Jack Curtis was a quarterback at Carleton College who after being diagnosed with cancer in his senior year, refused to step down — but instead chose to lead his team, break records, and fight through adversity with courage and determination. In June 2025, Jack was diagnosed with late-stage II “unfavorable” Hodgkin's lymphoma. The cancer had spread through his chest and near his heart — a daunting diagnosis for anyone, let alone a college athlete. Many expected that treatment would ...

Keith Mitchell's journey is one of the most powerful reminders that greatness doesn’t end when the game does. A standout linebacker at Texas A&M University and in the National Football League (NFL) with the New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars, Keith recorded 400+ tackles and earned a 2000 Pro Bowl selection. Then, at just 31 years old, a career-ending spinal injury left him paralyzed and forced into early retirement. What happened next is the real story. Instead o...

Anthony Tucker, like most basketball players, had a basketball journey with a lot of ups and downs. Anthony was standout shooting guard at Minnetonka High School (finalist for Minnesota Mr. Basketball). After extensive recruiting and offers out of high school, he chose the University of Iowa in the Big Ten. After some ups and downs including some legal troubles, Anthony left Iowa and red-shirted at Div 2 Minnesota State University – Moorhead. The red shirt year provided Anth...

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Game Changers. We hope you found inspiration and motivation in the stories of resilience and adversity shared by our incredible guests. Remember, no matter what challenges you face, your ability to overcome them lies within. Stay resilient and keep pushing forward towards your goals. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing it with others who may benefit from these powerful stories.

This week’s guest is the definition of a basketball lifer: Brittany Brown. With 25 years on the court (yep, she picked up a ball at age five), Britt’s story is powered by pure passion—and maybe a little destiny. When both of your parents are your high school coaches (sounds familiar) and you’ve had that “dog mentality” since day one… greatness feels inevitable. And greatness is exactly what she delivered. 🏀 Top-ranked high school player in Florida and nationally 🏆 Led her team to ...

I’m thrilled to welcome Brad Ring to the show — a guest whose story embodies discipline, belief, and relentless pursuit. Brad knew at five years old that he wanted to be a professional soccer player. How do we know? Because he wrote it down and put it into the universe — a strategy he continued to lean on throughout his career. At Indiana University, he was a four-year starter, a two-time MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, an All-American, and an Academic All–Big Ten honoree. And when adversity...

I’m really looking forward to talking to my guest this week because she has the unique combination of experience in college sports; as a player, as an advocate on multiple collegiate sports committees, as a graduate with multiple degrees, as a wife of a football coach and as the daughter of a former college athlete who raised her to be independent, driven and thoughtful. Jailyn Mason-Richardson is an absolute force. A basketball standout in high school in Ohio she had multiple college offers ...

I love talking to athletes who are real—who don’t sugarcoat their story or try to fit someone else’s version of success. My guest this week is one of those athletes. Fiona Carter has been running track since she was five years old and dreaming of college competition for just as long. A standout multi-event athlete from New Jersey, she excelled in the high jump, hurdles, 200m, shot put and others, earning a scholarship to Temple University. But like many athletes, Fiona’s journey wasn’t linear...

Today on the Game Changers podcast, I’m joined by two extraordinary sisters whose names are synonymous with leadership, legacy, and sports— Kayla and Veronica Burton The Burton sisters grew up surrounded by athletic greatness. As daughters of Steve Burton, a college football player and longtime CBS Boston sports anchor, and Ginny Burton, a collegiate All-American swimmer and granddaughters of Ron Burton—New England Patriots running back—they were raised in a family where sports, service...

I am really excited about the podcast this week because it is a little out of the norm – my guest is not a collegiate or professional athlete or coach but she is shaping the future of American sports in powerful and lasting ways. I’m so thrilled to welcome Dionne Koller, one of the nation’s top voices in sports law to the podcast. Dionne is a professor at the University of Baltimore, where she directs the Center for Sport and the Law, and her work zeroes in on youth and college sports, athlet...

