Latest / The Standard / Engineering Excellence On and Off the Court | Ep 29 ft. Maya Dodson

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Engineering Excellence On and Off the Court | Ep 29 ft. Maya Dodson · The Standard

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Alrighty.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Standard Podcast team.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: We're here to raise the bar, rebuild the culture, and call out the lies or misconception that nobody else will.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't motivation, this is a movement.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Thomas Rowe, joined by my host, Aaron Charles, and today we're super stoked.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: We're sitting down with Maya Dotson, a professional basketball player, Stanford graduate, Notre Dame master's degree holder, and one of the most unique voices in women's basketball.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Maya didn't just play D1 basketball at two powerhouse programs.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: She created her own major at Stanford in engineering and ethics, earned her master's in management from Notre Dame's prestigious Mendoza Business School, was drafted 26th overall in the 2022 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury, and now is exploring the intersection of engineering, sports performance, and professional athletics.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: From McDonald's All-American to Pac-12 champion to second team all ACC to the WNBA, Maya's journey is about more than basketball.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's about building identity beyond the court, pursuing multiple passions simultaneously, and refusing to be defined by one thing.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: We're diving into the truth behind what it really takes to build identity, discipline, and legacy in sports and in life.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into it.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Maya, we're stoked to have you here.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for joining us.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: We really appreciate it.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_04: Thanks for having me.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into it.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: You're a professional basketball player, but you also created your own major at Stanford, Engineering and Ethics, and earned an MBA at Notre Dame's Mendoza Business School.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: What does raising the standard mean to you, especially as someone who refuses to be defined by just one thing?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think raising the standard is like just what you said is like being more than just one-dimensional, being multidimensional, and being able to raise the standard means you have to look at things in a different way, maybe combine things that might be outside of what people usually think you should be doing.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_04: Like as an athlete, for me, that was design of my own nature, like in engineering, writing now that I'm a professional athlete, doing things that are not just in the usual routine or in staying in the box, but like trying to find things that are different and be unique.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Love it, love it.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty awesome.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know, as fans, uh as athletes as athletic fans, we only see kind of like the highlights.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: We don't really get to see how they pull back the curtain for what athletes really truly go through.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: What's the biggest lie you feel the culture of the sports industry has sold you as a student athlete about identity success and what what happens when basketball is over?
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_04: I think the biggest thing that I guess lie would be that your basketball success will be deterred from having other interests.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_04: I think from high school, even younger, you had this idea of that like ball is life, grind mentality.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_04: If you're not sacrificing everything you have for your goal to be a elite athlete, then you're not gonna get there.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_04: Now, of course, you need to work hard and be dedicated in order to reach your goals, and that's what I had to do.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_04: But looking back, especially in college and high school, only thinking about basketball, it set me up for failure because then I'm not thinking about my identity outside of basketball.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_04: And now as a pro athlete, I'm starting to think about these things like, hey, like, who am I after?
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_04: Who am I outside of basketball?
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_04: And sometimes it's a little scary because I've never really had to think about that.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_04: Of course, in school, I designed my own engineering major.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_04: I did my own things academically, but that's still different compared to just sitting there and trying to find identity without basketball.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_04: So I think that's the biggest lie about having to stick with basketball or with your sport.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_04: And now that I'm trying to be more well-rounded, find things I like outside of basketball, I become a better basketball player because I'm not just tying my identity to what I'm my performance is for that practice or that day or that game.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm able to have more balance and do other things that I enjoy and maybe flourish in other ways, or maybe not flourish in other ways, but being okay with not always being on the top level of basketball and do other things that are enjoyable in my life.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right on.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's truth right there.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And you transferred from Stanford to Notre Dame for your graduate season.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: What truth did that move teach you about doing what's best for you, even when it's not the expected path?
