Patty: Welcome to Sagecast, the podcast Pomona College. I'm Patty Vest. Mark: And I'm Mark Wood. Mark: This season on Sagecast, we're discussing mentoring stories with Pomona students, professors, coaches, and staff who work closely together in the classroom, in the lab, and in the field. Patty: Today we're talking with Megan Kuo, class of 20, and neuroscience major and captain of the Pomona Pitzer women's soccer team, and Jen Scanlon, head coach of the Pomona Pitzer women's soccer team, and interim athletic director. Mark: Welcome Megan and Jen. Jen: Thank you. Megan: Thank you. Mark: It's great to have you with us. So let's start with the thing that brought the two of you together- the game of soccer. What do you love so much about that game? What drew you into it and what do you love about it? Jen: I've been doing it longer than Megan, so I'll start. I started playing soccer when I was five, actually. I grew up about 30 minutes from here in Fullerton, California, and my mom was my first soccer coach, which at that time was a rarity, right? To have a female coach and out there on the AYSO fields in the late '70s, and she and her friend, another mom, were literally the only woman you'd see out there coaching soccer. So at the time I didn't realize the relevance of that, but now it's a pretty cool story to say my mom was my first soccer coach. Jen: I played soccer cause my brother did, right? Kind of a typical thing, right? An older sibling doing something and you want to be out there. So as soon as I could, I started playing, and did it quickly. It was my favorite sport and lots of sports, but soccer was the one. Played in college and when I finished college, you know, no real plans. This is relevant to you. Where are you at right now, Megan? Like what am I going to do when I graduate? And my college soccer coach offered me an opportunity to go and work with a club team. This was at Macalester College in Minnesota. Jen: He was working in a club system and offered me an opportunity to come and help him out, and had... The idea of ending my soccer part of my life was scary, right? And so it was just a good way to keep something that was kind of rock in my... the thing in my life that'd been so consistent for all those years and just some way to keep it going. So the plan then wasn't to make my career out of it and my life out of it, but it was just a way to kind of extend it a little bit longer since my playing days where coming to a close as a senior, and a year or two into it, that's when it became clear that I wanted to do that for good and make that my career. Jen: So I went to grad school and got a masters and [inaudible 00:02:48] was coaching during that time, and then became a head coach at Kenyon college and I was there for three years. And then the opportunity to come back closer to home and be a amazing institution and just amazing athletic program at Pomona Pitzer. A faculty member here, you know, it's just too good to pass up. So I left Kenyon to, to come here and now I've been here 17... I think this is my 17th year. So, soccer is just... It's part of me. It's part of my blood. It's part of my day and I am the interim athletic director now, but I'll tell anybody who asks that the best part of my day is when I can leave my office and go to the soccer field. That's my happy place. That's the place that just kind of brings it all back to the essence for me. Megan: So that's awesome. Megan: Coach said a couple of things that really resonated with me. So I started when I was about eight, and it was because my dad wanted me to play, and get me into a ton of activities. So at the time I was doing TaeKwonDo and gymnastics and hip hop dance, and so I was just doing a wide variety of activities, but I ended up playing for the same soccer club all throughout my entire experience. Made the same best friends, had the same best friends throughout. That's partly why I stayed, was definitely the friendships that I made. And then having friends outside of high school and an environment outside of high school was really key. Soccer also drew me because it definitely taught me competition. Like I was definitely a much shyer, more introverted person and soccer definitely broke me out of my shell... Like that was the sport and the thing that gave me my identity, which is really awesome. Megan: And so I knew I wanted to continue it coming into college. The most important thing for me was definitely my education. So while looking at schools, soccer was important and I wanted to play, and so Pomona gave me the opportunity to do both and that's why I came here. Patty: So you knew you wanted to play soccer... continue to play soccer. Megan: Yes. Yes. Patty: Talk to us about the recruiting process when you're in high school, because [inaudible 00:04:54] You just mentioned education was a big part, but also soccer was on the table as well. Talk to us about that process. Megan: So let's see... Started thinking about it sophomore year. I think I started coming to ID camps pretty early, mostly with smaller liberal arts schools. That's the kind of education that I wanted. I talked to my parents a lot about it because I'm the oldest sibling and so... Oh, speaking of, that another thing that resonated with me is because I played soccer, all my siblings started playing soccer. Two of them- Jen: And there are a few of them under Megan. Megan: Yeah, three so... And the youngest one is nine years old right now and she's the only one left still playing soccer right now. But it's so fun when I get to go home and watch her play. Megan: Sorry, returning back to the question, recruiting. So starting around sophomore year, looking at liberal arts schools, reaching out to a bunch of them because I knew I could play at that level, and that's the kind of education that I wanted. I wanted a wide breadth of knowledge and I wanted a small academic setting where you could have like intimate relationships with your professors and so on. Megan: Went ID camps. Talked to the coaches. Started doing overnight stays junior year. That spoke a lot because you met the girls, or you met the people on the team, and that spoke a lot about the program. Meeting the coaches in person spoke a lot about the specific programs. But ultimately it came down to I wanted to be closer to home because I am an elder sibling of three, and of three others, and I wanted to be close to them, and so they could come down and my games, which they do get the opportunity to do lot. They're coming next weekend and the weekend after, and for my senior day in October. But the process was based... For me, it's always based on the relationships. So talking to coach. I came to I think two or three ID camps. Meeting the players. That's what solidified it for me, and that's what's most important to me as a person. Yeah. Jen: Yeah. One of the things that's really neat for me is... Player comes and if they play four years, you have them through that span of time. But in most cases you're getting to know them as high schoolers, right? So the recruiting process starts quite early, especially for somebody who's a really high achieving athlete and wants to play in that sport in college. And [inaudible 00:07:18] starting our recruiting process and developing a pool of talented student athlete prospects. So you're getting to know them, sometimes freshman, sophomore year even. I think the first time I met you, because I was on a leave, was your junior year, but I think you had already been in the loop for a while looking at Pomona. Jen: So I've known Megan for a longer period of time than the three years she's been here, right? So just the opportunity to really see how they grow even through the process and figuring out, because I remember talking with you and you were looking mostly at smaller liberal arts colleges, but you were looking at some... Still division three but larger university settings, and I remember talking to you about and trying to sell you on the opportunity to be at a place like this, right? Where students are front and center in terms of the classroom environment, in the lab research environment, and obviously that struck a chord with you, to put that kind of academic experience and... Or to have that kind of academic experience. I actually remember the first time seeing you play at one of the ID camps, and it was actually one of the strongest ID camps we've ever had, because out of that came you and Bria... Megan: Bria was at that camp? Jen: Yeah. Megan: I had no idea. Jen: ...and Christie Lee, who unfortunately received an injury so she hasn't been able to play through her whole career. But the three of you were at that ID camp together and we pretty quickly, it was like, "This is a good group. Let's get on that group." And you end up coming to visit. And I remember that visit as well, being you guys were... So