Failing Forward, Authentic Leadership, and Winning Championships with Julianne Sitch

Julianne Sitch (00:00)
where there's a will, there's a way. and I think just like, going after the things that you want and not letting anyone tell you, you can't do something. cause I think about that a lot. If I ever listened to the people that tell me that I would never be a professional athlete or I'll never reach that goal or I would never be there. I wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation with

Clara Purk (00:27)
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of She Is Bossy, the podcast dedicated to helping you be a better boss. My name is Clara Perk and it is so good to be back with you all today. I hope you had a great weekend. I was in St. Louis visiting my cousins and their kids and we just had the best time. I always love visiting because I just get to go there and hang out with family and it's such a good break from

the rat race of life, whether it's work or the pressure to be productive when you're home or see everything when you're on vacation. It's just nice to have a break from all of that every once in a while. And it's also a good reminder of the importance of spending time with the people you love. So don't forget to do that. But anyway, I hope you all had a great weekend.

I'm very excited for you to hear from my guest today.

Her name is Julianne Sitch And she is a trailblazer in collegiate athletics, currently serving as the head coach of the University of Denver Women's Soccer Program. In 2022, she made history by becoming the first woman in NCAA history to lead a team to a national championship, guiding the University of Chicago men's team to an undefeated

22-0-1 season and the Division III title. And I was actually attending the University of Chicago for my MBA at the time. And I remember reading about this historic accomplishment and being a huge soccer fan and player myself. I just thought it was the coolest thing. So hopefully you guys are equally as amped to hear from her.

She is also a former professional player with experience playing in the US, Sweden and Australia, including a few years where she played for my hometown team, the Chicago Red Stars, where she also coached. safe to say she has a ton of experience coaching excellence at the highest levels and she is sharing all of that experience with us on the pod today.

Now, I know having a soccer coach may seem a little out of left field here, but as leaders in any position, I think there is so much that we can learn from other disciplines and people with success building and leading high performing teams. And this interview is really nothing short of inspiring and motivating. We talk about owning your success, using failures to grow, building strong team culture, and most importantly,

Chasing Your Dreams. And that last one really hit home for me in this interview because when I first started this podcast, I remember thinking that Julianne would be a dream guest to have, given my connection to the University of Chicago and my love of soccer. And even though I thought there was no chance she would see, let alone respond to an email from me asking if she wanted to be on the pod, here we are. So as the saying goes,

You miss 100 % of the shots you don't take. And now without further ado, let's hear from Juliane.

Clara Purk (03:37)
Hello, Julianne. How are you?

Julianne Sitch (03:39)
I'm great. How are you doing, Clara?

Clara Purk (03:41)
I'm good. Thank you so much for joining me on She Is Bossy today.

Julianne Sitch (03:45)
Thank you for having me. I'm honored to be here and excited for the conversation.

Clara Purk (03:49)
yeah, it's gonna be great.

So how have you been? What have you been up to? Anything exciting going on this week?

Julianne Sitch (03:56)
⁓ been great just enjoying the beautiful weather in Denver. Our team did a lovely, ⁓ sunrise run hike today, ⁓ in a local mountain. So that was really fun to get out and beautiful sunrise, lots of deer out. So it actually just turned out being perfect. So that's kind of like the highlight of the week so far.

Clara Purk (04:14)
That's awesome. I love sunrises. have to say sunrises are like one of my favorite things in the world. Just like watching the color and the rainbow come up over the horizon. So doing that on a nice hike is always great.

Julianne Sitch (04:27)
Yes, I agree. Sunrises are quite incredible. We kind of talked about that. Sunrise or sunset? I like sunsets, but I like sunrises because it just like rises on a new day and new opportunities. So I think I have to go with sunrises.

Clara Purk (04:40)
Yeah, it's a tough call, but I'm with you on that. Awesome. Well, I'd love for you to share a little more about your story and your background ⁓ and what first drew you to soccer and when did you realize it would be such a central part of your life?

