Dakotah Trader: Two State Championships, One D1 Career, Endless Lessons

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to another episode of the Brown Performance and
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Speaker 2 (00:11):
For more on.

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(00:33):
on sessions. Get a free training on the Blended practice
model by following at Ray Gorman dpt on Instagram the
code to welcome for the podcast. I'm super excited to
work with you today. Huge shout out to our friend
Casey forgetting us connected here. For people aren't familiar with
you and all the amazing things you got going on
from the Eastern Shore to taosin field hockey and beyond

(00:55):
that way, would you mind fill them in a bit
about who you are and all the amazing things you
have going on.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Wow? Of course, thank you for having me. I started
playing when I was in third grade. I started a
lot with a sport really quickly. I'm from Pocomoke City, Maryland,
and I played all four years at Bookwork High School.
I have two state championships and I'm very grateful for
everything that came from literally just playing in my backyard

(01:23):
to be in that state championship field. I also came
a huge part of being with a trivel Philakite shore Birds.
They're from the Eastern Shore and they really just made
me who I am and maybe the player I wanted
to be. And I didn't really know if I wanted
to play in college. I love the score and I

(01:45):
had that drive. I always wanted to be better and
you know, just make my family proud, like no one's
ever golf played a school college and really ever been
to college in my family. So I wanted to studio
is kind of my drive to like, yeah, I can
do this and I'll see you that, you know, having

(02:06):
in that mindset like I'm independent. Everyone wrong that thinks
I here. I got the offer from Tofton and I'm
very happy there and I'm really excited to see what
comes the next three years.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Absolutely no, I think that's amazing. And as you mentioned,
you didn't just have the honor of being on that
state championship field and winning a state championship once, but
actually did it twice, which is incredibly rare. My goodness.
And for those listening I don't know the field hockey space,
I feel like Pokemoke is just legendary in the field

(02:38):
hockey space and the stuff that occurs on the Eastern
Shore is just absolutely iconic in every way that way.
So for those that don't know about Pokemoke, would you
be able to fill them in a little bit about
kind of like the field hockey legacy that y'all have
around there.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
For people who know about Pokemoke that HUJ don't, it's
really just a family cultured teams and it's been around
for years. And I'm pretty sure we're at twenty two
state championship so far, which is a really high amount
for one A school. But yeah, Susan Busey passed away
in twenty fifteen and she's a huge, like a huge

(03:17):
two years program, and Brandy Cassidia took over as well
at Case and Pickman and Brandy Cassidy is actually there
now again, and I want to get her a huge
shout out, like she's made me who I am now
and naman into the woman I am but one. But
on the field and off I feel it's nazy so

(03:38):
much stronger. But it's really with us, if you'd asking
like it's a family environment. We care about each other.
We had that rit of wanting to win and taking
losing a nonny option, and that's how we have so
many spies and banners and race in our town. And
I think, I think that's a huge thing, and I'm

(03:58):
very grateful I had that before going into me college
because I know what I will to be a tea employer,
and it's not then just take one persons everyone on
the field at all.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
Absolutely no. I think there's something to be said about
that kind of special team culture that way. It's funny
that comes up when I'm talking with a lot of
different athletes that way, and they find that one of
the most integral pieces to success, and maybe it's not
talked about enough, is the overall like vibe and atmosphere
of the team itself that way, and when it feels

(04:30):
more like a community, when it feels more like a
family overall, the success tends to be higher long term.
Because obviously I think sports for most people are a
little bit more enjoyable when they're winning and having fun
with people that know them very well beyond just the
lines of the sport, but maybe a little bit more
personally and as a person as well, and they care

(04:52):
about their success not just in relation to the sport,
but kind of life beyond sport as well. And it
sounds like that was a very inner, real part of
the community that you had around field hockey down there
in Pokemoke that way, And it sounds like from what
you're saying, that was kind of like one of the
key cornerstones, if not the cornerstone that led to the
success that you all experienced with multiple state championship runs

(05:15):
and beyond that way, it was.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
A huge piece for us. Without that family piece, you
don't play on the field, and you could tell when
a team doesn't play because it's more of an I
in the team instead of we. That makes sense. There
could be some selfish players and Pomo never allowed that, Like,
if you wanted to be on that team, are gonna

(05:38):
work your asshof to be with everyone else? Do you
know what I mean? No?

Speaker 1 (05:41):
Absolutely, absolutely, And what do you feel like have you
taken from that from a team culture standpoint that you
can then apply in the future in your future teams
and endeavors and possibly even maybe coaching. I don't know
if you're going to have a coaching career in the future,
but how do you feel like all of those things
that you had at Pokemoke are able to kind of

(06:02):
apply to kind of you playing at the next level
that way.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
So, coming from Pokemoke and coming into Towson, I didn't
know really how to go. I didn't know if the
team was going to be just like Pokemoke, but realistically,
nothing is, Like nothing's gonna be that way and it's
just real. And I was a little nervous coming in
because I'm so team oriented and family oriented. That kind

(06:28):
of scared, Like I I wanted to have that Pokemoke
effect on the team, but I also like, as a
freshman coming into a Division one team, that's kind of intimidating.
So my freshman year the fall, it was it was
really hard, like team transition and understand that everything is

(06:50):
bigger than pokemo That makes sense, like, yeah, you can
be one of the best in a small town, but
once you you know, go in collegiate sports, it's like
it's always competition, and I think that's the one thing
I loved about it. It was like you weren't ever
satisfied one day, like every day it's like a competition.

