S5 E2: Talking Soccer-Playing, Coaching, & more w/ Rachel Pitman
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Confidence is an essential part of playing to your potential. Rachel notes that others can instill confidence in you but you have to believe it yourself. Rachel's confidence grew in part by proving herself to be one of the best while playing soccer with boys as a kid since there was not a girls team at the time.
Rachel often reminded herself why she is playing soccer in the first place, which is that she genuinely has fun playing soccer. This helped her to deal with the pressure and high expectations.
There are so many reasons kids and young adults fixate on perfectionism even though ‘perfect’ does not exist. This can take away the joy and confidence and experience of being part of a soccer team.
Rachel found it helpful in college for the culture of the team and sports in general to value excellence in academics as much as in sport. Seeing others engaged in taking academics seriously motivated her to do so as well even if it meant going to do work with a teammate at the library together to sustain motivation.
Rachel tends to live life committed to the moment and whatever she puts her mind to rather than worrying too much about possible future outcomes. This helps her not only more fully experience her life but also reminds her that she can always adjust as time goes on which takes pressure off.
Rachel tries to instill confidence In her players and to believe in themselves. She thinks that athletes can have confidence instilled in them by others but at the end of the day, the athlete needs to believe in themselves most of all.
Rachel genuinely values relationship building as a coach. Being open and honest is a way to collaborate with players toward making adjustments, providing guidance and support, and/or finding support when there are challenges presented to her. Even low-stakes check-ins can make a difference to open up a helpful conversation and improve understanding. It can be a re-frame from the athlete expecting a punitive reaction from their leader to expecting a collaborative and supportive response toward shared goals.
Female athletes may have gender-specific fluctuates that are related to their physiology and can affect their physical training loads and bodily needs. There seems to be more research looking into how menstrual cycles can play a role in injuries.
Even stress levels can play a role in an athlete’s vulnerabilities mentally and physically, which makes it important to monitor and address stress levels.
Coaching can be like parenting in the sense of knowing the individual so much so that you can know when to push more and when to pull back and support relative to their emotional state. This is similar to a CBT approach to helping parents support their anxious child.
Sometimes the act of genuinely talking through something with a trusted other person can help release some of the emotions, feel understood, and move forward in a helpful and adaptive way. Even in moments of making adjustments like in practice or in a game/match, this can help reduce ego that can interfere with listening to one another and making adjustments.
In sports, there has been a stigma and stereotype of communicating and being open with one another, although this seems to be decreasing in some ways to allow for open lines of communication to make things better overall.
There can be ways in which individuals on a team can misinterpret or take things the wrong way. It’s often not completely clear how someone is coming across to others. So, open communication can help clear things up and move forward toward common goals.
Rachel had 3 major ACL injuries in her soccer career. Two of them (first one around 17-years-old; and then again after her second game following her recovery) were before playing collegiate soccer. The third was her first professional soccer game in England. She said her second time she felt more equipped to handle it because of knowing what to expect.
Rachel describes major injuries as a grieving process that is very difficult with how long it takes to heal and recover. There is a lot of uncertainty that comes with major injuries, especially around career goals. She lost a lot of the closer bonds and shared bonding with her teammates because it’s too hard to relate the same way as when you train and play with them, even if they include you and are supportive. The uncertainty goes away little by little, especially toward the end of the recovery when it’s a bit more clear as to what is possible. There are so many ups and downs that come with it. It’s important to expect the bumps in the road and to manage expectations to avoid constant disappointment and frustration.
After retiring from a sport, there can be a bit of an identity crisis after spending most of life having an immense amount of structure, spending so much time with the same people, and having such clear and targeted goals to work toward. The sport can feel essentially as a part of who you are as an individual.
Rachel feels blessed and grateful that she gets to coach soccer, as it is her genuine and true passion in life.
There is something special about sport where people from different backgrounds, experiences, personalities, etc. come together to work and respect each other toward a common goal and hopefully have some joy within that.
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Gerald Reid
Music. Welcome back to season five of the Reid Connect-Ed podcast today, we're joined by associate head coach of Dartmouth College women's soccer program, Rachel Pittman, in this episode, we're going to dive into learning from Rachel about what it's like to be involved in a sport throughout one's life, starting with youth soccer, through playing at the very high level in college to playing at the professional level in England, and ultimately, as a college soccer coach, we will discuss the psychological and relational aspects that are involved in a career in sports. We're going to talk about the training that's involved, milestones that are achieved, relationships that are forged, navigated. And also we're going to talk about her long journey of recovering from major injuries, and kind of the psychological aspects of that. And finally, we're going to talk in depth about how she has translated her very, very successful playing career into also a very, very successful coaching career, which is not always as seamless of a transition for athletes, even the most talented ones. So I'm very excited for this interview today.
Alexis Reid
So to introduce Rachel, she is a former all big east and all Northeast Region defender. Rachel Pittman recently joined Dartmouth College as an associate head coach. Her most recent coaching experience was at Depaul University, where she spent the last six years with the Blue Demons, starting as a graduate assistant in 2018 Pittman worked up the ranks as a second assistant to first assistant, and most recently as Associate Head Coach. Additionally, Pittman recruited top prospective student athletes who made all Big East first team and the Big East leading goal scorer in 2022 she also aided in the development of professional players playing in Europe. Pittman joined the Blue Demons following a professional career with the Sunderland ladies AFC club in Sunderland, England, playing in the women's Super League. She also made four appearances in the Champions League with Stjarnan FC. Pitman played for DePaul from 2011 2014 leading DePaul to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2013 and 14. In 2014 DePaul set a program record going 17, one and four with a 20 match streak without a loss, the longest in the nation along with UCLA at the time. DePaul won both the Big East regular season and tournament titles, while Pittman was selected to the all Big East first team and was NCAA all northeast region's second team as a student athlete, Pittman was also named to the Capital One Academic All American first team and was a four time Big East all academic team selection, competing on England's U 17 and U 23 national teams. Pittman scored five goals and helped lead the English to the U 17 World Cup semifinals. She has also played with England's U 15 and U 17 teams. Pittman is an FA level one level two and UEFA B qualified soccer coach, most impressive.
Gerald Reid
Yeah, we're so happy to have you. Rachel, heard such great things about you, and excited to get to learn about you and your story today. Absolutely excited to share it.
Gerald Reid
Excellent and just for the listeners, just to kind of recap this podcast, if you're firstly tuning into it, Alexis and I, we started this podcast. Alexis is an educational therapist and executive functioning coach. She works with learners, she works with teachers. So she has a heavy emphasis on learning and teaching. So we're going to try to pull that in as it relates to coaching and myself. Gerald Reid, I'm a psychologist licensed in Massachusetts in private practice, and I work not only on the mental health side, but also on the sports psychology side. Have worked with a lot of athletes on different levels and certainly have helped athletes kind of recover from injury from various sports so excited to get into depth about that as well. So Rachel, you know, there's so many directions we can go in this, in this, in this interview, just because of all the experiences you've had. And, you know, it's kind of rare that you've kind of touched upon all different aspects of soccer in the soccer world. So, you know, where do you want to start just kind of introducing who you are, you know, and, you know, showcase Rachel Pittman to the world.