Julianne Sitch (04:42)
Yeah.

Yeah, ⁓ I just remember kind of just playing around as a kid. ⁓ and I joined like a park district little team when I was about five years old. my dad was the coach, some local friends, but I was actually the only girl on an all boys team. So I, I felt like early on, I just loved sports and I felt like more of like a tomboy. So I loved the fact that I was playing with all boys, and just kind of running around and stuff. So.

Clara Purk (05:11)
Wow.

Julianne Sitch (05:21)
That's kind of when I first got into it and then kind of just continued to play all other sports, but always just had a love for soccer. think I really loved the competitiveness of it. I loved that I could hit people like there was contact. I liked the running aspect of it. So I just kind of found that really enjoyable. And then like I said, I played all other sports and then really I would say.

⁓ Late in elementary school, started playing like more competitively and different like competitive clubs and just really continued to find a love for it that by the time I was in high school, I had decided to step away from all other sports and just focus on soccer. And so that was, I think I always had a special love for it. It was definitely something that I always really enjoyed over the other sports. And so.

I think by the time, like I said, when I got to high school, it was like my main focus and I just wanted to have that. But I do remember at a very young age of five, when I first started playing soccer, I did tell my dad that I wanted to be a professional soccer player. So it was like, ever since then, I kind of like molded everything of like my extra training and kicking the ball against the wall that drove my parents nuts and you know, like things like that, that I just kind of always remember wanting to do extra involving soccer to, to hopefully one day play professionally.

Clara Purk (06:41)
Yeah, and you made it. You made that dream come true. Tell

Julianne Sitch (06:45)
Yes, yes, I was fortunate with that.

Clara Purk (06:48)
me a little bit more about that transition from being kind of more on the amateur side into professional. What was the biggest change that you had to face there?

Julianne Sitch (06:57)
Yeah, I think, well, I was graduating college kind of during the arrow and like the Woosa was around and then by my senior year, the Woosa had folded and so there was no like pro team or pro league in the U S and so I had to make a decision my senior year spring season in college to go abroad and play in Sweden and or not play professionally. That was kind of like the route at that time. So

I would say like that was probably like the biggest challenge I had to face was like, I had always been around my family and my friends. I, you know, was very close even like when I went to college, I went to DePaul University, which was, you know, local to my area and stuff like that. So I would say to step away and kind of leave, leave home and go pursue my dream. ⁓

Clara Purk (07:44)
Yeah.

Julianne Sitch (07:47)
It also, my mom passed away when I was in college from cancer my junior year. So it was less than a year that my mom had just passed away that this opportunity came. And so I think that was the biggest challenge was I was going to leave my dad, ⁓ you know, and leave him at home and my brother and my sister and me go and bark on this like journey and opportunity. And, you know, obviously I had

Clara Purk (07:56)
Wow.

Yeah.

Julianne Sitch (08:12)
full support from all of my family to do this. But I definitely think that was a challenge for me, especially during that pivotal time in our lives of grieving the loss of my mom to also now go chase something and be a part of something that has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. So I knew my mom would definitely support me with that. ⁓ But that was hard to have that transition and now be in Sweden by myself.

Clara Purk (08:30)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Julianne Sitch (08:41)
which I got hooked up with a pretty awesome family that I was an all-pair for, that I still am in touch with today. So it all worked out great and they are like a second family to me. So that's amazing.

Clara Purk (08:52)
That's amazing. And I think people go through so many hard decisions, especially with family and moving and for you moving to a completely different country, moving abroad. So I think that's really inspiring that you felt that support of your family and that you were motivated to go and pursue your dream there.

