Unit3d Hilinski's Hope

With the semester ending we are headed into summer. Summer used to be a break between one school year ending to another one starting, but more and more summer is becoming a time to work out, train, and practice before the season. With less down-time, we have to be intentional about finding ways to relax and ways to recharge. In this episode of Unit3d, four sport psychologists: Dr. Sheriece Sadberry, Dr. Dylan Firsick, Dr. Tess Palmateer, and Dr. Tom Golightly give their perspective on ways to...

Often when we face adversity we can focus on limitations and loss. Avery Camp is a wheelchair basketball national champion and wheelchair tennis four time national champion. She has reached a rank of as high as #37 in the world in wheelchair tennis. Avery has used the mindset of “what can I do” to adapt to circumstances and find her way into sport after an injury took her away from competitive gymnastics. On this episode of Unit3d, Avery shares her story and talks about aspects of her mindset...

When we play sports as a kid, we play because it’s fun. As we get older, things can become more complex. When we are good at a sport, we get more invested in the outcome, more people become involved and invested in our performance, and we can lose the enjoyment of playing. If we can connect with our values, we can reconnect with our “why,” our reason for continuing in our sport. Chris Pomfret is a senior performance psychologist with Condor Performance in Brisbane, Australia. On this episode ...

As a former athlete Jeremy Gray understands the mental health challenges that can happen, whether it's due to the stress and expectations of performance or the depression that can happen as a result of the inevitable transition that happens away from sport. He is now an Alabama State Representative working in politics to support athletes through legislation and advocacy. He has brought yoga to the schools in Alabama and created needed change for athletes. Jeremy shares his journey and the wor...

Bill Kvalheim played football in college, but his biggest challenge would hit him once he graduated. Bill had experienced some anxiety and depression before, but without his purpose (which had been playing football), he felt lost and aimless. His depression worsened, his anxiety ramped up, and he finally asked for help to get better. Now he has a new purpose – a mission – to decrease stigma and let young athletes know that it’s ok to ask for help and that they are not alone. Bill has now star...

Athletes are often hard on themselves, particularly when it comes to past performances. Overly critical post-performance analyses are often inaccurate and unhelpful. Constantly berating ourselves for mistakes or missed opportunities can rob us of joy and create a relationship with our performance that is rife with fear. On this episode of Unit3d, Dr. Rachel Webb talks about the disadvantage of being hypercritical and not having a more accurate review of our past performances both athletically...