Football, Fame, & Family | Haloti Ngata, Former NFL Player & Superbowl Champion

"Are all of the things we take from sport positive?" --- That was the question that initiated this episode with Katie Alexander, Ph.D. student and founder of "The Dark Side of Sport." We chat about sporting environments, sport culture, and power dynamics while calling out the different types of abuse individuals in sport should be aware of and looking out for.

Katherine "Katie" Alexander is a former competitive soccer player and current third-year Ph.D. at Utah State University. She primarily studies athlete abuse and maltreatment in sport settings but is also interested in positive youth development and exploring other "negative" aspects of development occurring outside of sport. In her free time, Katie enjoys lifting weights, learning, reading, and writing.

For her Ph.D. work, Katie is conducting a study on on stressful experiences in and out of sport and mental health symptomology. Please consider taking her survey: https://redcap.cehs.usu.edu/surveys/?s=JWYTKN7NFEWL899H

Note: This survey does explore aspects of childhood trauma and abuse, abuse and trauma in sport settings, adult trauma, and mental health symptoms (including anxiety, depressive, and PTSD symptoms).

Connect with Katie:
Website: https://ktalexander33.wordpress.com/
IG: @thedarksideofsport
Podcast: The Dark Side of Sport Podcast
Email: k.alexander@usu.edu

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Learn more about The Sideline Perspective:

Website: http://thesidelineperspective.com
Submit Your Story: http://thesidelineperspective.com/submit/
Instagram: @thesidelineperspective
Connect with Mac: mac@thesidelineperspective.com

So much of success in sport comes from the people around us - whether teammates, coaches, family or friends, we rely on social support to get us to the top. So why would that change in life after sport? Truth is, it doesn't. This episode with Cory Camp dives into the ways athletes can build and benefit from a support system in life beyond competition.

A former nationally ranked swimmer, Cory Camp is the founder of the Forever Athlete Social Club, an in-person and online network of likeminded former athletes. He coaches and works with his groups on finding flow and improving holistic well-being through simplifying and optimizing their life. 

Connect with Cory:
Website: https://www.forever-athlete.com/
IG: @corycamp & @foreverathletesc

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Learn more about The Sideline Perspective:

Website: http://thesidelineperspective.com
Submit Your Story: http://thesidelineperspective.com/submit/
Instagram: @thesidelineperspective
Connect with Mac: mac@thesidelineperspective.com

Facing rehab and recovery? Then you won't want to miss this episode with Registered Dietician Emily Barnhart. Emily specializes in helping athletes and active individuals "fuel their comeback" to sport. 

As The Injury RD, Emily operates from a deep-seeded nutrition philosophy that food is more than fuel.  Food is joy, celebration, community, and culture.  She believes in a whole foods approach that prioritizes balance between foods that make you want to do a happy dance at the table and foods that are helpful for whatever your athletic or health goals are at the time.  

In addition to The Injury RD, Emily has worked with collegiate and professional organizations and currently consults with the USA Volleyball men and women's court teams and USA Sled Hockey.

Connect with Emily:

Website: https://injuryrd.com/
IG: @injury_rd
Contact: https://injuryrd.com/contact

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Learn more about The Sideline Perspective:

Website: http://thesidelineperspective.com
Submit Your Story: http://thesidelineperspective.com/submit/
Instagram: @thesidelineperspective
Connect with Mac: mac@thesidelineperspective.com

Ever heard of imposter syndrome? If you haven't heard the term, you've most likely felt it at some point if you've been a competitive athlete...

Imposter syndrome is the sense that you don't belong at the level you're at or don't deserve the success you've found. It's a natural feeling to have when you're wired to be driven towards perfection but its also something that can block you from recognizing the great things you have earned from the work you did put in. 

In this quick 'Sideline Short' episode, Mac shares why its so important to fight back against those imposter feelings and how a little bit off confidence can be contagious.

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Learn more about The Sideline Perspective:

Website: http://thesidelineperspective.com
Submit Your Story: http://thesidelineperspective.com/submit/
Instagram: @thesidelineperspective
Connect with Mac: mac@thesidelineperspective.com

On the first "Panel Perspective" style episode, Mac is joined by not one, not two, but three awesome guests who share their thoughts on the question:

"What exactly does success in life beyond sport mean?"

The crew leans on both their personal and professional backgrounds to answer the question - leading to key takeaways you won't want to miss!

