WalkOn Mentality

Coach Llanos shares with the show what he looks for when he recruits his next athletes. You may be surprised with what he has to say! Coach Llanos is the Wide Receivers Coach and Special Teams Coordinator at Minot State University.

Danielle Berman - Founder of Tackle What's Next, joined us to discuss why and how she started her platform and the value it brings to student-athletes. We also talked about how she adjusted her business model and approach to student-athletes throughout covid. Check out Danielle and all of her good works below: Danielle Berman | LinkedIn Tackle What's Next: Overview | LinkedIn Check out all clips and discussion here WON Youtube: WalkOn Nation - YouTube

If you don't take a chance on yourself, no one will take you seriously. Ashley breaks down the importance of self-confidence, hyping yourself up and doing your thing no matter what. In addition to that she talks about the positive implications of networking and stepping outside of your comfort zone. Ash is a certified world shaker and we are so blessed to call her sister. Ashley Jocelyn - Chief Of Staff - Louisiana Tech University | LinkedIn WalkOn Nation - YouTube www.walkonnation.org

We had Bri Vaughn on the show this week, and it was nothing short of excellent. We dove into the dynamic realm of Student-athlete development and the importance of it on campuses. There is never a time in your life that more people are around you working towards YOUR success. If you don't take advantage of it, your wasting our time and opportunity. Briana has been the Assistant Director of Administration and is now in Student-Athlete Development where she is responsible for assisting in the facilitation of programming for all 14 teams, hosting visiting athletic directors, assisting in major events, and providing direct support to the Assistant AD/ Student-Athlete development, as well as a multitude of other duties. Prior to Mississippi State, Bri was in Membership Services at Women Leaders in College Sports. Before her career in athletics, Bri was a Division-I student-athlete for the University of Central Florida Women's Track & Field team. From 2013 to 2016 she was a 100 and 200 meter sprinter. Following her track and field career, Bri completed her Master's degree in both Business Administration and Sports Business. WalkOn Nation - YouTube

Ashley Usery (ERR-SIR-REE) is a former Track and Field student-athlete @ The University Of Florida. While there she received her undergrad and graduate degree. She is 3x SEC Champ and Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee. Post athletics she has worked in college athletics in the compliance realm, in particular, working directly in and within the infamous TRANSFER PORTAL. She currently is the Director of Athletics Compliance at Texas Tech University. WalkOn Nation - YouTube WalkOn Nation

On our latest installation of Walking the Walk, we caught up with a friend of ours, Andrew Capirchio. We talked about his newest book "Chasing Sparks", the progress and reach he's created through his works in the Minneapolis School District, as well as how he has been an advocate and resource for the student-athletes in the past year with Covid-19, the killing of George Floyd as well as the recently started trail, and their sports being taken from them. This is a deep, and heartfelt episode, be sure to leave a review, comment and subscribe to our show and youtube page to get all of our latest content. Andrew is a former Football student-athlete at Scottsdale Community College and Concordia St. Paul. Founder of Blessed to Announce Project where he works with student-athletes all over the twin cities area Author of books: Blessed to announce, as well as Chasing Sparks Chasing Sparks: How to find extraordinary fulfillment and purpose during ordinary moments: Capirchio, Andrew Craig: 9798564331852: Amazon.com: Books Blessed to Announce Project WalkOn Nation - YouTube

We had a chance to catch up with former UCF Knights football legend Billy. He shared with us his story at UCF from WalkOn to scholarship athlete, the culture that was instilled in him and the culture he left, as well as his experience now as a football coach at Bishop Moore High School. Tune in to hear first hand from Billy. www.walkonnation.org WalkOn Nation - YouTube

We had the pleasure to host our very own intern and podcast producer to be on the show. Pablo is the Director of Athletic Relationships for Sleefs and Social Media Manager for Sleefs athletes. Pablo is heavily immersed in the high school football scene (recruiting, camps, combines, 7v7, coaching etc) - He is our own in house Adam Schefter! We had a great conversation about the temperature of the youth athletic space, coaching and culture philosophies as well as the issue that many athletes face is transitioning to the pros-that being that there's simply an oversaturated market for them. How can they set themselves up for success, regardless of the NFL,CFL, XFL etc. @pablo.roseroo -IG, @PabloRosero_4 -Tw @sleefs @sleefsathletes www.walkonnation.org WalkOn Nation - YouTube

What is it like to be a Student-Athlete-Father? How do you lead a team that doesn't buy in to the culture and foundation that has been established? What does depression really look like on the surface? This special episode of WalkOn Mentality has the unique stories and perspective of Cedric Thompson. Ced was a former teammate of ours at UCF. He was one of the leaders on our notorious 0-12 season. On paper that may seem like a failure, but the culture and foundation that he helped build was a huge factor to our future success, and the culture that we left after him. Ced is now a phenomenal Husband, father, and social media personality. IG: @talktargettomen / @trapced17 www.walkonnation.org