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, for sure. You know, I think I've been playing soccer for a very long time, you know, I started when I was five years old, you know, it was something that I did alongside my dad. He played, you know, for for Sunday League teams, so I kind of always went along with him and then got the. Of, okay, I like this for I actually want to play this. And so then we struggled to really find, interestingly enough, in England, a girls team that, you know, it wasn't prevalent in England for girls to play soccer compared to the US where, you know, I think most people have played soccer at some point in their life.
I was fortunate in that my Nan, her local hairdresser, knew somebody who was running a girls team. So that's kind of how I got connected. Yeah, it's, it's a funny story. And then, from you know, from then on, I was very much involved in playing soccer all the time, and made my way up, kind of through the age groups, and, you know, started to join more, I guess, prestigious teams, and have even more experience, you know, internationally at club level.
And I've been kind of all across the world as well, which is, is a really fun thing about being involved in sports, you know, I've had the opportunity to to play in in Russia, in New Zealand, in Finland, in Georgia, you know, get, get a scholarship and play out in America, I've had so many great experiences just from sport. So, yeah, I'm just, you know, I think that that's the one thing I take away from from just being involved in playing soccer, is that all the life experience that I've got from it has kind of made me who I am.
Alexis Reid
I think that's one of the coolest parts about soccer, in particular, not just sports in general. But soccer is such a universal, worldwide sport that everybody gets involved in, you know, you can see people coming together, not even speaking the same language, but they can speak the same language through just, you know, kicking them all around and, you know, passing back and forth, which is really neat.
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, you know, I think it's, I always say this is one of the most simple sports in the world. There's not too many rules. So I think that's thing about it is, like you said, you could play with a bunch of people, and you don't have to speak speak the same language, but you'll still all have fun at the same time.
Alexis Reid
Yeah, one of the things that stuck out to me when you were describing some of your journey as you know, there wasn't really a place for you to play when you were younger. Did you find yourself kind of just, you know, toying around with the ball on your own and picking up skills and drills by watching a lot of the students and the young people we work with sometimes they have these huge aspirations and they might even have raw talent, but sometimes they want to jump really fast to the next step and the next phase. And, you know, sometimes it is about practicing and playing on different teams. But I wonder, like, what that was like for you, if it felt sort of isolating to be a girl without a girl's team, but wanting to play.
Rachel Pitman
You know, I think most of my friends that I eventually played with a little bit later in life, they all played on boys teams. So I think I was fortunate, you know, I found a girl's team. Because I think it was a rarity, for sure, but I think, you know, the thing where, which challenged me the most is, you know, when you would play in school, or on my school team, it was with boys. So I had to really establish myself very quickly when you're surrounded by boys and they're like, oh, Who's this girl that plays soccer? Like girls don't play soccer.
And that was very much, you know, the thing in England is, girls don't play soccer. So as soon as I had a ball at my feet, they learned very quickly that, you know, girls can play soccer, can beat the boys. So I had to, you know, I think, establish myself and kind of show who I was. So I think I did a lot of practice in my garden, you know, just me and a ball to make sure that once I stepped up alongside those boys, I could kind of show them, you know, what I was about, and that I can't play at this level. Where do
Gerald Reid
you think you got that confidence from at such a young age? I imagine there's qualities that you have within yourself, and also perhaps the people around you to instill such confidence to do that
Rachel Pitman
absolutely. I think I always wanted to prove people wrong. You know, I think when from a young age, you're told like, you can't play this sport. And there were times, you know, in like my, you know, when I was at school, when I was younger, probably from like 8 to 10 years old, I was part of the boys team because there wasn't a girls team at the school. And then I got told I couldn't play on on the team any longer, because I was a girl, you know, and so I think I was very much like, well, I'm going to keep proving people wrong. And I think that's how I grew my confidence, is I knew I was one of the best players, if not the best players out of all of those boys. So I was going to keep pushing, you know, keep pushing the boundaries on that. And I think that just gave me confidence in that. I knew I was one of the better players. So as long as I could showcase that, and, you know, they all saw it, it always made me feel confident to kind of feel feel free to play soccer.
Gerald Reid
I love that. So you really just saw yourself as another soccer player. I'm guessing you didn't have too much self consciousness about being the only girl. It was just more about just playing the sport and playing it to the highest level to to prove yourself. That's amazing.
Rachel Pitman
Absolutely, you know, and I think I was, I always went with my dad. So I was very much surrounded by, you know, when he was playing, surrounded by males playing soccer. So I was already involved in in that world. So for me, it wasn't unusual. Then, when I was playing with the boys at school, it was more just the case of, I had to prove myself every single day, because you always had, you know, a person that hadn't seen a girl playing that's like, Oh, why is this girl playing with us? Like she's not good? And then I'm like, Okay, well, let's see what we can do here, and we'll see if I'm good or not.
Alexis Reid
Not only did you love to play, but you love to be able to prove how much you loved it and how good you were. So tell us a little bit about like culturally for you, growing up in England, and England is such a big soccer country, right to me. You know, we didn't grow up in the 80s and 90s with soccer as, like, the primary sport here in the US. And you know, I always look to England as like, this is the biggest soccer you know, this is the sport. And now hearing you say, Well, girls didn't really have a place on the soccer field is so fascinating to me, and I think we can rewind and kind of break that down a little bit more for the young listeners, because sometimes we have even some of our youngest listeners who are interested in sports and figuring out their own path and journey, who love to hear about this. So I'm curious if you can share a little bit more about that too.
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, you know, I think England has a very interesting history. A really long time ago, there's actually a lot of kind of research gone into this, and there's been films made about it as well. A really long time ago, England women were playing in the World Cup, and they did really well that they had an incredible amount of fans. I want to say the World Cup was in Mexico, and then when they came back, England, totally just banned women playing soccer.
Alexis Reid: Wow.
Rachel Pitman: They just gone to a world. Cup, they done really well. Tons of fans there, they came back and and just banned women from playing it. The clubs that existed, they all had to fold. And it was all because it was women shouldn't be playing this sport. They should be in the kitchen. And, you know, very, it was very old school, you know, these, these are the roles and responsibilities of how this looks. And I think that played a very big part for a long time in the trajectory of of girls and women playing soccer in England. Um, because they banned it for such a long time that, you know, they weren't able to develop it for such a long time, you know. And I think if the it hadn't been banned, like where England would be right now, it would be huge. It would be, you know, similar to where the US is, you know, I think where in the US its huge, and it has been a very, very long time.
