Name Five Players highlights the women shaping sports through candid conversations, expert insight, and unfiltered humor. We empower, educate, and elevate the next generation of female leaders — one conversation at a time.
BREAKING BARRIERS, BUILDING CAREERS!
What's up, players! Y'all, buckle up, because this week Rachel sits down with Yvette Hollingsworth.
Yvette is an Emmy Award-winning producer (she'll downplay it, so Rach won't let her) with CBS Sports, HBO, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros on her résumé. Now she's running the show as Director of Content Production at New York Road Runners, just in time for Marathon weekend. Oh, and she founded Mother's Ball. Grab the tissues, y'all. We warned you.
They get into how Yvette hustled a job at the YMCA at 14 (allegedly not legal, we love her for it) to buy her own sneakers, tried to walk on at UNC Charlotte and got handed a manager clipboard instead, then came to New York to act and got scammed.
Scammers, Rach has a message for you, and it's not cute. Yvette takes them behind the scenes of the Super Bowl LV spots "Stand By Me" and "Before Jackie" with Viola Davis, and explains why she walked away from a big check to learn scripted TV on the set of Power.
They celebrate how Mother's Ball is getting moms back on the court. You're not just a mom, you're a BALLER
Let's get into it!
Follow Yvette: @VIBRANT_VETTE
Join Mother's Ball: @mothersball.nyc | mothersball.nyc
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Follow Rach and Name Five Players: Instagram: @rj_jonesss @namefiveplayerspodcast_
Website: name5players.com
Proudly Produced by Good Mess Media @goodmessmedia.com
@talkwithtrace
For sponsorship, partnerships and brand deals please contact hello@goodmessmedia.com
22 Oct 2026
I'm No Pickle Baller, with Kaitlin Donahoe
What's up, players! Y'all, this week Rachel sits down with Kaitlin Donahoe. Kaitlin is a partnership sales queen at Fenway Sports Group, a former college basketball coach, a three-sport All-American (she won't brag on herself, so Rach does it for her), and the reigning paddle tennis champ of Pittsburgh. And no, it is NOT pickleball. Don't play.
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They get into how Kaitlin went from coaching D3 hoops to the Saints and Pelicans to the Pittsburgh Penguins. She shares the 30-60-90 day plan that got her hired and how she built the 84 Lumber LIFT panel from scratch. Then she explains why she's not buying the imposter syndrome hype. Plus, they talk about advocating for yourself, walking into a room full of men like you own it (because you do), and keeping the door open for the women coming up behind you. The table is big enough, y'all. Let's get into it!
Follow Rach and Name Five Players:
Instagram: @rj_jonesss @namefiveplayerspodcast_
Website: name5players.com
Proudly Produced by Good Mess Media
@goodmessmedia.com
For sponsorship, partnerships and brand deals please contact hello@goodmessmedia.com
15 Oct 2026
Getting Behind The Athlete Mind, with Liz Beecroft
What's up, players! Our second guest is Liz Beecroft. She's a psychotherapist, a sneakerhead, a NASCAR convert and a proud Disney adult. She's also the woman behind Nike's Air Max 270 React "In My Feels," the first sneaker built around mental health, which sold out in under a day.
Liz grew up a multi-sport athlete in small-town Pennsylvania. She dropped her orthodontist plans after one too many 8 a.m. organic chemistry classes, and her own experience with anxiety and ADHD led her to become the therapist she wishes she'd had as a kid. Today her practice, Mental Sesh, works with pro, Olympic and retired athletes through referral networks with teams like the Mets and Phillies, and with partners from Nike to Moleskine.
Rachel chat about:
- How to find a therapist who fits ("shop around, it's like dating")
What actually happens in an athlete's therapy session (spoiler: sometimes it's Birkin bags)
- Why your stats aren't your self-worth
- How athletic identity holds up when the career ends
- The mental health coloring book Liz made with NASCAR's John Hunter Nemechek
Real, funny and a little chaotic in the best way. Send it to the friend who needs to hear it.
