The Xtra Time Podcast- Dakota Rouse

The Xtra Time Podcast by Xavier Sanchez welcomes Dakota Rouse to the show.

The Colorado native joins the show for its fifth episode. 

In the episode, the duo dives into Rouse's love for sports from an early age, her background as a psychologist, connecting her career and sports, joining Tik Tok and sharing about her multitude of interests on the app.

Rouse also shares about the founding the Chicago Women’s Sports Club and how others can get involved.

All that and more in this week's episode!

Check them out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/chicagowomenssportsclub/)

As always, follow XtraTimePod on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/xtratimepod/) and Twitter/X (https://x.com/xtratimepod).

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Extra Time podcast. I'm your host, Xavier Sanchez. Welcome back. Welcome back. I'm just gonna get right into it. Let's uh get to listening to the episode five interview. Sit back, relax, and enjoy. Welcome to the show. Today's guest is a sports psychologist and the creator of the Chicago Woman Sports Club and just a really cool person. Welcome to the show, Dakota Rouse. Thanks for joining me.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to be here. How are you doing today? I'm doing great. You know, Chicago is um, she is making us really work for that summer weather. Um, but I can't say I don't totally love the rain. It's um, you know, bringing lots of tulips.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Uh Chicago's a great place to be, but I understand you're not a you're not originally from Chicago. You've been here a while, but uh where are you from originally?

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yeah, I so I grew up in Colorado. I grew up in a little mountain town called Evergreen. Um, so born and raised there. Um, but then I went to undergrad in Montana. So was really kind of experiencing um just a very uh different uh lifestyle uh than I would say Chicago. And then I moved here in 2019. So I have been here for gosh, almost seven years crazy. Um I love Chicago, it's offered me a lot of um joy, connection, friendship. So really happy to be here.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

How was it um coming from those types of environments to a big city? I know it's an exciting place, but I'm sure parts were overwhelming, maybe.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think even just navigating an entirely different landscape um definitely took some adjustment. I think it really pushed that um, you know, life lesson of putting yourself out there and what it looks like to really um network and um find where it is that you fit. Because if I've learned anything about Chicago, it's that Chicago is a city of community. It is a place that people really want to connect with other people and really find a um a way to uh relate to one another. And so I think that's what's so beautiful is that if you find your spot, you know, you can really dig into it.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

I know there's so many like little niche groups, and then especially it's year year round, but in the summertime you really start to see it with the different kinds of festivals going on, the different ones that are put on by those specific communities. So we're we're in for an exciting couple of months, I think. Absolutely. So I've been following you for a while through TikTok, that's where I got to see your work. But um, before we talk about the creation of the Women's Sports Club, I wanted to know what did you grow up liking sports? Was that always an interest for you?

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Yes, I grew up um a really my so my dad got me really into the Red Sox at a young age. Um, so I grew up with a very, very um, you know, vibrant uh fan community, uh, the Red Sox, especially in the 04-08 um era. So Big Poppy, uh Dustin Pedroya, so just all of the greats, you know, to me as a as a young fan. So I would actually sit with my dad and my grandpa at the time and we'd write down like the averages while the game was going, and it was in that little kind of um Yahtzee grid system uh that you would um write down all of your uh the averages of the players. Sorry, there's a little construction going on, it seems like. Um okay, perfect. Um, so yeah, I grew up as a Red Sox fan. Um, and then just you know, it went from there. I love football, um, love tennis. Uh if you know, if it's on the TV, I will watch it.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Uh yeah, those are some big years. I I what you saw with the Red Sox and Yankees during those years is what the Cubs and White Sox were in that kind of route, like in tents, everyone showing out. It's kind of mellowed out. You see, like a tamed version, yeah. But though that like 2000 to 2012 year, even if our teams weren't good here, that rivalry was fun to watch. Did you check out any of the um recent movies on those uh Red Sox?

SPEAKER_01 4:26

Yes, yes, I just watched the Red Sox. Oh gosh, I I cannot place what it was called, but the Netflix doc about um yeah, it was Red Sox Yankees. And it's just it's so interesting to watch it kind of from obviously where we are time and place now, and just knowing that I, you know, lived quote unquote through um all of the you know behind the scenes that was happening and not being super aware of it. I think you know, being a sports fan as a kid is so simple because you just have the players that you like, and you know, knowing that you want to win, and it's just kind of very um transactional in that sense. And then growing up and you know, being an adult fan, you know, you start to see just how many people are involved and that behind the scenes work, the marketing of it all, the training of it all, the mental health of it all. There's just so many more layers than you know as a kid growing up watching sports.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