This is the 2nd half of our conversation with Christal. Our convo was so good that we HAD to break it up in 2. CP talks about representation in the college athletics realm, being genuine as a student-athlete developer, learning, growing and how to be open to any and all things on your journey. www. walkonnation.org WalkOn Nation - YouTube Christal Peterson - Character Formation Coordinator - Staff Directory - Baylor University Athletics (baylorbears.com)

What is being a "specialist" all about? We assure you, far more than you think. This conversation touches on a lot very important topics for student-athletes and will spark a deeper level of commitment to your sport and craft within the sport. www.walkonnation.org Fullride membership: LRT Sports - College Athletic News and Exclusive Coach Ratings (lrt-sports.com)

Aaron Evans turned down a shot with the Kansas City Chiefs, to pursue his passion; ART. Passion is the currency, happiness and love are the answers. You do NOT want to miss this episode. Aaron's art website: https://www.king-frog.com/ www.walkonnation.org

As a last ditch effort to play college football, Jacob just got in his car and drove to UCF. Without a scholarship offer, without an invitation to WalkOn-coaches stopped communicating with him. On his way there an assistant coach called him and offered him a Preferred WalkOn opportunity. Fast forward a few years later, Jacob is now training for his proday and NFL career. After a stellar senior season @ UCF, he is determined to continue to grow into a dominating force on and off the field. This is his story.

Listen to how CULTURE was the biggest impact on WINNING during our years at UCF. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfxZdrntwdtepONJjYEr0gg/videos Website: www.walkonnation.org FULLRIDE Membership: https://www.lrt-sports.com/sign-up

WalkOn to professional athlete. This story is a perfect example of the timeless equation: preparation + opportunity = success.

Brian Kent: -BKSTRENGTH OWNER & CHICAGO-BASED PERSONAL TRAINER -ON YOUR MARK COACHING & TRAINING LEADERSHIP COUNCIL -NIKE TRAINING CHICAGO TRAINER -MARTIAL ARTIST TAEKWONDO, JUDO, BJJ -PRO/COLLEGE BASEBALL CATCHER -COLLEGE FOOTBALL FULLBACK - Walked On Author TALK ABOUT DYNAMIC!!! Tune in and hear his incredible story as a former dual-sport Walkon, and how that has shaped all of the roles he is in today. Grab your copy of his book "Walked On: Life Lessons of a Two-Sport Non-Scholarship College Athlete" here : https://www.bkstrength.com/walked-on Follow him here: @bkstrength_chicago

Introducing a new segment to our show; "Walking the Walk". This segment will highlight former WalkOns who are applying the WalkOn Mentlaity to their profession(s).   This segment will include: Entreprenuers, business owners, authors, pro athetes etc. Tahj- Anthony is not your average business entrepreneur. He started his career off as the captain of his high school basketball team, where he led his team to win both county, and regional championships. In addition to excelling on the basketball court, Tahj-Anthony was later offered a WalkOn position on the University of Connecticut's ( UCONN) division-one football team. As a junior, Tahj  made a tough decision to leave the football team and opened up his own business. Tahj says “the decision was not an easy one, but I knew that it was one of the best decisions I've ever made thus far.” At the young age of 19, he opened up UCONN's first- ever creperie. Rebranding himself from Student-Athlete to Student-Business owner. There, he managed an extensive staff and led a successful operation while pursuing his degree in Economics. His marketing and business strategy resulted in over 20,000 Google searches, seventy-five thousand customers, and a percentage of the profits to help feed the hungry. In addition to owning his own restaurant, Tahj- Anthony is currently a Senior Business Development at a startup in New York.  In his free time, he is an avid investor and continues to innovate. He continues his entrepreneurial spirit and has several pending business ventures in the works. Tahj believes  “It is important to constantly learn and aim to get better everyday. Just like a sport, to be successful, you have to work hard to achieve that goal.” It's Earned Not Given https://www.farmhousecrepes.com/ @farmhousecrepes @tahjanthonyj

What if? A question that haunts many athletes. What if I was recruited to my dream school? What if I didn't get hurt? What if my coach stayed? What if I made that one play? The list goes on. How do we handle the thoughts and feelings associated with these questions? What does coping with it, working through it, and overcoming it look like? Tune in and heal with us! Athletic Identity Event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/walkon-nation-athletic-identity-workshop-tickets-130042431413?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch Full Ride Membership: https://www.lrt-sports.com/sign-up

This WalkOn Spotlight belongs to: Luke Thompson-Football student-athlete at the University of Albany. Majoring is communications with a minor in Business. We had a great conversation with Luke and are excited to share it with you. Thank you Luke! Luke's Socials: IG @lukethompson9 WalkOn Nation: IG, Twitter, TikTok @walkon_nation