“You need Sabbath rest. You need time that you spend by yourself and with the Lord. You need that time to breathe,” said Jonathan Dose, sophomore on Swim and Dive. 

Capstone season is in full swing for seniors at Concordia with presentations just around the corner. Communication Studies seniors, including myself, are preparing our projects to showcase to our mentors during finals week, displaying all we have learned through our hands-on and vocational lectures throughout the years. 

Consisting of a podcast and article, my capstone project is geared towards a large population of Concordia students, namely, athletes. The podcast is titled “Inside the Mind of Collegiate Athletes.” This under an hour podcast features some exciting guests, so be sure to check it out by searching my podcast title on audio.com. 

Using techniques learned in my Communication Studies and Psychology classes, along with my aspiration to be a high school counselor in the coming years, I invited three guests to join the inaugural podcast and talk through their mental and physical journey as collegiate athletes.  

I was very blessed and thankful to have had guests Madelyn Almadovar, senior, Jonathan Dose, sophomore, and special guest Glory Fung, Associate Athletic Director for Student Athlete Health and Well Being, join me in a time of vulnerability and open conversation discussing self care, time management, mental well-being and more. 

“God put me here for a reason and he set this path for me to go through these struggles. I was able to regain my love for the sport, but it was difficult,” said Almodovar, senior, when discussing the range of waves in emotion she felt for Cheer and Stunt during the busy academic season. 

My goal is for other athletes to tune in to the podcast (yes, you!) and experience connection and relatability with other like-minded athletes, ultimately allowing athletes to learn more about their strengths and weaknesses on and off the court, field or pool. The exploration was supported by helpful tips from Fung, associate AD.

“The community helps. Being able to talk to other athletes about my struggles and hear their own experience helped a lot,” said Almodovar after talking about ABS – Athletic Bible Study –  during the podcast recording. 

Athletic Bible Study is a student athlete run Bible study that meets at 6:30 every Wednesday night in the Golden Eagle den. Stop by for some good conversation with like minded athletes on campus!

“It builds community and reminds the next person that we are not perfect individuals and we are doing this together. We have to continue to share stories, the goods and the bads,” said Fung recognizes the countless pressures athletes feel in their day to day routines, whether it be on the field or not. These pressures create exhaustion and stress, especially when trying to constantly, “be something for someone else,” said Fung.

“We wanna do well. That's what we came here for,” said Dose, sophomore, when discussing the pressure he feels to perform well in and outside of the pool.

Student athletes, remember that there is, “nobody else like you out there. You are the unique person that you are and you bring a lot to the table that might not be measurable on the field,” said Fung. 

Sometimes these emotions, stressors and expectations get the best of us, but Fung reminds listeners that, “There are ebbs and flows of our life. There's time to grind but there's also time to exhale.”

Tune into my podcast, “Inside the Mind of Collegiate Athletes” on audio.com to hear the full conversation. Special thanks to Glory Fung, Madelyn Almodovar and Johnathan Dose for digging deep and sharing some raw emotion with me earlier this month. Listen now!

Tags: women's athletics, Men's Athletics

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