So, you know, I think that's just a such a big part of history. And I also think that's why, you know, when I was young, and it's changed a lot now, but why we had to kind of prove ourselves, and why it was that much harder to to be a girl that was playing soccer, because it wasn't accepted. It really wasn't. And it's, it's a man's sport, it's a boy sport. Like this is what they do. You know, girls should play netball and hockey and like that was kind of, you know, I didn't even at school. Girls wouldn't have the opportunity to play soccer for like PE you know, you'd have the girly sports. So I think it's, you know, if England's definitely come a long way, you know, in terms of changing those opinions and breaking the barriers on that for sure. And I think England winning the Euros, the women win the Euros, played a really big part in that. And just kind of, you know, changing how people viewed women play in soccer. And I think now just the future is, so, so bright in England,
Gerald Reid
That's amazing, and you kind of were born at the right place, at the right time, the and you were the right person to kind of be a trailblazer yourself, too. It's unbelievable. And what a great example of confidence in yourself, and a great role model of feeling confident in your abilities to do it. I mean, I think that is, you know, you kind of did it in a very challenging way. I really think confidence is so important, and you have something definitely inside of you that really is a great role model for that.
Rachel Pitman
No, I think it's huge. And I think now coaching, I definitely tried to to touch on that, to instill that because it's it's huge, right, without that internal confidence, you know, you're never going to be the type of player that you want to be or achieve what you want to achieve, if you don't believe in it yourself, and absolutely as as coaches and you know, family members, friends, they can instill confidence in a person, but you have to believe it yourself. And I talk about that a lot with the players that I work with, just because I feel really strongly about it. And I think there is so much pressure in in sports and with how the club system is in the US, you know, there's so much pressure to to get scholarships. And you know, if you play soccer, you know, you've paid all these fees, you know, now you want to get the rewards for that. So there, there's a ton of pressure. So again, it's all about you kind of strip it back a little bit, and why are you actually playing? It's because you love the sport and it's because it's fun. And I think sometimes you get that. So again, I tried to really emphasize those things as a coach.
Gerald Reid
That's great. And you know, it's so true about all the pressure. And Alexis and I see this a lot with young people, college students. It's like the more you're exposed to through the media, social media, it's almost like you feel like there is a perfect path for you if you're gonna breach a certain level. It's not like there's a path for you. It's almost like there has to be a better path, or the best path. And I think it instills so much anxiety and stress and pressure within these athletes that even if they're not an athlete, just like the perfect College, the perfect situation, the perfect relationship, like everything has to be perfect, right? The more you're exposed to. And I like you know when you have confidence in yourself and you trust that you're going to do the best you can do and and that there is a path for you, and I think you're a great role model for that as well, because your path has gone on a lot of different directions. But maybe, you know, making assumptions, but maybe you can tell us how you know that that pan. Out through kind of, maybe trusting your own process in what you can do yourself.
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, you know, I think I've had so many ups and downs throughout my career, and been in lots of different pressured situations. You know, I think being involved in the youth national team when I was young, like the pressure of that was huge, just because you put the pressure on yourself. It's not necessarily from from family members, it's, it's a player. I was like, Okay, I really want to be in this squad like this is the pinnacle of my career, you know, playing for my national team and and every time I stepped foot kind of on those camps or in games, you knew you had to be like you were kind of saying ultimately, like perfect, right? Because there's so many other girls that are there to take your spot.
So there was definitely with pressure, pressure with that in my life. But I think I always went back to kind of, I do this because I love it, and so that was always my motivation. You know, I've had a number of injuries as well. I tore my ACL three times. So, you know, I had long periods of time out of the game dealing with that as well. And I think, you know, the stresses and the mental, you know, side effects that come with injuries again, I always look to I just love playing this game. I love being part of this game that, like it always got me back to kind of where I needed to be, even with, you know, all the pressure and the stress that may come with with playing the game and being part of teams where you're constantly, you know, you're constantly evaluated, and you always have to kind of keep growing and developing as a player. When I strip it back, it would, you know, I always just focused on why you love what you're doing and you love kind of playing this game. So I think that just helped me navigate all of that.
Alexis Reid
It makes so much sense. And okay, so you finally got into the girls team. You're still playing with the boys. What comes next? What's the next phase of the of your development of as a soccer player, yeah.
Rachel Pitman
So they have, in England, they have, like these academies, which are called Center of Excellences. So my home city had one, and they're kind of placed all throughout England, so each city will have one. And essentially you when you're playing, when I was playing on my girls team, I got picked then to be part of this academy. And so what it was is there's probably 20 girls that are all picked at each different age group, from under 10s all the way up to under sixteens that are the best you know, for their age group within that region, and you know they're, they're in this academy, you train several times a week. Obviously, the older you get, the more training you kind of have per week.
But you get, you know, you get access to the best things, the best coaches, good facilities, basically just putting you on a pathway to to develop as a player and to try and, you know, reach, reach the end goal of either playing professionally or whatever that may be. So that's kind of how the system works in England. So I became part of Bristol, Center of Excellence while I was there, you know, when we would go and play games against other regions England, scouts would come and watch, and that's pretty much how I then got picked for the England youth national teams.
You'd have scouts at your game, and they'd go to all these games around the country. Would pick, you know, 20 to 30 players, and you'd all then go to a camp and kind of be further evaluated, kind of showcase your skills there and and that's kind of how you develop like they the system that the the Football Association in England makes is they have all of these clubs throughout the region, essentially to kind of fine tune and feed their players into the national team. So that is kind of the foundations of it.
So yeah, that's kind of how I got involved being with England and had so many wonderful experiences, you know, playing for my country. And like I said I traveled all over the world at such a young age. It was incredible. You know, I went to New Zealand for a month when I was 16 years old. So, you know, most people don't get to do that. And all the things that I was able to achieve it, you know, it came from me just pursuing my passion. Which is pretty sweet, you know, and then while I was involved in England, I joined, after kind of high school, I joined Arsenal Academy, which at the time, was one of the best soccer clubs in England, very, very prestigious club. So I joined the academy there where I moved to my hometown was Bristol. Arsenal. Was based in London. I moved away from home at 16, went to live in this academy for two years. Kind of just played soccer full time, which was, again, an incredible experience. It made me grow up very, very quickly, leaving your family at 16 years old, you kind of have to navigate your life and kind of just figure things out very quickly, which, again, you know, it's just good life experience for myself, I've grown so much from all of these experiences. And then yeah. Once I was I did two years at Arsenal, living in London, and then kind of decided that after that, I knew I wanted to go out to the US. I knew kind of how incredible the sport was out in America, the universities, just the environment of that. And then got recruited out there to go and play on a scholarship in Chicago with DePaul. So yeah, you know, it's just, it's been an incredible journey. And like I said, all of it is just from playing sport, which is pretty incredible.
Gerald Reid
What would you say were the differences once you got into DePaul and were part of the community there in the college, was that, like, a much different experience for you, and maybe describe a little bit, yeah,
Rachel Pitman
it was very different. You know, I didn't I when I visited America with family, you know, we'd been to Disneyland and Florida, like, that was the America we knew and it's very different from America in general, but yeah, like, I had never visited Chicago. I had no idea where it was. I got recruited there, and I'm very much a person that's like, All right, yeah, I'll do it. You know, I don't think twice about things. I i jump into them head first, and I just embraced the experience.
