NEFSHE
Game Changers Summit
Summit Overview
Game Changers Summit is dedicated to empowering female athletes and coaches through a supportive community and providing practical tools for success. It is designed for female coaches and college players, with an option for high school athletes to participate in select sessions.
Summit Goals:
- Empowerment: Inspire participants by sharing success stories and overcoming challenges.
- Community Building: Foster connections among female athletes, mentors, and professionals.
- Practical Tools: Provide workshops to develop skills in sports, academics, and personal growth.
- Holistic Development: Focus on both physical and mental well-being, career guidance, and personal development.
Key Speakers & Topics:
- Leadership in Sports: Keynote Speaker, focusing on leadership within and beyond soccer
- Breaking Through: Building a Business in Small Group & Individualized Training: This session will explore how to create tailored training programs and navigate the challenges of establishing a business in a male-dominated sports industry, offering practical advice for female coaches and entrepreneurs.
- Transitioning from Player to Coach: A panel of current and former professional/ college players sharing experiences of moving from player to coach.
- Sports Psychology: Discussing psychological resilience for athletes.
- Breaking Barriers in Women’s Soccer: A panel of coaches and players, exploring the latest in women’s soccer and overcoming cultural challenges within the sport.
- Menstruation Health: Sport healthcare professionals will address how menstruation affects athletic performance and management strategies.
- Inclusivity in Sport: Speakers will discuss the need for greater inclusivity in sport and action points to implement both
Networking Opportunity:
The event will include lunch and opportunities to network, offering participants the chance to connect with speakers, panelists, and each other.
This summit promises to leave participants empowered, connected, and equipped with practical skills for their athletic and personal journeys.
Date & Location:
Date: Sunday, 15th December, 2024
Time: 9am-5pm (Coaches and College Athletes), 1:00-4:15PM (HS Age Players)
Location: NEFC Training Facility, Northborough MA
Cost: FREE for NEFC Coaches and U23 Summer League Players (2024), $25 for non-NEFC Coaches and all other athletes
Speakers and Panelists
CHLOE RACO - Game Changers Summit Host
- NEF-She Program Director
Chloe has loved soccer for as long as she can remember with the sport always being a permanent fixture in her life. Having played the sport competitively back in her native country England from the age of 8, playing at the academy level through her youth, collegiately and then semi-professionally, Chloe progressed into coaching. Prior to her move to the US, Chloe started her coaching journey in England coaching youth academy teams and collegiate teams. Since then, Chloe has coached at NEFC for 5 years, working with regional, DPL and 'select' girls teams as well as coaching at the D3 collegiate level. Chloe currently coaches the 2011 and 2010 DPL teams and holds multiple roles at the club including the RDP Girls Director, DPL Central Director and the Director of the NEF-She program.
GIGI MARVIN - Key Note Speaker
- Former Team USA Hockey Player & Mental Skills Coach
Gigi Marvin played 13 years with the United States Women’s National Team, winning three Olympic medals (1 gold and 2 silver), 7 World Championship medals (5 gold and 2 silver), and 9 Four Nations Tournament medals (5 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze). Gigi has played post-collegiate hockey since 2010 and most recently played for Boston in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. She won two league championships with her Boston team over the years. Gigi is a proud alumna of the University of Minnesota (2009) and Warroad High School (2005). Gigi is the owner and head instructor for RinkRat 19 Hockey School, a boys and girls hockey camp, for the past 17 years. She recently retired from professional hockey and currently works as a color analyst for hockey on television broadcasts and coaches athletes and teams on mental skills performance.
Dr. Jaxie Meth - Speaker
- Founder of The METHOD Performance and Physical Therapy
Dr. Jaxie Meth PT, DPT is the founder of The METHOD Performance and Physical Therapy. Jaxie started The METHOD in 2020 after working for years in a high-volume outpatient clinic and seeing how our healthcare system doesn’t allow patients to get the care they deserve. She strongly believes that anyone who chooses to move their body is an athlete and should be treated so. Jaxie combines her background in athletics and performance with her extensive continued education in the pelvic floor to offer a unique and different experience to those experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction along with orthopedic issues. With locations in Boston's South End and Charlestown, The METHOD is where Boston's motivated movers go to perform their best and rediscover their prime.
Rachel Wood
- Founder & Owner of Summit Soccer Academy
- Former professional player for the Boston Breakers and HK/Vikingur in Iceland. Rachel played three years at the University of North Carolina, where she won two NCAA National Championships with the Tarheels.
Meredith Rooney
- Director of Soccer Operations at Summit Soccer Academy
- With over 20 years of high-level coaching experience, Meredith previously owned Rooney Player Development, an elite soccer academy in New Jersey. She has held key roles such as Head Coach for the NJ Stallions, Girls Director at NextGen USA, and Technical Director at Matchfit Academy ECNL.
Dr. Kristin Cannon
- Head Women’s Soccer Coach, Springfield College
- Dr. Cannon has an extensive background in coaching and athletics administration, having worked at Division I, II, and III institutions, including Johnson State, LIU-Brooklyn, Xavier, and Cincinnati. She was most recently the Director of Athletics and Head Girls' Soccer Coach at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, NY.
Holly McGrath
- Certified NASM Personal Trainer, Pelacore Method™ Instructor, and health writer.
- Holly combines 13 years of fitness expertise with a holistic approach to health, emphasizing trust and connection as key to achieving wellness goals. A former collegiate soccer player at Assumption College, she is a Certified NASM Personal Trainer, Pelacore Method™ Instructor, and health writer. Holly specializes in optimizing women's health through fitness, pelvic core exercises, nutrition, and practitioner referrals. She is also an author for Girls Soccer Network (https://girlssoccernetwork.com/author/holly-dixon/), sharing her expertise to inspire and educate others. Her journey as a fitness competitor, mom, and advocate for managing conditions like Pelvic Dysfunction and POTS motivates her mission to empower others to create sustainable, personalized lifestyles.
Megan Ostrelich
- NEFC Coach and Founder of Inclusive Coaching Workshop
- Megan has been coaching since 2003 across various levels of soccer, including TOPSoccer, recreational, high school, and college. Recently, she joined NEFC, bringing her experience in fostering inclusivity, which earned her the LGBTQ+ and Allies Award of Excellence from US Soccer in 2023.
Kathy DiSilvestri
- Founder of KJD Wellness
- With over 22 years as a certified athletic trainer, Kathy focuses on holistic hormonal health and fertility. She supports individuals in achieving healthier menstrual cycles, with a background in athletic training from her work at a Division III college in Massachusetts.
- "I have been a certified, licensed athletic trainer for the past 22 years. I worked 20 years of my career at a small Division III liberal arts college in Massachusetts. I have a Bachelor's degree in Science with a concentration in Athletic Training from Bridgewater State University, a Master's degree in Nutrition for Human Performance from Lasell University, a Health Coaching certification from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition with a concentration in hormonal health and a Fertility Coaching certification from Kate Potvin."
Gee O'Malley
- NEFC Sport Psychology Specialist
- Gee works with NEFC athletes, including regional and GA teams, to enhance the mental aspects of their game. She focuses on building mental resilience and sports psychology tools for both individual players and teams.
Summit Schedule
To be released soon...
