Meet Mallory Walsh; from athlete to sports moM.

Hi, I’m Mallory.

I’m a former Division I athlete, now a sports mom and a coach’s wife, with an educational and professional background in education, special education, behavioral therapy and psychology.

I’m also a youth sports coach, former youth sports program director, nonprofit founder, and someone who has spent a lot of years thinking about what sports can—and should—do for kids.

All of those experiences are what I bring to Outwork Performance Academy.

At this stage of my life, I probably identify most often as a sports mom and a coach’s wife. That’s the world I’m living in every day, and it’s the perspective a lot of my OPA content will come from.

But long before I was sitting on the sidelines watching my own kids, I was the athlete.

And long before I started thinking so deeply about the psychology behind sports, I was the kid experiencing it.

I Grew Up Playing Everything

I grew up playing sports in the ’90s, and I played pretty much anything my parents were willing to bring me to.

Some of my earliest sports memories are of softball—playing on a grass field with my dad doing the best he could to corral a group of girls and teach us how to play.

Dance was also a big part of my childhood. Looking back now, I can appreciate how much it contributed to my body control, rhythm, flexibility, coordination and overall muscle development.

I also played competitive volleyball, which helped develop skills that eventually translated really well to softball: tracking, game awareness, reaction time and learning to anticipate what was coming next.

At the time, though, I wasn’t thinking about any of that.

I was just a kid playing sports.

And I had adults around me willing to give their time so that I could.

I appreciate that a lot more now than I ever could have as a kid.

Then Came Travel Softball

My path changed when I was a teenager.

I was playing volleyball with girls who also played travel softball. After seeing some of my athleticism and arm strength, my volleyball coach suggested that I might want to try what they were doing in the travel softball world. I did and suddenly, my summers were consumed with travel ball.

That eventually led me to a Perfect Game showcase, where I did the best I could, caught the attention of some college programs and ultimately decided to continue my career at Valparaiso University.

I became a Division I softball player and spent four years playing shortstop for the Valparaiso Crusaders. I got to travel the country playing a sport I loved, meet some of my best friends and have experiences that shaped a huge part of who I am today.

There were incredible parts of that experience.

There were also difficult parts.

And I played during a time when we didn't understand—or at least didn't openly discuss—the mental side of athletics the way we do today.

A lot of those experiences will eventually make their way into OPA conversations.

Because now I can look back at them not only as the athlete who experienced them, but through the lens of everything I have learned since.

Where Psychology & Behavior Enter the Picture

My interest in the mental side of sports doesn't come only from being an athlete.

My educational and professional path has centered around education, special education, behavioral therapy and psychology.

That background taught me to look at behavior differently.

What is driving it?

What happened before it?

What reinforces it?

How does environment influence performance?

How do people respond differently to pressure, feedback, expectations and consequences?

How do we teach skills rather than simply expect someone to have them?

Those questions are fascinating to me!

And now, as a former athlete, a mom raising athletes and a coach’s wife, I find myself applying that lens to sports constantly.

Because sports are incredibly behavioral.

They’re incredibly psychological.

And the environment we create around an athlete matters.

Then I Had Kids—and Sports Became Important to Me in a Different Way

After having children, I knew I wanted sports to be part of their lives. I knew the work ethic, time management, grit, friendships and many life skills sports would give them.

But I also wanted to use my own experiences and talents to make sure other kids had access to those opportunities, too.

So much of my own athletic journey happened because adults were willing to show up for me.

They coached.

They organized.

They drove.

They volunteered.

They created teams and opportunities.

They gave their time.

Once I became a parent, I wanted to pay that forward. When my kids were around four years old, I became involved in youth sports programming myself.

That involvement grew.

I eventually spent four years running a Little League program. I've coached softball and other youth sports. I've experienced the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating programs for kids—not just coaching the team everyone sees on the field.

And my husband and I eventually started a nonprofit together to create an opportunity for kids in our community to participate in travel flag football.

Those experiences gave me yet another view of youth sports.

Because running the program is different from playing in it.

Coaching is different from parenting.

Being married to the coach is different from being the coach.

Starting a nonprofit and trying to create opportunities for kids brings an entirely different set of challenges.

And all of those experiences changed the way I look at sports.

I've Sat in a Lot of Different Seats

This is probably the simplest explanation of why I'm here.

I've been the student-athlete.

I have the student-athlete.

I've been the coach.

I am the coach's wife.

I've run the program.

I've built the nonprofit.

I've been on the field, in the dugout, on the sideline, behind the scenes and at the kitchen table afterward. And every seat gives you a slightly different view!

As the athlete, you think about performance.

As the parent, you're thinking about your child.

As the coach, you're responsible for an entire team.

As the program administrator, you're trying to balance coaches, parents, athletes, schedules, expectations, resources, safety and opportunities.

And when you're trying to build something for your community, you start thinking about an even bigger question: What kind of sports environment are we creating for these kids?

That question is at the heart of a lot of what I want to talk about through OPA.

My Passion Within OPA

The area of youth sports I'm most passionate about is the mental side of performance.

And when I say performance, I don't mean only the athlete.

I'm interested in the psychology and behavior of the entire sports environment.

The player on the field.

The parent on the sideline.

The coach in the dugout.

The program creating the environment.

Even the fans and community surrounding them.

All of those participants influence the experience.

So through OPA, I want to talk about confidence, pressure, expectations, communication, motivation, failure, team dynamics, coaching, parenting athletes, athlete identity, program culture and all of the complicated things that happen when we put human beings into competitive environments.

Why Ashley and I Are Here

My friend and OPA partner, Ashley Sackett, brings her own experiences, education, passions and perspective to this—which she'll share in her own blog introduction.

And that's exactly what we want OPA to be.

We aren't coming here pretending we have every answer.

We're coming here with experiences.

Lots of them!

We're raising student-athletes. We've been athletes ourselves. We've coached, volunteered, organized, questioned, learned, made mistakes and spent countless hours talking about what we're seeing in youth sports.

Now we want to bring those conversations to a bigger table.

Through the OPA podcast, this blog, educational resources and the programs we're developing, we want to create a place for athletes, parents, coaches and programs to talk about the parts of sports that aren't always reflected on the scoreboard.

For me, that starts with the mental game.

Because I've experienced sports as the kid.

I've experienced them as a Division I athlete.

I've studied education, behavior and psychology.

I've coached.

I've run a youth sports program.

I've helped build a nonprofit.

And now I'm experiencing sports all over again as a mom and a coach's wife.

I don't see youth sports from one angle anymore.

And that's exactly where my OPA content will come from.

Welcome to Outwork Performance Academy.

We have a lot to talk about.

Now, let's outwork the mental side of the game together!