So that's what I did, you know, it was, it was very different, just from the playing style was extremely different from what I was used to. You know, I think England is, is a slower paced game, a lot more possession style, where America is built on athletes. So it was very fast paced. It was very direct. So just getting used that was, was a difference, for sure. And then just the academic piece as well, you know, I think it's taken very seriously in America. And so I just, you know, I had to get used to that and be like, Okay, I really have to be excellent at both things. I have to be really good at my academics, and I also have to perform well too, because, you know, these are the standards that are kind of held for the team and and that's just kind of what you do.
Alexis Reid
Yeah, I have to ask about that. That must have been a huge shift going from playing soccer all day to having to balance out both the workload academically and the training load for being prepared and in shape and ready for your soccer your soccer team, in your role there too. What was that shift like?
Rachel Pitman
It was, you know, I think the biggest, or the biggest challenge for me was probably the academic side of things. You know, I was a soccer junkie, so I didn't care too much about the academics. And, you know, I figured out very quickly that I do have to care, and I do have to put in the work. You know, you have to, you have to have good grades to play at the division one level. And I think it helped being part of a team that were, you know, very academic anyway, you know, they we all challenged each other. So it was like, oh, like, you've got homework. Like, let's go to the library and work on it, you know, like, I have things to work on. So I think just being in that environment helped me kind of get up to speed very quickly. But I think that was the biggest challenge, was just managing the academics, because all I wanted to do was just play soccer. You know, your coaches are like, Oh no, you've actually got three classes today, as well as you training and study table and all the rest of it.
Alexis Reid
Yeah, it's a big shift, and I think it's it. You know, I'm hearing so many of my students and I work with in your story, who would love to just be soccer junkies or lacrosse junkies and just play. And you know, the reality here, at least in some of the schools that they're a part of, where they're very highly competitive, both athletic wise and academic wise. It's a lot to balance. And I often say, you know, we. Which one do you want to choose? You're not going to be able to do either one at 100% for what you wanted to be and to do. So I wonder, you know, I know it's a little more deeper of a question, but thinking about, you know, you probably could if you dedicated all your time and energy to academics work at 100% or whatever the percentage makes sense for you. But then the soccer might kind of not be as much of a focus, and vice versa.
And I'm sure you have this conversation with your athletes that you work with now too. So I wonder if you can share a little bit about the nuance of that experience of trying to find, you know, the right recipe, right? I always hesitate to say the word balance, even though it's always the first thing to come out, but I don't really believe that you could ever balance all the things you love and you're committed to perfectly. I just don't think that's a reality. So I wonder if you can share a little bit about like, how you were able to find like, you know, the right recipe for you, to be able to manage and to juggle all of the responsibilities that you had as a high level athlete.
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, definitely. You know, I think the beauty of being involved in Division One athletics is you get a lot of resources. And I think that's one thing for me, especially, and I think even now as a coach, is that's what helps. I guess, as you said, kind of balance things the best you can. You know, if you're ever struggling or you know there's work that you're going to miss out on because you have a game, I think, just being part of a Division One athletics team, you already kind of have that support behind you so you're not kind of left to your own devices, which I think would be really hard.
It's like, well, you know, we're going to tackle this before the season starts. You know, we know you're going to miss this exam. Well, let's make a plan before the season started, so that you're not scrambling to try and make it up. And academic advisors within the athletic department help with that. And I think that's, you know, that's key into allowing athletes to have success, you know. I also think just your coaches having an understanding of your schedule, you know, maybe when midterms week is or when finals are just understanding maybe kind of how your stress levels may factor into that. And you know, what does training look like during those weeks?
And I think as coaches, we definitely need to be aware of that that okay because midterms week stress levels might be higher. So how can we help the team deal with that so that they don't feel like they're giving up one or the other. And maybe it's you drop a session that week, or, you know, you just do something as a fun team activity. And again, it's relative to what time of the year is. Of course, you're not necessarily going to do that in season just because of the demands, but out of you can definitely do that. You know, if you're in season, maybe it's if it's mid terms week, you pick a fun session that you know everybody loves, so that actually come into training for them becomes like a release from the stress of the academics, and there's not the pressure there, because it's just like something fun to do. So I think as coaches, it's important that we think about that. I know that I felt that when I was a student athlete, you know, my coaches definitely helped in those scenarios, just making sure that if we were stressed about certain things, we felt like we had a lot of support and help from the people around us, so just so that we could be successful in both both sides.
Alexis Reid
One of the biggest challenges and probably one of the biggest barriers for college students in general, or even high school students in an add in the fact that they're elite athletes, training, practicing and playing games that interfere with their academic days and the other things they have to do. One of the biggest barriers that I find that they have is even just speaking up and asking for what they need.
So I really want to make sure to make a point here, and I hope you can talk to this too, that the more you can proactively plan, like you said, like take a look at the schedule, look at when things are going to match up when things are going to become more stressful and just have an open conversation with your coaches, with your professors, with your teammates, also with your roommates. Right, thinking about like how all of this is going to interfere and impact you at different phases of the semester is so important because I think so often college students, and not just college students, I think humans, we as humans, have a hard time speaking up and asking for what we need, or saying like, hey, this might be difficult for me. I might need something different than I normally do.
And having those conversations. And can only imagine what that would be like to admit like, hey. This might be difficult for me, because you do need to put on that strong face of like, Oh, I'm going to show up for the team no matter what. I'm going to show up and do everything I can. But there really needs to be some acknowledgement of how many resources are available and what you can actually put forward at any given point in time. So, you know, I was thinking about that as you were saying that, and I wanted to just make that point that one of the things that I find across the board, for students have the hardest time asking for something that maybe seems different than what other people are needing or asking for at different points in time.
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, you know, I think I will say that if I think back to myself as a student athlete, to where things are now. I think college athletics has done a great job at providing more resources to just help, you know, athletes feel like they can talk to advocate for themselves. I think, you know, a lot of schools now have mental health practitioners available to the student athletes. They have nutrition nutritionists available, you know, if that's something that, you know, we feel like our athletes are struggling with, or just, you know, and I think about as coaches, how we've also implemented things, you know.
We have a survey that the players do daily, which they just do, kind of a rating scale for, you know, their energy levels, their stress levels, how their sleep was. And I think those and all players on the team do this. I think those little things can help you sometimes, maybe just paint a picture of, okay, maybe they're struggling a little bit, and maybe I need to have a conversation with the player, because they're saying they're really stressed. They, you know, they didn't sleep much, and their energy levels are low.
Like, let me just do a check in. And it doesn't have to be something serious, but I think then you can it just helps, really, like the athlete feel like they can talk about things if they want to, and it doesn't, I think when you have like, these small surveys, it becomes part of, like, just the habit of what they're doing. It doesn't feel like a big deal. Of like, oh, I need to go and talk to my coach, because I'm really struggling with this. It just becomes, you know, what, I'm going to fill out this survey and I'm going to be honest about how I feel, and then as a coaching staff, we can go, actually, this is flagged a little bit high here. We need to check in and make sure everything's good, and then, you know, maybe they feel more comfortable to express what's going on. You know, maybe they, they haven't slept well because they've they've got hard papers or exam exams coming up, and then, you know, we can make a decision, you know what? Maybe they need an extra day off or something along those lines. I think we've athletics as a whole has just implemented a lot of good things that open up those difficult conversations.
