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Welcome back to the raising unstoppable girl athletes podcast. I'm coach brief and elite competitor coach for girl athletes. And I am so happy. You're here. Today's episode is an athlete tip. Now moms and parents. If you're listening, you can keep listening. This is a great episode for anyone, but typically on these episodes, I gave athletes tips. So I'm speaking directly to the athlete, but on this one, we're doing something a little different. I actually brought in. A multi-sport athlete who is committed to playing at the college level. Her name is Sophia Schneider, and I actually interviewed her. So she will be giving athletes. The tips today. So I can't wait for you to listen to this episode. I'll get into a little bit, but we talked about. In a second, but before we do that, I want to give a shout out to an athlete in our community. So Audrey, if you're listening, I want to give a little kudos to you. A high five. Because Audrey just recently finished up the elite competitor program and here is what she had to say about her takeaways. She said my biggest takeaways are the fact that I no longer jealous, only inspired. I know athletes. He can relate to that feeling of comparison and jealousy. Right. She also said, this helped me get through more problems, stay excited, even after a mistake. It helped me realize that I still love my sport, even though I used to not have fun because I wasn't that good or so I thought. It helped with all the visualizations and breath work techniques, because I could calm down and really see what I felt. My favorite part was making our vision boards. It showed me what I really wanted and things that I loved most were the love of the game. Visualization. I used it as a goal to reach where I wanted to be Audrey. I'm so proud of you. What you're saying, a lot of athletes can relate with, and I love that you are so real about that, right? Like as an athlete, we struggle, right. Struggle with comparison with jealousy, not feeling like you're good enough. So I'm just so thrilled that as you went through the program, you picked up these tools and these strategies. To help, you know, that you are good enough and that you started to play your sport in the first place for a reason. And that love is still there. So congrats. All right. Let's get into today's episode. Like I said, this is an athlete tip episode. So Sophia Schneider is dishing out the tips for you. So, like I said, she's a multi-sport athlete. She's committed. To playing college volleyball at Lander university this fall. So in this interview, you're going to hear firsthand, just the very real struggles of being a girl athlete. So things that you are going to be able to relate with as an athlete, she's talking about the challenges of being a freshman on varsity, and one of her sports, what to do when the motivation is lacking, what it takes to get recruited at the next level and how the recruiting process played out for her. So if he has also giving you advice and talking about what she would do differently if she were doing her whole sports journey over again so there's a lot of nuggets in here i can't wait for you to listen enjoy this episode of the raising unsolvable pro athletes podcast

Breanne 3:00

Hi Sophia, welcome to the Raising Unstoppable Girl Athletes Podcast.

Sophia 3:04

Hi.

Breanne 3:05

Thank you for having me. Yeah, I'm so happy to have you. So, Sophia, can you first introduce yourself to our community of athletes and of moms who are listening? Just tell us kind of a little bit about your background, what sports you have played and are

Sophia 3:20

playing right now. Yeah, so my name is Sophia Schneider and I've. Always just loved sports and being active and being competitive. And so I've played a lot of sports and done a lot of things in my 18 years. And I've played mostly basketball, volleyball, and softball, and those were like always my favorite sports. And I've actually gone through like, Phases where I prioritize different, one of those sports, like I played four or five years of club softball where I really wanted to play college softball. Then I played a couple years of club basketball where I really wanted to play college basketball. And then in high school I mainly switched to volleyball and I focused on playing volleyball in college.

Breanne 4:04

Yeah. That's awesome. Okay, so I love hearing that you've tried a lot of different sports. You've been committed to a lot of different sports, and then you chose one that you wanted to go to the next level with. Was there any, how did you know, like out of all those sports that you played, and it sounds like you were pretty successful at many of them and you had big goals for yourself, but what, what was it about volleyball that, that made you choose that one?

Sophia 4:25

It was honestly just some of the experiences I had and coaches I had like in my. Eighth grade up in like freshman going forward in high school. Like I just had some really good volleyball coaches and really good experiences with volleyball. And also I think it came like the most easily to me and I had like the most success in volleyball and so I kind of just went with that and yeah, that was basically how I chose.

