The Postgame Amateurs Podcast

Kaitlyn Tennenbaum knows what she wants. After a year of DII softball at Franklin Pierce University did not deliver the collegiate experience she was looking for, Kaitlyn (or KJ, as her friends call her), decided it was time to hang up her cleats all together.

In Episode 15 - Is This Serving Me? (feat. Kaitlyn Tennenbaum) you’ll hear about KJ’s journey back to the diamond, her cross country adventures as she navigated her early career, and what she enjoys most about working in human resources.

KJ received her Bachelors degree in Business Administration and Management from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, PA.

Part 1: This week’s guest, Cheryl R. Condon, thinks Dorothy from her favorite movie, The Wizard of Oz, said it best - “there’s no place like home.” Cheryl has carried the importance of home and family with her all her life, so it’s no surprise that she created a home and second family for so many student-athletes at Elms College.

Sure, she has amassed the most all-time victories among any coach in the history of Elms College athletics, but winning isn’t everything (although she assures us it is still important!). Listen in to hear about her collegiate experience at Massasoit Community College and Westfield State University, her career in admissions as a self-proclaimed shy homebody, and the triumphs and challenges of being the head coach of a college program.

Cheryl graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree from Westfield State University, where she majored in Physical Education and was a standout on the basketball and softball teams. She received her Master’s Degree in Education from Elms College and coached the Blazer softball team from 1986-2022.

Cheryl is also a 4-time Hall-of-Famer: Rockland High School, Massasoit Community College, Westfield State University, and Elms College.

No stranger to running her own race, former Division I track athlete, Brittany Green, has been climbing the ranks of the sports and entertainment industry since 2017. With experience in partnership marketing with the Miami Heat NBA team and partnership development with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, it’s no surprise that Brittany highly values relationship-building and hustle. Now in her current role as Senior Manager for Partnership Solutions with the Oak View Group in Los Angeles, California, Brittany continues to use lessons learned in sports to build connections with clients, all while feeding her love for running and passion for building community.

After getting her bachelor's degree in Sport Management from Elms College, Tyra Edwards knew she wanted to put her degree to use and have the title of "coach". Listen in to hear how this New York City native takes the lessons learned in her softball and cheerleading career and applies them everyday to her work with elementary school and middle school gymnastics students. In this episode, she reflects on how a major injury made her appreciate her health more, and how she hopes her role as a gymnastics coach will inspire more girls to pursue careers in the sports industry. 

Rachel Beery was born and raised in Springfield, MA and attended Division III Elms College, where she was a 4-year member of the softball team. After college, Rachel began working at StubHub, where she enjoyed a career in the fraud department. After a move to Arizona in 2017, Rachel began to channel her competitive edge into fitness activities, eventually leading to Rachel becoming a 2x Iron Man finisher. Listen in as Rachel and Jess discuss the thrill of competition, mental toughness, and saying "yes" more often.

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Denisha Parks is the assistant women's basketball coach at Clark University, following an extremely successful collegiate career at Elms College, where she broke 11 school records, among MANY other accomplishments!

In this episode, Denisha and Jess talk about quieting your self doubt, knowing your worth, and bringing your strengths to the table - among other insightful topics.

This week's guest on The Postgame Amateurs Podcast is Kaleigh Anderson!

After graduating from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts where she played Lacrosse and served as her teams captain Kaleigh Anderson began her career in Athletics as an NCAA Intern through the Ethnic Minority and Women's Internship Grant. Through this internship, she spent two years at Elms College working as the Assistant to the Director of Athletics as well as the Assistant Sports Information Director. Kaleigh then accepted a job within the Husky Athletic Fund at the University of Connecticut which launched her career in Athletics fundraising. Kaleigh went on to serve as the Development Coordinator within the Terrapin Club at the University of Maryland while earning her Masters Degree in Business Administration before entering her current role as the Associate Director of Donor Engagement and Communications within the Cal Athletics Fund at the University of California Berkeley.

We have a special bonus mini episode this week that packs a punch in less than 13 minutes! Listen in to hear about the iconic Florence Griffith Joyner - a pillar of Black excellence in track & field in the 80's and celebrated Olympian.

Our guest this week on the Postgame Amateurs Podcast is Alaina Macaulay! Alaina attended Western Illinois University where she was a Division I volleyball student-athlete receiving both a BS and MS in Exercise Science and Sport Management, respectively. During her time at Western Illinois, she co-founded and co-chaired WE (Women Empowering), a group for women student-athletes to build community, self-esteem and inclusive spaces.

Alaina has led workshops and presentations nationally and internationally on the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion and understanding bias. Currently, she works as the Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Since joining the Isenberg family in the Summer of 2019, she has been focused on developing and managing programs that make members of underrepresented groups feel at home at Isenberg, while working with all groups to support them in being engaged and inclusive community members.

2018 Wesleyan softball alumna, Rielly Wieners, joins us this week on the Postgame Amateurs Podcast! We talk about body image, healthy relationships with food, loyal teammates, access to higher education, and so much more. Remember to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen.

Let me tell ya -- teammates make great podcast guests! This week, Kellie McLaughlin and Jen Bouvier stop by The Postgame Amateurs Podcast to talk about balancing challenging academics with college sports, their favorite memories from their playing days, and how they took the values of leadership and teamwork that were nurtured in college softball and applied them to their nursing careers.

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Jennifer Jones is an accomplished runner, successful occupational therapist, and published author. She's always felt passionate about running, but little did she know what a major impact track & field would have on her life. Listen to our inaugural episode of The Postgame Amateurs Podcast to hear how Jen developed her love of running, pushed through adversity, and always found the silver lining in any setback. 

Remember to rate, review, and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen!

Only 7% of high school athletes go on to compete in college sports, and female athletes make up about 44% of total athletes competing in NCAA athletics. Hi, I’m Jess Colson, and this is the Postgame Amateurs Podcast. While a small number of NCAA athletes go pro after college, so many of us use the lessons learned in college athletics to help shape our careers, relationships, and lives. In this podcast, we will explore the interesting and diverse career paths female athletes build after their playing days are done.

Our guests come from Division I, II, III, and beyond, and feature varied professional pursuits and athletic careers. You’ll hear from a track star turned occupational therapist, dual-sport athletes turned professors and coaches, softball outfielders with successful nursing careers, and much more.

Tune into the Postgame Amateurs Podcast every week, because most of us are pros, just not in the sports we love.