(07:11):
It just makes you better. And I think we as
Tows as a Towsion athlete, I think we missed that
family culture part for foot fall, and it showed we
did way better than we did years past. We broke
records and we're on that build up to like try
to you know, be in the CIA Tournament and eventually

(07:34):
get up to the NT double A tournament. This spring,
we've really worked on our culture. We've done He's get
together through bo Hanson you would be in I'm not
really sure where he's from, but he's done that and
I personally spoke up and even as a freshman, it
was kind of scary. I just is like, this is

(07:54):
not a team that family piece has to be there
because there's no connection on the field or that's a
huge thing we're going into this year, and I think
it was like really hard for me to stand out
for myself because no one knows Pokemon obviously from if
you're from tous and like no one knows what Pokemon is,
but I tried to speak my mind as much as

(08:16):
I could and leading into like my er, my feel
act career and athletic career. I want to make sure
I do the best I can and also be the
best person I can. Spoil the teeth. It doesn't matter
if I'm on the field or not. Like I grew
up with a team, and I'm gonna make sure I'm
a teeth player in the future. I'd love to coach.
I'd love to come back home, and you know, meat

(08:39):
that legacy going. I don't know where, but you know,
I'm always open ended to that, and I love to
keep the game going because I love it. I love
going acting so much, but I love what it's made
me into, So I want to carry that on if
I can.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
No, absolutely, I think you touched on so many amazing things.
And I mean, first off, it sounds like there's an
accountability piece to everything that you do that way, and
as you mentioned, it's very difficult to help hold others accountable,
especially when you're kind of the new kid on the block,
or the youngest kid on the team, or you know,
amongst the younger group on the team. That way, if

(09:16):
you will that way, it's very easy. I've found to
hold oneself accountable and I'm able to do that quite easily.
But when it comes to other people, I don't know
what it is. I don't have words for it, but
it's like it's more difficult for me to speak up
and call them out sometimes and say like, hey, look,
like you know, we can't be going out and drinking
seven days a week when we're in season. We can't

(09:37):
be doing X, Y, Y and c.

Speaker 2 (09:38):
Like.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
We have to have some standards, we have to get along.
You almost have to have this high respect and low
ego nature for everyone around us that way on the team,
and I think that's what makes it a team, and
oftentimes that's just absent, and I find when that's present,
teams do a lot better on the field from a
performance standpoint, but also off the field old and long

(10:01):
term that way. It's funny. I was just talking yesterday
with an individual and we were sharing some of the
statistics about athletes and kind of life after sport, and
some of them are quite alarming that way. And one
of the things that I feel like could help that
and benefit that is just having more of a team
culture and a team environment and making sure that everyone

(10:21):
feels a part of something bigger than themselves instead of
just kind of in it for themselves that way, and
the other piece I want to hit on real quick,
as you mentioned about Pokemoke and that small town USA vibe.
And I'm from a small town in the middle of nowhere,
Pennsylvania originally, and we didn't even have field hockey at
my school. And then I went to college near Hershey, Pennsylvania,

(10:43):
and I learned all about field hockey. But what I
learned is when people think field hockey in the US,
they think of central Pennsylvania, they think of Charlotte, North Carolina,
and they occasionally think of countries in Europe. But for
some reason, a lot of them aren't familiar with the
Eelaware and Maryland side of things. And having lived there
for three years, I feel like y'all played just as

(11:06):
much of an impact, if not more of an impact,
than some of these other places that people often think about.
That way is the way y'all teach the game, The
way y'all mold athletes from such a young age and
just have this kind of lifelong effect on them. I mean,
I've seen it over and over again with some incredible
athletes from the area. I mean, there's something special about it.

(11:26):
There's nothing else quite like it that I've seen elsewhere
that way, And even though you know, like you said,
it's not like, you know, the biggest dot on the
map or the first thing that people come to mind.
I really wish that people would start thinking about it more.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
And yeah, I agree, I'm excited to see how the
game grows. I think the programs Robert Skidaki has really
done a really huge like build up with young athletes
and or making the game far or making it huge
again like we want to. I want to get that
like in the future, like I want to help about
and you know, just grow the love for the game.

(12:03):
It's may it may just be a sport to some people,
but it's really just poring me into.

Speaker 1 (12:08):
The person I am that What kind of things do
you feel like you've learned and picked up from the
sport of field hockey, Because I feel like people talk
about this all the time, they say, oh, yeah, sport
teaches me a lot, and then they never really expand
on the lessons and things that they've learned from it.
So for you, what have you taken away from playing sport.

