The Unpaved Path

My guest today is a former Captain of Boston University's Men's Track & Field, who is now living his best life in Colorado and finding what he loves outside of athletics. He's also one of my favorite people on this planet, who I met on the first day of our summer internship. He holds a special place in my heart, and I hope one day everyone gets a chance to meet him (or someone like him)!

We cover so much ground in this episode. We talk about how he dealt with injury both mentally and physically in high school, how athlete identity can impact you negatively, what it was like transferring to another college just two miles down the road, and how it feels being an LGBTQ+ athlete and the challenges it can pose.

This was such an awesome episode to do. I learned so much about someone I've known for a long time, and I know the people that hear his story will feel similarly. If you want to follow along on Johnny's journey, he can be found on Instagram @johnnykemps.

My guest today started her college career as a track athlete at Simon Fraser University, but after she made a bet with a football player at a party, that changed. She's now the first woman from Canada to earn a football scholarship in the NCAA, and shortly after this episode, she scored her first field goal.

In this episode, we talk about her first days on the football team, how her mindset has changed as a kicker over the past couple of years, and how she did her best to stay mentally ready during her first football game. She also shares some hilarious stories that definitely help you get a picture of what she goes through as the only woman on her football team.

This episode is definitely worth a listen! If you want to follow along on Kristie's journey, she can be found on Instagram at @kristie.elliott

My guest today is a current member of the McDaniel College Women’s Lacrosse team. She’s super passionate about elevating the stories of women in sports and is doing so much to help develop women’s sports coverage whether through More Than Just Balls, AU Pro Sports, or The Hidden Opponent.

In this episode, we talk about her journey through sports, being sidelined due to injury, her passion for showcasing women breaking glass ceilings, how she began to recover from her eating disorder, and what she hopes to accomplish in the future.

I don’t even know where she finds the time to do all that she does, but she was an amazing guest and has the potential to do so many great things. If you want to follow along on Kaylen’s journey, she can be found on Instagram at @kaylenb_13.

If you look up the definition of a sports enthusiast, you would find a picture of my guest today. She’s grown up playing, watching, and supporting sports of all kinds. When we filmed this, she was working as the Social Media Manager for The GIST, but she’s recently gotten a new opportunity working as a Social Media Lead for NBA Top Shot at Dapper Labs.

In this episode, we talk about how she found her love for sports, how she feels looking back on her first viral video, first interview, and first posts as a social media manager, and we get her thoughts on the growth of women working in the sports industry.

There’s a ton of good knowledge for anyone who is looking to get their start working in sports. If you want to follow along on Carrie’s journey, she can be found on Instagram @coehmer!

My guest today is a former Duke Women’s soccer player and currently playing for North Carolina Courage in the NWSL. She also hosts her own podcast called The Mental Matchup and has been super open and honest about her mental health journey.

We cover so much in this episode from her recruiting process with Duke to playing professional soccer in Prague to how she’s navigating her new journey post-college and finding what she’s passionate about.

She’s so humble and relatable, so I’m excited for you to get the chance to hear her story. If you want to follow along on Schuyler’s journey, she can be found on Instagram at @schuylerdebree :)

If you’re looking to hear a real Boston accent, my guest today is your guy! He’s a former college baseball and ice hockey player from Massachusetts and has a famous dad that many of you know as the captain of the 1980 Olympic ice hockey team aka Mike Eruzione.

I loved this episode today because it talks about some big parts of sports that aren’t usually discussed like athletes feeling pressure from parents to excel, dealing and pushing through injuries, and how men deal with mental health issues.

Paul brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and reflection through his journey with sports and beyond. Whether you’re a parent, athlete, or someone experiencing a mental health battle, I think everyone can take away something from this episode.

If you want to follow along on Paul’s journey, he can be found on Instagram at @p_eruzione.

My guest today is a former Harvard track star, host of the podcast Aesthetics and Athletics (@aesthetics__athletics), and is currently working for Outdoor Voices as a brand marketer.

In this episode with Ngozi, we talk about moving across the country in the middle of high school, how she got recruited to run track at Harvard, and adjusting to life in college. She details how she grew throughout each year and what she learned to better herself as an athlete and person as well as how she is finding her way through her new life without competitive sports.

If you want to follow along on her journey, she can be found on Instagram @NgoziMusa!

In this episode, Ryan Straschnitzki takes us through his journey with ice hockey from the very beginning of his career to his dream of becoming a Paralympian for Team Canada's Sledge Hockey team. For those of you who don't know Ryan, he is a former Humboldt Broncos defenseman and one of the 13 surviving members of the Humboldt Bus Crash that happened in April 2018.

His journey and his attitude are incredible, and I'm super grateful he took the time to come on the podcast. If you want to follow along on his journey, he can be found on Instagram at @rstraz_.

Hi everyone! We're super excited to bring back The Unpaved Path for Season 3. We decided to change the direction of the podcast slightly. Instead of only female athletes, we will be including male athletes, people working in the sports industry, and sports supporters.

We believe that you can learn something from everyone you meet and wanted to share even more amazing stories.

So buckle up because this season is looking to be one of the best ones yet featuring NWSL player and mental health advocate (Schuyler Debree), former Humboldt Broncos defenseman (Ryan Straschnitzki), Harvard track star (Ngozi Musa), and many more!

Can't wait to share their stories with you all 🙂

If you like this series, we would love for you to leave a review and share it with your friends and family! See you next Wednesday!

My guest today plays hockey in one of the most tropical places you could imagine! She is the current Captain of Team Philippines Women’s Ice Hockey Team and is 1 of about 250 people who play hockey in the Philippines. It was so awesome finally getting to meet her virtually; hopefully, it can be in person soon!

If you want to follow along on her journey, Danielle can be found on Instagram @danielllei!