Digital Social Hour - The Secret to Fast Career Growth in Sports | Lisa Caprara DSH #679

Episode Date: August 30, 2024

🚀 Unlock the secret to fast career growth in sports with Lisa Caprara on the Digital Social Hour! Join Sean Kelly as he dives into an inspiring conversation packed with valuable insights and personal stories. From working with the New York Yankees as a stadium host to becoming a motivational mindset coach, Lisa's journey is a testament to the power of networking and resilience. 🌟   Tune in now to discover how Lisa navigated her career with passion and determination, overcoming challenges and embracing new opportunities. Learn about her near-death experience that profoundly shaped her mindset, and her mission to inspire others. Don't miss out on this eye-opening episode filled with authentic stories and actionable advice.   Watch now and subscribe for more insider secrets. 📺 Hit that subscribe button and stay tuned for more captivating stories on the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly! 💪 Join the conversation and elevate your career game today!   CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 00:25 - Lisa from Tampa 05:52 - Near Death Experience 09:24 - Social Media and Mental Health 11:17 - Impact of Trauma 12:12 - Overcoming Victim Mentality 13:57 - Health is Wealth 16:38 - Current Projects 19:34 - Lisa's Coaching Activities 21:15 - Benefits of Traveling 21:40 - NIL Deals Explained 22:58 - Connecting with Lisa 23:17 - Conclusion   APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [e-mail]   GUEST: Lisa Caprara https://www.instagram.com/lisa_caps   SPONSORS: Deposyt Payment Processing: https://www.deposyt.com/seankelly   LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

she's screaming at right then boom i got hit going 45 miles per hour kid was high wow cops were right there because they were going to pull him over anyway and then i went airborne holy fell to the ground i didn't know what hit me i didn't know what hit me so i got right back up walked to my mom and i said that was fun i want to do it again. And then passed out again immediately. All right, guys. We got Lisa here from Tampa, right? Yeah. Well, I'm from New Jersey, but I live in Tampa now. Yeah.

You mentioned you got family in Bridgewater where I grew up. Yeah. That is crazy. Small world. I've never heard that, by the way. No? No. Because Bridgewater is kind of like a random town in Jersey.

Yeah. It's close to a lot of Raritan. It's over there. Yeah. Yeah. And you did some work with the Yankees, right? Jersey. Yeah, it's close to like a lot of like Raritan. It's over there. Yeah. Yeah. And you did some work with the Yankees, right? Yeah. Yeah.

In-game stadium hosts. That's awesome. For spring training in Tampa, Florida. How did all that happen? So basically in college, you know, I wanted to get an internship, like junior year, like that. And I've always grew up loving the New York Yankees. And when I found out the spring training was in Tampa, Florida, I was like, wow, this is

perfect. I have to get involved. So I got an internship there, and then it all started right from that. I started growing. I started getting new opportunities, worked in the broadcast booth, directing, doing audio, camera, every position. I did show control, operating all the advertisements on the board for spring training, and met a lot of great people.

Brilliant. I didn't know they did their training in Tampa. I guess because it's warmer out there. Yeah. Yeah. It's hot. It gets really hot. Yeah. New York's freezing. So that makes sense. We got the best pizza though in New York. Oh yeah. There's no debate. Some people say Connecticut, but I don't know. I don't know. I've never tried it, so I can't speak from experience, but New York's got to be tough.

Yeah. The water. It's all because of the water. Yup. They have machines in Vegas that create New York water for pizza out here oh really yeah I have to try it out yeah Prince Street Pizza that's probably my favorite spot out here okay shout out to Prince Street how do you think you were able to climb the rank so quickly with the Yankees because you just leveled up so quick right yeah it's all about you know networking and talking to as many people as possible and I feel like my energy and my motivation to want to grow at a fast pace helped me get to where I'm at today. East Coast mentality.

Yeah. Northeast. Northeast specifically. Yeah. We got that work ethic, that chip on our shoulder. Because when I moved out here, people aren't the same. People are just slow. Slow.

