The Mental Matchup

The Mental Matchup

By The Mental MatchupSociety & CultureSportsHealth & FitnessMental HealthPersonal Journals
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The Mental Matchup episodes

  • Episode #205 - Rebecca Smith, MA on Trusting Yourself, Perfectionism, and Changing Youth Sports Culture
    Rebecca Smith, MA, is a recovering perfectionist, former gymnast, coach,
    and parent of athletes. She has spent more than 20 years helping high
    achievers thrive under pressure. In this episode, she shares how mental
    blocks derailed her own gymnastics career, and how that experience shaped
    her mission to help fearful young athletes trust themselves again. Rebecca
    talks about teaching athletes to use their voice, make good choices, and
    advocate for others, and about what it takes to push back on the toxic
    culture that has long existed in youth sports.
    In This Episode, We Talk About:
    * Rebecca's journey as a gymnast and how mental blocks ended her career
    * Living as a "recovering perfectionist"
    * Why an evidence-based approach to mental performance matters
    * Helping fearful athletes rebuild self-trust
    * Empowering athletes to find their voice and stand up to toxic youth
    sports culture
    * Navigating sports as a parent of an athlete
    * Building a positive athletic culture that supports mental health and
    resilience
    Connect with Rebecca on IG here
    Connect with Rebecca on her site here
    Listen to Rebecca on PerformHappy with Rebecca Smith Podcast
    Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message here
    41 min
  • Episode #204 - Angelique Cauterucci — Redefining Beauty, Reclaiming Identity
    In this episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat sits down with Angelique
    Cauterucci — a former competitive gymnast turned collegiate acrobatics and
    tumbling captain — to talk about the pressures athletes face around body
    image, perfectionism, and identity.
    Angelique opens up about her journey through competitive gymnastics, where
    messages about her body eventually contributed to an eating disorder and a
    loss of identity outside of sport. She shares how stepping into a healthier
    team environment helped her rebuild her sense of self — and how that
    experience led her to found You Define Beauty, a nonprofit that has since
    reached over 9,000 students nationwide through school presentations,
    affirmation campaigns, and community events.
    We dig into:
    * The pressure athletes place on themselves to look and perform a
    certain way
    * How body image struggles show up in sport — and often go unspoken
    * Finding identity beyond competition
    * Turning a difficult chapter into purpose and advocacy
    * Why mental health deserves the same attention as physical health
    * The mission behind You Define Beauty and its growth into a national
    movement
    Angelique's message is simple but powerful: setbacks don't define you, and
    every athlete has the power to write their own story.
    Connect with Angelique:
    * Connect with Angelique on IG here
    * Connect with Angelique's non-profit on IG here
    * Learn more about You Define Beauty here
    * Listen to Angelique's Podcast You Define Beauty here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message here
    If this episode resonates with you or someone you know, Morgan's Message
    resources are available — you don't have to navigate this alone.
    39 min
  • Episode #203 - Patrick Devenny on Identity, Eating Disorders and Finding a Way Back
    In this episode, Kat sits down with Patrick Devenny — former football
    player at the University of Colorado Boulder — for a raw conversation about
    what happens when the sport that defines you disappears.
    In this episode:
    * How deeply his identity — and his parents' identities — were wrapped
    up in football
    * Going undrafted to the Seahawks, a career-ending wrist injury, and
    the jarring transition to working as a restaurant host with a cast on
    his hand
    * The unexpected loss of his mother and how it accelerated a downward
    spiral
    * How disordered eating became a way to reclaim control — and how it
    nearly cost him his life
    * The random podcast episode that became his lifeline
    * Why he decided to speak publicly about an issue so stigmatized in
    men's sports
    * His take on disordered eating rates among athletes and why so few
    talk about it
    * A broader conversation on college athletics, coaching turnover, and
    what support for student-athletes should actually look like
    A note on this episode: This conversation includes discussion of eating
    disorders and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling,
    the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline and the 988 Suicide &
    Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) are both available 24/7
    Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message here
    1 hr 1 min
  • Episode #202 - Scott Roussell
    Scott Roussell was a Division I soccer player at UVA until two knee
    surgeries ended his career — and, unknowingly, took his only sense of
    identity with it. Years of quiet unraveling followed, masked by outward
    success, until alcohol became his coping mechanism. It led him for years
    until the moment he finally admitted he couldn't do this alone.
    In this episode, Scott shares his recovery, the questions it raised about
    how athletes are prepared for the game but not for life after it, and how
    that led him to found After We Play, a mental performance platform for
    competitive youth and college athletes.
    Learn more about After We Play here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message here
    42 min
  • Episode #201 - Suzanne Potts, Executive Director of Morgan’s Message
    This week on The Mental Matchup, Kat's joined by Suzanne Potts, the new
    Executive Director of Morgan's Message.
    Suzanne brings a career built at the intersection of sports, mental health,
    and nonprofit leadership. She's a licensed social worker with a master's in
    both social work and public health, a former soccer player and has spent
    nearly a decade in non-profit leadership. She's also taught in the School
    of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin and previously served
    as Executive Director of the Autism Society of Texas.
    In this conversation, we cover how Suzanne got here, what drew her to
    Morgan's Message, and where she sees the organization headed under her
    leadership.
    If you or someone you know is struggling, please know that Morgan's Message
    and resources like it exist for exactly this reason. You don't have to go
