WellU Mental Training Podcast WellU Mental Training

In this episode, we are joined by USA water polo hall of famer, Ryan Bailey. Ryan shares his water polo story from beginning as a young kid brother and son to his athletically involved family to deciding he wanted to become an Olympic athlete. His experiences with his college coach at UC Irvine who showed unconditional support and love as well as his journey around the world of water polo come out in this interview. Coaches and athletes are sure to learn a lot about what a great team athlete thinks and how he thrives.

In this episode, we sit down with Helix high school's athletic director and grade level principal, Damon Chase. Damon's story is remarkable. He actually attended Helix high school and pitched for their baseball team before ultimately becoming their athletic director and grade level principal. He continued to pitch until two shoulder surgeries eventually took their toll. His plan was to then become a physical therapist until a pivot occurred and Damon became the school's athletic director. He found his purpose and made it his mission to implement transformational coaching  and make an impact on students and the community.
Now more than ever youth sports need a voice of the "how" we win. Damon and Helix high school cemented this commitment by partnering with NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illnesses) and an initiative through CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) to perform a mental health risk assessment for their athletes. Damon is here to help and inform. You can contact him at chase@helixcharter.net / 619-644-1940 ext. 127

In this episode, we explore the story of Ashley Polcovich. Ashley is now a mental coach and trained physical therapy assistant however she is still working toward acceptance of the athletic career changing path she faced through her injury recovery process. Having endured 5 surgeries in a 3 year span, her mental health challenges as an athlete seeking to hold onto the most important pieces of her self-identity are revealed in this interview. This is very relatable to the community of athletes who feel they have lost the opportunities to play and compete in their sport due to circumstances out of their control.
Connect with Ashley on social media:
Instagram & Facebook: @performancemindsettraining

In this episode, Brian speaks with tennis hall of fame legend Rod Laver. Rod explores his history in tennis as one of the pioneers of the open era. He is the only player to have won the illustrious grand slam of tennis two times in his career. In this interview, Rod shares how he started his career as a junior leaving his homeland Australia at the age of 17 to compete in Wimbledon and how it progressed to amateur and professional status. 

In this episode, Ami sits down with professional baseball pitcher Arik Sikula to discuss the mental game of pitching as a closer. Arik graduated from Marshall University where he was the first pitcher at Marshall to be named to the First Team All-Conference USA. After college Arik was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays. He had a stint with the Blue Jays.  Arik played in the Atlantic Professional baseball league. Arik shares the secrets of his mental skills as a pitcher. He used his sense of smell to help calm his nerves in big moments on the mound.  After losing his love of the game he took a break, but baseball came calling and he returned. Arik has played baseball all over the world including Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Australia, and Canada. His passion eventually landed him working for baseball jobs overseas. 

In this episode, UCLA women’s water polo athlete, Brooke Maxson, shares many of the mental training strategies and tools she has developed through her playing career. Expect to learn about how she understands nerves and low confidence as opportunities to turn pressure into power. Brooke also highlights other mental training areas such as motivation during the Covid-19 pandemic, performance routines, and connection with teammates.