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, well, that's a great question.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_04: And for a little backstory, I transferred during the COVID year.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_04: So we had the option to opt out that year because it was COVID.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_04: So I opted out.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_04: I stayed home for that year, just doing online classes.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_04: Like most of the students, they didn't go back to campus, but all my athletic friends did.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_04: So it was very isolating trying to do that and making the big decision to transfer because actually that year they won the championship.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_04: So when they won, I knew I made the right decision for myself because I felt like going back, I wouldn't have been playing professionally because I had a foot injury that wasn't fully recovered.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_04: And I only realized that when I went to Notre Dame and they got me back on track.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_04: So it really, I had to really trust myself and opting out, which was unheard of because we never had a pandemic where you could opt out a year.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_04: And there was a lot of doubt of, hey, like I haven't played for a full year, my stats weren't the greatest at Stanford because I was injured my last two years.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_04: Like, is this dream of me making it or getting drafted to WMBA still attainable?
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_04: Can I still be a professional?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_04: And I had to lean on believing in myself.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_04: And even though other things like winning a championship, I didn't get, I ended up going to Notre Dame, had the greatest year, not only athletically, but academically in the community.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_04: And it really helped me with my WMBA prospects, but also just as a person.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_04: And now I'm playing professionally, and I can say if I didn't make that move to Notre Dame, I wouldn't be where I am today as a professional athlete, but also as a person.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_04: So it would, that's a great question you asked, actually.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, that's that's incredible to forego that from one great university to another.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, on the heels of that, we're gonna get into segment two, identity and legacy, and Aaron's gonna take it away.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Go for it, Aaron.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, it's my turn now.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_02: I uh I want to know really who is Maya beyond all the accolades that Thomas has listed out, you know, being a McDonald's All-America, playing at Stanford, playing at Notre Dame, all the incredible things that you've done.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: Who are you beyond the basketball court?
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, well, I would first say that I'm an old soul.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_04: I've had how many nicknames from basketball?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_04: Grandma, auntie, mother, like just anything.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I'm an old soul.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm very much just uh I don't, I guess one thing would be I love oatmeal, so that just goes with I'm a little, I mean, you don't have to be old to like oatmeal, but like I think it goes with the the idea of I'm an old soul.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_04: I'm definitely a sweetheart.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_04: I try to be positive wherever I go.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_04: And what else would I say?
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_04: I'm very, I can be very introverted.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_04: I like to analyze, and that's probably why I decided to do engineering.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_04: And and now I I I love writing, I love poetry.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_04: So I think it helps with keeping my mind stimulated in a different way than than basketball.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_04: And I actually was named after Maya Angelou.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_04: So maybe that's why I decided to have this path of of writing and poetry and and things like that.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_04: I love to read books, so I love to just sit after at night before go to bed, have a candle, read my book.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_04: So I I feel like it's just a lot of I'm an old soul would be would be the number one thing.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_02: She's lived many lives, you guys.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's so important.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: So obviously, your wisdom, you have are wise beyond your years.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_02: You designed your own major at Stanford, engineering and ethics.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_02: What's that's not something most student athletes even think about?
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: Most are probably just there to play the sport, maybe get a degree.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: What drove you to create that and why was it important for you to pursue engineering while playing Division I basketball?
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so I guess to go back to when I was younger.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_04: I started playing basketball when I was when I was six.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_04: It was basketball and soccer, and I didn't like being outside.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_04: And the snack choice was orange slices, and I hated that.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_04: And I was a really big snack girl league back in the day, still am now.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_04: So when my dad asked if I wanted to do basketball or soccer, moving on, I stuck with basketball.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_04: But I say that all to say my parents put me in sports and they let me pick my path.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_04: But the most important thing was my education.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_04: So I knew that no matter where I went with basketball, education was number one.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_04: So when I got to high school, I actually got asked to go to a STEM, I think it was a STEM camp or engineering camp at Georgia Tech.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm from New York, but I moved to Georgia in eighth grade.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_04: So it was right down the street from my house.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_04: And having that experience of we were trying to make these like Sea Rover things, and it was the hardest thing I ever did.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_04: And when we put it in the pool, it like went to the bottom.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_04: But like, I think one worked, the other one didn't.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_04: But like it was such a cool experience trying to like put the wires together, and for some reason, they had me be the leader of it, even though I had no clue what I was doing, but I guess they thought I knew more than them.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_04: So from that experience, I said, you know, I like building things, maybe I'll do engineering.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_04: So fast forward to going to Stanford, I knew that I wanted to do engineering.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_04: I was thinking around mechanical engineering, but I started to think, okay, stand first on the quarter system, the last quarter, and super late.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_04: And it would be during when the training camp for WMBA would be.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_04: Because in my mind, okay, my goal was to get drafted to the WMBA.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_04: That means I need to finish my engineering degree a quarter early.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_04: And that's where the dilemma was, okay, like how do I do that?