    through it alone.
    Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message here
    35 min
  • Episode #200 - Morgan’s Message Co-Founders Reflect on Building Morgan’s Message and Honoring Morgan
    This is episode 200 of The Mental Matchup — and to mark the occasion, we're
    doing something we've never done before: bringing the co-founders of
    Morgan's Message together (well, sort of together) to reflect on how we got
    here.
    In this milestone episode, the co-founders look back on the earliest
    conversations after Morgan's passing, the moment they knew her story needed
    to become something bigger than grief, and how "eliminate the stigma" and
    "treat mental health equally with physical health" became the core of the
    mission. They talk about watching Morgan's Message grow beyond their own
    circle, what they've learned about grief and legacy along the way, what
    they'd do differently if they were starting over, and the people behind the
    scenes who made it all possible.
    If you or someone you know is struggling, please know that Morgan's Message
    and resources like it exist for exactly this reason. You don't have to go
    through it alone.
    Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message here
    37 min
  • Episode #199 - Morgan Maxwell DiPrimo on Building a Movement Against Eating Disorders
    Morgan Maxwell DiPrimo is the Founder & CEO of ALIGN33 Media, Inc., a
    national organization using documentary storytelling, public health
    education, and policy work to change how eating disorders are understood
    and treated in the U.S. A former NYC film and television professional (Pace
    University-trained), Morgan draws on her own experience with disordered
    eating and more than 300 global interviews to build ALIGN33 into a lasting
    platform — not a single project, but a movement.
    In this episode:
    * Morgan's path into media
    * Her personal story with disordered eating
    * What sparked ALIGN33 and her vision for national, systemic change
    Links:
    Morgan's Substack here
    Connect with Morgan on IG here
    Connect with Morgan on LinkedIn here
    Connect with ALIGN33 Media here
    Note: This episode discusses disordered eating. If you're struggling, the
    National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline can help: 1-866-662-1235.
    30 min
  • Episode #198 - Julian Bell: Your Story is Someone Else’s Survival Guide
    "Your story is someone else's survival guide." That's the phrase Julian
    Bell holds onto — because Morgan's story was hers.
    Julian's injury story starts in 7th grade, with pain she still manages
    today at 22. In this raw, unfiltered conversation, Julian opens up about
    developing an eating disorder tied to that injury, the moment medical
    retirement entered the conversation, her healing journey, and the road back
    to rebuilding a relationship with her body, her sport, and herself.
    Through it all, Morgan's story was Julian's throughline. Now, Julian is
    ready to be that for someone else.
    In this episode:
    * Living with a chronic injury since 7th grade
    * Developing an eating disorder tied to injury and identity loss
    * Medical retirement and recovery
    * How Morgan's story became Julian's survival guide
    * Julian's vision for advocacy moving forward
    Content warning: this episode discusses disordered eating and suicidal
    ideation. If this episode brings up anything difficult: 988 Suicide &
    Crisis Lifeline (call/text 988). You are not alone.
    Connect with Julian on IG here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message here
    0 min
  • Episode #197 - Charles Wittman, Author of The Internal Game Plan
    Before he became a mental wellness advocate, Charles Wittman was an
    All-American basketball player — four years at Queens University of
    Charlotte, followed by a pro career in Brazil. But behind the accolades was
    a private battle with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation that
    spanned his high school, college, and post-playing years.
    In this episode, Charles opens up about what it actually looked like to
    compete at an elite level while struggling internally — and how those
    experiences led him to write The Internal Game Plan, a guide that applies
    the discipline and principles of sports to everyday emotional, physical,
    and mental health.
    We talk about:
    * What it was like carrying mental health struggles through his career
    * The moment Charles decided to turn his lived experience into a
    framework for others
    * How "The Internal Game Plan" helps people build clarity, resilience,
    and self-awareness through consistent habits — not quick fixes
    * Why Charles sees himself as an impactor, not an influencer
    * Practical tools listeners can start using today to navigate their own
    challenges
    Charles is a father, entrepreneur, and speaker based in Los Angeles,
    working with athletes, students, and professionals to help them build
    systems for real, sustainable growth.
    Connect with Charles on IG here
    You can find The Internal Game Plan here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message here
    0 min
  • Episode #196 - Jacqueline Friedland
    This week, we're joined by Jacqueline Friedland, author of the brand-new
    novel Breathing Under Water — that was released August 4!
    Jackie's path wasn't a straight line: from Penn, to law school, to
    practicing lawyer, to published author. We talk about that pivot — the best
    parts and the hardest parts — before diving into her book, which follows
    two women whose paths intersect through deeply relatable (if very
    different) life experiences.
    We also cover what inspired the story, including the financial pressures
    faced by McKenna, a competitive swimmer, and get personal about Jackie's
    author's note on her mom's decades of work with children on the autism
    spectrum — and how that's shaped the way Jackie sees the world and raises
    her own kids.
    About the book: Breathing Under Water released August 4 and is available at
    https://www.jacquelinefriedland.com/books/breathing-under-water or wherever
    books are sold.
    Connect with Jackie on IG here
    Connect with Jackie online here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here
    Connect with Morgan’s Message here
    0 min

About The Mental Matchup

From the publisher's feed

Presented by Morgan’s Message, The Mental Matchup is a podcast focused on opening up dialogue about athlete mental health. Co-hosts Kat Zempolich and Schuyler DeBree are both former division one…

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