EP53: Kady Pooler - I am more than just a tennis player!

Make Your Mark

“I am more than just a tennis player!” exclaims today’s guest on my #MakeYourMark podcast, Kady Pooler. This is a common refrain from the majority of the athletes who I have met, coached and interviewed, and for non-athletes, it can be hard to understand. Kady lays out why it’s so critical for an athlete to expand their identity, to develop other areas of interest, as this will be crucial to an easier transition out of their game. Getting your head in the right position to succeed is the most important step in being able to run with the “how” of getting to your next career!

“Athletes need to realize - for 100% of them, their sport will come to an end one day. What that looks like is going to be different for everyone, maybe it’s an injury that’s career ending, maybe you’re retiring in debt or with $100M in the bank, whatever it is, your career is going to come to an end. I think understanding and accepting that is the best place to start.”

Kady and I share advice on how to make a successful career transition, how to be positioned for less of a steep dropoff that most athletes face when they leave their game, and how to leverage that athletic mindset into great value. Oh, and let’s not forget, Kady started playing tennis at the age of 4 and never looked back!

“When I reflect now on why didn’t I make it, I don’t think it had to do with my athleticism, and my tennis game was there, but I think it was the mental side. I never came out with that killer mentality and the confidence that goes with it.”

You’ll really enjoy this episode, as you’ll hear about her growth within professional tennis, her adjustment and success off the court, and so much more! Happy listening!

“I had never given thought to life after tennis, I pushed it off to the side. For me dreaming as a child meant be like Steffi Graf, winning multiple grand slams, be at the US Open, and that was it, that was the end picture. I wasn’t ready for it and I think I dissociated, and just started going through the motions, not really accepting the full reality that it was over.”

Some Topics we talk about in this episode:

• 2:30 - Intro
• 4:36 - California born and raised
• 6:45 - 7 years old and knew her talent
• 9:37 - similar to a child TV star
• 11:45 - tennis was the focus...something had to give
• 13:26 - fitness training started young
• 14:07 - going pro
• 15:55 - the confidence wasn’t there
• 17:00 - knowing it was time to hang up the racket
• 18:19 - life after tennis
• 20:30 - preparing for life after sport
• 25:00 - HS Math teacher
• 26:55 - the coaching hat didn’t come off even when not teaching
• 28:15 - the road after college
• 32:20 - Kady’s coaching company
• 35:20 - getting athletes back on their feet
• 37:21 - the toughest teaching hurdle
• 38:48 - the humble ones vs. the egotistical
• 44:44 - the importance of a call to action on a LinkedIn post
• 46:42 - Hit Your Mark

How to get involved

• Be sure to connect with me on Social Media @MarkMoyerCoach and go to my website, www.markmoyer.com to get access to the tips and strategies that my coaching clients get directly.

• If you would like to be a guest on the Make Your Mark podcast and/or know someone else who has either been an athlete, in a role within the sports industry, or a military veteran, and have made a successful transition into a new role, I’d love to hear from you! Just send me an email [e-mail] and we’ll discuss!

• If you would like more information on how I can get you unstuck and moving forward with your transition, let’s talk. We can see whether it makes sense to work directly with me, or I can give you other options, but don’t let your transition wait another day, let’s connect!

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How are YOU going to Make Your Mark today? Go get ‘em!