Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / 300. Paving The Way: MLB's First Female Coach Alyssa Nakken On Leadership & Motherhood

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300. Paving The Way: MLB's First Female Coach Alyssa Nakken On Leadership & Motherhood · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

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Speaker 1: I just really just show up like being me, and
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Speaker 1: if people don't like it, that's fine. Like I'm not
0:06
Speaker 1: trying to be liked by everybody. I'm trying to be
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Speaker 1: as effective as I possibly can.
0:25
Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, Emily Abodi here you are listening to episode
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Speaker 2: three hundred of Hurdle, a wellness focused podcast where I
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Speaker 2: talk to inspirational people about everything from their highest ties
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Speaker 2: and toughest moments to essential tips on how to live
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Speaker 2: a healthier, happier, more motivated life. We all go through
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Speaker 2: our fair share of hurdles. My goal through these discussions
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Speaker 2: is to empower you to better navigate yours and move
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Speaker 2: with intention so that you can stride towards your own
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Speaker 2: big potential and of course, have some fun along the way.
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Speaker 2: For today's episode, I am chatting with Alessa Nakin. She's
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Speaker 2: the first ever female coach in the MLB, currently with.
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Speaker 3: The San Francisco Giants.
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Speaker 2: She was also the first ever pregnant coach, having her
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Speaker 2: first baby, girl.
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Speaker 3: Austin, back in January.
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Speaker 2: She talks about what that journey was like, how it
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Speaker 2: felt to be coaching at the team's home opener just
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Speaker 2: over two months later on April fifth, and what it's
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Speaker 2: like to be a game changer, proving that no matter
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Speaker 2: where you are on your journey as women, that you belong.
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Speaker 3: I love that. I love it so much. Alissa is truly.
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Speaker 2: Paving a new path forward for women coaches, and she
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Speaker 2: continues to strive for more. We chat about how she's
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Speaker 2: doing that with special new initiatives within the Giants that
1:43
Speaker 2: make impact well beyond San Francisco. Plus what it's like
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Speaker 2: to be the only lady in the dugout where yes,
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Speaker 2: she has pumped before, how she's handled criticism in the
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Speaker 2: past from MLB fans, especially when she was first appointed
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Speaker 2: to this role, and how she flourishes in chaos. Of note,
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Speaker 2: this interview was facilitated through her partnership with Nike, and
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Speaker 2: I found this really interesting and a press release they
2:09
Speaker 2: passed along. They recently released a new bra. It's called
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Speaker 2: the Nike Maternity Swoosh Bra. It's their first wearable bra
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Speaker 2: with pump compatibility, which has nursing clips to drop down
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Speaker 2: each side of the bra individually lining on the cups
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Speaker 2: for leak production. And I love this. It's adaptable, which
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Speaker 2: means that you can tweak the size of the bra
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Speaker 2: throughout the whole period after giving birth, which means that
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Speaker 2: when your breast candidly are changing sizes, you don't have
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Speaker 2: to keep.
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Speaker 3: Buying new options. Yeah.
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Speaker 2: I just thought that this was cool. I'm a linked
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Speaker 2: in the show notes so you can check it out.
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Speaker 2: I'm not personally in this phase of my life right now,
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Speaker 2: but I know that many of you are and always
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Speaker 2: trying to help.
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Speaker 3: Of course, if you like what you're listening to, make sure.
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Speaker 2: To tag us over on social The pages are at
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Speaker 2: Hurdle podcast and also I am at Emily Bye. Thank
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Speaker 2: you so much for all of the love on the
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Speaker 2: kickstart of season seventeen. We've got some really great things,
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Speaker 2: great voices, great people, great giveaways, so much goodness coming
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Speaker 2: down the pipe, and I feel honored to share it
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Speaker 2: with each and every one of you.
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Speaker 3: With that, let's get to it. Let's get to hurdling. Today.
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Speaker 3: I am sitting down with Alyssa Nkin.
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Speaker 2: She's the assistant coach over at the San Francisco Giants.
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Speaker 3: How are we doing, Alyssa?
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Speaker 1: I am so good, very happy to be here. Such
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Speaker 1: an honor, So thank you.
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Speaker 3: Oh, such an honor. I'm the one who's honored.
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Speaker 2: You have absolutely nothing going on which I said to
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Speaker 2: you before we started recording, But you just had Austin
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Speaker 2: on January twenty second. The season is in full swing.
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Speaker 2: You're kind of back. Give me the details. How are
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Speaker 2: we feeling.
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Speaker 1: I feel so good, And I think it's probably because
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Speaker 1: a few months prior to giving birth, I was in
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Speaker 1: complete overwhelmed, wondering how I was going to make everything work,
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Speaker 1: you know, worried about labor and delivery, all of the things.
4:09
Speaker 1: So now that I'm in it, I'm just kind of
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Speaker 1: waking up and doing it, and I think that's the
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Speaker 1: best thing.
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Speaker 4: For me to do. I don't have time to overthink anything.
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Speaker 1: It's just wake up, get going, do it, go to sleep,
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Speaker 1: do it all over again. So it's going well, and
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Speaker 1: I've been so supported by the Giants organization and obviously
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Speaker 1: my family, friends and even fans. So I just feel
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Speaker 1: I feel like I can't fail right now, which is
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Speaker 1: such an empowering feeling. And yeah, I'm kind of inching
4:45
Speaker 1: my way back into being with the team full time.
4:49
Speaker 1: So the team is currently on the road on the
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Speaker 1: East Coast, so I just wasn't able to make that
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Speaker 1: trip because it's just too long of a flight and
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Speaker 1: you know, my little girl's got to eat everything hours
5:00
Speaker 1: or so, so I'm able to do a lot of
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Speaker 1: work remotely, which I'm very grateful for. So I'm just
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Speaker 1: very happy that I get to have this time and
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Speaker 1: do a lot of the things that I love, which
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Speaker 1: is working and baseball and being.
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Speaker 4: With my family.
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Speaker 2: I feel like I cannot fail. I wonder how many
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Speaker 2: new moms can actually say a sentence like that that's
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Speaker 2: super powerful.
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Speaker 3: Would you attribute that to your support system?
5:28
Speaker 2: Do you feel as though you've always had this kind
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Speaker 2: of grace with yourself.
