If you've ever wondered what it's actually like to work on your mental game, like what this actually is, if it's worth it, what it's all about, then this episode is for you. Today I'm talking with Sadie. She is a college volleyball player at Colorado MEA University. She just finished up her senior season and she just finished. Our program called The Elite Mental Game, which is a mental training program for girl athletes. Now here's the thing, Sadie wasn't struggling. She wasn't falling apart or hating volleyball. She just wanted to play her best. You wanna play with confidence. You wanna have a really strong senior season. And if you're an athlete and you're thinking, well, maybe mental training isn't really for me because I'm doing just fine, then lean in because Sadie is gonna walk you through exactly how she got better than just fine. Through this program, she's also gonna tell you what this program looks like. What surprised her about it, the tools that actually work for her, like a snapback routine. 3, 2, 1, brave, and how she showed up differently in pressure moments after having these tools. Now, if you're a parent or a coach wondering how to introduce mental training to an athlete without making it sound like it's therapy or one more thing, Sadie's got you covered there too, because it's definitely not therapy. It's definitely not something that's just going to be a waste of your time. It is actually the thing that separates good teams and athletes from great teams and athletes. All right, so this is kind of a behind the scenes look at what happens inside our program and how athletes can actually get results, what it looks like on a week to week basis. And so if you're an athlete listening, this could definitely be the thing that changes the game for you. All right. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed sitting down with Sadie. All right, Sadie, welcome to the podcast. Thank you. All right. I'm really excited to interview you. We were talking just now about like, all these questions I wanna ask you, and we're like, wait, wait. But don't go into it yet. So, um, yeah, if you are an athlete listening, if you're a mom, an athlete, if you're a coach of an athlete, I think we're gonna put this on our coach podcast too. This will be really useful because you're gonna get some firsthand, um, just a firsthand account of what mental training can do. With an athlete who's actually gone through it and gone through our program. So, Sadie, will you, um, first introduce yourself? What sport do you play? What level, what college? All of those good things. Yes. I'm Sadie Scoville. I am a senior at Colorado Mesa University. I play volleyball and I'm an outside hitter. Okay. Awesome. Love it. We tee uh, we, we work with all sports, but yes. I mean, volleyball is like my sport too, so I I love, I love the volleyball talk. So, um, let's just hop right into it because I know you just finished your season. I know you just finished. Mm-hmm. EMG not too long ago. So the elite mental game, um. I am curious, as you were coming across the program and you learned about it, how did you learn about it? Just in the first place? Yeah, so it was, it was actually this past summer and we were at one of my sister's swim meets and she was like, I think this would be so good for you and your sisters to do, and she kind of showed me the Instagram, she showed me the website, and I was like, huh. Wait a minute, and I've done mental training here and there, and I was like, okay, last season I'm going into my senior year. I think this would be like, why not? Let's try it. And then I dove into it and I loved it and my sisters loved it. My mom is loving it. And yeah, so it was actually my mom who found it on Instagram and yeah, she introduced, introduced us all. Yeah. That's awesome. A lot of times, um, that is kinda how it goes. The, you know, a mom or a parent is like, oh my gosh, you really want my daughter to do this? It'd be so good. And then they totally mess it up when they talk to their kid, their athlete about it. And then, um, athletes that are listening you, if your mom or dad has talked to you about this mental attorney before. It just kind of like doesn't go well and the athlete's like, um, I don't wanna do that. Do you think something's wrong with me? It sounds like you think I have bad confidence or like all of that. So how did that go for you? It seems like you were pretty receptive, but yeah. Tell me why. So it was mostly just so she had me look through the Instagram actually. She said, Hey, take a look at this. It wasn't her kind of just saying, Hey. You need some mental training, you need this, you need this. It was, it was very gentle. Hey, take a look at this. Um, Brie is awesome. She was praising you a lot. And she was like, look at a couple of her videos. Scroll through, tell me what you think. Would you