Speaker 2 (12:27):
That way I think the matrix is like you don't
put any effort in, Like say you're at cool or something,
and you don't put the effort in. Again, they you're
not going to succeed. Like if you're not going to
put in the effort to go do your run in
the morning, you're not gonna speck heat on the field.
So I think like even in at or if you're
gonna not be the best person, best employe to be

(12:51):
and not put your one second effort into it, you're
not going to be up, Like you're not going to succeed.
And I think that's a huge part in sports nowadays,
like there will be some athletes that don't really have
that spark that wants to be better that I want
to go the extra mile, you know what I mean.
Like I feel like it's just made me like want

(13:14):
to be better, and not just on your field, but
with my friends, Like I want to be the bigger person.
I want to be the best person I can be
for them, and same thing with their family. Like as
I grow older, I get more mature, and I'm very
grateful for everything all the opportunities I have had, But

(13:34):
at the same time, I have three more years of
field lockey. But that's it. But at the same time,
I'm very grateful for that and leading in so after Coolege,
I want to be a teacher and I think being
a teacher, I'm going to be a leader, and with
field lockey I am a leader in my own less
And I think every athlete has their own way of
doing things, and I think that Apoor breaks into there

(13:56):
are not I think a lot of people don't see
that mental sign of the game and all a hates
like there's always that ment side that everyone has that
many other black artists have to be high dog too.

Speaker 1 (14:09):
Absolutely, No, it's that classic iceberg analogy where you only
see the tip of the iceberg and you don't see
all the things underneath. That way, and as you were talking,
it sounds like just hard work, dedication, and ambition overall
are really essential qualities to you and your success that way,
and it sounds like that came from the sport of
field hockey. I mean, I can only imagine how many

(14:30):
hours you put in to do some of the crazy
skills y'all do, from like just kind of dribbling it.
And I've seen athletes that can dribble it in the
air while doing other stuff, like you know, all kinds
of exercises and stuff, and it's beyond me how you
all have developed skill to do those things like it
is next level. I mean, I think about a lot
of the other sports that I've worked past, like lacrosse

(14:52):
and soccer. There's always a reciprocal component to it, where
if you're using the right side, you also use the
left side. Richis field hockey. They don't make a double
sided field hockey stick, at least not that I've seen.
So it's like you're not just putting in a lot
of hours, but you're putting in a lot of hours
in this more limited fashion in the sense that you
have only one side of the stick you can use.

(15:13):
There's a little bit more of a constraint and you
have to kind of get a little bit more creative
in how you go about accomplishing different things because you
can't use the other side, and you can't like use
your feet and all these different things. I don't know,
I've learned a lot about the sport for the last
several years that way, and it's it's just amazing to
me to watch you all creatively solve these probbless that

(15:35):
are you know, created by the nature of sport and
the rules of the sport that way, And as you mentioned,
a lot of that comes into just putting in the
time over and over and over again. And I feel
like those are things that you don't believe without doing something,
challenging doing something, And it sounds like for you field
hockey was the difficult that Okay, the conditioning, the practice

(15:57):
is the long hours, and like you know, if you're
like Eastern Shore, Maryland, we get some freaking hot weather there.
It's like, you know, it's not uncommon to have ninety
five sonny and high humid, and it's like most people
don't want to be out there in that or like
you look back at this winter, we had freaking snow
all the time. Most people don't want to be out
there doing anything for their priving. They just want to

(16:18):
be comfortable. But it's like, you know, those are the
conditions if you push through those and you are willing
to do My friend Nick Sadado from Boston College calls
it the dirty work, so to speak. If you're willing
to put in those hours, all else is watching and
conditions are great, then when your time is up and
you know your numbers called like you're more prepared than

(16:39):
anyone else to deliver that way. So I certainly love
that point. And as you mentioned too, on the education side,
it's like, those are the kinds of behaviors that we
want a model for the next generation, or at least
I feel her important for the next generation. It's like, hey,
can we teach kids the value of hard work and
dedication and commitment to a cause, because I think now

(16:59):
more than ever, this comes up a lot on the podcast,
and in fact, we literally did a roundtable recording on
it recently about how things like the Lady gratification and
problem solving and work ethic have been diminishing amongst certain generations,
and there's almost like a shift that we see. So
I think in a lot of ways, going back to
making those fundamental and foundational components of the next generation

(17:24):
is only gonna help us all in the long term.

Speaker 2 (17:26):
I agree. I definitely, working full time in Ocean City,
I can like, I don't know how people don't let
that worth work ethic, Like, yeah, I'm just how an
amazing work and it's kind of I mean, I've been
working since I was four teen, but with my mainly
growing up like if I wanted something, I was gonna

(17:48):
help forget for it. And I feel like a lot
of people goes up in this generation sort of and
probably the generation below. It's like staff, hard work, agent bad.
That makes sense that dedicaciates you get what you want
is happened. It's like they want to hand it to them.
And I think that's a huge part in where that

(18:11):
like that line is drawn both people. We were very
dedicated in that, like especially with athletes or even just
people in general in their own work life. I think
there's a huge divide some people the worse ethic and
when someone who just doesn't.