Julianne Sitch (09:11)
Yeah,

absolutely. And I mean, that is throughout my whole career. You are away from family. You're away from friends. You're missing a lot. mean, especially at that age, my friends and stuff started to get married or have kids. And, you know, I missed out on some of that. was fortunate to make a lot of their weddings and different things. But yeah, your commitment is playing the sport, which takes you away from a lot of those life things that are happening at those ages and stuff. So that was definitely

Clara Purk (09:17)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Julianne Sitch (09:41)
that was hard with that transition and just knowing the dedication that needed to come with being a professional athlete and you know, where can I find that balance to still be there for my friends and family with that? And I think too, just the other challenge in realizing too is the demands, right? Like it's your job, like, and everything you do revolves around like making sure that you feel good mentally, you feel good physically, and that you're taking care of yourself to perform at the best that you can.

Clara Purk (09:57)
Right.

Yeah, absolutely.

So I know that, you know, as you've moved to different teams and coach different teams, and especially at the collegiate level, you know, you have different players coming in and out the door every year. How do you build trust with your players, ⁓ especially when either you're coming in as a new leader or you're coming in with or new people are coming into your program?

Julianne Sitch (10:32)
Yeah. So something that I started doing early when I started coaching at U Chicago, ⁓ I had started working with the team in the spring and through the spring slash into the winter started doing like small group little like going to the coffee shop and just like asking questions and getting to know the players more and like, what are they about? You know, like, why are they at U Chicago? What motivates them just like anything really just starting to get to know them as people.

⁓ and I found that to be really powerful and it was like a really big eye opener for me. because I think too, like I came into coaching and was coaching athletes, like potentially the way that I had been coached or things that I had experienced, like I was, I was offering that because that's my experience and, really getting to understand and learn like what makes these athletes motivated, like what are they looking for? And I think that was something that.

Clara Purk (11:28)
Mm-hmm.

Julianne Sitch (11:31)
I had missed when I first started at UChicago. And so when I did that, it really opened my eyes to learning more about my athletes and how can I help them grow and develop. So I had always started that from every place that I had went on. And I can attest to that is something that I missed here at Denver my first year. I didn't do that.

So I saw the difference. I felt the difference in myself with my relationships with my players and not developing that. And that was a huge miss for me. And so that was a really good lesson for me in learning that like those moments are valuable. ⁓ One, it also allows them to see us as human, you know, and not just a coach. And it's the same, we get to see them as a human and not just our athletes. And so...

Clara Purk (11:57)
Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Julianne Sitch (12:21)
I have had two sides of that. I have had the moments where I have done that and the relationships that it has built and the relationships that I still have with former players to an opportunity where I had missed that and seeing what that has also been. And so for me, that is something that has gone really well with me is like connecting with them on those and going out and grabbing coffee away from the office, going for a walk, go do something different. ⁓

to really just get to know each other more as people. Because I do believe too, when there is those relationships built, and I believe this in like a culture as well and for a team, like when those relationships are built off the field and you have those like genuine relationships, like, and you learn more about people and their vulnerabilities and what they have gone through, like the respect for each other has grown.

that bond has been built that like when that bond and relationship is strong off the field, like man, the things that you can do as a team on the field. And, you know, I've been a part of a lot of different cultures and a lot of different teams and, know, for myself as a player and a coach and have seen like when that chemistry off the field and how it relates and translates to on the field. And so those are, you know, things that I try to really like do. Am I perfect at it? No.

Like, you know, I'm still learning and growing as a coach as well, but I definitely know that ⁓ I have felt the difference from when I've done it to when I have not. ⁓ And, you know, just, I think you build trust and stuff through those relationships and through conversations. And like I said, just being able to be vulnerable with one another and learn and grow, learn about each other.

Clara Purk (14:01)
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And what I really liked about what you were saying was when you ask people about what are their motivations, you know, why are they here? Everyone's different. And you can't, you know, think that player X is the same as player Y or that your motivations are the same as someone else. And so that really helps you get to the bottom of, you know, why people are there and how to how to motivate them and help them through, you know, any challenges as a team, for sure.

⁓ Awesome. So I remember when I saw on Instagram that you Chicago men's team had won the division title and you led them to victory as the first ⁓ woman to lead a men's team to an NCAA championship. And I was, I thought that was just the coolest thing. ⁓ And so you've broken some serious ground in male dominated space sounds like all the way back to when you first started playing soccer.