want to do this? And so I did. I scrolled through the Instagram and I was like, okay, this is really cool. And yeah, so it was never, the conversation was never. You need to do this. There's something wrong with you. There's, so you need to have better mental game or confidence or something like that. It was very just, are you interested in this? Would you want to do this? Yeah. So, yeah. Okay, good. Because I know I have moms listening, so that mm-hmm. That's a good tip, you know, for that. Yeah. Um, yeah. That's great. Okay, and so when you were like, okay, this is kind of, this seems cool, I'll try it out. What were you hoping that it would help you with? So I came into this new program for my senior year. I transferred from a different school in Colorado and I came into Colorado Mesa University for my last year. And, um, I had some big goals. I had some individual things I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to just have a really successful year in terms of, of play, of enjoyment of the sport and just kind of. Overall more finding the love again, because I think I got too sucked into my performance, my statistics, all of that stuff rather than just playing because. I love volleyball. And so I wanted to try this because just of the confidence tips that I was seeing, most of the things I was seeing was for confidence. And even though it is my senior year, I've been doing this for four seasons, I still struggled with confidence and just trusting myself. I think once I started just getting into the rhythm of EMGI was doing, um, even just like the first lesson, the, the snapback routine, I was like, whoa, wait, hold on. This is. This is so easy. I'm on lesson one. Mm-hmm. And this is helping me so much. And so I think overall what I was trying to find was the confidence and the trust in myself, first of all, and then kind of getting that love back for the sport. That's great. That's so relatable. I think so many athletes are in that situation. Yeah. Where they're like, I love that you said confidence. As self-trust, like just trusting myself because like that's what it is. I think sometimes, um, athletes, we, we doubt ourselves. Um, I, I just used, we like, I'm lumped myself in there, but yeah. Yeah. Like you get that, that self-doubt and you second guess and then that tends to, or like you, you have a bad game or, or something like that. Mm-hmm. And then you start to just kinda overthink and, um, yeah. So I think that's so relatable. But I am curious, although you've said you've done like some mental training mm-hmm. In the past, maybe had a little experience, um, what did you think it was going to be like? Because some athletes are like, is this therapy? Am I just gonna be sitting cross-legged on the ground? Like. I don't know, humming things like what is, what did you think it was gonna be like before you got into it? Yeah, so before I had kind of done the, the therapy route when I was doing club volleyball and I didn't love it and I was just kind of like, okay, maybe this is kind of the same thing. I thought it was gonna be sort of a flow chart thing. You'd kind of describe your situation and you would go from there. Mm-hmm. Um. And I think I was thinking like some breathing techniques or do this if you're in this situation. Mm-hmm. But it was not, I learned how the brain works and why it does what it does, why, how this impacts the brain. And it was all very scientific and very. It wasn't just, oh, here's a random fact at you that you can try and see if it works. It's like, no, this is science-based. This is working, this is, I'm actually learning stuff. It wasn't just, okay, what's wrong with you and how can we fix this? It's, yeah, it wasn't that at all, and I loved that. Yeah. Okay. That's great because, uh, something, a concern that I do get from some athletes are like, is this, like he said, is this kind of like therapy or like mm-hmm. Some, you know, something's wrong with me, but it's, yeah. Actually the opposite. Like the best athletes actually do have. Mental skills to handle the normal parts of being an athlete. Yeah. So, yeah. Um, okay. Can you take me through like a typical week for you? I know you were like pretty consistent with it as you were in your season. Mm-hmm. So like how much time a week did it take? Like what was your kind of flow, um, in navigating through the program? Yeah. So during the season we were traveling almost every weekend. We were playing every single weekend. And to start out the season, we were away like. I think it was nine games in a row. We were traveling to California, to Texas, and then we came back to Colorado, but those were away games. And then we went to New Mexico, and so it was a lot of traveling, so the flow of it kind of started, for me, it was inconsistent at first because preseason is always insane. And so I started about 30 minutes to an