PEAC- Train Like a Girl: enhancing performance & wellbeing of GIRLS IN SPORT

Team First, Time Second: Batavia's Avery Hacker on Trusting the Process

Avery Hacker is a cross country and distance track standout at Batavia High School, coming off one of the best years of high school running in Illinois.

Last fall she ran to a runner-up finish at the Class 3A State Meet as a junior, then carried that momentum into a big spring capped by a win in the women's Ray Meyer Elite High School Mile at Magis Miles, cross...

USATF U20 Cross Country Champion: Duke's Victoria Garces on Fueling, Recovery, and Running Her Own Race

Victoria Garces is a sophomore distance runner at Duke University, originally from Midland, Michigan (Herbert Henry Dow High School). In 2025 she won U20 gold in the 6K at the USATF Cross Country Championships in Portland with a time of 21:07.0. She competes across the 1500m, 3000m, 5000m, and 6K cross country, and was named to ...

State Qualifier, Record-Breaker, Coach: Diana Crumrine-Carson's Hurdles Journey

PEAC — Train Like a Girl Episode: Diana Crumrine-Carson (Holy Trinity —Cross Country, Track, and Volleyball Coach) 

About this episode

Diana Crumrine-Carson wasn't athletic as a kid. She started in ballet, then moved to figure skating — and didn't make it past tryouts. She tried out for her school's cheerleading team and didn't ...

Don't Play Small: Addie Dieckmeyer on Coaching Girls Lacrosse the Right Way

Guest: Addie Dieckmeyer, Head Girls Lacrosse Coach at Barrington High School, Club Director of Second City Lacrosse, and IGLCA Coach of the Year. A former attacker at Webster Groves High School (St. Louis)...

Trusting the Process All the Way to Duke: Sundara "Sunny" Weber

Her Story

Sunny started running cross country in 5th grade — and almost quit mid-season. Her mom said no, and that turned out to be the turning point: Sunny fell hard for the sport instead. Early on, the motivation was simple: her family let her stay in a hotel if she won a race. It didn't take long before something bigger clicked — she found out she was co...

Coaching High School Runners Deb Revolta Girls Cross Country & Track Coach, Barrington High School (Barrington, IL)

Deb Revolta has spent decades building one of the most respected girls' cross country programs in Illinois — and she's done it with a simple philosophy: culture, buy-in, and trusting the process. 

Named Illinois Girls' Cross Country Coach of the Year by the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Asso...

Guest: Jody Gitelis | Track & Field Coach

Jody Gitelis spent 36 years coaching track and field at Barrington High School in Barrington, IL, building one of the most decorated programs in Illinois history — 92 conference championships, 141 sectional championships, and 9 individual state championships. Jody coached the Barrington High School Fillies to two second-place State titles and 1 Team State Championship. 

She ...

About the Guest Audrey Grunst is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and founder of Simply Bee Counseling, a therapy practice focused on age 5+ through the lifespan, including therapy, dietician, medication management, and neuropsychological testing, located in Vernon Hills, IL, with a specialization in athletes. She is also a former Division I athlete and youth 3-sport athlete (softball, volleyball, and track), giving her a f...

Episode Summary In this powerful episode, sisters Shania and Rianna Tandon sit down with hosts Carson and Annemarie to talk about injury comebacks, the recruiting process, identity in sport, and what it really means to show up for yourself when the path gets hard.

Shania's Story — Comeback & Commitment Shania opens up about navigating a serious injury and the mental work required to trust the process. Her comeback wasn't ...

PEAC Train Like A Girl — Episode Show Notes Guest: Caley Chelios Vitale — ESPN, Big Ten lacrosse analyst; Northwestern Women's Lacrosse and Northwestern Women's Lacrosse National Champion; three-sport high school athlete

Warm-up Quick list: Caley’s high school sports — lacrosse, volleyball, hockey (three-sport athlete, national-champion pedigree at Northwestern).

Caley’s “Triple Threat” in ...

Finding Joy Under Pressure with Mental Performance Coach Matt 

Guest: Matt — Mental Performance Coach, Center for Creative Growth; Girls Lacrosse Coach, Barrington High School

Episode Summary: Matt shares his journey from falling in love with lacrosse as a youth to coaching girls’ lacrosse at Barrington. He discusses the learning curve coaching the girls’ game, the cultural differences between boys’ and...

Guest: Alexa — Glenbard West High School (IL) senior, University of Wisconsin commit Episode summary: Alexa shares her running journey — starting with family fun runs, joining middle‑school track for the joy of the sport, and building a thoughtful high‑school cross country and track career. She opens up about recovering from an eating disorder and period loss, and credits a collaborative team (high‑school coaches, care...

PEAC — Train Like A Girl: Denise Smith — Show Notes

Episode summary

Physical therapist, educator, and multi-sport athlete Denise Smith discusses injury prevention, return-to-play, and smart training for female runners—especially adolescents. Emphasis on movement quality, sleep, nutrition, cross-training, barefoot training, and rebuilding the brain–body connection after injury. Guest bio

Denise Smith, MPT (M...

PEAC — Train Like a Girl Podcast Episode: REDs-Informed Provider Guest: Kelly Holtz MS RD | Sports Dietitian

Episode Snapshot

In this episode we define REDs (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) and explain why it matters for female athletes of all ages: REDs occurs when the body goes into “low power mode” because energy intake doesn’t match energy output.

Guest story: As a young athlete the guest tried many...

PEAC — Train Like A Girl Podcast

Episode: Sheahen Dowling — Women’s Basketball

Sheahen Dowling — Started her athletic career at Saint Josaphat Grade School in Chicago (where we met), Trinity High School (River Forest, IL), Class of 2017; played at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). Current Special Assistant to Head Coach Karl Smesko (WNBA Atlanta Dream).

Episode Overview 

Sheahen’s multi‑sport ...

Guest: Hannah, Licensed Therapist specializing in Eating Disorders (ED) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Episode Summary: In this episode, we chat with Hannah, a licensed therapist with a focus on Eating Disorders and OCD. Hannah shares insights into the high comorbidity rate of these issues, especially among women who pursue perfectionism. She opens up about her personal journey in sports, including her early experiences he...