They don't care. And they're in La La Land sometimes. Yeah. It took me a while to get used to it. I mean, I don't know.. People are just slow. They don't care. And they're in La La Land sometimes. Yeah. It took me a while to get used to it. I mean, I don't know. It's not my vibe. Like, I can literally talk to someone and know what they're going to answer.

Like, I'm talking to myself, basically. Yeah, you know, it's hard to get satisfied and to settle. So I'm always wondering, like, what's next? Yeah, absolutely. Are you at every Yankees game now? Not every Yankees game, but I do work for the YES Network, covering the social media for the

the yes network the yes app everything streaming um yankees brooklyn nets like that and i do all the social media i don't work every single game but a lot of them i do nice who do you think the best yankee player of all time is oh wow the best of all time that's a hard question it is you're gonna get some hate no matter what you say. There are so many incredible Yankee players out there. I personally have to say I've never seen them myself or met them personally, but Thurman Monson is probably the closest connection that I would have because I was a part of an off-Broadway play called The Bat Boy with my really good family friend Ray Negron,

who works for the New York Yankees, who was very close with george steinbrenner and he taught me everything about that time period you know reggie jackson all those guys katharine all those guys and i had to play the role of diana munson so yeah that was very challenging because i had to cry live in front of veterans suffering with PTSD. That's tough. So to put myself in that character, in her shoes, losing your husband in a crash, a helicopter crash, that was, I couldn't imagine getting that phone call. So I had to break down and actually feel her emotions. That's tough.

I don't think I could cry on demand like that, especially in front of an audience props to you for doing that. Thank you. Yeah. It wasn't easy. I had to think of something really sad. I had to imagine like, I kind of put myself in the mindset of like, imagine I got the phone call, my father passed away or something like that to make myself cry. Wow. Yeah. So are you wanting to get into acting full time eventually? Yes. I love acting. It's amazing. Any genres you gravitate towards? Honestly, anything. You know, I could put myself in any character and be successful. That's impressive.

To wear a lot of hats, you got to be skilled. Yeah. Because some people kind of fit one acting persona their whole career. Yeah, then you limit your success. You never want to say no to opportunity. And it's cool because you get to figure out your full potential like when you try different things and you put yourself in different shoes you learn about the character and that's what helps you you know perform well who are some actors actresses that you really look up to you think they're the hey prime members are you tired of ads interfering with your favorite podcasts?

Good news. With Amazon Music, you have access to the largest catalog of ad-free top podcasts included with your Prime membership. To start listening, download the Amazon Music app for free or go to Amazon.com slash ad-free podcasts. That's Amazon.com slash ad-free podcasts to catch up on the latest episodes without the ads. Best in their game. Chaz Palminteri. I'm really old school. I love the movie The Bronx Tale.

And my cousin Vinny, Joe Pesci, Marissa Tomei killed it in that film. She was awesome. Yeah, there's so many movies. I gravitate towards the older movies. Yeah, me too. Than the newer ones. Me too. I feel like it's lost its touch almost. I feel like it's too, I don't know if there's too much money involved or something, but

it just loses the message almost. Yeah, it's almost like, you know, the old school is like real. It's not filtered. It's more relatable. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I used to love horror movies, but I get too many nightmares from them now, so. Yeah, scary movies aren't really my thing.

Yeah, I take a step back from those. I like The Vow too with Channing Tatum. The romance movies. That was based off a true story too. Really? Yeah, Tatum in his prime. Yeah, he's good. Man.

21 Jump Street. Oh yeah, I've seen that one. Classic. I've seen that like 10 times. So you had a near-death experience? Yes. What happened? April 20th, 2006.

