July 9, 2025 • 47 mins
In this episode of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast, Dan is joined by Samantha Swanovich to discuss her journey as a college athlete and her recovery from ACL injury.Samantha Swanovich “Swanee” is a rising attacker for Rutgers University women’s lacrosse, known for her resilience, leadership, and sharp offensive instincts. A native of Minnesota who later moved to Tampa, Florida, Samantha first picked up a lacrosse stick thanks to her older brother and quickly developed a passion for the game. After a standout high school career at Newsome where she was a USA Lacrosse High School All-American and two-time team MVP Samantha committed to Rutgers, drawn by its competitive athletic culture and top-tier marketing program.Despite redshirting her freshman year due to an ACL injury, Samantha made a strong comeback in 2025, appearing in all 18 games and scoring 16 goals, including multiple hat tricks and performances against nationally ranked opponents. Off the field, she’s equally passionate about mentoring younger players, growing the sport in Florida, and pursuing a career in sports marketing—using her own recovery journey to inspire others through connection, communication, and community.For more on Samantha be sure to follow @samanthaswanovich*SEASON 6 of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast is brought to you by Isophit. For more on Isophit, please check out isophit.com and @isophit -BE SURE to use coupon code BraunPR25% to save 25% on your Isophit order!**Season 6 of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast is also brought to you by Firefly Recovery, the official recovery provider for Braun Performance & Rehab. For more on Firefly, please check out https://www.recoveryfirefly.com/ or email jake@recoveryfirefly.com***This episode is also powered by Dr. Ray Gorman, founder of Engage Movement. Learn how to boost your income without relying on sessions. Get a free training on the blended practice model by following @raygormandpt on Instagram. DM my name “Dan” to @raygormandpt on Instagram and receive your free breakdown on the model.Episode Affiliates:MoboBoard: BRAWNBODY10 saves 10% at checkout!AliRx: DBraunRx = 20% off at checkout! https://alirx.health/MedBridge: https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/brawn-body-training or Coupon Code "BRAWN" for 40% off your annual subscription!CTM Band: https://ctm.band/collections/ctm-band coupon code "BRAWN10" = 10% off!Ice shaker affiliate link: https://www.iceshaker.com?sca_ref=1520881.zOJLysQzKeMake sure you SHARE this episode with a friend who could benefit from the information we shared!Check out everything Dan is up to by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/braun_prLiked this episode? Leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to another episode of the Brown Performance and
Rehab Podcast powered by Isofit and Firefly Recovery. Isofit is
my go to for all things isometric strength training. For
more on Isofit, be sure to check out isofit dot com.
Episodes like this are made possible by Firefly, the official
recovery provider of the Brown Performance and Rehab Podcast. For
(00:22):
more on Firefly, be sure to check out Recovery firefly
dot com. This episode is powered by doctor Ray Gorman,
founder of Engage Movement. Learn how to boost your income
without relying on sessions. Get a free training on the
blended practice model by following at Ray Gorman dpt on Instagram.
Joining me on the podcast today Samantha Swanovich. Samantha is
(00:45):
a Division one woman's lacrosse athlete and she has unfortunately
faced several knee injuries in particular of her acl and
we dive into that in detail. Today. We talk about
her journey recovering from that one but two ac injuries.
That way, we talk about her time and experience in
the lacrosse space, and we talk about all the different
(01:05):
places she's lived, from the Midwest to Florida to the
New Jersey area around Rutgers where she attends school and
beyond that way. This is an amazing episode and I
really appreciated Samantha's time and the opportunity to learn from her.
Enjoy Samantha, Welcome to the podcast. I'm super excited to
work with you today. For people who aren't familiar with you,
(01:25):
your journey in the sport of lacrosse and maybe some
of these different things that kind of popped up along
the way, would you mind phil me a little bit
about who you are and all that you've been through.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Uh. Yeah, So I'm Samantha Swanovich. I am from Tampa, Florida.
I played Division one lacrosse at Rutgers University up in
New Jersey and I am going into my red shirt
sophomore year because of my two acl injuries that have
been the past few years. Lacrosse has always been like
(01:55):
a huge part of my life. I've played since I
was about seven years old. My brother was the one
who kind of actually introduced me to it when we
lived up in Minnesota. He played box lacrosse and I
was so fascinated by it, so he actually he actually
was the one who introduced me to the game, which
was really cool. So from the start, I've always wanted
(02:16):
to play college lacrosse or college sports in general. So
I've always like had that drive, had that will to
like put in the time, put in the effort, whether
that be for basketball or lacrosse or whatever sport. So
when I moved down to Florida, I played both basketball
and lacrosse, and my kind of my love for basketball
(02:36):
kind of just dissipated a little bit and I started
leaning toward more towards lacrosse. And I'm really happy that
it did, because it kind of led me to where
I am today. So when I moved down to Florida,
I joined like super competitive lacrosse clubs, and like all
throughout my middle school and high school years, I did
(02:58):
that competitive club and which means like going to all
those recruiting events, all those camps, all those like college
stuff and all that stuff, which it's really hard, honestly,
Like as a sixteen fifteen year old girl, you're like
trying to figure out what you want to do with
your life and everything, and you know, I feel like
playing sports in college you have to figure that out
(03:19):
a little bit earlier than most people. So obviously it's
always a challenge, but I'm really happy with where I'm
at today and like where my journey kind of led
me because Rutgers was a really good fit for me.
I've always wanted a big school with sports, football games,
like all that fun stuff. Being close to the city
(03:40):
was honestly a really big perk with my major being marketing,
all those businesses and stuff is a really good opportunity.
I would say just getting those opportunities, I think is
a little better than here in Florida. So I kind
of just wanted to try something new, start like a
new chapter in my life moving away. So yeah, it
(04:01):
was kind of hard at the beginning, but I'm happy
to where I led to me today. And I just
had those injuries and stuff which were minor setbacks, But yeah,
do you want me to talk a little bit about those.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I mean, we have so much to unpack here, Sam,
that is a amazing backstory. And first off, I mean
you mentioned you grew up in Minnesota initially and then
moved to Florida. I'm sure that was a real difficult
decision to move to the sunshine and the warm weather
and the beaches away from you know, the winter and
that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
My goodness, haf decision, Oh my gosh, so hard.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
It's funny, though, because anytime I talk with someone from
Minnesota or even just like the Midwest in general, there's
this thing that comes up a lot, the Minnesota nice
or the Midwest nice or something like that. Like, for
whatever reason, there's something about people who are from the
Midwest originally where they're just like they go out of
their way to like help you out and just are
like some of the nicest people y'all ever meet. Stre
(05:00):
zerotyping a little bit that way. Do you find that
kind of carried over into Florida or I'm just curious
to hear your thoughts and take on the whole Midwest
nice thing? Is that even a thing?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Or definitely, like all my family still lives up in Minnesota,
and like you can just tell the difference, like in
the way people act and like the way, you know,
just people talk as well. I kind of kind of
got my confidence from living up in Minnesota and talking
to my family because I've always had like a little
(05:29):
bit of like a shy side where talking to people
was kind of hard for me at a young age.
But always talking to my family and stuff kind of
just like branched me out because like they're such good communicators,
they're so nice, like such nice people, and definitely carried
down to Florida with my friends here, made really good friends,
and I think just the way I presented myself allowed
(05:51):
me to find like my people and even in college,
like I am definitely a more outspoken person. I just
kind of like let my personality show. And I think
that's all because of growing up in Minnesota and Florida.
You kind of get a little bit of like that
SaaS from Florida and like that little fire. But so
I kind of think like the mesh of the two
(06:11):
kind of build me to where I am today and
the way I like present myself. So yeah, I would
definitely say Minnesota nice is a thing.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
I like that, the Florida SaaS and the Minnesota nice.
That's that's quite a combination there and a big fan
of that. You mentioned as well that your brother introduced
you to lacrosse and he was playing box lacrosse growing
up that way. Tell me a little bit more about
that influence and impact that he had on you in
the sport of lacrosse and how did his own career
kind of continue around it and how did that kind
(06:40):
of later impact and influence your decisions around the sport
that way.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
He kind of just kind of brought me out to
the field one day and was like, hey, just pass
with me. I'm trying to get better whatever. Don't really
remember all the little details, but so yeah, from this
moment I like picked up that stick. I was like, wait,
this is kind of fun. It's very different, like you're
using a stick and a ball instead of like just
(07:04):
dribbling or like kicking the ball. So it kind of
had a different like layer to it, which I liked.
And he kind of showed me like how to start
like shooting and doing wall ball and all these different things.
So I thought it was really cool just because there's
so many different aspects to lacrosse and like the skill
you need, there's so much strategy behind it, which I loved,
(07:26):
and I feel like basketball, Like I'm very tall, I'm
six feet tall, so basketball kind of runs in my family.
So I kind of just wanted to like lean away
from that and kind of be different in the sport
of lacrosse because a lot of the girls playing are fast,
they're short, like they're shifty and all that, so kind
of trying to be a different threat in lacrosse, and
(07:49):
it obviously worked out for me. So I could have
played basketball in college or you know, tried to see
where that could have taken me, but I'm happy with lacrosse.
My brother actually played all the way up through high school,
which he kind of like was my role model with that.
Getting me to the varsity level really quick, helping me
with all that skill and strategy and everything. Kind of
(08:11):
getting me implemented into the game at a young age
was helpful. His love definitely peaked mine, so he was
very helpful with that, and he ended up not wanting
to play in college. So I kind of saw both
ways of like Okay, going to college just to be
a student, joining like a sorority or a frat all
(08:33):
that stuff, and like I was like, Okay, I know
I want to be I want to continue this sport.
I didn't really want to do that like side of
college and just kind of focus on sport because since
I loved it so much, and like I wanted to
see where the sport could take me in the end.
Because it's obviously a really fast growing game. There's a
lot of different things that girls can do nowadays with lacrosse,
(08:54):
which I thought was really cool because obviously a lot
of sports, like soccer, basketball, they're already super big, and
I kind of wanted to be a part of something
a little smaller so I could help grow the program
in like the sport itself. So I knew that, Like
seeing him just do his college and everything, I was like,
I want to do more and I want to like
continue this sport and see how far it can take me.
