Mental Training Room
Mental Training Room is a podcast hosted by former Division I athletes, Haley Herdman and Naomi Yim. Haley is a current Mental Health Therapist who works with athletes on their mental game and Naomi is a real estate investor with a passion for spreading awareness around mental health in sports. Designed as a community and safe space for athletes, our goal is to foster honest conversations about the mental health challenges that athletes face within their sport while also advocating for more mental skills coaching imbedded into overall training programs, in hopes to close the gap from mental unprepared to MENTALLY ELITE!
Through insightful discussions with a diverse range of guests—including mental health professionals, current and former athletes, coaches, and much more—we aim to provide comfort, relatability, and practical takeaways for our listeners. In our episodes, we talk mindset, performance pressure, recovery, identity, and other authentic stories. While this podcast is not a substitute for professional help, we hope each episode reminds you that you’re not alone in this journey.
If you are in crisis, please reach out to the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988.
Episodes
24 episodes
Finding Peace in the Pursuit of Perfection with Sae La Chin
In this powerful episode, we sit down with former Rockette and Broadway dancer Sae La Chin to dive deep into the mental health challenges behind the spotlight. Sae La shares her inspiring story of growing up as an athlete with immigrant pare...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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53:30
Mindful Moments with Tal Sahar
In this episode, Haley Herdman is joined by Tal Sahar to discuss Tal's mindfulness journey and how it played a pivotal role in navigating the pressures of her Division I basketball career and her professional athletic journey. Tal shares valuab...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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56:57
Quarter Life Crises & ADHD Diagnoses with Haley Herdman and Naomi Yim
We're back and kicking off Spring Sessions of Mental Training Room by sharing some of our life updates with you all! In today's session you'll learn about our full-time jobs, how we are trying to navigate adulthood, and what we are doing to ...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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31:55
Mental Health Awareness and Team Culture with LMU WBB Head Coach, Aarika Hughes
Haley sits down with her former head coach from LMU, Aarika Hughes, to chat about the pressures student-athletes face, how coaches' awareness on mental health are changing, and some of Coach A's personal self-care techniques.
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31:39
From Dance Moms to DI Athlete with Juliana Friedman
Juliana Friedman is a recent graduate from the University of Miami. Juli was a four year member of the Hurricanes Spirit squad. In this episode, she gives us an inside scoop on dance culture and its effect on her development as a young woman. S...
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42:39
Athlete Mental Health 101 with Lisa Bonta Sumii
Lisa Bonta Sumii is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She founded AthMindset to work specifically with Athlete's on their mental training and she is the Mental Health and Sports Performance Specialist for the Oakland Roots SC. In this episode,...
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38:18
Recovery and Values with Isabelle Irani
In this episode, University of Maine swimmer, Isabelle Irani, opens up about the eating disorder she struggled with in high school. Although this was an extremely difficult time for her, she is able to speak about it now and reflect on importan...
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47:12
Persevering through Adversity with JaKorey Hawkins, NFL Draft Prospect
In this episode, Haley and Naomi sit down with NFL Draft Prospect and University of Wyoming alumni, JaKorey Hawkins. Hawkins begins by inviting us into the formative years of his life, emphasizing how his childhood experiences shaped his ...
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32:25
Breaking Stereotypes with Kaylee Byon and Anthony Yu
In this episode, we feature two very special guest, Kaylee Byon and Anthony Yu. Both of these athletes share their experience as an Asian American athlete, the struggles they have faced due to their race in sports, and how they are currently us...
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25:24
Just Keep Swimming…Until You Can’t Anymore with Elise Garcia
On this special episode, Elise Garcia (@Elisegarcia_13) opens up about her time as a swimmer at the University of California Berkley. Elise speaks on the struggles she faced with her coach and how the affected her mental health. The...
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51:30
Learning about Resilience with Dr. Theodore Burnes
Dr. Theo Burnes is a licensed psychologist, LPCC, and one of Haley's grad school professors at USC! In this episode, Dr. Burnes sat down with us to discuss resiliency, growth mindset, and grit. Throughout our conversation we de-bunk some myths ...
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34:23
One Year Later with Haley Herdman
This is an emotional and authentic solo episode with host, Haley Herdman. In this episode, Haley shares updates about life after hanging up her jersey. "It is not as glamorous as I thought it would be", Haley says. Listen to hear more about the...
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19:20
Athlete-Minded with Nikki Kett
Nikki Kett is a former Division I swim coach and current athlete life and mindset coach who works with ambitious, athlete minded women to create success and fulfillment in their individual lives. In this episode, Nikki touches on her t...
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39:01
Purpose, Discipline, Consistency with Da Rulk
Da Rulk is a Certified strength and condition specialist. He is also a functional training expert who has taught his Raw Functional Training (RFT) method to military ...
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45:28
Identity Crisis with Taylor Hall
Taylor Hall is a basketball player at Biola University. She has over 10,000 followers on Instagram and has used her platform to advocate for mental health while also giving people an inside scoop of what it’s like to be a student athlete. Recen...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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30:18
Navigating Injuries and Life After Sports with Dani Iwami
Dani Iwami (@daniiwami) is a former collegiate basketball player who suffered three season ending injuries throughout her career at Hawaii Pacific University and Western Washington University. As she navigated her way through the injury/recover...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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32:16
Empowering Athlete's Mindset with Cindy Mosley
This week's guest is mindset coach, Cindy Mosley. Cindy owns "Empowering Athlete's Mindset" where she coaches and specializes in guiding female athletes to harness confidence in their sport and life. Throughout this episode, we talk about unloc...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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40:03
Inequity in Sports with Ali Kershner
In the 2020 NCAA Championship bubble, Ali Kershner, the Sports Performance Coach for the Stanford Women’s Basketball team, exposed the inequities present within the men's and women's tournament. Although this is nothing new to female athletes, ...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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44:00
The Illusion of Confidence with Dr. William Parham
For this episode we had the pleasure of sitting down with Sports Psychologist, Dr. William Parharm. Dr. P shared some amazing insight regarding all things confidence. This is a MUST listen for EVERYONE! The things Dr. P touched on are truly lif...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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43:39
Tips from a Therapist with LMFT, Jennifer Smith
In this episode we sat down with Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Jennifer Smith. Jennifer talked about the transition from high school to college, pressures that student-athletes face, and how to manage high stress environments. Jennife...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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38:38
Embracing the Journey with Collin Bishop
In this episode, Collin Bishop, freshman safety at Trinity University, shares his battle with mental health and what he learned from that struggle that allows him to inspire others through their own journey. And be sure to read his articl...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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33:42
The Breaking Point with Gabby Green
Although ex-professional basketball player, Gabby Green, earned all the accolades any athlete could dream of, there is a lot that these awards do not show us. On this episode, Green opens up about the mental struggles she experienced throughout...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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36:28
Redefining Mental Toughness with Devon Brookshire
Devon Brookshire, a professional basketball player and mindset coach to young athletes, shared her tips and tricks on how she lives a mindful lifestyle as an athlete. She also opened up about her own struggles with mental health and how she was...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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30:42
The Story behind Mental Training Room with hosts, Haley Herdman and Naomi Yim
Our first episode is finally here!! We wanted to start off with sharing a little bit more about ourselves, Haley Herdman and Naomi Yim, and why we wanted to start this journey. We have a passion for student athlete's mental health and our goal ...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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17:44