⁓ But would love to know kind of what mindset did you bring into that role that you think made you so successful?

Julianne Sitch (15:07)
Yeah, I think for myself, I just went in to be myself, my authentic self. That's what I told myself. Like I, for me, I'm coaching athletes and I want to help the athletes be the best that they can be both on and off the field. And it doesn't matter from coaching male or females or old athletes or young athletes. Like there was no difference for me. ⁓ And so with that, ⁓ I just went in with, I'm going to be my authentic self.

I'm going lead with vulnerability and I'm just going to be here and be me. ⁓ know, and so that's kind of how I approached it with that ⁓ and just kind of took on and coached the same way that I had been coaching. Obviously you evolve and learn and grow with every situation that you're in. So yeah, it just kind of brought like my knowledge and tried to be true to myself.

Clara Purk (15:59)
Yeah, I love that message of authenticity and not changing who you are because you you were picked for that role for a reason so stick with that and what works. What advice do you have for other women who are stepping into spaces where they may be kind of the first or the only in that space?

Julianne Sitch (16:16)
Yeah, I think you just kind of alluded to it. My biggest thing is like own it. Like you are in the position because you are great. Like you are in the position because you deserve it. You've worked hard and you know, like I think just owning it and believing in yourself and be authentic. You know, and I think more than anything today, people are looking for the authenticity and being yourself. And so for me, it's just like trust in the information that you have and trust and believe in what you can offer because you're there for a reason.

Clara Purk (16:45)
Yeah, definitely. I talk to a lot of people where imposter syndrome is always a challenge. So I think having that self-confidence and trying to motivate yourself first is always really helpful too.

Julianne Sitch (16:58)
Yeah, absolutely.

Clara Purk (17:00)
All right, so I know mental toughness is huge in sports, ⁓ you know, particularly as you're coaching teams through ups and downs, wins and losses, as we've alluded to, but also important as a coach for you to kind of retain that mental toughness as well. So curious on both sides, how do you coach kind of that mental toughness and ability to overcome those setbacks, but then also, you know, practicing it and maintaining that for yourself?

Julianne Sitch (17:28)
Yeah, I think one, like putting them in situations that they maybe have already failed in or felt like they have failed in or areas that they need to continue to grow in to help build that resiliency, ⁓ you know, and continue to help with that mental toughness aspect and like what you teach within that or the session of it, ⁓ you know, and so like take fitness, for example, like you run a fitness test the first time, maybe they're not passing it or they're not doing as well, but it's like,

what lessons are being taught within that fitness stuff to help build that resiliency, build that self-belief that they can overcome and that they can reach this. And so, just I think putting them in the situations where they can see that self-growth and they can overcome those situations, that teaches the confidence and that self-belief in one another that we can do hard things. And sometimes I don't think we realize...

what hard things we actually can do, you know, and like not selling ourselves short and that stuff and it may not happen right away and that's okay. Like that is okay. And, but if you work hard for it and you go after it you put everything into it, like it's going to happen. It's going to come and you're going to overcome those. And so I think continuing to teach that the discipline with it so that it ⁓ you can continue to build that mindset. ⁓ We talk about this like,

Soccer and sports in general, like 90 % mental and 10 % physical. Like there's a lot of different things that go on, a lot of outside noise and things that you have to like filter through with that. So ⁓ mental toughness in general is a big aspect that we could be working on all the time for athletes. ⁓ Visualizing yourself being successful, again, putting yourself in situations where maybe...

man, I'm missing the shot all the time and putting yourself in that environment and practicing it and stuff to be able to see the growth within that. So definitely doing things that help athletes build that resilience towards ⁓ that and showing them that like their mental side, what they really truly can overcome. And like as a coach and like for myself, like I practice this, you know, like all the time, like just in my daily life or journaling about things or aspects or putting myself in situations that are tough for me.

