The Athlete Mindset podcast presents a conversation with a professional female soccer player, Luca Deza. In this episode, Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CSW and Luca Deza discuss gratefulness/thankfulness, Luca’s journey to pro female soccer career, her company/agency – Divine Time, and things you can do to improve your health (physically, mentally and spiritually).
Conversation list:
- An offer to play in LaLiga for Sevilla FC
- Luca Dez received a two-day notice and was invited for tryouts – she bought a one-way ticket…
- Going through the pandemic as a college athlete made her feel uncertain. It was chaotic. But it also made her feel grateful to be able to play
- Injury in Sevilla FC – torn MCL
- Recovery was even harder because her family and friends were far away
- When you’re at your low point, you start to appreciate the little things more
- Pro footballers have a lot of spare time
- Her company Divine Time Agency helps female athletes financially, mentally, and societally
- Being a female soccer player is the complete opposite of being a male soccer player – mainly financially
- The goal of the Divine Time Agency is to create a community of women that think the same way, believe in the same mission, and all help each other move forward
- Advice for soon-to-be professional athletes: ask yourself why are you doing it. If you’re doing it for any reason other than loving the game – it’s not going to be worth it.
- Things you can do to take care of your health:
- physically – icing, stretching, eating healthy
- mentally – journaling, listening to music, connecting with other people
- spiritually – being thankful and grateful
Short Bio from Luca Deza:
TEAM: Granadilla Tenerife
POSITION: Defender
BIRTHDATE: 10/19/1998 (24)
NATIONALITY: United States
Luca is a 24-year-old professional footballer playing for Granadilla Tenerife (until recently Sevilla FC). Before moving to Spain she played for her university (UC Berkeley) in California.
She started playing football as soon as she could walk, at the age of two, and with a ball at her feet, she has watched the transformation and growth of herself as a football player but above that as a human being. It has been a dream of hers to play for La Liga in Spain from a very young age and it is an honor for her to have reached a point in her career where she can say she has done that, however, she strives to achieve much more.
Along with her passion for football, she also has a big interest in business (sports business specifically). She created her own sports marketing club at UC Berkeley that is still up and running today and recruiting over 150 student-athletes to join it in order to prepare them for a life outside of sports.
She is a first-generation US citizen as her parents are immigrants from Spain and Japan. She has three nationalities and is bilingual. Along with her passion for sports and business, she loves music and plays two instruments: guitar and piano.
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Athlete Mindset is part of the KazSource Podcast Network. At KazSource, we love podcasts. In fact, we love building podcasts. Everything from development to production. Because of all that, we’re growing this one-of-a-kind podcast network. If you have a podcast or are looking to launch a new podcast — then we should talk. Connect with us on Twitter or Instagram. This is the Athlete Mindset podcast. And it’s all about mental health in sports. Presented and produced by SportsE+. Part of the KazSource Podcast Network.
Athlete Mindset is hosted by Lisa Bonta Sumii. Lisa Bonta Sumii is a psychotherapist and mental performance consultant to high-performing athletes at the youth, collegiate, Olympic-hopeful, and professional levels. She is the first-ever Mental Health & Performance Coach at the Oakland Roots SC, a men’s professional soccer team, in the USL. Lisa is the Founder & CEO of AthMindset, a diverse team of practitioners, who serve alongside her.
The Athlete Mindset podcast is a space for conversations with athletes, coaches, practitioners, and stakeholders in sports. And it’s where those individuals share their perspectives, experiences, and thoughts on mental health in sports.
I am Eric Kasimov, Founder of KazSource and the creator of SportsE+. We are hosting the Athlete Mindset podcast on this platform as I deeply believe these conversations are essential and deserve to be prioritized.
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- Thank you for listening to this Athlete Mindset episode presented by SportsE+ titled, “Thankfulness = Success with Pro Soccer Player, Luca Deza”
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What is Athlete Mindset?
This is the Athlete Mindset podcast. Presented and produced by SportsEpreneur. Part of the QuietLoud Studios Podcast Network.
And this podcast is all about mental health in sports.
This podcast series is a space for conversations with athletes, coaches, practitioners, and stakeholders in sports. And it’s where those individuals share their perspectives, experiences, and thoughts on mental health in sports.
Hosted by Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CMPC
Eric Kasimov, Founder of KazSource and the creator of SportsE Media, is generously hosting the Athlete Mindset podcast on his platform as he deeply believes these conversations are essential and deserve to be prioritized.
If you are looking to start a podcast or create original content, you have to talk with the team at SportsE Media. I work with them and I vouch for them. It’s that simple.
About Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CMPC
Lisa is a mental health therapist with over 21 years of clinical experience, licensed in both CA and NV. She is a private practice clinician and the CEO and Founder of AthMindset, LLC.
Lisa supports the elite athlete to achieve optimal mental health and peak mental sport performance. She works with adolescent sport teams, collegiate student-athletes, Olympians/Olympic hopefuls, as well as professional athletes and teams.
Lisa is the first-ever Mental Health & Sport Performance Specialist for the Oakland Roots Sports Club. The Roots are a men’s professional soccer team and purpose-driven club. Seeing the elite athlete as a multidimensional human, navigating various roles and identities, is integral to Lisa’s approach. Focusing on the role that interpersonal trauma, culture, race, gender, and sexual orientation play as the athlete navigates life on and off the field, is at the center of her work.
Lisa is listed in the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Mental Health Registry and the National Football League Player Association’s Clinician Directory.
Lisa is often an invited podcast guest and conference speaker. Besides hosting the Athlete Mindset podcast on the SportsE+ podcast platform. She spoke at TEDxWilmington on the intersection of race, mental health, and sport.
She has been featured in Time Magazine, Teen Vogue, BBC World News, and Women’s Health Magazine.
AthMindset, LLC, supports the mental health of the elite athlete and their ecosystem. This includes serving the spouses/partners, family members, coaches, teams, referees/umpires, agents, and athletic trainers, with clinical services and sport performance consultation.
To get more content like this check out https://sportsepreneur.com and https://quietloudstudios.com/