May 21, 2025 • 6 mins
Brad Gigliotti, CEO and Founder of Goalies Matter joins us in studio to discuss the importance of mental health in athletes, especially goalies.
More information can be found here: https://www.goaliesmatter.net/
More information can be found here: https://www.goaliesmatter.net/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We do not do enough conversations, have enough conversations about
mental health, about mental health and athletes. This year is
West Michigan's Morning News, Steve Kelly and Brett Bikita. That's
Laurence Smith, by the way, and in studio with us,
the CEO and founder of Goalies Matter, Brad Gigliotti. Thank
you so much for coming in today.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hey, thanks for having me on in today.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Guys, talk to us a little bit about how this
thing started, right, there's that Facebook filter how it started
and where it's going. This thing is ballooned, It's encompassed
a whole bunch of other sports. But where'd you get
the idea how well it started?
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Being a goalie coach for multiple years. I mean, this
is my twenty fifth year of coaching goalie since I
came out of college. And every time I see a
student I work with the student, I hear one story
after another story about being disrespected, unfair treatment, not getting
the due diligence that they you know, with all the
hard work they put in and they gets nowhere. And
a lot of it has to do with, you know,
maybe some poor coaches down the road, high expectations, things
(00:56):
like that, I'm like, you know, it's about time that
we do something about this kind of to wouldn't they
call it a movement, but time to make a stand
and give these kids a voice because they feel like
they just get kind of shoved underneath the rug. So
I'm like, let's let's put something together. And I'm like,
you know what, It's kind of true. Goalies do matter
for multiple reasons. Obviously, you can't have a team without
a goalie. You can't play a season without a goalie.
(01:17):
And again I speak generally speaking, because there's multiple teams
that have goalies, whether it be hockey, whether it be lacrosse,
whether it be soccer, you name it. And then as
I kind of got more involved with giving these kids
a voice and understanding the results the effects that coaches have.
You know, we always say words and actions have meanings.
I think we say it as parents too, right, words
and actions have meanings. So what they don't understand is
(01:39):
the effects that it has on the kids internally, and
you don't always see it. And so when I started
diving more into it, I'm like, this is a really
this is a mental health crisis.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
You know, it's really.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Diving into the internal side of us and how we
work and how we function. And when I got more involved,
then I start things start to show up more and
more and more, like hearing about you know, student athletes, suicides,
you know. And when I start doing the research into it,
I was.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Literally blown away by it.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
So I figure, you know, and then when it right
after a year of starting this organization, I discovered an individual.
His name is Robert Martin, part of our mission. He
died by suicide in April first, twenty twenty two. And
ever since then, I'm like, and he was a goalie.
He wasn't just an athlete. He was a goalie, and
I know that there was more involved than anything. And
(02:25):
like with every suicide, here's a thousand questions and he'll
never know the answers. And so when I got into them,
like what more can we do? What can we do
to bring mental health to the limelight. It's not just
a fad, it's a trending thing now these days, it's
a crisis, right, So how can we give these kids
an opportunity to speak up and provided that safe space
(02:46):
form like, Hey, it's okay, you can get frustrated, you
can get upset, but you need somebody to talk to.
You need to have a conversation with an adult, Somebody
you can trust, somebody you can respect. And that's why
we started Goalies Matter. So I started with a bunch
of adults that I know very well. I've worked with
their kids before, and since then we are just like
we start off with a small Facebook page. Parents started
(03:07):
to get involved and now we are just we're booming.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
We are.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
It's getting bigger and bigger. We're getting hockey goalies, you know,
just started listening. We have, you know, field hockey goalies,
we have soccer goalies. So it's really starting to explode
and whatever we can do to help these goalies be like, hey,
it's okay, you're gonna get frustrated.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
We're here for you. The community might seem small, but
it's large in reality.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Kudos to you. It's fascinating because I've done some youth coaching.
I'm also the dad of a former keeper in soccer,
so I know what you're talking about. We always used
to remind them that hey, they had to get to
ten other people before they shot on you to score.
And that's a thing I mean, because they feel like
they've let the team down. Oh yeah, and then that
also you'll get right now, I see this a lot
where you might have a team that's so dominant that
(03:51):
their keeper doesn't get any activity whatsoever, so they're left.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
On an island.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
But then on the other side the keeper that is
just getting pelted with shots and they lose eight to nothing.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
There's that whole mental side of it.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
So you're absolutely right, I mean, and that conversation going
home that they always talk about that's so critical that
you shouldn't have as a parent, whether you play or
I mean, it takes a whole other, you know dimension
as far as that's concerned.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Absolute one hundred percent exactly what you said.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Like you know what what parents and coaches tend to
forget about, Like these are team sports, right, right, and
team sports, you know, create two things we do split
to have fun, number one, and to learn life lessons, right.
