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Transcript

Episode 1: Introduction · Cloud 9: The Mental Performance Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the very first episode of Cloud Nine.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Lindsay Eisenhart, and I'm so excited you're here.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Cloud Nine is a podcast all about sports psychology, mental performance, and athlete mental health.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you're an athlete, coach, parent, or just someone who's interested in what goes on inside an athlete's mind, this is a podcast for you.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: My goal is to create a safe space for honest conversations about confidence, pressure, mindset, self-doubt, resilience, mental health, and everything in between.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Throughout this podcast, I'll be sharing my own experiences growing up as an athlete, the lessons I've learned throughout sport, and everything I'm learning as I begin graduate school and work toward becoming a sports psychologist.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Every now and then, I'll also be bringing on guests onto the show.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Athletes, coaches, and other professionals to talk about their journeys, how they developed a strong mindset, what mental performance means to them, and the habits they use to take care of themselves both on and off the field.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: For this first episode, I thought it would be fun to tell you a little bit about who I am, how I got here, and why I'm so passionate about sports psychology.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Growing up, I was a three-sport athlete.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: I played soccer, basketball, and softball, and honestly, if there was a ball around, I was probably playing with it.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely loved being a part of a team.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: There's something special about working toward a common goal, competing together, and building relationships through sports.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: That feeling has always stayed with me.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: I played soccer through middle school, basketball through high school, but quickly, softball became my true passion, and honestly it still is.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: I played softball all the way through college, wrapping up my playing career last spring.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: But as much as I loved the game of softball, my relationship with confidence wasn't always easy.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: When I started playing travel softball around 11 years old, I began experiencing something that I know so many athletes can relate to.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: I wasn't always in the lineup, I didn't get the playing time that I wanted, and over time I started tying my confidence to my performance and to how much I was playing.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: From that point until the end of my college career, my confidence was always consistently changing.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Some days I felt unstoppable, and other days it felt like all my confidence had completely disappeared.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Looking back now, I realized I spent so much energy trying to prove myself instead of simply enjoying the game that I loved.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: The first time I had heard about Spore Psychology was during my junior year of high school and honestly changed everything.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: The more I learned about confidence, self-talk, visualization, routines, and mental skills, the more I realized their performance isn't just physical, it's mental too.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't suddenly become mentally tough overnight.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: I still struggled.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: There were definitely moments where I would have benefited from working with a trained sport psychologist.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: But learning these concepts gave me tools that I had never had before.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: When I got to college and played softball at Thomas College in Waterville, Maine, I continued facing those same confidence challenges.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of discouraging me, though, those experiences became the reason I wanted to pursue this career.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: I want to be a resource that I wish I had growing up.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: I want athletes to know they're not alone.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: I want them to understand that struggling mentally doesn't make them weak, it makes them human.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then more than anything, I want to help continue breaking the stigma around athlete mental health.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Sports have always been such a huge part of my life, and I always knew whatever career I chose would involve them somehow.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: When I was younger, I thought I would become a personal trainer.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: But once I discovered sports psychology in high school, everything clicked.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: I realized that there is an entire profession dedicated to helping athletes strengthen their mind, and I knew that's exactly what I wanted to do.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Last spring I graduated from Thomas College with a bachelor's degree in psychology, with a concentration in mental health, along with two minors in sport management and marketing.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Since graduating, I've been living at home, working, saving money, and preparing for the next chapter.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: One of the biggest changes in my life after softball has actually becoming a part of the CrossFit community.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: I honestly wasn't sure what would replace the competitive environment I had been a part of for so many years, but CrossFit has done exactly what I needed.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: I found an incredible community at Misfit Gym in Portland, and it has because become so much more than a place just to work out.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's changed me physically, it's challenged me mentally, it's reminded me that I can still do hard things even after sports.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe most importantly, it's given me another community where I truly feel like I belong.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Outside of that, I become someone who loves just going for simple walks.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: Especially living in Maine, winter makes that a little difficult sometimes, but once spring and summer roll around, you'll definitely find me somewhere outside whenever I can.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: And now I'm going to start what feels like the biggest adventure yet.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: This fall I'll be attending Florida State University to begin my master's degree in sport psychology.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: This has been a dream of mine, and I honestly still can't believe it's happening.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm incredibly grateful, excited, and ready to learn everything I can so eventually I can help athletes perform at their best, not just physically, but mentally too.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a little bit about me and when I started Cloud9.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you've made it this far, thank you so much for listening.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: It truly means a lot that you're here from the very beginning of this journey.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: In future episodes, we'll dive into topics such as confidence, anxiety, motivation, self-talk, mental performance strategies, athlete mental health, and much more.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'll also be interviewing guests with incredible stories and insights I can't wait to share with you.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you've enjoyed today's episode, be sure to follow the podcast so you don't miss future episodes.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you again for listening, and I'll catch you next time here on Cloud9.