athlete Archives - The Travel Wins

Amanda Johansen lacrosse usc hofstra coach pwll team usa website

Amanda Johansen LAX

Amanda Johansen is my guest today. Amanda is an All Star professional lacrosse player and college coach based in the Baltimore area after playing for the inaugural USC women’s lacrosse team. She will always have the distinction of being the first women to score a goal for the University of Southern California lacrosse program.

“Traveling is tough as a big group. You feel like you’re responsible for a lot of people. You want everything to go well. I had this big binder that I had to take on every trip. You have to be super organized and ready”. ~ Amanda Johansen on team travel as a coach

We had a great chat about the future of women’s lacrosse and the growth the sport is seeing on the West Coast. She shared how the Covid19 lockdown affected her professional team season, the Hofstra team and its seniors. Make sure to follow Amanda on her social media pages. If you get a chance watch a women’s lacrosse game and become a fan.

Connect with Amanda Johansen:

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Intro song “Road Trip” by Robin Tricker

ABOUT

Amanda Johansen just completed her second season with the Hofstra Women’s Lacrosse program in 2020. Johansen serves as the program’s defensive coordinator and oversees the draw team as well.

In Johansen’s first season with the Pride she helped the team to a 12-win campaign and a spot in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship Game. The 12 wins were the most since 2010 and the appearance in the championship game was the first for Hofstra since 2013.

The 2020 season saw Hofstra compile a 4-3 record in the shortened season.

Johansen spent the 2018 season as an assistant coach at the University of Southern California. While with the Women of Troy she helped guide USC to a 10-win campaign and assisted in the development of five student-athletes earning all-conference honors from the Pac-12 and three earning IWLCA All-Region accolades. Johansen served as the offensive coordinator for USC and help lead a unit that averaged 12 goals per game.

Prior to working at USC, Johansen spent a season as a graduate assistant coach at Mount St. Mary’s. She served as the program’s defensive coordinator at Mount St. Mary’s and also oversaw much of the planning as it related to team travel.

Johansen was a decorated student-athlete at USC as she compiled 194 points on 134 goals and 60 assists during her 77-game career with the Women of Troy. She also had 258 draw controls. The 2013 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Rookie of the Year and a Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Third Team All-American as a senior, she was a team captain in 2015 and 2016 and was an integral part of USC’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and run to the NCAA Quarterfinals as a senior in 2016.

Johansen has also played professionally as she played two seasons with the Baltimore Ride of the United Women’s Lacrosse League and most recently is a member of the Baltimore Brave of the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League. This past summer she captured the WPLL title with the Brave and was also named to the All-Star team. In addition, Johansen is a member of the U.S. National Team Training Team.

Johansen, who graduated from USC in 2016, earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration and also received a minor in sports media studies. She earned her master’s degree in sports management from Mount St. Mary’s in 2017. She is working towards her second master’s degree, in sports science, from Hofstra.

Mariya Koroleva synchronized swimming olympics stanford

Mariya Koroleva – Synch Swim

Mariya Koroleva is my guest today. She is a Russian-born American synchronized swimmer. After immigrating to the United States, Koroleva began participating in synchronized swimming, and competed at Stanford University. She was a member of the teams that won silver medals in the duet and team competitions at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. She competed at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, London and Rio.

We spoke about her travels for the Olympics and the amount of preparation and training needed to be a Olympic level synch swimmer.

Mariya Koroleva on social media:

Mariya’s listening choice while traveling for work is:

She likes to read a good book, or books, while traveling.

Click here to see other guests choices for listening while traveling

ABOUT

Koroleva was born in Yaroslavl, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union to Svetlana and Nikolay Korolev, and later immigrated with her family to the United States, settling in Concord, California. There, she began to compete in national youth competitions in synchronized swimming.

After being accepted to Stanford University, she experienced considerable success in collegiate and national competitions. In the 2009 collegiate championships, she finished second in team and figures, third in trio, and fifth in duet. That same year at the national championships she came in third in team and fourth in duet. During the following year’s collegiate championships, she finished second place in the trio competition and third in the duet.