420? Yeah, 420. Were you were you high no but the driver was oh the driver that hit me was high oh my gosh yeah i got hit by a black mustang going 45 miles per hour and it really changed my life in that moment because i felt like i got everything taken from me when i blacked out that experience really opened up my eyes you know when I got hit so basically my sister Gina she had soccer practice and you know me and my mom my sister we went to go to Burnett barbecue in Union New Jersey and as we were exiting you know the restaurant we parked across the street so you know little me I was about what nine something

like that I'm in the middle of the street my mother screams stop you know as loud as she can and i'm wondering like what what is she yelling at what is she on if you heard your mother scream stop you know you would want to turn around and be like what is she screaming at right then boom i got hit going 45 miles per hour kid was high wow cops were right there because they were gonna pull him over anyway and then i went airborne holy fell to the ground hit my head shit my tooth i didn't know what hit me i didn't know what hit me so i got right back up walked to my mom and i said that was fun i want to do it again and then passed out again immediately my sister ran to the neighbor's house kicked the door open stole the

phone called the police i had everyone and the brother coming around me looking down like oh my god is she okay is she okay screaming my face i had no clue what happened i had to be told that i got hit by a car wow it just happened so fast happened so fast you know when you're in the street and you see a car coming at you you would probably think to yourself like oh maybe i'll just jump up or maybe i'll just try to like, you know, avoid it. That thought doesn't come to your head at all. You don't even think car like you don't know what happens. Right.

Yeah. Because you don't even have time to process it because you didn't even see the car, right? No. It was behind you? Never saw the car. It came out. It was like a road straight and then it came like on a circle and then he just was speeding. He was getting pulled over as he hit me. And you were years old yeah it's about like nine yeah april 2006 something

like that yeah it's crazy so you had a massive concussion did you have brain damage no i was lucky it was a miracle oh nothing no so basically when i blacked out right i went to some place i don't know where i went i have no clue clue where I went. But I wasn't dreaming. And I didn't exist. I didn't exist. That's terrifying. That is terrifying. You know all these people talk about these problems they have in the world.

Or, you know, dealing with this and that. And when you want to talk about problems, imagine your whole life gets taken from you in one second. You're never going to see your mother again you're never gonna see your sister your brother your cousins your uncles your aunts you're never that you're never gonna see them again when i woke up the only thing i thought about was where are they where is my family because that i was terrified i thought i was never gonna see them again nothing else mattered. Money, dinner that night, nothing mattered in the world. I just wanted to see them one more time because I was so

nervous that if I was never going to see them again. No, that's deep. Yeah. At that age to have that experience is crazy. There's actually a book on near-death experiences and people describe something similar where they feel like they go to a place and then they come back. It really shaped me, you know, to be mentally tough and really strong. Yeah, I bet. So you and I grew up in a space where social media kind of became prominent, right? In high school, I think Instagram came out for us. Yeah.

And now you're kind of seeing the mental toll it's taking on people and all the cyberbullying and things. I feel like it started off with great intentions and I feel like it's taking a turn. Do you agree with that? Absolutely. Social media is an illusion of your best life that you're living. Nobody's going to sit there and post every day about how hurt they are from relationships. They lost their job. Someone in their family or friend died.

No one's going to talk about that. They're going to show you the perfect lifestyle that they imagine themselves to have 100 yeah and that's what people don't realize because they find themselves comparing a lot because of social media to people's instagram and that's not the guy's life or the girl's life yeah it's all it's all fake and then people actually start to believe it that's what what's crazy. It mentally ruins people, especially young kids. Yeah. They feel like they're not good enough to compete at a high level because of this post that has 20K likes, which is, you know, sometimes people just even buy their likes.

Yeah. Realistically. You know, some people aren't, they don't naturally organically grow their social media. Right. You know? Yeah. You shouldn't. Yeah.

I don't like when people compare followers or likes. I don't think that's how you should compare value or whatever. There'll be people like probably in high school too, kids nowadays, they'll be like, oh, I got, I got all these followers and you know, I got this and that. But it's sometimes it comes down to who follows you. Yeah. You see that with the TikTokers. Maybe you have a hundred bots following you.

Yeah. Or maybe you got three guys who will conquer the world that follow you. Those three are more valuable. It's a dangerous game to have that influence on your ego, having followers. Yeah. A lot of kids fall for that. Yeah. So it's about who follows you, what you value and how you want to grow.