Alexis Reid
That's so amazing. And you know, a lot of what we talk about here in the podcast, and what we bring into our private practices too, is looking at the big picture. And you know, even when I work with female students or female athletes, I ask them the bigger questions, right? And I am not an expert. I'm not a doctor or even a nutritionist or physical trainer physio, but I do recognize how the female anatomy sometimes, you know, in our cycles, sometimes, shifts and changes, how we show up and what we need. And I think it's so important to be in tune with that we don't have enough of those conversations in the world, let alone on a team. So I'm so glad that you're doing that, because just like that little ping of like, “Hey, pay attention to where you're at, share where you're at, what needs to be done differently?” is so important. My I have a physio that I work with who is worked with collegiate athletes for a very long time, and he was always talking about how, you know, at different points of, you know, your menstrual cycle. Sometimes you even need different workouts, different rest periods, different ways in which to, you know, pay attention to your nutrition, which is so important that not many people grow up thinking about or learning about so this education and that awareness is so key. It's so cool that you're doing that.
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, it's huge. And I think just touching on the, you know, the menstrual cycle. I think there is still so much more that can be done on that. I know in England, there are practitioners that are doing a lot of research into that, especially within women's soccer, you know, I think first hand my experience, I do think that my ACL injuries definitely correlated with my menstrual cycle. And you know, there wasn't any type of research at that point, and I know now they're definitely looking into that. And like you said, kind of adjusting training loads according to cycles, because it does have such an impact on the body. And you know, you can end up with very serious injuries because, you know, maybe you're put in a position where you're more susceptible to injury, and you don't realize it.
Alexis Reid
That's so funny that you said that, you know, I've read a bunch about that too, that injuries tend to happen at different points in your cycle, right? And paying attention to when you're the most vulnerable. Same thing with stress levels, right? If you're stressed about school or any kind of emotional, relational worry that comes up, you're more vulnerable to potentially getting sick, or your immune system gets impacted, or your body can be more prone to injury. It's so fascinating, and I think it's so important for especially young athletes that are just pushing themselves to train and train and train, to pay attention to that. And I'm so glad you're doing that at the collegiate level. It's great.
Gerald Reid
Yeah, I love, love hearing what you're doing with the program, Rachel, it's, it's, it's, it's unbelievable, and it, it comes to mind, as you're both talking is, it's a reframe around disclosing things that are going on within you. It's a reframe from, I'm going to share this and I'm going to it's a punitive response I'm going to get from my superior, my coach, my parent, but, but instead of it being punitive, it's no this is a collaboration around your body. Your body is important. You're using your body. You have to nurture your body and your mind and as well. And it's a reframe from, I'm going to share something and be vulnerable and be criticized or, you know, taken out or something, but it changes the whole dialog to be more collaborative and to Alexis’s point. I mean, certainly I've been athletes I worked with who, you know, do push themselves too hard because they think that's the right thing to do, because working harder is, you know, better, quote, unquote, you know,
Rachel Pitman
yeah, you know. And I think as a coach like my, my most important quality, that I would say, is just building relationships. And I value that so highly, just who I am as a coach and kind of my philosophy. And I think the reason for that is then you can get, you know, really important bits of information from them because they trust you, they feel like you care about them as a person. And essentially, you can get more out of them then as a player, because they feel like you care about them, you know, just kind of touching on on what you said. Again, it's about knowing your players. You know, I think about certain scenarios which I've been in coaching wise. You know, there's players that would play if their leg was broken, you know, like, come on, like…
Gerald Reid
And you’re not exaggerating, by the way, for the audience like that this, you're being very literal when you say that.
Rachel Pitman
yeah, like, you know you have to go listen like, you know you're you're hurt. We mean to pull you from training, because if you don't do that, like, they'll just train, and then you've got the opposite that you know, need a little bit more confidence, and that comes from physios and coaches. You know it's saying, Okay, no, you're good, like you're in a good place. You can push yourself a little bit here in terms of training, but it's about knowing the personnel and just understanding who they are as humans to really be able to get the best of them.
Gerald Reid
Definitely, yeah, it's very similar in some ways, to, you know, how we work with parents around when their kids are anxious, you really got to know them, when to push, when to pull back and when to support, because if you push too hard, you're kind of, you know, you're pushing the kid into something that's just way, way too overwhelming for them. And but some kids also may need that push to feel like they have the confidence to do something that's scary or hard for them. So, you know, understanding as you're saying, the personality, the tendencies, the patterns of the athlete helps you to know you know when and how to push, and also for them to trust you that you are kind of aligning with that.
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, you know, I think so much of coaching, we think is about, you know, the tactics and the X's and O's, when, in reality, it's that's probably the smallest part of coaching, and it's more about the people and the relationships and just understanding emotions. I think that's such a huge part of trying to get the best out of people and just understanding the team as well.
Alexis Reid
I hesitate to say this out loud, but I think the TV show Ted lasso really kind of ... I know I was trying to avoid it, but that was just we walked right into that one. But it's true, right? It's about building trust, and it's the same thing if you're a teacher or coach or a parent or mentor or friend that you know, building that trust, it helps them to build trust in themselves too, when they know other people outside of them are there for them and will help to guide coach and understand them.
Gerald Reid
Yeah, and I just want to say this too is, you know, part of being in a relationship with someone is to sometimes. Just talk, like, even as a therapist and as a sports psychology consultant, sometimes just having the ability to talk through something helps the person to adjust and kind of realign. I'm using my hands to kind of like, realign the scales becoming more balanced, right?
Sometimes, just the act of talking through something honestly and openly just kind of brings someone back to some sort of equilibrium or balance. And this could come with a lot of things that, you know, we're talking about injuries, you know, sometimes just, and I want to get into your injury recovery, you know, sometimes talking through and even just getting out some of those emotions, you know, if you're feeling anxious or upset or frustrated, sometimes just having the space to let that out, process it, let it come and go, you know, and then moving forward towards, a new perspective about how to move forward or how to be more present is enough, sometimes, for people to kind of work through challenges or to to adjust to situations and so forth. So, you know that trust and that openness is so important on many, on many levels, and that may even come from, like, a timeout, you know, if you have a timeout sometimes, you know, you can speak more to this.
As a coach, I did a little bit of coaching early in my life, but like, you know, sometimes a time out, you just got to make a small adjustment. And if they're going to be open and actually listen to what you have to say and be hum, you know, to trust you enough to not have an ego, to resist what you're telling them to do differently. Like, that's sometimes all you need to your point, you know?
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, definitely, you know. And I think just sports in general, and we kind of touched on this a little bit, but like, sports in general, or it's, don't, don't give too much away, you know, “don't show your emotions too much”. And I think, and I hope, that we're definitely changing that stereotype and, you know, that stigma, I think we're getting to a place where, like, it's okay to talk, it's okay to say how you feel and have those conversations, because I do think they are helpful for the individuals and for the team as well.