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Speaker 1: I definitely have not always had this type of grace
5:37
Speaker 1: with myself. I think in high school I was so
5:39
Speaker 1: harsh on myself. I look back and I'm like, wow,
5:43
Speaker 1: I did not appreciate all that I was doing back then,
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Speaker 1: and I was just so hard on myself. So as
5:50
Speaker 1: I've gotten older, I've just realized there's so much in
5:53
Speaker 1: this life you can't control, and as long as you
5:55
Speaker 1: are approaching life controlling most of what you can control, like,
6:00
Speaker 1: life's going to be pretty good and you're probably going
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Speaker 1: to get rewarded. Obviously, like shit will hit the fan
6:06
Speaker 1: at times, but again it does come back to the
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Speaker 1: support system. So I've got a rock star of a
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Speaker 1: husband who is just able to kind of read me
6:16
Speaker 1: better than I can read myself. So of course there
6:19
Speaker 1: are moments, especially like when we're at the field or
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Speaker 1: something where I'm just like, oh boy, what's happening. He
6:26
Speaker 1: just takes Austin, goes into the family room or goes
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Speaker 1: to the hotel, and we just are able to kind
6:32
Speaker 1: of meet and pass along.
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Speaker 4: Food and that sort of thing.
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Speaker 1: And he's just been such a champion of me really
6:38
Speaker 1: since the beginning. And my family has been great. My
6:42
Speaker 1: parents are always there for me. They you know, they
6:46
Speaker 1: when they were growing up, it was you go to school,
6:49
Speaker 1: you graduate, you get married, you have the job for
6:51
Speaker 1: the forty years, you retire, that sort of thing, and
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Speaker 1: my life has just looked nothing like that. So they've
6:58
Speaker 1: had a lot of patients. When I come to them,
7:01
Speaker 1: feel like every few years or so, like okay, this
7:03
Speaker 1: is what I'm doing now, And then last year it
7:06
Speaker 1: was like, Okay, we're pregnant, we're gonna have a baby,
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Speaker 1: and I'm going to still coach in the big leagues.
7:11
Speaker 1: So they have just been right there by my side
7:15
Speaker 1: and they come to as many games as they can
7:18
Speaker 1: and They're always there to take care of Boston if
7:20
Speaker 1: we need help. And then, yes, the Giants organization has
7:24
Speaker 1: been really nothing but supportive for me. I started as
7:28
Speaker 1: an intern in twenty fourteen there, and I just feel
7:31
Speaker 1: like I've grown up with the organization. And obviously there've
7:34
Speaker 1: been like some hard times and growing pains and that
7:37
Speaker 1: sort of thing. But again, I just feel a ton
7:40
Speaker 1: of respect. There's a lot of mutual respect there between
7:43
Speaker 1: me and the organization.
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Speaker 2: I mean so much to double click on here first
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Speaker 2: and foremost. I'm sure I'll say this in the intro,
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Speaker 2: but I feel like for those just to reiterate. Alyssa
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Speaker 2: is the first MLB female coach. She was also the
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Speaker 2: first clearly pregnant coach in the MLB. And baseball and
8:02
Speaker 2: softball specifically have been a part of your life, as
8:06
Speaker 2: you said, for such a long time now, when you
8:09
Speaker 2: were playing growing up and then in college, did you
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Speaker 2: foresee that you wanted to translate this passion into a
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Speaker 2: career path in this way?
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Speaker 1: Not exactly. I knew that I wanted to stay in sport.
8:23
Speaker 1: I thought, you know, right when I was graduating college
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Speaker 1: and done playing softball, it was like, Okay, get a
8:29
Speaker 1: you know, a nine to five job and do the
8:32
Speaker 1: adult thing. And I tried that for like five minutes
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Speaker 1: and realized, Okay, this is not for me.
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Speaker 4: I need to be around a team.
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Speaker 1: I need to go through the grind of a season
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Speaker 1: and ups and downs that come with it. That's just
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Speaker 1: where I feel the most fulfilled. And so that's when
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Speaker 1: I pursued a master's degree in sport management to just
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Speaker 1: try to figure out, Okay, what can I do, what
8:56
Speaker 1: can what type of career can I make out of sport?
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Speaker 1: And then it was just like all these kind of
9:01
Speaker 1: like micro moments that sort of happened in this last
9:05
Speaker 1: decade that led me to the current role that I
9:09
Speaker 1: have now. It wasn't until I was going through the
9:12
Speaker 1: interview process for this job back in late twenty nineteen
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Speaker 1: that I've realized it was a possibility because I never
9:19
Speaker 1: saw a female coach in Major League Baseball. And so,
9:24
Speaker 1: you know, the manager at the time, Gabe Kapler, I
9:27
Speaker 1: give you know, really all the credit to he could
9:30
Speaker 1: see this, and he could see it in me that
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Speaker 1: I could do this.
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Speaker 4: It took me a while. It's still something I'm working
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Speaker 4: on that I can do this.
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Speaker 1: So again that goes back to such a good support system,
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Speaker 1: but also somebody that can you know, like a true
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Speaker 1: leader that can see something in somebody and really try
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Speaker 1: to get them to maximize their potential.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that's only one quality of a leader, right.
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Speaker 2: Obviously you are a lead both for your players on
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Speaker 2: the field but also off the field. That classic saying
10:05
Speaker 2: in order to be her, you need to see her.
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Speaker 2: For so many women, you are her. So what would
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Speaker 2: you say? Our qualities are perhaps characteristics that you exhibit
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Speaker 2: that make you proud to be a leader.
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Speaker 1: I cannot be anybody but myself, I think, you know.
10:23
Speaker 1: Before the twenty twenty season started, so I had gotten
10:28
Speaker 1: hired at the start of twenty twenty, and I was
10:32
Speaker 1: in a little bit of a disarray and mentally just
10:35
Speaker 1: again like overthinking and anticipating, like what are the guys
10:39
Speaker 1: going to say?
10:40
Speaker 4: What are the fans going to think? All this?
10:43
Speaker 1: And you know we're always like our worst critics, and
10:46
Speaker 1: so then I just realized, like I only know how
10:50
Speaker 1: to be me, So I'm just going to be me.
10:52
Speaker 1: And the manager at the time he doubled down on
10:56
Speaker 1: that he never asked me to be something that I
10:59
Speaker 1: wasn't and then I realize, like, yeah, this is the
11:03
Speaker 1: only way that I can be effective for the team
11:07
Speaker 1: and this organization. So I think that's really important in
11:10
Speaker 1: a leader, and especially like baseball players, well really anybody,
11:14
Speaker 1: but because I'm around players every single day, they can
11:17
Speaker 1: just sniff out somebody that's being inauthentic. I feel like
11:21
Speaker 1: in the baseball world, there's a lot of people that
11:23
Speaker 1: come in trying to like put their stamp on things
11:26
Speaker 1: and kind of like truly make a name for themselves
11:30
Speaker 1: in a very inauthentic way, and the players can just
11:33
Speaker 1: kind of sniff that out. And I realize that very
11:36
Speaker 1: early on, and so I just really just show up
11:40
Speaker 1: like being me, and if people don't like it, that's fine.
11:44
Speaker 1: Like I'm not trying to be liked by everybody. I'm
11:46
Speaker 1: trying to be as effective as I possibly can. So
11:49
Speaker 1: I think that's really important in a leader. I also
11:52
Speaker 1: think I kind of mentioned this earlier. I think a
11:55
Speaker 1: leader really needs to understand how to help people bring
12:00
Speaker 1: out the best in themselves and truly maximize their potential.
