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Welcome back to the racing unstoppable girl athletes podcast. I'm coach free a mental performance coach for a girl athletes. And I'm so excited that you're here now, whether you are a mom just getting going on the sports mom journey, or maybe you have a lot of seasons under your belt, or maybe you're an athlete because this episode. Is an athlete spotlight that is going to be so useful to athletes who are in a similar spot to. Our athlete that we're interviewing today. So if that's you, you're also in the right place today. So we are interviewing Sloan. She's an athlete that recently came through our mental training program for girl athletes called the elite competitor program. Now, Sloan is a swimmer and you will get to hear all about her story in the interview, but what also is really cool about Sloan is that she. It's not just a swimmer. She also has a result of what she was experiencing as an athlete and what she was experiencing inside the program, decided to expand her creativity and is now an entrepreneur and she owns her own business. As a soon to be high school where she is not only an athlete, a swimmer, she's also a young business owner, so I couldn't be more proud of Sloan. And everything that she's accomplished inside the program as an athlete, as a person and just who she is. In and out of her sport. So we're going to get into in a second, you're going to hear all about her story, where she was before she started the program, kind of what she was experiencing, especially around, anxiety and some nerves and some emotional dysregulation and some crying. And I know some athletes can relate to that. When you don't really want to cry in the heat of competition or before you're about to go out there even afterwards. So Sloan wa is really honest about where she was, before. For starting the program. And you also get to hear about how far she's come since being in the program for the past 12 weeks. Now before we get into it, I do want to give a shout out to a mom and an athlete in our community So Hannah recently posted this in our community for moms. She said, my daughter played in her first PGA state championship this week after qualifying a few weeks ago, she didn't play well on Monday and Tuesday, but kept her head up and grinded through the rounds. And made the cut to yesterday's MatchPlay. She was paired with a number three girl, and she showed up mentally and on her game, the other girl ended up winning after 12 holes. But my daughter made her work hard for it. She came out and proud and excited that she played great golf and had fun. In such a high pressure situation. So I am just so thrilled that you posted this and that you shared what your daughter was experiencing. And I love that you were honest that she didn't play well Monday and Tuesday, but here's the thing. It doesn't matter that she didn't play well. It doesn't matter to all things all the times, the mistakes, the failures, the performances that didn't go on. Those don't matter. It all matters how you respond. And it sounds like your daughter kept her head up. She cried through, she was paired up with someone who was super strong and she. She ended up playing really, really well and having fun in a situation that can commonly be something that really makes athletes crumbles. So. Nice job. Super proud of the both of you. All right i'm so excited for you listen to this episode with sloan you're going to love what she has to share and also she shares a little bit of a a peek into her business and she also shared a discount code with our community so keep your ears perked up for that We'll also put it in the show notes but i hope you enjoy this episode with sloan as much as i enjoyed sitting down and chatting with her

Breanne 3:40

Right. Welcome Sloan to the Raising Unstoppable Girl Athletes

3:44

Podcast.

Sloane 3:44

Thank you. It's good to be here

Breanne 3:46

today. I'm so excited to interview you. Sloan has been a rockstar in the elite competitor program, and even just today, she has a packed schedule, meaning that you had swim practice. You told me. Yep. Right. And then what are you gonna go do? I'm

Sloane 4:05

gonna go try out for the varsity team for high school.

Breanne 4:07

Yes. I'm so excited to hear how it goes. But you already shared with me a little bit before we hit record, but how are you feeling about tryouts?

Sloane 4:15

I'm really excited for them. I'm confident because we got the set before, so I know that I can do it and I'm just gonna go out there and swim. Yeah.

Breanne 4:26

I love it. Okay. So Sloan, in addition to being a swimmer, is also an entrepreneur. And I just learned this and I'm so excited because, Sloan just shared with me. That she has opened up her own Etsy store. Can you tell us about that and then we'll get into that next

Sloane 4:44

episode? Yes, of course. It's called Soul Thread Jewelry, and I started it with my friend back in December of 2022. And we were going through all the lessons of E C P at that point, I believe. And you were always mentioning like you have to have something outside of your sport, right? Like you wanna do something to. Like fill in your free time. So I was like, I might as well start a Etsy shop. So we focus on waterproof jewelry because obviously since I swim, I want something that I can wear while I'm competing and swimming. So we create, yeah, cool bracelets and waterproof stuff.

