Barriers to Breakthroughs
Welcome to Barriers to Breakthroughs! A podcast that discusses important topics in women’s sports and what goes on inside the brain of an athlete. Perfectionism, recovering from injury, and bullying, are just some of the many things that can defeat your spirits and ruin your confidence to perform. Through interviews and solo shows, host Emma Woodhouse, a 2-Time All-American skier and 2020 UNH Female Athlete of the Year, brings these topics to light and shows athletes that they are not alone and that you can overcome those barriers to breakthrough!
Barriers to Breakthroughs
031. Navigating the Student-Athlete Schedule, Team Expectations & Anxiety with Erika Ward (Part 2)
Today's episode is back with Erika Ward! Former D1 Volleyball player for Bryant University where she became the Division 1 career digs record holder, helped her team to win the NorthEast Conference Tournament, and earned a second-team All-NorthEast award in 2018!
This episode is split up into 2 parts because there were just so many important nuggets to talk about!
In the previous episode (Ep. 030), she talked all about her body image issues throughout college, comparing herself to her teammates in the weight room as well as being able to feel good about her body now and the practices she put in place to get there!
Now for part 2, we dig into more of her anxiety struggles, the adjustments she felt going into college as well as some tools and advice that helped her deal with both of these things.
Certain topics include:
- Dealing with anxiety in her everyday life, especially in volleyball
- Adapting to the college schedule (which she didn’t expect to be affected by)
- Adjustments to team culture and vibing with her teammates
Links
Follow Erika on Instagram: @erikamward
Erika's Book Recommendations:
- Mind Gym by Gary Mack
- Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly
- (Devotional) Jesus Calling by Sarah Young
Follow the Podcast on Instagram: @barrierstobreakthroughspodcast