Episodes

  • Gabriela Leon, Team USA, Professional Pole Vaulter…Ep172

    Gabriela Leon, Team USA, Professional Pole Vaulter…Ep172
    Jul 11 2024
    Pole Vaulter Gabi Leon was one of the most successful student-athletes in the history of University of Louisville. She competed for the Cardinals from 2017 to 2022, finishing her career as the program record holder in both the indoor and outdoor women's pole vault. During her time competing for Louisville, Gabi was a four-time NCAA All-American, won two individual ACC championships, was recognized as All-ACC seven times, and earned USTFCCCA All-Academic distinction twice while receiving All-ACC Academic honors four times. In 2022 Gabi won the NCAA outdoor National Championships. That year she also won numerous awards including USTFCCCA Outdoor Southeast Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year, ACC Female Outdoor Field Scholar Athlete of the Year, and ACC Track & Field Female Scholar Athlete of the Year When she graduated, Gabi became a professional athlete sponsored by Puma. At the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships she placed 4th earning her a spot on Team USA for the World Championships, where she place 12th. Gabi’s indoor personal best is 4.70 which she did this past February at the USA indoor track and Field Championships, earning her a bronze medal in the competition. Her outdoor PB is 4.62, which she achieved in July 2024 at Hengalo, Netherlands. In addition to talking about the Olympic Trials & the Katie Moon Pole Vault Classic, Gabi shared a very cool story about calf cramps, mastering the mental aspect of sport, initially being scared of pole vaulting, the importance of a varied diet and nutrition in general, and supporting herself as a pro athlete. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Follow Gabi Leon on IG at https://www.instagram.com/gabiileonn_/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    43 mins
  • Mechelle Freeman, USA National Teams Head Women’s Relays Coach …Ep171

    Mechelle Freeman, USA National Teams Head Women’s Relays Coach …Ep171
    Jun 27 2024
    Mechelle Lewis Freeman is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Mass Communications. At USC, she was a member of the 2002 Women’s Outdoor Track & Field team who, brought the first National Championship in any sport to the university. After a successful marketing career, she transitioned back to an athlete to pursue her childhood dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. Mechelle is a Track & Field 2007 Pan American Double Silver Medalist, 2007 World Champion, and 2008 Olympian. Her events included the 100 meters and the 4×100 meter relay. Mechelle serves as Head Women’s Relays Coach for USA Track & Field National Teams, achieving gold medal successes at the 2020 Olympics and the 2022 & 2023 World Championships. In 2015, Mechelle founded TrackGirlz, a national nonprofit that provides access to track and field to middle-school and high-school girls. She is an active coach for the organization. In their 2022-23 season, over 200 girls were empowered through the TrackGirlz workshops and events. They awarded $40,000 through a grant program that supports girls’ participation in track and field in their local communities. TrackGirlz also provided to girls over 50 direct mentorship opportunities with world class women track and field athletes, coaches, and influencers. Mechelle discusses with host Elizabeth Emery the selection process for the US Women’s relay teams, the qualities of each leg of the race, creating chemistry in the team, the value of every role on the team, the hardest part of her job, what she’s looking forward to in Paris, and her organization TrackGrilz. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Follow Mechelle Freeman on IG at https://www.instagram.com/mechellelewisfreeman/ Follow Track Girlz on IG at https://www.instagram.com/trackgirlz/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    46 mins
  • Lynn Holzman, NCAA Vice President of Women’s Basketball…Ep170

    Lynn Holzman, NCAA Vice President of Women’s Basketball…Ep170
    Jun 13 2024
    Lynn Holzman returned to the NCAA in February 2018 as the vice president of women’s basketball. She is responsible for the strategic direction, oversight, operations, and management of women’s basketball in Divisions I, II and III. She serves as the primary liaison to the women’s basketball committees and provides strategic oversight of the site-selection process for each championship. In 2014, Holzman was appointed commissioner of the West Coast Conference after serving in various leadership roles within the conference office, including executive senior associate commissioner/chief operating officer and senior associate commissioner of governance and administration. Before her conference office tenure, she worked at the NCAA national office for 16 years, last serving as a director of academic and membership affairs. Holzman serves on various Boards, such as the Board of Directors of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, Kay Yow Cancer Fund and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She has also served on numerous other Boards such as Women Leaders in College Sports, San Jose Sports Authority, National Association for Athletics Compliance and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Center for Research in Intercollegiate Athletics. Holzman earned her Bachelor of Science and secondary major degrees at Kansas State University where she was captain of the women's basketball team and a three-time Academic All-Big Eight Team member. She also earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a Master of Business Administration from Purdue University. Lynn discusses with host Elizabeth Emery some changes coming up in the March Madness site-selection process, how she ended up working on the administrative side of sports, consequences of the pandemic on women’s sports, the importance of sport for player and fans, the NCAA equity report that came out after Sedona Prince’s weight room TikTok in 2021, and being a natural introvert but learning how to use her voice. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Follow NCAA Women’s Basketball on IG at https://www.instagram.com/marchmadnesswbb/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • Annie Villareal Ripped Grandma, Personal Trainer for 60+…Ep169

