Behind the Mask 3132: Recent Episodes
Real Talk Conversations with Chris and Bekah
We are 2 retired athletes having conversations about the struggles that come with being a Christian athlete. These conversations will be centered on scripture and hopefully will help somebody. Can't wait to share with you guys!
In the growing conversation about mental health in sport, coaches are often left out. We wanted to change that. In this episode, goalie coach from App State; Azure Fernsler, shared some of her insights on coaches' mental health and some potential solutions to manage those issues. If you take anything away from this episode, it should be this: "Coaches are people too and they need resources." Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 for more information on past and future episodes. Thanks for tuning in!
We're taking a break from talking about worship songs to discuss the very important and ever evolving topic of athlete mental health. We're discussed issues with the current conversation and some solutions we think can be implemented. We hope you continue this conversation with your crew! Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 for more info!
We're continuing our series called "The Breakdown" with our good friend, Rob Morales. Have you ever wondered if we actually live our lives in line with the worship song we sing? That's what we're aiming to break down in this series. What do these songs tell us about God and our posture toward Him? What makes them challenging to live out? This episode, we down The Heart of Worship by Matt Redman and Nothing Else by Cody Carnes. Both songs challenge us to question what we come to worship with and what distractions get in the way of our worship. We also talk about how everything can be considered worship if it's for God's glory. We hope you enjoy this conversation and that it challenges you. Minimally, we hope to leave you with some bomb worship music! Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 for more content.
We started a new series called "The Breakdown"! Have you ever wondered if we actually live our lives in line with the worship songs we sing? That's what we're aiming to break down in the series. What do these songs tell us about God and our posture toward Him? What makes them challenging to live out? This episode, we broke down Jireh by Maverick City Music and This is the Kingdom by Elevation Worship. Both phenomenal songs about God's holiness. Kerry will be with be for hopefully all of them. So, we hope you enjoy the conversation and that it challenges you. Minimally, we hope to leave you with some bomb worship music! Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 for more content
Check out both songs here:
Jireh - https://youtu.be/mC-zw0zCCtg
This is the Kingdom - https://youtu.be/wEFHy-NSW8I
We started a new series called "The Breakdown"! Have you ever wondered if we actually live our lives in line with the worship songs we sing? That's what we're aiming to break down in the series. What do these songs tell us about God and our posture toward Him? What makes them challenging to live out? This episode, we broke down Refiner by Maverick City Music and Echo Holy by Red Rocks Worship. Both phenomenal songs about God's holiness. Kerry will be with be for hopefully all of them. So, we hope you enjoy the conversation and that it challenges you. Minimally, we hope to leave you with some bomb worship music! Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 for more content
Check out part 2 of our discussion about unlearning in the transition to coaching from playing. We talk more in this episode about what coaching has taught us about ourselves and why we coach. We hope you all enjoy this episode and continue these conversations with your crew. Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 for more content! You can follow Kasey @phillymetrofca and Morgan @coachruhl22
In this episode, we unpacked some things we've had to unlearn as we transitioned to coaching. One thing we've all learned is not everything that made us successful athletes will make us successful coaches. We hope you all enjoy this episode and continue these conversations with your crew. Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 for more content! You can follow Kasey @phillymetrofca and Morgan @coachruhl22
We hope you enjoyed this episode and we encourage you to continue these conversations with your crew. We also want to hear from you so follow us on IG @behindthemask3132, follow Kerry @ker_phillips_, and leave a comment.
Scripture references:
Romans 13:14
Job 4:3-6
Athlete culture is unique. It teaches many life lessons and shapes people to be develop mindsets that allow them to excel in the sports world. We can learn so much from the best in the game; Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Serena Williams, and Simone Biles, on what it takes to make it. The only problem is many of these mindsets don't translate well to life after sport and they might not be sustainable in life in sport. In this episode, we broke a few of these and talked about what makes them potentially toxic. We hope you enjoy this conversation and continue it with your friends and teammates. You can follow Syd @retiredcollegeathletes on IG and us @behindthemask3132
Ever heard the phrase; "I just want to get back to where I was when I was playing"? So often, we attach the same expectations of our bodies that we had when we were playing to when we retire. Athlete culture is definitely not one that teaches us how to respect our bodies. This is what we aimed to unpack in this episode with our friend Marissa Heath. We hope you guys continue this conversation and reach out to us with your comments, questions, or even topic ideas. As always, you can follow us on IG @behindthemask3132. You can also follow Marissa @marissalheath
Throughout the summer Olympics, there was growing controversy surrounding Simone Biles's decision to prioritize her mental health and withdraw from events. Athlete mental health has become more and more publicized both on social media and mainstream media. It seems, for most people, that we are just now starting to view athletes are people first. In this conversation, Bekah and I kick off season 2 by discussing our reaction to Michael Phelp's documentary; "The Weight of Gold". In this documentary, Phelps and many other Olympians discuss the struggles they face as Olympic athletes and the toll it takes on their mental health. The Weight of Gold can be found on HBO Max. You can follow us @behindthemask3132 for support and/or questions. Let's keep the conversation going
2020 was filled with many things, some great and some not so great. One thing that emerged 2020 was this show and this is our anniversary episode. We invited a few of our friends and fan favorites; Tyson, Jordyn and Kasey to debrief about 2020 and what we're taking through the rest of 2021. Thank you all who continue to listen and engage with us through this season! As always you can follow us on IG @behindthemask3132. You can also follow Tyson @tysonhugee, Jordyn @jormpugh, and Kasey @kaseyryandougherty. See you guys in Season 2!