these are high school seniors who are here visiting in the fall of your senior year, trying to make your decision, and we were playing CMS. Do you remember? Megan: Yes I remember, yeah. Jen: You're playing at CMS and it was that same group, plus Noel was there, right? Yeah. You guys were all there. So again, as high school seniors, and they're not even officially here yet, they had even gone through the admissions process, but they're starting to get to know each other and developing those contacts and be like, "Hey, you want to be cool to come here together and play?" So it's pretty neat seeing that evolution of those relationships, too, because you guys go back further than even the time when you stepped foot here students, right? Jen: So yeah, I mean that's one of the neatest things for me in terms of these connections with the players is just the longevity you have in their life, kind of growth and development and seeing that. And now you have somebody who's on the cusp of graduating, not to put any pressure, you still have the whole year in front of you. But I see her kind of setting her sights out on what's next and trying to manage that and manage being a captain of a team and a major with a lot of expectations and requirements. And I'm not trying to stress you out, Megan. You've got enough going on, even today. You're going off to an interview after this, right? Megan: Yeah. Jen: But that's part of the process of growth in your life. Your life challenges and opportunities that are ahead of you, right? So those things are fun, right? You see them when they're high school, figure out their life and making choices of where they're going to go to college and they end up here playing for us at Pomona Pitzer, and then seeing what happens during their four years and then launching them on to to great things. Mark: Let's move into sort of our overarching theme here, which is mentorship. How did your relationship evolve from there into sort of a mentor-mentee relationship? Megan: I think, at first it... My coaches have always been male, and so it's never really been a mentorship in my experience. It's always just been a coach and a player. And so coming in, I wasn't expecting anything different really, because I had never known anything different. Coming in it was like coach and player. But then as... Coach is special because she really focuses not just on soccer, but the psychological and mental aspects of soccer, and really helps us hone those aspects through... We do a lot of something called hive workshops and we do... My first year we did this personality leadership test and we do many things outside of the classroom. We dedicate our specific... Some training time to the behavioral side of soccer and how we interact with each other and can develop ourselves as a team. Megan: We use human centered design workshops and everything. That has definitely transformed everyone's relationship with coach into a mentorship. Not just me, but everyone, and so that is super valuable, and coach has been there for all of us outside of soccer. I've come to her with problems with my friends and come to her with a lot of different things, especially with my academic load. Everyone's academic load. Coach is the only one, and I've talked to all my other friends playing different sports, the only one who lets people out of practice early and lets people go to their labs, go to their interviews, go to their events. And so it's definitely a mentorship and it's not just a coach-player relationship. And that's also what I think makes our teams so special. The only other team who may be has that relationship... That I know maybe a few on the woman's side, but that's why we're so successful as a program as well. Jen: Yeah. And part of that is just figuring out what works, right? I've been able to over time find out the way to be successful in terms of pushing the right buttons, but also pulling back, right? And that's not even a collective. What works for one player isn't going to work for everybody right? So I figured that out across the spectrum of the group of players. It's definitely key. And I found that sometimes less is more. Over my time as a coach, I probably scaled back on some of those things just because I see that actually taking some of that pressure off in terms of time commitment and load and those pieces, sometimes you get more out of them In fact we do that over the course of the season, right? Like we start to scale back on our length of practice and other things because your bodies are... The toll has taken it on your bodies and even the workload raises as the semester goes on obviously, and you need to be at your peak at the end, especially if you're in the postseason and then that's in November, right? That's that semester, so you get more out of the athletes I found, if you manage all those pieces as well. Not that we don't work hard cause we work very, very hard. Mark: But you have to manage the grind. Jen: Exactly. Exactly. Right. And we do that as you get older too, right? You have to joke about it, the old seniors, right? Megan: The seniors are the only ones who are injured right now. Jen: And your body breaks down or wears down and so you have to manage the impact of things. Jen: So, in terms of the relationship and mentoring, one of the things I saw really quickly in Megan, and it's taken time for me to convince her of it, but is that she's just a tremendous leader and to recognize those leadership skills in herself because she's not the most obvious person within your class even, right? But it's something that, pretty early on, I recognized that Megan, you were the glue to that class, right? That you were the one who didn't necessarily have the volume or the emotional intensity that you see from some of your teammates in that class, which obviously is really important and key and has its very much value to that. But the ability to, behind the scenes, manage personalities and manage conflict, and to get people to be on the same page together, and to recognize how important that is to the group success. Jen: That's something, a trait that you've had, that we recognized really early. Megan: Thank you. Jen: And there's points we've had to drag her into that role and responsibility. Not that she wasn't willing, just that she wasn't confident in it. And it's been fun, definitely. It's one of the... I think the highlights of our relationship and time together to see you evolve that way, and to take ownership over that and to be excited about that, right? I remember one of our first conversations about it and you were like, "Really? Okay, I'll try." But also it seemed like you were excited about that. I think that we were recognizing that in you, because again, it wasn't as easily identifiable as some of the other than other people in your class are within the team. Jen: So, you've definitely taken that responsibility on and you've grown in that role the last year or two, and embraced that responsibility, right? And it's been to our benefit for sure. And that's all... It's more off the field stuff even, which as you just spent time outlining is one of the keys to our success. We spend a lot of time and, the stuff that happens outside of the lines of the soccer field. But on the soccer field, that's another area that you've grown. I'd actually like to hear from you, like how you would describe your soccer career on the playing field and your role in that space. Megan: Yeah. Also I'd love to talk about, from my point of view, the off the soccer field part too after, but on the soccer field it's always been confidence. Confidence on and off soccer has always been my weakness, I would say. So coming in freshman year, I was playing... I've always been a holding center mid instead of defensive center mid, which is the player who builds out from the back. So connects the center mids and the back four, but coming in as a freshman and I was playing more attacking mid because we had a very solid holding mid, and... Jen: Katie Tau. Megan: ...who is my inspiration but... So it was definitely a different position. Needed to be creative, but also with no confidence in that position, it's hard to make things happen because the attacking center mid makes an impact in the final third of the field. Megan: And so going into sophomore year, I was definitely taking on a larger role because we lost like a big class of seven seniors, all of whom were starting on the field, making a tremendous impact on the team. And that year I was... Oh I got injured during preseason. I pulled by hamstring, I think maybe two days in. And so then I was just super discouraged. But actually, I remember having a conversation with coach when I came back from my injury. And, but... With the coaches and they were like, "We're going to try to start you out holding center mid." And we had