12:05
Speaker 1: I think there's a lot of like whether it's society, society,
12:09
Speaker 1: or just ourselves putting limits on ourselves and what we
12:12
Speaker 1: can do. I think it's really important for leaders to
12:15
Speaker 1: have this like limitless outlook on whether it's their business,
12:21
Speaker 1: their team, or the people that they are leading. I
12:24
Speaker 1: think that's truly how you create change, that's how you
12:27
Speaker 1: create impact, and that's how you start to do things
12:32
Speaker 1: just outside the outside of the box.
12:34
Speaker 3: Limitless potential authenticity.
12:37
Speaker 2: It's so impressive to me also because your attitude of
12:41
Speaker 2: all I can do is be the best I am
12:43
Speaker 2: as I am now and bring what I have to
12:45
Speaker 2: the table. I think a lot of people strive for
12:49
Speaker 2: that mindset. But oftentimes, even though no one's asking you
12:53
Speaker 2: to do things a certain way or be anything but yourself,
12:56
Speaker 2: it's this internal pressure that we find or that we
12:59
Speaker 2: struggle with or that we grapple with that makes us
13:02
Speaker 2: feel as though we're supposed to be doing something a
13:04
Speaker 2: different way, or trying to level up, or experiencing imposter
13:07
Speaker 2: syndrome and so on and so forth.
13:10
Speaker 1: Totally, and I think that's where like find, whether it's
13:15
Speaker 1: habits or tools, to just really get grounded with yourself,
13:18
Speaker 1: because there are so many days where I'm not very
13:22
Speaker 1: chill and I'm like overthinking. I'm definitely in the mindset
13:25
Speaker 1: of like, why me, what am I doing here? What's
13:29
Speaker 1: the value that I'm bringing? And I think that's just
13:32
Speaker 1: part of life, Like it's just the waves that you
13:34
Speaker 1: go through women, probably in particular, just like depending on
13:40
Speaker 1: the time of the month, depending on like if your
13:42
Speaker 1: child has been crying for three days straight, all of that.
13:46
Speaker 1: But I think that's where it's really important to have
13:48
Speaker 1: some grounding practices and really come back to, Okay, what
13:52
Speaker 1: can I bring to the table. What do I want
13:54
Speaker 1: to you know, double down on and get better at
13:58
Speaker 1: or improve upon or expand in certain areas, And where
14:03
Speaker 1: can I find the confidence in myself. You can't always
14:06
Speaker 1: rely on the people around you to just be like, hey, yes,
14:10
Speaker 1: you can do anything you set your mind to. I
14:12
Speaker 1: think it's important to have like those cheerleaders on your
14:16
Speaker 1: side occasionally, but I truly think it's important that you
14:20
Speaker 1: have like a board of directors around you that are
14:23
Speaker 1: going to hold you accountable and really help you kind
14:28
Speaker 1: of like not settle and keep pushing even in those
14:32
Speaker 1: moments that you want to just be like, oh I
14:35
Speaker 1: can't do this, I'm going to just back down and
14:38
Speaker 1: like take this lateral path, which is totally fine, But
14:41
Speaker 1: I think it's important to have those people around you
14:44
Speaker 1: that are like, no, we think you can keep going
14:46
Speaker 1: this way, so do it. And then I think it's
14:50
Speaker 1: it's up to you to really find that within yourself.
14:53
Speaker 1: And it's very hard, like you're not going to just
14:56
Speaker 1: like wake up and look in the mirror and be like,
14:58
Speaker 1: I can do this. But if you keep doing that
15:00
Speaker 1: every single day, sometimes you'll just find like, oh, wait,
15:03
Speaker 1: I'm doing it.
15:04
Speaker 4: I knew I could.
15:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, putting in the reps right. I love that idea
15:09
Speaker 2: of a board of directors. I firmly agree with you
15:12
Speaker 2: that everyone should have one. And you said that the
15:15
Speaker 2: words habits and tools, so you know that I'm going
15:17
Speaker 2: to come back to you and ask you about what
15:20
Speaker 2: your habits and tools are that help you come back
15:22
Speaker 2: to yourself so that you can stand firm and who
15:25
Speaker 2: it is that you are and show up to the
15:27
Speaker 2: best of your ability day in and day out.
15:29
Speaker 1: I think being strong mentally, emotionally, and physically is what
15:35
Speaker 1: it's the foundation for me going into every single day.
15:39
Speaker 1: So it really is kind of simple. I just really
15:43
Speaker 1: need to make sure I'm working out, getting in nature, breathing,
15:47
Speaker 1: filling my mind with like some good things whether it's
15:50
Speaker 1: amazing podcasts or books or conversations with people that truly
15:56
Speaker 1: inspire me but also humble me. So those are my tools.
15:59
Speaker 1: It's literally really like if it's if I have five minutes,
16:02
Speaker 1: I'm going to do a five minute yoga or breath session.
16:06
Speaker 1: If I've got thirty minutes, I'm going to try to
16:08
Speaker 1: do a strength workout. I feel so good when my
16:13
Speaker 1: body and my mind are strong and clear. So it's
16:18
Speaker 1: really just kind of like the nature, like the natural
16:22
Speaker 1: things that humans should be doing, which is like get outside,
16:26
Speaker 1: make your food, be kind to others, and that just
16:31
Speaker 1: helps me feel Okay, I can tackle whatever's going to
16:36
Speaker 1: come this Like today, there's again there's so much you
16:39
Speaker 1: can't control in the world and in life, especially in
16:44
Speaker 1: today's world. It feels like, but if you can control
16:49
Speaker 1: your foundation and set yourself up to be kind of
16:52
Speaker 1: that rock metaphorically but also like literally, you just be
16:57
Speaker 1: really really strong. I feel like it helps you withstand
17:01
Speaker 1: kind of the shit storms that might come your way,
17:04
Speaker 1: and it really helps me just go into a clubhouse
17:07
Speaker 1: full of athletes every day. It just allows me to
17:11
Speaker 1: feel a little bit more confident.
17:14
Speaker 2: I really thought you were going to say, a clubhouse
17:16
Speaker 2: full of men, which probably also I would have interpreted
17:20
Speaker 2: to be quite difficult at times as well. But I
17:24
Speaker 2: really appreciate what you're saying, and again, it really is
17:28
Speaker 2: indicative of the work that you've done in yourself. I
17:31
Speaker 2: am curious to know how the putting your own oxygen
17:35
Speaker 2: mask on approach has ebbed and flowed and shifted since
17:39
Speaker 2: becoming a mom, because clearly this is a whole new
17:41
Speaker 2: thing in the equation, whereas these activities and the things
17:44
Speaker 2: that you did to ground yourself before may have felt
17:47
Speaker 2: a little bit easier to navigate than they do now.