(09:17):
So like he was definitely a help along the way
and like supporting me and everything with that and just
helping me grow my love for the sport of lacrosse.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
And when you started playing the sport at age seven
that way, were you mostly playing box and kind of
indoor kind of lacrosse in Minnesota or they have an
outdoor league as well. And for people who don't know,
talk us through some of the differences that come from
playing box and kind of like a small sided game,
if you will, compared to kind of outdoor that way.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
The one outside the field's way bigger you do with
box acrosse, you're inside of a stadium, there's walls on
the side, so if you like hit it off the wall,
it bounces everywhere. The goals are way smaller with box
across the goalie also takes up more of the nets,
So it kind of comes down to like more strategy
with like how to score the ball, how to move
(10:07):
the ball, like bouncing it off the walls, all that
type of stuff. With field lacrosse, Uh, it's way bigger.
It's about a size of like a soccer football field,
so it's a lot more running and more like you
have to learn how to like pass the ball farther
and work with your teammates more. I think because the
(10:27):
field is so big, so you have so many components
with it, like defense, going to the midfield, going to
the attack like most sports field sports, but lacrosse with strategy,
there's a lot more with like small sided I think
because of how tiny the ball is, Like how like
flat your stick is, because with girls sticks there the
(10:49):
nets are way flatter, so boys sticks you have the
ball like way deeper in your net. Another big aspect
is that girls can't hit other girls Guys like can
do contact a lot, So I think that's another thing
that comes with strategy. Because we can't hit, we can't
do all this stuff, so we have to like use
(11:10):
more of like strategic lacrosse IQ is what we call it,
to move the ball up the field and like score.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
So and then there's the shooting lane element of it
too that I find a lot of people don't understand.
I mean I don't fully understand it either. It's like
we have to leave space, but we can't leave too
much space. It's it's a whole thing.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Yeah, I will say there's a lot of different things
for defense as well. With you said shooting lane, you
can't leave as much space, but if you are in
front of them when they're about to shoot, you get
what's called an eight meter so you basically get a
free shot like in basketball. So that's a different thing.
Like with boys and girls as well, is like we
get more lenient with free shots. Well they don't have that.
(11:53):
So there's just different aspects to the boys and the
girls sides. That makes it unique, which I like as
well because like basketball, girls guys, a lot of it's
the same. So I kind of like how like our
sport is very unique on a lot of different aspects
for box and field.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Absolutely, And recently I did a podcast with Avery Doo
and we talked a little bit about college lacrosse, and
one of the things that she brought up was a
lot of people were telling her that they felt like
women's lacrosse at the college level was too dangerous and
it was too unsafe and all these different things that way.
And I feel like, as you mentioned, you know, contact
isn't a big part of the game in the sense
(12:33):
that you're not like checking people like you might in
men's but there's still a lot of contact that occurs.
There's still a lot of bumps and bruises that occur,
and I think to a certain extent, that's part of
the game. That's what makes it so engaging and exciting
to watch, is it's extremely fast paced. You do have
a little bit of a contact element with it. But
(12:53):
you know, if we take that element away even further
than it already is, at least in my opinion, it
kind of starts to dilute from what it really is.
In my opinion, it slows it down, It kind of
forces more of these different things of like technicalities and
so on that way, and I just feel like it
would start to take away from what the game truly is,
you know, not to say that, you know, I like
(13:15):
a dangerous sport by any means, but it's also like
I think that there's a certain element of risk that
comes with any good sport, right, Like I like watching
like MMA UFC type stuff and they're literally punching each
other in the face. That's way more risky than you know,
lacrosse would be. But it's like there's such a certain
element of that risk that's almost like engaging for us
(13:36):
to watch that way. I guess I'm trying to.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Say, yeah, I agree. We just got this new role
in the past few years. It's called a green card,
which you can get between the thirty yard lines, which
I will say slows the game down a lot more
because if you check or something between those lines, you
get a one minute penalty. So it like slows the
games down more. And with more of these like technicality calls,
(14:00):
like that's what slows the game down more. And like
I don't I don't necessarily like that because I like
the flow of the game when we're just kind of
like going back and forth and like allowing us to
play and like not just keep stopping it and like
having to restart all that stuff. So I definitely agree
with you. I like, definitely think in college you kind
of have to have a little bit more lenient leniency
(14:22):
with contact because we are at this like level for
a reason, and we kind of got to this level
because we are so like mentally and physically strong and
like are able to take the contact. I will say, so.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Yeah, I completely agree with you that way. It's like,
you got to this level, You've trained so hard for
so long in your life, It's time to reap the
rewards and have some fun and you know that sort
of thing. And I would love to This is just
kind of how my brain works. I'd love to see
a league of women's lacrosse that allows kind of the
pad and protection level that men's have, that also allows
(14:57):
the contact that men's have, because there's some women's lacrosse
athletes I've worked with that I'm like, you know, with
the physicality that you bring from some of the other sports,
I feel like you would have really fun going out
there and like checking a few people that way if
it was allowed that way. So I think, you know,
in the future, when lacrosse continues to blow up and
expand like it has been, I would love to see
(15:18):
kind of an expanded version of women's lacrosse that actually
allows more contact than it already does in my opinion.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yeah, like some box leagues and stuff allow that they
wear pads and act more like the boys' sport. So
definitely want to give that a try and see.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
If I like that absolutely. What was that transition like
for you when you were moving from Minnesota to Tampa
that way obviously whole new world, very different than what
you're used to that way. What was that kind of
like transition process like for you that way?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Basketball is definitely not as big as it is in Minnesota,
So I tried leagues down here and I kind of
was like, Okay, this isn't, as you know, worth my
time because lacrosse is all year round down here because
we have the opportunity to play outside every day. So
I also liked how down here we can play every day,
(16:14):
Like I can train every day out in the sun
and you know, and not have to be like cooped
up inside. And like the difference was in Minnesota, I
couldn't do lacrosse year round, but I could do basketball
year round. So I think like the move really helped
me lead me to lacrosse in a way where I
think if I lived up north still, I would have been,
(16:35):
like I think, more confined to basketball and like you know, pursued.
I think that more. So I'm really happy we moved
down here because obviously, like lacrosse is a spring sport,
but you're allowed to still train in the winter. We
have I have my club practices, and like all that
stuff was year round during high school and club or
in middle school. So I think that also made me
(16:57):
to the player I am today because I was able
to practice and do everything outside every day. So I
think that was the biggest transition, was basketball and lacrosse
kind of flipped for me. So yeah, I'm happy we
ended up moving down here for sure.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
You know, it's so interesting that you say that, because
I think of a lot of the traditional like lacrosse states.
I call them right like Maryland or like you know,
the Long Island, New York City area of New York
that way, and they're not necessarily known for super nice
weather year round and like sunshine and playing you know,
lacrosse outside year round that way. Yet there's still lacrosse states.
But I can see how you know, Florida, for example,
(17:37):
like Tampa area for lacrosse is booming right now. University
of Tampa just won like second consecutive national championship or
something ridiculous. Us af's women's lacrosse program is very much
on the rise and they had a phenomenal season. It's like,
to me, it makes a lot of sense how that
area would be such a good spot for lacrosse. And
(17:58):
I mean, I guess the other piece too, is if
you wanted to, you could take your stick and roll
over to the beach and just mess around in the
sand for a while too.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Yeah, I definitely do that a lot, and I think
it just like makes my love kind of grow for
it because I can do so many different things with it,
and I'm not just confined to like practicing when I practice,
because like it's you know, summertime up north, and I
have the opportunity to be outside or like I can
only practice indoors in the winter. So I'm happy, like
(18:26):
I have that opportunity to do so many different things,
Like you said, go to the beach with it, like
you know, just mess around. So I kind of like
that definitely. Since I live in Florida, it's a good
way to experience lacrosse. If that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Absolutely, No, it definitely is. And you mentioned as well
that you're kind of going through this whole recruiting process
traveling all over the place for lacrosse that way, and
eventually settled on Rutgers being where you're gonna spend you know,
the at least the start of your collegiate career, and
obviously sounds like you're gonna see out your collegiate career
there at Rutgers as well. What goes into that decision
(19:01):
for you as far as deciding what university to play
lacross at, because it's something that comes up a lot
when I talk with athletes. They feel like it's a
very difficult decision to make. They feel a lot of
pressure behind that decision. And on one side, you know,
I've talked with athletes that are like, well, if it
doesn't work out, I'll just go into the transfer portal.
But on the other side, I've talked with a lot
of athletes that really don't think highly of the transfer
(19:23):
portal and they just want to go someplace that feels
right for them and stay there indefinitely throughout their college
career that way, So how did you kind of find
that right fit for you in Rutgers that way. What
stood out to you, Well.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I will say the transfer portal, Like it's like doing
recruiting again. So after you go through like that really
hard summer where you're spending every day at like a
college camp or like a recruiting event something like that,
Like having to do that again is crazy, especially because
like the first time you did it was like sixteen,
seventeen years old. Now I was probably fifteen going on sixteen,
(19:57):
which is even more crazy. But yeah, being that young,
I think it's the hardest part is knowing what you
want to do and finding the school that like fits
the best way. Because you're so young, you kind of
have you're supposed to have a few more years to
try to figure it out and like fuel out your
high school years of like okay, like I like a
bigger school, I like a smaller school. I want to
(20:19):
major in this, I want to major in that. But
knowing what you want to do at fifteen or sixteen
is like a lot to ask for and like girls,
I think, but for me, Rutgers stood out to me
because it was a big school. I knew that I
wanted to like have a big sports school. Where like
(20:39):
sports are the school kind of revolves around sports and
being able to go to different like sporting events like
soccer games, football games, you know, all the fun stuff.
Basketball games are huge at my school, which are They're
really fun. So I definitely wanted a bigger school. And
some of the schools that reached out to me on
September first were smaller, but I still visited them and
(21:01):
I kind of found that, like I didn't like that,
and I kind of was happy I got the first
hand experience going there and knowing that like that wasn't
the fit for me. I also knew that Rutgers has
a good business school, So whatever I wanted to major in,
I knew that at least like the school that I
wanted to go into was good, and like I'm coming
(21:23):
out with a degree no matter what. So like as
far as like the sports can take you, like you
still have to get a good degree, like you got
to get a job out of college and everything, which
is more important. So knowing Rutgers had a really good
business school was a check mark in my box. Yeah,
and also the proximity to like Philly or New York
(21:44):
and getting those opportunities was also a big thing for
me because out of college, like I want to be
able to get really good opportunities while staying in the
sports realm, Like I'm in marketing right now, but definitely
want to stay on the sports side of the marketing world.