Speaker 1 (18:29):
Care absolutely, I couldn't agree more. And I feel like
when you are someone that does put in the time,
that does put in the hours and something like that,
when you do get to situations like you were in,
it makes you more comfortable and prepared. Right when you
can be the fisherman on the team that's speaking up
about things that need to change, surrounded by a bunch

(18:50):
of people who are older than you, maybe even played
internationally and all these different crazy things, and it's like
you're going to be the one to speak because you
have some qualities and traits and characteristics that make that
an easier conversation. It's like, hey, look at the amount
of time that I put in. I'm not saying that
others did not. I'm sure they did as well, but

(19:11):
it's like when you put in your ten thousand hours
and you dedicate your life to a skill and a
craft that way, it makes it a lot easier to
discuss things that maybe aren't what you feel should be done,
or maybe aren't the way that you kind of feel
like it's the right way at the end of the day.
And I feel like the more you kind of putting

(19:31):
your time, the easier some conversations like you had to
have as a team that way become in the future
that way. And that applies to anything. I don't care
if it's sports life. I feel like the more you
put time in on those foundational things, comfortable some of
those uncomfortable moments can become for y'all. Do you have

(19:54):
any other kind of advice for individuals maybe find themselves
insues similar to years where hey, they're a freshmen on
a team or they just came into a team and hey,
you know what, I feel like, something's not right or
I feel like things need to change and I need
to speak up about it. How do they go about
approaching that conversation, because as I mentioned, it could be

(20:15):
rather difficult to do. How do you kind of recommend
they go about doing that.

Speaker 2 (20:19):
I would definitely say, like, if you have that duck
feeling and it's bothering you, you need to speak up
because it's not going to go away and you're gonna
she said it. For me, I was terre and speak
up coming in at the freshman and my coach that
was my class my freshma's last is per recruit is
a new coach, so we already had a bullet on

(20:41):
our back coming in anyway, so it was like whatever
I said or whatever my class mook said, like it
felt like no one cares. And towards the end when
we got the results of not winning and not making
the tournament, I time just spoke up and I was
just like with not having a family culture a you know,

(21:03):
having clicks and not talking with someone because they make
you mad as the day before, Like that's just not
really like someone's gonna make you mad, Okay, get over it,
you know what I mean? Like, and we've come up
with this rule like if something bothers you, you're either
gonna say it or you're not. If you wait twenty
four hours not saying you're not gonna say anything, and

(21:24):
it's in the path. But for me, I were a
one line both allizing what I feeling, keeping others because
I can hate my own self accountable very well and
I know the standard I will for myself. But I'm
still on the verge of like trying to be that
leader have those uncomfortable conversations that really no one wants

(21:47):
to pass, like say, if someone goes out with well practice,
like that's just not accepting it, you know, like if
they're my teammates and my man, it's awful, very un
sure one day with housing you right now, we're trying
to have that standard like get unpumportable because it's she's
going to make it better. I think for advice people

(22:10):
under me and fresh MINNOI into college or high school
or whatever. It's something bothers, you need to vocalize it.
He's being a quiet only makes it worse. And blue
pairs if no one listens to you, at least you
got it off your chest. And like personally, what I
said what I needed to say. I felt so much
better because it was like eating you a lot, you

(22:31):
know what I mean, Like I needed to say where
you'd say, and it made me feel better. And people listen,
and blue pairs if they don't listen, like all right,
move on, life goes on. And that's a huge thing
for me. Like if I say, at work, I don't
make that much money, or at school I fail like exam,
or on the field I don't make I don't make

(22:54):
the time I needed to make for a run, or
I don't make the shot I was supposed to make.
All right, move on. You learn from it. And I
think that's a huge part of going from high school
to college is not everything to be targetized. And I
think that's the pup's play for anyone to know, is
that not everything's going to go go your ways.

Speaker 1 (23:14):
Do your back absolutely, I completely agree to that point.
Nothing in life goes one hundred percent perfect and as
you planned it would. But there's a lot of obstacles
that get thrown in your path, and to the point
that you made sometimes those obstacles in the path were
put there intentionally to teach you lessons to redirect to

(23:34):
you or possibly even just allow you to smash them
and get this new found energy to continue onwards that way.
I think a lot of times people think that those
things are put there as a way to just stop
their progress, when in reality is more of a cull
in my opinion, to just rise to the occasion that
way and the other thing. As you were talking, it
just made me think back to the title of next

(23:56):
book who I mentioned earlier, which is called sweat more
during peace to bleeve less during war, and it's like,
you know, that's a little bit of an extreme example
or extreme analogy, but the concept is very simple. In
times when things are easy, you should be prepping for
the times when things are difficult. Right, So, right now

(24:16):
here we are at the end of July. Your first
game is probably what sixteen eighteen days away exbish match,
if I had to guess. So it's like, now is
the time to put in the work and prep for
that first game. You know it might not be game time. Yeah,
it might not be conditioning today, but if the hours
are not being put in now, when it's not being

