Show Your Scars

Jacki Gemelos is a professional basketball player who has endured 5 ACL reconstructions. Jacki now is 6 years past her last injury and we talk everything from why she continued to push through all the adversity to what she wants her legacy to be in the sport.

Some other things we hit on:

• Who influenced her to play when she was younger

• How in 1998, the WNBA helped her see her dreams

• How she felt alienated throughout the ACL recovery process

• How it took time to find the silver lining

• Gets real about how she lost a lot of personal confidence in not playing

• How working hard wasn’t the issue it was the not being able to live out my dreams

• How she didn’t feel like herself until 2.5/3 years to feel like herself again consistency = confidence

• How her dream of playing in the WNBA was something she wanted to prove to herself , and others, she could do

• How the process of getting closer and getting cut allowed her to acknowledge she could get there

• How picking her physical therapist and sports performance people really helped her in her last recovery

Stick to the end because you will want to wait till you hear her advice she would of given herself before all of this happened.

Connect with Jacki here:

https://www.instagram.com/jacki23

https://twitter.com/jackig_23

Flamenco Dancer Kristelle Monterrossa reached out to me about how much support she has felt with THE ACL CLUB online community. We started talking about what she does and her story was something I thought many people would be interested in learning more about.

We talk everything from the origins of Flamenco dance, why we kiss our knees, how you have to be kind and patient with yourself, why THE ACL CLUB community is so important to her in her healing process, and how she is excited to perform again but also the true emotions that are popping up for her.

Here are some links so you can check out Kristelle and all she is doing with her documentary:

Watch Kristelle dancing:

https://vimeo.com/63228652

Follow Kristelle here:

https://twitter.com/krismonterrosa

https://www.instagram.com/dancingsoulsfilm/

Look for updates about Dancing Souls Film and their website that is set to launch in the next month.

Thank you Kristelle for your honesty and sharing a bit of your soul!

Joanna Lohman updates us about her first 7 weeks of ACL recovery. How she is taking time to live her life beyond rehab, how resilience is a word that she is surrounded by right now, the 3 words she uses everyday as an affirmation, and what the hardest part has been so far. Thankful for Joanna allowing us to go along with her and breakdown the process a little bit more. I hope you all enjoy this update.

Sign up for our mailing list in order to see the Resilience Video Joanna talks about.

https://www.theaclclub.com

Dan Abrahams is a Sports Psychologist and Author from England who has worked with some of the most elite footballers and golfers in the world.

I learned about Dan through a former teammate, Allie Long, who worked with Dan leading up to her selection and competition with the USWNT in the Rio Olympics.

The mental side of sports and injury recovery is so important. While reading one of Dan's books (his free eBook on his website actually), I read a part that really resonated with me and I thought I should share with you all.

“The words you use determine the pictures you see which drives your confidence and subsequently determines your performance”

Just like in sports performance, what you are telling yourself your mind believes. Dan helps us look at the injury recovery in a different light and how we can use our brain power for good.

Dan starts off by telling me how he got into sports psychology and how it stemed from a weakness of his own as a pro golfer.

Throughout the pod, we talk about so many important topics including:

1. 1st message its ok to be emotional

2. Various ways to use your recovery as a way to audit and improve your game and mental game

3. Having substitutions – active rest something ew to you that peaks your interest

4. The role of cortisol in the injury recovery process

5. Open up your injury APP

To connect more with Dan or to sign up for his Soccer Academy, use the links below:

https://danabrahams.com

https://twitter.com/DanAbrahams77

https://twitter.com/abrahamsgolf

https://www.facebook.com/danabrahamssoccer/

https://www.instagram.com/danabrahamssport/

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experience or following injury....sounds perfect for us right. How can we retrain our pathways to enable us to get back to full health? First off, we must choose to make a change and think better in times when we want to return to habits. Secondly, we have to be able to recognize the moments when we can form new pathways. Here is a good video about the Power of neuroplasticity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELpfYCZa87g

I sat down and spoke with owner of Next Level SPPT in Golden, CO Jim Keller about many things. Jim was an integral part of my ACL injury recoveries so I wanted to get his perspective on:

- Why he got into athletic training and sports performance

- What injury still haunts him to this day

- Why he believes "the head leads the body" is so key in injury recovery

- Next Level's return to sport test and why it is designed to fail athletes

- Why physical therapists should be the first person someone calls after an injury

Jim opens up to us and shares some great tips about why timelines in this process should be thrown out the window.

You can contact Jim and Next Level SPPT through the following:

Website:

http://nextlevelsppt.com

Email:

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Next_Level_SPPT

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/next_level_sppt/

Joanna takes time after her first week of ACL rehabilitation to talk about the ups and downs of the process so far. She talks about different coping mechanisms she has adopted including using The Hunger Games as a source of inspiration.

Sneź Veljanovska talks about her professional soccer career in Australia and how ACL injuries sparked her interest in physical fitness and performance training. Snez now living in Southern California is working hard to help people become more aware of how they train, eat, and specifically on helping people through the grey area of injury rehabilitation resulting in a less risky return to sport.

Connect with Snez below:

https://www.instagram.com/snezv/

https://www.facebook.com/snezv

Snez's weekly rehab she still completes to help her stay strong and load less on her surgically repaired knee: (consult doctor or physical therapist before performing any activities described)

2x week I will do the following exercises:

3x5 single leg squats

3x5 lateral bound jumps

3x3 barbell deadlift

3x10 glute bridge

5x5 kettle bell RDL

Mobility & release work 10 minutes beginning and end of rehab.

Days out of surgery, Joanna opens up about her outlook on her ACL injury in the first game of the NWSL season with the Washington Spirit. We have a very natural conversation about our paths and how Joanna is already facing this challenge ready to rise above. She speaks about how her injury happened, what her body was feeling like before, and why she thinks it is key to keep your life as normal as possible post surgery. Joanna is so inspiring in the way she is approaching this injury and finds encouragement through all the people who are supporting her already.

We look forward to doing a monthly check up with Joanna as she gets through the trials and triumphs of the ACL recovery process.

Make sure to follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoannaLohman

I spoke with JonPatrik a lacrosse player from Canada and Robert Morris about his back to back ACL injuries. We go over what he learned from his first one, how he has changed his training habits, and why he has decided to forgo his last year of eligibility to pursue his dream of playing professionally. We had an honest conversation that I hope you all enjoy.

Instagram : @jpklax67

Email us [email protected] if you want to share your story as well.

Have an extra minute? Review us on iTunes so more people can hear the positive and encouraging stories we are sharing.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/show-your-scars/id1196110632?mt=2