So so getting those opportunities closer to New York and
like even at Rutgers, like I get those opportunities, which
(22:06):
is really cool. Yet it is really far away from
where I live. That was a big problem or not problem,
but like the thing I like considered being that far
away from my family. So I was like, do I
want to stay far away? Do I want to stay
close to home? That was also a big factor that
went into my decision. And luckily my parents were like,
(22:28):
if you go far, we will come up and visit
you enough, like we will see you. They came and
supported a lot of my games this year, which was awesome.
So my first season back in like two and a
half years, like they came to it. It was awesome.
They saw me score my first goal and everything, which
was really cool. So I think also just being far
away it has its like downsides, but the perks are
(22:51):
like when you see your family, it's like, oh, my gosh,
like I haven't seen you in so long, Like we
need to catch up, we need to do all this.
So it's not like I'm saying like twenty minute. It's
from my house and I see my family every day,
like it's more of like a treat when I get
to see them. So it's kind of like builds up
to the moment, which I actually really like. And sometimes
it was hard, especially with my injuries my freshman year
(23:11):
or last year, my mom had to come up and
help me with my surgeries and everything. So that was
a downside because I didn't obviously expect to get injured again,
but yeah, she came up and helped me for like
two weeks I had my surgery up in New Jersey
and everything. So just having like that family stuff like
(23:31):
was very helpful with my decision as well, because they
were very supportive of whatever I wanted to do. They
were supportive of whatever I wanted.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
To Absolutely, it's so great to have that family support
element and ultimately find that place that just kind of
checks all the boxes that you're looking for. By the
sounds right, It's one of those things that I think
a lot of people feel like they're not going to
ever find that place, but it does exist out there
for people, and if you haven't found it yet, sometimes
you just need to keep looking and find in that
(24:00):
place that can balance everything you want in the moment
from a collegiate sport element to life beyond sport as well.
That way, as you mentioned kind of after your career ends. Now,
you mentioned a few times about injuries that have come
up a couple of times, whether that be ACL number
one or ACL number two. That way, walk me through
ACL number one because I believe that was in high
(24:22):
school that that occurred.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Correct, Yes, So I actually tore it at Rutgers after
I was committed, so thankfully, like I was already committed
at that point, like I didn't have to worry about
recruiting anymore. But I tore it at Rutgers on the
field that I practice on now. So a little crazy,
but yeah, it was interesting because it obviously sucked to
(24:47):
tear it in front of my college coaches that were,
you know, going to be my coaches in the next
few years, but it was also a blessing because they
were able to see it, they were able to help
me through it in contact with me. Like I think
it kind of made a bond with my coaches that
like I wouldn't have had if I didn't like hurt myself,
even though you don't ever want to get an injury.
(25:10):
But yeah, so my first one was kind of really
tough for me, especially senior year when you kind of
want to do all these things. You want to have
your like star season your senior year, like go out
with a good season all that stuff. So that was
really hard for me not being able to participate in
that with my friends. Also like being isolated and not
(25:31):
being able to go anywhere, staying at my house for
like months at a time. I wasn't able to walk
for six weeks because I tore my acl my meniscus
and everything in my knee basically, so with meniscus tear
both times, I wasn't able to walk for six weeks,
especially going around campus, and everything was really hard after
(25:52):
I was like cleared to go to school again. But yeah,
I think the hardest part was like mentally getting passed,
because the second I did it, I was like, Okay,
we're going to figure this out, Like it's not going
to be a big deal. We're going to like rehab
the heck out of it and just get back to
what I want to do. It's just a bump in
the road whatever. But after a few months you kind
(26:14):
of start to like hit it where you hit like
this wall where you are not mentally doing good, like
you kind of just want to give up because you're
not seeing any progress. And I think that was the
hardest part because I've never had anyone in my family
or no I had people in my life like currently
like tear it, so I didn't know how to like
(26:36):
manage it. Like my family is definitely prone to tearing
their acl because we're such a tall family, like with
the jeans and everything. But I will say not having
anyone I knew personally do it at the time was
hard because I didn't know how to navigate it, and
I was trying to figure it out all by myself
and not like reaching out to people. So I was
(26:58):
basically isolating myself from everyone and just being like, Okay,
I'm figuring out myself. I'm not letting anyone else help me.
And I think that's the biggest mistake people make is
that they don't allow people to help you. Because a
lot of people going through the injury think they don't
know what I'm going through because they never experience an
(27:19):
ACL tear, which is true. But also just talking to
people throughout your ACL recovery is huge. And whether that
be family, you're PT, or you know, just a friend,
but reaching out to people, talking to people about it
is I think the best way to get over that
mental hump because it gets really lonely. And I will say, like,
(27:41):
if you don't like your PT, like that also is
a hard thing, Like you need to find a PT
you love that you can talk to, like that will
be kind of like apparent to you throughout it and
like help you through it because you're going to be
with them all the time and everything. So I also
think that's a really big thing that I kind of
struggled with because I didn't feel like I could talk
(28:02):
to my PT as much as I should have. Like
the second time I had an amazing PT, I talked
to them all the time, like, but the first time
was a lot more challenging because I felt like I couldn't.
So I think that's a big thing, is finding a
PT that you can talk to, you can like reach
out to open up to whatever. And yeah, I think
physically the struggle of like getting your muscle back, your
(28:25):
range of motion back was really hard, and just like
knowing you're not seeing the results you want to at
the beginning is like a really big thing because all
you want to do is like get back to your sport.
So I think, like that's a big thing too, Like
there's mental and there's physical sides to both of it,
and just like mentally as well, like losing your identity
(28:47):
because a lot of us, like myself, like some sports
are like our lives, and once that's taken away, like
what do you have left? Well, I think the biggest
thing is like for me, I found I went out
and like I found new hobbies, Like I found new
ways to get active and like you know, like I
went on bike rides. I want to walk, so I
went on like just doing stuff to like clear my mind,
(29:07):
like get it off of lacrosse, because like obviously all
you want to do is like think about your sport
and everything. So I think just finding different ways to
like keep busy is also a big thing. I would say.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
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(30:04):
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free breakdown on the model. Absolutely, you touched on so
many amazing points. I mean, first off, it comes up
every time I talk with athletes that way, just how
dark and lonely the acl game can be. Sometimes just
going nine plus months without the sport, which obviously, in
your case, you played since you were seven, So it's
(30:25):
like man, for the first time in over a decade,
I have to try and figure out what life without
lacrosse in it looks like and it's it's very daunting,
and I think it's not recognized or not appreciated enough
kind of the mental and psychological role that some of
these things play in the process. And then on top
of that as well, there's just a lot of fear
(30:46):
around this, whether that's you know, doctor looking at you
and saying, oh, well, you know, you're never going to
play your sport again, or people online, whether that's social
media or just online statistics that way, Like, there's a
lot of people that are just nasay for lack of
a better way to put it, And I think the
more you listen to those voices and surround yourself with
those people, the more right they're going to be long term. Unfortunately,
(31:10):
you know, I think eventually that stuff gets said to
you so much that you start to believe it, and
it changes how you act and how you go about things.
And I think we need to find ways to shift
our conversation from you know, why did this happen? And
why is it so you know, why is it so
many people feel I'm never going to get back to hey,
you know this happened to me. I'm gonna, you know,
(31:31):
do everything I can I'm going to get back. I'm
not going to be just part of a statistic or
a number that someone cites, like, It's possible to come
back from this, and it's not only possible to come back,
but come back better than I was before. So I
think part of it becomes a big mindset shift and
paradigm shift from all of us, the athlete, the providers, everyone.
And then the second piece is, obviously, as you mentioned,
(31:54):
surrounding yourself with the right providers, because there are phenomenal
people and there's those that unfortunately aren't at the position
where they can provide what you need from an ACL standpoint.
And I think until you've really gotten into this game,
until you've worked with forty fifty sixty different people who
have undergone ACL injuries that way, or until you've seen
(32:16):
it yourself or someone in your family have it that way,
it's very difficult, if not impossible, to grasp all the
different factors that go into this, but also everything that's
needed from a recovery standpoint. And I don't think it's
up to one person alone to provide everything that you need.
I think it's really how do we put a team
together for you as the athlete, Right, how do we
(32:38):
bring you best PT, the best at strength coach, you know,
if you need a nutritionist, if you need sports like
whatever it is that way, how do we put all
of these people on the same page, like basically playing
for you and we're you're kind of like our metaphorical coach,
and we're all the athletes that are playing for you
in this goal hopefully working to get you a nice
(33:00):
big win in this And I think the more we
kind of shift our mindset to that team based approach
and humanizing the entire process, the better off we're all
going to be.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Yeah, I agree. I definitely had that support system my
going through my second ACO in college. I had nutrition,
as said, my trainer helping me all the time, my
at my PT, everyone was there for me, and like
knowing my goals, they helped me to reach those this
year playing again, So that was just so awesome. Like
seeing the difference is like you have one person compared
(33:32):
to like six, you know, so, cause you're right, one
person can't like do everything for you. And like when
you're going through like the mental piece, like it's hard
to like get yourself out of that hole. But if
you have the people to help you through it. It's
a lot.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Easier, absolutely, absolutely, And what kind of things do you
give to other athletes as advice for, uh, you know,
their whole approach of finding a surgeon or PT or
whatever it is that way, if they've faced an injury
like this, Because a lot of times I've found athletes
trust other athletes, they lean on them for advice that way.
So what kind of things do you kind of offer
(34:10):
to them as advice if they're facing some of the
similar struggles that you faced that way?
Speaker 2 (34:16):
I would say definitely testing out pts. I went at
and I went to like three or four in my
area my first year or my first time doing it,
and I was like, okay, like do I connect with them?
