The Athletes to Athletes Podcast

Steve Wyche has put his stamp on the sports world as one of the most respected journalists in the business. In this conversation, he talks with host Ryan Holmes about his influences and role models, breaking into the journalism world, covering major stories such as Colin Kaepernick kneeling for the anthem, Mike Vick's dog fighting controversy, and Michael Jordan making his return to basketball. He also gives us a peak behind the curtain of how the Black Sports Business Symposium was created alongside co-founders Gregory Gibson Jr and Los Angelos Rams President, Kevin Demoff.---LEARN MORE ABOUT THE A2A ACADEMYThe A2A Academy is a comprehensive, non-biased college preparation service specifically designed for student-athletes. https://www.joina2a.comWATCH REID'S STORYhttps://youtu.be/UzVEizF40c0DOWNLOAD FREE EBOOK Guide to Understanding College Preparation with a Student-Athletehttps://docsend.com/view/enzyhu6sjseug6r4

Women's college basketball has seen a tremendous amount of growth over the last few years with some of the biggest stars such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers. But the bright lights haven't just fallen on the lady ballers, we've also seen women's volleyball viewership explode with the Nebraska Cornhuskers breaking huge attendance records. During this conversation, we discuss what type of effect these ladies have had on all sports as well as how marketing and NIL have been a catalyst for their growth too. ---LEARN MORE ABOUT THE A2A ACADEMYThe A2A Academy is a comprehensive, non-biased college preparation service specifically designed for student-athletes. https://www.joina2a.comWATCH REID'S STORYhttps://youtu.be/UzVEizF40c0DOWNLOAD FREE EBOOK Guide to Understanding College Preparation with a Student-Athletehttps://docsend.com/view/enzyhu6sjseug6r4

Gwyn McMorris had a passion and a goal to make a Division I track team. She made sacrifices and chased her passions to make it a reality. ---

Rashad Jones-Jennings found a new passion while he was still competing at a high level. He studied and prepared himself for a life after sports to make sure he was set up to make a successful transition before deciding to retire from basketball.---

Why is the transfer portal window open during the most important time of the biggest revenue-generating sport at the college level? During today's episode, we dig into the transfer portal window and the schedule around the penultimate championship season on the Division I level.---

For the final episode of 2023, A2A co-founders Reid Meyer and Justin Ullestad join host Ryan Holmes to discuss the CFP committee's decision, its ripple effect, and how similar the process is to college admissions. ---

Jonathon Jones wasn't the best student and didn't see his Division I hoop dreams come to fruition. Although he may have been the kid falling asleep in the back of the class, Jonathan has put in the work and found his footing as an entrepreneur, podcast host, and impactful speaker.  ---

Becky Sanow was always "wired differently." She was a multi-sport athlete who saw her hard work pay off as she became a professional athlete. Now she helps athletes reach their own goals on multiple levels.---

Our host Ryan Holmes brings his older brother Justin on to the show for a special Thanksgiving family episode. They discuss what it was like growing up in the spotlight and charting their own paths. ---

From a young age, Brianna Salvatore Dueck had big goals. She wrote them down, dedicated herself to the process, and made sure that her actions matched her words. ---

The number of student-athletes that enter a degree field while in college but never see that life pan out happens more often than not.  Gabbie Ewing is part of that demographic.Despite not using the degree she spent four years putting work into, Gabbie has figured out her passion and how she can fully make an impact on the lives of athletes. ---

Misty Buck gained her love of sports while growing up as a cheerleader and realized that it was the sports community that she wanted to give back to. Now she's an entrepreneur who has worked with some of the sports community's biggest organizations. ---

Handling retirement was harder than expected for former Division I football player, Adrian Bybee. He battled depression and ultimately had to pull himself out of a dark place to get to where he is now. ---

Kim Brady bet on herself and through all the trials and tribulations she's successfully built a business that has helped a number of people. During this conversation, she discusses falling in love with soccer, diving head-first into her passions, and being an openly gay athlete.  ---

Johnni DiJulius wants to give life. During this conversation he talks about his Division 1 wrestling career at Ohio State, his passion for living in the moment, how he became a base jumper and so much more. ---

April Monét is the founder and owner of the AM Elite PR agency. After a series of knee injuries ended her career, April channeled her competitive spirit toward entrepreneurship. In today's episode, April shares how she transitioned from athletics to the professional world, why she created her own PR company, and how she handles being a woman in a male-dominated industry. ---

We speak with Noah about his collegiate journey as well as the battles he faced as an athlete. A recent graduate from Furman University, Noah saw his college art project depicting his friends as the different mental health struggles get a lot of attention recently on social media. Follow Noah and check out his artwork: @noahhenderson.art---