That's how you should surround your circle with. Yep. Quality over quantity, right? Yeah. Yeah. I love that mindset. So the mental trauma from that incident, did that affect you for years after it might even still affect you now, right?

You know, I look at it as a good thing. I'm so lucky to be alive and I am inspired to teach young people, people of all ages to be tough, to be mentally tough, because what you're worrying about, what you're hurting about, it's only temporary. It's only a certain part of your life this problem whatever you're going through in your life everybody's got a story every single person has a story you're the author of your own story i always like to say that and basically yeah you know i just want to inspire people to be the best versions of themselves and just to not worry about that short rough patch you're going through because it's going to get better and it's going to even motivate you to be better you know whatever bad happens in your life it could turn into something good you know like when you're doing archery you know you're pulling the arrow back right

boom boom you're going back going back boom and it launches into something great that's how you got to look at those problems in life great mindset i wish i had it when i was in high school getting bullied and stuff yeah you know it's it's it happens a lot but you know you gotta put your foot down yeah stick up for yourself yeah I had victim mentality growing up did you have that too you know I never I came up like in an Italian household you know father's always hard on me and I love that I love you know having a hard core family structure I had a really good support system so I was raised like that you know to be mentally tough and to not take shit from anybody that's important family yeah so the guest before

you just said 90 of all violent crimes are committed by a single parent household a child of that environment yeah which is crazy yeah it's crazy yeah so family is super important and something people are kind of getting away from getting married and family divorce rates at 60 yeah so that the fact that you had that i think helped you a ton yeah sometimes too like for those people going through divorce it's better to be alone than the wrong relationship so you got to work on yourself you know work on healing yourself right and the traumas that you deal with it's very important because then that will open the doors for how you become successful you write your own future you could either be stuck in this mindset of, you know,

this happened to me, feel sorry about yourself. But guess what? Time still goes on. Yep. You can't control time. There's not a remote controller that you could purchase, that you could pause life or do this and that. You decide your decision.

Right. Yeah. Other than that Adam Sandler movie, Click, I think. Oh, Click, yeah. Yeah, that's a classic. Except for that. Yeah. Shout out to Adam Sandler, man., I think. Oh, Click, yeah. Yeah, that's a classic. Except for that. Yeah. Shout out to Adam Sandler, man.

That's my favorite actor. Yeah? Yeah. And he still looks the same. It's crazy. I know. It's insane. His genetics are nuts.

I still watch all his new Netflix movies now. And he's still the same dude. That's respect. You're going to have to ask him, you know, his routine. I know, right? What he eats every day. He's taking some stem cells or something. Are you big on health and wellness

mindset, stuff like that? Health is wealth. Health is wealth. If you don't have that, you have nothing. Absolutely. And I think it's important to share that for people our age too, because I was neglecting it like in my twenties, teenage years, but I'm starting to feel some pain now and I'm only 27. Yeah. It's a really important focus on your body. You know, you know, your body better than anyone else. Someone could like in the gym, someone could show you how to do something a certain way, but if it doesn't work for you and then it's not going important focus on your body. You know your body better than anyone else. In the gym, someone can show you how to do something a certain way, but if it doesn't work for you, then it's not going to help you. Right, and you were a pro soccer player, right?

So health was super important for you. Yeah, it's important to stretch, stay hydrated, take care of your body, listen to your body. If you have a cramp here, you've got to roll it out. You've got to be on top of it for sure. What position were you? Forward and midfield. So you were scoring. Yeah got to be on top of it. Yeah. For sure. What position were you? Forward and midfield. So you were scoring. Yeah.

Yeah. I was very aggressive. Okay. You were causing fights? Yeah. Yeah. I've got many yellow cards in my career. Damn.