(24:39):
you know, an idio threat if you will, then when
those times do come, it's very difficult to perform at
the level you're called to. So I think to the
point that you made being willing to kind of keep
your foot on the gas at all times and being
willing to just kind of push through anything that doesn't
go your way, because a lot of times, as you mentioned,

(24:59):
maybe things don't go your way from a team standpoint,
but maybe things don't go your way because of injury
as well. There's been so many athletes I've talked with
on the podcast that have had injuries that have just
unexpectedly come about and just changed their trajectory. And I
have heard some of the wildest stories I've ever heard
from athletes, from athletes who tear their ACL and elect

(25:21):
not to get surgery and are still performing at a
D one level years later, to athletes that are literally
awake during their ACL reconstruction, which that's beyond me. I
could never do something like that. Like I just hear
so many crazy athletes stories that way, from injuries that
obviously no one plans, no one expected that to occur.

(25:42):
If anything, it's frustrating because they put in all this
work and time and effort to prevent those things from occurring.
Right Like, Oh, I was going to the gym. I
was getting stronger, I was doing my stretching and mobility.
I did everything I was supposed to do, and yet
here we are. Had you ever faced injury yourself that way,
even if it's something minor that way, because I find

(26:04):
a lot of athletes can relate to those things and
it's just so frustrating for them they have to deal
with when that comes up.

Speaker 2 (26:12):
Here's I gonez a couple of blood on three, I
hurt my foot, this passed fall. It wasn't on the field.
I framed my ankle and I was out for a
couple of days maybe, But like the second and halpened,
it was just this, well the tee on my sailf.

(26:36):
I was like, how this happened? Why this happened? And
it is just eving real, you know what I mean?
So I did my all you have and you know,
watching my team like buff and I think that was
a huge, huge mental part for me, and it made
me realize when I'm on that shield, it's a privileg

(27:00):
you know. And like there's some girls that toward the
ACL and they're out for longer than a public bait.
So may maybe we have a bigger look one thing.
Then you know it's stuff and you can't do anything
about it. But I mean I really proved from it,
oh I, which is like mentally group for a minute.

(27:21):
I know what my body can take and I know
what it can't. And just recently I was training were
pungees and I like tweeked like a all of joy
in my foot and I was out for a geek
and I just got back yesterday after be able to run,
and it scared me and I was like, this can

(27:43):
be happening, like I'm no week away from the big
per school like all that stuff. But to me, it's
just like take it day by day, do your rehab.
You know, know what your body can take, and know
everything will happen and the white ray needs to be
and can't do anything about it. Just keeping up possible said,
you know things are going to happen. I think that's

(28:06):
a huge thing about being an athlete. You don't know
what's gonna happen, but your mindset is huge things for
when those bad things do happen.

Speaker 1 (28:15):
Absolutely no, I completely agree. And it's interesting because this
also comes up quite a bit working with athletes, is
they kind of view that injury as a time to
kind of like hit that reset by if you will.
It's like, hey, for once, like playing sport is not
on my day to day activity. And as frustrating as
that can be, as difficult as it can be to

(28:37):
be on the sidelines watching everyone help do the thing
that you want to be doing, it's also an opportunity
to step back a little bit and reassess the situation
and almost ask yourself a series of questions, Hey, you know,
how did we get here? Is there anything that could
have been done to prevent it? Most of the time
there's not. You've already done everything you could. But it's

(28:57):
still helpful to step back and assess, I find and
And the other thing is I hear a lot of
athletes using this time to kind of dial in things
that maybe they were missing out. Maybe it's like, hey,
you know, I've realized my sleep has been bad lately.
I should probably be better about that. And as you mentioned,
instead of having that ability to kind of step back
and look in the mirror and be honest with yourself

(29:18):
about the situation that you're in and what the best
path is moving forward for you? That way and that's
so so difficult to develop, especially at a young age.
It's funny. This also came up on a recent episode
where I was talking with a few other strength coaches
and someone doing a PhD in clinical psychology, and the
concept came up that we almost expect athletes that are eighteen, nineteen,

(29:41):
twenty years old to be functioning at the level of
someone thirty thirty five, like way more mature than their age.
Usually is that way, and it's just almost like this
like weird mismatch of you know, age versus like expectation.
And I feel like a lot of the times, athletes,
especially in the college level, are kind of forced to

(30:03):
grow up a little bit quicker and as you mentioned,
mature a little bit quicker than a lot of other
individuals who maybe don't have to do the same things
that you do on the day to day. I feel
like injury is part of that. I feel like injury
forces you to learn some of those difficult things and
go through trying times from a physical and mental standpoint,

(30:24):
because a lot of these injuries they really frickin hurt
when you get them that way, So it's like you
have to go through those difficult things. Going back to
what you said before about just enduring hardship and enduring
hard things. But those things that you endure, you know,
walking through the metaphorical mud of life, for lack of a
better way to put it, are the things that ultimately
get you to that higher ground that I feel like

(30:45):
you're after that way. So, while I'm sure it's been
frustrating for you to deal with foot injuries, by the
sounds you've been able to keep such a good mindset
and come back stronger from those What do you feel
like allowed you to do that, Because a lot of times,
people like I said, they struggled to develop a mindset
around that injury. That's like, hey, you know, I'm gonna
push harder now, or I'm gonna beat this back. I'm

(31:06):
gonna come back chatter than I was before. It's easier
said than done. A lot of the times I find.