Host Ryan Holmes talks with his college teammate Darnell Corbin. They dig into his athletic background, how he created a social media community to inspire progress both mentally and physically, and his extensive resume that includes some of the biggest brands in entertainment.---

Valdosta State baseball Assistant Coach Angelo Nicolosi has spent his life on a baseball field. He went from being told that he would never make it because of poor academic standing to finding his way onto his college baseball team to now becoming a coach. He discusses what he's learned both on and off the field and what he took from his role as a talent scout for the LA Dodgers.---

In today's episode, we talk with former football player Aswand Cruickshank. We discuss how he bounced back from tearing his ACL to creating a number of different revenue-generating avenues after hitting a low point in his life. He shares with us how he became a true Renaissance man and what drove him to be the entrepreneur he is today.---

Dr. Megan Cannon joins the show to discuss her career path as a sports psychologist, some of the ways she's had to evolve with the changing tide of mental health, and as always we get some great advice. For more information or to get in contact with Dr. Megan Cannon, visit https://drmegancannon.com/---

Today, the mental health conversations continue with Sports Psychologist Dr. Jarrod Spencer, the creator of Mind of the Athlete. Dr. Spencer discusses how he created the Mind of the Athlete brand, how the mental health space has evolved over the years, what athletes are doing to maintain their mental health as well as some advice to keep a healthy mind.For more information, visit https://mindoftheathlete.com/---

Wagner College student-athlete Ally Meehan joins us to discuss how mental health is evolving from an academic perspective for today's student-athletes.Ally is pursuing a double major in Sports Administration and Psychology and will be looking to join the sports community's mental health space after she finishes school.She speaks about how she implements her studies into maintaining her own mental health as a competitive triathlon athlete.---

Through a severe injury early in his football journey and a global pandemic during crucial months of his post-collegiate football career, Deonte Holden's pursuit of finding his purpose beyond his sport allowed him to ensure his setbacks never kept him from coming back. We talk with the NC State grad about the adversity he faced during his playing career, how was able to "negotiate" himself into a masters program, and the launch of Law of Athlete, a company dedicated to showcasing that there's more to athletes than what you see during competition.---

In case you didn't know, it is draft week. We are just a few days away from the 2023 NFL Draft where a ton of players will be waiting to hear their names called to join their new teams. As we get ready to find out who will be selected  No. 1 overall, we chat with former NFL Pro Bowler, Ryan Clark. The Super Bowl champion discusses being undrafted, playing alongside some of the best defensive backs to ever step on the field, guiding his son through the recruiting process, and more!---

Jessica used swimming to make it to the top of the academic podium despite having to fight through her learning disabilities. After finishing her time at SMU with two degrees, she made her way back into the pool to give back to her community of Midland, TX.---

Originally from Cameroon, Ivan moved to the United States when he was 6 years old, finding basketball soon after in a gym class. His passion for the game grew and ultimately led to an opportunity to play at Concordia College. It was not too long after college that he and his cofounder create The Zone, a personalized and data-driven mental wellness platform. During today's conversation, we discuss his playing career, how The Zone came to be, and what the future holds for him and his team. ---

Dr. Matt Bowers has dedicated his educational career to studying the role of sports in generating positive experiences and outcomes, with a particular emphasis on youth development in and through sports. His work has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Wired, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, SXSW, and the Aspen Institute's Sport for All, Play For Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game.In today's conversation with Dr. Bowers, we discuss his findings not just as a professor, but as a parent to a young athlete as well.  We also discuss some of the most pertinent aspects that impact youth development and what we can do as a sports community to improve the atmosphere that athletes grow up in today. ---

Malcolm Lemmons set a goal to play basketball at a high level from a young age and after putting in the work he accomplished that goal by playing at Niagara University before heading over to Japan to play professionally. But it was his entrepreneurial side that took over once he hung up his sneakers and put basketball behind him. ---

Nate Jackson and his wife, Raychelle, became parents at a very young age. And after that they refocused their goals and set out to accomplish everything one step at a time. Now, Jackson has his eyes set on his goals of fighting an injury to claim a spot on this year's US World Team and win a world title. Listen as Jackson talks about becoming a father at a young age, balancing school, wrestling and dad duty,  as well as the impact that fellow wrestler turned coach BJ Futrell had on him.---

To get an inside look at what it's like to step on the NCAA Wrestling Championship finals stage, we chat with NC State's NCAA Champion Mike Macchiavello, who made his way to the top of the podium in 2018. We also dig into how he became a wrestler as well as the habits he created to earn the crown at 197 pounds a few years ago.---