17:50
Speaker 1: Totally. So I think about that a lot. And obviously
17:54
Speaker 1: there's a lot more added layers to my day and
17:58
Speaker 1: my routine these days. But I think back to how
18:03
Speaker 1: like I viewed my mother as a child, and some
18:08
Speaker 1: of the most like vivid memories I have of being
18:12
Speaker 1: a child is like we had typically like a balanced
18:15
Speaker 1: meal daily, and my mom was moving and outside a lot,
18:21
Speaker 1: so you know, she was waking up early and going
18:24
Speaker 1: on runs. And when I was old enough, I was
18:26
Speaker 1: able to ride my bike along with her. And then
18:29
Speaker 1: I just saw and I didn't know it at the time,
18:32
Speaker 1: but when I reflect back on it now, I just
18:35
Speaker 1: saw like this woman really taking care of herself so
18:38
Speaker 1: that she could take care of the entire family. So
18:42
Speaker 1: she needed to just do that or else the family
18:45
Speaker 1: wasn't going to thrive as much as you know, she
18:49
Speaker 1: thought that we deserve to thrive. And so I really
18:52
Speaker 1: take that into account too, as now that I'm a mother,
18:56
Speaker 1: is okay, I want Austin to see her mom understand
19:02
Speaker 1: the importance of not just for herself taking care of
19:05
Speaker 1: her mind, body, spirit, but also it's helping her. She's
19:10
Speaker 1: reaping the benefits of me going outside for a twenty
19:15
Speaker 1: five minute walk and then coming back feeling just like, okay,
19:19
Speaker 1: a little bit more clear headed. On that twenty five
19:23
Speaker 1: minute walk, I was able to kind of iron out
19:26
Speaker 1: like how am I going to make today work? And
19:29
Speaker 1: so I think that's really important. And again I've I've
19:34
Speaker 1: just learned to ask for help more. I used to
19:36
Speaker 1: never ask for help. And some of the greatest advice
19:40
Speaker 1: that really stuck with me as we were approaching labor
19:43
Speaker 1: and delivery was just say yes to the help. It
19:48
Speaker 1: was really hard for me those first few weeks postpartum
19:51
Speaker 1: to you know, say yes to somebody coming over and
19:55
Speaker 1: like putting our dishes away, or like allowing them to
20:00
Speaker 1: just leave the house on their own and not walking
20:02
Speaker 1: them out. But I'm three months in now, and I've realized,
20:07
Speaker 1: like when people are offering help, they want to help. So,
20:12
Speaker 1: you know, when I've got a friend in town who
20:14
Speaker 1: was like, let me take Austin for twenty minutes, I'm like, cool,
20:18
Speaker 1: this way I can go and do a yoga session
20:20
Speaker 1: and also take this call while I'm like in Shivasna
20:25
Speaker 1: and so I just I don't know, I just it's chaotic.
20:29
Speaker 1: But I try to see an like pinpoint the times
20:35
Speaker 1: of the day where I can really make sure that
20:38
Speaker 1: I am doing something to take care of myself because
20:42
Speaker 1: I want to be here for as long as I
20:44
Speaker 1: can for my daughter. And I understand the importance of
20:49
Speaker 1: really just treating your body and your mind right.
20:53
Speaker 2: I love that the importance of treating your body and
20:56
Speaker 2: your mind right now. You spoke about the individual that
21:00
Speaker 2: you interviewed with that you felt like really gave you
21:02
Speaker 2: the opportunity to both be yourself and be such a
21:06
Speaker 2: game changer within the league taking this first female coaching spot.
21:11
Speaker 2: With that said, how did it feel to step on
21:14
Speaker 2: and then be the first female coach, because there's one
21:18
Speaker 2: thing to have the opportunity and to pave the way
21:21
Speaker 2: to step in the door, but it's another thing once
21:24
Speaker 2: you walk inside.
21:26
Speaker 1: It was a lot, to be completely honest, A lot
21:30
Speaker 1: of it was internal though, you know, I realized, like, Okay,
21:35
Speaker 1: there's gonna be a lot of noise, so I would
21:38
Speaker 1: just take my phone and put it face down and
21:40
Speaker 1: not listen to it and just try to stay again,
21:43
Speaker 1: stay within myself.
21:45
Speaker 4: What is my job.
21:46
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm here to do the job. But then I
21:48
Speaker 1: also completely understood that I have a job and a
21:52
Speaker 1: responsibility outside of being a coach for this team because
21:57
Speaker 1: I'm the first female coach in this role, and so
22:03
Speaker 1: it took me a while to kind of and I
22:05
Speaker 1: think I'm still like working through it. Right It's like
22:08
Speaker 1: fifth season doing this and there's still at this time
22:12
Speaker 1: like no other female coach at the big league level,
22:15
Speaker 1: So like, I have a lot of work to do
22:17
Speaker 1: to continue to try to you know, break down some
22:21
Speaker 1: of these barriers, make this door open even wider to
22:25
Speaker 1: get more more women through the door. And so, you know,
22:29
Speaker 1: it was right in the moment, it was a lot.
22:31
Speaker 1: There was just a lot of layers to everything that
22:34
Speaker 1: was going on at the start of twenty twenty. It
22:36
Speaker 1: was a brand new staff. You know, we had all
22:40
Speaker 1: of these expectations for a team that season, and then
22:44
Speaker 1: oh yeah, by the way, like there's this historical element
22:47
Speaker 1: and historical nature to it all. So it's very humbling
22:52
Speaker 1: and and it's an honor that I hold dearly, but
22:55
Speaker 1: it's also a responsibility that I don't take lightly. And
23:01
Speaker 1: so you know, with my counterparts, my other coaches, they
23:05
Speaker 1: they come to work, they they get the team ready
23:08
Speaker 1: to compete that night, they get to kind of go
23:11
Speaker 1: home with the families shut it down. And for me,
23:15
Speaker 1: I've got this like other element in my mind constantly
23:19
Speaker 1: of like, Okay, there there are more doors that need
23:22
Speaker 1: to be open. I need to be the leader that
23:27
Speaker 1: can help women see that they can do things that
23:29
Speaker 1: they might not be able to see yet help them
23:32
Speaker 1: get there. So I feel like it's that's like kind
23:36
Speaker 1: of a passion and a responsibility that goes far wider
23:43
Speaker 1: than the job description that I currently have now. But
23:46
Speaker 1: it was it was It's very exciting, but it was
23:50
Speaker 1: a little bit overwhelming, not in a negative way. When
23:53
Speaker 1: when I first walked in but when you when I
23:56
Speaker 1: Want walked out for the first spring training work out,
24:00
Speaker 1: there was cameras everywhere. I was like, oh, I am
24:03
Speaker 1: not totally prepared for this. I've always kind of been
24:08
Speaker 1: a behind the scenes person, never like in the spotlight.
