The Athlete's Commute

Paulina Baillie: UC San Diego Volleyball Libero Rides to Spanos Athletic Performance Center

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 14:00:00 -0700

On this episode of The Athlete's Commute, we pick up UC San Diego volleyball libero Paulina Baillie and get an inside look at her Division I training routine. Paulina grew up in the Carlsbad/Oceanside area, played club for Coast Volleyball Club, and earned two time Defensive Player of the Year honors before landing at UC San Diego, where she led the team in digs her freshman and sophomore seasons and picked up four Big West weekly honors as a freshman.

Paulina is the first UC San Diego athlete on the podcast, and she shares the story of a recruiting journey that almost didn't happen. She committed late in her senior year, on a phone call from a kiln closet in her high school art room, right as UC San Diego was making the jump to Division I.

We talk about switching from outside hitter to libero after an ankle injury, why liberos can be the backbone of the team, and what it means to lead by example without the spotlight. Paulina opens up about balancing academics and athletics at one of the most rigorous schools in the country, her team's "head on a swivel" mindset, and the mantra she has journaled before every match since she was 13.

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Sarah Porter: Co-Founder of The Hoopers Collective and DI Athlete Rides to Open Runs

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Sarah Porter is the cofounder of The Hoopers Collective, a nonprofit focused on growing and connecting the women's basketball community in San Diego by providing an inclusive space for players of all skill levels to thrive both on and off the court. On this ride, Sarah is headed to Encanto Rec Center for one of the Collective's women's open runs, where she'll also be playing.

Sarah's basketball journey took her from Ole Miss to UC Santa Barbara, where she set the Big West three point record, and then to the University of Utah, where she earned her master's in education and finished in the Pac 12 top four in three point percentage. Along the way she played under coaches including Vickie Carrington and Lynne Roberts, now head coach of the Sparks.

In this conversation, Sarah talks about her recruiting journey, transferring midcareer, how she built her identity as a shooter and defender, and the identity struggle that followed graduation. This is where The Hoopers Collective was born, a space that is revitalizing the basketball culture for women in San Diego.

Follow Sarah Porter and The Hoopers Collective: https://www.thehooperscollective.com/

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Lera Doederlein: Team USA Paralympian Rides to Sled Hockey Training

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 10:00:00 -0700

Lera Doederlein is a Team USA Paralympian, World Championship gold winner, and multisport athlete competing at the highest levels of adaptive athletics. At just 18 years old, she represented the US at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing, competing in Para Nordic skiing and biathlon and earning multiple top 10 finishes.

On this ride to sled hockey training, Lera opens up about the decision she made at 14 to undergo a bilateral amputation for more mobility, how a chance invitation to a sled hockey practice changed the course of her life, and what it took to qualify for Beijing in under two years. She talks through her current training split between the ice and the gym, and how she and her team won gold at the first official Women's World Championships in Slovakia.

With that championship under her belt, Lera also shares the bigger goal she and her teammates are chasing: growing the sport worldwide and seeing women's sled hockey reach the Paralympics.

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Angela Wells: San Diego Super Bloom Board President Rides to Cheerleading Practice

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Angela Wells wears more hats in San Diego women's sports than almost anyone. She's a former player, coach, and current board president of the professional ultimate frisbee team, San Diego Super Bloom. She’s also a cheerleading coach of nearly 15 years for an all star team based in the city, who is driven by her advocacy for female athletes. Her own athletic background started in gymnastics in Texas, moved into competitive cheerleading in Florida, and led her to UC San Diego, where she picked up ultimate frisbee and never looked back.

In this episode, recorded on the ride from downtown San Diego to her cheerleading gym, Angela talks about the building of Super Bloom from the ground up, and why she's passionate about mental health resources and body positivity for young athletes. She breaks down how ultimate frisbee works, the growth she's seen in the Western Ultimate League, and what she hopes comes next for pro women's ultimate in San Diego.

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Angela Ziff: Former D1 Runner Turned Paramedic Firefighter Rides to the Gym

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:00:00 -0700

Angela Ziff went from a full ride Division 1 track and cross-country athlete at UNLV to a paramedic firefighter in California. She's also the host's sister, which makes this ride a little more personal than most.

In this episode Angela opens up about the eating disorder and osteopenia that led to repeated stress fractures in her foot, and the decision she made her senior year of college to step away from competition and heal. She talks about what it took to rebuild herself for an entirely new kind of physical demand, training as a woman in the fire service, including pushing and dragging full fireground weight.

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Britney Hall: USA Hammer Thrower Rides to the Olympic Training Center

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:00:00 -0700

Britney Hall is a former All-American hammer thrower who competed at the University of Oregon and represented Team USA professionally across Europe. In this episode, Jourdan rides with Britney back to her old training grounds, the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center, the same place that first put her on the path to the U.S. team as a teenager in the Junior Elite Camp.

Britney talks about what training actually looks like for a hammer thrower, from heavy Olympic lifting in the winter to gymnastics on the high bar. She opens up about working with a sports psychologist late in her career, the mental tools she wishes she had sooner, and how the mantra "leave it better than you found it" now guides her work in the sports industry.