You you talk about mental health, and that's a big thing for you and it sports in general that we're pushing. Um, what have you seen during the time of you deciding to go into that space? And now it's still kind of a little bit taboo, but people are coming comfortable with uh that this is a part of the sport and we have to start recognizing it, or we won't have as many sports leagues, not many people will want to go into sports. Yeah, if we see the end results of a lot of these uh storylines.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

No, and to your point, you know, it's it's not news that mental health matters, right? May is mental health month. Um, however, how we talk about it, um, similar to what you just said, there's like a taboo nature to it. And it's a little bit like with we walk around it with like eggshells to a certain degree, right? Not really knowing how we want to address it, implement um significant change if needed. Um I so I I finish, I'm finishing out my master's degree um in clinical counseling as well as in sport and human performance, right? So the idea really is finding this marriage of mental health and performance both on and off the field. It's it's not news that athletes, you know, experience mental health scenarios, right? Both good, bad in between. Um, but it's not really, it's both it's addressed, but then not given a leg, right? We're kind of like, oh, we know you have mental health, and that's it. We kind of just go, we've said it and then we're gonna move on from there. So it's really implementing, you know, distinct change, making sure there's spaces for them to discuss how they're feeling, um, and also process injury, retirement, team cohesion, right? At the end of the day, we're people in these awesome performance spaces. Um, and it needs to but make sure that we're meeting them off the field after you know the lights go down.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Yeah, one of the things uh that I'm excited for to see on your page is is transition. Um that's gonna be huge. I think back I graduated during COVID, so 2020. That was a crazy time to lose out on senior year. And it was at my school, these athletes were in the midst of a really strong wrestling season that they've never seen. And these track athletes were doing it phenomenal. Suddenly they're gone forever. They they there was no, okay, they get to compete, they get to see their championship, they get a little dinner at the end, suddenly they're done playing that sport forever. And now it's like you say, Who am I? What's next? And they're on the ropes, and a lot of these athletes, they've spent 20, 30, 40 their whole 40 years playing that uh they might have other interests, but how how do they pivot? One of the people that one of the things that I saw that you're pretty interested in is WWE in this kind of conversation. I think did you grow up interested in WWE? What kind of paired those two together for you?

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Yeah, um, the transition on a sport has always fascinated me. It's what I ended kind of niching down when I um in my studies, because to your point, yeah, there's this athletic identity that we take on, and especially those who are either collegiate or professional, um, because you have to kind of create a shell or a space to operate at this high performance that you can opt into when you're on and also opt out of when you're not. Um, to your point, though, when you transition out of sport, whether that's retirement or, you know, some sort of, you know, period to the end of that story, you don't really know where to put that, right? We don't offer a lot of conversation around, hey, this can still operate in this space. Hey, that thing that you learned, you know, waking up at six in the morning for practice can still actually have its place in say this next chapter of life. But WWE, it's really fascinating to me is that in addition to an athletic identity, in addition to the training that they do, there's also the character that they're asked to take on, right? A backstory, you know, a villain, a hero, a something in between. And not only that, it's a participation with other people. So you really have this element that not a lot of other, you know, sport uh sports maybe have to the same degree, where you have to put on such a mask and you're treated that way, right? The fans are so passionate. I mean, not unlike most other sports spirits that fans are passionate, but they're passionate about the story you're telling them in addition to your performance, right? But say if you're a villain your entire career, man alive, I wonder how that sits, right? Everyone hates me, but they love me. That is gonna really do some funky um madness up in up in your brain.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

Especially in a sport that they're getting banged around. Like everyone talks about oh, this sport's fake, not a lot of it's real. No, they're getting they're moving around, they're hitting their bones, they're taking impact. And that adds up, and combining that with the head trauma, the identity stuff, I'm sure it's caused a lot of people to wonder who who are they, what should they do next? And we'll lose people by not having those conversations sooner.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

Right. And um, we don't talk a lot about, you know, what are the transferable skills, right? If this is a space where you felt like you could only do A, B, C, and D, but then then you start to have those, you know, really debilitating thoughts, like, oh my gosh, was that a waste, or what have I been doing? And I, you know, these the art of comparison. Now you're looking around you and you're going, gosh, I don't know what to do right now, because we just really don't offer a lot of uh awareness around it. I even think like with you know collegiate athletes, gosh, it's something like only not like something around like the five to seven percent of people actually go on to be professional um athletes, right? So that means we're looking at 90% of college athletes who put four years, let alone all the back work, right, of their lives, just to kind of go, okay, well, thank you for that. You're in a new chapter of life that we didn't really prepare you for. Have fun.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

I think uh on this D3 level that I watched, um it's they put so there's so many hours, and now there's like nothing left. Uh they're like they they if you don't see it like if they're D1, there's just like you see it on TV, so they're they see moments more glorified, but here they they have that, and then suddenly it ends, and now they're like, Okay, you're gonna count it now. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

