The SHIFT Podcast

Hakeem Valles shares his powerful story of the moment that shifted and changed his perspective for the rest of his life. His willingness to take risks, put in the work, and maximize moments that have created more opportunities as he continues to move forward as an athlete and in his businesses.

Risk is something that we all need to take in order to grow and succeed in sport and life. Hakeem shares, "yeah I think it takes time, patience, and the elimination of the fear of judgment. I think a lot of people fear judgment too heavily to ultimately go towards whatever their true calling is or what their true north is because they are scared to be called corny or called different or called weird. Like when I was in middle school, I used to go at 6 am to meet with a substitute teacher to do magic tricks because I wanted to be the next David Blaine, and my teammates all thought I was weird for that but I didn’t care!"

Overcoming Fear: We talked about fear and how fear holds you back from taking risks. Valles' advice to practice overcoming fear, he said, "This is going to be the wildest piece of advice, go to a mall and lay on the floor for 90 seconds, get up and walk away." It will help you practice overcoming fear so that in the moments when something of value is on the line, you are prepared!  

You don't want to miss this one, enjoy!

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For Austin Da Luz, soccer was in his blood! He grew up on the soccer fields at Wake Unversity with dad coaching the women's program. After a successful university career and a national championship, Da Luz was drafted in the first round of Major League Soccer by NY Red Bulls in 2010. 

After a few years in the MLS, Austin signed with the then Carolina Railhawks in 2012.  Other than playing one year in Orlando, Da Luz made Raleigh home and played for 7 years for the Railhawks and rebrand North Carolina FC.

Austin sharing a bit about himself, "I’ve always sort of bucked against the idea that all I am is a soccer player. That idea is always in the back of our heads as athletes but my personality and the way I’ve tried to make this transition [to life after sport] easier over the past several years to buck against that idea and to do things away from soccer to give myself the confidence that i would be ok when it ended." 

After retiring, the struggle was real when interviewing and talking to potential employers: "I found that when people are looking to hire they really value the skills that athletes bring, they really value the non-traditional experience you know, but when it came down to it [I was told] 'you don’t have enough tradition experience for us to give you a chance.'" 

Hear the authentic and real ups and downs that Austin experienced as he navigated retirement, the job market, and the joys of the birth of his son; all in the midst of COVID, quarantine, shutdowns, and all that 2020 has brought us. 

Enjoy the show!

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In this episode of the SHIFT podcast, we connect with Steve Ralston, legendary MLS player and original MLS draft pick in 1996 to the Tampa Bay Mutiny. Steve's journey to the professional ranks was anything but normal. He never started on his high school team, wasn't the best player on his club team, and attended a local community college in St. Louis his first year of college. Steve then transferred to Florida International U, where he says the coach never actually saw him play - crazy! Steve went onto lead the nation in scoring his junior year, and shares about the surreal experience of going from having a poster of Carlos Valderrama in his dorm room to sitting next to him in the locker room!

Through the ups and downs of his successful pro career, Steve dives into what he believes gave him the greatest success, his character, consistency, and grit! You will also hear some good stories from Wells and Steve during their playing days together with the New England Revolution. 

After Steve's playing career ended, he moved into coaching with the Houston Dynamo and San Jose Earthquakes with former teammate Dominic Kinnear and recently moved cross country with his family to Philidelphia in another significant transition. Enjoy the show!

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Raymond Harrison grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and when he started playing football, the moments he loved were when "you hit someone's head off!" Competing against his older brother, Rodney, pushed Raymond to love the game and pursue the opportunity to compete at the University of Cincinnati. After an up and down career and multiple coaching changes, Raymond made the transition to life after football and began competing in a new arena -- the athletic department where he began building into athletes. 

When reflecting on growing up, where he came from, and what has shaped him:

 "Hey man, I’m a young black dude growing up in Chicago. I wasn’t supposed to be where I am, I wasn't supposed to be. I wasn’t a very good football player I mean I can hit somebody. I got a chance to go get a degree from a place I ended up getting 2 degrees from. A place my boys lived a life totally different than the life I lived.  Yes, this is my job, man, I haven’t worked a day in 22 years. I serve. I get a chance to live out ministry .. serving people!"

Raymond currently is an Associate Athletic Director at NC State, Go Wolfpack! With previous stops at the University of Louisville, University of South Carolina, and Texas A&M. Raymond's heart to invest in the lives of athletes and assist them in the process of seeing themselves as more than an athlete inspires his work and focus. The athletes' value and significance goes far beyond what they do in athletic competition! 