⁓ you know, that I can also build that resiliency, you know, through that. Because I think I also have to continue to evolve and adapt and grow with the game so that I can be able to give that information and help my team through that as well. So I challenge myself in those same ways, ⁓ leadership courses, meeting with mentors, different books or different situations that, you know, I put myself in to continue to make sure that I'm growing so that I have the tools to be able to help my team.

Clara Purk (20:10)
Yeah, yeah, no, that makes a ton of sense. I, I'm thinking it's almost like you can't shy away from fail situations where you think you might fail, you have to go after them because they're just obstacles for you to overcome. ⁓ And I, you know, I think about obviously, we're talking about soccer, and I'm on like a rec league in Nashville, and I just am not a good scorer at all. But keeping like trying to keep taking shots, and eventually one of them will go in. And if I don't take any

shots, then I'm not going to get any better at it. ⁓ that's the, you know, comes to mind for me at the very least, obviously on a very different level. But, ⁓ you know, I think it's it's a good point if you you're not going to develop that mental toughness if you're not putting yourself in the situations that challenge you. So don't let that be afraid, make you afraid.

Julianne Sitch (20:59)
Yeah,

absolutely. like that, like for me and like my life, I think about all of my failures or setbacks and like that's where I grew the most. That's where I learned the most. Like, and so is it hard? Is it hard to be in those moments? Is it hard to like potentially face up or look yourself in the mirror and be like, wow, I really messed up or I failed here. Like, yeah, it's hard, right? And like sometimes swallowing your pride within that and like.

Clara Purk (21:08)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Julianne Sitch (21:25)
But like for me, like my biggest setbacks and my biggest failures is like even if it was hard for me to like admit or to see or to want to feel that like that is where I found all of my most growth or success and I just feel like if you're not failing then you're not growing, you know, ⁓ and so that for me is like one of the biggest things it's like you should be failing you want to fail because you're going to grow and you're gonna find success on the other end of that and like

Clara Purk (21:39)
Mm-hmm.

Julianne Sitch (21:54)
being okay with failure. Failure is a part of the process of it, right? And like you just said, if you don't take those shots, then you're probably never gonna get the outcome that you want. And so, you know, that quote Michael Jordan, or, you know, you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take. And I think too, like sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone, that's hard, you know, and, but you're gonna grow, you know, and you're gonna learn and develop and stuff through that as well. So it definitely is scary.

Clara Purk (21:56)
Yeah.

Yep.

Julianne Sitch (22:22)
⁓ you know, if you're going to fail, fail forward, you know, I had some other words that I say that I don't think are appropriate for the podcast, but like, I have another slogan for my team. Like if you're going to mess up, mess up like with confidence, right? Like, I think that's like the biggest thing. Like for me, if you're going to mess up, mess up with confidence and own it and be like, yeah, I failed there and I'm going to learn from it and I'm going to be better and I'm going to grow. And I think that's, you know, where a lot of success comes from.

Clara Purk (22:25)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, and I think embedded in what you were saying too that's important is you can't just, you know, fail, but what do you do with that failure? What do you learn from it? And part of that is like admitting, which is the hardest part, that you did fail. Because if you don't, it's going to be a really expensive, you know, mistake because you're not going to move forward from it. So it's both being willing to fail, but then also being willing, like you said, to look yourself in the mirror and say, what can I learn from this and how can I get better?

Julianne Sitch (23:14)
Absolutely.

Clara Purk (23:16)
along those lines, ⁓ it sounds like you inspire a culture of fail forward or things like that with your team, but what are some other key components of a strong team culture and how do you try and intentionally shape that culture as a coach?