Find Liz at:
@lizbcroft
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Follow Rach and Name Five Players:
Instagram:
@rj_jonesss
@namefiveplayerspodcast_
Website:
name5players.com (https://www.name5players.com/)
Proudly Produced by Good Mess Media
@goodmessmedia.com
For sponsorship, partnerships and brand deals please contact hello@goodmessmedia.com
8 Oct 2026
Bet on Yourself, "JUST DO IT!"
What's up, "players"! Welcome to the very first conversation episode of Name Five Players, the podcast. What a way to blast onto the podcast scene, with this badass woman in sport! You're going to love her!
Introducing Maria Civitate. Maria grew up in small-town Missouri taping her soccer cleats together. Today she is the Global Digital Director, SNKRS Platform Marketing at Nike. She joins Rachel Jones to talk about being a first-generation college student in corporate life, imposter syndrome in male-dominated rooms, and why she turned down a full-time offer for an internship. Plus: the honest conversation that got her to Nike, how to advocate for your next promotion, and why "the game wasn't made for us," so you get to define your own.
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Follow Rach and Name Five Players:
Instagram:
@rj_jonesss
@namefiveplayerspodcast_
Website:
name5players.com (https://www.name5players.com/)
Proudly Produced by Good Mess Media
@goodmessmedia.com
For sponsorship, partnerships and brand deals please contact hello@goodmessmedia.com
1 Oct 2026
GAME TIME!
Ok sis, it's game time. 🏁
Welcome to Name Five Players, the podcast we all wish we'd had growing up. Meet your host, Rachel Jones. She's moved across the country (more than once) for a dream job in sports and ended up closing millions in partnership sales deals for sporting teams.
In this episode, Rach shares the lessons she learned in her own job hunt from nursing to sports, it's a wild story. It involves self doubt, tears, a dad conversation, taking opportunities when presented, and let's just say, it wasn't linear! And just to throw a spanner in the works, a lug nut is involved.... Intrigued? You should be.
New episodes drop every Thursday. Three a month are interviews with seriously impressive women in sport, from presidents to interns, to athletes to coaches and all that's in between. The last Thursday is an episode we are calling "Rachel Reflects", where Rach comments on what's happening in sport and culture plus answers your questions.
This is YOUR show, so buckle up baby! The guests start next week and you're going to love them. Rate, subscribe, follow us on Instagram, and tell your girls about it!
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Follow Rach and Name Five Players:
Instagram:
@rj_jonesss
@namefiveplayerspodcast_
Website:
name5players.com (https://www.name5players.com/)
Proudly Produced by Good Mess Media
@goodmessmedia.com
For sponsorship, partnerships and brand deals please contact hello@goodmessmedia.com
14 Sept 2026
Let's get ready to RUMBLEEEEE - A sneak peek, LFG!!!
WELCOME TO NAME 5 PLAYERS the Podcast! Hosted by Rachel Jones
Breaking barriers, building careers! A women in sport podcast, FOR YOU!
Name Five Players highlights the women shaping sports through candid conversations, expert insight, and unfiltered humor. We empower, educate, and elevate the next generation of female leaders — one conversation at a time.
Gender roles? Never heard of her. Equal parts expert insight, real storytelling, and unfiltered laughs. N5P challenges industry norms, amplifies diverse voices, and inspires the next generation of female leaders , without ever losing the humor that makes it feel like home. Listen, rate, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family, cant wait to hear from you all!
PODCAST LAUNCHING THURSDAY OCTOBER 1ST!
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Stay in touch with us!
Instagram:
Rachel https://www.instagram.com/rj_jonesss/
The Show https://www.instagram.com/namefiveplayerspodcast_/
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Name5Players
Website:
https://www.name5players.com/
Proudly Produced By GOOD MESS MEDIA
https://www.instagram.com/goodmessmedia/
https://www.goodmessmedia.com/
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