Throughout my crucial developmental years, I introduced myself as “Tara” and described myself as “being a lacrosse player”.  This identity spanned over a decade, until one day, it abruptly came to a halt:

January 2012, my orthopedic broke the news - if I wanted to avoid a premature knee replacement, I needed to quit impact sports now.  Due to complications from my ACL/Meniscus injury, the longevity of my knee was at risk, and it was time to choose my personal health over my life-long passion.

As a year-round lacrosse player and tri-sport athlete, I had no idea what this meant other than, I needed to drastically adjust my lifestyle and quit what I had dedicated over half my life to.

The day I quit, I was left with a hole in my heart, and a “Now what?” thought. I did not realize, this was the start of discovering who I was outside of performance. Metrics no longer mattered when it came to working out, the amount of goals I scored no longer contributed to how good I felt about myself - I needed to now cultivate all of this from within.

Fortunately, I was able to rediscover different aspects of “me” while still having access to student-led clubs, organizations and programs.

My personal and professional bucket list exploded - I was now reaching out of bounds, studying abroad, learning new languages, interning and traveling; working part-time.

I became a part of multiple clubs in college and branched out further through my studies. I found new interest in other people, cultures, history and society as a whole.

As I explored out of bounds I was challenged with learning how to hold myself accountable working out, managing my own time and creating a new network of friends.

As an athlete, you have the luxury of having this built in to your daily life - a set schedule, workout plan, teammates to call on, a coach to hold you accountable, games to measure how “well” you are doing.

Throughout my journey, I realized true “wellness” comes from having a deep sense of purpose, confidence and self-assurance. Aligning your head with your heart, tying in your own personal values and living by them. Once you have this, everything else falls into place and “performance” becomes more of a natural talent, rather than a narrow goal-oriented approach. Suddenly, the challenges and losses that arise, whether on or off the field, become much less difficult to tackle and less personal.

I am here to help current and former athletes cultivate deep self-confidence from within, discover purpose beyond performance and lead from the heart. Create a life outside sports, just for you.