Shortly before the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, she was partnered with Mary Killman to compete as a duet. At those games, Killman and Koroleva won a silver medal in the duet competition, and were members of the United States team that won a silver in the team competition as well. The pair qualified for the women’s duet at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and due to the failure of the United States to qualify for the team event, they were the only American women to compete in synchronized swimming at those games.

Koroleva was one of three University of San Francisco students to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics, joined by Israeli long-distance runner Maor Tiyouri and Venezuelan basketball player John Cox. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she teamed with Anita Alvarez in the women’s duet, finishing in 9th place.

Raquel McNabb – CARIS Sports

Raquel McNabb is my guest today. She founded the Caris Sports Foundation to give kids, who otherwise couldn’t afford to join a team, the chance to play. An accomplished athlete and mother of four, Raquel has personally supported athletes from low-income families over the years.

Being a busy mom of four athletic, school aged children, she started the foundation because of the importance of helping others achieve their goals. She has a lot of balls up in the air at all times with the foundation getting started last year, four children and their always changing schedules and a husband that is always on the move as well.

Caris Sports Foundation

The foundation was founded in 2019 to help kids and their families meet the costs associated with recreational and competitive sports.

They are well aware of the fees involved in team sports. Team fees, equipment, uniforms, travel expenses, and other related costs all add up. Some families can afford it; others can’t. But access to sports shouldn’t be limited to those who have the financial resources to play. Income affects sports participation. Children who play more, come from families that can afford more. Only 34% of kids ages 6 to 12 from homes with incomes of $25,000 or less played team sports compared to 69% of kids from home with incomes of $100,000 or more.

Organized sports shouldn’t price out kids who can benefit from the camaraderie, competition, challenges, personal growth, and accomplishments that sports offer. Caris Sports Foundation and its supporters provide scholarships to cover those expenses. By taking the money problem out of the equation, they help young athletes, from kindergarten through high school, get out on the playing field.

Caris Sports Foundation’s current activities are limited to Arizona; however, they will soon be expanding to other regions.

Intro song “Road Trip” by Robin Tricker

Raquel McNabb on social media:

Raquel’s listening choice while traveling for work is:

She likes to make use of her travel time by catching up on emails or use it for business planning. If there is a longer travel time involved she’ll watch a movie to relax.

Click here to see other guests choices for listening while traveling

RAQUEL McNABB – ABOUT

Her birth name is Raquel-Ann Sarah “Roxie” Nurse. She is the daughter of Canadato Arlie and Marjorie Nurse.

Raquel attended Syracuse University, where she was the point guard on the women’s basketball team. She was named MVP twice, Athlete of the Year in 1997, and made the Big Eаѕt academic all-star team thrее times. Raquel graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education. She then earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Syracuse’s Maxwell School and a Master of Educational Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.

Raquel Nurse is married to her husband Dоnоvаn МсNаbb. After dating for several years the couple decided to tie the knot. The duo married in 2003.

The marriage ceremony took place in Valley College Ministries International, Oak Valley, Illinois, with her family and college teammates who joined the bridal couple at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Chicago. They spent their honeymoon in the beautiful Dominican Republic.

They have four children: daughter Alexis, who was born in September 23, 2004, now playing club basketball and making a name for herself, twins Sariah and Donovan Jr., who were born in 2008, and Devin James, who was born in 2009. The family splits its time between homes in Moorestown, New Jersey and Chandler, Arizona.

McNabb’s nephew, Darnell Nurse, was the seventh overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

McNabb’s niece, Kia Nurse, is a college basketball player for the Connecticut Huskies and the Canada women’s national basketball team. As well, her other niece Sarah Nurse competed on Team Canada’s national women’s hockey team at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Her Husband Career Summary

On the other hand, her husband is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. Prior to his NFL career, he played football and basketball for Syracuse University.

