Well Hello there
What a pleasure to meet you! Please let me introduce myself. My favorite people call me Mom, my second favorite people call me Aunt, and the rest of my favorite people call me Coach Chelsey.
Below you'll find my Sports & Such background. But to know me well, you might also want to know: I am the middle of three girls (my sisters are super duper awesome!); I am an Enneagram Two (hellooo helpers!); my spirit bird is the heron (what's yours?); and my favorite barista-friend recently told me it makes a lot of sense that I am a Taurus (I don't exactly know what this means, but maybe you do).
Sports & Such
I was born and raised in small-town-Wisconsin where warmth comes from the people and green&gold is just one color. My dad was a local legend, known for his athleticism and outgoing spirit; he was everyone's #1 fan. My parents' sincere enthusiasm for my endeavors was a constant support in my development as an athlete. I grew up playing soccer, tennis, and basketball. During my high school tennis career, our team received mental toughness training from coach and mentor Warren (Baba) Whitlinger (whose story is worth Googling).
My tennis career continued (and ended, haha) at Butler University, where I received my Bachelors in Middle Secondary Education and my Masters in School Counseling. Although competition led me down the path of tennis, soccer was always my first love. During my years as a high school teacher, I coached both girls' soccer and tennis. During my years as a middle school counselor, I began my earliest work with mental toughness curriculum, instructing classroom lessons on growth mindset and the power of rewiring our thought process.
I am a mother to three wildly amazing kiddos who have now begun their own youth sports journeys! My greatest pride is getting to be their mom and watching them grow in their different environments. With my daughter's permission, I currently coach her Indianapolis area soccer team at Wings FC, a club we recently started together and with a powerful group of females. Wings FC is a women-led, girls-first soccer club designed specifically for the unique needs of female athletes and coaches.
In 2023, I started creating and teaching a mental toughness pilot program. In doing so, I quickly learned that this is where my passions align: teaching, mentoring, youth sports, and watching my children and their teammates evolve and develop as players and people. Now over three years in, I can say with certainty that I have seen the fruits of this teaching in the kids and community I have worked with. Measuring abstract concepts such as resilience and courage is difficult; but the kids who have built strength of mind are different are different. Both on and off the field - there is a profound difference in the ways they carry themselves and the success see in return.
High Five Collaborative is born from all of these stories: my dad's love of sports and his steadfast positivity; Coach Baba's first introductions to MT; a multi-dimensional background in education; teaching my children lessons that extend beyond the field; starting a soccer club for girls; a desire to leave an impact; and the belief that youth sports is the ultimate growth tool.
“The thing I remember best about successful people I’ve met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they’re doing, and it seems to have very little to do with worldly success. They just love what they’re doing, and they love it in front of others.” - Mister Rogers
Let's build a world of delight together - and celebrate as your success grows!
Go make ripples,
Coach Chelsey