Breanne 5:24

Oh my gosh, this is so awesome. Like, it seriously gives me goosebumps. Not only that, you are, you know, expanding your creativity to be on swim because you know that swim is just a part of you. It's not all of what you do. But also that you're turning this into a little business with your friend, not even, probably not even little anymore. Cuz once the word gets out about this loan, you're going.

Sloane 5:47

Yeah, we actually have a TikTok page. It has around 2000 followers now. I run that. And, I am a co-owner of it. so the other owner is Carolina Reon and she is a fellow swim mate. Oh, wait, she's a, she's a swim team member with me.

Breanne 6:07

Yeah. Or a swim mate. That's, that's what I would've called her.

Sloane 6:11

She's a teammate. Oh,

Breanne 6:12

okay. Yeah. That's so awesome. So both of you swam and both of you run this, together. Okay. So, what is it called again? Sole threads. Sole

Sloane 6:21

thread jewelry. Yeah. For all the viewers. Make sure to follow the TikTok and if you're interested in buying, I made a code. It's e CCP 2023.

Breanne 6:32

Yay. Okay. E E C P 2023. Soul threads, jewelry. Okay. We're gonna link to that. We'll provide the discount code. Get ready. Are you guys ready for all the orders that

Sloane 6:45

are gonna come in? Yeah, hopefully we get a few. Okay.

Breanne 6:48

You're gonna get more than a few, so you might need, you might need to block out some time to, work on this, to fulfill all these orders. That would be awesome. Yeah. And Sloan, we should definitely like talk business too. I didn't, you know, we'll talk about this offline, but. If you wanna chat, business, entrepreneurship, all of that, let's chat because

Sloane 7:11

yeah, that would be, you're the person for

Breanne 7:13

that. I'm the person I know all the things. Just kidding. I dunno all the things, but I would be happy to share. So, okay, well, so let's get into it, a little bit more. So first of all, that is an awesome. Byproduct of the Elite Competitor something that was inspiring, but let's take you back to even before you were this, you know, budding entrepreneur who also swims. So before you joined the Elite Competitor program, can you tell me like, Where you were at, you know, what was, what was going on in your athletic career?

Sloane 7:47

Yeah, I was not a very confident, like I did not ever have a good mindset before Swim meets, even before swim practices. And it was actually really bad. It was to the point where I would be crying during or after practice and it would, it was really affecting my mental health. Mm-hmm. So we signed up for this program and it's been amazing since like it's been a major breakthrough, I've been able to like, I can see the difference between people who are in a good mindset and people who aren't. And I also know how to like, Calm myself down, in the anxiety causing like situations. Mm-hmm. So it's been amazing for me.

Breanne 8:28

Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. So you were kind of experiencing some of these, I mean, and what you're experiencing is normal, like crying, having anxiety, that's just a sign that you're emotionally dysregulated, which is super common. It's a big word for just saying you're like kind outta whack and can't, can't manage those, those big emotions. And that's just your body's normal, normal way to respond. But without tools to know how to manage that it can make swimming or any sport. Not great. Right? Not a great experience. Cause you're like, I don't wanna be crying, I don't wanna like have these feelings, these negative feelings before I compete. So you were there now, you decided to join. You've been having, you know, some breakthroughs. We'll talk about that. But I first wanna take you to the point where, like, how did you find out about the program? Like, was it your parents? How did they present it to you? Like what was that process? So

Sloane 9:21

my mom heard about it, I think it was from work, actually. And she was like, okay, there was this amazing program and I signed you up for it. And then she was telling me about it. And at first I was actually kind of skeptical about it. Yeah. Because I was like, what is this like. How does this work? I don't understand. And then I took, I think it was like one lesson and I was like, okay, I understand this. I'm gonna keep doing it. And by the third I was like, looking forward to it each week. And it's been, yeah, it was great.