You know, if somebody feels a certain type of way, then just being able to be open about it and talk and and sometimes, you know, these players may not have close bonds with family or, you know, friends or whatever, and so their team or their coaches can be that person that they can kind of release that information to and just kind of get things off their chest, which I think is just, is so important, so great.
Gerald Reid
yeah. And you never know how someone is perceiving you, too. You know, if they don't have other relationships in their life, and the team is their important, significant relationships, you know they could take something the wrong way, and you, as you know, a coach or teammate may not even realize what's happening, because, you know, you don't, you know if you don't have that relationship. So it's so important because you haven't. I always say, you have no idea how people are perceiving you. You know, it goes all always, back and forth,
Rachel Pitman
definitely.
Gerald Reid
Yeah,I I'm really interested in this. I don't know if this is more of a sensitive topic for you to get into in depth, but you know, the injuries you've gone through. I definitely work with a lot of athletes from different sports have gone through injuries and recovering, and I kind of have seen different processes of getting through that and things that have been helpful for them, and things, you know, the challenges and the process. But I don't want to project that onto your experience. I really want to hear your experience from it and learn from you. And you know, a lot of people are interested to hear what you have to say about this.
Rachel Pitman
For sure. Yeah, I think three ACLs are tough, you know? I think, interestingly enough, two of them were before I even played collegiate soccer, and then one was my first professional soccer game back in England. So very interesting timing. You know, I think a lot of people, when you look at ACLs, like they do them during collegiate years, just because the schedule is so full on, you play so many games, and your body kind of breaks down a little bit. But for me, I did it, you know, when I was young. I think my first one was when I was 17. I was away with with the national team in Spain, and, yeah, you know, just kind of didn't get tackled or anything like that. I knew right away what it was. And I think that just had been around people that had done their ACL, so I knew exactly what had in store for me over the next kind of six months.
And I think that was really hard, that whole process of being away of England, term ACL, and then, you know, I had a fly back to England by myself. The team was still in Spain, so it was like, well, they wanted me to go and get my surgery, and just that whole process of, you know, you essentially grieve kind of what you love doing, you know, you know that you're not going to for a long period of time. Um, and then you go through just so many of those stages of, oh, like, you know, maybe it's not bad, like, maybe. And, you know, at this point, I hadn't had the scans, you don't know, you know, maybe it's not that. And you kind of just go through all of these stages, and it's such a challenging thing, I think, to deal with, especially when you're young, but just overall as an athlete, just because you understand what's being taken away from you, and you know that it's going to be such a long time till you get to play and do what you love, and just how the challenges that are ahead for you. So I think that was really challenging for me, just to deal with
Gerald Reid
A lot of uncertainty. It sounds like a lot of uncertainty is a big thing.
Rachel Pitman
Exactly. I think being involved in England as well, you know, I was like, okay, I can see how my career trajectory is going to go. And then you have this happen. You're like, okay, am I, you know, never going to play for England again? Am I never, you know, going to be able to achieve what I've set, you know, forth of my goals, of what I feel like I could achieve.
And so you're kind of going through all of that mentally in your head, and you don't know the answer to that until you're further down the road in in your back to full health. So I think that is definitely a challenge. You know, I kind of rehabbed my injury back then. I feel like they allowed you to go back a little bit sooner. So I rehabbed for six months. And that was kind of the timeframe that they allowed people to go back after ACLs. I know it's, it's a little bit longer now, but, you know, I kind of went through that whole process. So if you get to run again, you know, you doing all your strength and conditioning, then you get to kick the ball again.
You know, there's so many different things that you go through so many ups and downs, and I think, you know, a couple of my sessions into running, you know, I'm so excited to run again because I hadn't ran for so long, I start running a couple of sessions in, and then I pull my hamstring, you know, it's like, there's so many like, and I talk about this a lot now with any players that I coach that you know, have bad injuries, or just injuries in general, like, you have to expect the bumps, because if you don't, you're setting yourself up for failure, because it's never just going to be, you know, a smooth path, like, you know for a fact that you're going to hit a point where maybe you'll go backwards, you know, maybe you'll go two steps forward, one step back. Like, that's just kind of how it goes with injuries. It's, it's rarely smooth.
And I think I, you know, I dealt with that, especially with my first one, and then, you know, I got the joy of of getting back to playing. I'd been out for six to seven months, um, was back playing on my team, you know, and you you lose those, I think the biggest thing when you're injured is you feel like you lose those relationships with your teammates, because you're not on, on the field with them, playing, you know when, when they're in the locker room, talking about things that happened in the game, you can't really relate the same way. And I think that mentally is the hardest thing. Like you feel very detached from the team, even though you know that, like they try to include you and you're very much there with them, you'll never fully feel like you were part of it. Because when they're talking about, like, oh, did you see them scored that goal, or all that tactical was great, you just can't relate, because you weren't on the field and you didn't experience that.
So I think that is mentally like, a big challenge, just for athletes in general, um. But yeah, I kind of got back to playing, and then I think it was like, my second game, back playing. It went again, so I didn't want to see how again. So as you know, it's like you go through that whole process of, you know, the hard, and then you have the joy of getting back to playing. And then it happens again, and you realize, you know, everything you've got ahead of you because you've just been through it. Um, I think, you know, I think my second time, you're also more equipped to deal with it from, you know, a mental standpoint, you know exactly what you're getting yourself into. I think the first time, you know, you you're not necessarily prepared for how hard it's going to be, or how long it's going to feel, or, you know, mentally, what the challenges will be, whereas that second time, I was like, Well, I've just done this like, you know, I, I think I probably also just because I had been out for that period of time, And I'd only been back for a small period of time, it kind of just felt like I was going back to where I'd just been.
So didn't feel like so dramatic and again, like my motivation was constantly I want to get back to doing what I love and kind. Reach my goals that I have for myself. And then, you know, eventually, after kind of seven, eight months of repairing, the second one, got back to playing, I felt great. You know, had I think I played for six or seven years with with no injuries, you know, no problems. You know, felt really good, and then went back kind of so I played in Iceland for six months right after college. So played there professionally, and then, you know, my goal was always to play in England, because the league was, was great, and it's exactly where I wanted to be, went there in January, signed for Sunderland, and then my first, did the whole preseason with them, my first came back with the team, but being back in England, actually having my family come and watch, which they hadn't done for a long time, because I've been in America, I tore my ACL again, which was a third time.
Alexis Reid
Oh my gosh, which is rare, by the way, for listeners, that doesn't usually happen more than one,
Rachel Pitman
It's, it's definitely rare. But you know, it's, I think the third time was, it was the hardest, but also I probably learned the most about myself. I would say I was that little bit older. Um, I also had a team that did hers two weeks after me. Um, so we essentially were on the journey together, and I think that really helped me, and it helped us both just being there together, motivating each other, kind of just going through all of the ups and downs together. I think it was just really beneficial. But my third one was a lot more challenging. I ended up being out for 16 months, which is a long, long time. And you know, you you get to a point where you think, am I ever going to get back to playing? And I did, I did, and I felt great. And you know, my knees are still going strong, and I can still jump into training now on the odd occasion. And you know, still, still, you know, exercise and do everything that I want to do, which is, you know, essentially, when you when you look back at it, that's what you want to do at the end of the day.