Breanne 4:50

Yeah. That's great. And so where are you committed to playing in the fall?

Sophia 4:56

I'm playing at Lander University. That is in Greenwood, South Carolina.

Breanne 5:00

Nice. And how did you choose that school? We have, some athletes that are wanting to play in college and there's a whole like process around, like, how do we figure out what's the right fit, what's the right school? Like how did you choose Lander?

Sophia 5:15

Well, the recruiting process was, Probably the hardest thing I've ever done, and it's so hard to choose. But in the beginning of my recruiting process, I just decided like, I wanna go somewhere that I feel like I fit in or somewhere that I could call home. And so I went all over the country and I visited schools in like the East Coast and the Midwest and the South. And honestly like going to Lander, I know, I know that they were in like a rebuilding period kind of. And I just really enjoyed my coach and I got to practice with them and. It just, I loved the campus, I loved the south. I wanted to go far from home. And so like kind of all of those things played into that. And I wanted to play at a high level. And division two is at like a high level for me, and so I. All of that kind of went into that decision. Yeah,

Breanne 6:14

for sure. I, I love how you're describing it and it's almost, I can hear in your voice that it's like, I can't totally describe it. It just clicked, you know, like, yeah. You know it when you're there. And that's great advice too for athletes that are listening who aren't really sure like, You know, they wanna play in college but aren't really sure where the fit is. Like you went a lot of places, you experienced it and playing at a high level, but is, is one thing, but playing at a high level where you love. Where you are, you love the coaching staff, you love the girls around you, you love the, the school itself like makes an enormous difference. And I know you Yeah. But you know, like playing at a high level at a school where you don't feel like it's home and you know, coaches that you don't wanna play for, like those are the athletes that get in the transfer portal or leave. And so yeah. It sounds like you considered all of that in your choice.

Sophia 7:04

Yeah. And it was also like, I was for a while, you know, set on the whole, like, I only wanna play division one and if I don't play division one, like it's now worth it at all. But once I started practicing with like division two teams, like I was like, I feel like I just fit here better and I feel like I could make a bigger difference here. Versus like just being stuck on one idea or one division. Like, I think it's also really important during recruiting to just keep a totally open mind and like any, like a school would reach out to me and I would talk to my parents and I'd be like, I don't really know if I'm interested in this school, and they would just be like, well, you might as well give 'em a response and like have an option and just see where it goes. Because it's always good to just have an open mind with any school in any place, any division, or anything like that.

Breanne 7:50

Yeah. Such great advice. I love that. Well, while we're on that topic, there's a lot that we can talk about Sophia also because I've heard a lot about how much of an amazing athlete, but also person you are. So I wanna get into some of this stuff, but while we're on this topic of recruiting and playing at the collegiate level, although you will be embarking on that in the fall, so you don't know exactly like we have an idea of what it's gonna take. And I'm sure you've heard you know what it takes. To play at that level. I mean, I played in college too, and I didn't know what I didn't know, you know, and you just like, yeah, you get into it, you get hit with it. But let's, let's back up into where you are now and. A lot of athletes want to play in college. Not a lot of athletes actually do. So you are part of the, you know, I think, I think the latest stats for volleyball were like 4% of volleyball players go on to play at the next level, which is not a lot. So in your mind and in your experience, what separates people who say they wanna play in college versus those who do wanna play in college?

Sophia 8:53

I feel like it's the amount of things that you're willing to like sacrifice to make it come true. Like there's so many things I've given up. Obviously to like travel for club or even just like, I've had really good high school coaches that if I would ask them to get me the gym at any time, they'd let me get the gym. I had a coach that would come in at any time I wanted and would toss balls for me to set into a net. And I feel like it also is kind of about the people that are around you and how much help you get because it is really hard to do that by yourself. Mm-hmm. And you need some other resources, but I feel like. That's what it is, is like sacrificing like your time, your energy, like things that other people can do. Like sometimes you have tournaments on prom or mm-hmm. Dances and like fun things that you have to miss out on, but like, that's what it takes to play in college. Yeah.

Breanne 9:46

How much work outside of like your typical practice did you have to put in on average? Just, I guess just, did you put in extra, it sounds like you did. And how much would you say, like on average, per week that you would put in outside of your practice, in your sport?