Panelists incude:

Tyler Carter - Tyler (or TC) is best known as the one-legged Captain America and valuing kindness above all else. He is a 3x Paralympian in the sport of alpine skiing and had the honor of being voted Opening Ceremony Flag bearer for Team USA during his last Winter Paralympic Games in 2022. TC is often the positive one and strives to help others discover their passion, while understanding that life is constant journey of peaks and valleys. His passion of helping others is eclipsed only by his love of ice cream. Connect with TC: @tcskiusa & http://www.tcskiusa.com/

Sarah Sutin - Sarah is former athlete and professional circus artist. She has been working in sports for over 8 years and has a Masters in Sport and Performance Psychology. She focuses on helping athletes build mental performance skills on and off the field. She supports athletes as they reach their full potential in sport while maintaining and balancing mental health. Connect with Sarah:  @sarahsutin & https://sarahsutinperformance.com/ 

Katie Spada - Katie is a registered dietitian and former athlete. She is the owner and founder of Spada Strong Nutrition LLC, a nutrition coaching business focused on helping athletes, former athletes, and active individuals fuel for training and for life. She holds a master’s degree in Nutrition from Northeastern University with a concentration in Sports and Fitness. Katie competed as an elite level synchronized swimmer. During her career, she had three national team appointments and competed collegiately for The Ohio State University before retiring and pursuing her career as a dietitian. Katie founded Spada Strong Nutrition with the goal of helping individuals learn how to fuel their body’s properly, work through body image struggles, and develop a healthy relationship with food that supports their lifestyle. Katie believes every person deserves to feel good in their skin, fuel their body well, and enjoy the foods they eat, guilt-free! Connect with Katie: @fueling.former.athletes & https://spadastrongnutrition.com/

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Learn more about The Sideline Perspective:

Website: http://thesidelineperspective.com
Submit Your Story: http://thesidelineperspective.com/submit/
Instagram: @thesidelineperspective
Connect with Mac: mac@thesidelineperspective.com

Tune in to hear Mac's story as she reads and reflects on an essay she wrote for the Positive Coaching Alliance: https://positivecoach.org/the-pca-blog/the-power-of-perspective-from-a-former-d1-athlete/

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Learn more about The Sideline Perspective:

Website: http://thesidelineperspective.com
Submit Your Story: http://thesidelineperspective.com/submit/
Instagram: @thesidelineperspective
Connect with Mac: mac@thesidelineperspective.com

Grief is both a heavy word and a heavy feeling. It is most often a word associated with loss of a person or living thing, but is just as poignant when we close a  life chapter and lose a piece of ourselves. In this episode, Mac is joined by Gabbie Ewing to unpack the validity of these feelings and why they aren't often recognized or talked about in the world of sport.

Gabbie is the creator & founder of The Athlete Confidential. A former collegiate soccer player, her career came to a halt when she faced both an ankle injury and a global pandemic. The shift to life beyond sport impacted both her identity and mental health, leaving her feeling anxious and isolated. She ultimately founded The Athlete Confidential to connect with others and share the empowering message that athletes are so much more than their sport.

Connect with Gabbie:

Website: https://www.athleteconfidential.com/
IG: @theathleteconfidential
Email: theathleteconfidential@gmail.com

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Learn more about The Sideline Perspective:

Website: http://thesidelineperspective.com
Submit Your Story: http://thesidelineperspective.com/submit/
Instagram: @thesidelineperspective
Connect with Mac: mac@thesidelineperspective.com

Debriefing is a powerful tool for reflection and life lessons. Elite athletes have so much to learn from their experiences in sport, but it can be hard to find the time to reflect... let alone know where to start!

Mac shares the unique power a 'debrief' session brings to a successful athlete transition and/or return to sport, and provides a few different ways to think about how injured and retiring athletes can apply this concept to their own life.

Key questions to ask:

• What happened? ... Objectively or subjectively map our your journey!
• So what? ... Ask: Why does it matter?
• Now what? ... Consider: How will you take this new understanding into your next chapter?

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Learn more about The Sideline Perspective:

Website: http://thesidelineperspective.com
Submit Your Story: http://thesidelineperspective.com/submit/
Instagram: @thesidelineperspective
Connect with Mac: mac@thesidelineperspective.com

Catch up with Mac and get a peek into what Season 3 of The Sideline Perspective Podcast has in store!

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Learn more about The Sideline Perspective:

Website: http://thesidelineperspective.com
Submit Your Story: http://thesidelineperspective.com/submit/
Instagram: @thesidelineperspective
Connect with Mac: mac@thesidelineperspective.com

Haloti Ngata is a former Professional Football player. As a defensive tackle he played in college for the University of Oregon, earning Consensus All-American honors. Haloti was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played for the Ravens for nine seasons (winning a Superbowl and being selected for the Pro Bowl five times), before being traded to the Detroit Lions before the 2015 NFL season. Haloti was also a member of the Philadelphia Eagles for one season in 2018 before retiring. He currently lives with his family in Park City Utah, enjoying life and staying active.

Connect with Haloti:

Instagram: @hngata92

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Learn more about The Sideline Perspective:

Website: http://thesidelineperspective.com
Submit Your Story: http://thesidelineperspective.com/submit/
Instagram: @thesidelineperspective
Connect with Mac: mac@thesidelineperspective.com