Recent graduate from the UC Berkeley Men’s Gymnastics team Asad Jooma tells his story of growing up playing a not-so-traditional sport and competing for his country. He began his NCAA career at the University of Illinois at Chicago, but transferred to Cal after receiving the devastating news that his program was to be cut after his junior season. At Cal, his time competing was cut short due to covid-19, and he describes losing his senior season as very similar to that of having his program be cut. In this episode, hear his journey and how he remains positive despite the bad luck.

4.10 Program Cuts, Season Cancellations, and Olympic Dreams w/ Asad Jooma - Cal Gymnastics

Elijah Mason, a thrower at the University of Washington, finished 7th at nationals as a freshman. In D1on1’s first virtual conversation, Elijah discusses his experience growing up without a father figure, the role coaches play in athletes’ lives, the recruiting process, his faith, and his experience as a black athlete on a predominantly white campus.

4.9 Faith, Family, Race, & Sports w/ Elijah Mason – University of Washington Track & Field

Colorado State distance runner and businessman, Jacob Brueckman sits down with D1on1 Founder Andrew Cooper to discuss how latching onto running while his family faced a divorce was his key to consistency. While divorce is unfortunately a common obstacle athletes in our community face, Jacob walks us through how leaning into passions and finding consistency in midst of chaos can lead you to brighter days.

4.8 Balancing Ambition, Athletics, and Academics w/ Jacob Brueckman - Colorado State XC/Track

Former Minnesota 2x Track and Field All American runner, Mitch Hechsel, sits down with D1on1 Founder, Andrew Cooper to discuss the beauty in the struggle of not knowing what’s next. He gives our community an insight on how the challenges he faced finding his identity in the process of hanging up the jersey, allowed him to seek what truly fueled his happiness. Mitch’s story is about the transformation from being known as the athletic kid in high school into a Big 10 Champion and receiving offers for a professional running career. This ultimately pushed him to trust his real passion within videography.

4.7 Life after Track: Seeking Identity through Newfound Passions w/ Mitch Hechsel

Mike Neal, a recently graduate football player from the University of Washington, started his career as an athlete playing into the jock stereotype. After battling injuries and being told he would never play a snap, he rewrote the narrative by excelling academically and professionally. He represented his athlete peers as a leader in the student-athlete advisory committee (SAAC), graduated from the honors college at UW, and earned an internship with Amazon AWS. He hopes his story will inspire others to know that they can succeed no matter the circumstances because we’re all capable of achieving and doing more than we thought possible.

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