What's up, players! Y'all, this week Rachel sits down with Kaitlin Donahoe. Kaitlin is a partnership sales queen at Fenway Sports Group, a former college basketball coach, a three-sport All-American (she won't brag on herself, so Rach does it for her), and the reigning paddle tennis champ of Pittsburgh. And no, it is NOT pickleball. Don't play.

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They get into how Kaitlin went from coaching D3 hoops to the Saints and Pelicans to the Pittsburgh Penguins. She shares the 30-60-90 day plan that got her hired and how she built the 84 Lumber LIFT panel from scratch. Then she explains why she's not buying the imposter syndrome hype. Plus, they talk about advocating for yourself, walking into a room full of men like you own it (because you do), and keeping the door open for the women coming up behind you. The table is big enough, y'all. Let's get into it!

Follow Rach and Name Five Players:


Instagram:
 @rj_jonesss
@namefiveplayerspodcast_
Website:
 name5players.com

Proudly Produced by Good Mess Media


@goodmessmedia.com

For sponsorship, partnerships and brand deals please contact hello@goodmessmedia.com

What's up, players! Our second guest is Liz Beecroft. She's a psychotherapist, a sneakerhead, a NASCAR convert and a proud Disney adult. She's also the woman behind Nike's Air Max 270 React "In My Feels," the first sneaker built around mental health, which sold out in under a day.

Liz grew up a multi-sport athlete in small-town Pennsylvania. She dropped her orthodontist plans after one too many 8 a.m. organic chemistry classes, and her own experience with anxiety and ADHD led her to become the therapist she wishes she'd had as a kid. Today her practice, Mental Sesh, works with pro, Olympic and retired athletes through referral networks with teams like the Mets and Phillies, and with partners from Nike to Moleskine.

Rachel chat about:
- How to find a therapist who fits ("shop around, it's like dating")
What actually happens in an athlete's therapy session (spoiler: sometimes it's Birkin bags)
- Why your stats aren't your self-worth
- How athletic identity holds up when the career ends
- The mental health coloring book Liz made with NASCAR's John Hunter Nemechek

Real, funny and a little chaotic in the best way. Send it to the friend who needs to hear it.

Find Liz at:

@lizbcroft

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Follow Rach and Name Five Players:
Instagram:
@rj_jonesss
@namefiveplayerspodcast_

Website:
name5players.com

Proudly Produced by Good Mess Media
@goodmessmedia.com

For sponsorship, partnerships and brand deals please contact hello@goodmessmedia.com

What's up, "players"! Welcome to the very first conversation episode of Name Five Players, the podcast. What a way to blast onto the podcast scene, with this badass woman in sport! You're going to love her!

Introducing Maria Civitate. Maria grew up in small-town Missouri taping her soccer cleats together. Today she is the Global Digital Director, SNKRS Platform Marketing at Nike. She joins Rachel Jones to talk about being a first-generation college student in corporate life, imposter syndrome in male-dominated rooms, and why she turned down a full-time offer for an internship. Plus: the honest conversation that got her to Nike, how to advocate for your next promotion, and why "the game wasn't made for us," so you get to define your own.

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Follow Rach and Name Five Players:
Instagram:
@rj_jonesss
@namefiveplayerspodcast_

Website:
name5players.com

Proudly Produced by Good Mess Media
@goodmessmedia.com

For sponsorship, partnerships and brand deals please contact hello@goodmessmedia.com