24:12
Speaker 1: And then it was like, oh, spotlight, here you are.
24:15
Speaker 1: But again, I just moved forward and did my job.
24:19
Speaker 1: And I think it's really important that people see people
24:22
Speaker 1: in these kind of roles, like doing what they're hired
24:25
Speaker 1: to do, and keep trying to move up and create impact,
24:30
Speaker 1: but also open the door for others to come through
24:32
Speaker 1: as well.
24:34
Speaker 2: This is just such a classic example of just because
24:37
Speaker 2: she makes it look easy doesn't mean that the load
24:40
Speaker 2: is easy to carry, right.
24:41
Speaker 3: It's not an easy feat.
24:43
Speaker 2: So it's very understandable to me that you use a
24:46
Speaker 2: word like passion, because you need passion.
24:48
Speaker 3: To fuel a journey like that.
24:51
Speaker 2: For sure, you said, I flip my phone around at
24:55
Speaker 2: the time when you began, were you getting a lot
24:57
Speaker 2: of keyboard warriors giving their two cents about you taking
25:00
Speaker 2: this role?
25:02
Speaker 1: Keyboard Warriors, I love that so much, And yes, all
25:08
Speaker 1: of the things, even like past players, and you know,
25:13
Speaker 1: and then it's crazy because I can like see things
25:17
Speaker 1: and just be like not, it doesn't mean anything. But
25:20
Speaker 1: it's like when other people see it and kind of
25:23
Speaker 1: light the fire in it and bring it to you,
25:25
Speaker 1: like did you see this? How are you feeling? It's
25:29
Speaker 1: I start to take on their anxiety and it's kind
25:32
Speaker 1: of like a contagious feeling to where I'm like, oh,
25:34
Speaker 1: maybe I should feel offended by this. But then I realized,
25:38
Speaker 1: like people just like to talk and they want to
25:40
Speaker 1: share their thoughts even if they're totally off the wall.
25:45
Speaker 1: And I also just don't care when it's you know,
25:49
Speaker 1: I care about a lot of people in this world
25:52
Speaker 1: and in my circle, but somebody that is going to
25:56
Speaker 1: just try to like rip other people down, Like I don't.
26:00
Speaker 1: I don't have time for you because there's only twenty
26:02
Speaker 1: four hours in a day and there's a lot of
26:05
Speaker 1: people ahead of you that need my time, effort and energy. Yeah.
26:09
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean, anytime there's any change, there's going
26:14
Speaker 1: to be a lot of noise around it. And what again,
26:18
Speaker 1: like I can I can take it. I don't like
26:20
Speaker 1: lose sleep over what other people say. I'm again, in
26:24
Speaker 1: my head, probably the worst critic, but I had to
26:29
Speaker 1: prepare my family for this so you know, my sweet mom, like, okay, Mom,
26:34
Speaker 1: do not go on the internet for forty eight hours
26:38
Speaker 1: minimum and anytime like there's something big happening with me,
26:43
Speaker 1: just shut down the computer. She's she doesn't listen, so
26:48
Speaker 1: she reads stuff and then but I can't control that either.
26:52
Speaker 2: So yeah, yeah, the grass grows where you water it, right,
26:56
Speaker 2: And so it's easier than done to say that I'm
26:59
Speaker 2: not going to give these things my attention. But one
27:02
Speaker 2: thing can cross your radar at the wrong time and
27:04
Speaker 2: then it throws you off your game and you're incapable
27:07
Speaker 2: or it feels that way anyway to do the things
27:09
Speaker 2: that you want to do, to give the things that
27:11
Speaker 2: you want to give your attention to your full bandwidth.
27:14
Speaker 2: So again, entirely understandable, but it really does sound what
27:18
Speaker 2: I'm hearing you say is you're really doing the best
27:20
Speaker 2: you can with.
27:21
Speaker 3: What you have. Now.
27:24
Speaker 2: As you were getting started and getting really serious in
27:28
Speaker 2: this role, you know there has been some time past
27:31
Speaker 2: until you decided to have a family. So talk to
27:34
Speaker 2: me about the decision to have a family and how
27:37
Speaker 2: that made you feel considering your stance within the MLB.
27:42
Speaker 4: It's something I've.
27:43
Speaker 1: Always wanted, I've always known. I've wanted to be a mother,
27:46
Speaker 1: and it's something my husband has always wanted. He's always
27:49
Speaker 1: wanted to be a father. And we consider ourselves like
27:53
Speaker 1: really good teammates with each other, so how cool to
27:56
Speaker 1: like expand our team. So it's always been been a
28:00
Speaker 1: thought of ours. The way my contract was in the past,
28:03
Speaker 1: I essentially it was on a three year contract to start.
28:06
Speaker 1: I got extended for a year and so, you know,
28:10
Speaker 1: four years ago. So we got married in twenty twenty one,
28:14
Speaker 1: and at that point we're like, okay, you know, in
28:17
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three, give or take, like if we can
28:21
Speaker 1: start to think about having a kid or maybe be
28:24
Speaker 1: pregnant at that moment, we feel like that's a good
28:26
Speaker 1: timing and that sort of thing. And I just felt
28:30
Speaker 1: like kind of like settle, even though nothing about our
28:35
Speaker 1: lives right now are settled. In my mind, I had
28:39
Speaker 1: just felt very settled and very ready, and I was
28:42
Speaker 1: kind of just ready for a shift. I feel like
28:45
Speaker 1: in my whole my life, like I've worked off of
28:48
Speaker 1: increments of four years. Like you go to high school
28:50
Speaker 1: for four years. I played college softball for four years,
28:55
Speaker 1: you know, I went to grad school for two, but
28:57
Speaker 1: was kind of like working my way up in the
29:00
Speaker 1: organization for about four to six years, and then it
29:03
Speaker 1: was this four year contract, so I'm like, well, it's
29:06
Speaker 1: about that time to start like throwing a wrench into everything.
29:10
Speaker 1: But there was no hesitation the moment that we decided
29:14
Speaker 1: to try for a family. It took us close to
29:18
Speaker 1: a year, but never once was it like how are
29:21
Speaker 1: we going to make this work, except for like a
29:24
Speaker 1: couple years prior it's like, Okay, we have to tie
29:26
Speaker 1: it this way so that I can have the baby
29:28
Speaker 1: in the off season and then be back and ready
29:30
Speaker 1: to roll.
29:32
Speaker 4: And then you just realize, like you're not totally.
29:34
Speaker 1: In control with a lot of that, So it goes
29:38
Speaker 1: back to just giving yourself grace and understanding like you're
29:42
Speaker 1: going to make it work. And it's just been a
29:45
Speaker 1: really fun and exciting time. And we obviously got pregnant
29:51
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty three, so that was my fourth season
29:54
Speaker 1: with the team, So I've built some really good relationships
29:57
Speaker 1: with the staff at the time and the play and
30:01
Speaker 1: so when you're big league coach, you are with a
30:05
Speaker 1: team far more than you're with your own family. So
30:09
Speaker 1: sometimes these everybody in the clubhouse kind of feels like family.