    Annie Villareal Ripped Grandma, Personal Trainer for 60+…Ep169
    May 30 2024
    Annie Villareal, the vibrant force behind the Rippedgrandma brand, is not your typical personal trainer. With a background in pharmaceutical sales, Annie took a leap of faith 17 years ago, embarking on a journey of personal reinvention. Inspired by her love for sports and movement, she shed 60 pounds, rediscovered her passion for running, and even completed the Big Sur Marathon at the age of 50. Annie's fitness journey didn't stop there. Armed with a diverse fitness background including yoga, Pilates, strength training, and more, she became a beacon of inspiration for those seeking a functional and holistic approach to fitness. Her training philosophy is rooted in post-rehab work, specializing in shoulders, hips, and low back issues—the "big 3" as she calls them. In 2019, just before the global pandemic hit, Annie created a space dedicated to keeping aging adults strong and fully functional. Now, Annie's average client age is 75. Beyond the gym, Annie found solace and passion in outrigger canoeing, fostering a sense of family and competition. Her mantra, encapsulated in the Hawaiian word "Imua," reflects her commitment to moving forward with strength, grace, and a touch of fun. Annie Villareal is not just a personal trainer; she's a testament to the transformative power of embracing movement and competition at every stage of life. Topics Annie shares with Elizabeth include how becoming active again was not an easy or quick transition, the importance of moving move every day, working with older clients, ways to improve balance, lifting weight that challenges you, Annie’s 15-minute strength workouts, rucking, and her love of outrigger canoeing. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Annie Villareal at https://rippedgrandma.com/about-ripped-grandma/ Find Annie Villareal on IG at https://www.instagram.com/rippedgrandma/ and on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@rippedgrandma1059 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    59 mins
  • Vanese Barnes, Tufts Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach…Ep168

    Vanese Barnes, Tufts Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach…Ep168
    May 16 2024
    Vanese Barnes is a 2023 Women’s Sports Foundation Tara VanDerveer fellow with Tufts University Women’s Basketball team. At the same time Vanese was a part of a two-year Future Leaders Fellowship program at Tufts, where she earned her master's degree in Diversity and Inclusion Leadership within the Tufts Graduate School of Arts & Sciences in addition to her coaching duties. In 2019, Vanese earned a degree in elementary education at St. Joseph's College in Maine, where she was a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship team. She also played at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, Maine and was captain of the team and selected as a United States Collegiate Athletic Association Academic All-American. For four seasons after graduating from college, Vanese was an assistant coach for Southern Maine Community College, where she temporarily took over the lead role while the head coach was out on maternity leave. She was also a varsity assistant and the junior varsity head coach at Portland High School for a year. She has also participated in a number of professional development opportunities in recent years, including being a member of the Maine Women's Basketball Coaches Development Series since 2020. Vanese joins Elizabeth Emery to talk about the NCAA Final Four weekend in Cleveland, the terrific Women’s Sports Foundation panel she was on, the Tara VanDerveer Fellowship, confidence, imposter syndrome, aggression, controlling emotions, her identity as a mixed-race woman, representation, women’s coaching now, burnout, and Dawn Staley. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Vanese on Twitter at https://twitter.com/CoachVBarnes Find Women’s Sports Foundation at https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    43 mins
  • Mary Ellen Kelly, Sports Dietitian WNBA’s NY Liberty…Ep167