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_04: I wanted to do mechanical engineering, but it seemed like it wasn't gonna work.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_04: But the good thing is during my official visit at Stanford, I was able to meet the Dean of Engineering, who then became the provost and had that connection with her, was talking to her, and she said, you know, I'll get you in contact with someone in the engineering department.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_04: And that's when I learned about the individually deciding my own engineering major.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_04: And thankfully, I heard of that.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_04: It took more work on the front end, but me taking the initiative and trying to do something unique helped me finish a quarter early and get drafted.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_04: Of course, I ended up going to Notre Dame, but finishing a quarter early helped me have time to go to summer training for Notre Dame, and the rest is history.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_02: I think it also just highlights the importance of building relationships and networking because you never know what's going to open that door for you.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_02: So you went to Notre Dame, you earned your master's in management management from Mendoza Business School, which is one of the top business schools in the country.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: What does legacy beyond basketball mean to you, especially as someone actively building skills and expertise outside of the sport?
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think just legacy means to me how people feel about you.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_04: Like if someone's asking, like, okay, we're not talking about my points or my production.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_04: As a person who was Maya as a basketball player, and if they can say that she was someone that we loved being around and was a positive addition to the team, a positive person all around, that's gonna stay longer because people's positive feelings are gonna last compared to them remembering your stats or if you won this championship or that championship.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_04: So I would say legacy is means to me just feeling like what do people feel about you?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_04: How do you make people feel?
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that's very important.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that's true truly the legacy is your impact, is like how people feel long after being in your presence.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_02: What is one truth you wish every young female athlete understood about building identity, pursuing education seriously, and preparing for either what you did going to the WNBA or life beyond the game?
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_04: I think the biggest thing, especially as a female athlete, and I will stick with basketball just because I know basketball, but it it translates to any sport, is that your education matters a lot.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_04: Compared to if I was a guy, I could go to the MBA, be a one and done, make millions, and maybe you don't have to think about your education as much or getting a job afterwards if you play long enough and you're you're smart with your money.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_04: But on the women's side, we're trying to work to get more money on the women's side.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_04: We're seeing it getting better, especially the WNBA.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_04: And that's why right now the CBA, they're fighting for to set up the next generation and current players to get the money they deserve.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_04: But I think education is super important, no matter how good you are in your sport, have that education as a backup because we don't make the millions of dollars right now.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_04: Most won't.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_04: Even the top performers in the WNBA and WSL were just seeing maybe hitting the million dollar mark.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_04: So really take your education seriously.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_04: You can do both.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_04: You can take your education seriously and play basketball.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_04: And that opens up your opportunities even more of what you can do.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_04: Basketball does take you to be a professional, that's great.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_04: You still have your education to fall back on.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_04: If maybe you don't make it pro, but basketball can get you a four-year scholarship so you don't have to come out of school in debt, and then you can start your job debt-free, that's that's awesome as well.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_04: So I think education is very important for female athletes, no matter what level you get to.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I think you hit on something that I just want to really reinforce to our audience is if you get a scholarship and you're getting your school paid for it, you're getting paid to play.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_02: And it's so invaluable.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, don't take that for granted because it's setting you up for success.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that's so important.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: I'm going to turn it back over to Thomas.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome, Maya.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to get into segment three.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Advice across stages.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: So let's take it back to yesteryear.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: You're a parade, or you're a McDonald's All-American.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: How did you choose Stanford to go on to play college and pursue your education?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you had plenty of offers.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: So how did you choose Stanford?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I ended up narrowing down my top three schools were Stanford, Notre Dame, and Tennessee.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_04: So it's it's it's funny how I was able to go to my top two schools.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_04: But I actually was having a hard time during official visit season.