Gerald Reid
Wow. Okay, I can feel a lot of emotion behind all that. So we really appreciate you sharing all that. That's a That's a deep experience, especially when soccer is your life. You know, it sounds like the beginning. The first two, you were almost like a young optimist that felt like I can do it. I'm going to get back onto the field. That's all I care about. And the third time around, you said, there's some more deeper meaning to it. And I can't tell you how many times working with athletes going through harder times, they become evolved through the experience. It's partly my bias about helping people is to find meaning and to lean into that and to grow and evolve through the challenges. Kind of use the pain as fertilizer. But, you know, can you, can you tell walk us through a little bit about that? If you don't mind about that, you know, the deeper meaning that you kind of, you felt like was a growth period for you, even though it was a lot of pain that was involved.
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, definitely, you know, I think, I think it was more of a challenge as well, because at this point, playing soccer was my job, so I think that brings meaning to it, versus I'm doing this for fun, and this is just what I love like when it becomes your job, it's definitely a little bit more pressure, a little a little bit more challenging, I would say. You know, I think just having my teammate there next to me gave me motivation, kind of every day, to continue to rehab, to get back to feeling healthy and to feeling good.
You know, I think I always said I wanted to be a professional soccer player since I was probably six years old, that was always my dream and my goal. So I think I always had that in the back of my mind. As you know, this is where I'm at right now. I've got a two year contract that I have worked so hard to achieve. You know, as much as I know this road is going to be long for me, I have to just think of that feeling and that joy as to when I get back to playing. And every day I step foot in in with the physio in the weight room, like just think about that. And I think that just motivated me every day to continue to push and there were definitely moments where I was like, I don't know if I could do this anymore, but, you know, I think I'm also I'll never be a quitter. I'll never give up on anything. So even if it meant that, you know, I just got back to feeling healthy, but I didn't get to play like I was still okay with that. I just knew that I was never going to give up till I got to that point.
Alexis Reid
How cool is it that you experienced achieving your goal, like having the thing you loved in your life, even if it wasn't for as long as you expected it to be. How cool is it that you set out to do it, even despite some of these challenges and the injuries that you were like, Nope, I'm here. I'm not giving up on this. I'm gonna keep going.
And then, you know, this is, this is something that I'm always so intrigued by, because you work with a lot of athletes who sometimes have, you know, dealt with an injury, or just transitioning from collegiate level to like normal life, where you're no longer an athlete, you no longer have a team, you no longer are the best at the thing that you're showing up for every day, which this, this shift in identity I'm so fascinated by, especially for Athletes, and you mentioned this before, thinking about, like grieving the loss of, you know, what you expected or what you noticed was changing. And I'm wondering, as we think about, you know, the next phase of your journey, how you were able to, you know, process through everything, to, you know, pivot perhaps. It doesn't seem like it was a huge, it wasn't a huge change in that you didn't change professions completely. You're still in the soccer world. But you know, how did you make that, that shift and that change from, you know, collegiate athlete, professional soccer player, to coach?
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, I think, yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. You definitely have an identity crisis when you're done playing, because you're like, Well, I've been told my whole life what workout I need to do, or how do we fit? And then you're like, I don't know how to act now. Like, Oh, I had, you know, 28 friends that now, like, you know, it's, it's definitely a challenge, and I think so many people go through it, um, but I
Alexis Reid
I equate it to like a divorce, almost, right? Because you no longer have, like, that family that you're with all the time. It shifts and changes. It's a lot. I don't think people realize
Rachel Pitman
It is, and I don't Yeah, and it's not talked about yeah nearly. I think so many people probably go through such a hard time with it, you know, you you spend, you know, for some people, it could be 20 plus years of their life doing this sport, and then suddenly it's done, and what do I do now? Or, how do I navigate this? Like, what do I do for workouts? Like, what do I do for fun? Like, all of those things. Like, it was, it's essentially part of who you are, and then you're finished with it. Like, it's a challenge. I think with my journey, what makes it different is so I was actually playing at the time, I was in preseason with West Ham, and I got a call from my old coach at DePaul. She she was the head coach there, and she called me to say that a position had opened up at DePaul and and she wanted me to come out, like, would I be interested in it.
And I knew, as soon as I went to America, I knew that I wanted to coach out in the US within the collegiate system. I just love working with that age group. I loved just the collegiate system and just kind of how it all, you know, ran. I just knew I wanted to be involved in it. And for me, it was the next, next best thing after playing. So, you know, I got this call, and I was very much like, Oh, I'm, you know, I've just been through preseason. I've played several games with West Ham. Like, I've just rehabbed for a really long time. I'm back. I feel good. Am I really gonna this up, like, seems kind of crazy, but I, you know, I kind of took a step back, and I was like, Alright, I could play for another two years, and, you know, have great moments of playing soccer, or I could go on this different path, which I know essentially, this is what I want to do with my future.
I could just start it a little bit earlier, maybe than planned. Feel like I have a good pathway into college coaching work under coaches that I know I will learn a lot from and just, just help me overall, be at a place which, you know, I loved working at DePaul, because it was where I played, um. So essentially, I made that decision, and I was like, okay, like, I'm going to finish playing, and I'm going to be okay with being done. But the reason I feel that way is because now I'm able to, you know, do this next chapter of my life and hopefully impact people, you know, the people that I coach, the way that my coaches impacted me, like, that's always at the bottom of why I do what I do like. I think I talk to my coaches all the time. You know, we probably text every couple of days.
You know, they're great mentors to me. They I talk to them about everything, and I think I want to be that type of coach to the people that I work with, and for them to feel like they can always come to me about anything. You know, even when they're out working or whatever it is, like they feel like I left the lasting impact on their life, like that's kind of why I do this job.
Gerald Reid
One of the best things I ever hear people say is that you know what people do for you, you want to go do for other people. And I think that's definitely something Alexis and I are motivated by in a very genuine way. And what a blessing the college sports system has to have you part of it, because it does seem very genuine, and that's amazing.
Rachel Pitman
It is. It's, it's a, it's a special job. You know, I think I, the best thing is I never feel like I'm going to work. And not that many people can say that, you know, I get to do my passion every single day of the weekend. It will never feel like a chore to me. I'll never wake up in the morning and be like, oh, have to go and Coach Soccer like I'm never gonna feel that way. It could be pouring down my brain, but the moment I step on the field is when I'm at my happiest. And I think the people that I coach feel that as well. And so that's really important to me.
Gerald Reid
One of the qualities that I feel like you have listening to your whole story and let me know how accurate this is, but I feel like you have a quality of being all in in terms of what's happening now in the present. And you kind of noted on that a few times. And this relates not only to every aspect of life, but also in your injury recovery too. I'm kind of rewinding a little bit to that, but I think it applies to everything.
