Whitney is a Tennessee State University softball alumni and she now runs a training program called "Dreams in Action" where she coaches softball players on both the physical aspects of the game as well as the mental! Her mission statement is to elevate athletes one dream at a time and she has an incredible process to teaching athletes how to turn their dreams into goals and then into reality.

Today we talk about her story of softball, how she transferred universities, and later started her own coaching business. She also teaches us how to play with significance, how to create goals, build confidence, and finally how our faith ties it all together. After this episode I'm confident you will be pumped to set some goals!

The FAM is brought to you by Unite Health Share Ministries. UHSM is a Christ Based way to do health care! Find out more at UHSM.com

Her instagram: @thewhitness (https://www.instagram.com/thewhitness/)

Dreams in Action instagram: @dreamsinaction413 (https://www.instagram.com/dreamsinaction413/)

Maverick City Music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcQaSpIMPptu9RLgqIbviqw

Chase the Lion book (By Mark Batterson): https://www.amazon.com/Chase-Lion-Dream-Doesnt-Scare/dp/1601428871/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1614999771&sr=8-1

Melanie Connell is a licensed Physical Therapist of 20 years with certifications in Manual Therapy and Nutritional Health Coaching.

Melanie started her own clinic called "Remedy Physical Therapy" in Orange County with a very clear mission: to provide a remedy for athletes sidelined by persistent pain and injuries. It was her own health journey of infertility, hormonal issues, hypothyroid, and migraines that led her to search for holistic practitioners that actually: spent time actually listening to my story, had the ability to problem solve the root cause of my issue, and educated me on the connection of my health to my body.

If there is one thing she preaches to all of her patients, it is that "Everything is Connected."

Click here to learn more about her practice: https://remedypt.com

This is also where she started to get interested in breathing!

The benefits of working on breathing covers a vast array of circumstances whether it is on the field, off the field, in rehab, or just overall health. Melanie gives us four main categories when it comes to the benefits of breathing:

1. Pain

2. Posture

3. Pressure

4. Performance

Optimal breathing improves mobility in the spine and reduces body tension. Through breathing you can gain a stronger connection into the deep core stabilizing muscles (including the pelvic floor). You can also improve your athletic performance and mental focus and you can take control of your pain.

Breathing offers direct access to our nervous system, therefore connecting to your breath helps you connect to your body and yourself.

Breath work could unlock your potential in so many way!!! Whether it's to recover better on the field or to handle your anxiety.

Thank you to Unite Heath Share Ministries for making this interview possible! Check them out at: https://www.uhsm.com

Follow Melanie online: @remedyoc (https://www.instagram.com/remedyoc/)

Follow the FAM: @femaleathletemission

Find us online: https://www.thefamblog.com/home

Sean Manuel is a former NFL player who has been in ministry, coached NCAA football, and is now coaching in a private gym called "The Institute of Human Performance" in Nevada.

He is a coach, yes, but he is a pastor in many ways! He cares about his athletes both in a performance aspect, but also in health and longevity, and their spiritual life. In this interview we dive straight into his story and his coaching philosophy, we talk about injury prevention, injury resistance training, and how when we specialize in a sport early, we can be more vulnerable to specific injuries. I feel honored to be sharing this episode with you all! I think it will be encouraging to your faith and educational for the health of your body.

The FAM is brought to you by Unite Health Share Ministries. UHSM is a Christ Based way to do health care and if you've never heard of christian health sharing, you should look it up! Find out more at UHSM.com

Kat Harris is a Brooklyn based online educator, digital content creator, writer, speaker, and female empowerment advocate. I'm so excited for you to hear her perspective on singleness, sex, and dating in a way that is God honoring and based on scripture.

We talk about everything today from direct encouragement to single girls who don't want to be single, how to date better, and why the word purity when talking about waiting to have sex until marriage is not helpful.

Kat has her own podcast called "The Refined Collective Podcast" but also an incredible social media presence and website. AND she wrote a book called "Sexless in the City" that will be coming out at in April. I CANNOT wait to read it!! To learn more, I've included all the ways you can connect with Kat's content below.

The FAM is sponsored by Unite Health Share Ministries, a Christ based way to do health care! Check out their website at UHSM.com to learn more.

Follow Kat:

The Refined Woman site: https://therefinedwoman.com​

Instagram: @therefinedwoman and @therefinedcollective

Cat Osterman is one of, if not THE BEST pitchers in softball history. She recently came out of retirement to play for team USA and is currently preparing for the 2021 olympics. Cat is a former three-time National Player of the Year, four-time All-American, and two-time Olympic medalist. She played college ball at the University of Texas and in 2004 was the youngest member of the Olympic team that earned a gold medal in Athens.

Cat is one of those heroes in women's sports. When you think about how far female athletics have come in the last 20 years, Cat should be in those conversations. Today on the podcast we hear her softball story of how she went from a youth soccer goalie to an olympic softball player. Cat shares her faith journey and how later in life she came back to Jesus, starting at a life changing church service. We dive into how her faith changed her softball career, why she decided to return to the game after a three year retirement, and finally how to be confident and believe in yourself.

#GetCatonDancingWithTheStars

The FAM is sponsored by Unite Health Share Ministries, a Christ based way to do health care. Check them out at UHSM.com

Follow Cat on Instagram and Twitter: @catosterman

Follow her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/catosterman

Follow the FAM: @femaleathletemission

Find us online: www.thefamblog.com

Cheri is the founder of the organization called cornbread hustle, which is a staffing agency for second chances, people who are in jail or overcoming addiction. Her story is an amazing journey marked by redemption. While in high school and really involved in sports, she stepped into a meth addiction that radically changed the course of her life and later alcohol addiction. Through God's power and her willingness to be vulnerable and honest with herself, she is sober and making a huge difference in the world. Her story starts in a place that all of us can relate to. Cheri's story will inspire you and remind you that in each of our messes and the parts of us that might seem the most broken, is also the place that God wants to use you the most.