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Danica Collins: Diabetes Advocate for Athletes and More Rides to Beach Volleyball Training

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:00:00 -0700

Danica Collins is a global health strategist, certified health coach, and someone who has been living with type 1 diabetes for 21 years. We ride from La Jolla Scripps Medical Center to South Mission Beach as she opens up about navigating competitive sports with diabetes, running the New York Marathon, competing in beach volleyball, and why she believes your performance never starts on the field.

We also get into what's in her bag, including her diabetes supplies and her go-to low snacks, and how she fuels for tournaments by going in fasted and ending with a breakfast burrito.

It is a conversation about body awareness, community, and what it looks like to build a life where your health comes first.

Learn more about Danica, her work, and connect with her on socials.
https://danicacollins.co
https://www.instagram.com/danicathediabetic/

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Nicole Robertson: Swedish League Top Scorer Rides to Offseason Training in Temecula

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:00:00 -0700

Nicole Robertson finished last season as the top goal scorer in her Swedish league and came home to Temecula to train. In Episode 4 of The Athlete's Commute, she hops in the car and takes us through one of the most self-driven paths to the pros you'll hear.

With no agent and barely any game film, Nicole created a LinkedIn, posted her own training videos, and networked her way into her first professional contract in Denmark, leaving university behind to do it. What followed was a career spanning Denmark, Scotland, and Sweden, and a lifestyle she's committed enough to that she's four years into earning Swedish citizenship.

We get into the real differences between Division 1 college soccer and the tactical European game, her five-minute electric scooter commute to the stadium, finishing her doctorate mid-season, and why leading the league in goals still felt bittersweet when her team finished fifth.

Oh, and what's in her bag? Sour candy. She'll explain.

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Sierra Enge: California Native from Stanford and Wave FC Bikes to Training in Strasbourg, France

Thu, 28 May 2026 09:00:00 -0700

San Diego raised pro soccer player Sierra Enge joins us for a unique commute this episode. Instead of a car ride, we hop on her bike for an inside look of what her training commute is like as an international professional player through the streets of Strasbourg, France.

Sierra opens up about what it took to leave the San Diego Wave, her best friends, and a life 20 minutes from her parents to take a leap into European soccer. She walks us through the biggest adjustments at every stage of her career, from Stanford to the NWSL to playing abroad, and why learning to sit in uncertainty has been one of the most important skills she has developed.

We also get into her pregame routine, what she always has in her practice bag, the podcast creators she swears by on her morning commute, and why she believes mental health is never a one size fits all conversation.

If you have ever wondered what life actually looks like for an American playing overseas, this one is for you.

This episode is brought to you by SDSU's Sports MBA. Turn your passion for sports into a powerful career with an accelerated, AACSB accredited program built for the global game. Apply today at business.sdsu.edu/sports-mba/apply

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Nemo Beach: USD Volleyball Star Rides to Jenny Craig Pavilion

Thu, 14 May 2026 10:00:00 -0700

In Episode 2 of The Athlete's Commute, we catch a rainy ride to Jenny Craig Pavilion with University of San Diego junior and volleyball standout Nemo Beach.

Most recently named the 2025–26 USD Athletics Female Torero of the Year, WCC Player of the Year, and an AVCA All-Pacific Region Team selection, Nemo’s résumé also includes WCC Freshman of the Year, Arizona Player of the Year, Under Armour All American nominee honors, and more. Nemo is currently one of the most decorated players in the WCC.

But today in the car, she tells me about how she's usually a college athlete trying to make it to practice on a scooter.

We get into her sports origin story, which starts with running track at age three, a short-lived soccer chapter, and eventually a full love affair with volleyball. Nemo walks us through what her days actually look like, from morning classes to film to practice to lifting, and why her scooter is non-negotiable on USD's hilly campus.

She also opens up about how she protects her mental space: living with non-athletes to stay grounded, keeping Sundays completely volleyball-free, and cooking meal prep that her teammates apparently can't stop requesting.
Plus her game-day playlist and why she thinks women's volleyball's moment is just getting started.

The Athlete's Commute is a Her Sports San Diego podcast dropping bi-weekly episodes with local women athletes, coaches, and the people shaping the women's sports movement.

Subscribe so you never miss a ride.

The Athlete's Commute is a Her Sports San Diego podcast. New episodes bi-weekly.

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The Athlete's Commute Trailer

Tue, 05 May 2026 16:00:00 -0700

The Athlete’s Commute trailer lets you know how Her Sports will bring listeners into the everyday lives of local women athletes, one ride at a time. Each episode is recorded in the car on the way to practice, creating a relaxed, authentic environment where athletes can open up beyond the headlines.

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Why We Started The Athlete’s Commute | Inside Her Sports with Founder, Lisa Lamb

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0700

In the first episode of The Athlete’s Commute, we sit down with Her Sports Founder, Lisa Lamb, on the way to her tennis training.

She shares why she started Her Sports, the mission behind building a platform for women’s sports in San Diego, and what it’s been like balancing that work with her other job.

This is an honest look at the origin story of Her Sports and what it means to create more visibility for women athletes.

Subscribe for bi-weekly episodes featuring San Diego athletes and women’s sports stories.

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