Like do they seem like genuine? Do they are they
going to put the time in like that I'm going
to give them, like you know, because it's a two
way street and you want them to help you as
(34:37):
much as you want to help them. So I definitely
think finding the right fit for your PT. And like
I got super lucky with my PT at Rutgers. He
was awesome. He literally like helped me through all the things.
Like if I was like Okay, like I can't do
this today. My knee's hurting so bad. He's like, Okay,
we're gonna find other ways for you to strengthen your
quad or something, you know. So I think that was
(34:59):
definitely a big piece. I would also say, just keep
communicating to people, like whether that be reaching out to
your friends if you're really lonely, like getting out of
the house, Like, don't isolate yourself, because I think that's
where I messed up, is where I was like, Okay,
I don't want to talk to anyone about this. It's
just my thing, Like no one else knows what I'm
going through, so I'm just gonna figure it out myself.
(35:21):
And that is like completely wrong. Like if you have
people like your family, your support system, whatever that may be,
like those people want to help you, and so you
have to let them help you because it's really hard
if you don't let them help you because they have
different insights, people have different things the way like to
get you through things, and if you don't let them,
(35:42):
like it's going to be a really big challenge, and
it just makes it a lot easier. I would also
say just like going out trying new things, like because
you don't want to let lacrosse or like your sport
just define you, Like you want to have other aspects
of your personality or yourself like that you can use
in your day to day life and not just be like, oh, yeah,
(36:02):
I play lacrosse in college, Like I don't have any
other characteristics to myself like that may present me later
in life that I might need, like finding a job,
Like I can't just be like I was a d
one athlete. Hire me, you know, Like I have to
have a good personality, Like I have to be have
good conversations, you know, like present myself in a way,
(36:23):
so like you know, finding new hobbies just like you know,
find yourself as well. Like I think it's a good
time for you to reflect and like find different things
about yourself that you might not know about. So I
think just doing that, hanging out with your friends, your family,
and just keep pushing because one day, like you'll look
back at it and you'll be so proud at yourself
(36:43):
that you didn't quit, because yeah, sports are a big
part of our lives and like you don't want to
lose that. And I totally agree because like the for
the two years that I was out of my sport,
like a lot of it was like that's all I
thought about and wanting to get back to that. So
I think just use it as motive, but also find
different things that like to fill your time and to
(37:04):
find about yourself that you might not have known about.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Absolutely no, I think that's all great advice and great
insights that way. And I just think it's so essential
for athletes to kind of lean into other athletes that
have been through the same thing or a similar thing
in the past as well, because you get it like
you have firsthand experience, but you're also this first hand
account of again going back to what I mentioned before
(37:28):
that a lot of the numbers and stats they don't
have to apply to you, right, You can beat all
of the odds. You can come back from stuff. There
was a kid we worked with on the podcast about
a year ago now, and I had the opportunity to
help him during his rehab process that way, which I'm
incredibly thankful for. But he had a second ACL injury
on the same knee, and he had a meniscus transplant,
(37:51):
so they took one out and put a whole new
one in, and they repaired the other Meniscus, which it
was like there's no literature at all on meniscus train
and return to sport for lacrosse. I don't know if
he's the first one to do it or not. Maybe
he is, but he proved it's possible. It's like, you know,
you can beat back a lot of these different odds
that people are gonna sit there in cite through a
(38:12):
value of hard work, dedication, and again just surrounding yourself
with the right people and developing the right mindset. So
I think leaning into athletes as a support system and
kind of making this thing where we all just kind
of lift each other up tend to be again really
really good. And I wish more people would be comfortable
doing that.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Yeah, cause I would say as a first timer, for
my going through my first one, I didn't know about
any of this stuff, and I kind of just relied
on what I thought was going to be correct, and
that's totally wrong. Like you gotta find different ways, like
look up, like what are the best ways to I
don't know, like strengthen your quadity, find different things that
(38:51):
you can do, and you know, lean on people. I
think just using myself to figure stuff out was the
hardest thing for me to like let other people in.
And I would just give that advice to like find
people that want to help you and let them do it.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
So, Yeah, did you keep anything like a journal or
like some kind of like daily reflection log or anything
like that during that time at all?
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Or Yeah. I wrote down my thoughts of every day,
like what was something I did differently, also jot down
new ideas like of what I could do, you know,
find new hobbies and everything like that. I wrote a
lot of that down. I also read a lot of
books about ecls and stuff, and you know, one of
it was one book I think was called Grit and
(39:36):
it showed like had a lot of good quotes in it,
and so I kind of wrote those quotes down on
like stickies and stuff and like put them everywhere, Like
I'd put them on my mirror in my bathroom, I
put them in my car. Just finding ways to like
remind yourself that like you'll get through it, but you
just need a little help getting there.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Absolutely, No, I love that. That's such a great point.
We've talked a lot about kind of things in the
past and the present. You that way, because obviously you're
back to sport. You just played a phenomenal season at Rutgers,
and I think you scored what like ten goals this year? Correct?
Speaker 2 (40:07):
I think I had sixteen.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
Oh, my goodness, I'm I'm low balling you. My goodness,
that's my bad.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
No, it's fine.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
So obviously we've talked a little bit about the past
and the present and kind of where you're at now
that way, what is the future hold? Obviously you said
you're in the business school at Rutgers and kind of
want to get into this like sports marketing kind of
space that way.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
Yeah, I think going through this, I found this voice
inside me that I really do like talking to people.
And I think I wouldn't have known that about myself
if I didn't go through these injuries. So I think,
as much as it sucks, like you have to find
like the positives of the injuries and like going through
(40:48):
it and finding yourself. And I think this voice inside
me will help me with marketing. And I learned that
I really like to talk to people and I think
I can have good conversations and stuff like that. So
I think going into the marketing fields, I think I'll
be able to do that like well and use that
to my advantage because of my injuries, if that makes sense,
(41:10):
just like pulling the positives and using it to move forward.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
Absolutely, No, And I think you've gotten to meet so
many different providers in the space, and you've gotten so
many different experiences around sports that way, lacrosse, basketball, just
the ins and outs of all of them. That way
that I think you know what you've been through certainly
sets you up for success. And obviously in general, being
an athlete, I think sets you up for this like
(41:37):
fast track to success in life because you learn so
many things from just sport in general, whether that be
the time management element, or the value of hard work
and dedication and commitment to something, or the value of
a good team, whatever it is. That way, you just
learned so many different lessons that I feel like you
don't find anywhere else, and I think that leads you
(41:57):
up for a very successful and happy life long term.
That way, whatever success looks like to you and whatever
you're chasing.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
Yeah, and definitely just seeing how far lacrosse can take
me there. They just introduce lacrosse back into the Olympics,
so they're joining the Olympic Games in twenty twenty eight.
So shooting for the stars, but just kind of like
seeing how far lacrosse can take me, like what connections
I can build from it, like you obviously, and just
(42:25):
going from there. I think a lot of it's just
like talking to people, like learning your voice and using
your sports to your advantage because obviously you play in
college and there's a lot of different things that like
open because of playing sports in college, and I think
just using that to your advantage finding a job later
in life and you know, getting a good education. But
also like you know, using your sport.
Speaker 1 (42:48):
Are you staying in the kind of New Jersey, New
York kind of area long term or we headn't back
home to Florida after college.
Speaker 2 (42:55):
I haven't decided that yet. I definitely like the weather
here more, but I will say there are good opportunities
up north, and like all the sports teams up there awesome,
So I mean, we do have good sports scenes here.
But you know, just kind of seeing where it takes me.
Speaker 1 (43:14):
Absolutely just being an open book, and who knows where
you're gonna land light right, it could be a totally
random state like freaking Utah or something, or maybe it'll
be right where you're from, so you never know what
the next page is going to bring, and that's what
makes it all exciting that way. I feel like we
talked about a lot of different things as it relates
to you, Samanthon, kind of your story and journey as
(43:34):
it relates to sport and injury. Is there anything we
missed or anything we didn't talk about today that you
wanted to I think we.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Hit a lot of things. I think injury was a
big thing. Lacrosse. Definitely wanting to grow the game of
lacrosse because obviously it's really big up North that's kind
of where it originated, but it's starting to boom in Florida.
So just trying to like grow the game, I think,
because it definitely deserves the recognition because it's such an
(44:01):
awesome game in my opinion, and I think a lot
of people would really like it if they knew what
it was about. So I would say, like joining your
high school team, whether that be jv or varsity, or
just trying out a club team, going to a practice
or whatever, and like reaching out to your friends if
they play lacrosse or whatever. Just try to get people
(44:22):
involved and coaching younger kids is a big thing that
I do, and like, I think it's really cool that
kids really do look up to you, especially sports, like
if they want to become you, they kind of just
want to embody you. So I think that's a big
thing is with just trying to to get the younger
(44:42):
generation involved as well. And a lot of the kids
in my area look up to me. They think they
think I'm so cool because I play called lacrosse. You know,
like they don't really know much about you, but they
know that part and so they're like, wow, like I
want to be here, you know. So I think just
using your sport and everything, like as a voice. Like
one time, I had this girl come up to me
(45:05):
and I coached her maybe a year or two before,
and I haven't seen her in a while, and she
came up to me one day and was like, I
talked about you in class today and I was like, oh,
like what'd you say? And she was like, who got
you into lacrosse? Because I know it's such a big
part of your life and she said me And I
was like, Wow, You've literally just made my entire year
(45:26):
because I touched someone and I mean, like, I like,
what's the word I like got to someone to where
like they wanted to be, and like kind of pointed
them in the direction where they want to be. And
I thought that was really cool, like touching someone's heart,
if that makes sense, Like I don't know how to
make that.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
Sound absolutely no, I completely agree. I mean, first off,
you never know what impact and influence you're going to
have on other people that way, and it's amazing when
you do have that kind of impact on others that way.