As we turn the page to Women's History Month, we knew that the perfect way to get things started would be to bring on someone who was a mentor and an inspiration to our host Ryan Holmes along with being an all-around amazing human.  That individual is former University of Texas softball player Chez Sievers. ---

After a month of celebrating Black history by having conversations with some very impactful black voices, host Ryan Holmes had to take a moment to thank each one of them and reflect on the Black history he's had the chance to witness and historical figures he's been able to meet. ---

Until recently not one HBCU athletic program included wrestling. But thanks to Executive Director Jahi Jones, a former Maryland NCAA wrestler, and the HBCU Wrestling Initiative, that is no longer true.  Through the organization's efforts, it was announced in 2021 that Morgan State will be the first historically black college to have a wrestling program with more on the horizon.---

Keisha J Kelley didn't set out to work in sports but her passion for HBCU athletics grew into something she never imagined as she created Black College Experience. Now Kelley is one of the strongest voices and her platform has become a staple on the HBCU sports scene. In today's conversation she discuss how she got to where she is and what made her stay consistent. ---

Tarrin Morgan tells us about how he didn't have the smoothest path, but ultimately found his way to Morgan State where he is now a professor and creator of the Esports program comprised of nearly 200 students.---

Today Ryan continues his Black History Month conversations and chats with Derrick Furlow Jr, the former University of Tennessee football player who had to overcome an injury during his final high school season to earn an opportunity on the Volunteers' team and reinvent himself to find his way when his NFL dreams didn't come to fruition after college. ---

With today being the first day of the celebration of Black History we would like to kick things off by introducing Tylene Braswell, our newest addition to the A2A team.As an LSU grad she comes with a wealth of knowledge, experience and ideas that will all be channeled into creating growth opportunities for A2A and our community.---

Chelsea Potter has amassed just about every award you can in the world of competitive baton twirling. Being in the sport for 30 years saw her on the cover of magazines, winning World Championship gold medals all around the world, and earning a full scholarship to star as the Hawkeye Golden Girl feature twirler during the University of Iowa's football halftime show.---

Derek Guimond took an unorthodox route to further his volleyball career which turned into a business-creating opportunity. Now, after taking a chance on himself and leaving the country to pursue his passion on the court, he is helping others do the same.---

Co-founders Justin Ullestad and Reid Meyer join today's conversation to discuss the transfer portal window, evolution of NIL and it' impact, state of admissions and Reid's trips and campus tours.--

Katie Lever found her way to her families alma mater of Western Kentucky where she excelled on the track. While at WKU a few things happened during her career propelled her to the current landing spot as an NCAA policy researcher and doctoral candidate at the University of Texas in Austin.---

Sierra Brooks found out pretty early that her gymnastic future was bright. In our conversation with her she discusses when she fell in love with the sport, dealing with being recruited as a 6th grader and what the future holds for her post-collegiate career.-----

Parker Navarro moved all the way from California to North Carolina to run Track and Cross Country at UNCW. She figured out from early on that she wanted to leave home to explore new surroundings, but she also realized exactly when it was time for her to move on from her favorite sport and focus on her post-collegiate career.---

Natalie Allport started out wanting to represent the Canadian hockey team, then she changed paths and hit the slopes as a snowboarder before making another pivot to crossfit along with content creation and so much more.---

Keirsten Sires isn't afraid to bet on herself. After devoting her time and effort to a career on the tennis court, she put in the work and switched to the soccer field as a college sophomore. Now she spends her days as the CEO and Founder of 2aDays.---

Former Penn State national champion volleyball player Katie Kabbes reflects on her time being recruited and what it was like being molded by the championship culture on the Nittany Lion campus.---

People can be mentally tough enough to play in front of thousands of screaming fans, but still suffer from mental health issues that hinder you from facing the day or doing what you'd consider a menial task. In today's discussion with former DI soccer player Lauren Hess she digs into how she overcame injury, decided to transfer and her own mental battles. ---

Does Division I cheerleading have recruiting? What's the training schedule like for elite cheerleaders? How do you represent your country in the world of cheerleading? We sit down with former University of Alabama and Team USA World Champion cheerleader Millery Ingallina as she gives us the insight on how she became a highly decorated cheerleader.---

Taj Dashaun didn't have the college career on or off the field that he wanted. And when he left Stony Brook he was lost and looking for the right path. He ultimately found it but it wasn't easy.---

Chris Aumueller had his life in Germany planned out, then the Nebraska tennis coach called and after some convincing the young tennis player decided to forget his original plans and come to the United States to play for the Huskers. His play ended up getting him all conference honors and a degree in Marketing which was the catalyst for the creation of his company, Fanword.---