30:12
Speaker 1: You're traveling through the middle of the night with them,
30:15
Speaker 1: You're going through the ups and downs of a season,
30:18
Speaker 1: you are spending you know, nine to twelve hours a
30:23
Speaker 1: day with them out a field. So when we got pregnant,
30:26
Speaker 1: the whole clubhouse was so excited for us, and I
30:29
Speaker 1: am so grateful for that because it just made it
30:32
Speaker 1: feel like, again, I can't fail here, and this is
30:36
Speaker 1: so cool to share in this. Every A lot of
30:40
Speaker 1: people were like, how's that going to work. I'm like,
30:42
Speaker 1: we'll figure it out, and they're like, cool, yeah, you
30:44
Speaker 1: always do. And so it was really exciting. And I
30:47
Speaker 1: was quite sick for nineteen weeks, so it was really
30:50
Speaker 1: nice to be around people that were just very respectful
30:55
Speaker 1: of me and there for me and able to understand
31:00
Speaker 1: and if I was a little bit late to the field,
31:02
Speaker 1: like why I was late, and to have throw it
31:04
Speaker 1: bags available for me.
31:07
Speaker 4: But you know, a.
31:08
Speaker 1: Couple of years ago, it was again like, let's time
31:10
Speaker 1: this to where it's going to work. And then I
31:13
Speaker 1: think it was like May of twenty twenty two, when
31:16
Speaker 1: just a lot of like women's rights and reproductive rights
31:20
Speaker 1: were being talked about. I realized I cannot let baseball
31:23
Speaker 1: dictate my family goals. And we were trying, but with
31:29
Speaker 1: the game schedule and the road schedule, I mean, there's
31:32
Speaker 1: really only like a couple times you can really make
31:35
Speaker 1: it work. So it took us eleven months, but we
31:39
Speaker 1: just trusted, like we're going to make this work. We've
31:41
Speaker 1: got a really good support system and organization is here
31:45
Speaker 1: to support us. Plus I have a lot of faith
31:48
Speaker 1: in myself that through really chaotic times, I can thrive
31:53
Speaker 1: and figure out what the next step is and what
31:56
Speaker 1: is right not just for me but for my family.
32:00
Speaker 1: And so, you know, my season looks far different right now.
32:04
Speaker 1: I was just thinking, like, wow, a year ago, we
32:07
Speaker 1: were like leaving the Mexico City Series and heading to Houston,
32:11
Speaker 1: and like, you know, you're with the team and you're
32:14
Speaker 1: going through that travel grind, and right now I'm not
32:17
Speaker 1: doing that. But I don't feel guilt around it. I
32:21
Speaker 1: feel really excited for the shift in what things look
32:25
Speaker 1: like right now. I was, you know, for four seasons
32:28
Speaker 1: in a role and loved it and again ready for
32:31
Speaker 1: like another challenge. So I think I gave myself the
32:35
Speaker 1: ultimate challenge, but I'm here for it.
32:39
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35:03
Speaker 2: I'm curious what the maternity leave policy was with the
35:06
Speaker 2: MLB considering that they don't have any other female coaches,
35:11
Speaker 2: it's been a lot.
35:13
Speaker 1: So the way it works, so as a coach, you're
35:16
Speaker 1: employed by your organization, so I'm technically an employee of
35:19
Speaker 1: the Giants. And the Giant's maternity leave policy is really
35:27
Speaker 1: quite nice. Essentially, it's eighteen weeks and it's a mix
35:31
Speaker 1: of state disability FMLA and then a new baby bonding
35:35
Speaker 1: period and you have twelve months to use that eighteen
35:41
Speaker 1: weeks of leave. Again, like, hats off to the organization.
35:45
Speaker 1: They've been really supportive in allowing me to kind of
35:51
Speaker 1: like move through this without knowing exactly what I wanted
35:55
Speaker 1: at the start. So in the off season, you know,
35:58
Speaker 1: October November, Decen, where we were talking through all.
36:02
Speaker 4: This, it was like, well, I don't know when I'll
36:05
Speaker 4: be able.
36:05
Speaker 1: To come back. I don't know if I'll be able
36:06
Speaker 1: to travel. I've never had a kid before.
36:08
Speaker 4: I know they have to eat a lot.
36:10
Speaker 1: And so what I asked for was flexibility. Can I
36:13
Speaker 1: please not commit to a certain amount of time off
36:17
Speaker 1: or a certain come back date? And long story short,
36:22
Speaker 1: they said yes. So I took the six weeks to recover.
36:27
Speaker 1: My baby was born in January three weeks early. But
36:31
Speaker 1: when she hit six weeks, my family and I we
36:34
Speaker 1: traveled down to spring training. We were with the team
36:36
Speaker 1: for a while to kind of like test the waters
36:39
Speaker 1: of travel, and you know, my husband and I like
36:44
Speaker 1: kind of role reversing him taking her for the day
36:48
Speaker 1: and meeting me, like buy my lockers. I could feed
36:51
Speaker 1: her every three hours. I was pumping in the dugout
36:54
Speaker 1: all of this stuff. And so I realized, Okay, we
36:58
Speaker 1: need to like ease ourselves back into this. There is
37:02
Speaker 1: really no benefit in me trying to come back full
37:05
Speaker 1: force because I'm not going to be the best coach
37:07
Speaker 1: I can be and I definitely won't be the best
37:10
Speaker 1: mom I can be. And so this is just a
37:12
Speaker 1: long winded answer to talk through the maternity leave policy.
37:15
Speaker 1: But right now I'm essentially kind of piecing it together.
37:18
Speaker 1: So even though the team's on the road, I'm still
37:21
Speaker 1: working remotely. But if I need to take like a
37:24
Speaker 1: week or something, I feel comfortable being like, Okay, I'm
37:28
Speaker 1: going to take a week of leave in case, you know,
37:30
Speaker 1: something happens, and I have the twelve months to do that.
37:34
Speaker 3: Wow, that's awesome.
37:35
Speaker 2: It's awesome that they were really there to support you
37:37
Speaker 2: and allow you to be flexible as you learned what
37:40
Speaker 2: was right for you and your family, because, as you said,
37:43
Speaker 2: it's not like you have all the answers.
37:45
Speaker 3: You've never done it before.
37:46
Speaker 2: So here you are learning in real time and they're
37:49
Speaker 2: allowing you to learn alongside of them, which really does
37:52
Speaker 2: show again that culture of really outstanding support. You said,
37:57
Speaker 2: feet every three hours? Are we breastfeeding?
38:00
Speaker 3: What are we doing?