It definitely makes you feel good. But also it's just
so nice to know that you kind of give back
to what gave to you in the first place, if
you will, and building off of that as well. I
(46:05):
completely agree with your point on just growing the sport
and growing the game that way. Lacrosse is such a
fun sport to watch, one of my favorite sports to
watch that way, and I think that it is finally,
you know, starting to get more attention and develop and
kind of evolve that way. And it's something that I'm
extremely excited for myself that way, because I think it's
(46:25):
a phenomenal sport and it's one that needs to get
kind of the mainstream light that way. I mean, I'll
go as far to say I've watched more lacrosse lately
than baseball. It's it's just that big and that exciting
of a sport in my mind.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
Yeah, I definitely love being a part of that and
like helping grow the game. Like the championships this year
were like record numbers where people have went to them,
and I thought that was really cool. It just shows
that it just keeps growing every year, and we obviously
want to get it to the level of like a
baseball or a soccer, you know, a basketball, because I
(47:00):
think it does, as you said, like our need the
recognition that.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
It deserves, absolutely, Samantha. For people who want to find
out more about you and get in touch with you
and keep up to date with the rest of your journey.
That way, where can they find you online?
Speaker 2 (47:14):
They can see me on Instagram, Samantha Sawanovich, Uh, Twitter,
same thing, TikTok, same thing. That's all my name so awesome.
Speaker 1 (47:23):
We'll link to all of that in the description below.
That way, if you didn't quite catch it, you can
just click there and see everything that Samantha and her
teammates are up to. Samantha, this was amazing. I really
appreciate your time and everything you do, and thank you
so much.
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Thank you for having me. I'm really happy I was
able to share my story
Welcome back to another episode of the Brown Performance and
Rehab Podcast powered by Isofit and Firefly Recovery. Isofit is
my go to for all things isometric strength training. For
more on Isofit, be sure to check out isofit dot com.
Episodes like this are made possible by Firefly, the official
recovery provider of the Brown Performance and Rehab Podcast. For
(00:22):
more on Firefly, be sure to check out Recovery firefly
dot com. This episode is powered by doctor Ray Gorman,
founder of Engage Movement. Learn how to boost your income
without relying on sessions. Get a free training on the
blended practice model by following at Ray Gorman dpt on Instagram.
Joining me on the podcast today Samantha Swanovich. Samantha is
(00:45):
a Division one woman's lacrosse athlete and she has unfortunately
faced several knee injuries in particular of her acl and
we dive into that in detail. Today. We talk about
her journey recovering from that one but two ac injuries.
That way, we talk about her time and experience in
the lacrosse space, and we talk about all the different
(01:05):
places she's lived, from the Midwest to Florida to the
New Jersey area around Rutgers where she attends school and
beyond that way. This is an amazing episode and I
really appreciated Samantha's time and the opportunity to learn from her.
Enjoy Samantha, Welcome to the podcast. I'm super excited to
work with you today. For people who aren't familiar with you,
(01:25):
your journey in the sport of lacrosse and maybe some
of these different things that kind of popped up along
the way, would you mind phil me a little bit
about who you are and all that you've been through.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Uh. Yeah, So I'm Samantha Swanovich. I am from Tampa, Florida.
I played Division one lacrosse at Rutgers University up in
New Jersey and I am going into my red shirt
sophomore year because of my two acl injuries that have
been the past few years. Lacrosse has always been like
(01:55):
a huge part of my life. I've played since I
was about seven years old. My brother was the one
who kind of actually introduced me to it when we
lived up in Minnesota. He played box lacrosse and I
was so fascinated by it, so he actually he actually
was the one who introduced me to the game, which
was really cool. So from the start, I've always wanted
(02:16):
to play college lacrosse or college sports in general. So
I've always like had that drive, had that will to
like put in the time, put in the effort, whether
that be for basketball or lacrosse or whatever sport. So
when I moved down to Florida, I played both basketball
and lacrosse, and my kind of my love for basketball
(02:36):
kind of just dissipated a little bit and I started
leaning toward more towards lacrosse. And I'm really happy that
it did, because it kind of led me to where
I am today. So when I moved down to Florida,
I joined like super competitive lacrosse clubs, and like all
throughout my middle school and high school years, I did
(02:58):
that competitive club and which means like going to all
those recruiting events, all those camps, all those like college
stuff and all that stuff, which it's really hard, honestly,
Like as a sixteen fifteen year old girl, you're like
trying to figure out what you want to do with
your life and everything, and you know, I feel like
playing sports in college you have to figure that out
(03:19):
a little bit earlier than most people. So obviously it's
always a challenge, but I'm really happy with where I'm
at today and like where my journey kind of led
me because Rutgers was a really good fit for me.
I've always wanted a big school with sports, football games,
like all that fun stuff. Being close to the city
(03:40):
was honestly a really big perk with my major being marketing,
all those businesses and stuff is a really good opportunity.
I would say just getting those opportunities, I think is
a little better than here in Florida. So I kind
of just wanted to try something new, start like a
new chapter in my life moving away. So yeah, it
(04:01):
was kind of hard at the beginning, but I'm happy
to where I led to me today. And I just
had those injuries and stuff which were minor setbacks, But yeah,
do you want me to talk a little bit about those.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I mean, we have so much to unpack here, Sam,
that is a amazing backstory. And first off, I mean
you mentioned you grew up in Minnesota initially and then
moved to Florida. I'm sure that was a real difficult
decision to move to the sunshine and the warm weather
and the beaches away from you know, the winter and
that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
My goodness, haf decision, Oh my gosh, so hard.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
It's funny, though, because anytime I talk with someone from
Minnesota or even just like the Midwest in general, there's
this thing that comes up a lot, the Minnesota nice
or the Midwest nice or something like that. Like, for
whatever reason, there's something about people who are from the
Midwest originally where they're just like they go out of
their way to like help you out and just are
like some of the nicest people y'all ever meet. Stre
(05:00):
zerotyping a little bit that way. Do you find that
kind of carried over into Florida or I'm just curious
to hear your thoughts and take on the whole Midwest
nice thing? Is that even a thing?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Or definitely, like all my family still lives up in Minnesota,
and like you can just tell the difference, like in
the way people act and like the way, you know,
just people talk as well. I kind of kind of
got my confidence from living up in Minnesota and talking
to my family because I've always had like a little
(05:29):
bit of like a shy side where talking to people
was kind of hard for me at a young age.
But always talking to my family and stuff kind of
just like branched me out because like they're such good communicators,
they're so nice, like such nice people, and definitely carried
down to Florida with my friends here, made really good friends,
and I think just the way I presented myself allowed
(05:51):
me to find like my people and even in college,
like I am definitely a more outspoken person. I just
kind of like let my personality show. And I think
that's all because of growing up in Minnesota and Florida.
You kind of get a little bit of like that
SaaS from Florida and like that little fire. But so
I kind of think like the mesh of the two
(06:11):
kind of build me to where I am today and
the way I like present myself. So yeah, I would
definitely say Minnesota nice is a thing.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
I like that, the Florida SaaS and the Minnesota nice.
That's that's quite a combination there and a big fan
of that. You mentioned as well that your brother introduced
you to lacrosse and he was playing box lacrosse growing
up that way. Tell me a little bit more about
that influence and impact that he had on you in
the sport of lacrosse and how did his own career
kind of continue around it and how did that kind
(06:40):
of later impact and influence your decisions around the sport
that way.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
He kind of just kind of brought me out to
the field one day and was like, hey, just pass
with me. I'm trying to get better whatever. Don't really
remember all the little details, but so yeah, from this
moment I like picked up that stick. I was like, wait,
this is kind of fun. It's very different, like you're
using a stick and a ball instead of like just
(07:04):
dribbling or like kicking the ball. So it kind of
had a different like layer to it, which I liked.
And he kind of showed me like how to start
like shooting and doing wall ball and all these different things.
So I thought it was really cool just because there's
so many different aspects to lacrosse and like the skill
you need, there's so much strategy behind it, which I loved,
(07:26):
and I feel like basketball, Like I'm very tall, I'm
six feet tall, so basketball kind of runs in my family.
So I kind of just wanted to like lean away
from that and kind of be different in the sport
of lacrosse because a lot of the girls playing are fast,
they're short, like they're shifty and all that, so kind
of trying to be a different threat in lacrosse, and
(07:49):
it obviously worked out for me. So I could have
played basketball in college or you know, tried to see
where that could have taken me, but I'm happy with lacrosse.
My brother actually played all the way up through high school,
which he kind of like was my role model with that.
Getting me to the varsity level really quick, helping me
with all that skill and strategy and everything. Kind of
(08:11):
getting me implemented into the game at a young age
was helpful. His love definitely peaked mine, so he was
very helpful with that, and he ended up not wanting
to play in college. So I kind of saw both
ways of like Okay, going to college just to be
a student, joining like a sorority or a frat all
(08:33):
that stuff, and like I was like, Okay, I know
I want to be I want to continue this sport.
I didn't really want to do that like side of
college and just kind of focus on sport because since
I loved it so much, and like I wanted to
see where the sport could take me in the end.
Because it's obviously a really fast growing game. There's a
lot of different things that girls can do nowadays with lacrosse,
(08:54):
which I thought was really cool because obviously a lot
of sports, like soccer, basketball, they're already super big, and
I kind of wanted to be a part of something
a little smaller so I could help grow the program
in like the sport itself. So I knew that, Like
seeing him just do his college and everything, I was like,
I want to do more and I want to like
continue this sport and see how far it can take me.
(09:17):
So like he was definitely a help along the way
and like supporting me and everything with that and just
helping me grow my love for the sport of lacrosse.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
And when you started playing the sport at age seven
that way, were you mostly playing box and kind of
indoor kind of lacrosse in Minnesota or they have an
outdoor league as well. And for people who don't know,
talk us through some of the differences that come from
playing box and kind of like a small sided game,
if you will, compared to kind of outdoor that way.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
The one outside the field's way bigger you do with
box acrosse, you're inside of a stadium, there's walls on
the side, so if you like hit it off the wall,
it bounces everywhere. The goals are way smaller with box
across the goalie also takes up more of the nets,
So it kind of comes down to like more strategy
with like how to score the ball, how to move
(10:07):
the ball, like bouncing it off the walls, all that
type of stuff. With field lacrosse, Uh, it's way bigger.
