56-Britt Eckerstrom-on the power of being uncomfortable and seeking adventure

In today’s episode I interview Portland Thorns goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom. 

Britt is a really special soul. If you ever meet her, you’ll instantly feel her positive vibes. She is someone who is always down for adventure and incredibly open and accepting of everyone she meets. Britt grew up in Maryland. In high school, she ran cross country and played soccer. She then committed to Penn State. Britt captained the team her senior year and led them to win an NCAA championship-which she considers the greatest accomplishment of her career thus far.  Britt was then drafted to the Western New York Flash, and later traded to the Portland Thorns, where she won an NWSL championship.  She’s also played overseas in Australia with the Newcastle Jets, where she was a nominee for the leagues Player of The year. 

In our convo we talk about:

• why she likes putting herself in uncomfortable situations 

• her newfound competitive ping pong career

• the wild story of how the day before she was leaving for her first professional season, her family house burnt down. She reflects on how she dealt with losing nearly everything she owned

• why spending her off days hiking is one of the best things for her playing career

• what it means to be in a flow state

• the reason she always drives with her windows rolled down, regardless of the weather 

And lots more! 

Enjoy my conversation with the good-vibed, adventuring Britt Eckerstrom.

Listen on iTunes HERE 

Resources

Join Friday Feelz HERE

A list of the 11 books that have had the biggest impact on my life as an athlete HERE

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53-Meghan Klingenberg-on how to stay confident through the ups and downs, Daring Greatly, and playing hooky

In today’s episode, I interview World Cup Champion, US national soccer team member, Portland Thorns FC defender,  Meghan Klingenberg.

When Meghan was thirteen years old, her mom pulled her out of middle school. The two of them road tripped to University of North Carolina to see the women’s soccer team play for the first time. After that game, Meghan began writing letters to the head coach Anson Dorrance, expressing her interest in playing for his team.

Her dreams of becoming a Tarheel came true, and her career accelerated from there. After college, Meghan was drafted to the Women’s Professional Soccer league. She received her first call up to the full national team in 2011 and became a mainstay from then on out. In 2012, she just missed out on the Olympics roster, and went to London as an alternate. This experience created a huge paradigm shift for Meghan. She knew that if she wanted to be on the team, then she had to be different than everyone else. So she opted to head overseas to Sweden and play with some of the best players in the world.

Meghan unconventional path paid-off, and in 2015, she started every match in the World Cup, and helped the team win gold.

She currently plays for the Portland Thorns, who won the NWSL championships last season

In our conversation, Meghan talks about

-her insanely competitive family, and how a Disney Trivia game night turned into family members shunning each other for days

-her involvement with the USWNT Players Association and standing up for equal pay

-how she deals with the pressure of US national team camps

-the value she has found in seeing a therapist

-her approach for dealing with haters on social media

-how she became Edie’s (Portland Thorns head coach, Mark Parson’s daughter) special friend

And the Arrow Living Book Club that’s going down soon. If you want to join,  SIGN UP HERE .

Enjoy my conversation with the lively, confident Meghan Klingenberg.

Listen on iTunes HERE 

Shownotes

:50 Who is Meghan Klingenberg?

3:00 Arrowliving upcoming book club  Join in here arrowliving.com

4:30 2014 Australian visit and cutting Kendall’s hair

6:00 Meghan’s love for Portland

6:54 What is Meghan’s typical day of training look like?

7:45 Meghan’s am routine

8:45 Meghan’s after training activities

10:00 Working with the USWNT on Players Association

12:45 Has Megan always been politically active?

14:03 When did Megan’s love of cooking begin?

16:15 Meghan’s family

17:25 Crazy Klingenberg game nights

18:53 In her opinion, is her family competitiveness healthy?

21:13 What other sports did Meghan play?

21:47 Did Meghan have a goal of playing on the Nat’l team?

23:55 What attracted Meghan to University of North Carolina?

26:35 Does Meghan have other obsessions beyond soccer?

30:05 When did Meghan get called up the Nat’l team, camp experience and China?

33:12 How does Meghan deal with the stress of soccer?

38:13 What was Meghan’s 1st tournament that she tried to make on the national team?

41:11 How did Meghan’s time in Sweden change her mental outlook?

42:55 Daring Bravely   Brene Brown

44:18 Meghan’s perspective of being vulnerable on the soccer field

47:04 How does Meghan deal with being in the spotlight?

48:46 Meghan’s favorite hate message that she has received

49:26 How does Meghan get her confidence back after a poor game?

51:00 What goes through her mind during her training sessions?

52:45 Which 2 teammates would you have bury a body?

53:54 What is the funniest memory of the Portland Thorns season?

56:46 What is Meghan’s guilty pleasure right now?

58:02 What is the coolest place Meghan’s ever been?

1:02:26 What is it like leading up to the National team announcement?

1:08:09 What one thing does Meghan have on her bucket list?

1:10:34 How did Edie Parson’s and Meghan become friends?

1:15:00 Women’s v. Men’s soccer disparity of pay

1:20:00 What was Meghan’s first thought when she woke up this morning?

1:20:13 Meghan’s morning routine?

1:20:48 What is the biggest misconception that people have about Meghan?

1:22:40 What is one absurd belief that she has?

1:24:44 What is the worst advice Meghan’s ever been given?

1:26:22 What is Meghan’s favorite failure?

1:28:35 Meghan’s greatest accomplishment

1:30:21 What is one tip Meghan gives tto female athletes?

Resources

Click HERE to join the Arrow Living Book Club

Click HERE to become a part of Friday Feelz

Click HERE for a list of the 10 books I believe ever female athlete MUST read.

Click HERE  to be the first to know when a new podcast or article drops, and receive other exclusive content

Follow Meghan Klingenberg

www.meghanklingenberg.com

On Instagram:

@meghankling

On twitter:

@meghankling

Share the love

If you haven’t already, I would be so very grateful if you rated and left me a review of the podcast. It takes two minutes! Here’s what to do.

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2. Click “view in itunes”

3. Click the “ratings and reviews” tab

4. Click “write a review” and show me love <3