Meet Ashley Sackett; the student behind the athlete.

Hi, I’m Ashley.

I’m an educator, former multi-sport athlete, longtime coach, youth sports program leader, and mom raising very busy student-athletes.

I'm also extremely competitive.

We'll get to that.

Sports have been woven into almost every stage of my life. I've been the kid playing them, the coach teaching them, the volunteer creating opportunities for other kids to participate, the educator watching athletes walk into my classroom, and now the mom whose family calendar is basically one giant color-coded collection of practices, games and tournaments.

Those experiences are a huge part of what I bring to Outwork Performance Academy.

And while Mallory's passion naturally gravitates toward the psychology and mental-performance side of sports, mine continually brings me back to something we sometimes overlook:

the student behind the athlete.

Sports Have Always Been Part of My Story

One of my earliest memories of understanding the power of sports came after my family moved to a new community. I was in third grade, and one of my first experiences in my new school district was attending a basketball camp with my cousin. Sports gave me an immediate connection to other kids. But that was really just the beginning.

I went on to play travel volleyball and travel basketball and played three years of varsity softball. Travel sports weren't foreign to my family, either. My brother and sister both played travel sports, so our family understood the practices, tournaments, driving, competition and commitment that came along with it.

And the older I got, the more I realized something else about myself: I like to compete.

Maybe really like to compete.

When high school sports ended and I went to college, apparently my brain didn't get the memo that organized competition was supposed to be over. Eventually, that competitive drive led me to CrossFit, where I trained and even competed in competitions. Because apparently going to college, beginning a career and becoming an adult wasn't enough. I also needed someone to put a clock in front of me and tell me to do something physically exhausting faster than the person next to me. Competition has always motivated me. But as I've gotten older, I've also come to appreciate that the most important things sports gave me had very little to do with winning.

Every Kid Deserves the Opportunity to Play

One belief that has become incredibly important to me is that sports should be accessible to kids who want to participate. A child's opportunity to play shouldn't disappear simply because their family can't afford registration, equipment or the clothing necessary to participate. That became especially important to me through my involvement with softball. I spent four years heading softball for Little League in my town, and one of the things I cared deeply about was making sure that girls who wanted to play softball actually had an opportunity to play.

That meant more than putting teams together.

We had scholarships available to help cover registration for girls who needed them.

We worked to make sure players had access to equipment.

We helped provide clothing and other necessities when those things could have otherwise become barriers to participation.

Because sometimes adults see a registration fee.

A kid sees whether or not she gets to play.

And I never wanted a girl who wanted to step onto a softball field to believe there wasn't a place for her because her family couldn't provide everything required to get her there.

Sports gave me friendships, confidence, competition, memories and opportunities.

Helping another kid access those same experiences has been one of the most meaningful ways I've been able to give back to something that gave me so much.

Then I Became the Coach

I've coached in some capacity since college, and honestly, I couldn't tell you how many seasons that adds up to anymore. Coaching gave me another perspective entirely.

You start realizing how different every athlete is.

Some need confidence.

Some need structure.

Some need to be challenged.

Some need someone to slow them down.

Some immediately understand what you're teaching, and others need to hear it three different ways.

And somewhere along the way, you realize you're teaching a lot more than the sport.

You're teaching kids how to respond when something doesn't go their way.

How to work with teammates.

How to accept feedback.

How to communicate.

How to prepare.

How to be accountable.

How to fail and try again.

Those are sports lessons.

But they're also life skills.

And that's where the educator in me starts to take over.

I See the Student Behind the Athlete

My career in education gives me a perspective on youth sports that I value more and more as my own children get older.

Because I see athletes when they're not wearing the uniform.

I see them in the classroom.

And the same student who is expected to perform at practice that afternoon may also have a test tomorrow, an assignment due at midnight, a project next week and a tournament all weekend.

We're asking a lot of kids.

What concerns me isn't necessarily that they're busy.

Being busy can teach incredible skills.

My concern is that sometimes we give young athletes enormous responsibilities without actually teaching them how to manage those responsibilities.

We tell them:

Manage your time.

Stay organized.

Keep your grades up.

Talk to your teacher.

Email your coach.

Prepare for your test.

Get your homework done before the tournament.

Advocate for yourself.

Start thinking about college.

Understand recruiting.

And now, eventually, understand things like NIL and the business opportunities that can come with being an athlete.

Okay. But who taught them how to do any of that? That's the piece I keep coming back to.

