Ex Gonzaga Volleyball Player Finds Her Identity Helping Other Athletes

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EIN Presswire

Aug 17, 2023, 8:42 AM ET

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Former Division 1 volleyball athlete Frances Garcia had a tough time accepting what her life would look like after sports. She no longer had the sport that became such an integral part of her life, and it was a tough reality to face that her career playing volleyball was over. While it was a long journey to find her new passion, she’s now using her experience to change the lives of athletes transitioning from a full time athletic career to life as a retired athlete.

For Frances, life at Gonzaga as a leader on the volleyball team consisted of waking up early, going to practice, doing doubles during preseason, and balancing her personal life, schoolwork and long seasons. After so many years of commitment, it was hard for her to understand the next steps in life once this chapter as an athlete closes. If your dream was to play professionally in your sport and you did not succeed, it’s a tough reality to face, and this was true in Frances’ life.

She said, “When my time was up, and I had to walk away, I felt very alone.” While this time in her life was very challenging, through her own development and discovering her passions to find her path professionally over 10 years. In the end, Frances was able to overcome her fear of having to live a life without playing the sport she loved so dearly.

Through lots of trial and error, she was able to find the light and path that fit her journey. Currently serving as the Chief Growth Marketing Officer at Postseason App, Inc., she came to realize that this feeling of uncertainty is something she doesn’t want to see former athletes feel alone as they adapt to no longer being bring a full time athlete.

"Frances quickly established herself as a captain, winning the respect and admiration of the entire team. She has played a pivotal role in making sure our business plan and team are set up for success.”

— Jelani Jenkins, former NFL veteran & Postseason App, Inc CEO

She discovered her passion to connect and guide former athletes through this significant shift in their lives, which then led her to joining the Postseason team, and eventually growing into a leadership role as the Chief Growth Officer and Head of Athlete Relations, to work alongside Jelani Jenkins, former NFL veteran & CEO/Founder to launch this platform. After formally announcing Postseason’s presence in the market in June 2021, via Forbes Article feature, NFL Vet Launches Postseason Platform To Empower Former Athletes, Jenkins was set out to empower former athletes by giving them the tools to find new purpose in life after their professional sports careers end. Garcia joined the team to initially spearhead the launch of Postseason, Inc.’s first podcast, Next Play Mentality. In this podcast, she has insightful conversations with former collegiate and retired athletes, and shines a light on this topic that is often not spoken about. Once she realized that she wasn’t the only one struggling to find her calling after her life of sports, she realized the importance of having a community and talking about the struggles you may be going through.

Frances is also consistently looking for ways to further connect to her community through her passion for sports. Through her ever changing role with non-profit, It’s Bigger Than Us (IBTU), she has been involved in various areas of this community organization. She is an integral part in providing marketing and communications support for key organizational events like the Women's Empowerment Event hosted at Crenshaw High School, the 3rd Annual Back 2 School & Winter Wonderland Events that served over 10,000 people in the South Los Angeles communities, and she led the charge in launching IBTU’s first ever Young Community Builders Program in five Los Angeles Unified School District schools, ranging from elementary to high school levels.

While the road wasn't always easy, Frances has maintained her connection and love of sports, but changed the way that she interacts with them. While she is no longer on the court she once called home, she realized that the sidelines were just as valuable and enjoyable. She successfully found the path that fit for her and is now a successful marketer and creative professional who is engaged in her community through her love of sport.