It's about a size of like a soccer football field,
so it's a lot more running and more like you
have to learn how to like pass the ball farther
and work with your teammates more. I think because the
(10:27):
field is so big, so you have so many components
with it, like defense, going to the midfield, going to
the attack like most sports field sports, but lacrosse with strategy,
there's a lot more with like small sided I think
because of how tiny the ball is, Like how like
flat your stick is, because with girls sticks there the
(10:49):
nets are way flatter, so boys sticks you have the
ball like way deeper in your net. Another big aspect
is that girls can't hit other girls Guys like can
do contact a lot, So I think that's another thing
that comes with strategy. Because we can't hit, we can't
do all this stuff, so we have to like use
(11:10):
more of like strategic lacrosse IQ is what we call it,
to move the ball up the field and like score.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
So and then there's the shooting lane element of it
too that I find a lot of people don't understand.
I mean I don't fully understand it either. It's like
we have to leave space, but we can't leave too
much space. It's it's a whole thing.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Yeah, I will say there's a lot of different things
for defense as well. With you said shooting lane, you
can't leave as much space, but if you are in
front of them when they're about to shoot, you get
what's called an eight meter so you basically get a
free shot like in basketball. So that's a different thing.
Like with boys and girls as well, is like we
get more lenient with free shots. Well they don't have that.
(11:53):
So there's just different aspects to the boys and the
girls sides. That makes it unique, which I like as
well because like basketball, girls guys, a lot of it's
the same. So I kind of like how like our
sport is very unique on a lot of different aspects
for box and field.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Absolutely, And recently I did a podcast with Avery Doo
and we talked a little bit about college lacrosse, and
one of the things that she brought up was a
lot of people were telling her that they felt like
women's lacrosse at the college level was too dangerous and
it was too unsafe and all these different things that way.
And I feel like, as you mentioned, you know, contact
isn't a big part of the game in the sense
(12:33):
that you're not like checking people like you might in
men's but there's still a lot of contact that occurs.
There's still a lot of bumps and bruises that occur,
and I think to a certain extent, that's part of
the game. That's what makes it so engaging and exciting
to watch, is it's extremely fast paced. You do have
a little bit of a contact element with it. But
(12:53):
you know, if we take that element away even further
than it already is, at least in my opinion, it
kind of starts to dilute from what it really is.
In my opinion, it slows it down, It kind of
forces more of these different things of like technicalities and
so on that way, and I just feel like it
would start to take away from what the game truly is,
you know, not to say that, you know, I like
(13:15):
a dangerous sport by any means, but it's also like
I think that there's a certain element of risk that
comes with any good sport, right, Like I like watching
like MMA UFC type stuff and they're literally punching each
other in the face. That's way more risky than you know,
lacrosse would be. But it's like there's such a certain
element of that risk that's almost like engaging for us
(13:36):
to watch that way. I guess I'm trying to.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Say, yeah, I agree. We just got this new role
in the past few years. It's called a green card,
which you can get between the thirty yard lines, which
I will say slows the game down a lot more
because if you check or something between those lines, you
get a one minute penalty. So it like slows the
games down more. And with more of these like technicality calls,
(14:00):
like that's what slows the game down more. And like
I don't I don't necessarily like that because I like
the flow of the game when we're just kind of
like going back and forth and like allowing us to
play and like not just keep stopping it and like
having to restart all that stuff. So I definitely agree
with you. I like, definitely think in college you kind
of have to have a little bit more lenient leniency
(14:22):
with contact because we are at this like level for
a reason, and we kind of got to this level
because we are so like mentally and physically strong and
like are able to take the contact. I will say, so.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Yeah, I completely agree with you that way. It's like,
you got to this level, You've trained so hard for
so long in your life, It's time to reap the
rewards and have some fun and you know that sort
of thing. And I would love to This is just
kind of how my brain works. I'd love to see
a league of women's lacrosse that allows kind of the
pad and protection level that men's have, that also allows
(14:57):
the contact that men's have, because there's some women's lacrosse
athletes I've worked with that I'm like, you know, with
the physicality that you bring from some of the other sports,
I feel like you would have really fun going out
there and like checking a few people that way if
it was allowed that way. So I think, you know,
in the future, when lacrosse continues to blow up and
expand like it has been, I would love to see
(15:18):
kind of an expanded version of women's lacrosse that actually
allows more contact than it already does in my opinion.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yeah, like some box leagues and stuff allow that they
wear pads and act more like the boys' sport. So
definitely want to give that a try and see.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
If I like that absolutely. What was that transition like
for you when you were moving from Minnesota to Tampa
that way obviously whole new world, very different than what
you're used to that way. What was that kind of
like transition process like for you that way?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Basketball is definitely not as big as it is in Minnesota,
So I tried leagues down here and I kind of
was like, Okay, this isn't, as you know, worth my
time because lacrosse is all year round down here because
we have the opportunity to play outside every day. So
I also liked how down here we can play every day,
(16:14):
Like I can train every day out in the sun
and you know, and not have to be like cooped
up inside. And like the difference was in Minnesota, I
couldn't do lacrosse year round, but I could do basketball
year round. So I think like the move really helped
me lead me to lacrosse in a way where I
think if I lived up north still, I would have been,
(16:35):
like I think, more confined to basketball and like you know, pursued.
I think that more. So I'm really happy we moved
down here because obviously, like lacrosse is a spring sport,
but you're allowed to still train in the winter. We
have I have my club practices, and like all that
stuff was year round during high school and club or
in middle school. So I think that also made me
(16:57):
to the player I am today because I was able
to practice and do everything outside every day. So I
think that was the biggest transition, was basketball and lacrosse
kind of flipped for me. So yeah, I'm happy we
ended up moving down here for sure.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
You know, it's so interesting that you say that, because
I think of a lot of the traditional like lacrosse states.
I call them right like Maryland or like you know,
the Long Island, New York City area of New York
that way, and they're not necessarily known for super nice
weather year round and like sunshine and playing you know,
lacrosse outside year round that way. Yet there's still lacrosse states.
But I can see how you know, Florida, for example,
(17:37):
like Tampa area for lacrosse is booming right now. University
of Tampa just won like second consecutive national championship or
something ridiculous. Us af's women's lacrosse program is very much
on the rise and they had a phenomenal season. It's like,
to me, it makes a lot of sense how that
area would be such a good spot for lacrosse. And
(17:58):
I mean, I guess the other piece too, is if
you wanted to, you could take your stick and roll
over to the beach and just mess around in the
sand for a while too.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Yeah, I definitely do that a lot, and I think
it just like makes my love kind of grow for
it because I can do so many different things with it,
and I'm not just confined to like practicing when I practice,
because like it's you know, summertime up north, and I
have the opportunity to be outside or like I can
only practice indoors in the winter. So I'm happy, like
(18:26):
I have that opportunity to do so many different things,
Like you said, go to the beach with it, like
you know, just mess around. So I kind of like
that definitely. Since I live in Florida, it's a good
way to experience lacrosse. If that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Absolutely, No, it definitely is. And you mentioned as well
that you're kind of going through this whole recruiting process
traveling all over the place for lacrosse that way, and
eventually settled on Rutgers being where you're gonna spend you know,
the at least the start of your collegiate career, and
obviously sounds like you're gonna see out your collegiate career
there at Rutgers as well. What goes into that decision
(19:01):
for you as far as deciding what university to play
lacross at, because it's something that comes up a lot
when I talk with athletes. They feel like it's a
very difficult decision to make. They feel a lot of
pressure behind that decision. And on one side, you know,
I've talked with athletes that are like, well, if it
doesn't work out, I'll just go into the transfer portal.
But on the other side, I've talked with a lot
of athletes that really don't think highly of the transfer
(19:23):
portal and they just want to go someplace that feels
right for them and stay there indefinitely throughout their college
career that way, So how did you kind of find
that right fit for you in Rutgers that way. What
stood out to you, Well.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I will say the transfer portal, Like it's like doing
recruiting again. So after you go through like that really
hard summer where you're spending every day at like a
college camp or like a recruiting event something like that,
Like having to do that again is crazy, especially because
like the first time you did it was like sixteen,
seventeen years old. Now I was probably fifteen going on sixteen,
(19:57):
which is even more crazy. But yeah, being that young,
I think it's the hardest part is knowing what you
want to do and finding the school that like fits
the best way. Because you're so young, you kind of
have you're supposed to have a few more years to
try to figure it out and like fuel out your
high school years of like okay, like I like a
bigger school, I like a smaller school. I want to
(20:19):
major in this, I want to major in that. But
knowing what you want to do at fifteen or sixteen
is like a lot to ask for and like girls,
I think, but for me, Rutgers stood out to me
because it was a big school. I knew that I
wanted to like have a big sports school. Where like
(20:39):
sports are the school kind of revolves around sports and
being able to go to different like sporting events like
soccer games, football games, you know, all the fun stuff.
Basketball games are huge at my school, which are They're
really fun. So I definitely wanted a bigger school. And
some of the schools that reached out to me on
September first were smaller, but I still visited them and
(21:01):
I kind of found that, like I didn't like that,
and I kind of was happy I got the first
hand experience going there and knowing that like that wasn't
the fit for me. I also knew that Rutgers has
a good business school, So whatever I wanted to major in,
I knew that at least like the school that I
wanted to go into was good, and like I'm coming
(21:23):
out with a degree no matter what. So like as
far as like the sports can take you, like you
still have to get a good degree, like you got
to get a job out of college and everything, which
is more important. So knowing Rutgers had a really good
business school was a check mark in my box. Yeah,
and also the proximity to like Philly or New York
(21:44):
and getting those opportunities was also a big thing for
me because out of college, like I want to be
able to get really good opportunities while staying in the
sports realm, Like I'm in marketing right now, but definitely
want to stay on the sports side of the marketing world.
So so getting those opportunities closer to New York and
like even at Rutgers, like I get those opportunities, which
(22:06):
is really cool. Yet it is really far away from
where I live. That was a big problem or not problem,
but like the thing I like considered being that far
away from my family. So I was like, do I
want to stay far away? Do I want to stay
close to home? That was also a big factor that
went into my decision. And luckily my parents were like,
(22:28):
if you go far, we will come up and visit
you enough, like we will see you. They came and
supported a lot of my games this year, which was awesome.
So my first season back in like two and a
half years, like they came to it. It was awesome.
They saw me score my first goal and everything, which
was really cool. So I think also just being far
away it has its like downsides, but the perks are
(22:51):
like when you see your family, it's like, oh, my gosh,
like I haven't seen you in so long, Like we
need to catch up, we need to do all this.
