Game Changers Event with the Rise

Head Coach of the Grand Rapids Rise, Cathy George, joins us to discuss a free event next week at Van Andel Arena called "Game Changers" - an event to inspire and empower young female students in West Michigan. 

More information can be found here: https://www.vanandelarena.com/events/2025/rise-women-empowerment

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Week from today, there will be a big event called
Game Changers, a free event at Van Aadel Arena to
inspire and empower young female students from West Michigan. Headlining
that event is the head coach of the Grand Rapids Rise,
Kathy George, on the liveline with us this morning. Coach,
thanks for doing this today.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Oh, happy to do it. Just excited about getting this
thing out there and getting started.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
There are a variety of topics that this thing will cover,
and as a coach of the Rise, talk to us
a little bit about your philosophy of all the stuff
that's not sports.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Right right, Well, I mean I was coaching for over
thirty five years at the collegiate level, and you know
the thing that kind of this all started. It got
on my heart as I witnessed and experienced athletes that
came through, and they were always the same age eighteen
to twenty two, so I saw them at the same
point all the time. I of course never changed rights

(01:00):
the same age too, But anyway, but I watched this,
and I watched the changes in their confidence and their
self esteem and the way they handled themselves over the years,
and could see, you know, a shift, really really in
the last five to ten years, probably ten years more likely,
but the confidence and just their their ability to be

(01:22):
resilient and all those things were changing, right and I was,
and it was it was It was upsetting, and I
just want to make sure that we're doing our part
to help these young people kind of through this time
period that they're going through, you know.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Here today, and Kathy, I'm so pleased with you hosting
this event covering high school sports from my entire career,
let alone college and pro and I love the age
group you're hitting here, middle school girls in grade six
through it. I have a daughter who's a sophomore. And
when I look at how the landscape has changed, whether
it's AAU or as you know, I mean the club

(01:59):
version ofvolleyball, club version of soccer, I'm seeing these kids,
boys too, being pulled in all different directions, getting lots
of different advice or what they should do, and forgetting
the reason I think of why they started playing a
sport is the fun of it, right, and the emotion
and the love of teammates. And that's some of the
things that you'll be talking about with your athletes of

(02:21):
the Rise, right, Well, we.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Will, but we're talking to all people, so we're talking
to people that are in sport or not in sport.
It's it's just really what's going on and where's our
focus changing? Like what is changing too, because you know,
just trying to fit in and the social media aspect,
that's kind of you know, getting it all out there.
It's like what is what are we looking for the
value of who we are and our gifts that we

(02:44):
have and how do we how do we kind of
nurse to those and grow those because those are the
most important things. And what kind of friend you become
and what kind of person you become to help edify
people and make them stronger and better. And you know,
we're seeing more depression, more more doubt and you just
lack of assertiveness and confidence. You're seeing that because we
are being, like you said, pulled in so many direct

(03:06):
different directions, and we're trying to please other people that
think they know what's good for us. Where we really
need to start understanding who we are and what makes
us special and makes us strong.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
Yeah, and social media and mental health one of the
things you'll be discussing overcoming perfectionalism, building self confidence, embracing individuality.
We'll put the link in the podcast section at with
radio dot com. You'd like to get involved, give us
a little preview when it comes to failure. Right, we're
at a point where we want to get a four

(03:38):
point zero on everything.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
Right, we fear failure. Everything's about being seen as the best,
the brightest, the prettiest, the happiest, whatever it is, and
we're projecting those things in social media that aren't true.
Everybody doesn't have it better than us. We have to
start with kind of like, you know, building who we are,
and that's kind of where that's at. And so like perfectionism,
you know, it is so hard to fail, but fail

(04:02):
is awesome. I think failure is great. It's the place
that kind of helps you understand where you are and
what you need to do to improve different areas. And
then when you go after those things, you get more confident.
You know, you actually attack the failure and not get
upset about it, but actually use it for yourself, because
then it's not a failure, it's actually a growth moment.
And we have to kind of we have to reframe it.

(04:23):
We have to understand that it's it's actually good because
it points you in the right directions. So instead of
being immobilized by that, you know, what we need to
do is we need to use it and grow from that.
I think, you know, I think it's just a it's
really what we're the way we're looking at it right,
and that's changed over the years because we're trying to
portray these perfect people and that's not real.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
The head coach the Grand Rapids Rise, by the way,
they're home Thursday night.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
Yeah, and thanks for doing.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
It, George, Yes, appreciate you having enough time.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
Thank you