The Eagles selected him with the second overall NFL Draft win in 1999, and McNabb played eleven seasons with the team, followed by one year each with the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings. Raquel Nurse and her husband are involved in many charities.

Phoebe Mroczek podcaster motivator entrepreneur soccer austin texas

Phoebe Mroczek – Becoming Unbecoming

Phoebe Mroczek is my guest on today’s episode. An extremely successful entrepreneur and podcast host of the show Unbecoming, Phoebe is well on her way to her “one name” status. Having traveled and lived in so many places at such a young age gives Phoebe some great insights to traveling for work. She has over one million downloads of her podcasts. We discuss the changing technologies for media companies and also how the changes have affected traveling for work.

She is the host of Unbecoming, a podcast and nationally-syndicated radio show that helps entrepreneurs release the judgments and beliefs. Sometimes holding them back from living a more meaningful life. The show reaches 350,000+ listeners per month from 40+ countries, 16 AM/FM stations in 20 cities nationwide and across 20 Internet platforms.

She built and ran a six-figure online marketing business for several years. Phoebe realized that her real passion was in helping entrepreneurs embrace their true identity. Wanting to amplify their message and have a greater impact by being more of themselves.

She believes that while what we do in the world is important, we’re meant to do so much more in life than just work. As an curious explorer and recovering perfectionist, she has traveled to 64 countries on 6 continents. Phoebe went cage diving with great white sharks, camped in the Serengeti and motorbiked across 15 countries in Europe.

She loves connecting with existing and established business owners that see podcasting as an opportunity for growth. Hope is an expensive podcasting strategy that rarely works. What she has learned, after several years in the podcasting space, can help you scale your impact.

Phoebe on social media:

Click here to see other guests choices for listening while traveling

PERSONAL BIO

Phoebe Mroczek is a podcaster and marketing strategist. She helps online entrepreneurs create a profitable business that is a reflection of who they are and what they want most.

She is the host of the Unbecoming Podcast, a show that helps entrepreneurs release judgment, expectations and past conditioning. Phoebe redefines their metrics of success and live a fun, free and fulfilling life.

Over the past few years, she’s built an online marketing business that helped established entrepreneurs refine their paid ad and launch strategies. She created a podcast she co-hosted with 900K+ downloads and organized various in-person events, masterminds and online communities.

Named a WOMAN TO WATCH by Austin Woman, Phoebe Mroczek helps people discover the best of Austin. The podcaster and media maven chose Austin to launch her new podcast series, New To: Austin. Having traveled to more than 65 countries, Mroczek understands the struggle of finding and creating community in a new city and vowed to change that for newcomers and local Austinites. She takes listeners on a fully immersive experience to discover, laugh with and learn from the people, places and things that keep Austin weird. Season one launches soon, but you can listen to the trailer on the website.

Intro song “Road Trip” by Robin Tricker

5 for Friday with Phoebe Mroczek

Phoebe Mroczek is my guest on today’s 5 for Friday. Phoebe is a podcaster (Unbecoming) and marketing strategist who helps online entrepreneurs. With all of the places she has visited and stories that are fun to listen to make sure to come back on Monday for the full episode.

Phoebe on social media:

Click here to see other guests choices for listening while traveling

PERSONAL BIO

Phoebe Mroczek is a podcaster and marketing strategist. She helps online entrepreneurs create a profitable business that is a reflection of who they are and what they want most.

Intro music by Robin Tricker. The song is “Road Trip” from her album “Salt Water Happy”.

Ryron Gracie – Keeping It Real With Family

Ryron Gracie is my guest on today’s podcast. A 5th degree black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Ryron shares his upbringing in jiu jitsu and some of his travel stories. Ryron shares stories from his travels over the past 20 years while teaching the gentle art of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Included are stories while training and cornering for fighters like Ronda Rousey. We discuss the differences in traveling as a single person and now having a family. I found out that Ryron and I have very similar outlooks in the desire to travel and see and meet as many people and places as possible with the time that we have.