This week’s guest, Molly Bidwell , knows exactly what it takes to chase a dream when the road is anything but smooth. Now a collegiate rower for the University of Virginia’s nationally ranked rowing team, Molly has built her success on an unshakable mix of hard work, grit, and determination. In her freshman year, she helped the Third Varsity Eight bring home the ACC Championship — a testament to the years she spent sharpening her skills with powerhouse programs like Greenwich Crew, Pelham Com...

My guest this week is Missy Traversi —an accomplished basketball player and an even more accomplished coach and leader. From a multi-sport standout at Bishop Feehan in MA to a 1,000-point scorer and three-time America East champion at the University of Maine, Missy’s playing career took her overseas and even to the WNBA’s Chicago Sky training camp. As a coach, she’s left her mark at every level—from her start coaching in high school to then being an assistant at Harvard, to building winners a...

Luzdali Ocasio’s (also know as La) journey is a powerful testament to resilience, sacrifice, and the strength of the human spirit. From a young age, she poured her heart into the game of basketball, sacrificing time, comfort, and countless hours of work to chase her dream of becoming a college athlete. That dream brought her to the University of New Haven, but her career didn’t unfold the way she once imagined. A series of injuries and profound family heartbreaks threatened not only her playi...

It’s always a privilege to sit down with Olympians and Paralympians—but this week’s guest takes resilience and versatility to a whole new level. Meet Jack Wallace: two-time Paralympic gold medalist, world-class sled hockey player, and sprint kayaker with Team USA. On the ice, Jack is a powerhouse. At the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, he was named Best Defenseman—a title that speaks to both his skill and his grit. But he doesn’t stop at hockey. Since 2022, Jack has also competed with t...

Roberta (Bobbi) Moran has a remarkable and multifaceted journey in sports—as an athlete, coach, parent of athletes, administrator, breast cancer survivor and inspirational leader. She is the Athletic Director at Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts, and one of the few women serving in that role within the New England Prep School Athletic Conference. Before joining Thayer, Bobbi was the Athletic Director at The Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut, where she also coached multiple sports ...

Today’s guest is one of the most influential voices in the world of sports leadership and team culture: Jeff Janssen. Jeff is the founder of the Janssen Sports Leadership Center and a pioneer in the field of sports psychology and leadership development. For more than two decades, he’s worked with over 3,000 coaches and 30 national championship programs, including legendary teams at North Carolina, Michigan, Stanford, Notre Dame, Arizona, and Duke. His work has helped shape some of the most re...

Today’s episode features the incredible Brooklyn McDougall — a true force of nature on the ice and a visionary with a paintbrush. Brooklyn is a Team Canada long-track speed skater, a 2022 Olympian, 2021 Canadian Champion in the 500m, and a 2023 World Champion in the Women’s Team Sprint. Her rise has been nothing short of remarkable — after switching from AAA hockey to speed skating at 15, she was competing at the national level within a year. 🎨 But Brooklyn isn’t just racing toward Milano Cor...

This season kicks off a little differently—because I’m in the guest chair. I’ll be joined by psychologist, sports parent, former college athlete and lifelong sports fan Dr. Martha Glisky, who turns the tables and interviews me about the biggest highlights from Season Two. We will revisit some of the most powerful moments and inspiring conversations with my amazing guests—athletes, coaches, and leaders who’ve redefined resilience, leadership, and what it means to truly change the game. T...

Welcome to the Season Two Finale of the Game Changers podcast — I can’t think of a better person to help me wrap this season than Bryson Williams. Back in high school in Lincoln, Nebraska, Bryson was a standout athlete. A 3-star football recruit by 24-7 Sports and ESPN, First Team All-State his junior and senior year, a Class A state champ in shot put, a varsity basketball player, and a finalist for the Lincoln Journal Star's Multi-Sport Athlete of the Year. Basically, if it invo...

I'm thrilled to welcome Linda Flanagan to the show — a powerful voice in the conversation about what's really happening in youth and college sports. Linda is a freelance journalist, a former cross-country and track coach, and the author of the eye-opening book "Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports—and Why It Matters." She is also collaborating on a new documentary called, “Beyond Stigma” about mental health in women’s college sports. She’s not just talking ab...