Julianne Sitch (23:31)
Yeah, I mean, I think I kind of talked about like the relationships and building that aspect as well. I think that's like huge and like the respect for each other. you know, also to just like, like, what kind of teammate are you? I think that's like a huge one. Like, are you elevating the environment that you're in? You know, are you holding people to excellence in the standards that we have? Are you bringing your best effort every single day? We've called it, we have like the fiveies of a champion minded teammate, you know, and

We just like being able to be team first as well. Like that's huge importance of this. ⁓ Like soccer is a team sport and like really wanting to see your teammates excel and be successful within that. ⁓ You know, even if that potentially means like you're not reaching maybe the goal that you'd set for yourself or you're not, know, like it's still like.

how can you elevate one another and really like cheer each other on to be at their best? And I think like when you're in that cohesiveness and you really truly want what's best for your teammates, ⁓ you find a lot of success, right? We also talk about, know, like not, ⁓ it's amazing what you can achieve when you don't care about who gets the reward or who gets the name of that, right? Like, and so when you do that, you're on a team.

and you're ready to move forward and stuff. that culture, I think, is really huge as well, along with the building relationships and the competitiveness. Everyone wants to be a part of a competitive environment. So building that competitiveness, that healthy competition that really pushes the team moving forward.

Clara Purk (25:08)
Yeah, it's in that, you know, obviously in soccer, you have to pass the ball, right? And so it's kind of that, you know, don't try and get all the glory, try and see what the opportunities are and make those available for your team. ⁓ So coaching is definitely intense and all consuming. And, you know, like you said, a lot of travel time away from home. ⁓ How do you take care of your own wellbeing, whether it's mentally, physically or emotionally? What are some tactics that you use?

Julianne Sitch (25:19)
Yeah.

Yes. So, well, one, my wife and I do our best and we are pretty good about this, but like dinner time is like our time. Like we don't have phones, we sit at the table, we have a candlelit dinner every once in a while. Like just make it a cozy space and we just like sit and have dinner. And like that's our time when we come home from work to like, we invest in that or we're sitting somewhere else and

just chatting about the day, but there is no phone. So dinner, would say, is our main priority of where it's just the two of us to be able to talk about the day and share stories and be together. That's very intentional for us in that aspect. And then whatever comes after that. Right now, we're watching Yellow Jacket. So right now, we're hugging the Yellow Jacket.

Clara Purk (26:28)
Okay.

Is it good? it worth watching? Should I add it to the queue? Okay.

Julianne Sitch (26:33)
You should probably add it to the queue. It's

weird, but it's good. It's like a, it's, it's I enjoy it. Yes. So, or we play like games or do something different at the night or just honestly, like we don't watch a lot of TV and just like hang out. ⁓ and so, but just definitely like having that time and yes, it's difficult to like in season, you saw a film or your different prepping things. But like I said, that dinner aspect is something that it's like, that's us. And like, we don't touch that. ⁓

Clara Purk (26:39)
Okay.

Yeah.

Julianne Sitch (27:02)
And things that I do for myself, like I'm, we talk about the sunrise, I'm an early riser. So I really love to get up in the morning. It is quiet. No one else is around. And it's just like me and the dogs and the fireplace and a cup of coffee and some water. And it's just like, I journal for the day or set intentions for the day. Try to do some reading, like self, you know, like ⁓ self reads and stuff like that. ⁓ And then working out. ⁓ That is something that is important to me. ⁓

Clara Purk (27:10)
Yeah.

Julianne Sitch (27:32)
Kind of like we were talking about that. No one's telling me what to do and what to need, but like that is something like for me that I call it fit for life. You know, just telling my kids, you're going to be fit for life, right? Like you're going to take this with you. And that's something that, you know, brings confidence to me and something that I really, ⁓ that I value. I enjoy it. I love it. I'm doing different races. I got into triathlons after playing. That was kind of my like.

Clara Purk (27:39)
Mm-hmm.

Julianne Sitch (27:58)
my shift of I'm done playing and now I'm gonna be this like pro triathlete that I wasn't, but you know, it was cool to dream about that. And so just like doing a lot of different exercises and stuff now, but that is like my time in the morning is the me time. It's the only quiet time that I have of the day. And so I really value that time just to have to set myself up for the day.