    Mary Ellen Kelly, Sports Dietitian WNBA’s NY Liberty…Ep167
    May 2 2024
    Mary Ellen Kelly is credentialed as a registered dietitian and board-certified sports dietitian. She holds a Bachelor of Science in nutrition from Boston University, where she was a 4-year member of the NCAA Division 1 varsity women’s track and field team. She earned her master’s degree in clinical nutrition from New York University and completed her clinical training at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bronx, New York. Mary Ellen is the Manager of the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association Sports Nutrition Immersion Program fellowship. She is also currently an Adjunct Faculty for Boston University and has previously served as an Adjunct Professor at Bloomsburg University and online Adjunct Faculty at Drexel University. In 2014 she was hired into a full-time team dietitian role in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and worked with them for over three years. Mary Ellen was the Head Sports Nutritionist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and prior to UNC, she served as the Campus Dietitian/Sports Nutritionist at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. She began her career as a staff dietitian at the JJPVA. In 2018 Mary Ellen Kelly founded Fuel Forward, private practice and nutrition consulting business offering nutrition-related speaking, writing, consulting, and coaching for groups and individuals. Current or former clients include but are not limited to: Baylor University, Bloomsburg University, Boston College Varsity Women’s Lacrosse and Field Hockey, Boston University, Golf Mind & Body, LaSalle University, New York Liberty (WNBA), North Coast Seafood, Trimsarter.com, University of Delaware, USA Lacrosse. In the episode Mary Ellen and I discuss her work with Liberty, being a vegan athlete, importance of getting enough protein and fiber, why nutrition is both simple and complicated, essentials of fueling adequately, and high school, collegiate, and aging athletes. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Mary Ellen’s nutrition consulting, Fuel Forward at https://www.fuelforward.me/ Find Mary Ellen on IG https://www.instagram.com/fuelforwardllc/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 mins
  • AJ Hurt Alpine Ski Racer, Balancing Speed…Ep166

    AJ Hurt Alpine Ski Racer, Balancing Speed…Ep166
    Apr 18 2024
    AJ Hurt's passion for skiing and ski racing began at a very early age. Growing up in North Lake Tahoe, Palisades Tahoe was her winter playground. At four years old, she entered the Team Palisades Tahoe and fell in love with the sport. With a father who has been a member of the Squaw Valley Ski Patrol for the past 30 years, Hurt was raised a true member of the Palisades Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley) family. At 14, Hurt was invited to be a part of the National Training Group. As a first-year FIS racer in the 2016-17 season, she was the top junior for birth year 2000 in NorAm qualifying race points—not only in the speed disciplines but also the technical disciplines. Hurt scored her first World Cup points in 2020 placing 18th in the Courchevel giant slalom. The 2023-24 season was a major breakout year for Hurt. Each World Cup race she improved upon the last scoring person best after person best. In Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Hurt had a major slalom result scoring third place, her first ever World Cup podium. Then later in the season she did it again! This time in giant slalom, a third place in Soldeu, Andorra. AJ and I discuss injury, going fast, control and lack of control, the recent NCAA women’s final four, and what aggression in women’s sports looks like now. And she talks about the not-glamourous, living-out-of-a-bag-for-6-months World Cup tour. This episode is a perfect follow up to last week’s episode with rock climber Beth Rodden because AJ too likes being in the mode of figuring things out, which she was happy to share with us. I like that mode as well! Always looking for a little bit of improvement or some greater understanding of how things work. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find AJ Hurt on IG https://www.instagram.com/ajhurti/ Find US Ski Team on IG at https://www.instagram.com/usskiteam Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    45 mins
  • Beth Rodden A Light through the Cracks A Climber’s Story…Ep165

    Beth Rodden A Light through the Cracks A Climber’s Story…Ep165
    Apr 4 2024
    Beth Rodden is one of the best female rock climbers of all time, and a globally recognized ambassador for the outdoor community. She has achieved a number of notable free climbs on El Capitan, the 3,000-foot monolith in Yosemite National Park, and has also established the hardest first ascent of a crack climb ever done by a woman. She has been climbing for thirty years, and she hopes to be climbing for thirty more. She lives with her family in California. For more information, visit: bethrodden.com. In our conversation, Beth speaks to me about the book, climbing, of seeing strength in young female rock climbers, REDs, the beauty of sports, and she compares climbing to golf and writing. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Beth Rodden at www.bethrodden.com Find Beth on IG at https://www.instagram.com/bethrodden/ Find A Light through the Cracks at https://bookshop.org/a/16267/9781503903791 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    49 mins