Being a STUDENT-Athlete Requires Skills, Too

We spend an incredible amount of time developing athletic skills.

If an athlete needs a better swing, we find a hitting coach.

If they need better footwork, we find a trainer.

If they want to get stronger, we find a strength program.

We send them to camps.

Clinics.

Private lessons.

Travel teams.

Extra practices.

We understand that becoming a better athlete requires instruction and repetition.

But somehow, when it comes to being a student, we often expect kids to figure it out.

I want to change some of that.

I want student-athletes to learn practical strategies they can actually use.

How do you organize an entire week when you have school and practice every night?

How do you study efficiently when you don't have three uninterrupted hours?

How do you communicate professionally with a teacher?

How do you advocate for yourself instead of having Mom or Dad send the email?

How do you prepare academically before leaving for a tournament?

How do you break down a huge assignment instead of waiting until the night before it's due?

How do you understand your grades and academic requirements?

How do you begin preparing for college before senior year?

How do you take ownership of your future?

Those aren't things kids magically know because they made a travel team.

They are skills.

And skills can be taught.

That's a major part of what I want to bring to OPA.

And Now I'm Raising Student-Athletes Myself

Then there is the perspective that has probably changed everything the most.

I'm a sports mom.

My children are heavily involved in athletics, which means sports affect essentially every part of our family life.

Our calendar.

Our weekends.

Meals.

Vacations.

Homework.

Transportation.

Bedtimes.

Finances.

Friendships.

Family time.

There are practices, games, tournaments, camps and constantly changing schedules.

And now I'm experiencing firsthand the balancing act I see my students dealing with in the classroom.

I'm the educator saying, You need to stay organized.

And then I'm the mom at home looking at our own schedule thinking, How exactly are we going to pull this week off? That has given me a lot of perspective.

Because it's easy to tell a student-athlete what they should do.

It's different when you're sitting at your own kitchen table trying to help your kids actually do it.

I've Seen Youth Sports From a Lot of Angles

That's ultimately what I bring to OPA.

I've been the athlete.

I've been the competitive athlete who didn't really want competition to end.

I've been the coach.

I've helped run the program.

I've worked to make sure kids who couldn't otherwise afford to participate still had a place on the field.

I'm the educator.

I see student-athletes trying to balance these expectations every day.

And now:

I have the student-athletes.

I'm living the practices, tournaments, schoolwork, schedules, opportunities and challenges right alongside my own kids.

Those perspectives have made me incredibly passionate about helping young athletes understand something that I think gets lost in today's sports culture:

Your sport is something you do. Your education helps determine what you can do next.

My Passion Within OPA: The STUDENT-Athlete

When Mallory and I say student-athlete, you'll probably hear me put a little extra emphasis on the first word. STUDENT-athlete.

I love sports.

I believe deeply in what they can do for kids.

Sports can create friendships and belonging.

They can teach teamwork, discipline, responsibility, resilience, leadership and communication.

They can open doors.

But the goal can't simply be to create better athletes.

I want to help create kids who are better prepared for whatever comes next.

That means teaching them to advocate for themselves.

To communicate.

To manage their time.

To understand their responsibilities.

To take ownership of their education.

To recognize opportunities.

To ask for help.

And eventually, to understand that all of these skills transfer far beyond the classroom and the field. Because eventually, for almost every athlete, the games stop. The habits don't.

Why OPA?

Mallory and I have spent countless hours talking about youth sports because we're both living this life.

We're raising student-athletes at different ages and stages.

We've both been athletes.

We've coached.

We've volunteered.

We've helped run programs.

And now we're sitting in the stands, driving to practices, navigating schedules and trying to raise good humans in the middle of an increasingly complicated youth sports world.

But we also bring two different professional lenses to the conversation.

Mallory naturally gravitates toward psychology, behavior and mental performance.

I naturally gravitate toward education and the development of the complete student-athlete.

Put those together, and there is a lot to talk about.

Through Outwork Performance Academy, I want to help athletes and their families find practical strategies for succeeding in both places that matter to us:

the classroom and the field.

I want kids to have access to sports.

I want them to benefit from sports.

I want them to enjoy sports.

I want them to learn from sports.

And while they're doing all of that, I want to make sure we're preparing them for everything that comes after sports, too.

I'm Ashley Sackett.

I'm an educator, coach, former athlete, program leader, sports mom and still—probably more than I should admit—a competitor.

And that's the perspective I'm bringing to Outwork Performance Academy.

We have a lot to talk about!