a great transfer player who was one of my close friends who came and was in that position. I was like, "Wait, what are-" Jen: I forgot about that part. Megan: Yeah, I was like, "What are you talking about?" But they like moved the lineup and then tried me at holding center mid, and at first game I was so nervous, but I concentrated on not losing the ball, and ever since then my confidence has just grown. It definitely gained by game. It hasn't been like an immediate thing. Even that year, my confidence was not fully developed on the field. It took definitely junior year to really get it developed and, even senior year, I'm still... Every year... It's definitely game by game. Mark: Experience... there's no other way to gain confidence, right? Megan: Right. Right. Jen: Exactly. Mark: Just experience. Megan: And knowing that other people I've trust in you, I think, is major. Yeah. And that's definitely given me a lot of confidence. Jen: It was interesting where you were replaying that story I'd forgotten about. Your reference was to Sarah Jones. Just graduated last year. She was an academic, all-American, player of the year. She also was... I'm not going to get the name right, but basically the valedictorian of the college. Brilliant mind, a soccer player. She had transferred here and yes, she was a holding center mid, and we just saw the opportunity to bump her to center back because we needed to stabilize that position on the field. And we were confident in doing that being a value add by then getting Megan into the position where we had seen you play prospect and... But yeah, I wouldn't have remembered that part that we were all moving SJ to that spot. It's a similar thing is Megan's role on the field is actually very similar to the role off the field is she's the glue of the team because if her... If she's playing that position well, other people are allowed to shine. Megan: Yeah. I'm not a flashy player. Yeah. At all. Jen: And we don't need you to be. And it just fits our system. And if our system and our play is good and it's very much an unsung hero in that respect and there's nothing below. Patty: If there's no glue, you can't stick. Jen: Yep. Exactly. You know, we use the term anchor is... Anchor's a defense, it allows our... We have some very dynamic attacking defenders, and they can go forward because they know Megan's going to be there to cover, right? And then the person who you know, starts the attack and really connects the lines and those types of things. Just a really smart tactical player on the field that allows everything to work, right? So, it definitely is something... And I'll agree that your junior year is where things really clicked in terms of your potential and figuring it all out. Jen: Because on top of all that, then that's where you started to increase your technical ability. You had a wider range of passes. And to add, you'll not just be the anchor on defense, but to be able to really pull the strings with the building the attack, and then starting to increase your voice and confidence in the field and all of those things. So yeah, you're... And I find this too, even as a coach, like you play and I coach within my personality, right? And your personality is, again, a little bit more behind the scenes but very, very impactful and that's both on and off the field. Megan: Yeah, and it's really cool cause coach scale has helped me recognize that. So coming in to college on my club team and everything, I was also the captain, but I was only the captain because I was the glue and people did... My coaches did call me that as well actually, which is really funny. But off the field, there are definitely many cliques on my soccer team, and I was the one person who was friendly with everyone, me and my best friend. And so that's why we were the captains. But it's just interesting cause I never thought that that would carry over to college because coming into college I was super quiet. Made friends with the other quiet freshman on the team and we're still best friends to this day. But... Megan: And I remember we came in and did something called disc profiling, which is a leadership personality behavioral test. And so disc stands for... You can be in four groups but the groups overlap and you can flex into other groups. But D is for dominant, I is for influencer, S is for study and then C is for conscientious. So the dominant group is like the alpha leaders, the ones with the loud voices, like the typical leaders that you would think of. And what I always used to think the leader would be. Also, that goes along with influencers, the people who are really good at being persuasive and great communicators across the board. And then you have conscientious, which you also want to strive to be a very intellectual detail oriented, very analytical, problem solver. And then they're steady. And when I came in, I was an S and I was like, "Well these other groups seem so great, but what does steady mean?" Patty: Um, studious? Megan: Yeah, especially... But so some words that went along with it were like consistent and grounded, and that's great. But I had no idea... Like the other groups just [crosstalk 00:23:45] . Jen: It's not very exciting, right? Patty: "Where do I fit?" Megan: Exactly. Nowhere near as exciting as the other groups but... and then the stereotypes that went along with being in the S group where that you're more quiet and more passive. And as I've grown I've learned that that is not what that group is. And actually it's funny, the last weekend we just did the disc profiling again with this C athletic leadership ship group that I'm in through Pomona Pitzer athletics, and I finally got to talk like, and be proud what an S is, and a [crosstalk 00:24:19]. Patty: S is for super woman. Megan: Exactly. They're definitely are relationship based and more intimate and really understand people. And that's how... I don't lead with my loud voice and I don't... I give people space to talk and I don't talk immediately. I talk when I think that there's something important to say and when there's something to stand up for, and I lead by example. I lead with my work rate and the respect I give others. And so that I think is what an S is, and it was great last weekend being able to talk to a bunch of people from other sports who are also in this group and us... not realizing because now I've realized it. I realized it for like a year or two now, but being able to talk with others, and there are some freshmen in that group too, and so that... Bringing it back full circle was very awesome. Jen: Yeah. Ayana it would be very proud. Megan: Yeah, she- Jen: Ayana Tweety runs our leadership group, the seed program, and she's the one who ran that workshop and you just rolled that right out your, your terms and explained that really well. Jen: Yeah. The other piece of that is, you know, as Megan said, she was an S, but our team at that time in particular was just like dominated by I's, which is like the really extroverted, loud, fun personalities. In fact the person... We had somebody, a facilitator, who was doing these with us, and he had told me on the side, I think I conveyed it to the team, but he's like, "I've never seen a team with that many I's. You have a lot of I's. Good luck, coach. Good luck getting a word in, right?" But that get some context too to why probably as a freshman, it was extra hard for you to not be that type of personality. And it's actually not in personality that the idea behind it is it's really behaviors, right? How are your behaviors being conveyed and acted out in the team setting? And it's a really, really interesting application of disc profiling on to athletic relationships and lot athletic sports teams. So yeah, to do that as freshmen and then to have it within like the athletic program as a senior is pretty neat. Jen: You mentioned that there was a teammate at the table with you that was an S, so let's talk about that because that's pretty neat. And so we... This leadership program, you have three or four representatives per team. We started this last year and we looked at it and we took people who were interested, had a group of people and we just kind of looked at it and chose people. Jen: I wanted to have people over a range of the class years. I didn't want them to all be, you know, one year and then graduate and leave or you know... Just wanting to kind of spread it out. And in some cases, I went with less obvious choices. And that was with purpose, to really give them an avenue to- Patty: Push them. Jen: Yeah. To challenge themselves and to, recognize that they had that that in them to, to help themselves and help the team in that way. So I asked Megan to be in that. And then one of the players who was our representative graduated [inaudible 00:27:34] graduated this past spring, and so we had a spot left, for