042: From College Triumphs to Olympic Challenges with Dejah Mulipola

We were lucky enough to have Dejah Mulipola as a guest speaker for our Warriors in November of 2023, and we decided to share our conversation with her on the podcast this week! Dejah was a 2 time All-American catcher at Arizona University and currently plays professionally for the  Oklahoma City Spark. She was on Team USA when they won the silver medal in the 2020 Olympics.

Episode Highlights

• How her Dad helped her develop as an athlete
• What it was like to "pay her dues" and sit the bench before starting
• Lessons Dejah learned as an Olympian
• Mental Skills that helped her perform at her best

Connect with Dejah
Instagram: @dejahmulipola_

More ways to work with Fearless Fastpitch

• Learn about our proven Mental Skills Program, The Fearless Warrior Program
• Book a One on One Session for your Athlete
• Book a Mental Skills Workshop for your Team or Organization

Follow us on Social Media

• Facebook @fearlessfastpitchmentaltraining
• Instagram @fearlessfastpitch
• Twitter @CoachAB_

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the fearless warrior podcast, a place for athletes, coaches and parents who know the value of a strong mindset. I'm your host, coach AB, a mental performance coach on a mission, former softball coach, wife and mom of three. Each episode, we will dive deep into all things mental performance, mindset tools and how to rewire the brain for success. So if your goal is to gain the mental edge and learn the secrets of mental performance, mindset tools and how to rewire the brain for success, so if your goal is to gain the mental edge and learn the secrets of mental performance, you're in the right place. Let's tune in to today's episode.

Speaker 2: 0:34

All right, good evening. We are so excited for our guest speaker tonight. We'd like to welcome Deja Moulipola that has come to speak to us tonight. Deja is super awesome. She's currently a professional athlete playing for Athletes Unlimited. You won the all-around in 2022, right, that's a pretty neat achievement to have done. She played her college ball at Arizona. She's a catcher and has played with Team USA a couple of times now, including in the 2020 Olympics, where she won a silver medal, and then, most recently, what last week? She got back from the Pan Am Games down in Chile where she played with Team USA and they won the gold medal. So, fresh off, a really big win, a really big deal. Really cool to have her here tonight with us and she's going to go ahead and take it away and introduce yourself and share some of your story.

Speaker 3: 1:38

Yeah, thank you coaches, first of all for having me and thank you to Fearless Fast Pitch for you all being here tonight. Or, if you're watching the recording, thank you to Fearless Fast Pitch for you all being here tonight. Or, if you're watching the recording, thank you for watching the recording. But, like she said, my name is Deja Malipola. I'm originally from Garden Grove, california, currently in Stillwater, oklahoma. I just finished my third professional season with Athletes Unlimited and, like Coach Kara said, I was a champion in 22. My best friend, odyssey Alexander, which I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with, just won this past year. So that's amazing. I attended the University of Arizona where I got my degree in care, health and society, which is pretty much public health. If you were a little confused there, confused there, I was a two-time All-American there, pac-12 champion. We went to the College World Series two times Never won it, unfortunately, but we were there so nonetheless. And then I was a two-time Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year. Sorry if I'm looking down, I'm reading the accolades. Sometimes, you know, I don't even remember some of these things because it's just a blur. But I'm excited to share my story with you guys tonight because, although there's all these amazing accolades. I think you know the journey of it all. Um helps you appreciate these accolades a lot more so, um, I played for the Orange County Bat Busters. Um, we'll go back in time. I played for the Orange County Bat Busters under Mike Stith and Mark Campbell. Um, my travel organization attended Pacifica High School with that same coach, mark Campbell, who I consider my second dad, and ultimately that's how I ended up at the University of Arizona playing for Coach Candrea. And what a dream that was for me to play for such a legendary coach.

Speaker 3: 3:19

And I've been very fortunate my whole entire life to play for amazing coaches, which I wouldn't be the player that I am today, or even half of the person you know, if I wasn't learning from those amazing people. And I was always told I could never play for female coaches because I had always grown up under male coaches, and you know a lot of the time I spent my childhood with my dad, and so I grew up with two brothers as well, and I was always training around the boys. I was very tomboyish and I always wanted to get dirty and play in the dirt, and so they were scared that I wouldn't be able to respond as well under a female coach, but I think playing under Coach Kendrea was the absolute dream for me, and so if you guys ever get that opportunity to go to college and play for an amazing coach, I highly highly recommend you guys work hard and chase that dream, because it's changed my life forever and it's allowed me to play for even Team USA and have amazing opportunities such as that Just having you know somebody like Coach Candrea in my corner to be able to vouch for me and, you know, learn from and help me get those opportunities. So, if you have a dream to play division one college ball or even any college ball under any division, I highly encourage y'all to chase that dream. But, as I said, I've played for Team USA since 2017, which was my freshman year in college. I've been on pretty much every roster, from the junior team to the B team to the Japan All-Star roster team, to now the women's team and, a few years ago, the Olympic team.