hour a week, and I would do it on our travel days. Mm-hmm. So. When we were flying or we were driving, I would just sit down on my computer or my phone and just do it there. Mm-hmm. Um, and it ended up taking me, I think it took me nine weeks is what it ended up being. But there were some weeks where I didn't do anything and there were some weeks where I was in it for like two hours. So I think overall it took me about. Nine weeks. And I would do a lot of that on our travel days and on the weekends after we would play and stuff like that. Yeah. Okay. I love that.'cause you're kinda showing how flexible it can be. We Yeah. Have a training plan in there that says like, Hey, if you do this 30 minutes a week and Exactly, yeah. Break it down like that or do what you did, like I've got more time. Mm-hmm. And then on weeks where I don't have a lot of time, um, yeah. Yeah, we recommend even on those weeks that you don't have a lot of time, just do like five minutes, do a visualization. Right. Do 3, 2, 1, break, something like that. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah. Okay. Um, you mentioned the snapback routine, but were, and you could use that again, but was there a specific tool or moment that you actually used something like in a game or in a practice and you saw that it was helping you? Oh, for sure. Um, I used the snapback routine. Probably every single day, like you say, after a couple mistakes in a row or you're kind of feeling in a rut, something like that. I practiced it first to kind of get comfortable with it, but I used the snapback routine almost every day. And I remember, um, there was a specific moment we were playing the number one team in the conference and they were the ones who went and won the national championship. Mm-hmm. And it was. Obviously a high pressure game and I think it was my turn to serve and the score, I think it was 24. 24 and it was my turn to serve. And um, I did the routine just'cause I was feeling a little nervous. Yeah, obviously it's high stakes. Um, and I didn't get an ace or anything, but we ended up getting the point and after that went back to serve again and I was like, whew, okay, this is good, this is good. So I did the snap bagg routine, said my word, did my two claps, two claps is my thing. And yeah, we ended up winning that game, so, okay. It was awesome. We were all just gelling together so perfectly and I felt just so at ease. And that was a game I can remember specifically where I just felt so just calm, at ease, confident, and I trusted myself, which is what I told you is what I wanted out of this program. So, and I got that. And there was other times too where. Um, 3, 2, 1. Brave. I think the first time I did it, it was the two minute journal is probably my favorite part. Mm-hmm. Because after I just felt so much better Ev every single time and I'm like, well, this is exactly why this is in here is because it's supposed to help you like this. And so it was just cool to see all the weight kind of just go off my shoulders, even if it was just for a little bit. It was really nice to see that. And I remember from the first time I did that as well. Yeah, I, for some reason, I thought you were gonna say the two minutes of journaling was the hardest for me. Oh, no, no. It was my favorite. I love it. Yeah. I, which I, because like, the reason why it always surprised me is'cause it's the same for me. I'm like, oh, it's two minutes. I don't know if I wanna, but. You always feel better afterwards. Yeah. And that's, that is part of brain science because you're just, you. You carry that stuff in your head and that impacts how you play. Right? And so if you can get it out, it really does help you. Play better and play free or, and play lighter. Mm-hmm. So, yeah. Okay. I love that. Yeah. Um, that story is like almost identical to when we were in a state championship last year. Like same thing. Yeah. It was like 24 all in the fourth set. If we lose this, we are out If we, when we can go to a fifth and Yeah. Same thing. My player went back and she had those, those two certain, and she didn't get an ace or anything, um, like you said, but mm-hmm. She was like, I was doing my breath, I was doing my reset word because. In those high pressure moments, you fall to whatever you train. And usually if you don't train anything, you're gonna be like overly nervous or you're gonna try and just like, get it in and go really light and then you end up missing and, okay. I'm curious, I'm gonna, uh, bring in your, your mom a little bit. So she's the one who introduced it. And, um, for those that don't know, there's a whole parent side of emg. Mm-hmm. So parents have their own trainings just to kind of help know, like what to say, what to do. So, um, talk about like. How that's been going between you and your mom? Have there been any good conversations that have come up? Any