38:01
Speaker 1: Yeah, so you know you go in, Well, we went
38:04
Speaker 1: into like right before, well, we went into this whole pregnancy.
38:08
Speaker 1: I was like planning out everything. That's kind of how
38:10
Speaker 1: I work, and then just everything's like the universe, like
38:13
Speaker 1: here you go, here's a plan that you did not expect.
38:17
Speaker 1: So our goal is to exclusively breast speed. She was
38:21
Speaker 1: born three weeks early because I was on the verge
38:24
Speaker 1: of pre eclampsia. I'm not sure if you know what
38:27
Speaker 1: it is, but it's basically something you can get in
38:30
Speaker 1: in pregnancy. It's telling everything like your organs could be failing.
38:35
Speaker 1: So she was healthy and fine the whole time. I
38:38
Speaker 1: was the issue, so I had to get induced three
38:40
Speaker 1: weeks early. She came out great. I was fine, I thought,
38:45
Speaker 1: but she wasn't latching, and they say, because she didn't
38:49
Speaker 1: have the three extra weeks to like develop that sucking technique,
38:54
Speaker 1: like nursing was going to be hard, but I could
38:56
Speaker 1: still pump and breastfeed that way. So we were doing that,
39:00
Speaker 1: and in that first week we're kind of getting closer
39:03
Speaker 1: to the nurse nursing and the latching part. But then
39:06
Speaker 1: I did develop a postpartum pre clampsia, so I was
39:10
Speaker 1: hospitalized for a bit. So it just threw a wrench
39:13
Speaker 1: in everything. So we attempt the nursing a few times
39:17
Speaker 1: a day. We're getting better, but I'm pumping around the clock.
39:21
Speaker 1: So at the start it was eight to nine times
39:24
Speaker 1: a day, like six times a day, so every four hours,
39:30
Speaker 1: and it's it's been a lot, but again I've I've
39:34
Speaker 1: gotten into a pretty good rhythm and a good routine.
39:38
Speaker 1: So I feel very good and I feel very blessed
39:40
Speaker 1: that I can, you know, feed my baby. And it's
39:43
Speaker 1: been quite the journey to learn with her on like
39:48
Speaker 1: the nursing part, and each time it happens, it's like, yes,
39:52
Speaker 1: that's for the day, because it truly is a beautiful thing.
39:56
Speaker 1: But so, yeah, it's a mixture of breastfeeding but also
40:00
Speaker 1: we do have to supplement with formula because she's a
40:03
Speaker 1: growing girl and she's like her mommy and gets hang grief,
40:07
Speaker 1: So make sure we've got something on deck.
40:10
Speaker 2: Even I just have that imagery of you doing this
40:13
Speaker 2: and the dugout and the guys are just, you know,
40:15
Speaker 2: hanging out and you're hanging out and You're like, this
40:17
Speaker 2: is how we go exist.
40:18
Speaker 1: Now exactly, and they just they love it. They're like this,
40:23
Speaker 1: this is going to go in the book one day.
40:25
Speaker 4: I'm like, oh, yes.
40:29
Speaker 3: For sure.
40:30
Speaker 2: So as we start to wind down here, I do
40:33
Speaker 2: want to make sure that we find some time to
40:34
Speaker 2: talk about how it feels for you moving forward.
40:37
Speaker 1: Now.
40:38
Speaker 3: I know that we're still learning about what.
40:40
Speaker 2: Feels right for you and your family and your commitments
40:42
Speaker 2: and time allotment with the team. But as you are
40:45
Speaker 2: so passionate about furthering opportunities for women in sport, my
40:49
Speaker 2: question really is what is it that you feel is
40:53
Speaker 2: within your power to help with those opportunities. Because it
40:57
Speaker 2: sounds like such a big topic, but it's such a
41:00
Speaker 2: big endeavor, right, But there have to be some more
41:03
Speaker 2: smaller tasks that you have your eye on to make
41:06
Speaker 2: these changes happen.
41:08
Speaker 4: Yeah, totally.
41:09
Speaker 1: I think when you think about it, like how can
41:10
Speaker 1: you open the door for women, and it's like that's
41:12
Speaker 1: a very big question. So one, I think just doing
41:17
Speaker 1: it is helpful, and then kind of beyond that is
41:21
Speaker 1: really ensuring that women are understanding what opportunities are available.
41:27
Speaker 1: So that's what really helped me. Right, I didn't see
41:30
Speaker 1: this job exist. However, I knew just in my heart
41:34
Speaker 1: and through journaling and through talking with others, like I
41:38
Speaker 1: knew what I kind of wanted my days to look like,
41:41
Speaker 1: and the impact that I wanted and how I wanted
41:44
Speaker 1: to kind of feel, and the type of work I
41:47
Speaker 1: wanted to do. I just couldn't put a job description
41:50
Speaker 1: to it. So what I do now is I the
41:55
Speaker 1: Giants and I have a couple times in the last
41:57
Speaker 1: couple of years put on a career in Sport event
42:02
Speaker 1: at Oracle Park, the home of the Giants, and we
42:05
Speaker 1: invite local college softball teams to come and just learn
42:11
Speaker 1: about the different jobs there are in baseball. I had
42:14
Speaker 1: no idea one I had no idea you could have
42:17
Speaker 1: a career in sports. When I was playing sports. I
42:21
Speaker 1: just didn't know you could keep doing it. And so
42:24
Speaker 1: I think one just awareness is really really important. So
42:27
Speaker 1: I love those events because then I get to know
42:31
Speaker 1: and I get to meet these athletes and they are
42:34
Speaker 1: so excited about pursuing their career in sport. You know
42:39
Speaker 1: there because I can resonate with them. I played college softball,
42:42
Speaker 1: and you go through that identity crisis when you graduate, like.
42:46
Speaker 4: Who am I without softball?
42:48
Speaker 1: So it's been really fun to stay connected with these
42:51
Speaker 1: girls that are pursuing jobs in baseball and then also
42:56
Speaker 1: encouraging them to look at other jobs in other sports too.
43:02
Speaker 1: That's that's kind of the one big thing that I
43:05
Speaker 1: feel like does have a lot of impact, and I've
43:08
Speaker 1: been able to see it, like I've been able to
43:10
Speaker 1: see women like some of these college softball players go
43:13
Speaker 1: out and get scouting jobs with the Red Sox, get
43:16
Speaker 1: jobs within our Giants organization, get baseball operations jobs with
43:21
Speaker 1: other teams. So that's that's been cool. And then they
43:24
Speaker 1: are starting to kind of like do it too and
43:28
Speaker 1: get into their communities and talk about the different career
43:32
Speaker 1: paths you can take in baseball specifically.