Clara Purk (28:15)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, yeah, I think that's great. I mean, both of those the, you know, it's kind of boundaries around dinner and then around your me time as well. And the standards that you hold yourself to because work, you know, for anyone can be all consuming, like people will take as much as you will give them. And so but if you're not taking the time for yourself or for, you know, investing in your family or things like that, you're you're not going to show up as your best self at work. And so making sure that you have those boundaries, I think it's

It's great to hear that, you know, here, that's how you're kind of enforcing them and making sure that you're showing up as your best self.

Julianne Sitch (28:57)
Yes, it definitely there's times of the year where it's easier. Other times it's harder. Like season is hard. But I think one thing that I've had to learn to do is, you know, I was a person that was like, I have to work out for an hour when I was training for triathlons. Like that was two hours of my day, if not more of like training. And I don't always have that luxury right now. And now it's about like, I'm moving my body. I feel great. This makes me feel good and confident about myself. And sometimes it's a 20 minute lift session where I just like,

Clara Purk (29:03)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Julianne Sitch (29:27)
rage in the and we call it our pain cave. rage in the pain cave and get a quick lift in of 20 minutes or, know, like walking the dog. Like there's just different things that I've had to. Like I wouldn't say like bend on, but I've had to be like, okay, I have 20 minutes. That's still a good workout or I have 30 minutes to run here. That's still a good workout. Like, and try to like find that balance because I think during some other periods I was like, Oh my gosh, I don't have the time and I didn't do it.

Clara Purk (29:43)
Yeah.

Julianne Sitch (29:52)
and I didn't like the way that I felt about myself. didn't, you it was something that I was missing and something that was really like important to me and having that time. And so I think I did have to shift my mindset a little bit of like, I'm probably not gonna get the hour workout maybe in the fall season. However, I get to do this. Like I get to move my body for 20 minutes. I get to move my body for 30. I'm gonna buy this weighted vest and walk on an incline and lift weights at the same time. And my wife makes fun of me because she thinks like I look like an old person with.

Clara Purk (29:54)
Yeah.

Hehehehehe

Julianne Sitch (30:20)
walking under treadmill and lifting weights at the same time. However,

I have 20 minutes, I gotta get a workout, this is what I'm doing. So, ⁓ I think too, it's just about finding the balance and doing the things that are important to you. If it's important to you, you'll find the time. And so that is like where I have shifted just a little bit of my thought with that.

Clara Purk (30:31)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, it's great. It's, you know, something sort of the nothing everything's progress and that repetition in that mindset does a whole lot more than, you know, giving up because you don't have the whole time. So I that makes a lot of sense. All right. So I know you talked about the triathlon, is, uh, so maybe that answers this question, but what's next for you? Any other big goals or dreams? It sounds like you achieved your goal that you set when you were five. So what's, what's next?

Julianne Sitch (31:11)
Yeah, I don't know. I kind of just enjoy setting like different little goals and different things, you know, for myself. Like I said, I got into triathlon after I retired from playing and did quite a few of half Ironmans. I did an Ironman with Shannon. That was really cool. And

now getting into my first trail run now that I live here in Colorado. So that's like the bucket list and doing that this year. But I would really say like just enjoying, like finding the moments to just like enjoy life and do the things that I love. I think one of the things about being in Colorado is it's such an active life here. Like everyone is active and there's so many things to do. So continuing to take advantage of like those, you know, I think we have a 14 around our list this year.

Clara Purk (31:36)
yeah.

Julianne Sitch (32:00)
to go to another 14 year to go and do. So really just, I would say like kind of those are my goals of just, yeah, enjoying life and kind of soaking in everything that's around and having that.

Clara Purk (32:00)
fun.

There you go, enjoying life. That's a good dream to have.

Julianne Sitch (32:15)
Yes. ⁓

Clara Purk (32:18)
All right, I have a couple of just sort of rapid fire questions to close out. ⁓ What's a pregame ritual you can't skip?

Julianne Sitch (32:25)
As a player or coach, ⁓ kind of going to like, ⁓ a pregame ritual that I can't skip, honestly, probably like just kicking a soccer ball around before like warmups, like just being out on the field and hitting some balls with people, whether it's player or another coach. And Steven and I just like drive balls, Cass joins us sometimes. So I think that is like, I just love being on the ball right before like a game.