ways you know, that she supported you differently? Yeah, for sure. So, um, one of the lessons obviously is going through and you write out what you want and you kind of don't want from your parents. And my parents have never been the type to kind of be in your face or tell you, I, you need to do this, you need to do that to be better. Um, they've always been very. Laid back, they trusted me. They know I trusted myself, but mm-hmm. We did have a conversation of my pregame. I always go up to them before the match and I give them my warmup shirt after we change into our jerseys, and I give them all a hug, and then I go onto the court and then. That doesn't really have anything to do, like with my mom.'cause it's very, very quick. Yeah, it doesn't have anything to do with my parents. I mean, it's very quick. I give them a hug. But post-game, um, depending if we win or lose. Um, I love to talk about the game. I love to talk about what did you see here? What did you see here? And there was one time I was talking about the game and I can't remember if it was after a win or a loss, but I was telling my parents, I was like, what did you guys see here? And my mom was like, well, do you, do you wanna know? Like, is this, do you really wanna talk about this?'cause we don't have to. And I was like, no, I want to talk about this. Yeah. And so then we started talking more about. What else I wanted, um, post-game or pre-game, and it was mostly just telling them that I love to talk about the games afterwards. I'm not someone after a loss where I just kind of sulk about it. I love to talk about it. And yeah, depending if they were in person or watching on the stream, I love to see their thoughts and what they saw because they were both college athletes and mm-hmm. They both. Are athletic and they know volleyball. So it's different for my sisters, um, and my mom. We all have our own little thing that we like to do. But yeah, that was a conversation that was had between me and my mom. I love that. And, um, that's great that you also know what you want about that Uhhuh. Um, because you're right, some athletes are like, I don't wanna talk to my parents. Like, they don't know what they're talking about, you know? Yeah. Or I want them to just listen and not like jump in and try and coach. And so like, you know, allowing that conversation to happen. Especially when like the parents are going through their side.'cause they're like, oh, okay. You know, they're just trying to help and Right. You know, whatever they think. You know, it's gonna be good. But yeah. I like what you said it might be different between you and your sisters, so. Mm-hmm. Um, okay. You mentioned that your, did your sisters go through the program too? Yes. They're both going through it right now. I think they're almost done with it. I know they're not quite finished though. Okay. Okay, cool. So, yeah, I'm sure that there's other conversations going on with them and yes, your parents do so. Love that. Okay. Um, I have just a few more questions, but, um, can you talk about, like, you said, one of your goals at the beginning, like first was confidence and trusting yourself, and then you said, kind of enjoying your sport again. Mm-hmm. Um, let's follow up on that. Did that happen? Um, yeah. Just kind of catch me up on that piece. Yeah. So, um, I mean, this, this season was difficult. I mean, every season is difficult. We had, we were hindered by a lot of injuries. We had. Three torn acls and ankle concussions. It was kind of, a lot of our key components were out basically. Wow. And so I was one of the key components that was still on the court that was healthy. Mm-hmm. And so a lot of the responsibility kind of fell onto me. And I'm an outside hitter, um, so if, you know volleyball, a lot of the, a lot of the balls go to the outside. Mm-hmm. And so I was sort of the. Not the saving grace by any means. Mm-hmm. But when things were going wrong, it was kind of just, okay, let's give it to Sadie, and that that was totally fine. Like, I'm willing to do that. So yeah, once I kind of found the balance between handling all the pressure and still trying to enjoy it and keep, um, my head in a great space all game long, then I started to find a really good balance and enjoy it again. And there were some times where there was a few games in the middle of the season where it was a little bit of a rut, and I just had to kind of just bring myself out of it and do the trainings and just talk to my people. But yeah, even all through the ups and downs towards the end. Um, even our last game in the national tournament mm-hmm. I just went out there and I was like, okay, this is the sport I love. This could, this is my last game ever, potentially. I'm just gonna leave it all out there and like, have fun. This is, this is what I have been born to do. This is what I want to do. I love this