So it's not like I'm saying like twenty minute. It's
from my house and I see my family every day,
like it's more of like a treat when I get
to see them. So it's kind of like builds up
to the moment, which I actually really like. And sometimes
it was hard, especially with my injuries my freshman year
(23:11):
or last year, my mom had to come up and
help me with my surgeries and everything. So that was
a downside because I didn't obviously expect to get injured again,
but yeah, she came up and helped me for like
two weeks I had my surgery up in New Jersey
and everything. So just having like that family stuff like
(23:31):
was very helpful with my decision as well, because they
were very supportive of whatever I wanted to do. They
were supportive of whatever I wanted.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
To Absolutely, it's so great to have that family support
element and ultimately find that place that just kind of
checks all the boxes that you're looking for. By the
sounds right, It's one of those things that I think
a lot of people feel like they're not going to
ever find that place, but it does exist out there
for people, and if you haven't found it yet, sometimes
you just need to keep looking and find in that
(24:00):
place that can balance everything you want in the moment
from a collegiate sport element to life beyond sport as well.
That way, as you mentioned kind of after your career ends. Now,
you mentioned a few times about injuries that have come
up a couple of times, whether that be ACL number
one or ACL number two. That way, walk me through
ACL number one because I believe that was in high
(24:22):
school that that occurred.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Correct, Yes, So I actually tore it at Rutgers after
I was committed, so thankfully, like I was already committed
at that point, like I didn't have to worry about
recruiting anymore. But I tore it at Rutgers on the
field that I practice on now. So a little crazy,
but yeah, it was interesting because it obviously sucked to
(24:47):
tear it in front of my college coaches that were,
you know, going to be my coaches in the next
few years, but it was also a blessing because they
were able to see it, they were able to help
me through it in contact with me. Like I think
it kind of made a bond with my coaches that
like I wouldn't have had if I didn't like hurt myself,
even though you don't ever want to get an injury.
(25:10):
But yeah, so my first one was kind of really
tough for me, especially senior year when you kind of
want to do all these things. You want to have
your like star season your senior year, like go out
with a good season all that stuff. So that was
really hard for me not being able to participate in
that with my friends. Also like being isolated and not
(25:31):
being able to go anywhere, staying at my house for
like months at a time. I wasn't able to walk
for six weeks because I tore my acl my meniscus
and everything in my knee basically, so with meniscus tear
both times, I wasn't able to walk for six weeks,
especially going around campus, and everything was really hard after
(25:52):
I was like cleared to go to school again. But yeah,
I think the hardest part was like mentally getting passed,
because the second I did it, I was like, Okay,
we're going to figure this out, Like it's not going
to be a big deal. We're going to like rehab
the heck out of it and just get back to
what I want to do. It's just a bump in
the road whatever. But after a few months you kind
(26:14):
of start to like hit it where you hit like
this wall where you are not mentally doing good, like
you kind of just want to give up because you're
not seeing any progress. And I think that was the
hardest part because I've never had anyone in my family
or no I had people in my life like currently
like tear it, so I didn't know how to like
(26:36):
manage it. Like my family is definitely prone to tearing
their acl because we're such a tall family, like with
the jeans and everything. But I will say not having
anyone I knew personally do it at the time was
hard because I didn't know how to navigate it, and
I was trying to figure it out all by myself
and not like reaching out to people. So I was
(26:58):
basically isolating myself from everyone and just being like, Okay,
I'm figuring out myself. I'm not letting anyone else help me.
And I think that's the biggest mistake people make is
that they don't allow people to help you. Because a
lot of people going through the injury think they don't
know what I'm going through because they never experience an
(27:19):
ACL tear, which is true. But also just talking to
people throughout your ACL recovery is huge. And whether that
be family, you're PT, or you know, just a friend,
but reaching out to people, talking to people about it
is I think the best way to get over that
mental hump because it gets really lonely. And I will say, like,
(27:41):
if you don't like your PT, like that also is
a hard thing, Like you need to find a PT
you love that you can talk to, like that will
be kind of like apparent to you throughout it and
like help you through it because you're going to be
with them all the time and everything. So I also
think that's a really big thing that I kind of
struggled with because I didn't feel like I could talk
(28:02):
to my PT as much as I should have. Like
the second time I had an amazing PT, I talked
to them all the time, like, but the first time
was a lot more challenging because I felt like I couldn't.
So I think that's a big thing, is finding a
PT that you can talk to, you can like reach
out to open up to whatever. And yeah, I think
physically the struggle of like getting your muscle back, your
(28:25):
range of motion back was really hard, and just like
knowing you're not seeing the results you want to at
the beginning is like a really big thing because all
you want to do is like get back to your sport.
So I think, like that's a big thing too, Like
there's mental and there's physical sides to both of it,
and just like mentally as well, like losing your identity
(28:47):
because a lot of us, like myself, like some sports
are like our lives, and once that's taken away, like
what do you have left? Well, I think the biggest
thing is like for me, I found I went out
and like I found new hobbies, Like I found new
ways to get active and like you know, like I
went on bike rides. I want to walk, so I
went on like just doing stuff to like clear my mind,
(29:07):
like get it off of lacrosse, because like obviously all
you want to do is like think about your sport
and everything. So I think just finding different ways to
like keep busy is also a big thing. I would say.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
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(30:04):
to at Ray Gorman DPT on Instagram and receive your
free breakdown on the model. Absolutely, you touched on so
many amazing points. I mean, first off, it comes up
every time I talk with athletes that way, just how
dark and lonely the acl game can be. Sometimes just
going nine plus months without the sport, which obviously, in
your case, you played since you were seven, So it's
(30:25):
like man, for the first time in over a decade,
I have to try and figure out what life without
lacrosse in it looks like and it's it's very daunting,
and I think it's not recognized or not appreciated enough
kind of the mental and psychological role that some of
these things play in the process. And then on top
of that as well, there's just a lot of fear
(30:46):
around this, whether that's you know, doctor looking at you
and saying, oh, well, you know, you're never going to
play your sport again, or people online, whether that's social
media or just online statistics that way, Like, there's a
lot of people that are just nasay for lack of
a better way to put it, And I think the
more you listen to those voices and surround yourself with
those people, the more right they're going to be long term. Unfortunately,
(31:10):
you know, I think eventually that stuff gets said to
you so much that you start to believe it, and
it changes how you act and how you go about things.
And I think we need to find ways to shift
our conversation from you know, why did this happen? And
why is it so you know, why is it so
many people feel I'm never going to get back to hey,
you know this happened to me. I'm gonna, you know,
(31:31):
do everything I can I'm going to get back. I'm
not going to be just part of a statistic or
a number that someone cites, like, It's possible to come
back from this, and it's not only possible to come back,
but come back better than I was before. So I
think part of it becomes a big mindset shift and
paradigm shift from all of us, the athlete, the providers, everyone.
And then the second piece is, obviously, as you mentioned,
(31:54):
surrounding yourself with the right providers, because there are phenomenal
people and there's those that unfortunately aren't at the position
where they can provide what you need from an ACL standpoint.
And I think until you've really gotten into this game,
until you've worked with forty fifty sixty different people who
have undergone ACL injuries that way, or until you've seen
(32:16):
it yourself or someone in your family have it that way,
it's very difficult, if not impossible, to grasp all the
different factors that go into this, but also everything that's
needed from a recovery standpoint. And I don't think it's
up to one person alone to provide everything that you need.
I think it's really how do we put a team
together for you as the athlete, Right, how do we
(32:38):
bring you best PT, the best at strength coach, you know,
if you need a nutritionist, if you need sports like
whatever it is that way, how do we put all
of these people on the same page, like basically playing
for you and we're you're kind of like our metaphorical coach,
and we're all the athletes that are playing for you
in this goal hopefully working to get you a nice
(33:00):
big win in this And I think the more we
kind of shift our mindset to that team based approach
and humanizing the entire process, the better off we're all
going to be.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Yeah, I agree. I definitely had that support system my
going through my second ACO in college. I had nutrition,
as said, my trainer helping me all the time, my
at my PT, everyone was there for me, and like
knowing my goals, they helped me to reach those this
year playing again, So that was just so awesome. Like
seeing the difference is like you have one person compared
(33:32):
to like six, you know, so, cause you're right, one
person can't like do everything for you. And like when
you're going through like the mental piece, like it's hard
to like get yourself out of that hole. But if
you have the people to help you through it. It's
a lot.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Easier, absolutely, absolutely, And what kind of things do you
give to other athletes as advice for, uh, you know,
their whole approach of finding a surgeon or PT or
whatever it is that way, if they've faced an injury
like this, Because a lot of times I've found athletes
trust other athletes, they lean on them for advice that way.
So what kind of things do you kind of offer
(34:10):
to them as advice if they're facing some of the
similar struggles that you faced that way?
Speaker 2 (34:16):
I would say definitely testing out pts. I went at
and I went to like three or four in my
area my first year or my first time doing it,
and I was like, okay, like do I connect with them?
Like do they seem like genuine? Do they are they
going to put the time in like that I'm going
to give them, like you know, because it's a two
way street and you want them to help you as
(34:37):
much as you want to help them. So I definitely
think finding the right fit for your PT. And like
I got super lucky with my PT at Rutgers. He
was awesome. He literally like helped me through all the things.
Like if I was like Okay, like I can't do
this today. My knee's hurting so bad. He's like, Okay,
we're gonna find other ways for you to strengthen your
quad or something, you know. So I think that was
(34:59):
definitely a big piece. I would also say, just keep
communicating to people, like whether that be reaching out to
your friends if you're really lonely, like getting out of
the house, Like, don't isolate yourself, because I think that's
where I messed up, is where I was like, Okay,
I don't want to talk to anyone about this. It's
just my thing, Like no one else knows what I'm
going through, so I'm just gonna figure it out myself.