this year. So I'd asked Megan, and Isabel James and Chloe were the other representatives who were returning, and just ask them to think about, would take a look at the freshmen for a week or two and you'll see who you think it might be a good person to bring in and fill that open spot. And then why don't you take it from there, who you thought would be a good person? Megan: Thinking back now, my choice was very biased, but I didn't even realize [crosstalk 00:28:12]. Patty: Tell us about that. Mark: Yeah. Megan: So there's definitely some first years that stand out as the natural leaders, just doing what they've done in high school and how they act right now. Very extroverted, very fun, really great leaders, great communicators already, are already coming in with such great confidence and not in an arrogant way at all. Just in a very self confident, proud way. I've always admired that. The other two captains on our team are exactly like that. And so they're natural leaders and leadership training would be very beneficial to them. But also I think it'd be more beneficial to someone who maybe doesn't realize it yet. Megan: And so I recognize that, in one of our freshmen, her name's Taylor, and she's very quiet, but also like you can tell she is very self confident and she said it, but still very quiet. And I guess now I definitely see her in me, and just an amazing player, very technical. But coming off the bench, that's hard like especially when you've... I'm sure she's been starting and leading her team for years now. And so, I guess I saw herself a little bit in me and the experiences I've gone through, and I told coach that I think that she has a lot of potential, and I'm sure coach definitely sees it as well. And a lot of my teammates see it as well, and we've talked about it and so that's why we wanted to choose Taylor. And it's funny because Taylor was in the S group with me, now that I'm realizing it. Taylor didn't say much this past workshop, but neither would I have, and [crosstalk 00:29:45] so I'm excited definitely to see where she goes. Jen: Yeah. Can you- Mark: I'm interested to.. Megan: Same position as me as well. Jen: That's true. Yeah. We're using her outside back, but she's somebody future thinking as you graduate, very well maybe filling that role. Megan: Yeah. Mark: So we introduced the two of you as mentor and mentee, but you're also a mentor, right? I mean so... Megan: I guess so. Mark: Talk to us about, are you conscious of that now? Megan: Now I am now, and definitely coming end of junior year season, I've definitely been more conscious of it and the new role that I've had to take on. I mean, when Coach asked me to be captain, I was surprised, because there's definitely... There's five people in my class, and they're two natural leaders. Everyone looks up to them. The other two are very fun, very social, really add to that aspect, and then I'm kind of just in the middle. I don't really fit into either of those groups. And they're also best friends, like on the sides, the two of them are best friends and the other two are best friends. And so I was really surprised when Coach asked me, especially because I don't think we've really had three senior captains. Jen: It's been awhile. Megan: Yeah. Since I've been here. But I started realizing that it did make sense. I am someone who actually has reach to people on the team that the others don't. And I... People talk to me when they... like, I'm definitely the most approachable I would say. Yeah. Jen: It's a safe person to go to [crosstalk 00:31:14]. Megan: The most neutral. Jen: Yeah, exactly. Mark: How do you choose a captain, Jen? How do you... What goes into that? Jen: Yeah, it's a little different every year because every group is different. Not just the class of... typically your captain going to come from your senior class. So I have had juniors who were captains before. So every class is different and then every team is different, so even the time you've been here, we've done it differently, probably every year, including a year where we didn't... Traditionally we would name captains kind of as a semester ends or the fall semester ends. So we've had our season and now we're shifting into the off season and then start to think about upcoming year. So kind of in that winter time is when we would normally name captains. That's kind of a traditional cycle for us, but there was a year where... I'm trying to think, I guess it was after your freshman year, right? Megan: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Jen: So Megan's freshman year was the most successful- Patty: Tell us about that season. Jen: Season in the history of the program, right? So we went undefeated in conference, and we got upset in that conference tournament, but we had such a great season that we'd gotten that large bid to then [inaudible 00:32:28] playoffs, and then we, we just kept winning. It was awesome. We won our first two games and- Megan: At home Jen: Yeah, at home. It was the first time we'd hosted NCAA playoffs here, and they sent us to Wisconsin, right? Wisconsin... Oshkosh, I think? It was a 16 degree wind chill. Literally some snow flurries to the game, right? Like I remember we had a player from Hawaii. Patty: I've got chills right now just listening. Jen: Yeah, we had a player from Hawaii who had never seen so in her life, right? So, [crosstalk 00:33:01] Alyssa came to me like in the middle of the game, like running by the side, like "Coach, it's snowing." "Go. Go get the ball. The games going on." Patty: Focus. Jen: Yeah, I mean it was cold. It was cold. Megan: We had to borrow the swim teams' parkas. Jen: [inaudible 00:33:17] you know, those big huge parkas that they wear. And we won. Nobody expected anything out of us. To win here, you're playing in your comfort zone and it was literally 80 degrees the weekend before. Patty: Oh my god. Jen: [crosstalk 00:33:34] And the two teams we beat were from the West coast, and the West coast teams don't get a lot of respect on the national level. So they shipped us out there and nothing was expected out of it. And we were playing Wisconsin Oshkosh, which was a top 10 team and definitely, we're the underdogs in that setting. And then on top of that, the weather and the massive temperature drop, and certainly no one would have predicted that we would have won that game three to nothing. Jen: Right? So it was, it was an amazing statement for, for our conference and for our team. And then the next day we had a great game, but we lost on penalties to university of Chicago. So we were... That's the elite eight, that's the furthest that a [inaudible 00:34:19] team has ever made it, so then we had play offs. So that's Megan's freshman year. And as she mentioned, we had a really strong senior class that year. Seven players, all were the key players on and off the field, super... Megan: Inclusive. Jen: Super inclusive. They set an amazing standard for bringing young players in, which to this day is the strength of our team and that group's legacy, I think. Most important legacy. It was just a massive shift though. We're losing this presence. The team had kind of built up around them for for three or four years. And it was a pretty big void when they left. So we didn't name captains right away, but we did get that group set and just really talked about how we can replace the on the field, off the field, from that group. And that was a tough transition year. It was definitely a tough transition year. A lot of learning in terms of how you can get the group dynamics to be a strength to help the team be successful. So we learned a lot and we had a good year on paper. But I think, in terms of experience you probably under achieved a little bit. But also I think reset a lot of core values within the team. Jen: Learned a lot from that. But that was... Lead to a year where we just had a lot of chemistry things to be figuring out. So that's why that's the year we didn't name captains until... We waited until the start of... This would have been 2018 season. We didn't name the captains until preseason. So that's, I guess the original question. Naming the captains, well, it's different every year, and it just wasn't right yet. We didn't know how the group was going to gel. We'd had continual players transitioning out. We had 10 freshmen coming in, right? And just the feel of the team was going to be so different. We didn't feel like we could name captains without knowing what the vibe of the group was going to be like, and who could really be successful in that role. Mark: What is the responsibility of the captains? Megan: There's many. And I think each captain takes on a different role within that. So we talk about something called the leadership spectrum, and so that definitely plays here. So captains definitely are the bridge between the coaches and the