Former D1 tennis player and Arizona State University alum, Cali (Jankowski) Marrocco, joins Julia and Sara this week on the pod. They discuss the mental and physical challenges of being sidelined as Cali recounts her almost career ending injury the first semester of freshman year as the #2 recruit in the country. They also discuss body image challenges and the perspective Cali gained from her college tennis experience that helped her thrive in her next stage of life post-sport.

Julia and Sara sit down with two Arizona State University athletes to discuss what it’s like being a college athlete in the age of NIL, as well as their views on the current House v. NCAA settlement case that may reshape college athletics.

Bri, a soccer player entering her senior year, and Vivian, a swimmer who medically retired this past year, discuss how roster cuts have impacted student-athletes at ASU, ways they’ve maximized NIL opportunities while in college, and how they’ve each prepared for life beyond the game.

This week, Julia and Sara sit down with Meaghan, founder of Sport Sitters, a platform created to provide NIL opportunities for female athletes (current and former).

While this episode is different than our previous ones, we dive into qualities and skills student-athletes possess that are transferrable to life after sports.

This is a fun one! Julia and Sara talk with retired All-American Division 1 gymnast, Nevaeh DeSouza. They start off with some quick-question games to get to know Nevaeh before getting into her training schedule as a gymnast and how staying involved in her sport as a coach after retirement—and now working on a career path completely unrelated to her sport—have both impacted her mindset as she retired from gymnastics. In the second half of the episode, they discuss what fitness looks like after sports retirement, and some of the challenges of finding new workout routines when you’re no longer competing. Nevaeh competed in all around throughout her collegiate career at Cal Berekely. After graduating in 2023, Nevaeh became an assistant coach at her alma mater as well as coaching youth club gymnastics. She’s currently back in school studying to become a dental hygienist.

On this week’s episode, Julia and Sara sit down with current D3 basketball player, Jordan Morency, to discuss a variety of mental health topics that many athletes–current and former–have experienced. During their conversation, Jordan opens up about his own experiences, how to separate your athletic performance from your identity, and finding community for vulnerable conversations.

Stigma around mental health has decreased in recent years, but for high level athletes where “strength” is often measured by how much a person can withstand, it can be hard to have open and honest conversations about mental health.

We are solo today! We recap and give our perspectives on some of our guests we’ve had on the show so far. Stick around for some listener questions and comments that were written in.

This week Julia and Sara talk with D1 tennis all-american and former #1 college doubles player, Holden Koons. During the episode, they discuss many of the life transitions Holden has experienced since graduating from Wake Forest University in 2024, including his experience transitioning from playing college tennis to pro tournaments, his decision to take a full-time job as a risk analyst and move across the country, and the ways tennis is still a big part of his life post-retirement.

Former University of Wisconsin La Crosse D3 collegiate swimmer, Lilly Larsen, joins Julia and Sara on this week’s episode of Athletes Beyond the Game. The conversation kicks off with some fun rapid-fire questions for Lilly before getting into her experience with athlete burnout, falling back in love with the sport, and her decision to go to college close to home after her mom’s cancer diagnosis. They also discuss how to find a job you love and ways to create a new community for yourself after college-even when moving across the country.