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_04: I this was, I think, October of my senior year or so.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_04: So I declared a little bit or committed a little bit later than than usual, but it was on the right timeline for me.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_04: And I remember going to both schools, loving it because the education was number one for me.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_04: So at Notre Dame and at Stanford, I knew that I'd have a top education.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_04: And then basketball-wise, they were they're great programs as well.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_04: But what really sold me, I'd say, is going back to education and community.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_04: At Stanford, I had the opportunity to walk the engineering quad with some young women that are part of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_04: And that's the sorority that I'm currently in.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_04: I pledged when I was at Stanford.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_04: My mom is in it as well.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm a legacy.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_04: So it was really important for me to become an AKA, but also seeing them as AKAs and being engineers or pursuing their engineering education, having that representation, it made me realize: hey, like I can do this here because I see them doing it here.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_04: Maybe it might be a little bit more difficult because I have my basketball, basketball things I need to do, but there's still people here doing what I want to do.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_04: And that's kind of what tipped me to Stanford at the last minute because I was going back and forth with Stanford and Notre Dame.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Gotcha.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: Very cool.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then you made the decision to transfer to Notre Dame for your graduate season.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'm guessing this was way before NL NIL.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: So you made the choice to transfer because of education, not for the motivation of money or this prestige behind NIL.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: That move, that's not a move every athlete takes.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: What advice would you give athletes who are considering transferring or making a big change?
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_04: I think the biggest thing would be to know why you're doing it or your priorities.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_04: And like you said, NIL wasn't a thing.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_04: NIL just started to be kind of a thing when I transferred to Notre Dame, but there wasn't the amount of money that there is now.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_04: But I think the biggest thing for me when I transferred was thinking about okay, like I got my engineering degree.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_04: What else is important?
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_04: And when I started talking to other to the schools, I think it's important when you transfer to talk to different schools, even schools that you might think you you might not want to go to, because it'll give you a perspective of what's out there.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, you never know.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_04: Once again, connections is important.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_04: So talk to the schools that maybe you're like, oh, I'm on the fence, or you don't know, or they might have a coach that has a lot of connections.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_04: Make sure you do that.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_04: But I think for me, moving to Notre Dame, it was still education first.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_04: I I thought I was over the going to a top-notch school, but I realized for me, I'm a person who needs to be stimulated intellectually.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_04: So going to just a school just to play basketball was never something that worked for me.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_04: So going to Notre Dame, I knew that I needed to be at a school that academically I enjoyed, I enjoyed the major.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_04: And I felt like going to get a degree in management was something that would fulfill me along with the basketball aspects of it.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_04: And I knew that going to Notre Dame, their top program, I'd be able to develop.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_04: And with my injury history, I knew that it would be a good place for me to rehab once I realized I had to rehab again, but also be able to just fit well in with the team.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_04: So do your research.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_04: Don't have it just be because you want more money, because the money is not going to sustain you when you're when you're going through a tough patch in basketball or you are not enjoying just being in the school.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_04: And the good thing is I had my official visit at Notre Dame already when I was in high school.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_04: So I knew the feel of the campus.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_04: So that's important to kind of get the feel of everything before you transfer.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: Two out of three.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Maya, maybe we could kind of just sniff around to see if you got one more year of eligibility and get you to Tennessee for one year for a trifecta.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_04: But uh Yeah, we tried.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_04: We tried in Notre Dame to get me an extra year because of my injury history.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_04: Unfortunately, we tried everything and it wouldn't work.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_04: But if somewhere, I don't know, under the rug, there's one more year of eligibility, I'd love to try it out in Tennessee and you know, get my top three schools just to say that did it.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean nothing's impossible, right?
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so now you're a professional athlete, you're a professional basketball player.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: Take us to draft day.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: Are you nervous?