Any red cards? No, actually, which is crazy. Anyone that knows me would say like they're surprised. So you could control that kind of emotional. Because I feel like when you get a red card, it's an emotional almost yeah you never want to drop down to that level you gotta um you know be the better person on the field never entertain especially when you're doing good when you're scoring when you're playing good um people get mad absolutely not even on the soccer field in general in life when you're yeah yeah especially in soccer though because you're scoring

in front of their face so they feel like you're better than them. So when you're, when you're successful and you're doing good in life, you get more eyes on you. Yeah. Bigger camera. Sure. Everybody's watching. So people are going to critique and they like to talk because they're born with

their own lives. Yeah. But I don't value their opinions. If you're like that, then you're smart. Yeah. But it's easy to, it's definitely easy to fall victim to comments and people's opinions. But then you look at their profile and it's like some random dude.

Yeah, people who struggle with that, my best advice is it's a waste of time, right? So you got to prioritize what's important and what's not. Your time is very valuable. You know, what you focus your energy on and what you're reading, what you're scrolling through on social media, is that going to help you? That's what everybody in the world should ask themselves. What I'm looking at right now, do I value this? Is this going to help me?

For sure. If not, it's a waste of time and you're better off doing something else. Yeah. A lot of mindless scrolling these days. Yeah. Yeah. Look at people's screen time. I think if I had to guess the average scroll time for people in our age group

has got to be above six hours a day. Yeah. I mean, they even track it too on the phone. I think you can like see the screen time. It's nuts. That's insane. Some be above six hours a day. Yeah. I mean, they even track it too on the phone. I think you can like see the screen time. It's nuts. That's insane. Some people do 10 hours a day. Don't your eyes hurt?

For real. Take the blue light off in your phone if that's the case. Yeah. No, for real. Those blue light blockers help me sleep. Yeah? Yeah. Yeah.

I use those at night actually. That's good. There's a setting on your phone too for it. Yeah. What are you working on these days? So basically I launched my own company called Mission Mindset and I motivate people to, and guide them to be successful. So whatever you want to do in life, you can call me and I could help you succeed in life.

I love that. So mindset coaching. Yeah. Mindset coaching. It's a big struggle right now. Life guidance coach, whatever you want to call it. Yeah. A lot of mental health problems right now. It's at an all time high. Yeah. Mindset coaching. That's a big struggle right now. Life guidance coach, whatever you want to call it. Yeah. A lot of mental health problems right now. It's at an all-time high. Yeah. Especially too for athletes specifically, because I coached at IMG Academy. I don't know

if you ever heard. No, I have. That's the top high school in the country, right? Yeah. Very great academy coach. I met kids from all over the world. It's amazing because if I don't even speak their language language it's cool because they still all share something in common like everybody you don't have to speak the same language to love soccer or football or baseball or swimming or whatever it is you know oh so some of them don't even speak english some kids yeah some kids don't speak english wow because they're from all over the country so they're recruiting the best of the best yeah interesting yeah because they're always good

uh i think football right yeah img, I always see them on YouTube. But it's a good environment. It's a really healthy environment. Everyone wants to get better every single day, you know, in the classroom, on the field, whether they want to play professionally, on the national team, or whatever. You get like a bunch of pro teams coming. We just saw, oh my gosh, we saw NYC, Red Bull. They were all training for preseason there.

And it's a good environment to surround yourself with. Do you see these kids under a lot of pressure? Like, do they feel like there's an intense amount of pressure on them because they want to make a living out of sports? Yeah, that's what being an athlete's all about, is pressure. If you can't handle pressure, you're not going to be a good athlete because an athlete goes through a lot under pressure. You're going to be, for instance, on the soccer field,

someone's pressuring you, going up against you. You're going to have to really make smart decisions and put your heart and soul into the sport. You got to play with heart. Right. And that's something that's not talked about because you could have two athletes, same skill level, but one just folds under pressure, right?

And then the other one thrives under pressure. And you see that in basketball with people that take buzzer beaters. And that's what separates a great athlete from just a normal one. Yeah, I like to tell people great athletes apply personality to their performance. I love that. So when you're working under pressure, think to your personality. Yeah. Have fun.

