Yips and Giggles

Peyton Pesavento Johnston and Anya Brylin
  • 5.0 (5)
  • MENTAL HEALTH

Two (former) athletes, Peyton Pesavento Johnston and Anya Brylin, are here to make sport psychology and mental performance relatable, accessible, and fun! This podcast aims to give athletes, parents, and coaches insight into collegiate and professional mental performance in all sports. About the hosts: Peyton and Anya were teammates (and roommates) at Wake Forest University. Peyton has a master's in Performance Psychology and is a mental performance coach, and Anya completed her master's in Business Analytics and is now working in the corporate world. Oh - she's also an NCAA doubles champion!

Episodes

  1. Serves & Stereotypes (ft. Emma Hall)

    1D AGO

    Serves & Stereotypes (ft. Emma Hall)

    We’ve got lots of fun topics this week - tennis films, slang, stereotypes, and of course, the drama at the Australian Open. AND we get to hear from Emma Hall, a former pro player and now head coach, who worked on the set of Challengers and actually acted in the movie, too! Remember that opening racquet smash scene? Tune in for a super fun episode! (00:00) Intro (01:33) Episode overview (03:12) Social tennis vs “real” tennis (08:28) Hannah Berner explains tennis etiquette on Giggly Squad (10:21) Junior tennis as a reality TV show (11:31) Osaka and Cirstea drama at the Aus Open (14:38) Emma Hall and working on the Challengers movie (20:13) Emma as Anna Mueller in Challengers (24:09) Coaching actors in tennis (26:36) Analyzing tennis movies: technique and authenticity (29:42) Tennis slang (34:53) True or false: tennis edition (35:33) Do tennis players have different personalities on and off the court? (36:58) Are tennis players highly superstitious? (38:41) Is tennis the least accessible sport? (42:21) Are parents crazier in tennis or other sports? (45:08) It’s a love-hate relationship (47:56) Are tennis players selfish? (49:19) College tennis dynamics (50:09) Outro

    51 min
  2. Profit & Player Well-Being

    FEB 10

    Profit & Player Well-Being

    Within sports, many people are asking: is there an inverse relationship between profit and player well-being? To help understand this question, we look at life on the road across different leagues and sports, unpack the NCAA conference realignment chaos, and so much more. We also offer some practical tips to help athletes and teams through stressful periods of their seasons. Tune in to learn about the ever-changing world of sport and its impact. (00:00) Intro (01:14) Anya successfully tried mindfulness! (03:06) North Carolinians vs New Jerseyans  (04:19) Topic overview: Player well-being (05:14) Quick recap of episode 3 (05:57) Professional soccer (football) schedules (10:39) Sports deciding personal decisions (including Peyton’s wedding date) (11:45) Professional tennis schedules (13:34) Mandatory tournaments for top players (16:31) The grind of lower-tier competitions (18:15) Controversy over match times (19:16) NHL scheduling (22:50) Practice modifications per season (24:08) Traveling in US & Canadian leagues vs other countries (25:43) Family dynamics (28:02) Cons of teams playing on holidays (30:24) NCAA conference realignment  (37:22) MLB pitch clock (40:12) Maintaining star athletes’ longevity (41:34) Tennis time clock (relating baseball to tennis) (43:40) WHOOP bands (46:59) General adaptation syndrome (50:06) Periodization and practice  (55:19) Finding gratitude in sport (56:17) Outro

    57 min
  3. Alex Fitzpatrick & Life on Tour

    FEB 3

    Alex Fitzpatrick & Life on Tour

    This week, we welcome our first guest, Alex Fitzpatrick, to Yips & Giggles! Alex currently competes on the DP World Tour and has had great success since turning pro in 2022, including a tie for 17th at The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. In this episode, we chat about his college days, filming for Netflix, the behind the scenes of professional golf, working with sport psychologists, and of course, Alex's personal run-in with the yips. (00:00) Intro (01:13) Peyton and Alex getting pulled over (NOT arrested) (02:40) Favorite college memory (04:41) Watching Alex play at university (05:20) Alex’s biggest fans at The Open (British Open) (06:53) College vs professional Alex (08:44) Practice schedule in college (09:51) Typical day as a pro (11:34) Beginning professional journey (12:58) The grind to the DP World Tour (15:31) Golf and tennis similarities (17:05) Behind the scenes logistics for players (18:28) Traveling the world (20:04) Dealing with loneliness on tour (22:09) Working with a sport psychologist (23:20) Who makes up Alex’s team? (24:37) Golf coaching dynamic (26:05) Golf vs tennis coaching (27:47) Individual sports and jet lag (29:29) What’s Alex working on?  (30:58) Alex gets the yips, too! (34:04) Bonding over the yips (34:51) How Alex’s yips manifested  (36:26) Using acceptance to cope with pressure (37:14) Alex’s technique to stay in the present moment (38:01) Finding what works for you (from a psychological perspective) (39:11) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (39:49) Learning to benefit from psychological training (40:44) Who does Alex like more? (41:28) Alex’s favorite course (42:29) Surviving the downpour at The Open (43:00) Filming for Netflix! (46:43) Krispy Kreme and college nostalgia (50:09) Deciding to stay in collegiate golf (51:34) Why Alex chose Wake Forest (54:21) Enjoy your uni days! (54:59) Co-parenting a stray cat (56:33) World Cup predictions (57:12) Alex is Alistair’s #1 fan (57:44) Alex’s best Scottish accent (58:38) Outro