And then they're kind of going, well, that that feels like such a shift, and it's obvious there should be more of like a pipeline that we're able to utilize there, or more intentionality around it versus it just kind of being like plopping you into one spot, you know.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

I think on a less like for myself, I played sports, uh even though it's a big part of my life, hitting that transition a little earlier, realizing okay, I'm not gonna be able to play much longer. Here's some injuries. I stay close to the sport and use okay, I'm not I'm not gonna be able to play competitively at the high school college level, but how how can I be close to it if I still enjoy that space? Okay, help out with the basketball team, do do the stats, do numbers, run practices. And there's other maybe, maybe they don't want to go be that accountant, but there's other spaces they can learn to be around within that space. Like, say you you're a sports psychologist. I'm sure there's people in these uh spaces where maybe they want to return to the education and become that for their former teammates.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Oh, absolutely. I I again I I think about how there's so many places to um engage with sport that isn't necessarily being the athlete of it, right? There is always going to be a way to kind of revisit these spaces. Because look, it's not it's not news that uh, you know, moving your body and connecting with other people is all really good for that, you know, the psyche. Um, but sometimes, you know, especially if say you left a sport and you didn't really want to, you weren't prepared for retirement, you weren't prepared for an injury. I mean, who's prepared for an injury? But you're, you know, if it was say a little bit sudden, your departure, you can actually create a callus to how you actually want to engage with the sport ever again, right? You might reject being back on that field because of you weren't able to process it. You weren't given the closure that you know humans desperately need.

SPEAKER_00 14:11

Yeah. Um, you like to run, you're a runner. And I like the sport of running because you can do it as a group, you can do it solo. And I think this is a great avenue for all athletes and non-athletes because you can start by walking and there's little markers that you can work towards. Um, maybe you don't, maybe you do. How how how have you incorporated that in maybe your life and maybe with your athletes, if at all?

SPEAKER_01 14:38

Yeah, I know I love that. Um, I yeah, I love running and I I got into running um, gosh, I was about to say later than in life, but what's later in life when it you know when it comes. But um I love the community of running. I, you know, I think that there's a little bit of a joke that goes around about you know how many run clubs there are. However, what's so great is that that means that there will always be a space for you if you need it, right? Um, to your point, you can run with people, you can run by yourself, and there's always something that you're gonna get out of it. What I've learned about running is that you can make it your own. And what I mean by that is that you there will always be something that someone will tell you, like, oh, this is what I do, you know, when I feel this way. These are the gels I use. This is what I listen to. And what's so beautiful is it probably not gonna work for you. You have to figure out what works for you. There's always a way to tailor. Um, I like to think that's like the one size fit all. Like, gosh, that's there's no accessibility, there's no inclusiveness to that, right? I figured out that I could, I, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I wanted to listen to when I would run. I was like, I don't want to do a podcast. I keep, you know, skipping a song every 20 seconds and figured out I have to listen to Agatha Christie novels while I um while I run. Because it's the thrillers, they keep me going and they're really, really short. So I don't have to um, you know, pay attention for too long, if you will, because I'm just into the story and then it wraps up and I'm done with my run. Now that sounds crazy for somebody else because that doesn't work for them, but I figured out it worked for me and I had a run with it prior to the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

I was gonna say uh the reading and the podcast, I struggle with that just because uh, you know, they say like when you listen to the music, you can match like the tempo and stuff to it. Um, but I'm sure I'm not too familiar with uh Agatha and her books, but I'm sure maybe they have a really good uh person reading to you, so it's not like a monotone voice, and they kind of you can picture what's happening and their sound effects or whatnot.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Yeah, and I'll I'll put it at like you know 1.5 reading speed because you can do that now. So it's it's pretty quick. Um, but yeah, because I realize I love a thriller story, I love a who-done it, you know? Um, so figured out that's what worked for me.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

My sister, uh, while she listens to music, she's big into uh doing math problems. She says she likes to do math while she runs.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

See, and I love that. And that sounds like I'm like, there's not a world where I'm gonna do that. However, again, finding out what works for you, that's gonna be your leg up. It's not mimicking or you know, trying to replicate someone else's system.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

These uh it is so I I I live out in the suburbs and we have a really nice run clubs, really nice running groups. We got uh running for kicks, which is a big store. We have Swallow Cliff and the the force preserves out here. Probably doesn't compete with your what you saw in Colorado, but they're pretty, they got nice packs. Uh but hold on, I was gonna say to that great community out this way as well. But in the city, what I liked um was uh the I did a couple runs on the path that's along like sh like uh the the Lake Michigan and seeing all these faces and people out there enjoying and doing what they do is incredible. I think that's a huge motivator. I like using other people as motivators. Like when I have these conversations and I see what these people are doing, I'm like, this is I might not be in that space, but this is so cool that they're doing this. I'm on my path, but I'm gonna cheer these people on. And that's how I feel about the running space too.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