“I want to to start making a list of everywhere I’ve traveled now that I’m talking to you”

A recognizable figure within the jiu-jitsu community, Ryron Gracie became also a familiar face among mixed martial arts (MMA) fans after a series of web episodes named “The Gracie Breakdown” where Ryron and his brother Rener Gracie go over techniques utilized in UFC events. Ryron Gracie is also an instructor at the Gracie Academy.

Ryron was raised on the mats of the Torrance academy, beginning his training as a toddler. Ryron also started teaching Gracie jiu-jitsu from a very young age, and by the age of 12, he was already coaching children under his father’s guidance. At that same age, Ryron was involved in the historical first UFC event, a competition created partly by his dad. Ryron had the chore of cleaning the mats after each bout. Having a 12-year-old clean blood off the mats was not taken lightly by the crowd, thus forcing Rorion to replace him with an adult after that first event.

Ryron and his brother Rener became known among mixed martial arts (MMA) enthusiasts through a series of YouTube videos called: The Gracie Breakdown. In these videos, the Gracie brothers broke down grappling techniques used on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Strikeforce in some of the promotions most important fights.

Ryron on social media:

Click here to see other guests choices for listening while traveling

Gracie Academy Overview

In 1925, Carlos Gracie established the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Brazil. In 1978, Rorion Gracie brought Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to the United States, and in 1989 he established the first Gracie Academy on North American soil in Torrance, California.

To accommodate the worldwide expansion of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, in 2017, Ryron and Rener moved the family business to an even larger facility and established “Gracie University” to reflect the shift from a single academy to a global organization. The Torrance location is one of the most successful martial arts schools in the world with over 1,000 students. Torrance also serves as the global headquarters for hundreds of Certified Training Centers and over 150,000 home-study students learning online in 196 countries. Whether you live in Southern California, or you’re just visiting, we invite you to join us on the green mats in “Jiu-Jitsu Heaven” to experience first-hand the beauty, simplicity and effectiveness of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

5 for Friday with Ryron Gracie

Ryron Gracie is my guest on today’s 5 for Friday. Ryron is a 5th degree black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Helio Gracie‘s grandson and the eldest son of Rorion Gracie. This is a quick and exciting episode of Ryron sharing a few travel stories from his work, sharing Gracie Jiu Jitsu around the world.

I ask Ryron a question at the end of this clip, “where has been your favorite place to teach around the world”? Try and guess Ryron’s answer to the question before the full episode is released on Monday.

“Everywhere you go there is something to see”

Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie >Ryron Gracie

Team/Association: Gracie Academy

Even though he taught classes regularly at the Torrance academy when growing up, Ryron Gracie still managed to compete often in jiu-jitsu, including against his own cousin, Crosley Gracie, in 2001 as a brown belt, a fight that lasted 90 minutes and ended with Crosley giving up due to a knee injury. Ryron Gracie earned his black belt in 2003 from the hands of his grandfather, Grand Master Helio Gracie, after his victory at the Gracie International Open.

Ryron on social media:

Gracie Academy Overview

Dina Parise – Fast and Fun

Dina Parise is my guest on today’s podcast. Dina is the President of Dina Parise Racing, as well as a driver, cook, PR person, social media and marketing maestro. Parise is the 2015 IHRA Pro Mod World Champion and is the first female to hold that esteemed title, yet that only scratches the surface. How many former Professional Figure Skating, World Champion Pro Mod Drivers do you know? That’s right! Only one! That is what makes Parise one of the most dynamic figures on the circuit today.

“I will normally get my workouts in at the track in the mornings, I’ll get up a little earlier as I always do a track walk”

Connect with Dina Parise:

Growing up on Long Island, she was a competitive gymnast all through school but her real passion was figure skating. Her ultimate dream was to skate professionally for the World-Renowned ‘Ice Capades’. She took that passion and made her dream a reality, although it almost did not come to fruition! She passed her audition with flying colors, but there was an issue. Parise was told she did not meet the height requirement. In the scheme of things, that did not seem to matter to the gentleman running the audition. He was so impressed with her, he had her ‘adapt’ her height (yes, she lied) on the application, and the rest is history. She then skated, touring with the ‘Ice Capades’ for four years.