Sophia 10:05

I feel like it really, like you don't have to eat, sleep and breathe like your sport, but. I would say whenever I had like a morning available or my coach would ask me like, what times during the week would work for me, I would just go a couple times a week, a couple hours, and like if you get, I would have some of my teammates come with me and we'd make it, like we'd do drills together and it would be fun. And so I'd say probably like just a couple hours, a couple times a week, like maybe I. Six hours at least. Mm-hmm. Just like couple hours a day or something like that was what I did during like off seasons. And then when we'd have obviously more organized things like open gyms and stuff like that too. Mm-hmm. And workouts and everything and the whole.

Breanne 10:52

Yeah. Yeah. It obviously will vary depending on like your, your load and, and what's going on with like school ball and For sure. And was that mostly driven by you or do you think that was driven by your parents? Were your parents like, Hey Sophia, if you wanna play in college, you need to put in this extra work? Or were you like, Hey, I wanna play in college and I know that's gonna take a little bit more, you know, tell me.

Sophia 11:17

I feel like I was the one that decided I wanted to play in college, and my teammates around me influenced that a lot too. Like I had a really good team, like we went to state freshman and sophomore year for volleyball and so like that pressure of like wanting to be that good, like that kept us all motivated. But I feel like when I got to high school and my high school coach kind of told me like, That if I wanted to play in college, like I should, you know, join a bigger club and put in more work and I could play in college. And I kind of decided that I wanted to do that and my parents were always there to support me and it was kind of a learning process for both of us. But I would say that I probably was the one that decided like to put in that extra work and to wanna play in college. Yeah, that's great.

Breanne 12:03

And I hear that all the time. I, I actually like to kind of give you a more of a perspective of what I see. I hear a lot of parents say, my daughter wants to play in college, but she's not putting in the extra work to get Yeah. And so when you say extra work and you're like, yeah, you know, you don't have to eat, eat, sleep, breathe it. And I love that you said that because a little bit of cons, you know, consistent. Consistently goes a long way versus like, oh, I gotta put in these hours and hours of training sessions. But what was this extra work that you were putting

Sophia 12:33

in? Basically just like working out on my own, even if it's not with a team or with a coach, and. Like I said, like if I had access to a gym or even not even a gym like me and a couple of my teammates would get together and we'd play at a sand court, like in our town and just getting a touch on a ball, like whenever it is possible and just giving up a little bit of time every day or every other day or whatever, just. Like being around the sport as much as possible. Like even when I'd go to the beach in the summer, I'd bring a volleyball with me and like make someone play because it's just every time you're touching a ball, like you're getting better. I.

Breanne 13:12

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And I love that it sounds like you also recruit other people too, so it's, yeah. Piece of accountability, you know, to get other people on board and, and have training partners is really key too. How about this though, you know, I'm, I'm assuming you didn't always, and you don't always feel motivated to do these things or even to go to practice. Have you ever dealt with a lack of motivation as you're playing your sport?

Sophia 13:41

Oh yeah. Especially like in the beginning of a season, it's always really fun and really exciting and it's like, I wanna play a game every day. And then once you kind of get like months into the season, it kind of like, sometimes it's just feels like too much work to put your shoes on before practice. And so yeah, there's definitely a lot of like, burning out that happens, but I feel like. You just have to find something that motivates you. Even if it's like it's almost over. Like that's, at least if that's gonna motivate you to, you know, wanna practice harder, then whatever it takes. Yeah,

Breanne 14:17

yeah, for sure. Like finding that thing that, that inner drive to get you through. Okay. How about, you know, you've, you've probably been through a lot as an athlete. Can you recall though, some of those bigger moments in your career so far? Your career is far from over, but so far in your, in your career where you've struggled and you've been hard? It's been hard and. I dunno, is anything coming to mind kind of in that area that you're like, yeah, I was really challenged or like, I've felt like giving up or faced with an injury or something and how did you overcome that?