Speaker 2 (31:12):
Yeah, the fall, I learned so much from the fall.
When that jurage it happened, I felt like my life
just held apart. Like the second I saw my foot
and I knew I wasn't gonna be able to ply.
I was in like I knew, I was like, oh
my god. I felt like my life stopped and it
was a lot of emotion, and I did not know

(31:34):
how to handle it being away from my parents as
a pressure, and I just wanted my mom and dad
and I wanted them to say, oh, it's okay, like like, yeah,
it was okay, but it's not okay, you know what
to me, Like when you're on your own, you don't
know how to bindle things like that. And that was
my first time with like something keen chappened like that
since I'm a scholarship the house, and it just it

(31:57):
was really scary, and I think it took me a
couple of days to be like, all right, sitting around
crying about my foot isn't gonna make it better. And
the more time I sit around and try, the less
time I get out the look. So I took in
that consideration. In the first practice I had to watch
and not play was probably worse day of my life

(32:21):
because it's just like I'm never not play, so I
don't know. It's very and the needs so much under
mentally and to realize like those things are gonna happen,
and you know, you just have to have a positive
mindset or you're already defeated. You're not going to get better.

(32:41):
And I think now, when I just hurt my foot
a couple of weeks ago, I think really just saying
all right, we're gonna fix this and we're gonna be better.
And yeah, it was really hard. As see my doctors
at Houston. They told me I couldn't run with her
I have any contact, and I was like, that's not
an option here that I play in a couple of

(33:03):
weeks like I can't, and they're like, if you don't
do this, you're gonna make it worse. And it was
hard not to do anything, and you know, not I
fud th runs like I usually do, but I'm very
grateful that I could. I could ran high frand this
morning and I felt amazing. So you know, I think
it's just a mindset thing, and you're gonna have to
go deal with as hard times to get through something

(33:26):
like that. You're gonna have to build that mindset be
stronger when things don't go away.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
Absolutely, absolutely no, I couldnt agree more. And I think
the other piece that's so essential to that, and you
mentioned this is just kind of surrounding yourself with a
team that you trust from a care standpoint as well,
not just the team that you trust from the athletes
that way, but also a team that you can trust
from a sports medicine standpoint as well. And I find

(33:52):
a lot of the universities do a pretty darn good
job at this, you know, finding individuals that are a
little bit more maybe sports minded in what they do
that way. It's like, hey, you know, it's terrible that
your foot is injured, but is there's still stuff we
can do?

Speaker 2 (34:06):
Right?

Speaker 1 (34:06):
Can we still bench press and crank up some pull ups?
Could we do some like battle robes and some upper
body stuff so your conditioning doesn't fall behind?

Speaker 2 (34:13):
Right?

Speaker 1 (34:14):
Like, it's always a matter of how do we adjust
and adapt what we do to the injury instead of
just looking at the injury as like a reason to
like pause everything, stop everything in sideline someone completely. It's like,
I find a lot of times people have plenty of
things that they can do that work around their injury.
A buddy of mine down in Texas actually recently tore

(34:35):
his peck and every single day on Instagram he posts
his kettlebell workouts that he's doing with one arm. And
I'm sure it's not the most fun thing to literally
be in a sling and throwing around a kettlebell with
only one arm, but he's doing it. And I think
that's the kind of stuff that's not discussed enough. And
as you mentioned, it's the ability to kind of keep
your foot on the gas that sets you up for

(34:56):
success long term in addition to the mindset piece. And
it sounds like that was something that you know, you're
incredibly open about, like there were some hard times in there.
There were some struggles in there, and I feel like
that's something that we collectively need to be better about normalizing,
because I think a lot of times people see the
highlight reels on the Instagram and the TikTok and they think, oh,

(35:17):
they're crushing it, like they're doing great, like they never
struggled at all, And it's like when, in reality, that
same individual, going back to that Iceberg analogy from before,
they had some difficult times, right. There were some tears,
you know, in the rehab sessions or crying because they
weren't able to get out there like they wanted to
when they wanted to. Like you mentioned, it might be

(35:37):
a culmination of first time away from home, you know,
first time away from parents, plus first major injury, first
time in however many years or decades, even sometimes that
that person has gone without playing their sport, like it's
just a major shock to the system that way, I
think we need to do a better job collectively about
kind of discussing that mental side of injury that way

(36:00):
and kind of some of those mental components and just
kind of normalizing the fact that it's freaking difficult and
there's a struggle that comes with that. And I think
as I've kind of warped in this sports space, I've
started to see a rise in the amount of teams
have sports psychologists and mental skills coaches and all these
different things that way that didn't exist in the space

(36:21):
a lot of the time ten years ago. And I
love to see that shift in that incorporation because I
feel like a lot of sport and a lot of
what gets done is just as mentally demanding, if not
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Speaker 2 (37:26):
I totally agree with that. Going into college I did.
I didn't know why I should prompt to someone like
you know, someone that I can trust in but knows
and understands that being an extument athlete is incredible while
and not many people do it. So towards the end

(37:46):
of my freshman year, I was like, I need to
talk to someone other than my mom that understand and
it really worked and it made me feel more comfortable
and knowing that mentally it's okay to add those days.
Mentally it's okay, we'll just have bad practices all that.