Did you ever see something and just know you had to try it? Even if maybe you did not succeed, but you just had to try? Well, that’s just what Parise thought when she began Drag Racing. She had to try it. When your very first time down the ¼ mile is 9 seconds at 146 MPH you know you mean business! Not to mention, she was in her 30’s at the time. There was no looking back from there!

Now in her Pro Mod Cadillac ‘Stella’, she powers down the ¼ mile track in under 6 seconds at over 240 MPH. In her words, “I was born with glitter in my veins and a led foot!” Racing is not just a man’s game as some may think. The most engaging part about it is the fact that in racing, men and women compete equally and are not segregated by gender (unless you are affiliated with F1, but that’s another story).

Something many people do not realize is that Drag Racing circuits and touring Ice shows are quite parallel. Touring with an Ice show consists of traveling week to week from venue to venue. The ice surface changes, but the performer still has their ‘skates’ (to perform with) and ‘sequin costume’s. The fans wait (by the backstage door) for autographs and the children have positive role models to look up to. In Racing, the game is the same although the venue and the equipment may be vastly different. The racers race at a different track (venue) each week. The track surface changes, and racers have ‘Tires’ (for performance) and ‘Fire suit’ (as clothing). When coming back from a run, fans wait to have autographs signed, and meet the drivers. You see, it’s all relative!

DPR has a rich history in giving back to the community on many levels. DPR has always gone by the motto, ‘it’s an accomplishment to get to the finish line first, but the journey getting there is what is most important.’ DPR is very proud to take fan engagement to the next level in the way of programs Parise herself has developed to honor our nations Veterans and Military Members. Creating visibility honoring those who have served this great nation is paramount to DPR.

Having an eclectic background has led Parise into the realm of motivational speaking (not as cliché as it sounds) combined with elite athlete mentorship as well as keynote speaking for various companies and events. Parise has also ventured into the hosting side. Her days as a performer for the Ice Capades honed her skills for promotion, marketing and on-camera work.

“I want people, (especially females) to know they can achieve anything they set their mind to.” Said Parise. “Never let anyone tell you no.”

“Follow your dreams. If you feel the need to try it, then try it! Life is not a dress rehearsal,” Stated Parise “As I always say… In life you get one ticket, and I’m using mine until it expires!”

Dina’s traveling music/song/podcast choice is:

Podcasts – Ed Mylett, Dee Snider “I Wanna Talk”

Music – Spotify; Queen, Def Leppard, Billy Joel, Elton John, etc.

Click here to see all of the guests listening choices when traveling.

Angela Ruch – NASCAR and Adoption

My guest on today’s podcast is Angela Ruch. Angela is a NASCAR driver, wife, twin sister and soon to be Mom. Her recent success at Daytona International Speedway (Top 10) and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Top 20) in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series will only add to the 2019 highlights for the Ruch family. Angela speaks about her hectic work/life schedule all while getting ready for the birth of their adoptive son. I appreciate Angela giving me a little bit of her day on such an important time in her life and wish her and her family continued successes.

“I remember traveling every single weekend as a kid with my dad and Amber. It was always non-stop. We didn’t have time for school dances”

Connect with Angela Ruch:

Angela Ruch Racing Background

She and her sister, Amber Cope, made NASCAR history on October 23, 2010 by being the first twins to compete in one of its top three series. That day they made their NASCAR debut in the Camping World Truck Series in Martinsville, VA. Amber Cope, driving the No. 6 Dodge, finished 26th, while Angela Cope was involved in two incidents within 18 laps of each other early in the race and finished 30th.

