“I faced anxiety, always thinking about what I could have done better in the past. I overcome it by reading a Bible every morning when I woke and kept a positive energy each day.“

Accomplishments

Mr. Basketball in Kentucky.

1,000 point score at the university of Louisville.

Won an overseas championship in Cyprus and won MVP of the league.

Ballard’s all time scoring record and all time assists record.

“As a student Athlete in college. It is hard to really keep up with everything sometimes. What I do to make sure that I stay on task and keep my mental health up. Sometimes you just got to step back from the moment and relax your mind, body, etc. Music is a big key too because it relaxes me through the day. When I was a freshman in college, I went through some inquiries and the work load was a lot. I had to step back from all of it and realize that things get hard in life. The question is how do you respond to that. Do you back away from it or do you face it head on?? After that, I took it head on and I started to see that my mind was telling me one thing but my heart said let’s go. You chose this life so let’s do it!! Also, find your safe place, make sure you have a place where you can go and take a step back.”

Accomplishments

DePaul University Track & Field Record holder for: 60h, 110h, 400h, indoor and outdoor 4x4. 110h

2023 Big East Champion.

9 time All-Big East Team for Track & Field.

3 time Big East Track & Field Athlete of the Week.

“I think the challenge of being an athlete is everything. People don’t understand that our mental health is looked past 99% of the time. You are trying to perform at the highest capacity, but if you fail it’s like you aren’t human anymore. We’re honestly looked at as robots. That’s the barrier I fight constantly within myself. If I don’t perform a certain way it’s like everybody has something to say. Things like “you suck… you not like that… you just can’t handle it.” Fighting the mental battle of knowing you have confirmation and validation within yourself is what has helped me to block out all the noise and keep my mind in a safe space. You don’t need other people to validate what you already know. You put in the work, and will see fruit from it. That’s the enjoyment of the process.”

Accomplishment

2021 Mid-South Conference Freshman Player of the Year

2021 Mid-South Conference First-Team,

2022 Mid-South Conference First-Team

2022 Mid-South Conference Most Outstanding Player

“Constantly worrying about am I actually college ready, or thinking if I am actually going to be able to compete at the next level. Struggling in the class room defeated me mentally. I overcame it by going back to my roots and turning more to my faith, and reading verse in the bible about faith and concern.”

Accomplishments

2024 Mid-South Field Player of the Year

8x All-American

3x NAIA National Champion

USA U20 top 5 placement

7x Mid South All-Conference Team

“I had to face trying to be perfect and having low confidence. I eventually overcame it by realizing that no one actually cares as much as I think they do. So I willed myself to start caring less and I started to not feel as tense and this pressure to be perfect all the time, I wasn’t afraid to mess up which boosted my confidence.”

Accomplishments

Associates Degree in Digital Arts & Design/Cross Country state qualifier/Track 4x4 state runner up

“After breaking my foot my senior year, I knew it would be tough for myself & I knew my mental barriers would be tough, but remember, it's all about mindset! 🧠 . Athletes often face pressure, self-doubt, and fatigue. To overcome these, it's key to set clear goals, maintain a positive self-talk, visualize success, and keep a strong support system. It's also super helpful to break down big challenges into smaller, manageable tasks. Celebrate the small victories, and keep pushing through. Consistency and resilience are your best friends on this journey!”

Accomplishments

2022 National champion

2022 Conference championship

2023 All American

2023 1st team All-NCCAA

“Being a cheerleader we have to flip our bodies over and do things people would never imagine. Knowing that I’m capable and can do those things allow me to move forward.”

Accomplishments

Won NCA Nationals in 2019 with All-Star cheer team

“Starting varsity as a freshman, living up to the hype. Getting in trouble after school, due to outside distractions, but staying focused, and using basketball and education to get away from the distraction, I was able to get a second chance at life.

Accomplishments

1st Team All-State

All 6th regional team 3 out of 4 years in High School.

Scored 1,500 points.

“When I was a gymnast, I developed a stress fracture and was out of the sport for a year. Within that year I grew 4 inches. I was in the sport for another year, but I was having trouble with adjusting to my height increased. I decided to put my talent and strength into a similar sport that I could work to be better and joined cheer. “

Accomplishment

Won Daytona Nationals in 2021 and 2022

“A lot of my mental barriers came with injuries, not being able to do anything and seeing the sports go on all from the outside really put a toll on my mind. It wasn’t easy, especially when there are complications. Physically you can’t do it and that’s the difference, affecting mental health. I overcame by help from friends, therapist, everything else to try to know I was going to come back.”

Accomplishments

3x State championship

“I struggle with confidence, especially with having that mindset to where I need to be a leader. Sometimes I let things outside of basketball over take my mind and it shows in my performance. Whether if its a family member , someone that I care about. I want to work on focusing on one thing that blocks everything out so it will not keep getting in the way of my success. I want to be confident and reach my potential because I know I have talent. “

Accomplishments

1st & Second Team All-District ,

Region Player of the Year

Defensive Player of the Year

Academic All-State

“As an athlete I believe the most impactful barrier I faced was time management. It was difficult juggling sports, academics, work, and a social life (friends/partner/family). I overcame this barrier by putting myself first. Taking some time to organize my priorities and using a calendar really helped me.

Achievements

Multiple Business Owner

Civil Rights Activist

“Came over game day nerves and overthinking things while playing my sport. I just started to use different methods of getting prepared pre game and more comfortable by thinking about other things than the game.”

“Mental barrier I faced was being too hard on myself and overthinking and feeling like I’m not doing good enough. I overcame it by talking to my mom and dad. Them telling me they’re always proud of me and to keep going even when I feel like it is impossible. “

Accomplishments

1,000 point scorer at Spalding,

Three time All-Conference Selection

“Throughout my life as a cheerleader, I faced mental blocks and setbacks caused by injuries and disappointments. However, with the support of my family and friends, I was able to overcome these obstacles. I have been a cheerleader for most of my life, and while it was difficult to leave that behind, I was able to do so in a mentally healthy way. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and this mindset helped me to translate the skills of teamwork, ambition, and discipline that I learned through cheerleading into my professional career and graduate studies.

Accomplishmemts

7x National Championship

“I struggled with anxiety and OCD all throughout middle and high school and the stress of sports just topped it all off. I received therapy and continued to work on myself, and learned that you can use your sport as an escape from stress instead of another added layer of it. I now have little to no anxiety and am thankful for those who helped me through.”

Accomplishments

2x High School National Champion

2nd place at NCA 2023

“I’ve always had a lot of mental barriers even before college I was the fat kid that always out worked everyone but never got the credit or recognition that I felt I deserved I was at every workout and every open gym going my hardest everyday and always got cut but I never gave up I took that last time being cut as a lesson for myself to go the extra mile and I eventually lost all the weight and gained it back in muscle and kept working hard night in and night out and someway somehow now I’m playing at the college level averaging 20+ a game.”