Sophia 14:54

I can definitely think of a couple things. My, like freshman year of high school I was on two varsity sports and during that time of my life I was kind of struggling with like, some performance anxiety and just being so distracted with things going on around me that it was hard to focus on the game that I was playing. And something. That's like a special circumstance that helped me with that was like the Covid pandemic because my sophomore year we didn't allow fans and so I was kind of able to just like only focus on what was going on. And so that was a really like special circumstance that helped me and I definitely would've had to find another way to overcome that if it didn't happen. But that was one thing I definitely struggled with my earlier years of high school. And then, Recruiting is just a struggle in itself. And you know, it's so hard, especially when you really like a school or you really like a coach and they end up not wanting you. That's always, you know, like something that's hard to get over. And then, Also just the fear of like not knowing what comes next. Like I feel like that was the biggest struggle in recruiting is like, I just wanted it figured out for me. I just wanted to be able to go to club tournaments and just play and have fun, but I couldn't have as much fun because I was so worried about recruiting and who was watching and where I was gonna go and like what was gonna happen after that season. And so it's a lot of stress recruiting. But. You just have to know like there's a home for everyone and like as long as you put in the work, like you'll find somewhere. Like I, the main people that helped me with recruiting were my parents and my high school coach. And so we were just constantly talking like, did we see this camp? Did you see this school that reached out to you? And I was also on some recruiting websites and so like I would just post video on there and I made all my own video and posted it and Just kind of staying on top of that is just a lot of pressure too, and it's just ultimately such a big decision that you're making and especially at such a young age. And so I feel like that's always just a stressful experience. But again, like the motivation of just. Once this is figured out, I'm gonna know where I'm playing and I'm gonna be happy with it and I'm gonna be so excited to play in college. Like that's kind of what kept me going and like the support from my parents and my coach. Like I said, those are what kind of what kept me going through that. Mm-hmm. And then lastly, a couple weeks ago actually, I had an injury and I got a concussion at a tournament. And it was such a weird time because it was the end of volleyball. It was the end of my last club season. And as bittersweet as that is I was very burnt out at the end of this club season. And me and some of my teammates, we were just like, Oh my gosh, like this is just so hard to do right now because just wanted it to be over after all of these years of giving up so many nights and so many hours, just playing volleyball just gets, you know, obviously really exhausting. But then I got this injury and I. Was so sad that I couldn't play and I was so worried that I wasn't gonna be able to play like my last tournament. And so that kind of injury made me like realize that I should be happy that I get to play. I should be grateful that I get to play the last few tournaments of club, even though going to practice was not something that I wanted to do. Mm-hmm. So that was also just kind of a realization kind of thing that got me through the end of club. Mm-hmm.

Breanne 18:32

That's good. You had, you had such a perspective shift it sounds like. Yeah. Often injuries can do that if you choose to look at it that way. And that's the power of the mind too, that like you could have easily been like, oh, well this just sucks. And you know, I'm not saying that you probably didn't think that and that's fine, but yeah. So then he shows like, this is how I'm gonna respond. I'm gonna be grateful for every minute that I get to play. And you know, that really does change the game and like your enjoyment of it for sure. So yeah, this is all really great. Sophia, you're, I think, hitting on some things that so many athletes deal with this performance anxiety, and, you know, I love that you, you said you, you know, the gyms was, gyms were a little bit more thin during Covid, right? Right. Yeah. And so you able to make it through. But was there anything that helped you when, you know, the. The crowd was full and you were back playing maybe even like your sophomore year, and there's still a lot of pressure even being a sophomore and playing at that high level. Was there anything that was helpful or anything that somebody said or anything that just kinda helped you in that

Sophia 19:34

situation? There was this one time my, I think it was my freshman year and we were playing in this tournament and I made a mistake and I remember like. I just, you know, had bad body language after I made this mistake. And my coach was not a coach who was very vocal and wouldn't yell very often, and she yelled at me for doing that. And after that I was like, I am never gonna let anyone know that I'm frustrated ever again. And so that was just like one little experience that yeah, like I very much learned that body language is so important. And it's like you really can fake it till you make it. Like if I make a mistake and no one knows that I'm upset about it, I won't even be upset about it because. No one else knows. And so, yeah, it's just not even there. Yeah. I love that. Well, your coach