Strength is a concept that is often misconstrued in the world of athletics. Athletes are conditioned to avoid anything that might make them look "weak". That is what we aimed to unpack in this conversation from Dr. Madeline Barlow. Madeline is the founder of Mind-Wise Mentoring LLC and the sport psychologist at Drexel University. She is absolutely brilliant and we had so much fun recording this one! We hope you enjoyed this video as much as we did. We also hope that you continue conversations like this with your friends and teammates. Go get Dr. Barlow's book at this website: https://mindwisementor.com/ You can also follow her on IG @mindwisementor and us @behindthemask3132
This is another long one. But, we're not sorry because it's a super important conversation. Disordered eating and eating disorders are things that plague the athletic community but most athletes suffer in silence. On this episode, we invited our good friend Tori Corsaro to talk about her journey discovering that she had an eating disorder in college. We also aimed to unpack the roots of our body image issues and how we can find freedom in our identity in Christ. You can follow Tori on IG @tcorsaro11 and @tkicoachtori and, as always, you can follow us @behindthemask3132
"No pain, no gain". Is that true all the time? If productivity equals efficiency, are athletes very productive? That's what aimed to unpack with Jordyn in this episode. Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 and Jordyn @jormpugh
There's so much that we can learn in sport that translates to the rest of our lives. Much of these things are super positive and helpful but what about the things that are not so helpful? That's what we hope to unpack in this new series called "Unlearning". On this episode, we invited back Pastor Barry Huver from Fervent Church to talk about the theme "As I go, we go". We had a couple of different interpretations of this theme but the conclusion was still the same; if it's "as Christ goes, we go", then He determines our priorities. We hope you all enjoy this conversation as much as we did. You can follow Pastor Barry on IG @barryhuver and us @behindthemask3132
All year, we've seen athletes use their platform to protest systemic racism in this country. Their protest, by kneeling, has been met with both support and criticism. For this episode, we invited back to the show Portland Thorns' Simone Charley to talk about how she has navigated through her experience in the NWSL's Challenge Cup and her decision to kneel for the anthem. We also discussed why we think there is disunity among Christians about what is or is not considered an "acceptable" way to protest. We hope you were challenged by this conversation and we ask that you continue to explore the topic of racism in America and figure how you can be an ally. You can follow Simone on IG @simonecharley and us @behindthemask3132
We threw a different format at you guys with this episode. We aimed to unpack the ideas of strength and surrender. We also had our buddy Shea come on to chat about who Jesus is and why He is worth surrendering to. We hope you enjoyed this episode. Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 and follow Shea @jesusistheonlyway4
Nowadays, we see two reactions to conflict or disagreement: cancel culture or lack of accountability. This week, we invited back Pastor Barry from Fervent Church and Courtney Grah from WhoUWith Ministries to talk about how to call people out with grace and truth. We also talk about what is needed to have true accountability and how to navigate those difficult conversations. We hope you guys enjoy this episode! You can follow Courtney on IG @cpg33 and Pastor Barry @barryhuver. You can also show some support and follow WhoUWith Ministries @whouwith_ministries and Fervent Chruch @ferventchurch. Lastly, follow us @behindthemask3132. We welcome your questions, comments and feedback!
We live in a society that views truth as relative. This may seem advantageous, especially when the truth is unpopular or is hard to swallow. But what are the truth ramifications of modern relativism. That's what we aim to breakdown in this conversation. You can follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 and Sam @smercoli. Hit the subscribe button and leave a comment if you like what you've seen or heard.
In the age of cancel culture, this episode talks about the process of forgiveness and reconciliation that God calls us to do. We invited Kasey Dougherty on the show to unpack her and Chris's beef and how they were able to reconcile and have the relationship they have today. We hope you all find this conversation helpful. For more, you can follow us on IG @behindthemask3132. You also follow Kasey @kaseyannryan and Philly Metro FCA @phillymetrofca
Do you glorify God with your friendships? How can we be friends with non-believers? This week, we invited our friend Dan Forry to chat about how to cultivate godly friendships and be a light in our friendships with non-believers. You can follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 and Dan @danfsteeple on IG. We would love to hear from you guys!