(38:09):
I think what a lot of athletes and a lot
of you know, coaching staff and all that, they don't
really realize that we need not really a great we
need some time, but know for ourselves first. And I
think that's a huge thing. Now, what I need to
do is with my time, pandagine it. Make sure I

(38:30):
put time and my schedule. Sure I'm okay, you know,
get my body a rest and do what's best for
my body so I can do the best I can
be on the field.

Speaker 1 (38:41):
And it sounds like that's something that you're going to
carry over into your future coaching career as well. What
are the things do you feel like you've been able
to learn and take from your own experience in field
hockey all the way back from the origins and pokemoke
all the way up to where we are now in uh,
you know housing that way. What kind of things do
you feel like you can kind of take from that

(39:02):
and apply. It's kind of that future coaching philosophy and
framework that you're going to implement with the next generation
of athletes.

Speaker 2 (39:09):
Coaching wise, I want to make sure my athletes know
the stand I think That's a huge thing that not
many schools have, is that standard, like the standard of
being accountable, not doing anything stupid, knowing the goal, and
you know, making that team environment. I don't care if
you're not that good. I don't even care if you

(39:29):
don't have or stay you know what I mean, Like,
I want you to have that mindset of, oh, I'm
in this for fifteen and I think that's where I
want to build off, you know, the skill hip hop
later once you have that family all chaing that connection,
no one can stock And I think going into coaching
later on, I think that will be my first thing.

(39:53):
I implement it to my schools and knowing having to
know my past and my my career. I think just
being open about it and not really being like, oh
yeah Greake Division Wark. No. I don't want them to
even know I played the Division War. I want them
to know I pushed myself from being, you know, a
small town. They're going across the bridge to play the

(40:15):
game I love and wanting to do better, and obviously
you want to win. But at the same time, I
want to care about my student hartings. I want to
make sure they're okay, and I want to make sure
they know they can come to me about and I
think a lot of tevs don't really have that.

Speaker 1 (40:32):
Absolutely Now it's kind of humanizing the entire sport approach,
and it makes me think once again going back to
that concept of the team based, the family based kind
of feel that way. It's come up a number of
times today and yesterday I did a podcast recording and
had a phenomenal discussion with a guy named Harvey Martin,
and one of the things that we were talking about

(40:52):
is just how many different stressors playing any kind of
sport throws at you. Right, Like I think about some
of these different things I watch on the TV that way,
it's like, you know, you're you've got a travel element,
You've got this element of hey, maybe it's like a
late night game, like a lot of field hockey tends
to be Friday night and then Sunday afternoon from what
I've seen that way, So it's like it might be

(41:14):
late at night Friday, and you're up late, you're under
the lights, you're not playing at a time you normally do.
Maybe our eating schedules thrown off. Like there's just all
these different little things that kind of compound into this
like crazy stressor that put you in a situation that
maybe you've never been in before. Right, Like, you literally
are traveling the places you've never been in playing a

(41:36):
sport at a time that maybe you haven't before. So
if you don't have the support and the surrounding of
people who are in that situation with you, walking through
those difficult times, with you, supporting you and treating you
like family, it makes the entire process a lot more difficult, right, Like,
you know, getting a little nerdy on the nervous system side.

(41:56):
It's like we have a heightened stress response in relation
to sport from most athletes, but when you surround them
with people that care about them as people, not just athletes,
but as people on a deeper level, it kind of
takes you from that like sympathetic state to a more
relaxed state and a more comfortable state. I find that's
what a lot of athletes are seeking is to be

(42:18):
comfortable while playing their sport, to not be constantly stressed
out about little things. It's almost like a flow state
or second nature kind of feel. A lot of the times,
it's like, you know, i'd for you. You probably just
go out there and you play field hockey, like you
probably don't have to think about like the steps that
it takes to make a pass. You just make the pass.
You just do it because of how ingrained in second

(42:40):
nature it is. And I feel like the more you
develop that family culture around the sport, the easier it
is to relax and just be comfortable in some of
these crazy situations that might be a little bit uncomfortable.

Speaker 2 (42:54):
I totally agree with that once you do it so
many times, like it feels normal to make that hard shot,
you know, but the younger ones, but like, how do
you make it look so easy? And you know that
gets you a step back, but it takes you to
know how to coach them and how I was coached.
It's just I've played rainbows, lift my stick to try

(43:17):
to get my restore and that's where I started, And
I think, and letting him know that's where I started
where I am now, like it shows them maybe do
it too.