And when you have coaches that put up these high expectations,
like you have to stop everything that comes your way,
you have to be the you know, you have to
be the one who bears the way of the entire team.
(04:36):
Everything comes through you, right, and when you lose, you
have that sense of failure, right, You feel like you've
let your team down.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
When in actual you when.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
You truly look at shots and you truly look at
these kids in cages, and you think you could have
done anything about that, You could do anything about that.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Where was your defense? Right? He said, they have to
get through ten people to come down the field. How
do they get through ten people?
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Like any good coach will say that, you know, well,
if this didn't happen, this didn't happen, this didn't happen,
then we won't have to deal with this, right, right, And
that's how and hats how works. But everyone says, hey,
the goalie is the last line of defense, right, so therefore,
if if it gets by them, then that's how we failed.
So failure is another huge aspect. And so when you
tack on the struggles of being a goalie, the stresses
(05:17):
of being on goalie island, which is a true thing.
You know, when you talk lacrosse, you have three attackers,
three midfielders, three defenders. You have one goalie, right, and
so there's nobody there to back you up. There's nobody
there to support you, there's nobody else to look side
to side and be like, there's nobody else there, right, I.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Played hockey for for many years.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
You know, I had I played defense, I had I
had a support factor, right, My my goalie was like, okay,
that's he's last line of defense. But when you truly
look at like, there's nobody else there. So so having
that expectations, having a high expectation and that sense of
failure really, you know, takes a toll on you, right,
And then when you think about it, you have all
these pressures as a goaltender right on the field, you
(05:53):
forget about that they might have off field issues, right,
whether it be a personal thing, whether it be you
don't get along well with mom and dad, maybe you
come from a broken family, and all those play huge
factors and to the point where the kid doesn't know
what to do anymore, and that's where we see some
tragic decisions being made.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
We're trying to avoid that as much as possible.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Find out more. We're out of time, but the conversation
is just beginning. Goaliesmatter dot Net for more information, we'll
get it in the podcast section at wood radio dot com.
The CEO and founder, Brad Gigliotti, thank you so much
for coming in.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Appreciate you guys. Thank you for having me in
We do not do enough conversations, have enough conversations about
mental health, about mental health and athletes. This year is
West Michigan's Morning News, Steve Kelly and Brett Bikita. That's
Laurence Smith, by the way, and in studio with us,
the CEO and founder of Goalies Matter, Brad Gigliotti. Thank
you so much for coming in today.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hey, thanks for having me on in today.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Guys, talk to us a little bit about how this
thing started, right, there's that Facebook filter how it started
and where it's going. This thing is ballooned, It's encompassed
a whole bunch of other sports. But where'd you get
the idea how well it started?
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Being a goalie coach for multiple years. I mean, this
is my twenty fifth year of coaching goalie since I
came out of college. And every time I see a
student I work with the student, I hear one story
after another story about being disrespected, unfair treatment, not getting
the due diligence that they you know, with all the
hard work they put in and they gets nowhere. And
a lot of it has to do with, you know,
maybe some poor coaches down the road, high expectations, things
(00:56):
like that, I'm like, you know, it's about time that
we do something about this kind of to wouldn't they
call it a movement, but time to make a stand
and give these kids a voice because they feel like
they just get kind of shoved underneath the rug. So
I'm like, let's let's put something together. And I'm like,
you know what, It's kind of true. Goalies do matter
for multiple reasons. Obviously, you can't have a team without
a goalie. You can't play a season without a goalie.
(01:17):
And again I speak generally speaking, because there's multiple teams
that have goalies, whether it be hockey, whether it be lacrosse,
whether it be soccer, you name it. And then as
I kind of got more involved with giving these kids
a voice and understanding the results the effects that coaches have.
You know, we always say words and actions have meanings.
I think we say it as parents too, right, words
and actions have meanings. So what they don't understand is
(01:39):
the effects that it has on the kids internally, and
you don't always see it. And so when I started
diving more into it, I'm like, this is a really
this is a mental health crisis.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
You know, it's really.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Diving into the internal side of us and how we
work and how we function. And when I got more involved,
then I start things start to show up more and
more and more, like hearing about you know, student athletes, suicides,
you know. And when I start doing the research into it,
I was.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Literally blown away by it.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
So I figure, you know, and then when it right
after a year of starting this organization, I discovered an individual.