Yeah, I I love that. Um, it kind of taps into you know extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation, right? Both are good motivators. I don't like to pair one, you know, over the other, but I also think it's really important you figure out what style works for you. Again, kind of that tailoring process. I found out I really like medals. That was extrinsic motive um motivating for me. I was like, I want a medal. And so when I would do a race, I would often choose the medal I wanted most. And that sounds like maybe a little surface level, but I still did it. I still did it, you know, or but to your point, that intrinsic, when you have people around you when you're kind of a part of that collective energy, that's gonna be really motivating. I have a um, you know, an athlete I work with who I'll have them clue in um the people that they live with on their training. Like I'll have them have a calendar out and they can show them they put a star when they did their run so that everyone can see what they were up to. And then in that, there's community that you're building, even just in the home.

SPEAKER_00 19:22

So I I think people that that like view uh like sports is funny because uh it's such like a macho thing to some, but it's just as just as a creative space as any other. There's so many different ways that people do different things on the field or core, but then you got things for social media, you got the medals. I'm I probably the same way. I'm like, this looks like a fun race. They have a cool t-shirt me up. Which one was was that for you recently? Do you have like a favorite shirt or medal that you've gotten from any of the races around here or elsewhere?

SPEAKER_01 19:57

Oh my gosh, easy. I did the lifetime half, um, the spring one. In the middle of it, it's actually spin, it's a flower, but it um is on a topper, so it spins.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

Oh, I I I think I've seen that one. That one does look pretty cool. There's a lot, and that's an art. Like these the people who create that, they think about different elements, and I love the ones that incorporate something not just specific of that time, but maybe the location. And we had a ton of those. Yeah, it's a perfect memento. Um, so before we talk about your women's sports club, I want to talk about joining TikTok. What how's how early on did you join? And what was your start? You know, it might not be what it is today, but what was your start on the app looking like?

SPEAKER_01 20:43

Oh my gosh. I think I was, I mean, I was on the app, you know, 2020 when the world shut down when I was in Chicago in my apartment with my roommate, and we said, now what's this all about? Right. Um, never got into the dances. Wasn't that gonna be for me. I realized really quickly that just wasn't um not my uh bread and butter, unfortunately. But um just being, I mean, I would say like when I really got my start short of like actually joining the app was reality TV, sports, and outfits, right? And maybe it doesn't seem like there's a lot of, I guess, uh commonality between those. However, it was evident that a lot of people can share these interests and you don't have to align with just one, right? I think what I found with TikTok that's been so great is that you they often are like, oh, you should niche down, niche down. No, be multifaceted. How silly, how small to put yourself in a box and say, well, that is the only thing I talk about. Sure. There can be something that people can rely on you kind of touching base on, um, you know, without fail. I will tell you what I thought about, you know, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion. And I will also talk about, you know, what I saw on Get Up the next morning.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

Yeah, that I I am very into like, yeah, I like looking at some of those neat. Pages, but no, no one likes just one thing. Let's let's see everything you like. Like me personally, I like sports. I'm into a lot of movies. I I run. I you know, even the TV shows I watch. You talk about uh reality TV. I'll even watch some of those. Uh but I might be tuning into Law and Order each week. I I think that's goofy that you start to see uh the changes of some of these pages and big time creators and whit whittle down what they like, but I think it's boring.

SPEAKER_01 22:36

I agree, I agree. And I, you know, there I think there's something to be said and you know, kind of great assault here, but I think you can really tell when someone's being inauthentic or if the message that they're sharing, even if it's something silly, doesn't ring true for them. Um I've actually um I talked to my dad about this because he um does similar um work and we were both mentioned how like if we're watching a video back and it just seems like we're not in it, it's so evident, right? You can tell that it's a little bit placating or it's kind of just going through the motions, and then it's not worth it, you know. I think it's so important when you decide to kind of really actively share on the internet that you really feel like you can stand behind it because internet is forever. You want to make sure that what you're putting out there feels like you've got a massive stamp of approval from yourself first.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

And now it's so weird because um people want to become these influencers and they're they're fun and it's cool that they get paid to do things, but then once it happens, some pivot and become just that product. They don't you forget, they forget themselves a little bit and don't see that authenticity as well.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

It was like more of those sponsors, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:53

Well, and it's the currency of engagement, but they're not really engaging, right? It's the like, comment, share, and yet there's no there's nothing transactional to that, right? Now, I'm not purporting you need to talk to strangers on the internet necessarily, but again, with your content should be engaging because then what's it really all for? I think you know, social media can be such a gift when it's used to find community. Sometimes it feels like it's more separating.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

And you're finding that community with this uh Chicago Women's Sports Club, you started maybe a little over a year ago today. Uh, what that looked like at the start for you?