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: Are you excited?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: Take us through your experience on draft day.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_04: I was definitely nervous because I remember one thing that I learned a valuable lesson.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_04: Our last game, I think we, the Sweet 16, we lost like towards the end of the game to go to the lead eight.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_04: But I remember putting a lot of pressure on myself to perform well, to try to beat out other players during March Madness.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_04: And in that game specifically, that actually didn't help me.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_04: And I think I played worse than if I just focused on what I did well throughout the season.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_04: So going into draft night, I was a little bit nervous because I was rejected second round, maybe late second round, but you just never know.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_04: And I felt like I didn't really show what I To do at least that last game.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_04: And also, I wanted another year to like show people even more what I can do.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_04: But things happen.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_04: So draft night, I actually had draft night at Notre Dame in our locker room.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_04: My mom was there.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_04: All my teammates, we had a little draft party and we watched the the draft night.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_04: So it was crazy when I heard my name being called because I was picked number 26, and that's the third round, and there's only three rounds.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_04: So you can start to get kind of nervous when you get kind of lower, lower into the into the available spots.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_04: But it was a great experience.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_04: It showed that even though what I pictured my college career to be didn't happen, I still ended up where I wanted to be.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_04: And that was a great thing.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: Right on.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: And what's the one thing you're trying to make sure young athletes understand about building a career and life beyond basketball?
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_03: I think the biggest thing is your character.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_04: Because, like I said before, your performance, you might not be doing well on one team or the other, or you might just be coming stepping up from high school to college when maybe you're not performing well yet because you need time to work on your development.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_04: But if your person that has a bad character is toxic in the locker room, people talk, people talk, especially professionally, about I I've heard from other team teams, players, about players they have and their character.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_04: And then when your your performance isn't doing well and you're bad, you have a bad character, it's not going to help you.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_04: But you can have a longer career if you make sure you have a great character because sometimes your performance is not going to be always the top.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_04: Sometimes you have low, low seasons or low games.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_04: So make sure that you have good character because everyone wants to have someone that is good in the locker room.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_04: So it'll carry you a lot far farther in your career.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: I love that you said that.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's one of the things that, you know, when we are working with young athletes and we tell them, you know, Sally or Johnny, we just got a call from XYZ University, and they were asking about you, and they're like, oh, cool, coaches.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: You send me sending my highlight reel.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, no, they're asking about your character.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: They're asking if you're coachable.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: They're asking, do you show up on time?
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: What is it?
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: What do you like in the locker room?
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: What do you like in the classroom?
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what is on a Zoom call with their parents, what do you like with the parents?
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: How do you respond with their parents?
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: Their faces go blank because so many athletes rely on their athleticism.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, that we've you and I, as well as Aaron, and so we've seen so many athletes that have so much talent, but they're just uncoachable.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just really too bad.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's too bad.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so we're gonna turn it over.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Segment four, back to Aaron.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's the rapid fire round.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron, take it away.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, I'll take it away.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna start a sentence and I'm just gonna have you finish my sentence, Maya.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_02: So discipline equals discipline.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_04: I always these are always hard for me because I end up overanalyzing everything.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_04: But discipline equals, I'd say being persistent.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_04: Can I like explain it or can or no, no, I love that.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: Persistent, kids, you gotta be don't give up, be persistent.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_04: I think like for me, there's two, there's the discipline aspect and then motivation.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_04: And people think, of course, you have to be motivated to reach your goals, but there's times when you're not gonna have the motivation to get up to do your extra recovery, to take the extra shots, to go hard and practice.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_04: And that's when you need to lean on your discipline.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_04: And for me, right now as a professional athlete, my season's eight months, that's a long time.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_04: And right now we're about a little bit over halfway.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_04: So this is the time where it's it's not the beginning anymore.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_04: We're not at the end where you're kind of more motivated because there might be a playoff positioning or things like that.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_04: You're in the middle where it's just a lot of games, you don't really see the end of the tunnel yet.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_04: And you have to figure out a way to stay disciplined until maybe that motivation comes back.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_04: Or if it doesn't, you have to stay disciplined because it is my job.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_04: It becomes more important than just playing the game.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_04: So I think discipline is very important, just being persistent no matter how you're feeling that day or during that week or month, because every day adds up, and when you're consistent, that's when you're gonna see the most growth.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_02: So well said.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: What would you say leadership equals?
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_03: I say leadership equals uh being selfless.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_02: What about faith equals?