Clara Purk (32:28)
Either both.

Yeah,

yeah, get that.

Julianne Sitch (32:53)
I always have to put

my left cleats on before my right. Left cleat, then right. That's always been a ritual my whole entire life. It's never changed. Yeah.

Clara Purk (32:59)
Okay, that's a good one. I

like it. ⁓ Who's a coach that you admire most?

Julianne Sitch (33:06)
⁓ would say Emma Hayes. I think she coached me with the Red Stars and I think it's been really inspiring to watch like how much she has evolved as a coach. ⁓ and I think I have really learned a lot about her and just her journey. ⁓ you know, when she had coached at Red Stars and then unfortunately had got let go halfway through the season and just to watch like the

Clara Purk (33:09)
Great.

Julianne Sitch (33:30)
the different challenges and adversity that she went through throughout her career to like where she is now. To me, that's like really inspiring to see. And I love that she's like very vulnerable and open about it. Cause I feel like it helps other coaches be really open and vulnerable about it. Cause coaching can be hard. And sometimes, you know, like we're all high achievers and we maybe don't want to admit that we failed, but we have. like, you know, and I think just watching her and listening to her.

Clara Purk (33:47)
Mm-hmm.

Julianne Sitch (33:58)
and how much she has grown over the years to where she is now is like, is just someone that I really admire and look up to. And if I ever had an opportunity to like observe her or work under her, even though she was my coach at one time, I very much like that to me would be really truly like an incredible opportunity to have. I think she's in his, yeah.

Clara Purk (34:16)
That's awesome.

Yeah, and back to kind of learning from failures and being resilient and all of those things. It's always inspiring to see other people do that so you're less afraid to do it yourself.

Julianne Sitch (34:26)
Yes, yes. And she's just someone that kept my dream alive, like playing and stuff. And so, you know, I really thank her for that as well.

Clara Purk (34:36)
That's awesome. Thanks, Emma. ⁓

Julianne Sitch (34:38)
Yeah, big Yama.

Clara Purk (34:41)
All right, any other closing thoughts or words of wisdom to share?

Julianne Sitch (34:47)
⁓ I just think like for myself, I say this a lot. for me, it's just like a phrase, like where there's a will, there's a way. and I think just like, I think going after the things that you want and not letting anyone tell you, you can't do something. cause I think about that a lot. If I ever listened to the people that tell me that I would never be a professional athlete or I'll never reach that goal or I would never be there. I wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation with you,

know, like it just, ⁓ never listened to the people that say that you can't do something.

and always believing in the beauty of your dream. So that would be like my biggest thing.

Clara Purk (35:19)
I love that.

That's very inspiring. I'm gonna take that to heart. All right, well, thank you so much, Juliana. It's been a pleasure chatting with you and I'm really excited for everyone to hear our conversation.

Julianne Sitch (35:32)
Awesome. Well, thank you again, Claire, for having me. I really appreciate it. Enjoy the conversation.

Clara Purk (35:36)
Awesome.

Clara Purk (35:38)
Wow, what a great interview. I hope you guys all feel as inspired as I do to go out and chase your dreams, learn from your failures, and show up as your authentic self. This was such a fun interview for me, and I'm hoping to keep finding really cool people to interview and get their perspective and share it all with you on how to show up better in the workplace, how to show up better in life, and just

really keep trying to bring different perspectives and insights that are helping you. So if you're enjoying She Is Bossy, please do not forget to follow if you don't already subscribe so that you don't miss any new content. You can also leave a rating and review if you so choose so that other people can find and listen to the pod as well.

And I'm also trying to ramp up on Instagram to get some more listeners as well. So check out she.is.bossy on Instagram and give it a follow for some fun clips from each of the episodes. And if you have any other feedback, give me a holler. You know where to find me. All right.

I'll talk to you in a few weeks. Stay bossy.