Breanne 20:22

knows what she's talking about. She, she definitely chose a right moment to show her passion about that, because we talk about in the program, in the elite competitor program on how important body language is for. For three reasons. First, it sends a signal to yourself, so when you are frustrated and defeated, it sends a message to your brain that you are not confident and you don't want the ball to come to you. And all that cascade of negativity sends a message to your teammates. Well, actually there's four things. It sends a message to your teammates and they're now unsure if they should trust you because they're like, well, I don't know Sophia. Mad at me. Is she good? Can I set her again? Okay. Sends a message to your coach, right? Because it's like, well, I don't know. Now the coach is like, I'm not sure if I can trust her. Do I need to pull her out? Does she need a break? And then it sends a message to your opponents, you know, as you know and I coach volleyball too. As soon as I see one of our opponents. Showing some bad body language or showing some frustration or we aced her. Like guess who we're going back to. Yeah, exactly. And so now you are creating a vulnerability on your team by showing the other team so. You know, where, where you're weak. And so yeah, I do love that. You know, she was passionate about that and it made an impact on you because body language is so important for so many reasons.

Sophia 21:34

So, yeah, and it's also hard because I started playing club volleyball in sixth grade. And in sixth grade I played up on like, I played a year up, so like on a seventh grade age team, and I did the same thing in seventh grade. I played up on an eighth grade age team. And so even like being younger and the same thing with like being a freshman on varsity with all these upperclassmen, like I already felt like so inferior to everyone else because I was younger. But it's also like I was obviously there for a reason and I was playing on all of those teams and so like. I remember one time I also like set a ball really not confidently, and it was not a very good set at all. My teammate looks at me and she was like, Sophia set the ball. And I was like, okay. Like there's just honestly in playing at a high level, like there's just not even time to second guess yourself or to have bad body language because it moves so fast that you just have to be like ready for whatever's coming next.

Breanne 22:30

Yeah. That's such a good point. And so you also sounds like had to really work. On your self talk too, like, okay, I don't like, feel sorry for myself or beat myself up. Like, we got, I gotta get ready for this next question. Yeah. Yeah. And as a setter too, like you play obviously an important role. Like you're literally in every play, everyone is, is looking to you. You are setting the tone as the leader, so you know, even more important that you're dialed in, in that way. Yeah. Okay. Well on, on that note of teammates, not mentioning like any names or anything, you don't, we don't have to do all that, but a common question I get asked is how do you deal with negative teammates? So people who you're playing with that are either like, just rude, negative, you know, we get it all. Like, maybe not including some other people, just, just those teammates that are hard to play with. Yeah. Have you ever played with teammates like that and, and how did you navigate

Sophia 23:26

it? I feel like on every team, well, on every team, you're gonna have people that you're really close with and that you have like just a lot in common with. And there's always gonna be people that you're not as close with because there's just so many people on a team, like you're not all gonna, most likely you're not all gonna be like best friends with each other. But I definitely have dealt with some really negative teammates and it's really hard, honestly, because you just wanna like be playing and you just wanna have fun and you wish everyone felt that way. And it really sucks sometimes to put up with that. But at the end of the day, you can only control your attitude and how you go about it. And so I would always just ignore it and just treat them like I would treat any other teammate that wasn't acting the same way that they were. Cause that's really all you can do. And if it gets to the point where it was really bad I would always confide in my parents or someone else that I trust, to not start drama and go to other teammates. I could get my frustration out about it and it wouldn't affect me during the game or it wouldn't affect the team. So I would definitely say, that not going to another teammate about a negative teammate is always a good idea. But yeah, I've definitely dealt with that before and it's really just not something you can control. So you can't worry about it too much. Yeah.

