
This is a reminder to check us out every Tuesday
all summer long everywhere you get your podcasts. And if
you really enjoy this and don't want to miss an episode,
be sure to hit that subscribe button.
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