team. So, basic logistics, practice logistics, equipment logistics, all of that. Patty: That's not the fun stuff, though. Megan: That's not the fun stuff. But then the most important part is making sure, I think, for me, is that everyone on the team, regardless of what year, is somehow included in the conversation off the field, on the field. And make sure that everyone understands their role, is proud of their role, and is really invested in their role. And it's the captain's job to make sure that everyone feels included in that. And I think that each person has a different reach. Each person has different people that they're close to where there's mutual respect. Megan: And I think it's important between the three captains, or two captains, to make sure that everyone on the team is covered in that regard. Checking in and making sure that every player is mentally doing well off the field. I would like to focus more on the off-the-field roles because I think that's super important, and that definitely transitions to on-the-field. My relationships with people off the field affect how I feel about them on the field. It's... Patty: And how do you do that? How do you go about that? Megan: There's definitely a switch where I can go into soccer mode and non-soccer mode, but I think it's hard to completely separate the two all the time, especially when you're very close with these people. And so, it's important that everyone does feel included and everyone feels welcomed. Megan: And that's why this year, the bench has been the most high-energy it's ever been, all four years. And I think it's because everyone is really buying into their role on the team. And when I come off the field and I'm on that bench, I need to be just as high-energy as they were for me. And I think that we have this understanding of how each of us contribute to the team in equally important ways. Everyone's role is equally important, regardless of on-the-field. And that's why I like to focus on off-the-field, is because we are all equals no matter what happens. Jen: Yeah. The phrase we're using this year is, "Let's win the bench." Every game, we want to win the bench, too. Right? And that's something that everybody contributes to, regardless if the coach comes and taps your shoulder and puts you on the field, right? You have an opportunity to contribute by winning the bench and your role in that space. Jen: I've scaled back the, I guess not the importance of captains, but the glorification of captains, I guess. Right. I've scaled that back, especially the last couple of years. And that was with real purpose and seeing that we had a lot more people who could contribute, given the space to contribute, so that we started talking about leadership spectrum. And that's both in terms of people seeing that there's a lot of different ways to be a leader and to find your strengths within that spectrum. Jen: But if we can cover that leadership spectrum with the people in the team, if we're kind of hitting all those chords, right? Then that's going to make us the strongest possible team. And again, it kind of comes back to some of that disc stuff. I think that's where I started thinking about it more is, maybe we had a ton of eyes and they're covering all that part of the leadership spectrum, but if we don't have these things covered, and if it's fewer people, you've got to really emphasize to them how important that range of the spectrum is and get those skills and talents to rise to the surface more. Jen: And so, with that, we've really, again, kind of scaled back. And not what it means to be a captain, it is a big deal, and I understand that and I value the people in those roles, for sure. But we could have two or three great captains, and if nobody else is leading, we're in trouble. Right? You could be great captains, but that's not going to be enough with a squad of 25, some players. Right? Jen: So, and I think with that too, it's got people to be, not necessarily more committed, but more invested in, again, that responsibility to contribute to those ways. And it also fits into something we talk about, which is the ultimate goal that I have for my players and people in the program is that, over that four year period that you're becoming the best player, the best student, the best person, the best leader that you can be. And that's a four year growth process and a journey that we're in together. Jen: And it's not all about where you come in or where you end, it's that whole road. And if you can buy-in and if we're giving you the resources and the space to buy into those pieces of it, that's all part of your growth in your experience that, regardless again, if you're a star player that's on the field for 90 minutes in a game. If that's not you, that's okay, because there's still valuable contributions for you to add to the team but also valuable things for you to be learning and experiencing and enjoying and benefiting from within being part of the group. So, that's all really for me to help assist with the fact that we have so much talent on this team now. You had mentioned with Taylor, it's the same with everybody. Jen: Everybody comes here, comes from the place where they're one of the best players in their team and they're one of the keys that are always out there. And they come here and it's tough to kind of break into that top group. Especially this year being top to bottom, the most talented team we've ever had. So, if you can get people to understand that it's not all about the 11 that are on the field at game time, they're obviously going to have a better experience. They're going to be more positive. They're going to stay, keep the dynamic and chemistry where you want it to be. So we've had to really get them to see it's not all about the playing. It's about the rest of it too. Yeah. Mark: It interests me that what you're doing is sort of balancing two very different things. You're taking care of a lot of individuals and helping them grow and progress, but you're also trying to mold them together into a team. And how do you balance all the sort of contradictions? Jen: Yeah. What do you think Megan, how do we balance that? Megan: Oh, man. I think sometimes it happens naturally, based on the people that you have, and sometimes it doesn't. And I think we've experienced both. Jen: Yeah. It doesn't always work. Megan: Yeah. And you just try to mitigate the issues as much as possible. But I think my freshman year, we were very lucky and I think this year, we are also really lucky. And so... I don't know. That's a really hard question. Jen: Yeah. I try to balance it by talking about it and making people aware of it. Because it's not just a coach's responsibility. Right? So, it's impossible for us to make everybody happy unless they do some things to make themselves happy. And the team works on it together. Jen: And so, one of the things we talk about is, if your measurement of success in this program is whether or not you're on the field on game day for a long period of time, if that's how you're measuring your success, you're missing the point and you're setting your coaches up to fail. Because only 11 of you can be out there at once, right? Jen: So, there's no way coaches are going to be meeting that expectation of every one of you. It's mathematically impossible. Right? So, let's find other ways to measure success, right? And so, we talk about that and it's their choice to buy-in or not. Right? That's really where, again, it's responsibility. It doesn't work for everybody. Right? But the people who get it and who want to be a part of that and all the things that come with it, and being part of that family, it's, I hope, an amazing experience for them. Megan: We have a story about one of my teammates who has been one of my close friends. Grade below me, her name is Kendall. And I remember last season she was really struggling because there are three amazing goalies on our team. They're all incredible. And I guess she was kind of falling into maybe that third string spot, and it was really difficult for her to come to terms with that. But then I went abroad and she, spring season, worked really hard and became really close with people that she wasn't close with before. And so then coming into this next season we brought on a fourth goalie, and having four goalies is crazy. But her attitude completely switched, and she has been so happy even though she, I guess, is kind of training the goalies now. Jen: Just taking on that role to help support them. Megan: With Pride. Jen: Yep. Absolutely. Megan: And off the field is such a great contributor as well. Always telling me, always encouraging me, always supporting me. Not just me, others as well. Making jokes on the bench, keeping it lighthearted, eating dinner with us, laughing. Last night, she was the topic of conversation at dinner, because