Breanne 9:52

That's, I'm glad you said that. You're a little skeptical cuz most athletes are when they first start or they're like, okay mom, what did you sign me up for? Like, are you saying there's something wrong with me? You know, like those kinda like typical things that athletes think when nothing is wrong with you. Honestly, what is wrong with like our whole setup where we don't support athletes well enough to navigate the normal parts of being an athlete. So, Like this program really does give you, as you know, and as you're gonna explain, it, gives you the tools to be able to, show up how you wanna show up and enjoy your sport. We always say like, let's put the play back in, into playing sports. Cuz that's really what it's all about. So. Exactly. Yeah. So you joined, you're like, okay mom, you got me we're in. So what did you start to notice was changing with you as you started to go through the program?

Sloane 10:43

Well, it took a bit of time to see results and like you had said that in the first couple lessons. Yeah. So really after like my third or fourth lesson, I was really able to calm myself down at meets. Mm-hmm. And like I wouldn't have as much anxiety before I was competing. Like obviously I'd have some anxiety, but I was able to classify that as excitement. That's also something that you taught me. So I was, it was good because I was able to like learn. What to do and stuff. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Breanne 11:15

What were some of your, maybe favorite techniques that you learned? I'm trying to, decide like techniques, something that you learned or something that kinda stuck with you as like, oh, okay. This is, this is

Sloane 11:27

helpful. Well, the breathing exercises were great, and also the backpack routine or meditation. I think I've done that so many times. I love that one. It's amazing.

Breanne 11:39

Yeah, that's a, that's a favorite among athletes. So that's kind of where we visualize all of our things that are weighing us down in this backpack and letting it go. Yeah, that's a super powerful one. Okay.

Sloane 11:50

Mm-hmm. Probably like the first time everything just clicked, and then from there it was all, it was great. Yeah.

Breanne 11:57

Now that's not to say you probably still haven't had some challenges right. In, in your sport. Can you talk about that? Where like, we don't solve all your problems, but Right. You

Sloane 12:08

just teach me how to, cope with my problems and work around them. So one of the biggest problems I had was this season I kept getting injured or sick. Mm. So I was out all of May, which is like leading up to the what we call champs season. Mm-hmm. So it's all the higher level meats that are very important and you want to have good training leading up to them. Mm-hmm. So I was sick and I was not training for those, and I just had to keep relying on this program. And I was like, okay, well I'm sick, I can't do anything about it. I'm going to rest. I'm going to fuel myself and I'm going to get

Breanne 12:46

better. Yeah. Oh, awesome. So how were you coming out of that sickness and injury period?

Sloane 12:52

I was good because I was able to keep myself in a positive mindset and I actually did great at the last meet I was at, and I was really happy with the results.

Breanne 13:03

Yeah, that's awesome. And that's a true testament too, your mindset. You could have really gone one of two ways, right? You could have gone to. Where you did like, okay, this, there's nothing I can do to change this, but I can, there are some things in my control. I can rest well, I can fuel well, I can work on my mindset, can visualize, I can decide how I wanna come back. You know, which is the path that you went down and you had great results. Or you could have been like, why is this happening to me? This is terrible. This will ruin my whole career. I'm gonna come back and be weaker than I was before. And not to say that you probably didn't have some of those thoughts, but you were able to shift those thoughts in something more productive. Where a lot of people, if they don't have those skills, they will just go down that negative path and then they get back, they get healthy, and then they are worse off than they were before and they're not improving. And then it's just this spiral. So that's a true testament to how you can change your mindset and that impacts your results.

Sloane 14:00

Yeah. Every time that I caught myself like saying bad things, I'd be like, okay, I have to stop. I'm not doing this. I'm only thinking positive thoughts right now.