    59 min
  4. Student & Athlete

    JAN 27

    Student & Athlete

    As we relive the glory days, we wanted to give our listeners a look into the life of a student-athlete - hectic schedules, academic responsibilities, and finding time to be a normal college student every once in a while. Plus, we’ll also be getting into ways to reduce burnout, and we'll talk through a mindfulness routine to start your day with a quiet mind. Tune in for practical techniques and relatable conversations around being a student AND athlete. (0:00) Intro (1:10) Quick recap of last week (2:29) Reminiscing on being a student-athlete (4:00) Episode overview (4:57) Who might find this helpful? (6:43) Freshman year (7:41) Juniors schedule (8:49) In season vs Off season schedule (11:39) Countable hours (13:12) D1 tennis fall and spring schedule (16:10) A week in the life of a student athlete (20:21) Missing classes for matches (22:02) Difference between tennis and other sports (23:52) Collegiate VS pro athletes (24:38) Sacrifices (26:49) Every sport is year-round now! (27:49) Training between seasons (33:36) Habit formation (37:51) Taking advantage of your energy cycles (40:34) Optimizing practices (42:21) Mental breakdowns at practice! (43:55) Practice simulating match times (44:56) Finding a balance (45:28) Impromptu road trips (49:31) Support systems (52:40) Utilizing mindfulness techniques (56:56) Enjoy your time as a student-athlete (59:26) Outro

    1 hr
  5. Yips & Anxiety

    JAN 20

    Yips & Anxiety

    You've probably heard of the "yips" before, but what does it really mean when athletes suddenly lose the ability to perform? We do a deep dive into this phenomenon - what it is, why it might happen, and how to help it if you're experiencing it. Plus, we share personal stories of how the yips impacted us. Tune in for practical techniques and relatable conversation around the yips and anxiety. Chapters (00:00) Intro (1:25) What are the yips? (3:45) Anya’s yips (4:45) Yips in research (6:00) Our experiences with the yips (6:55) Nervousness vs the yips (7:25) Perfectionism and rumination (8:27) Trauma (9:00) Peyton’s yips (10:00) Flow state vs the yips (10:55) Yips as a junior (12:00) Peyton’s perfectionism (13:10) Anya’s overthinking and perfection tendencies (15:12) Failing to “fix” the yips (15:42) Elite athletes are just like us! (17:18) Anxiety and stressors (18:50) Pre-match anxiety (19:25) State and trait anxiety (20:05) Coping with anxiety (21:50) Consequences of worrying (23:10) Workplace anxiety (24:23) Quick way to help anxiety (25:00) Driving test anxiety (28:15) Playing not to lose vs not to win (29:22) Process and outcome goals (29:58) Motivation spectrum (31:38) How Anya became a national champion (35:42) Techniques to help anxiety and the yips (37:10) Scoreboard watching and focusing on external distractions (39:20) For players: Gaze/quiet eye training (42:33) For coaches: Adversity training (45:40) Give yourself grace and get help! (46:57) Outro

    47 min
  • 5 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Two (former) athletes, Peyton Pesavento Johnston and Anya Brylin, are here to make sport psychology and mental performance relatable, accessible, and fun! This podcast aims to give athletes, parents, and coaches insight into collegiate and professional mental performance in all sports. About the hosts: Peyton and Anya were teammates (and roommates) at Wake Forest University. Peyton has a master's in Performance Psychology and is a mental performance coach, and Anya completed her master's in Business Analytics and is now working in the corporate world. Oh - she's also an NCAA doubles champion!

Information

  • Creator
    Peyton Pesavento Johnston and Anya Brylin
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Peyton Pesavento Johnston and Anya Brylin