we found this old picture of her where she shaved her eyebrows. But... Jen: I need to see that. Megan: Being able to contribute in other ways is so important. Jen: Yeah, she's found her space and this team, and... Megan: It's been incredible to watch for the moment. Yeah. Jen: Because it's been some rocky moments, and Kendall would tell you the same thing. We've had some real heart-to-hearts, even as recently as three or four weeks ago. Right? And it came to a point where she had to make that final decision. Right? This is how it's going to be. We think this has potential to still be positive experience for you, but you've got to accept the role that we're offering. Jen: And she's been all in, and it's been fun to see because she needs the team and the team needs her, and she had to find that space for her to find her role. Megan: She's definitely an inspiration to me. Being able to find that role and be so embracive of it. Jen: Yeah. And that's one of the keys right there, hearing Megan say that, because... I'm not trying to minimize my impact at all, but I also recognize that so much of the impact of people's positive experience is each other, is the team, is the group in that dynamic. And, again, the coaches are going to decide who's on the field during games and make those decisions. But for a teammate to come and tell you, "Hey, I heard you out there and I heard you from the bench. I heard what you said, that inspired me." Hearing that reinforcement from their teammates, that's so much more impactful than a coach saying it. Jen: It's also the other way, the accountability pace. That's one of the things that, ongoing still, always room for improvement with that, is you guys holding each other accountable for the things that aren't good enough. That's when we're going to reach our highest standard, is when it's not a coach saying, "Hey, that's not good enough." Or, "This needs to be better." It's when you hear it from a teammate, that's where change is more likely to come from. So, we're working on that. That's the hard part. Megan: Yeah, is holding each other accountable. Yeah. Patty: We talked about the dynamics of a big group and then making decisions on and off the field. Let's talk about the structure of the team, coming from two schools that have some differences. For both of us, whoever to start first. What are some of the challenges that come of having players from Pomona and Pitzer, and what are some of the advantages? Jen: Sure. Well that's one of the things that, early on, and then has played out for sure, is Megan's role of kind of connecting the schools. Right? And everybody has a role in that, obviously, but she's somebody who's managed, kind of, the placement, and bridged some of that within the class and I think in within the team for sure. Jen: And we talk about it just in terms of, our success is going to come from everybody respecting everybody. Even when people come and visit as prospects, we'll often have them go and see a class. Maybe they come in, they're interested in Pitzer, and you're going to spend time on Pomona's campus. You're interested in Pomona, you're going to spend time on Pitzer's campus. Because when you get here, you're going to be teammates with those people from another college. And you need to know what their experience is like. You need to kind of have an understanding of that campus, that climate, and that setting. You're going to be a better teammate if you know what both colleges are about and how they interact together. And then we do little things that, I think, make a difference. Right? The Pitzer students, they've got to come down to Pomona every day. Megan: That's the biggest challenge though. Jen: Yeah, I mean, you hear that from your teammates. Right? Megan: Yeah. Totally. Totally. So we'll try to do Thursday Pitzer dinners. Jen: Yeah, last night I heard you guys talking about that. Megan: But little things like that. Having meetings in Pitzer's dining hall instead of on Pomona's campus really benefits the Pitzer players. Megan: Honestly, for me, I think just because I never think about the difference between the schools, because it's not a problem that I really recognize as much? I guess if you really think about it, maybe it has a little dynamic play into it? But our personalities are just different across the board, I would say. I don't think it's by school or by school, but I think it's just the geographic location of everything being on Pomona's campus, and every time, the Pitzer players having to come down. Jen: Yeah. During the, for us it's the fall, during season, they basically spend their afternoons at Pomona, right? They come down, their locker rooms are there, their training room's there, their dinner's there, break facilities. You just pretty much go in Frary after every practice. It's the one that's open till 8:00, so that's where pretty much all the athletes, even CMS athletes, culminate at Frary cause it's the one that's open latest. But yeah, the minimal effort it takes to go and, on Thursday night, because we get done with practice a little earlier, for the team to go and eat at McConnell, instead of at Frary is, I mean, it's huge. Jen: The same, like Megan said, we'll do meetings. We'll offer...Our individual meetings we do with players, the coaches will go and hole up at McConnell for four hours and the players cycle through. Right? So then they don't have to make the effort to come down to Rains for the 30 minute meeting and go back in the middle of classes. So minimal effort it takes, that is really impactful. Just in terms of showing that awareness and respect. Jen: And preseason we'll do a Pitzer day, right? We had a series of meetings at Pitzer that day and had lunch as a group at McConnell, and just kind of be thoughtful about it instead of just the ease of falling into, "We're just going to do absolutely everything at Pomona and at Rains." Megan: And another one is on away games, especially night games, dropping the Pitzer players off at Pitzer instead of making them hike back up from Rains. Jen: Yeah. The bus stops there and then comes down to Rains. Mark: Let's go back to mentorship for a minute. As we've been talking, we've seen sort of the two sides of mentorship. Some, there's the support and the encouragement. There's also some tough love involved in being a mentor. Right? Can you both talk about that a little bit? Because sometimes you have to tell people things they don't want to hear and sometimes you have to push. Obviously, you pushed Megan a bit to be more of a leader and it was not in her comfort zone, but it became her comfort zone. So how does that work? Jen: Yeah, well there's been a few moments of, you've had to compete throughout your years for time on the field. Megan: Right. Yeah. Definitely. Jen: Right? And you've grown in that role every single year, and kind of this year came in as a returning two year start-up pretty much by your sophomore year, mid-year, once you got healthy. Kind of put her in that most of the last year. Jen: No, we're definitely in that role. And I think there's been moments of having to get you to play with consistency and to really reach that potential, and trying to motivate you to do those things without scaring you in terms of, "Hey, Megan, there's somebody half a step behind." Yeah, and it's not just you. As a coach, that's kind of finding the right balance with that. Jen: I think for you, just in terms of personality, it was not wording it that way was probably key. Megan: Yeah, I think. Maybe. Yeah, honestly. Jen: Right. Even if you knew it, and if I knew it, you just got to keep it going, because you got some really good options over there, too. Jen: You can't always lay it out that way for somebody who might not respond positively to... That might be something that ends up bringing too many nerves of competition into it. Right? It's just been emphasizing that you can do it and that we believe in you, and I'm not coached to, "You make one mistake, you're going to be yanked off the field." So I wouldn't do that for anybody. Jen: So, just continuing to show you your strengths and show you kind of what else you're capable of, or what else we need from you. It's probably been the strategy that I've used with you. Megan: Yeah. Yeah. It's worked, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Mark: Megan, have you found yourself on that side of the mentoring role sometimes? Or do you feel that you're more on the supportive side of mentoring at this point? Megan: Typically on the supporter side, but I've definitely had, that's one thing that coaches also talk to me about is, it's hard for me to tell people to do things, and it's hard for me to hold people accountable. But I've definitely, especially stepping into the captain role, I have to take it on. There's no choice. Megan: And so, the nice thing is, is