Speaker 3: 4:49

So, like I said, amazing opportunities have have come my way and, although I have these amazing accolades, I have to tell my story and share a little bit about. You know the journey it's been to get there, because I know a lot of the time we just see these accolades and we don't know what actually went on behind the scenes for us to get there. So let's start there. I'm one of six. I have five other siblings, three girls, three boys. In my family I'm the second oldest.

Speaker 3: 5:20

I grew up with separated parents, so life was kind of chaotic, with a lot of siblings and, you know, separated parents and, being the oldest female, I matured very fast and growing up with two brothers, my brother and my stepbrother. They were always told, you know, you guys can go to the NFL like mailed sport dreams and me, not knowing too much about pro softball at such a young age, I didn't know. You know what was my goal, what was I chasing? I wasn't too familiar with college softball at the age of eight, and so that was a venture in its own was. You know, these boys have the dream of going to the NFL or going to the MLB or whatever they wanted to do. What was I chasing? Going to the NFL or going to the MLB or whatever they wanted to do? What was I chasing?

Speaker 3: 6:07

And so I competed with the boys nonetheless, and you know, I was always trying to be better than my brothers, always trying to be stronger than my brothers, always trying to be faster than my brothers. It didn't matter if we were lifting weights and I weighed 80 pounds soaking wet. I was going to compete with them and I think that in itself taught me a lot about work ethic and, you know, trying to be the hardest worker in the room, regardless of talent. I was always very small in stature compared to my teammates. A lot of them hit their growth spurts and were 5'8 by the time we were 12. And I was probably 5'2. And so, thankfully to my genetics, I'm Polynesian and Hispanic and I ended up growing into my body. Um, I ended up getting a lot of muscle as I continued to grow and, um, fortunately enough, a lot of my power came in and I wasn't five two anymore, I'm five, eight now, probably almost 200 pounds and, uh, nobody probably would have ever bet that I would be a power hitter now.

Speaker 3: 7:09

And so, going back to my training, and you know my dad, he taught us very old school way, so we would wake up at 4.30 in the morning sometimes and we'd go to the local high school and we'd run bleachers 4, 30 in the morning and I'm like what is the purpose of this and um, but anyways, I wanted to be as cool as my brothers and I'd get up, we'd suit up and put our our coats on and we'd go to the high school and we'd run those bleachers until the sun came up and then we had to keep running, we had to run the track, we had to do ladders, we had to do speed work and you'd think that I was a track athlete before a softball athlete. And, like I said, the boys played the garage with the boys all made softball so much easier for me and I'm so thankful that I had those old school teachings of training because, you know, I wasn't hitting 24-7. I wasn't getting burnt out 24-7 just doing softball drills. I was working out football mechanics with the boys and I feel like that helps me in softball. Just my hand-eye coordination, my ability to probably catch balls honestly I I don't even know, but just being around different sport athletes with my brothers and and having that competitive nature 24 seven allowed me to be a competitive athlete on the field with my teammates. And so, um, when I think about my process and I think about all of those things and I think about, you know, my dad. We weren't the most financially stable growing up, and so he did a lot of research. As far as how was I meal planning In junior high, I used to have packed lunches waiting for me.

Speaker 3: 9:02

Every morning I had a protein shake. My dad would give me dried cranberries, dark chocolate, almonds all in my lunch I'd have two sandwiches because, like I said, I was probably 80 pounds, soaking wet and I. That wasn't the ideal lunch for me. In middle school, you know, all the cool kids had hot Cheetos and juice pouches. And here I am with a protein shake, and I remember being so embarrassed that I would drink my protein shake in the bathroom locker because I didn't want anybody to see like, why is this girl drinking protein shakes in middle school?

Speaker 3: 9:35

And you know, now that I look back at it, I kind of kick myself in the butt because I'm so thankful that I had a dad that was willing to help me achieve my dreams and help me be better, without me even knowing it and without me being so appreciative of it at the time, and so he did nonstop research. I remember and I think the coaches will probably think this is funny but I was drinking fiber too, like Metamucil fiber, in the mornings, and so I'm just so thankful that I had a dad that was willing to put in the time and the effort for me to develop into the athlete that I am today, and when I think about my travel ball team and my coach, mike Stith and Mark Campbell, when I got into high school I couldn't afford hitting lessons, and they knew that. They knew that what they were taking on with me as an athlete was something that was manageable for them, because they knew that I would always give 100%. They knew I was always going to work hard and that they weren't just devoting this time to a girl that would take advantage of their time. And so, for hitting lessons, I had come to an agreement with my coach, Mike Stith, that I would recycle bottles and that's how I would pay for my lessons, because he knew that my parents just didn't have it. And that's what it was. And so I remember one time we went to the recycling bin and I'm so shy I still am to this day I probably didn't say but two words to him in the car. I probably ended up falling asleep, honestly, too. And we went and we recycled that day and had hitting lessons the rest of the night and about two to three times a week.