This week, we invited our friend Danni on the show to chat about what's it like being a Christian at a Bible college. We contrasted our experiences at secular universities with Danni's experience. As always, you can follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 and Danni @devinneyd17
We've all been taught to "go and make disciples" (Matt. 28:19). This task can be super daunting especially in the context of a team. This week, we invited our friend, Maggie Van Thullenar from Auburn University, on the show to chat about her experience with starting and leading her team's bible study. We hope this is an encouragement to anybody, at any age, to lead others. As always, we would love to hear from you guys so follow on IG @behindthemask3132. Also, go follow Maggie @mags.vt on IG
There are many roles to play in a team. Not everyone can be the starter nor the captain. What happens when you're placed in a behind-the-scenes role? This week, we invited our friend Lisa Catton from Mainline FCA to chat about what it makes to embrace your role and glorify God even when you're not in the spotlight. You can follow Lisa @lisa_catton and Mainline FCA @mainlinefca on IG. You can also follow us on IG @behindthemask3132
We promised to do a part 2 and we did not lie to you guys! Tune in to this super important and powerful conversation about perfectionism in sports. We invited our friends Azure and Becca again to chat about how athlete culture encourages perfectionism and how perfectionism is counter to the gospel. As always, let us know your thoughts, comments and questions. Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132. Also follow Azure @azureskye22 and Becca @becca.blatt on IG
As Christians, we are supposed to be humble. As athletes, we are supposed to be competitive. On the surface, those concepts don't fit but, in reality, they are more intertwined than you might guess. This week, we invited our friend Billy Bernhard to chat about what it means to practice godly excellence. Let us know your thoughts, comments and questions about this. Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132. Also tune into The Wyld Way Podcast with Billy and the boys. It is so good and we think you will all be encouraged by their wisdom. You can follow them on IG @thewyldwaypodcast
This week, we invited Pastor Barry Huver from Fervent Church to finish our discipleship series talking about discipling adults. He gives a really cool team analogy to describe discipleship. Get your notes ready because there are so many truth bombs dropped in this one. As always, leave us your comments and questions. Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132 and Pastor Barry @barryhuver
This week, we were joined by the goat, Heidi Conley, to talk about discipling young adults. Heidi is an area representative on FCA staff in Baltimore County, MD. Bekah and I first met Heidi at Kutztown Camp. She was the best huddle leader coordinator and has continued to be mentor to both of us. We're super excited for you guys to listen in on this conversation! As always, you can follow us @behindthemask3132 and Heidi @heidikc0331 on IG
This week, we invited our friends Jordyn and Tyler on the show to talk about their experiences discipling high school and middle school kids. Through FCA, we've all had the privilege to pour into the generation of young believers. In this episode, we chat about some of the struggles associated with being a huddle leader and the joy associated with being a huddle leader. As always, you can follow us on IG @behindthemask3132.
"Shut up and dribble". Athletes are not mindless drones for the entertainment of others. Athletes have a unique platform to be bold for what they believe in. That's exactly what we talked about in this conversation with Taylor and Simone. In a profession where you are judged by your athletic prowess, how can we remain rooted in our identity in Christ. Taylor is a left back for newly promoted MLS club, Nashville SC and Simone is forward for the Portland Thorns in the NWSL. If you liked this conversation, follow our channel and follow us on Instagram @behindthemask3132
Throughout our identity series, we have noticed a reoccurring theme: "we have been conditioned to be human doings not human beings". On this episode, Bekah and Chris talk about what it means to be a human being who is made in God's image.
"What's next ?" This is a question that all athletes inevitably have to wrestle with. Val Tysinger, Florida grad and Belmont assistant coach, joined us for this conversation about transitioning to life after sport. You can follow Val on IG @valtysingurr. We hope you guys enjoy this episode!
Injuries are an unfortunate reality of sport. We invited our friends Gabby and Cheech on to talk about their how their experiences with injuries affected their athletic identity.
"Get out of your head!" "Don't think just play!" "Stay strong!"
In sport, athletes are expected to have it all together. The assumption is that we don't struggle but we do! Join us and our friends Kerry and Mel as we shed light on mental health in sports. You can follow Mel on IG @melissa.meiners and Kerry @key_phillips_
Who do you play for??? Our friends Azure and Becca came on and dropped some truth bombs about rooting your identity in Christ rather than sport.
We invited our friends Tyson and Tyler on the show to talk about the role of Christians in the racism issue. Follow us on IG @behindthemask3132. Follow Tyson @tysonhugee and Tyler @jtsmith_55.
We want to have open dialogue with you guys! Follow us on Instagram @behindthemask3132. We'll be happy to answer any questions you might have. Subscribe for more videos to come! Thanks for watching!