Speaker 1 (43:30):
Absolutely, it's crazy to see the growth and the sport
that way. And We've talked a lot about a lot
of different things, but one that I missed and forgot
to bring up is obviously the impact of the shore
Birds organization because now You've got this like ability to
play field hockey outside of just the high school season,
and I feel like now more than ever, having the

(43:52):
ability to play a sport for a longer duration of
time from a skill standpoint is needed to make it
at the next level. And I know there's a lot
of people that talk about the dangers of early sports
specialization and all these different things, but the one thing
everyone I've talked with has agreed on is it produces
incredibly skilled athletes out of sport that way. I'd love

(44:14):
to hear more from you about kind of the impact
that that organization had on you and your field hockey career,
the development as a person, but also just the opportunities
that come with being able to play a sport from
a travel standpoint and go to some of those different
places that we mentioned before that hey, you know, maybe
you wouldn't have gone if it wasn't for the sport

(44:34):
of field hockey and the club that way, Well yeah, I.

Speaker 2 (44:37):
SHO don't even know start with Schoberts. I am so
incredibly grateful for all of them. They like made me
feel like, yeah, I couldn't do it. It was it
was like a long shot, but I was like, if
they're telling me I can do this and go n
collegiate leuble, then I'm going to do it. And they

(45:00):
pushed me and pushed me and pushed me and did
Growing up, I wasn't the best, and I didn't know
I wanted to be the best. I'm very competitive, but
I wasn't at the time. But I want I put
in that extra work and I think that's what made
them see that. I've wanted to be better every day.

(45:21):
And Jodie Holloman and Phillie Bradford, but they they are
huge standpoints in my career and I will always be
grateful for them. Even the kids. Morgan may see Jordan
and Josie like they made me feel like I could
do it, and so I went up. And the program

(45:44):
is just you have so many great athletes, so many
generations the same sport. It all has that same standard
of that family culture, and I think you will be
all call all those store birds through now tallet. It's
just made me so like comes hetitive in that fuel
lucky world are wanting to be better and making everyone proud.

(46:06):
And you know, I played Maryland this past spring and
it was like everyone was there and I were so nervous,
and you know, like I wanted to show them, like
they haven't seen me in months. I was just like,
this is my time and you'll show them like I'm here.
I made you know what I mean. It was a
really like huge murmurent and there's a bunch of emotion

(46:29):
towards the end and it's just like, yeah, I made it,
and thanks to them, I'm here where I am now.
And I think for younger generations that are in the
Shortbridge program, like you go from doing rainbows with your
stick to playing with the college punations right next to you,
and it's huge. I don't even know how to prescribe it,

(46:51):
Like you go from one skill level to another maybe months,
you know what I mean. So it's just like great coaching,
great coaching ability to be able to make these athletes
into something bigger, just what they want.

Speaker 1 (47:07):
Absolutely, it sounds like such an incredible full circle moment too,
to literally go from you know, developing amongst a bunch
of other athletes to literally sharing the same field, competing
against one another with them, from teammates to competitors, and
just being surrounded by all the people that helped to
get you there. In the first place. I mean, that's
absolutely incredible in every way, and that's certainly a moment

(47:32):
that very few people get to experience. So I'm so
glad that you got to have that, and I'm so
glad that you had that just so positive development early on,
because I found that the best travel programs are so
difficult to find, but once you find them, it's like
you struck gold. It's like, you know, there's a lot
that I've seen in the past, and this is not

(47:52):
necessarily something I've seen in field hockey more so other sports.
Baseball and basketball are the two that come to mind,
but basically, like there's this concept of like, hey, we
need to win, and they don't often think about the
athlete themselves. They just think about the wedding. And it's like,
I care less about the participation trophy that comes from
the tournament that weekend, and more about where that athlete

(48:15):
is going to be long term. I can talk about
that all day long, Tail and Blue and the Thief,
I better get off my soapbox, and I realized we
could probably talk about you and how incredible you are
and all the amazing stuff you've been doing Dakota all
day long, So anything missed or any other key things
that you want to discuss today that we didn't get

(48:35):
the chance to.

Speaker 2 (48:37):
Well not really. I just want to say thank you
for this opportunity. Now it's a casey for this.

Speaker 1 (48:42):
And for people want to find out more about you online,
maybe reach out with like nil deal anything like that.
Where can they find you online, Dakota.

Speaker 2 (48:52):
My Instagram is just a cooda trader. It'll come up.
It's probably gonna be try the top one. Usually no
one really has the same name as me, so but yeah,
you can find me there and yeah.

Speaker 1 (49:08):
No, that's Awesome'll link to that in the description below too,
that way if you didn't quite catch it and just
click there and see everything Dakota is up to Dakota.
This was awesome. Thank you so much for your time.
Really appreciate you coming.

Speaker 2 (49:18):
Noah, of course, thank you so much.

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