Speaker 3: 11:08

My other coach, mark Campbell. He would have catching lessons and since I've been his catcher since I was 10 years old, all the way through my senior year of high school, I would go with him to catching lessons and he'd have about three a day and I'd do every single lesson for an hour and never had to pay for it. But I had to be the example. So I was always the ones teaching the girls, no matter their age, how to do the drills, what the form should look like, and you know I was so young during that time that I was able to just every single hour. It didn't matter how many lessons there were lesson of the day, and I was exhausted. Mark knew that he was putting me in there to be the example and I was never going to let him, you know, have to kick me out of the cage or second guess why he was having me in there.

Speaker 3: 11:59

You know, I was always wanting to prove to my coaches that their time was worth everything, and so it didn't matter necessarily how much money we had in our pocket, but just the ability to work hard and put my head down and and make their time respect their time was all that they could have asked for. And so, um, yeah, I think, going into my process with team USA, um, as a lot of us can relate, you know, you, you're the. You may be the best one on your team or you may not be the best one on your team, and, um, for a lot of the time I was just known as the hard worker. I wasn't necessarily the best at a young age, but my coaches, they would bring another catcher in. So I'm solely kind of just a catcher, only a CEO, as I like to say, and that's kind of just. My specialty is just catching.

Speaker 3: 12:45

And so every single time I maybe got complacent at being a catcher, my coach would bring in another catcher and she would fight for that position over me and obviously, me being a little bit smaller and some of the girls being a lot bigger, they would start over me and I'd have to get kicked to either the outfield or third base or something else. And I knew I wanted to be a catcher because I I wasn't given it, I had to work for it and I knew that I wanted something that I could say I earned. And so every time he brought in a catcher, I'd go home with my dad. It didn't matter if we had a six hour practice, we'd work some more and I was determined to be a catcher and so I'd beat one catcher out, he'd bring another one in and I. It was a cycle. I kept having to work as hard as I could do, as many reps every single day as I could, um, and that, honestly, that process in itself taught me a lot, because as I went through college I was able to earn a starting spot from my freshman year through my super senior year, um, and then when I got into team USA, it was a whole different story.

Speaker 3: 13:49

You go from being a starter in college to being now a bench player and that played the most mental, the most mental role on me in a negative way and and it's sorry, I don't want to get emotional, but it is a big part of my story, because a lot of the time you know you're playing for Team USA, you can't be anything but grateful. You're representing your country, you're representing so much more than yourself and you have this sadness on the other side because you're not a starter. You're sitting the bench almost every single game. I saw the bullpen more times than I saw the field and it was a whole different aspect for me, from the junior team, like I said, onto the Japan roster, onto the B team to the Olympic team. And, like I said, you have nothing but gratefulness in your heart because you are representing your country. You are one of 15 to 18 girls that get this opportunity. One of 15 to 18 girls that get this opportunity. And so I remember, for a couple of months I was a little bit sad. I was sad that I you know my family would come and they'd watch me and they'd be like are you in the lineup, are you playing today? And most times they saw me more from the bullpen, like I said, than on the field and after the game. You know, I remember seeing my dad and I'd be so crushed and he was like you know what? You're still living the dream and, um, to this day that's one of my favorite sayings is that I'm living the dream.

Speaker 3: 15:20

It doesn't matter regardless if I'm starting or if I'm helping from the dugout. I think the biggest thing that I've learned is perspective, because I do get the chance to be one of 15 that are representing our country. I do get the chance to be an Olympian. Now I do get the chance to be a Pan Am champion. I do get the chance to help my teammates also be their best selves, and I think it took a lot of maturing and a lot of growing up for me to have that perspective.

Speaker 3: 15:47

It wasn't something that came easy. Like I said, I'm used to being somebody that started every single game. You know I'd go to sleep the night before, like I'm. I'm in the lineup, I'm playing tomorrow to. You know, I don't know if I'm in the lineup. I don't know where I'm going to be. I'm probably going to be in the bullpen, can't see the game.

Speaker 3: 16:04

And there was a time during the Olympic year that a lot of the pitchers had come up to me and I wasn't the starting catcher at the time and you know that was a big year for us, the Olympic year and um, I was able to call pitches really well and I remember selfishly thinking, you know this is the one thing that sets me apart from the other catchers is I can really call for our pitchers and me knowing I wasn't going to be the starter. I could have either been really selfish and withhold all of that knowledge that I had, or I could have given it to our starting catcher and allowed our team to win, because if she won, then we won. It didn't matter if I was the one that was out there. If she had that knowledge that I had and we were able to win as a team. That's all that mattered to me, and so I had to put my pride to the side and know that it's not about me, it's about the team, and we're only as strong as the person that's out there that's actually contributing. If I'm not the one that's in the box, regardless if I'm in the lineup or not, I'm giving my all to that batter that's in the box. Or if I'm out on that field, I'll give 100% to what I'm doing on the field.