Hear Raymond's story and an amazing "small world" moment with co-host Jonathan, even though they met each other for the first time on the show! Enjoy!

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Jesse Anthony grew up grinding through the mud, gravel, and obstacles competing in cyclocross; shorter courses consisting of pavement, hills, gravel, and grass. Cyclocross forces riders to quickly get off their bikes to overcome obstacles and jump back on and keep riding. Jesse eventually made the full transition to professional road cycling in 2008. He retired in 2018 after a successful 13-year career! Shortly after retiring, he was approached by USA Cycling to become the manager for USA Cycling's cyclocross program. 

Anthony now coaches, builds into, and helps develop riders for USA Cycling Cyclocross. Jesse shares his incredible story, including overcoming an almost 18-month hiatus due to injuries and mono, and the breaking point that allowed him to fully commit, take the risks necessary, and race with freedom. 

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This episode focuses on the power of our choices and controlling what you can control! Decisions at the end of the day are something that we all have control over. Matt Pickens opens up and shares about the ups and downs of the decisions he’s made throughout his amazing 16-year pro career. 

From deciding to attend a community college his first year to being selected in the first round of the MLS draft in 2004 and even a brief stint in Europe. Eventually, Pickens finishing his career in the USL Championship with Nashville SC by winning the Golden Glove award in 2019!   Pickens transitioned shortly after retiring at the end of the 2019 season into coaching full time and currently serves as the goalkeeping coach for MLS's Nashville SC. 

Matt invites us into his world and the transition he’s made from playing to coaching, how it SHIFTed his mindset as an athlete from focusing on self to being more focused on others, and how that change has impacted his life, his family, and those he’s coaching! 

Enjoy the show!

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Part 2 of our time with Quincy Amarikwa, co-founder of Black Players for Change and Mental Strength League. 

Key Quotes:

"The amplification and elevation of the voice only come from others and can only happen as a result from the individual within the system. What do you choose to do, how do you choose to act or behave moving forward - which voices do you choose to elevate and amplify? Are you willing to amplify and elevate voices that are different from your own? That is a question that everyone has to answer themselves."

Ask about taking risks and overcoming challenges for continued growth and maturation, Quincy emphasized, "Your why has to be big enough!" Your driving force, passion has to be bigger than the risk and challenge you are overcoming or working to accomplish!

Enjoy the part 2 of our conversation with Quincy Amarikwa and make sure to check him out at quincyamarikwa.com 

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On the field, off the field - Quincy Amarikwa brings nothing but the best! Quincy was born the eldest and only son of four to father Charles Amarikwa from Owerri, Nigerian and mother Veronica Amarikwa from Superior, Montana. He is one of the Black Players for Change Co-Founders as well as a mental strength coach, entrepreneur, and investor competing in his 12th year as a professional soccer player. Insightful, thoughtful, introspective, authentic, and honest are words that describe the show and our conversation!

One of the highlights, there are plenty, when he and Wells talked about an athletes' greatest strengths becoming their greatest weakness. Quincy shared, 

"I talk to a lot of the guys over time saying your greatest strength will inevitably become your greatest weakness because you'll ignore or you'll stop the work that made it your greatest strength. The world as you see it will start to become what you envision it to be and you may lose sight of the little things you did over a long period of time that got you there in the first place."

Enjoy the show!

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Omar Cummings was a special player, and is a special man. He's always smiling, has a positive outlook on life, and leaves you feeling better about yourself and the world around you. On the pitch, he was a true competitor! He played professionally for 11 years, winning an MLS Cup with co-host Wells Thompson and was 'capped' 35 times, scoring 7 goals, for the Jamaican National Team. 

Join us as Omar takes us back to where it all started, his beloved homeland of Jamaica, and gives us an inside look into his youth, relationship with his brother and extended family, and the journey he took to becoming the player he was and the man he is today! 

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Kelly played professional soccer in the NWSL for the Sky Blue FC and Houston Dash, played in Sweden, and played collegiately for Virginia Tech from 2009-2013. She discusses the concussion issues she faced, having to sit out 2 years at Virginia Tech because of them, not being able to play in the Final Four, and her year with Coaches Across Continents to teach soccer to disadvantaged kids. She's bright, energetic, and bold; chasing her dreams, achieving them after a three-year hiatus from the game. Her story will inspire you to chase your own dreams, and not to give up on them, regardless of the circumstances. Enjoy!

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