The twins began racing in Go-Karts at age 9. They quickly gained attention by winning poles and races year after year. By age 15 they stepped up to late-model race cars—even before they had driver’s licenses.^[1] Angela took 1st place in 2002 at the Lucas Oil Can-Am 150 at the Sun Valley Speedway. In 1995, Angela finished 1st and Amber finished 3rd in the Tri-cities Gold Cup “Yamaha Class”. By 1998, both sisters were PSGKA Gold Cup winners in the “Junior Piston Port”. Both sisters split seat time in 2006 at the ARCA Re/Max Series at Berlin, Gateway, Chicagoland, Milwaukee Mile, and Toledo, Ohio. By 2008, the twins qualified for the ARCA Re/Max Series at Kentucky Speedway, with positions 8 and 15.

She currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Silverado for NEMCO Motorsports.

Racing Career

Angela and Amber Cope became the third generation of Copes to enter into the world of racing, when, at the young age of nine, the girls’ parents gave them a go-kart for Christmas and thus began their road to NASCAR. Once they began competing locally, the girls made a name for themselves and became the most accomplished go-kart racers in the Greater Puget Sound region. In their seven years of driving, go-karts included 50 first place wins and setting on pole position 20 times in the Pacific Northwest. Angela also set new track records at five of six tracks in the same region.

At the young age of 15, they progressed to late model race cars even before they had their license to drive. In 2000, a very short time after their debut in late model stock cars they instantly acquired national attention when they were featured on TODAY with host Bryant Gumbel.

As Angela and Amber became more experienced and confident behind the wheel, they knew that in order to pursue a career in NASCAR they would have to leave Washington. They moved across the country to Charlotte, North Carolina to start training with their uncle Derrike. The twins put all of their focus into learning the in and outs of professional racing. They traveled with their Uncle Derrike to every Cup race that he went to and became fixtures on the track and in the pit.

In 2006, the twins split seat time at the Automobile Racing Club of America’s (ARCA) Re/Max Series at Berlin, Gateway, Chicagoland, Milwaukee and Toledo, Ohio. In 2008, they qualified for the ARCA Re/Max Series at Kentucky Speedway with positions 8 and 15. The most difficult part of the ARCA Re/Max Series was that they had to share a car. At times, there would be three weeks before one of them would get back into the seat, losing precious learning time; however, it was a great series for the twins performance-wise.

In 2011, Angela competed in four Nationwide Series races. In 2012, she shared the No. 24 SR2 Motorsports Toyota in the series with Amber Cope and Benny Gordon on a part-time schedule. Five years later, now going by Angela Ruch, she made her return to NASCAR’s Xfinity Series at Kentucky Speedway, driving the No. 78 B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet.

In 2019, Angela returned to the Gander Outdoors Truck Series with NEMCO Motorsports. She finished a NASCAR career best 8th at Daytona, her first lead lap finish and the second highest ever for a female in the Truck Series.

Darci Smith – from Athlete to Career

Today’s podcast is with Darci Smith. Darci was a college athlete playing soccer at South Carolina State. She now helps college athletes prepare for life after college as a career coach.

“One of our conference games, we drove a team bus from South Carolina to Utah, which took us away from school for quite some time”

College athletes compete at a high level for their schools but are sometimes unable to take heavy workloads or take on internship opportunities due to their demanding athletic schedules. Some feel inadequate entering the job market after graduation. The company Darci works for, Athletes to Careers, helps these athletes with their resumes, interview skills and reminds them that what made them successful in sports are the same characteristics that many companies are looking for. Darci travels to colleges thru out California meeting coaches and athletes to help them. A young millennial woman working hard, traveling the roads in Southern California trying to help others with their careers is inspiring.

Connect with Darci Smith:

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ABOUT

Mariya Koroleva on social media:

Mariya’s listening choice while traveling for work is:

Raquel McNabb on social media:

Raquel’s listening choice while traveling for work is:

Phoebe on social media:

Phoebe on social media:

Ryron on social media:

Gracie Academy Overview

Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie >Ryron Gracie

Team/Association: Gracie Academy

Ryron on social media:

Gracie Academy Overview

Dina’s traveling music/song/podcast choice is:

Angela Ruch Racing Background