SPEAKER_01 24:35

Posting about it, I said, hey, I really want their like I does this exist? And the I always like to preface there are a lot of really amazing, um, you know, women prioritized sports clubs, spaces um uh in the city of Chicago and in, you know, United States as a whole. And it still felt like there needed to be even more space, right? Um, just something that really offered accessibility and a little and just a really uh open-aired, don't have to be this tall to ride, right? I think often with fandom, and specifically I'll say for a female fan, there has to be this level of, you know, name five players to prove yourself. Or even I would find um, you know, going to say a bar um and you know, with some of my guy friends to watch a game. And it felt like I had to be on a little bit, having to, you know, prove myself or tell a factoy just to really kind of get that um, like, you know, oh, she gets it kind of thing, which again, inauthentic, right? I don't need to be doing all that. But I felt like I was in a little bit of this, um I was, I was, it was a game, right? And so anyway, with the birth of Chicago Women's Sports Club, it was posting about it online. I said, would anyone be interested in doing something like this if I put put together a meetup is really how it first started. Like put together, you know, quick little website, tell me you're coming and we can just meet. And from there, it really was able to flourish. Um, I have girls who come to every single meeting. I have people who drop in and I don't see them for five months, but there are friendships that have formed. There are um networking opportunities that have been built there because I have a lot of gals who work in sport and share their experience with those wanting to get into sport. So it really touches on a lot of really fantastic um elements.

SPEAKER_00 26:28

Yeah, that's what I liked about you because you never shut down all those other groups in place or different concept. You're you're just creating another opportunity, and I think that's important uh for any any type of interest because you never know what helps people break out of their shell. Just the thought of after this conversation. When I was at uh Lorce College, I brought back our radio station. We had maybe like five in the beginning as I did all the technical stuff get it running, but we ended up with about 20 before the pandemic, and we had quite a range of shows from like Loris specific shows, Dubuque specific shows to sports to religious to um uh what was it, uh soccer, and then we had a K-pop show. This girl who ran the K-pop show, she was in my like introductory class for college, and she didn't speak at all. She was quiet, didn't talk. Her sitting next to me, I talked because she was right there. But even past that, she was still so quiet, never really, you never really saw her with a group. But one of the girls invited her on to her show, and then she's like, Oh, this is a lot of fun. She came back, did this K-pop show after the pandemic continued it. She had K-pop people on her little podcasts and stuff, and I think five, six years later, I think she's still doing it. And here's uh an opportunity, there's other radio shows or clubs where she can get into, but now this was the one that happened to work and she grew her interest. And for your sports club, I'm sure there's been people who might have not talked about sports as much as they did. They found a home, and that's that's what that girl did.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

Yeah, I mean, I love the idea, it's like build it and they will come, right? It's it's a matter of really just being like, hey, this space exists for you if you'd like to utilize it. I really try and um make it as I don't want to, you know, just as accessible as possible. Now, obviously, most of the time it'll happen in a bar. Um, and so that's something I'm really trying to navigate away from, especially as we enter the warmer months. I'm really looking forward um to kind of engaging in more outdoor activities, not centralized maybe in an alcoholic space. Um, we are doing an amazing class with berries, yeah, and we're doing a class with Equinox. Like, really, you know, I think what's so cool, what I what has been so fun and so rewarding about being a part of its inception is watching others want to engage, you know, and really just kind of fortifying the belief that people do want to connect with other people. Feels very, you know, we've I think grown so distant, even though we have such communication at our fingertips. And sometimes just having a physical, tangible space to re-engage with others simply on the basis of sport has been so rewarding.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

And what I like, this women's sports club, it's it's not women's sports specific. Like what's cool about Chicago, we have all the teams in a variety of the sports. Um, but here, this is a space where the girls can talk about the men's sports with their what they like about their knowledge and the women's sports, uh just the men's and however little or much they want to that specific night or engage on social media.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

Oh, yeah. I it's it's whatever you're into, you know. I really it's I always like to um sh mention that hey, if you want to platform something, let's platform it, right? What is that gonna look for you? Or um I've created like 40 different WhatsApp groups at this point, just being like, hey, you know, someone like this, if anyone wants to talk to them about it, or if you want to go meet up, or just any any way I can facilitate those relationships, you know, selfishly it's uh it's something that feeds me really personally.

SPEAKER_00 30:31

And I think that's fine. I think there's some things that like you you're creating a space for yourself, but also it's extra rewarding when everyone joins in.

SPEAKER_01 30:41

Yeah, and and then the even the spaces that you know have offered, all of it has been, you know, um free. Uh that all the places that we've been able to collaborate with, like it's it's all on this basis of wanting to engage with one another. Um, and I think that's what keeps it really in this positive, um, welcoming space.