Breanne 24:45

I think your, yeah, your advice is spot on. I can't think of any team that I've played on or coached that doesn't have, you know, at least one or two that I just kind of. Are that way. And yeah, it's, I always tell athletes too, it's more of a reflection on where they are at mentally or emotionally or what they're dealing with. It doesn't ever excuse bad behavior, you know? Mm-hmm. And so there's always a line there that like, if there's bullying or things like that that are happening, then obviously you need to let the coach know. But but trying to control like their, how they, their negativity or, you know, wasting energy in that way is just like so much wasted energy. So, yeah. And I love that you said like having a place where you can vent. So if your parents are that safe space that's great. And not going to other teammates about it and creating more drama. Like let it be like if it's this small, let it be this small. Once you start to, yeah, like talk about it with other people, now it becomes bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and mm-hmm. What we focus on expand. So. Yeah, that's great advice. Okay. So many good things, Sophia. We're kind of wrapping up here, but I wanna ask you two last questions. They might, they're a little difficult. I did not give you these ahead of time, so, you know, my, maybe take some thinking. But first question is, looking back over your career so far in volleyball or even in your other sports, is there anything that you would do differently?

Sophia 26:09

That is a hard question. I know

Breanne 26:11

I told you I was gonna have a hard one, but here we're,

Sophia 26:16

there's one, like one thing I would say that I wish I did differently was like committing to my sport earlier, but at the same time I was pursuing like different sports. So I don't really know if I could have done that, but I guess. Like if you know that you can, like, you should, I don't know if that makes sense, but like my freshman year, I my coach was like, you should try this club. It's bigger. And it was a lot more travel than what I had done the past couple of years. But she was like, you know, there's all these. Kids from these bigger division schools playing here and these really good coaches. And so I went there and I played at that club for my freshman, sophomore and junior years. And like the training there and like all the traveling you do is just so worth it. And so I do wish that I committed to volleyball earlier and I feel like I wish I. Went to that, like put in that extra effort of like traveling more and putting in more work earlier, because I feel like I'd be better off now, but again, like I was doing so many other things. And I also, cuz I also wouldn't advise that necessarily. Right. Yeah, I hear you going all too early because then there's burnout and everything, but. I do wish I did that earlier and I wish I started like my recruiting process earlier, or not even starting it earlier, but like researching more and like there's just so many schools that you don't know about and that could be a good fit for you and it's all. I also wish that. I would've been more open-minded about recruiting earlier instead of having like such a fixed mindset about where I thought I wanted to be, because where I ended up was not anywhere where I thought I wanted to be. And just taking all those factors into consideration when recruiting. Like I would just say being more open-minded earlier when I was recruiting and also committing to my sport when I knew I wanted to pursue it. Yeah. Yeah,

Breanne 28:12

that is, that is good. All those, like, what would you do differently are hard because it's like, well, you know, whatever I did got me to where I am. So yeah. I don't necessarily wanna change, but yeah, I hear you. Just like, you know, starting that process a little earlier, kind of dialing in all those pieces, you know, your mental game, physical game, recruiting, like all of that.

Sophia 28:33

Yeah. Yeah, because I also like eventually ended up quitting like other sports, which you don't have to do. I don't wanna like say that, give that advice. Right. But I did end up like quitting a sport that was less important to me to pursue volleyball, and I was really grateful that I did that because I had not only like so much more time, but I had so much more energy for volleyball and I wish I did that earlier, but, mm-hmm. You also don't have to. Like, I was also enjoying it while I was playing it. So I don't wanna spread the message that you have to quit sports to play in college. You don't have to do that. But I wish I personally did that. Yeah,

Breanne 29:11

yeah. No, I hear you. And you know, I always, cause I get that question a lot from athletes too that are like, oh, well I actually more from moms, like, she's playing a lot of sports. Should we stop one? And I always say like, well, What's, what are the goals? And so it sounds like, well, you had big goals and so it was kind, it kind of becomes a necessity at some point if your goal is to play at that high level to not have like three or four sports going on at once. Yeah, but then also like, where's the enjoyment factor? And sometimes when it just becomes, you know, like a thing that's taking away from something else that you want, you know, you just have to make those hard decisions, so, yeah. Yeah. Okay. I sort of lied. I actually have three questions. So we already talked about what you do differently. How about this, what has been so far the best advice you have been given as an athlete?

