Postgame with Simone

In today's episode, Ralston leads us in how the pressure we experience can be seen as a privilege. A challenge in that mindset however, is that something that is natural or a mindset that is created? Listen in and join the conversation anywhere you listen to podcast!

Here we are again y'all!! Man 7 days goes going by fast

Welcome back to The Postgame!! On today's episode we have our good friend and teammate Benard T on the show to share his story and personal pivot for the first time. Surviving several injuries and difficult relationships, Benard opens up about his difficulty to mange his mental health and physical health while in his collegiate years. Benard then finds himself disconnected and discontent with his degree and chooses to return back to school and give his past relationships another try.

Welcome back beautiful people! Simone and Ralston back with another episode on the cast. This time with our very first guest in BriAnna Joy G. A shooting coach and mentor that has over 550 days on the road running her business. First of all, guts! But also, it takes a certain level of confidence to step out on faith in the "audacity of self-belief" ;) Join us in the conversation, we'er happy to give this to you.

When you transition into any of the most important times of your life, having a little guidance before you do is always helpful. Today Ralston and I share our recruitment journey from High School into College. With a little hindsight, the two us wanted to share a few tidbits on current SA and families on what to lookout for and prepare for. We hope you enjoy and take some notes

Welcome Back! Today's episode Ralston and I provide light introductions and our purpose statement as to our "why" Mainly, why returning back to the PostGame platform is so important to us as we inspire to give back to others. I guess in various ways throughout life, the question, "why" will continually pop up. It's not just something 3 year olds ask to stratify their curiosities. The question is life long and grows up with us as we do. I think as time goes on we can remain curious and invested in this wonder and see it as additional strength versus a weakness. Listen in and check out Ralston and I start to realize this in our current lives and careers postgame the life of a Student-Athlete.

PostGame with Simone is BACCCKK! Two years later with Season 2! And this time with the addition of an amazing co-host in my friend Ralston E! You might remember him from my very first episode. He is joining the conversation as we expand upon our experience as athletes, as young people in our careers, and as people wishful to give back to a community whom has given us so much. Check us out every Thursday anywhere you can listen to podcast (Spotify, Apple Podcast, etc) as well as find video content on Instagram @PostgamewSimone and here on YouTube. I am excited to be back. Ralston is excited to join me. Let's do this!

Love Love Love this woman right here! Jasmine McGhee joined the squad after a very difficult season for IU just the year before. An unselfish player who was asked to be the leader, the scorer, and the one who handles the ball. This was the furthest thing from Jasmine's game style, yet she stepped up to the challenge no matter the difficulty. Also something challenging, letting basketball go. When the aspirations for playing professionally came to holt, it shook Jasmine. Believing that her calling was much bigger than basketball, Jasmine leaned into her faith and the messages she was receiving from God to do something different with her future. A never easy task for someone who had been playing basketball for 18 + years, basketball was all she knew. But God had bigger plans. I hope you all enjoy this conversation! I am so thankful for Jas being willing to share a piece of her journey with us. Y'all be well, xo

Jasmine McGhee is on the call to chat about her journey of Basketball and Fatih. When God ask her to step away from the sport that she knows and loves in order to tap into a deeper calling, the weight of that decision is met with Jasmines decrement and trust. I am so appreciative of Jas for allowing me to share a piece of her story. Full episode is out July 30th enjoy xo

6 year old Jas would be so proud of you my friend! Thank you for sharing a piece of your story with me and the world. I get emotional watching this back and editing, so many heart warming feels with this the trials you had to face in you collegiate career. But look at you now! Happy to celebrate you with you!! Enjoy xo

Full episode next Friday 16th Training the person underneath the jersey is just as important as the athlete in it. Jasmine gives her understanding of who she is and who she hopes to develop others to be as more than just an athlete.

And We Are Back!! She is now known as Coach Mize but I have the pleasure of knowing her as Mize, an Indiana Native with an impeccable heart and an immense love for the game of basketball. The ultimate student of the game as she developed her passion for strategic basketball but also and most importantly the development of her players. During our conversation, Mize shares her desires to not only develop players but more importantly assemble the best in people. Being an example of this herself as she places value in hardships and being a beacon of understanding as her young student-athlete learn this in her care. Y'all enjoy xo

Full episode next week July 2nd "When you feel you've given the sport everything" Sometimes we don't realize the impact our sport have on us until we no longer are available to it, however that may occur. It is a feeling not readily talked about. For Andrea, her first love in the game of basketball was challenged however, as the cards flips, she was able to reengage herself and the love for the game.