Breanne 14:11

Yeah. Yeah. That's so hard. I mean, it sounds so simple, but like, I mean, sometimes it's easier said than done. But it is super powerful and you know, athletes that are listening, it's very normal. Like we have a negativity bias. There's parts of us that are in us to protect us. Our brain's trying to keep us safe, but it will, sabotage us if we let it. So we need to have tools to shift. So. Cool. Well, Sloan, this sounds awesome. I mean, so happy and so proud of you. I, I have some other questions though, so we're not, we're not done here. Some tangible things, meaning like, Practically, I know that you're busy, you own a business, you go to school, you swim. Like you probably have other things in your life that are making your life very full. How did you make time for the Elite competitor program?

Sloane 15:00

Well, I think the hardest thing for me to make time for was the, 3, 2, 1. Brave. Mm-hmm. So I journal every night before bed and that was a good time to do everything, but I also just set aside a certain time. Like if I found a 30 minute gap, I would be like, okay, I'm doing e C P now I'm just gonna do it. And like, cuz I obviously looked forward to them, but I couldn't always find the time for them. Mm-hmm. I was able to complete everything like, Pretty much on time, except for when I was on vacation. Whenever I was there, I was just like, I wanna do it, but I'm gonna do my vacation because I was just so busy then. Yeah,

Breanne 15:39

totally. Totally. Yeah. And I mean, for you, did it seem like it took a lot of time or was it manageable? It was

Sloane 15:47

manageable. Mm-hmm. I mean, sometimes the sessions, I would just be like, okay this is really good. I feel like I've got everything from them. But most of the time I was like, okay, I'm getting more information every minute I'm here. So like I might as well stay to the end. And like, finish this.

Breanne 16:04

Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. So what I'm hearing is, you prioritized it, just like anything else we have like reminders built into the program too, so, you have a phone, so you got the text. Yep. Yeah, so sometimes those help a lot too for athletes that are like, oh, where am I at in the program? And it's just to kinda get these reminders that you can always text back, as well with how you're doing. And the 3 21 Brave, what Sloan was talking about is our daily mindset routine. That involves some journaling, some breath work, a visualization. It takes typically no longer than about seven minutes-ish, depending on like how in depth you wanna go with it. But can you talk about, Through too, and brave and the role that it played in your mental training.

Sloane 16:48

Yeah, that was actually another really good thing for me because I was able to revisit this program every single day just by like, doing that. And it was really good cuz I kept reminding myself, especially with my affirmations, like, I'm confident, I am strong, I am ready. And also with the reset, what was it called again? The. The snap back routine? Yeah. Or the reset word. My word was ready because whenever I was like struggling, I'd be like, I'm not ready. I'm not ready. And then, mm-hmm. So I chose the word ready, and that's also part of my affirmations. I say, I am ready. Yeah.

Breanne 17:26

I love that cuz I just I think I just recorded an athlete tip podcast on that being ready is a choice, it's not a feeling. And so you really are like, you're not paying attention to the ups and the downs before a competition or before, a practice you're choosing like, I am ready in so,

Sloane 17:43

exactly. Mm-hmm. It works too. Yeah. Cause you get. Good results out of it. Yeah.

Breanne 17:48

That's so great. Okay. I wanna ask a couple questions that are a little tangential to this. That means like they're related. one of them is about, teammates and I know probably your teammates are gonna be listening to this podcast. So, we're not something bad about your teammates. But I am curious because it's like one of the most common questions I get from athletes is navigating teammate relationships and. Maybe this is true for, I didn't give you this question ahead of time, but I'm just curious, how did this help you or did it help you with your relationships with your teammates and being a leader? Anything in that space?

Sloane 18:23

It's actually helped me a lot with that. My teammates, a lot of them, I can tell if they're in a good head space or not. Mm-hmm. And I was able to before this, like I can now, and I've become really good at giving pep talks because I can just be like, Okay. You can be upset about this. I understand, but you can only be upset about this for five more minutes and then we're moving on. Yeah. So it's actually helped strengthen the relationship with my teammates because I'm also able to like put myself away from them whenever they're not being helpful to me. Mm-hmm. But not in a rude way.