- Don't struggle in silence.

- You can't fix your own brokenness no matter how hard you try. Only God can do that.

- Nothing goes ahead of your own recovery. You cannot pour from an empty cup.

- Don't take the advice of someone who's shoes you do not want to be in.

The FAM podcast is brought to you by Unite Health Share Ministries. UHSM is the reason that Cheri and I are talking! They are a Christ based way to do health care and they really believe in the mission of holistic health, which is how they connected me with Cheri. Find out more about what they do by visiting their website: www.UHSM.com

"Come Alive Drive Bones" song by Lauren Daigle (https://open.spotify.com/track/725WUW2kYMV93UM3NVt8DI?si=nLuynHUhTR-WnrPDRclodw)

Podcasts: Sarah Jakes Roberts, Jennie Allen

Follow her on instagram: @luminous_Cheri (https://www.instagram.com/luminous_cheri/)

You can also learn more about her organization: https://cornbreadhustle.com

Follow the FAM! @Femaleathletemission

Find us online: www.thefamblog.com

Kero Makramalla has his masters in Athletic Training and is a certified athletic trainer. He is a co-founder of Fast-Twitch Sports Med where he works with athletes of every age and level to get them healthy and recovered after an injury, as well as programs to not only rehab injuries but also to prevent them. Kero is all about the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health of his athletes, which is why I'm SO excited to have him on the podcast today!

Kero starts off by sharing his own testimony of coming to know Jesus in a deep way while on the track team at Vanguard University in California. His collegiate athletic story is riddled with injury and in many ways it was his injuries that led him to a relationship with Jesus. I think his story and processing will really encourage any of you who might be struggling with an injury currently!

Then we go into the different dynamics of female athlete health. Kero breaks down the female athlete triad and why women may have unique challenges in avoiding injury. Kero also breaks down the anatomy of a female athlete and what we can do to prevent injury.

This episode is both encouraging and educational. We hope you find helpful!!

Check out Kero's program:

https://www.fasttwitchsportsmed.com

Follow Kero: @kero.makramalla (https://instagram.com/kero.makramalla?igshid=t33ohbxzkbrl)

Kero wrote a book!!: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Faith-Life-anthology/dp/B089CSW4KH/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=a+little+faith+and+a+little+life&qid=1591331562&sr=8-4

Follow the FAM: @femaleathletemission

Find us online: www.thefamblog.com

Hayley Gonzales is a professional soccer player, youth soccer trainer and athletic brand model! In today's episode Hayley shares her story of transferring three times while playing college soccer, eventually ending at the school that she started at. So much had changed in her own heart and soul over those years in between that even though she returned to her first university, she was a different person in many ways. We talk about confidence and how much that can affect a person, on and off the field. We talk about mindset, now that she is a soccer trainer and working with many young athletes on their mindset, like how to set goals. And we talk about how God doesn't just want to help you through things, but he also wants to redeem things.

In a snap shot, here are a few of the topics listed:

• Her path was not linear
• Transferred 3 times to play college soccer at different places
• God is a redeemer!!!
• Goal setting
• How to get back on track? Goal set!
• She continuously put her mind to certain things and went after it
• How confidence can really mess with you as a player

Follow Hayley!

Twitter: @haysgonza

Instagram: @haysgonza (https://www.instagram.com/haysgonza/)

Website: www.haysgonza.com

Follow the FAM: @femaleathletemission // www.thefamblog.com

The FAM is brought to you by Unite Health Share Ministries. UHSM is Christ-based way to do health care! Check them out at: www.UHSM.com

Kendall Hudson is a team USA weight lifter. She started off as a cheerleader at North Carolina State University, then she transitioned into Crossfit. While competing in Crossfit, she entered into a weight lifting competition to try it out, and the rest is history. Today we talk about the sport of weightlifting and how it has shown the world that femininity can look a lot of different ways. Kendall shares her journey with her own body through the process. We also talk about how her faith has made her to be a really calm athlete.

Thank you Unite Health Share Ministries for sponsoring the FAM and making all of this possible. UHSM is a Christ-based way to do health care. Check them out at UHSM.com

Kendall is loving:

This bible reading plan on the Bible App: https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/17553

Kendall is listening to: Christ Tomlin and Friends: https://open.spotify.com/album/1tk6wHfQdW92NyYa9YKnfP?si=DPkWdk7oRmSAGsnicqHFlg

Follow Kendall on IG: @Kenfit247

Follow the FAM: @femaleathletemission

Find us online: thefamblog.com/subscribe

Today on the Podcast we have Ashtin Larkin. Ashtin is a West Virginia University soccer alumni and now she works as a forensic specialist in the long beach area in California. We talk about what it was like to go far away for college and why she decided to do that! Then we dive into what it was like being a woman of color in a predominately white sport in a white area. We talk about what that was like growing up and then how she experienced race and diversity as a college soccer player as well. Later we contemplate what the word "Justice" even means. This whole conversation is seasoned with faith in Christ and his grace. We hope you find this enlightening and encouraging. At the end of our conversation we dive into the idea of calling, that I think many of us struggle with.

The FAM is sponsored by Unite Health Share Ministries. UHSM is a Christ based way to do health care. Learn more about who they are and what they do by going to their website at UHSM.com.

"Let Your Life Speak" by Parker Palmer: https://www.amazon.com/Let-Your-Life-Speak-Listening/dp/0787947350

Hillsong Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/artist/hillsong-worship/ARxncj3dm9xbvJc