sport. And I would say I accomplished that. I accomplished the love for the sport back. Even, even all through the, the trials and all the, the tribulations, battles, mental battles, physical, mental, all the good stuff. I eventually found the balance and. So, yeah, I would say yes, that that was accomplished this season. Yeah. I like that you, I mean, I'm really glad that you're talking about the hard parts because mm-hmm. I don't want anyone to walk away being like, oh, you know, just do this program. It'll make it like rainbows and butterflies and I won't ever have to. No, no. I mean, the challenges will be there regardless. Right? Yeah. The pressure will be there regardless. Mm-hmm. It's not going anywhere, um, how you respond. That's what we get to, that's what we get to influence and, yeah. So you having the, the right tools to be able to work through it. I mean yeah. That's, that's key. Mm-hmm. Um, okay. Some athletes, and maybe you were in this boat too, it sounded like you have. Pretty good self-awareness and you're like, okay, like the mental side of the game can only help me. Yeah. Um, it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with me, but some athletes hold back from doing like any sort of a program like this or working on their mental game because they think I'm fine. I don't really struggle that much. And what would you say to an athlete who might be thinking that? Like, I don't really know if I need this. Like, I'm playing all right. I'm doing okay. Yeah. I mean, it's not gonna hurt you. It's not gonna make you worse. Anyway, it's only gonna benefit you. And if you decide that maybe you don't like mental training or mental training isn't for you, you still have the tools in your toolbox and you still understand the science of the brain and the science of self-talk and just, you'll have so many more tools in your toolbox. And I don't think it's necessarily a conversation of, there's nothing wrong with me. It can only help you and become a better athlete. And I would say the mental side is so much more important than the physical side. So you're only limiting yourself and you're putting yourself into a little box if you're not training your mental side. And it's not, oh, something's wrong with me at all. That's not even anything, that's not the conversation at all. It's the tools to help you level up as an athlete, become a better athlete, and yeah, just. Why not train it? Why not see what could happen? You're just, there's so much potential and you're just putting yourself into a little box if you're just staying the same. Mm-hmm. So that's what I would say. There's no harm that can come from it. You'll be a better athlete afterwards, if anything. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's the perfect advice, and I've seen it with my own team too, where like we train it, we do stand back, we do three, two, and brave. We do all the things in the program, and sometimes throughout the season we're like, okay, well I don't really know if this is quote unquote working or not because we're doing fine. All this, but then once you start to get challenged or you get in those pressure situations, that's when you're like, oh, I'm so glad I have this. Yeah. So if you're like, yeah, I'm playing. All right. It's probably because you haven't been like maybe cha put into like those tough situations. Quite exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Um, okay. Well that's great. I do wanna just while I have you here, because there's so many girls who are listening, um, we have, we have college girls in our program. Um, you know, but we also have a, a good majority that are in high school and wanting to play in college. And I just wanna take the opportunity to, to have you give them some words of wisdom, if you don't mind. No.'cause you've been through it all. You know, you've played at the next level. I'm sure that was one of your goals in high school. Mm-hmm. Um, I don't really have a very specific question about this, but for those girls who are in high school and they're trying to find a good fit and they're trying to play at the next level right now, and maybe they're being a little bit frustrated in the recruiting process, um. Any, any words of wisdom for, for them? Yeah. Um, the recruiting process is tough. Mm-hmm. So just keep pushing, keep sending your emails, keep sending your film. It's very tough. I've been through it. So just, you'll find a good fit. There's a place for everybody. Um, um mm-hmm. I would say that if you can play at any level, that's amazing. Yeah. It's not necessarily. If you wanna go D one, that's the only route. No, you can go to D one, D two, D three NAI, juco, go wherever you want and play. And if you don't like it, guess what? You can transfer, you can go somewhere else. Um, I would also say to just this, what this whole meeting is about is