Episode 9: Matt Scott
About this Episode
Show Notes:
:30 – How Matt has stayed at the top of his game so long
1:30 – Evolving his training as a mature athlete
4:09 – Goal setting and winning gold in Rio
6:29 – Culture of Team USA’s wheelchair basketball team and Matt’s role on the team
8:57 – Dealing with burnout or loss of motivation
12:05 – What shapes Matt’s positive attitude
16:15 – How Matt thinks about retirement and his identity as an athlete
19:24 – The challenge of being present and sharing your life on social media
21:55 – Seeing visible vs invisible disability in everyone
24:17 – Matt’s experience competing for Team USA as a Black man
27:48 – Being hospitalized in late 2018 and the recovery process to get back to the court
30:34 – Coming back from being in a coma to qualifying for Tokyo within a year
32:08 – Decision to compete professionally in Europe
33:54 – Growth of the Paralympic movement and hopes for the future
36:07 – Introduction to wheelchair basketball and start of Matt’s Paralympic dream
37:42 – Advice for a young kid with a disability
40:02 – Goals and challenges for Matt’s fifth Paralympic Games
42:19 – Olympic or Paralympic moment in life
Recent Episodes from Sasha Sessions: A Team USA Podcast
Episode 29: Haylie McCleney
Episode 28: Yul Moldauer
Episode 27: Tyler Merren
Episode 26: Tianna Bartoletta
Episode 25: Yeonmi Park
Episode 24: David Brooks
Episode 23: Molly Bloom
Episode 22: Jeremy Bloom
Episode 21: Maame Biney
Olympic Speedskater Maame Biney joins Sasha this week. Maame talks about her Olympic debut as the first Black women to represent Team USA in short track speedskating. She tells Sasha about learning to care for her mental health after the Olympics in 2018 and through the COVID-19 pandemic. Maame also explains how she began using her platform to push for change after the death of George Floyd, and how she wants to use her voice to be more than an athlete.