SPEAKER_00 31:01

Yeah, look, we keep going back to community, that's what it's what it's all about. And that's what's been cool about seeing it's you've been at a variety of places, and that's gonna continue to happen because so many people are you never you you always have to ask. You never know until someone says no. And there's so many people that will give you uh a hand and whatever interest. Maybe maybe someone's gonna get donate food this time around. Maybe there's some uh maybe you want to do a raffle at these events and someone donates an item. There's different things, which gets me. Um, what's something you want to try this year with your club? Maybe something new. Oh, it's such a good question.

SPEAKER_01 31:43

Um I what I'd you know, what I'd really love to do actually is um maybe have a little bit more, I don't know how I want to phrase this, like of a it's not an advocacy opportunity, but I really want to platform um the girls' stories, you know, whether that is them working in sport, whether it's being an athlete, what in or something in between. I would really like to create an event where they feel like they can share their story, you know. So even if it was like an open mic night um where everyone can, you know, talk about something that they went through or something to that effect, I think would be really, really beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

I think I did see you kind of intro that idea on your uh TikTok recently, uh, because there's so many different fields, so many different jobs, and things that might be eating at them or that they want to have a space to talk about and hear feedback and maybe what they want to do to approach this or whatever. And in a lesser setting, that's why I like these. I like doing this show to hear, we're not just talking to the pros. Like I'll have professional athletes and that these top players, but I want to hear from the person running this club in you, uh the first the girl who's running the social media and sees those comments, or um, you know, just a range of different spaces within sports and entertainment that you never you know you hear about, but you never really know about that person and the ins and outs of it, which I I enjoy having these conversations.

SPEAKER_01 33:20

Yeah, yeah. There's there's so much there, there's so much behind the scenes work, which is so great because that tells you that there's room for you.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

In Chicago, um, what's been your favorite part about sports? Like have have you been to a lot of the different team games?

SPEAKER_01 33:36

I am uh not a ton. I am so excited though. I'm going to my first uh White Sox game um this Saturday, so tomorrow. Um, and it's they're doing an event with Sportsish, which is an incredible yeah. Yeah, so they've got an awesome panel happening before, uh Level Sporting Club that just opened is going to um have representation there. So I am so so beyond excited for that.

SPEAKER_00 34:02

I did see that one. I I sensed a couple friends. I hope they go. Uh that's what I the White Sox, you know, they're not they're they've been they're they're a historical team, they've been in Chicago forever. Totally. They're they're still looked down in a different way than the the Cubs up north, but there's so many cool things about I I I grew up a Sox fan. I've thrown out the pitch at Rickley Field, I've had on both sides. Oh the the the uh the White Sox people are they're so blue-collared, they're down to earth. And one thing I I want to hear back when you go, yeah, what food you tried. There's so many good food options there, not your basic, uh, you don't have to just get the nachos, hot dogs. Those are good. There's some a lot around the park that are just as even better that you won't see elsewhere.

SPEAKER_01 34:52

Yeah, well, you know, I'll share this with you. It's like one of my favorite questions to ask is um, you know, what someone's favorite meal is. Um, like a very and mine is legitimately the lemonade specifically sold at a baseball field. I don't know what's different about it or that's just pump full of sugar, but there's something about lemonade at a baseball field. Um, peanuts, hot dog, and dipping dots. That's like my that's my dream meal. So I'm excited.

SPEAKER_00 35:20

Yeah, I I can't. I just went to a Cubs game. I'm excited to be back. I have some games I want to go to this summer. One of them actually is I want to see the the Red Stars play. They used to play in Bridgeville. Now they're gonna play elsewhere, which is pretty cool. Um, but it's cool to watch this team kind of find their way and solely build because you I've seen it in this little town over here to what it is today.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

Yeah, we um we were actually were so blessed to uh experience a kind of a collaboration with uh professional women's uh hockey league um when they've been doing their takeover tour. So where all of the teams will go and play in cities that don't have a team in order to kind of you know bring in fandom, bring in awareness. And so we got to go to that. Um, so that was my first uh Fresh Women's Hockey League game, and that was really that was at Allstate.

SPEAKER_00 36:13

Fingers crossed, Chicago. That's the one league that we don't have, fingers crossed.

SPEAKER_01 36:18

I have to imagine it's happening soon. It feels I'm like this. It's you know, capitalizing on that momentum. It seems so obvious, right?

SPEAKER_00 36:26

In my previous show, I had on Kendall Coy, who's the one of the bigger names, and then this woman Amanda Pelke, both phenomenal hockey players. And it's like I want that here. There's so many people here that tune in the hockey. There's uh with the Blackhawks not being so good, there's there's uh there's a hunger for hockey here that just hasn't been satisfied, and I think through women's hockey we'll we'll we'll we'll get to that level again.