keep training your mental game. Because college, you're gonna be challenged a lot more. You're going to. Be challenged mentally, physically, you are not going to be the best one on the court anymore. Once you go in on your fresh, in your freshman year, you're gonna be the underdog. And freshman year is tough because you're just, um, you're adjusting, you are playing with the more experienced girls, experie. And that's not always easy. But if you just keep working, keep getting stronger mentally and physically, you're gonna fit right in and you're gonna find your place. And yeah, just keep on the path. It's not always gonna be easy. Um, but what, what is easy in life? No, nothing. If it was easy, everyone would do it. So just the fact that you want to play in college and the fact that you were maybe going to college already, that's, that's awesome. And it's rare that people are doing that. So stay true to what you want. Work hard, be humble, and just have fun. Just enjoy it. It goes fast. I'm done. Which is crazy. Yeah. And I still feel like a freshman, so. Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's what I would say. Yeah. Okay. That's great advice. I love that. Um, that would've been a good time to end, but there was one question I wanted to ask, but forgot. Oh, yeah. Perfect. That's totally fine. So, you know, in, in true form we're just gonna like do a little u-turn. Um, because part of, um, part of doing the elite mental game. That I know you were a part of were some of the calls. So I know I saw you on a few, a few level up calls throughout the month. Um, yeah. Can you talk about those at all? Like, was that helpful just to be on and, and kinda hear what other last things you're talking about or? Yeah. I, I thought it was super helpful. Um, I think I was able, I think I only joined, wait, did I, I might've joined two. Um. They were super helpful and I was ready for like an hour and a half sit down session to kind of just talk everything out, and it was like maybe 30 minutes and it was so much information, so much good stuff, and just a short amount of time and it fit right into my busy schedule, which is perfect. And. Um, I learned a lot, especially from some of the younger girls. I was probably the, one of the older ones on there. Mm-hmm. But I still learned, um, a lot from the younger girls from their questions they were asking. And I loved how it was super interactive and I know I talked to you at the end for a while and I loved that one-on-one experience because, um, you were really helpful and you helped me during my season and it was, I think it's really cool that. You're not just the one kind of directing everything, but you're willing to go in and like dive head first in with these athletes themselves and help them one-on-one, which I thought was really cool. Mm-hmm. And yeah, I think it being so interactive was my favorite part. Mm-hmm. Cool. Mm-hmm. Okay. Well that's awesome because I know some athletes too are a little scared to like, come on a group call. Yeah. But we don't like single you out or anything. Like you can comment in the chat, you can come off mute if you want, but you don't have to. And yeah. Um, like you said, it, sometimes it's just helpful to hear other people ask questions and you're like, oh, that's interesting. And like hearing the answer is like, yeah, exactly, because I guarantee someone else had the same question or a question similar. So. It was kinda like, oh, that was a good question. Let me write that down. So, mm-hmm. Yeah, just kinda learning from everyone. It was, it was really cool. Yeah. Cool. All right. Well Sadie, thank you for coming on and sharing your time. So generously, thank What is next? What's next for you now that you're senior season? Um, so the NCAA for D two is actually thinking about a fifth year. Oh. So they're voting on that on January 13th, which. So I'm kind of just in a waiting game now. I'm like, okay, did I just have my last season ever or do I have one more year? No. Um, so it's kind of a waiting game right now. I'm January 13th is when they're voting on it. And if they vote yes, fifth year, I would take another year. Like I think that would be awesome. Yeah. And if not, I am actually looking to play overseas. So, oh, cool. Yeah, I would love to go play in Europe somewhere. I haven't figured out the details yet, just'cause I'm still waiting. Yeah. Um, but. Once I find out on January 13th, we will see. So yeah, there's one of two paths right now, but either way, I am planning on playing overseas professionally, so I'm looking forward to that. Yeah, okay. So volleyball's still in your future? Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Uh, okay. Well thank you again Sadie so much. It was great to hear your story and I know this is gonna help a lot of athletes. Thank you so much. You were such a help for me this season. Oh.