Welcome Back!!! What an amazing friend I have in George Andrews as he shares his journey in the the sport of Diving. A Chicago native who wanted to find a winter sport and landed into the world of Diving. George shares his love not only for the sport but what the sport gave him, an extended family. As a member of the LGBTQ community, George was able to call a place like Bloomington Indiana home has he navigated the life of a student-athlete. George also shares his diagnosis of anxiety, how he learned more about it, and what resources and tools he found helpful throughout his collegiate career. A huge shout out to GA for sitting down with me and opening up about his experience!!! y'all enjoy xo RESOURCES SHARED https://www.donovanmentalperformance.com/9-athlete-mental-health-resources https://www.psychologytoday.com/us https://www.thehrcfoundation.org

Full episode next week on June 18th. "The value of a really good mentor" Any athlete coming out of IU within the last 8 years can share the value of Ms. Mattie. Playing a pivotal part of many of our student-athlete experiences, making us feel heard and valued beyond the physical contributions we brought to the school. Anxiety does not discriminate and working through living with it takes a unique combination of many different factors in order for one to function best with it---- For George, it was having the confidant in Ms. Mattie that allowed him to build his confidence when working through his anxieties during his collegiate career.

Next up is Andrea, Wensits! My dear friend who joined the Indiana Women's Basketball team my freshman year but started her collegiate career two years prior as a Varsity Rower for the University. Not your traditional story of an individual journeying through their collegiate career, yet so many relatable discoveries made as a young person just trying to figure it out. Through the difficulties in navigating what others expected from her, Wensits was able to follow her own voice, her own path, and discover that walking along side others as they to take on this journey rest her passions. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to AW for sitting with me and opening up about her experience! y'all enjoy xo

Welcome back post gamers!! In this next conversation, I have the privilege in chatting with an old teammate, Lyndsay Leikem. She graciously agreed to share her unique journey with basketball with me as we discussed the consistency of "quick changes" that happened within her career. In the most difficult way, Lyndsay 's ideal of her role on the team was interrupted with an unannounced coaching change right before their season began her sophomore year. Within the vidcast, she chats about that challenge specifically and how that led to forms of self-doubt, insecurities and low confidence. However, with the right support and understanding of a new role, Lyndsay was able to find peace with the new changes and love the game of basketball as she once did. A huge THANK YOU to Ms. Lyndsay for sitting with me and opening up about her experience. I can't wait to see how it resonate with those who tune in. Y'all enjoy xo

Full episode next week on May 21st. "Navigating Confidence during changes" Nothing unfamiliar here, right? We have something that we are accustomed to and just like that it shifts, changes, and it's gone----For Lyndsay, it was not only coming up with a way to continue to love the sport of basketball, but to continue to believe in her abilities to play at that level.

In my very first vidcast, I have the honor of sharing my wonderful friend, Ralston Evans' journey. His transformation for the love of Football through valuable relationships, his desire to be a team player, and watching his teammates succeed. Facing injury early in his career, shifted that significant role for RE when he began to question his value within that lived experience. However, with the right team in his corner, advisors who he could trust, and teammates who would rally behind him, RE was able to find a new sense of purpose within the game. I am so incredibly blessed to have had Ralston sit down with me from the very begging. I hope he'll come back and extended his story and share more about his life in postgame. But for now, here is Postgame with Simone feat. Ralston Evans Y'all enjoy xo

Full episode next week on May 7th. "Tough Love" Many of us know exactly what it's like to receive this. When someone who cares for us shares something that helps to refocus our current state of mind---- For Ralston, it was not giving up on his dreams as a collegiate football player due to the results of an aggressive injury.

Thank y'all for joining me in this journey! A conversation that has been on my heart for quite sometime now, chatting with retired student-athletes about their journey and especially life here after in "postgame." My hope is to not only continue to shed light to this particular lived experience (challenges, unexpected changes, identity, and mental health), but also the transition into adulthood. Postgame with Simone is hopeful to continue to provide an awareness, a sense of healing, as well as an understanding to not only those who share their stories but to those who are currently living it. I am extremely passionate about the entire human experience and desire to share this one in particular as it is near to my soul. xo, Enjoy y'all!