Back in for her second on the pod! In this heartfelt episode of The Outliers Podcast, we hop back in the timeline of professional basketball player Sydney Wiese as she transitions from an active sports career to becoming an assistant coach at Oregon State. The discussion goes deep into Sydney's experiences, including her challenging time playing in Turkey, her struggles and realizations at WNBA training camp, and her profound reflections on her identity and future. Sydney shares a comedic tale of dealing with stray cats in Istanbul and offers deep insights into personal growth, relationships, and the invaluable lessons of her athletic career. An episode filled with humor, remarkable storytelling, and wise counsel for both athletes and coaches.

00:00 Introduction

00:45 Welcome to The Outliers Podcast

02:21 Sidney is a Turkish Cat Lady

08:23 Life in Istanbul

11:35 Gabby's Dinner Party Questions

24:41 Reflecting on Personal Experiences

27:36 Sidney's Recent Journey

36:40 Finding Comfort in Turkey

38:47 Transition to Training Camp

40:41 Challenges and Realizations

42:37 Post-Camp Reflections

47:29 A New Path: Coaching

50:35 Embracing the Coaching Role

01:01:59 Advice and Reflections

01:18:19 Conclusion and Gratitude

Missouri's finest, Dylan Cole is a 7-year NFL veteran who has played linebacker for the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, and the Chicago Bears throughout his career. In this wide ranging conversation, we speak about an early childhood and navigating through anger issues, where Dylan found music which helped him harness that energy and how football provided him with strong father figures throughout his career. We discuss Dylan's thoughts on love, the example he wants to lead by when showing his kids how important it is to feel loved and to love others. We speak about battling through injuries during his career, one of which was a double knee surgery and what it took to bounce back. The overall resilience of this undrafted kid from Missouri State and how the chips have been stacked against him from the beginning is truly an inspiration. There are a lot of really great nuggets of information in this episode, please enjoy and share with a friend.

Austin Johnson is one of the strongest athletes I know! Drafted in the second round (43rd overall) to the Tennessee Titans Austin comes from a strong bloodline of athletes, which will continue because Austin married a former professional female football player Danika Brace, the legacy continues! Austin is originally from New Jersey and elaborates on his environment growing up and how important his family to his success. We talk Penn State football, the environment and the mentors from there as well as teammates who are considered mentors now!

We talk injury, the dark times with it and realization of how you can positively benefit from something so uncertain.

Overall a great conversation, catch Austin on Sundays playing for the Buffalo Bills.

Episode #6 with Notre Dame standout Benjamin Morrison. In this episode we take a dive into Benjamin Morrison's road to glory. Born in Washington DC, playing high school football in Arizona then earning the honor of being name a freshman all American his 1st year of college. We examine Ben's philosophy on life, sports, family and vision. We take a look of how important family is to him, how their love has proven itself through his success thus far and the importance of keeping faith #1 and his best practices to keep him in an optimal state physically and mentally.. Please hit the subscribe button!

In this episode we talk with Offensive Lineman Daniel Munyer. Daniel is an 8-Year NFL Veteran that was undrafted and has just retired, now is following his dream of becoming an NFL agent. We talk about how overlooked he was upon starting his professional career and how he earned every snap he's ever played, which ultimately separates Daniel from other agents. We discuss the peaks and valleys from his playing days and the mental edge that ultimately still fuels his fire. Daniel is definitely a wealth of knowledge and he shares some of his best practices that has helped shaped his body and mind to perform at a high level. Tune in and enjoy!

In this episode we interview Corey Kispert, drafted in 2021 by the Washington Wizards as the 15th overall pick in the draft. Corey attended Gonzaga, where he led his team to the National Championship and finished his senior season with an impressive 31-1 record. Corey speaks about early life athletics and how some of his earlier failures helped propel him forward in his basketball career. We dive deep on daily practices such as journaling and cold plunges and the importance of effective coaches and mentors. We touch on life outside of basketball and the emphasis Corey places on maintaining a balance between his work and his home life.

Episode #3 with NFL vet Jamar Taylor aka JT. We dove deep into JT's past and early athletic life, growing up in southeast San Diego, with the mission of "getting out." JT doesn't hold back on his true feelings about being drafted in the 2nd round, of the 2013 NFL draft and how that inspired him. JT speaks on how he dealt with, and currently deals with self doubt and what important healthy habits will help our listeners navigate through these dark times. JT shows how important mentors are in his live and how these people shaped how he played, how he handles business as well as how to set boundaries. A great family man, husband, father and friend, enjoy this episode with JT!

MUSIC: Jae Mrly

Born & raised in Phoenix Arizona, Sydney was a highly recruited basketball star that attended Oregon State. After breaking records at the collegiate level, Sydney was selected as the number 11 overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft to the Los Angeles Sparks. During our conversation, Sydney discusses the physical, emotional, and mental challenges of going from collegiate level play to professional play and how she overcame these issues in her own journey. We go over specific tips and insights on how athletes can optimize mindset, physical condition, and team relationships to help them succeed on their own paths.