having two other captains to help me be able to do that, and not approaching someone necessarily one-on-one, so it feels an attack, but maybe collectively... Maybe not collectively talking to someone, but collectively deciding what is the best decision of how to approach a specific situation, and then delegating that to someone to figure out. Yeah. Megan: So yes, I have gotten to hold people more accountable and I've been more, and I think even on the field, I talk a lot more than I used to. Making sure that people are in position, and the people behind me now have the voice to talk to me and make sure that I'm in position, despite... Our two center backs are sophomore and freshman. So, they have to be the loudest people on the field, also the goalkeeper, in telling me where to go cause that is very important. And then they both do it very well. Patty: It sounds like communication and dialogue is a big part of your success as mentoring and promoting leadership and developing leadership. I want to shift to Shape Dialogue Now. Can you tell us why you recommended Megan for this role? And then Megan, can you tell us what the project is about, the initiative is about, on Pomona's campus? Jen: Yeah. So, the reason is pretty similar to what we've been talking about. The opportunity was, President Starr was creating this Shaping Dialogue initiative task force last year. And I think it was pretty much this time last year, had put out a call to the community to say, "We're looking for some student representatives. We'd like them to be..." This is a Pomona initiative. So it would need to be a Pomona athlete that I would know. Jen: And somebody who's a junior, I think this is sophomore, junior, because they knew it was going to carry on for years. They didn't want it to be a brand new student here, but they did not want it to be a senior who's going to be gone before it really got rolling. So it was just an open call for people. And so, I put Megan's name in there for the same reasons we've been talking about is just, somebody I thought is just, very genuine, very thoughtful, saw big picture but was able to also communicate well and have good conversations on this micro scale. And so, you know, put Megan's name in. At the time I didn't know that I was going to be on the committee. Jen: So, Gabby asked me a few weeks after I'd put that in, and I think she was looking at it from, a coach who is building team and building dialogue across differences within a team, that she had made sense for her in her mind to have somebody from athletics on the committee. And she knew the work we've been doing at The Hive and just kind of the investment we'd made to that kind of team-building. Jen: So, I was on it, and then I found out later that Megan was on it. I was like, "Huh. We've got some good soccer representation here." And so, yeah. So that's how that developed. And then, you can talk about what it's been like. Megan: So it's definitely evolved. It started because there was a survey and it was shown that, I think it was 88% of people don't feel, I guess, necessarily safe talking on campus or engaging in conversation without, for example, offending people. So the group was supposed to tackle problems of linguistic discrimination and censorship. Megan: And so, the group came together and, "How do you tackle an idea that's this ambiguous and this big and prevalent throughout campus, how do you get everyone on the same page?" And that's still the question, but there have been meetings every month and each time we develop a new idea, and then it's built up to this idea where it's faculty, students, and professors. Megan: So, first of all, being able to engage within a group with the three levels and be comfortable in that space, that took a few meetings. And then, now we are getting training from the Sustained Dialogue Institute, which has been incredible. And the Sustained Dialogue Institute is now going to work with other groups on campus as well, and they are tackling how to facilitate dialogue and how to engage in dialogue across identity differences, and how it's a very broad topic, but we had just had a 16 hour workshop. It can definitely be split into different topics that you can tackle individually to help you. Megan: It's a hard problem. How do you feel safe? When do you feel safe being able to talk and voice what you actually think? And being part of this group was very important to me because I think there's always a little athletic bubble, and a little athletic ignorance, that a lot of people, and the athlete... Even on a D3 campus, there are people who have no idea that other people feel this way. Megan: So, being able to be a part of this and talk to my friends about how they're feeling, and then being able to bring that into the sessions. I'm also a great listener. I like to listen in spaces and then share what I've learned. And so I've been able to share that with my friends outside of soccer as well. Megan: And a lot of them have played different roles throughout campus. One of them is a head and mentor of the Asian American Mentorship program, and being able to talk to her and see what she's observed and what I've observed, and being able to come together and talk about it? I wish I could bring so many people into this group because there are so many different ideas, but they're still developing it. Megan: I think we're probably going to develop this group into bringing more students in and starting to learn how us, as students, how we can facilitate dialogue, and when is the right time for dialogue versus discussion versus debate. Because there are different times for different things. And so, just being able to share the knowledge throughout, not just the student body, but through the faculty and the professors as well. Because sometimes it feels like there are divides. But through this group I've come to understand where the faculty are coming from, and they've come to understand where I'm coming from. And so, I just wish everybody had this experience and I think that it will evolve into that. But, yeah. Jen: Yeah. And I think that's Gabby's plan, right? You're getting some key stakeholders to get the training and kind of the knowledge base of how to then be spreading it amongst campus. So, actually, that group is coming this weekend to work with the SEED leadership, athletic leadership group that Megan mentioned earlier. They're doing training with the Sustained Dialogue Institute this weekend. Jen: And that was, again, kinda identified from the larger task force of, we have a lot of athletes on this campus obviously, and they exist in, not just their athletic teams and world here. Right? Obviously, they're community members and they're students here. And so, they take up space in the dorms and in the dining hall and in the campus center. So, Getting them to kinda be able to maybe take that skillset, and also understand their role and responsibility as community members to have that ability to communicate across all those differences. So, we're lucky to be kind of allowed to have such a critical role and opportunity within that initiative. We're excited about it. Megan: And I know there's some other initiatives, the Orientation Adventure leaders also got this training. And then I know that the writing partners, they're getting training to become speaking partners as well, which will also be very beneficial, because once they have the training, then they can really share what they know, as well, to students who come into the writing or speaking center. Jen: Yeah, yeah. And the idea is, again, just kind of getting critical kind of areas of the campus that we then kind of have the reach, across a large swath of the students. Jen: It's a neat thing. It's evolved. It took a little while to kind of figure out what it was going to be, but kind of late spring is where that connection with the Sustained Dialogue Institute came in and was just like, "Wow, this is it. This is a way to format it to help us kind of synthesize all these things." Megan: Yeah. Mark: Megan, you mentioned your mentor from AARC, the Asian American Resource Center. Obviously, Jen has been a really important mentor for you, but you've had other mentors here at Pomona too. Can you talk about that? Who were some of your other mentors? Megan: So my good friend who's... When I was in the Asian American Mentorship program as a freshman, coming in I did not know what mentorship programs were. One of my head mentors, he was from Korea, and he would text me all the time and I was definitely busy and stressed with soccer and academics, but he'd always be like, "Megan, come on, let's get a one-on-one meal so we can check in." Megan: And so, I think maybe at least four times during that first semester, I got to sit down with someone who shared an identity that I had that I never really acknowledged