SPEAKER_01 36:57

Oh yeah, like it the like the fans are here, they're and they're hungry, they're ready for it.

SPEAKER_00 37:04

You know, you talked about how you don't like to be asked name five players, but I want to ask you what sports players do you like um growing up right now? So, you know, different ones paving the way. Uh what are some of those athletes you enjoy in the past?

SPEAKER_01 37:21

And then yeah, um, all over the place. I think I go through phases with athletes, um, just in, you know, kind of like hyper fixating on one and then and learning everything I can and then moving. Um, I think I've been really loving what we are we're seeing from Wemby um and his conversations around mental health. He's very intentional with how he talks about mental health. Um, and similar, you know, I say the same with Caleb Williams. I think his devotion to, you know, standing behind mental health and awareness and having just really bringing a lens to the experiences he tries to, you know, share, you know, whether it's painting his nails and um, you know, really being intentional with how he advocates, I just think is really incredible. I grew up a big, you know, David Ortiz fan. He was, is, remains to be everything to me. I love him. I follow him on like every social media. Um, I send him to my dad all the time. I just go, this is what David's up to. Um, and I actually was uh my dad was able to when they played the Rockies back in 2020, um, I got to meet him. And he is just like bigger and better and broader in every possible beautiful way. So I am I am a big um big yeah, David Ortiz fan. So those are those are the three I'm thinking of right now.

SPEAKER_00 38:55

Uh David Ortiz, uh I saw him in Iowa when the the Field of Dreams games were going on, and I was uh one one year I worked for them like as a person in the parking lot, and then during the game I just get to roam, but then they all stay in Dubuque. So I see Joe Buck, Arod, uh just in this tiny these light, these big figures in this like tiny little town. It was kind of kind of cool, and then like a couple months later, my my cousin's a chef, and he was in he was a chef in New Jersey. Derek's was in his restaurant, uh occupying like eating there, and then afterwards they take a big group photo and some single photos. I'm like, man, that that'd be a cool guy to cool guy to meet, kind of funny guy.

SPEAKER_01 39:42

Yeah, no, I love him. I love his energy. It's it's tangible, right?

SPEAKER_00 39:47

Uh I got a couple more and then be done. Um, what's a sports story this year that you might have uh you like to talk about? Or like maybe one that's just like the the world's not understanding, like they're getting it mixed up. Maybe maybe it's a controversial one, or maybe it's a fun one that you like to talk about.

SPEAKER_01 40:09

Sure. I think it's been, you know, kind of speaking to like what's being misunderstood, I think, is a lot of uh WNBA and you know, players requiring to be paid more and what that really means. Because I think, you know, when it gets into the hands of people who don't even prioritize women's sports in general, right? We're gonna hear this rhetoric around like, you know, why do you need to be paid more? They don't make enough money. Like there's all of this fodder that is truly it's it's just incorrect and it doesn't have all the facts. You know, the truth is that WNBA is uh expanding and building in a way that we've never seen most other sports build and expand in this short period of time, right? They've been here and they've been fabulous, and we're seeing this exponential growth that is incredible. And what was so interesting, even watching like, you know, certain uh sports casters kind of speak to it, was always kind of with this air of like, well, I guess we'll pay them more. When in reality, listen, this is their bodies, their lives, their everything that we are asking them to be so exposed to, and we're not even gonna pay them a livable wage. Like that, there's such a disconnect there, right? And then when you see, and this is like it's a different sport, obviously. And I, you know, I can understand this comparison might not make a ton of sense, but if you see like Josh Allen making $30 million, you realize that, gosh, there's such a discrepancy here that is such a slap in the face. You know, do these athletes who, you know, are just as consistent, show up at the same things and do exactly what we're asking any other athlete to do. So I felt like that was grossly misunderstood was this idea of like, and then, and truth be told, I think what was so amazing about the players was advocating for themselves and each other in a way that was so unapologetic, um, and standing up to even the system of which they were in, right? And not coddling to be like, I guess, well, no, they really they came prepared, they came, you know, action-oriented, and and ultimately were mostly successful, and I think that's really incredible.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