You're there to have fun, too. You love the game. That's why you're there. Yeah. No one's sitting there with a gun to your head yeah have fun you're there to have fun too you love the game that's why you're there yeah no one's sitting there with a gun to your head you got to play this game you got to do this now you're there because you're either good at it you love it you're passionate about it it's a passion it all starts with a passion yep one of my regrets is i didn't so i didn't have a father figure growing up i folded under pressure and i was really good at sports i ran a mile in 440 half mile mile in 159. That's awesome. But just pressure, man. And like I folded and I didn't have that guidance. But I was a really good athlete. But if I had a coach like you, honestly, it would have helped. Oh, thank you. For real. Like people

don't talk about the mental side of sports. Yeah. They just focus on like training and getting better physically. But there's a whole nother side to it. Yeah, definitely. People operate differently to like under pressure. You just have to remind yourself like why you even started in the first place or you know a lot of people have a chip on their shoulder they work for something or something like triggers them and that's what i would bring out my performance too like when i'm on the soccer field i would just i have so much energy it's insane i would never think twice to be like oh i'm tired or this and that because i was so engaged in what I was doing. I was so engaged.

I wanted to win. I wanted to be the best, the fastest person on the team. I was always number one in fitness and a lot of my fitness tests. And I like to set the bar high. You know, I like to be an inspiration to people. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of times I think like, you know, if you don't even like me, I still inspire you to go another direction.

Yeah. I love that. How long were you a pro for? Because you're still really young. Yeah, so I played in Tampa Bay for like a year. And then basically coached IMG Academy with all the younger kids after that. So you liked coaching more than playing? That's tough. I like them both. You know, there's nothing like putting your cleats on, your shin guards on and wearing a jersey. Being a part of something that's greater than yourself is unbelievable. Absolutely. And it's an honor.

What do you do outside of coaching? Outside of coaching, I'm a big foodie. Same. Italian? Yes, I'm all Italian. Love Italian. Sicilian. Okay.

I'm more thin crust, but I could vibe with it. Love food. Love going to restaurants, trying new things. I love traveling. And yeah, just living life, you know. Traveling is important. You learn a lot traveling. Yeah, you really do. Going different places, being open-minded, and learning about people who are from the

area is actually really interesting. Yeah. That's one of the benefits of sports, getting to travel, actually. Yeah. Experiencing cultures and learning about the world, because you get locked in your own town for 20 years without traveling sometimes. Well, the more you travel, the more opportunities get given to you. You open up a lot of doors when you travel.

Were you part of NIL launched a few years ago? Did you get NIL money, or was that kind of before the nisl yeah oh you did yeah okay because that launched when you were kind of starting college or um it was like a whole like discussion but it was finalized afterwards yeah now the money's insane yeah i mean there's woman basketball college players making millions i just saw one sign deal with nike for 28 million yeah i think think Caitlin Clark. Yeah, it's crazy. It's awesome, honestly. It's cool to see because before college athletes were broke.

They weren't getting paid. Yeah, it's been a whole problem. NCAA kept every single dollar. I mean, think about when you were playing college. They kept everything. Yeah, everything. Crazy. Crazy rules, too.

I went to three universities. I played soccer at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, and the University of Tampa. So, you know, NCAA, there was all these rules where if you transfer, you have to sit out a year or two years. Yeah, I appealed it in conference for Palm Beach Atlantic and the University of Tampa.

Wow. So that was another thing I had to go through at Palm Beach. I had to make sure I could play right away after when I went to Tampa. I wonder why they'd want to make you sit a year for transferring that sounds weird it's weird i think it's because it was the same conference oh so you had intel but that didn't discourage me you know i still knew what i wanted and i went and got the job done a lot of kids nowadays will sit there and say themselves oh it's hard that takes time yeah then you don't care that much. Man, I love your mindset.

It's infectious. I love it. Lisa, where can people find you and learn more about your coaching and everything? So my Instagram is Lisa Caps. Lisa underscore Caps, C-A-P-S. And you could DM me if you're interested in a motivational mindset call

for Mission Mindset. Cool. We'll link it below. Thanks so much for coming on. Thank you for having me. Thanks for watching, guys, guys as always see you tomorrow