Breanne 18:57

Yeah. Yeah, I remember us talking about that. It's, it's just being aware of like where you wanna put your energy and being aware that other people's energy can impact you. So like healthy distance and being aware who you want to engage with the most. I love that. I love that we've got like your Sloan, given, Sloan the pep talk. Giver. That's great. Yeah. Fun. Yeah. Okay. And how about, your relationship with your mom and your parents? So, I'm, I'm curious about this. If, if there is anything we just, you know, in the elite competitor program, there's a whole, the whole program for athletes, but then also mm-hmm. Moms are going through their side and pa really moms and dads and, and parents are, are going through like how to best support their athletes through the whole journey, so. Right. I'm just curious, you know, did you notice anything different in your mom or your parents and did that impact you at all?

Sloane 19:50

I think that a big, well, not really a big difference, but one of the differences I noticed was like, if I really didn't wanna go to swim practice, she'd be like, okay, like, you don't have to, but you probably should. Like, she'd always kind of redirect me to like where I was supposed to be. Mm-hmm. But I haven't really had any moments where like, I haven't had big moments yet where she needs to really like, Give me any pep talks or like, help with that. Cause I've been able to kind of handle it myself. Yeah,

Breanne 20:23

yeah. That's great. But maybe, yeah, with that example she's listening a little bit to the, okay. I wonder why, I wonder why Sloan is feeling like around, you know, instead of like, Nope, Sloan, we're going to practice. Let's go, let's get in the car. Yeah. Ultimately, I'm assuming that you ended up going to practice, but you know. Yep. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Okay. Well, Sloan, what would you tell other athletes that are considering joining the Elite Competitor program?

Sloane 20:53

Do it cause it's so helpful. You don't even understand how helpful it is until you've done it and then you'll like think back after it and you'll be like, I don't know why anyone would choose not to do it. It was probably one of the most helpful things I've ever done. Mm-hmm. Especially cuz it's even helped me outside of Swim. It's helped me with like obviously my jewelry store and it's helped me manage the stress during the school year and helped me with friends and stuff. Mm-hmm. So definitely like just do it because it'll help you a lot and there's a lot of good benefits to it. Yeah.

Breanne 21:27

Oh, that's awesome Sloan. I'm super proud of you because the resources are there, but ultimately it's up to you to do it and you're a perfect example of how you put in the work, you trusted the process, you applied it, and you got the results. So you should be proud of yourself for all of that. And I'm just so happy for you.

Sloane 21:46

Yeah. Thank you so much. You've been an amazing to me. Aw, thanks.

Breanne 21:54

Say again, what your Etsy shop is, what the discount code is, just in case people didn't hear it

Sloane 22:00

the first time. Oh yeah. It's sole thread jewelry, so you can find us on Etsy. Sometimes it's Etsy's, a little bit finicky. So follow us on TikTok and we have a, link in the bio that will lead you directly to our Etsy store. We also have Instagram and Pinterest.

Breanne 22:18

Man, you're all over the place. Okay. Yeah. Is your TikTok the same? Is it Soul thread jewelry?

Sloane 22:23

Yeah, they're all soul thread jewelry.

Breanne 22:25

Okay. I actually need some help with TikTok, so maybe we can, maybe we can do a, like a business mastermind exchange

Sloane 22:36

thing. Yes, we should, we could also do a, I could make some E C P bracelets.

Breanne 22:43

Yes. Okay. No, I'm serious about this loan. That's gonna be

Sloane 22:47

a thing. Yes, it will be. We, we can make it happen. Anything's possible. Okay.

Breanne 22:52

All right. Yeah, I mean, this is not only possible like this actually, like we have what it takes to get this in motion. So I'll be in contact with you, everyone who's listening, get ready for some E C P merch, coming out from, Sloan and what's your business partner's name

Sloane 23:09

again? Carolina. Carolina, Ian

Breanne 23:13

Carolina. Okay. This will be great. All right, Sloan, thank you again so much for coming on, for sharing your experience. We are so proud of you and can't wait to hear about how Trails go and the rest of the season.

Sloane 23:26

That's so sweet. Yeah, I'll definitely let you know. Okay, thanks Sloane. Yeah, thank you.