before, because I grew up in a very white-bred community. And so, being able to be like, "Wow, this is an identity that I should be proud of and that I should invest in." Was amazing, and he really helped me realize that. Megan: But also, having a best friend growing up with me in that mentorship program, and now she's the head of the mentorship program, is amazing. And I guess I would consider her a mentor in that aspect. She always brings to me what she's learned in her trainings and what she's teaching others. And she brings it to me and tells me all about it. Megan: Let's see, some other mentors in my life... My sponsor. So, I think, Pomona has a great sponsor group program, and one of my sponsors was one of my best friends, helped me out a lot, actually is on campus right now. He's working in New York for PWC and he tried to surprise us and say that he's on campus, but I heard from other people and got mad at him that he didn't tell me. But mentors like that, people who have experience that you don't have yet and can guide you through whatever you're doing. Megan: So, freshman year, I think, is a hard time for most people. And so having someone who's gone through it and is in my living space, and I can go knock on his door whenever, just to talk, was very valuable. Mark: How about in the academics, or research, or...? Megan: Research? I definitely, so, I'm a neuroscience major and I am doing an experimental thesis, so I have to be in the lab 10-12 hours a week. And so, I found this amazing mentor, professor Johnson. I think, yeah, you know him. He's also a faculty resident. Jen: Yeah, the two of us live on campus. The two part-time residents, yeah. Megan: Yeah, has two daughters and a lovely wife. They're always in the dining halls, eating as a family. But he's been a great mentor to me. Definitely helps me with finding my place in neuroscience, because I guess that wasn't my original intended major. I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with my neuroscience degree, and having someone to talk to about that, having someone guide me through my lab projects and my thesis, I worked with him partly over the summer as well, has also been very valuable. Megan: And being able to have a connection like that with one of your professors? I'm in his class right now. I've been in his class before. Only something that I think that a school like Pomona college could give you. Jen: Yeah. Well, even just that Karl and I know each other so well, even prior to living on campus, I'm lucky we both do now. Just the way that the liberal arts environment is here and just, our coaches being faculty and kind of existing in that realm just allows us to have that kind of mutual respect and just crossover that you wouldn't necessarily find it a lot of places. Jen: And so, yeah. So I've known that Karl really respects Megan as a student for years now. In fact, this summer he's like, "Yeah, man. She's really smart." I was like, "Well, I know. They're all smart." But he's like, "No, no. She's really smart." He was wowed with the research and stuff that you were doing, and that's probably stuff that you wouldn't really have known or believed in yourself either. Right? Megan: Yeah. No, Definitely not. Jen: So, yeah. It's in the fact that we can have those conversations. We see each other, he knows that I'm invested in her as a student. I know that he's invested in you as an athlete. Right? And that kind of mutual support system that we have here with a lot of the faculty, just really buying into you as a whole person and not just somebody who shows up in their classroom for 50 minutes a couple of times a week. Right? Jen: He knows that you're a soccer player and that's hugely important to you. Right? He was so excited when, two weeks ago, we came out with rankings. We were a nationally ranked, and I saw him at some meetings. He was like, "Oh you guys did so awesome. You beat Chicago. That's so great." Jen: Well, actually that's a good part of the story too. Right? So we mentioned how, Chicago, we lost to them freshman year on penalty kicks. We were even rough ahead of that egg where we had a lead, two minutes left type of thing. We were two minutes away from the final four and then lost in penalties and so that's been in the back of our mind for a while. Jen: We lost it, and the season after that they came out here to play. We lost, 3-0. They beat up on us pretty bad. And then now, even more tie-ins are pretty cool. We have, the coach at Chicago, her daughter plays on our team. Alright, So. Shay Reifert is a freshman at Pitzer, she's the third Reifert to come through Pitzer, and two who've already graduated. Megan: And both played in soccer, yeah. Jen: Yep, both played soccer. In the men's program, women's program. So we go out there to play- Mark: So, bragging rights in the family. Jen: Bragging rights in the family, for sure. You can take it from there. What happened a couple of weeks ago? Megan: So, we got the amazing opportunity to go Chicago and play U. Chicago on their home turf. Which, playing a very strong nationally ranked team in preseason is huge for the rest of our season. Definitely sets the tone. Especially on their turf. They played on this very thick grass, different environment. I mean, weather was great though, I can't complain about that. But going out there, and we beat them 1-0. And it was a close game, but also, we confidently won, as well. Mark: Go Sagehens. Megan: Yeah. Jen: Yeah. Jen: Just, especially for the seniors, what that moment meant for you guys, and kind of a full circle right piece to it, and kind of a monkey off our backs. And it was a great game and definitely a sweet, sweet win. Megan: Yeah. And just the on-the-field portion of it felt different. I remember when we lost them 3-0, we couldn't connect like, three passes. And coming here, the score was close, 1-0, but also, I felt confident the entire game that they weren't going to score on us or get... Maybe they got a few good looks on goal, but I just- Jen: Yeah. Because Isa made some great saves too. Megan: Right. Right, yeah. As always. But it just, the game felt completely different, which was... Jen: Yeah. It's been the evolution of your class, right? Just kind of a great freshman year, and then we had to reset. And we've built up, and then now it's your guys' chance to see what you can do as seniors. Megan: Right. Yeah. I'm excited. Patty: To wrap up, what have you learned from each other? Jen: Um... Let's see... Megan: I've learned a lot about my identity, and I think my identity just keeps growing. Coaches also mention bringing the Asian American program and doing some kind of training with our team. We did allyship training one year. [inaudible 00:34:21] Yeah, with the... Yep. Megan: Stuff about my identity, little things like that, especially about my leadership style and my confidence. That has definitely evolved. And I think leadership is something that I never... Being a leader is a word that I never would have used to describe myself, and now I can. And now I confidently can, and I have reasons to back it up, and I've stepped into positions that I never thought I would without your help. Honestly. You've opened the door to I think all of those positions. Yeah. Yeah. Most of them, yeah. Jen: Well, it's mutual. I've coached for a long time, so I've got a lot of players and everyone, even if they don't play all four years, they make an impact on me as a coach and a person, which is why the job is never dull and still inspiring to me. The opportunity to just, hopefully, positively impact somebody's experience here as a student at Pomona college and Pitzer college and within the athletic physical education department that we have. We just have a chance to really hopefully inspire and positively impact people's lives. And that's the goal. Jen: And so, when you find that really works well and it's a success story, that's why the opportunity to do this and highlight, I think, a really mutually beneficial and respectful relationship is really good, so. Jen: It's certainly one of my, I guess, most successful mentoring relationships, but the chance to do that again and again and again, that's why... Patty: Keeps you going. Jen: Keeps me going, for sure. And I learn just as much from my players as, hopefully, they learn from me as a coach. So, yep. Mark: So, on that note, we're going to wrap this up. So, our thanks to Megan Kuo, class of 2020, and Coach Jen Scanlon. Mark: As we tape this, the women's soccer team is undefeated, record of 5-0 and one, right? Jen: Correct. Yep. Yep. Mark: So, best of luck in your next game- Megan: Thank you. Mark: And rest the season. Go Sagehens. Jen: Yeah. Thank you. Megan: Go Sagehens, thank you. Patty: And to all who have stuck with us this far, thanks for listening to Sagecast, the podcast of Pomona college. Until next time.