(35:21):
And that is like completely wrong. Like if you have
people like your family, your support system, whatever that may be,
like those people want to help you, and so you
have to let them help you because it's really hard
if you don't let them help you because they have
different insights, people have different things the way like to
get you through things, and if you don't let them,
(35:42):
like it's going to be a really big challenge, and
it just makes it a lot easier. I would also
say just like going out trying new things, like because
you don't want to let lacrosse or like your sport
just define you, Like you want to have other aspects
of your personality or yourself like that you can use
in your day to day life and not just be like, oh, yeah,
(36:02):
I play lacrosse in college, Like I don't have any
other characteristics to myself like that may present me later
in life that I might need, like finding a job,
Like I can't just be like I was a d
one athlete. Hire me, you know, Like I have to
have a good personality, Like I have to be have
good conversations, you know, like present myself in a way,
(36:23):
so like you know, finding new hobbies just like you know,
find yourself as well. Like I think it's a good
time for you to reflect and like find different things
about yourself that you might not know about. So I
think just doing that, hanging out with your friends, your family,
and just keep pushing because one day, like you'll look
back at it and you'll be so proud at yourself
(36:43):
that you didn't quit, because yeah, sports are a big
part of our lives and like you don't want to
lose that. And I totally agree because like the for
the two years that I was out of my sport,
like a lot of it was like that's all I
thought about and wanting to get back to that. So
I think just use it as motive, but also find
different things that like to fill your time and to
(37:04):
find about yourself that you might not have known about.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Absolutely no, I think that's all great advice and great
insights that way. And I just think it's so essential
for athletes to kind of lean into other athletes that
have been through the same thing or a similar thing
in the past as well, because you get it like
you have firsthand experience, but you're also this first hand
account of again going back to what I mentioned before
(37:28):
that a lot of the numbers and stats they don't
have to apply to you, right, You can beat all
of the odds. You can come back from stuff. There
was a kid we worked with on the podcast about
a year ago now, and I had the opportunity to
help him during his rehab process that way, which I'm
incredibly thankful for. But he had a second ACL injury
on the same knee, and he had a meniscus transplant,
(37:51):
so they took one out and put a whole new
one in, and they repaired the other Meniscus, which it
was like there's no literature at all on meniscus train
and return to sport for lacrosse. I don't know if
he's the first one to do it or not. Maybe
he is, but he proved it's possible. It's like, you know,
you can beat back a lot of these different odds
that people are gonna sit there in cite through a
(38:12):
value of hard work, dedication, and again just surrounding yourself
with the right people and developing the right mindset. So
I think leaning into athletes as a support system and
kind of making this thing where we all just kind
of lift each other up tend to be again really
really good. And I wish more people would be comfortable
doing that.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Yeah, cause I would say as a first timer, for
my going through my first one, I didn't know about
any of this stuff, and I kind of just relied
on what I thought was going to be correct, and
that's totally wrong. Like you gotta find different ways, like
look up, like what are the best ways to I
don't know, like strengthen your quadity, find different things that
(38:51):
you can do, and you know, lean on people. I
think just using myself to figure stuff out was the
hardest thing for me to like let other people in.
And I would just give that advice to like find
people that want to help you and let them do it.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
So, Yeah, did you keep anything like a journal or
like some kind of like daily reflection log or anything
like that during that time at all?
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Or Yeah. I wrote down my thoughts of every day,
like what was something I did differently, also jot down
new ideas like of what I could do, you know,
find new hobbies and everything like that. I wrote a
lot of that down. I also read a lot of
books about ecls and stuff, and you know, one of
it was one book I think was called Grit and
(39:36):
it showed like had a lot of good quotes in it,
and so I kind of wrote those quotes down on
like stickies and stuff and like put them everywhere, Like
I'd put them on my mirror in my bathroom, I
put them in my car. Just finding ways to like
remind yourself that like you'll get through it, but you
just need a little help getting there.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Absolutely, No, I love that. That's such a great point.
We've talked a lot about kind of things in the
past and the present. You that way, because obviously you're
back to sport. You just played a phenomenal season at Rutgers,
and I think you scored what like ten goals this year? Correct?
Speaker 2 (40:07):
I think I had sixteen.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
Oh, my goodness, I'm I'm low balling you. My goodness,
that's my bad.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
No, it's fine.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
So obviously we've talked a little bit about the past
and the present and kind of where you're at now
that way, what is the future hold? Obviously you said
you're in the business school at Rutgers and kind of
want to get into this like sports marketing kind of
space that way.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
Yeah, I think going through this, I found this voice
inside me that I really do like talking to people.
And I think I wouldn't have known that about myself
if I didn't go through these injuries. So I think,
as much as it sucks, like you have to find
like the positives of the injuries and like going through
(40:48):
it and finding yourself. And I think this voice inside
me will help me with marketing. And I learned that
I really like to talk to people and I think
I can have good conversations and stuff like that. So
I think going into the marketing fields, I think I'll
be able to do that like well and use that
to my advantage because of my injuries, if that makes sense,
(41:10):
just like pulling the positives and using it to move forward.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
Absolutely, No, And I think you've gotten to meet so
many different providers in the space, and you've gotten so
many different experiences around sports that way, lacrosse, basketball, just
the ins and outs of all of them. That way
that I think you know what you've been through certainly
sets you up for success. And obviously in general, being
an athlete, I think sets you up for this like
(41:37):
fast track to success in life because you learn so
many things from just sport in general, whether that be
the time management element, or the value of hard work
and dedication and commitment to something, or the value of
a good team, whatever it is. That way, you just
learned so many different lessons that I feel like you
don't find anywhere else, and I think that leads you
(41:57):
up for a very successful and happy life long term.
That way, whatever success looks like to you and whatever
you're chasing.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
Yeah, and definitely just seeing how far lacrosse can take
me there. They just introduce lacrosse back into the Olympics,
so they're joining the Olympic Games in twenty twenty eight.
So shooting for the stars, but just kind of like
seeing how far lacrosse can take me, like what connections
I can build from it, like you obviously, and just
(42:25):
going from there. I think a lot of it's just
like talking to people, like learning your voice and using
your sports to your advantage because obviously you play in
college and there's a lot of different things that like
open because of playing sports in college, and I think
just using that to your advantage finding a job later
in life and you know, getting a good education. But
also like you know, using your sport.
Speaker 1 (42:48):
Are you staying in the kind of New Jersey, New
York kind of area long term or we headn't back
home to Florida after college.
Speaker 2 (42:55):
I haven't decided that yet. I definitely like the weather
here more, but I will say there are good opportunities
up north, and like all the sports teams up there awesome,
So I mean, we do have good sports scenes here.
But you know, just kind of seeing where it takes me.
Speaker 1 (43:14):
Absolutely just being an open book, and who knows where
you're gonna land light right, it could be a totally
random state like freaking Utah or something, or maybe it'll
be right where you're from, so you never know what
the next page is going to bring, and that's what
makes it all exciting that way. I feel like we
talked about a lot of different things as it relates
to you, Samanthon, kind of your story and journey as
(43:34):
it relates to sport and injury. Is there anything we
missed or anything we didn't talk about today that you
wanted to I think we.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Hit a lot of things. I think injury was a
big thing. Lacrosse. Definitely wanting to grow the game of
lacrosse because obviously it's really big up North that's kind
of where it originated, but it's starting to boom in Florida.
So just trying to like grow the game, I think,
because it definitely deserves the recognition because it's such an
(44:01):
awesome game in my opinion, and I think a lot
of people would really like it if they knew what
it was about. So I would say, like joining your
high school team, whether that be jv or varsity, or
just trying out a club team, going to a practice
or whatever, and like reaching out to your friends if
they play lacrosse or whatever. Just try to get people
(44:22):
involved and coaching younger kids is a big thing that
I do, and like, I think it's really cool that
kids really do look up to you, especially sports, like
if they want to become you, they kind of just
want to embody you. So I think that's a big
thing is with just trying to to get the younger
(44:42):
generation involved as well. And a lot of the kids
in my area look up to me. They think they
think I'm so cool because I play called lacrosse. You know,
like they don't really know much about you, but they
know that part and so they're like, wow, like I
want to be here, you know. So I think just
using your sport and everything, like as a voice. Like
one time, I had this girl come up to me
(45:05):
and I coached her maybe a year or two before,
and I haven't seen her in a while, and she
came up to me one day and was like, I
talked about you in class today and I was like, oh,
like what'd you say? And she was like, who got
you into lacrosse? Because I know it's such a big
part of your life and she said me And I
was like, Wow, You've literally just made my entire year
(45:26):
because I touched someone and I mean, like, I like,
what's the word I like got to someone to where
like they wanted to be, and like kind of pointed
them in the direction where they want to be. And
I thought that was really cool, like touching someone's heart,
if that makes sense, Like I don't know how to
make that.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
Sound absolutely no, I completely agree. I mean, first off,
you never know what impact and influence you're going to
have on other people that way, and it's amazing when
you do have that kind of impact on others that way.
It definitely makes you feel good. But also it's just
so nice to know that you kind of give back
to what gave to you in the first place, if
you will, and building off of that as well. I
(46:05):
completely agree with your point on just growing the sport
and growing the game that way. Lacrosse is such a
fun sport to watch, one of my favorite sports to
watch that way, and I think that it is finally,
you know, starting to get more attention and develop and
kind of evolve that way. And it's something that I'm
extremely excited for myself that way, because I think it's
(46:25):
a phenomenal sport and it's one that needs to get
kind of the mainstream light that way. I mean, I'll
go as far to say I've watched more lacrosse lately
than baseball. It's it's just that big and that exciting
of a sport in my mind.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
Yeah, I definitely love being a part of that and
like helping grow the game. Like the championships this year
were like record numbers where people have went to them,
and I thought that was really cool. It just shows
that it just keeps growing every year, and we obviously
want to get it to the level of like a
baseball or a soccer, you know, a basketball, because I
(47:00):
think it does, as you said, like our need the
recognition that.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
It deserves, absolutely, Samantha. For people who want to find
out more about you and get in touch with you
and keep up to date with the rest of your journey.
That way, where can they find you online?
Speaker 2 (47:14):
They can see me on Instagram, Samantha Sawanovich, Uh, Twitter,
same thing, TikTok, same thing. That's all my name so awesome.
Speaker 1 (47:23):
We'll link to all of that in the description below.
That way, if you didn't quite catch it, you can
just click there and see everything that Samantha and her
teammates are up to. Samantha, this was amazing. I really
appreciate your time and everything you do, and thank you
so much.
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Thank you for having me. I'm really happy I was
able to share my story
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