Yeah, but we're gonna see it. I I that's what I don't like. One, it's a greater conversation of social media, and used to love Twitter and the way it worked, but since like I don't even call it X. If if someone calls it X, you know, stay away from them. Like, whoa, I guess we're not having this conversation with you. And it the WMBA conversation is they they completely don't understand it. Uh, they're like, this is the MBA and what they're doing, but they're 80 years old, right? 30 years old. Look at the MBA 30 at 30 years old, it almost went extinct. Uh and they're not asking for the billions of dollars, millions of dollars. They're just asking for the certain percentage growth, you know. They're not there's there's steps to it. They want, they're gonna get there, they want to get there, but a lot of these people, uh the athletes, they're realistic, they understand where they are, what's actionable, as you say, coming together. And I that's you know, totally just misunderstood. And we'll we'll see it change. I I I love to see like the conversation, you know. WNBA games. I went to my first one this year. Uh, really cool. I met actually, I met um what's her name? Raven Lynet that day. She's a Chicago artist, and she, you know, she's got songs on the top 40. And that was cool. I I re met her at Jingle Ball this past year. Cool. There's so many cool things about it and things that they're trying, uh, which I like it. I like uh the how the league's not as corporate as well. Like some aspects are corporate, but they they're trying different things and game day promotions they don't typically see. Um, but the other introduction to them was uh I got to be there for their parade, like front row taking uh photos of. their speeches and chance to rap was there. So I'm excited to see where they're going. I would love to see the sky get there again. I miss Angel, but so happy for exciting yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:16

So Atlanta Eno's so lucky to have her, but that was devastating.

SPEAKER_00 44:22

It was like and then like and you talk about the money aspect. She's another like totally misunderstood player and the way she's treated out there. It's like, you know, if if the if those people uh but talk down on the league, don't even invite them into the conversation. Don't disclude them, but like we don't need to hear as much of them as when there's people who understand the um logistics and elements to the conversation. Invite those people.

SPEAKER_01 44:56

Yeah well it's like what we don't need a devil's advocate there's no devil.

SPEAKER_00 45:00

It's just it's just women's sports and and it I always talk about sports while it is a job in some people's livelihoods they're it's taken too seriously at the end of the day. It's a game uh it's not your money exactly right it's always the person who's like well you're not paying them like that should be number one guys like someone else's money you should want them to be paid as much as possible.

SPEAKER_01 45:28

Yeah uh lastly um what's next uh for you the club what should people look out for where can they follow your work and the team's work yeah what's next is collaboration collaboration collaboration really engaging with the community so um just getting out there making sure I'm providing as many ways to connect with other people as possible that is really always going to be my goal with the club um to your I you mentioned a little earlier I want to I'm gonna start probably mostly on TikTok I assume doing summer sports sessions so interviewing um retired athletes um in any capacity so you know whether that's collegiate high school retired professional um and just really giving the opportunity to platform those experiences and specifically what they would have appreciated having in that moment. That's what I'd really like to start to cultivate is a really um bullet points of what is missing because we can share our stories but I also want to make sure that there's actionable change that's possible, right? So really collecting data on what could have been better or made the transition easier and also what worked you know oh I went to therapy right double thumbs up to that. So that is something I'm really excited to get started. I've got a good list going so it'll just be really casual talk um ideally probably out on the lake, you know um so that's something I'm really looking forward to and then you know sky's the limit I I'm really excited for this year to come. I get married in August there's a lot of really fun stuff coming up and I'm just so grateful um that I get to be even just a little bit of a part of it.

SPEAKER_00 47:08

Yeah athletes they're so reflective they think about all everything that happened during the course of the highs the lows and I'm sure they think about it often and to have a spot where they can tell someone about it think about what they might be able to do differently but maybe they can't they can't know anymore but someone might be in that same situation and you creating these moments in palatable things. So when I came about this podcast I I don't make it super long this one's long but there's certain things that need to be said and shared but most of them are between 30 and an hour that's palatable.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

People don't like super long things they don't want to overthink and in a video like these TikTok and these short Instagrams are going to be that yeah I I'm really looking forward to it yeah just you know again creating a space hoping someone steps in Dakota thank you so much for joining me I'm excited to see where the Chicago Women's Sports Club goes what happened what what you do this summer.

SPEAKER_00 48:14

Good luck. Congrats on getting married this year I'm excited for you and all your successes.

SPEAKER_01 48:18

Well thank you so much for having me. This has been such a treat I'm so grateful.

SPEAKER_00 48:23

I had a lot of fun chatting with Dakota love what she is trying to create with her club and just like talking about sports through her lens as a psychologist. So thank you to her. Make sure to follow Chicago Women's Sports Club on Instagram and TikTok to stay up to date with their happenings before I close things out the show has two five star ratings including our first review from user BGS 32389 they wrote I was a huge fan of sideline icons during the height of the pandemic it was often a silver lining in my week I'm super stoked Xavier is back and if episode one's interview is any indication extra time is going to be a favorite thank you for that listeners feel free to drop us a rating and review it's a great help to help grow this show. Also continue to tell your friends about the show and join us on our socials. Follow Extra TimePod on Twitter and Instagram once again I'm Xavier Sanchez thank you for listening to the Extra Time Podcast