His name is Robert Martin, part of our mission. He
died by suicide in April first, twenty twenty two. And
ever since then, I'm like, and he was a goalie.
He wasn't just an athlete. He was a goalie, and
I know that there was more involved than anything. And
(02:25):
like with every suicide, here's a thousand questions and he'll
never know the answers. And so when I got into them,
like what more can we do? What can we do
to bring mental health to the limelight. It's not just
a fad, it's a trending thing now these days, it's
a crisis, right, So how can we give these kids
an opportunity to speak up and provided that safe space
(02:46):
form like, Hey, it's okay, you can get frustrated, you
can get upset, but you need somebody to talk to.
You need to have a conversation with an adult, Somebody
you can trust, somebody you can respect. And that's why
we started Goalies Matter. So I started with a bunch
of adults that I know very well. I've worked with
their kids before, and since then we are just like
we start off with a small Facebook page. Parents started
(03:07):
to get involved and now we are just we're booming.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
We are.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
It's getting bigger and bigger. We're getting hockey goalies, you know,
just started listening. We have, you know, field hockey goalies,
we have soccer goalies. So it's really starting to explode
and whatever we can do to help these goalies be like, hey,
it's okay, you're gonna get frustrated.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
We're here for you. The community might seem small, but
it's large in reality.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Kudos to you. It's fascinating because I've done some youth coaching.
I'm also the dad of a former keeper in soccer,
so I know what you're talking about. We always used
to remind them that hey, they had to get to
ten other people before they shot on you to score.
And that's a thing I mean, because they feel like
they've let the team down. Oh yeah, and then that
also you'll get right now, I see this a lot
where you might have a team that's so dominant that
(03:51):
their keeper doesn't get any activity whatsoever, so they're left.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
On an island.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
But then on the other side the keeper that is
just getting pelted with shots and they lose eight to nothing.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
There's that whole mental side of it.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
So you're absolutely right, I mean, and that conversation going
home that they always talk about that's so critical that
you shouldn't have as a parent, whether you play or
I mean, it takes a whole other, you know dimension
as far as that's concerned.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Absolute one hundred percent exactly what you said.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Like you know what what parents and coaches tend to
forget about, Like these are team sports, right, right, and
team sports, you know, create two things we do split
to have fun, number one, and to learn life lessons, right.
And when you have coaches that put up these high expectations,
like you have to stop everything that comes your way,
you have to be the you know, you have to
be the one who bears the way of the entire team.
(04:36):
Everything comes through you, right, and when you lose, you
have that sense of failure, right, You feel like you've
let your team down.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
When in actual you when.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
You truly look at shots and you truly look at
these kids in cages, and you think you could have
done anything about that, You could do anything about that.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Where was your defense? Right? He said, they have to
get through ten people to come down the field. How
do they get through ten people?
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Like any good coach will say that, you know, well,
if this didn't happen, this didn't happen, this didn't happen,
then we won't have to deal with this, right, right, And
that's how and hats how works. But everyone says, hey,
the goalie is the last line of defense, right, so therefore,
if if it gets by them, then that's how we failed.
So failure is another huge aspect. And so when you
tack on the struggles of being a goalie, the stresses
(05:17):
of being on goalie island, which is a true thing.
You know, when you talk lacrosse, you have three attackers,
three midfielders, three defenders. You have one goalie, right, and
so there's nobody there to back you up. There's nobody
there to support you, there's nobody else to look side
to side and be like, there's nobody else there, right, I.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Played hockey for for many years.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
You know, I had I played defense, I had I
had a support factor, right, My my goalie was like, okay,
that's he's last line of defense. But when you truly
look at like, there's nobody else there. So so having
that expectations, having a high expectation and that sense of
failure really, you know, takes a toll on you, right,
And then when you think about it, you have all
these pressures as a goaltender right on the field, you
(05:53):
forget about that they might have off field issues, right,
whether it be a personal thing, whether it be you
don't get along well with mom and dad, maybe you
come from a broken family, and all those play huge
factors and to the point where the kid doesn't know
what to do anymore, and that's where we see some
tragic decisions being made.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
We're trying to avoid that as much as possible.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Find out more. We're out of time, but the conversation
is just beginning. Goaliesmatter dot Net for more information, we'll
get it in the podcast section at wood radio dot com.
The CEO and founder, Brad Gigliotti, thank you so much
for coming in.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Appreciate you guys. Thank you for having me in
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