43:36
Speaker 2: It's a domino effect, right, and it starts with one
43:38
Speaker 2: person to say, what if we try this, and it's
43:41
Speaker 2: just something that no one's happened to say before. There's
43:44
Speaker 2: so much value in the work that you're doing. We did,
43:47
Speaker 2: we did chat a little bit before and joked a
43:49
Speaker 2: bit about the Keyboard Warrior. So many people, you know,
43:52
Speaker 2: they know you as this coach for the San Francisco Giants.
43:57
Speaker 2: But when you look in the mirror, what is it
43:59
Speaker 2: that you see looking back at you?
44:02
Speaker 1: I see like just a very chill person that's trying
44:07
Speaker 1: to be very kind in a world that needs it.
44:11
Speaker 1: And I know that sounds quite cheesy, but it's it's simple,
44:16
Speaker 1: and I do feel like this world, in our society,
44:20
Speaker 1: tries to make so many simple things very complex. And
44:26
Speaker 1: then also I just think like that's kind of insane.
44:30
Speaker 1: So it comes back to like can we just be
44:32
Speaker 1: kind and chill? You know.
44:34
Speaker 4: Now I look in the mirror, I'm like, I'm I'm
44:36
Speaker 4: a mom. And that's the coolest.
44:37
Speaker 1: I knew I was gonna like it. I didn't know
44:39
Speaker 1: I was going to like it this much. I love
44:42
Speaker 1: it so much and I feel like coaching and really
44:47
Speaker 1: just my whole life, but especially these last five years
44:50
Speaker 1: have prepped me for motherhood and I'm so ever grateful
44:55
Speaker 1: for that. But yeah, identities and like identity because growing
44:59
Speaker 1: up it was like I'm gonna be d one college
45:01
Speaker 1: softball player and then like you graduate and you're not
45:03
Speaker 1: that anymore, and like the world doesn't care, but you care.
45:07
Speaker 1: So I'm like, I'd never want to box myself into
45:11
Speaker 1: one thing ever again. And so I look in the mirror,
45:15
Speaker 1: I'm like, how can I be the most chill and
45:18
Speaker 1: the most kind today and then take care of life's responsibilities.
45:23
Speaker 2: We love that, We absolutely love that. How can I
45:26
Speaker 2: be the most chill and the most kind today. I'm
45:28
Speaker 2: going to start asking myself that in the mirror when
45:31
Speaker 2: I wake up in the morning.
45:34
Speaker 3: Super helpful.
45:35
Speaker 2: Well, I'm so glad that we were able to find
45:38
Speaker 2: this time to connect today. Two last questions before I
45:41
Speaker 2: let you go. You've been playing this sport for such
45:44
Speaker 2: a long time, and now obviously within a different role
45:47
Speaker 2: within the Giants organization. When you think about the lessons
45:50
Speaker 2: that you've learned within sport that have carried you into
45:53
Speaker 2: the other aspects of your life, what would you say
45:56
Speaker 2: one of the most resounding through lines has been for you.
45:59
Speaker 1: I think it's really really important that you stay consistent
46:03
Speaker 1: in who you are and you keep your processes pretty
46:07
Speaker 1: constant and consistent, but allow them to adapt as necessary.
46:13
Speaker 1: I think in sport, especially as a coach, and I
46:16
Speaker 1: see it with other coaches, like you try to control
46:20
Speaker 1: so much. It's like you're not the one on the
46:22
Speaker 1: field playing, How can you be the best facilitator of preparation?
46:27
Speaker 1: And it just comes back to controlling what you can control,
46:31
Speaker 1: because there's so much you can't. And so I think
46:34
Speaker 1: like growing up in sport, I learned a lot about
46:36
Speaker 1: time management, and you know, like getting your homework done
46:40
Speaker 1: and then being able to go to practice and getting
46:42
Speaker 1: good grades so that you could make the team and
46:44
Speaker 1: that sort of thing. And now obviously I still think
46:47
Speaker 1: like the time management skills you learn and in sport
46:52
Speaker 1: is it's great for your life. But I also think
46:55
Speaker 1: just the understanding the importance of being that consistent presence
47:00
Speaker 1: or your team, your clubhouse, your your staff, your players
47:03
Speaker 1: is so important. And then it translates into life outside
47:06
Speaker 1: the field of just being that consistent person for your
47:09
Speaker 1: family and for the community.
47:11
Speaker 3: Consistency is key.
47:13
Speaker 2: Putting in the reps has definitely been a through line
47:15
Speaker 2: in our conversation today. All right, as we end, a
47:19
Speaker 2: final question for you, right, now you have an opportunity
47:22
Speaker 2: to offer yourself a piece of advice back when you
47:25
Speaker 2: were starting flipping over the phone and trying to focus
47:28
Speaker 2: in on your career, doing something that no other woman
47:32
Speaker 2: had done before. Knowing what you know now, what advice
47:35
Speaker 2: would you offer yourself embarking on that hurdle.
47:40
Speaker 1: I would tell myself to stay humble and stay hungry.
47:46
Speaker 1: I think it's you know, I think humility is when
47:49
Speaker 1: it kind of comes naturally to me. I have like
47:52
Speaker 1: two really great best friends that I've had since I
47:55
Speaker 1: was born that have kept me humble my whole life.
47:59
Speaker 1: But I think it's also importantly stay hungry. So I'm
48:02
Speaker 1: going to be like humble and do my job, but
48:04
Speaker 1: I'm also going to keep looking to advance not just
48:07
Speaker 1: myself but other women in sport, and also like strive
48:11
Speaker 1: to get a world series ring this season.
48:15
Speaker 3: We love it.
48:16
Speaker 2: We love some goal setting, and again you're talking about
48:18
Speaker 2: your board of directors, something that I think a lot
48:21
Speaker 2: of people are going to walk away from this episode
48:23
Speaker 2: and ask themselves who's on mine? Elis I'm so happy
48:27
Speaker 2: that we were able to make this happen today. Tell
48:29
Speaker 2: us if they don't follow along with you, just yet.
48:32
Speaker 2: How can the hurdlers follow along with you? How can
48:34
Speaker 2: they keep up with you? Perhaps the Giants organization give
48:38
Speaker 2: me the details.
48:40
Speaker 1: So I'm not like super active on social media, meaning
48:43
Speaker 1: I'm not on it.
48:45
Speaker 3: We see what happened here. There's definitely a true life
48:49
Speaker 3: I know.
48:50
Speaker 1: I do think that, you know, everyone should become a
48:53
Speaker 1: Giants fan and come out to games and maybe one
48:56
Speaker 1: day I'll be like a little bit more public. But
48:59
Speaker 1: I love connecting with fans in person. So again, if
49:03
Speaker 1: you come to a game and want to chat, like
49:05
Speaker 1: I want to chat.
49:07
Speaker 3: Head on down, head on down to the clubhouse.
49:10
Speaker 2: I'm over at emilya Body and at Hurdle Podcast Another
49:14
Speaker 2: Hurdle Conquered.
49:15
Speaker 3: Catch you guys next time.