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_04: This is gonna be a little long, but like I say faith equals not knowing what's at the end of the tunnel, but still going anyway.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_02: Legacy equals.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_04: I think I'll repeat what I said before, like legacy equals what people feel about you.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_02: Love that.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_02: What is one thing that Maya would never compromise on?
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_04: Um I think be my integrity, who I am as a person, my character, no matter wherever I go, the as I climb the ladder or playing basketball or anything like that, just being having integrity in everything I do.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_02: And my final two quick questions are what's, or my last question actually is what's one message you would put on the billboard for the next generation of female athletes?
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_03: I would say being confident doesn't or being no, actually, no, not that one.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_04: These are hard because I'm gonna think of like I have like five ideas in my head.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, don't mistake being humble for underestimating yourself.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_04: Be confident.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that one's good.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: That is so good, Thomas.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: Take it away.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: Right on, Maya.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna get into our closing segment here.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: And before we wrap up, is there something that we didn't touch on today that you feel young athletes, especially young women, need to hear about building identity, education, or life beyond basketball?
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: This is kind of a freestyle.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: Anything for you want to add?
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_04: No, I think I think just what I to reiterate what I said before about trying to be multidimensional.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_04: It's gonna take you far in your your basketball or your sport career, but also just in your life because basketball is gonna end sooner than you think.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, you still have your whole life ahead of you.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_04: So trying to work on being well-grounded human beings is the most important thing.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: Right on.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there have been some incredible athletes with female athletes that have come before you on the hardwood.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: If you could assemble a team of your five all-stars, you being one of them, who would be the other four that you would surround yourself with to make your personal all-star team?
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_04: I'll start with the post players because they never, I'm a post player and they never give us any love.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_04: So of course I gotta go with Asia Wilson.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_04: Um Asia Wilson, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_04: I was I was a great Myanmar.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_04: Well, I was a big Maya Moore fan back in the day when I actually rooted for UConn.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_04: I can't say that now as another name.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um who else would I put?
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_04: I would put going back to the links again.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_04: Like that was a great team with Maya Moore.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_04: I say Simone Augustus.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, and then who do I want for my point guard?
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_05: I think I'll have to go with Chelsea Gray.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_03: I'll go with Chelsea Gray.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_04: Right on.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_04: That's an all-star.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_04: And I forgot myself, but I'll come off the bench.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_04: It's okay.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_04: We all have our role in the right on.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: Final question.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: Maya, where can people connect with you, whether it's on social media, website, or the email, drop that information for them?
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you can follow me on LinkedIn or on Instagram.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_04: It's M-A-C-D underscore 15.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_04: More you could say MACD.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_04: It's it's my initials, that's why it's M A C D, but people like to say MACD underscore 15.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_04: So whatever makes you remember that.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_04: Or on my Substack, it's called Dots and Diaries, and that's where I have a monthly newsletter that I talk about my experience playing overseas.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_04: So either of those three would work.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_04: Right on.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: Final question: Do you have any superstitions that you adhere to, whether it's you know, peanut butter jelly sandwich or this that you tie your right shoe first?
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: Any superstitions you want the fans to know?
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know if it's a superstition.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_04: I always like taking my nap, but then when it's we have an early game, we don't have time for that, so it kind of puts me on edge.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_04: So I don't I wouldn't say it's a superstition, but as long as the game is long is late enough, I'm gonna find a way to take a nap no matter, no matter what.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: Maya, thank you so much for refusing to be defined by one thing.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: Team, if this conversation hits you, do two things, two things for us.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: One, share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: A young female athlete who thinks basketball is all she has, a parent helping their daughter build identity beyond sports, or a coach who wants athletes to pursue education seriously, and two, leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: It helps us reach more athletes, parents, and leaders who need to hear this message.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're an athlete parent or coach ready to raise your standard, check us out at blueprintbluechip.com.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: We help athletes build identity, discipline, and legacy that goes far beyond the game.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're ready to get clear on who you are beyond the game, join us for a free three-day reset win play show.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is the standard podcast.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: And this movement only grows when you raise the standard together.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: Talent fades, but truth endures.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: Let's raise the bar, let's rebuild the culture, and let's become the standard.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Maya, thank you so much for joining us.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: You both of you guys rock so much.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.