Because the injured athletes I work with, every time they get anxious, they get anxious. I always remind them, I'm like, you're anxious. What is that, what's the reason you became anxious? And usually, a lot of times, is because they were getting ahead of themselves in terms of where they think they should be, or that they're projecting into the future about how they want things to be in the future. And I always remind them, well, you're anxious because you're not ready to be there yet, and your anxiety is actually helping you. It's reminding you, “Hey, don't think that far ahead. You're not ready to be in that situation yet”, or at least, you know things need to happen and progress until that happens. And there's a reason you're anxious.
It's just a reminder it's not bad to be anxious. It kind of reframes anxiety, because I think people get freaked out when they're anxious and they want to get rid of it. And I'm like, well, let's figure out what this is actually telling you, especially with injury prevention. You know, it's almost like, well, you're pushing yourself too far, because you're not there yet, and you will be there and trusting that and having trust in the process. And so I really appreciate that quality, because being present, I think, is also a great way to live life, to experience life fully and to feel more, you know, positive feelings about life, because the more present you are, the more positive feelings and negative feelings. But that's part of life that you're going to feel.
I wrote a song. This is such a side tangent, but I might take this out. I wrote a song called time, and the chorus is, time heals, but time steals your favorite things, so make this time what you want it to be and be where you're going to be. And I think, you know, correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like your personality, or perhaps your mindset, is framed around that.
Rachel Pitman
Definitely. And I guess I It's interesting you say that because I haven't stripped it back and thought about that a lot, but that's very much how I live my life. I think I'm very much in the moment. I don't try to dwell, or I don't try to think too far ahead. You know, I think so many people are like, You need to have this planned out, and it needs to be this way where I'm like, Well, I'm just gonna enjoy this moment that I'm in right now, because who knows how long we have in the future. You know, not to get to get serious, but that's, that's real, you know, I think I very much live in the present and enjoy the moment. And I think in all my decisions I make, I very much live that way. You know, I try not to think about all the things that could come with that decision. I'm like, You know what? I'm just gonna go with it, and I'm gonna enjoy it, and if I don't like it, like it's not the final decision, like I can change that. I can do something else. And that's with everything I've done. You know, throughout my life, going to play in Iceland, I was definitely in uncomfortable positions where, you know, I couldn't speak the language and trying to communicate with people that didn't speak English. You know, that's uncomfortable. But you know, I like being in those positions and kind of navigating and just like feeling good about yourself once you know you've you've lived that moment and you've enjoyed it. The same thing is, you know, University in Chicago, I had never been there, but I was like, All right, like, How bad could it be? Like, let's just go for it. And, and, you know what happens happens if I don't like it, like I can always go back to England. So that's pretty much how I live my life. So thanks for delving into that.
Alexis Reid
In that same vein. You know, I think, as the last question before we wrap up, if you were to give and share any advice with you know, younger, budding athletes, soccer players, whoever is passionate about a thing. What do you think you would share with them?
Rachel Pitman
I think the biggest thing is, is just to have fun and know that, like perfect doesn't exist. I think today's society, everybody thinks that they have to be perfect, and it really doesn't exist. And you're going to make mistakes, and at the end of the day, as long as you can find some small piece of joy in that sport or whatever you've done that day, like Mission accomplished, like you've had a good time. And I think if you continue to live your life that way, or to play sports that way, you will eventually be successful because you're doing it for the joy and for the fun, not because of anything else.
Gerald Reid
Yeah? And I feel like sometimes you have to create that joy too, even if you feel like it's not there. And I'm sure you definitely do that with the relationships that you build, which is part of you got to be kind of proactive in creating it as well.
Rachel Pitman
Yeah, yeah. I think it's huge. You know, I think just being in in sports in general, like you, you're surrounded by a ton of people that you get to choose if you want to invest in in their life, and, you know, get to know them. And I think that's really special about being part of of a team and just being within sports as well.
Gerald Reid
Love it. You know, there's something so beautiful about sports that is maybe not totally acknowledged, because everybody's worried about who's winning, who's on the top, who's on the bottom, whatever is, it's just a bunch of different people. Like people tend to have people are different people, different personalities. They come from different cultures, different backgrounds. Even if they're from the same culture, they can have differences in terms of how they think, how they feel, their relationships, their past experiences, like whatever it is, I think it's one of the most amazing things. And they made movies about this. I think “Remember The Titans” with Denzel Washington was one of them, you know, the ability to come together and work and to respect each other, work towards a common goal, and hopefully have some joy within that.
It's unbelievable, you know, like, where does that happen in life? You know? You know, we hope, ideally, that happens in families. And, you know, we strive to create that within family systems and work systems. But, you know, there is that inherent kind of investment in that that I think athletes kind of, maybe they don't talk about it, but I think they all kind of know it's there. It's there for them, it's there for everybody, the coaches to kind of lean into that and to create that. It may not be a movie, it may not be Ted lasso, right? But it's your own version of it. And that's life.
Everybody I talk to is like, you know, if people have regrets, they come to me, they talk about their regrets, and I said, Look, your life is a process. It's a journey. And I know that's cliche, but it's up to you how you want to make meaning out of it, and to frame everything about it and the present moment and how you're going to move forward. So what a great thing that you're part of coaching staff and you're part of the sports still, and that you persevered through every challenge you had to continue to be part of something that you really are passionate about. That's incredible and grateful to hear about that. Thank
Rachel Pitman
you so much.
Gerald Reid
So with that being said, check out Dartmouth soccer women's soccer team this year. You know, Rachel just joined the coaching staff, along with Taylor Schram and just the dynamite group of women athletes, student athletes, who are gonna make a big splash this season. And check them out. They're up in the Northeast of the United States. Are they also online? Could they stream online the games?
Rachel Pitman
Yes, they are. They're on ESPN plus ESPN plus
Alexis Reid
Excellent, awesome. Have a great season. Thanks so much for joining us today.
Rachel Pitman
Thank you so much.
When participating in one sport since childhood, it becomes more than just a past time, it becomes your life. In this episode Rachel Pitman discusses her passion for soccer and how she transcended the UK culture of soccer being “for boys” to being invited to an elite academy for footballers in England which became a pipeline to playing for the England Youth National team and traveling the world to represent her country. Later Pitman played as a US D1 soccer player at DePaul University @DePaulU, and now coaches a D1 team at Dartmouth College @DartmouthWSoccer here in the states. Despite enduring and healing from several major injuries, she rose above and maintained prioritizing soccer as the center of her life.
In this episode Rachel talks about how she recovered from several injuries, supports and shows up for her team and players, and so much more. Throughout the episode listeners will learn great tips for coaching (parenting, teaching, guiding) young and elite athletes, student athletes, and those just getting introduced to the game. Her journey is a remarkable one that will surely inspire many.
Be curious. Be Open. Be well.
The ReidConnect-Ed Podcast is hosted by Siblings Alexis Reid and Dr. Gerald Reid, produced by and original music is written and recorded by www.Jerapy.com
*Please note that different practitioners may have different opinions- this is our perspective and is intended to educate you on what may be possible.