Sophia 29:58

feel like the best advice I've been given is just something that like. This has been for years and years. Any time I would go to a practice or my dad would drop me off at a practice, all he would say is just work hard. And that's like so little, but him telling me that so often and he'll always tell me like, be the hardest worker in the room. Like after hearing that so many times, I feel like that's just been the best advice that I've probably been given because. Like it's true. I wanna stand out somehow, I wanna work harder than the person next to me. And like putting in extra work like we talked about before, like that was part of like being the hardest worker. And so I feel like that is probably the best advice I've been given. Yeah. Oh,

Breanne 30:44

that is so good. It actually gave me you the sunk because cause it sounds like your parents were very supportive in this, school journey.

Sophia 30:51

Yeah. I definitely kinda talk about that feeling without my parents.

Breanne 30:55

Yeah. Yeah. Cause they, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like they had this awesome support, this balance of like supporting you in your goals and, and to get there versus like just making your goal, their goal and you know, making it, like, forcing you in that, in that direction. Yeah.

Sophia 31:16

And like, When I first started my recruiting process, I didn't really know like what I wanted and once I went through it a little bit more, I was like, I think I wanna go far from home and I wanna experience life like somewhere else. I don't wanna, you know, stay in Wisconsin or stay in the Midwest. And so when I committed to a school in South Carolina and people would ask me about it, they'd be like, how do your parents feel about that? And I never even thought of the fact like, If my parents even like were to not like that, cuz I mean, I thought like, wow, my parents must not like that I'm moving across the country. But they helped me get there either way. And so yeah, my parents did a lot for me throughout recruiting and not even just helping me, like talk to schools and like encouraging me to like get that video up and like reach out to these schools. But they were also there when I was, you know, just full of tears and worried about where I was gonna play in college and. All of that.

Breanne 32:15

Yeah. Oh, that's so good. I mean, I love that. Well, how do your parents think about that? And it's like, oh, I didn't even like consider what my parents are thinking about this, because that you shouldn't. Yeah. That means that they're doing a good job of supporting what you want and and supporting how you can get there and instead of kind of trying to control like, oh, well, you know, Sophia, you should stay close to home because I don't want to miss you, and you know. Yeah. So, yeah, they did great. And I love that your dad said work hard all those years because he wasn't saying Sophia when. Sophia be the best. You know, Sophia, like don't make any mistakes. It was literally work hard, like, and that is a hundred percent in your control no matter what kind of day you're having. Like that is the mindset that you can carry into any gym, any training session. Yeah. And we will absolutely impact the results that you get. So, Yes. So great. Okay. We'll wrap it up with this last question. What advice would you give to these athletes who are listening, who you know, whether they wanna play in college or just at the next level, or just enjoy their sport and love it and play to their potential? What advice would you

Sophia 33:20

give them? I would say one. Find some way to stay motivated, especially if you wanna play in that next level. And a lot of my club director this year would always talk to us about this. The finish line isn't, Getting committed, it's being good enough to play when you get there. Mm-hmm. So even like, like my motivation right now is like, I wanna play next year and I wanna be good enough to run my team next year in college. And that's what's motivating me now. And then before, you know, it was what was motivating me was getting committed and getting even just, what is the word I'm looking for?

Breanne 34:00

Like getting recruited or recognized getting offers.

Sophia 34:03

Yeah. Like getting, having connections with more schools. Mm-hmm. And so that was, that's definitely one thing I would say is find something that motivates you. And second of all, I would say that, You should just always be enjoying your sport. Like there should never be a time where you dislike what you're doing or you don't wanna play. Like if something's definitely wrong, if that's going on, and you know, if you're playing in college there should be no factor that makes you. Like, not like a school. Like you should definitely wanna find somewhere where you fit and there is a home for everyone. So it just takes a lot of time and patience to find that. And then if you're not playing college, I would, you should obviously just be enjoying your sport because that's why you're playing. So,

Breanne 34:56

Yeah, absolutely. That enjoyment is there. That's not to say it's not always like easy. Obviously there's hard work that goes into it, but there's also just this level of like at, you know, at your core, it's still something that you enjoy. So, yeah. So great. Well, Sophia, I really appreciate you coming on and sharing your story, sharing your experience. It's super inspiring to, to me, but also to all the athletes who are looking up to you and you know, are just kind of in a similar boat. So thank you. I really appreciate

Sophia 35:24

it. Yeah, thank you again for having me. Of course. And good luck this fall. Thank you.