Speaker 3: 17:08

We can't be selfish, though. This is a team sport for a reason, and so, unselfishly, I gave that knowledge to the starting catcher and we were able to advance all the way to the championship game in the Olympics. Unfortunately, we came up a little short and got the silver medal, but nonetheless, I think that taught me a big lesson in itself is you know, it's not about you, it's never about you, and I think that's what I love so much about my story is there's been so many people that have poured into my cup for me to be successful and for me to navigate. You know going to college and having hitting lessons when I wasn't able to afford it, and you know being the catcher that I am today and having those challenges hit me because it was all for another purpose, it was all for. You know, we all have our own stories and I am a firm believer that everything's supposed to happen the way that it happens and anyways.

Speaker 3: 18:04

Well, now it's my turn to be a starting catcher on Team USA. And you know, I think it's important that I had to go through being a bench player to a bullpen catcher, to maybe the B string catcher and to now being the starting catcher. And I don't think I would have appreciated where I am now if I hadn't have gone through the journey to get here. And I think that speaks volumes, you know, for the rest of my career too. And everything that's happened is I wouldn't be able to appreciate it if I wasn't going through the roller coaster ride of the ups and downs. And coach Candrea always says you know, that's what softball is going to be, that's what life is going to be, as a roller coaster. You're going to have your highs and you're going to have your lows, but you, what you're in charge of, is trying to get as constant as you can, trying to get whatever butterflies you may feel, all going in the same circle, all going in the same direction, and controlling those and using those to your advantage. And, like I said earlier, I think I've just had really great teachers in my life to help me learn this perspective and to help me now share my story with you.

Speaker 3: 19:09

Know, athletes, that it may resonate with, because not everybody has it easy and not everybody is is given things easily. You know, some things have to be earned, but I think there's so much respect and there's so much gratitude in earning what you have because you can say I worked for that and you can say I gave it my all for that and even if you come up short, I think that it's still worth trying for, for because, like anything in this life, nothing good comes easy. And so when you do get those things and you know, even in the Pan Am games this past week, the last time I was with Team USA in Guatemala, I struck out almost every single at bat and I didn't know if I was going to be asked back again to the team, and so I made it my personal mission that, when I was invited back, that I was going to go as hard as I could at it because I wasn't going to have another outing or another result. And that feeling that I left Guatemala with last year with this time, and so I ended up going four for four in one of my games with four home runs. And so I ended up going four for four in one of my games with four home runs and that, honestly, was an out of body experience for me because it was more so my hard work had paid off.

Speaker 3: 20:23

I could care less if it was four home runs or four singles, but I think that ability, you know, and that trust that I had in the rest of the lineup and the rest of my teammates, and that hard work that I put in every single day hitting or visualizing, or that mental mindset that I had approaching the box, I wanted it to be different and I made every single at-bat count. It didn't matter if I hit three home runs in those three previous at-bats. That fourth at-bat, it was like I was zero, zero. It was like I fresh slate, you know, and so I think that's what's special about the game of softball is we have to have such a quick reset button and we have to be able to take the game one step at a time, one pitch at a time, one at bat at a time, um, and ultimately, that's.

Speaker 3: 21:11

That's just what I've been doing since travel ball is taking everything one step at a time, learning as I go through it, keeping my positive perspective you know, there's always a positive to, however you're seeing any situation, and always just trying to be the hardest worker in the room. That's probably the biggest thing is that I've taken from being a young athlete is always, always, always being the hardest worker in the room, even if you aren't the most talented. Hard work will always, always pay off and it will always reward you when it's your time. And so, um, sorry if I've gone over the time or if, uh, no, I think I'd love to keep talking and keep answering them, yeah no, thank you so much for sharing.

Speaker 2: 21:53

I think there's so many great things to be pulled from that. I love that perspective of I think it's an underrated thing of the idea of being a good teammate. I think that's underrated in sports in general. So many people are out there looking for their you know glory and what they can do, and I want to win because it was me that won. But, like you said, like if, if one of us wins, we all win. We all win, we all win, you know. Like, um, I think, I think that's such a valuable perspective to have that you can be an effective member of a team, both as a star and as a supporting player, and you might go through different times when you're in different ends of the spectrum, but I think that's that's a really good perspective to keep.

Speaker 2: 22:33

Thank you. Yeah, we got a few minutes left before we have to let Deja get on with her evening, but if any of you that are on right now have any questions for her, anything that you want to ask her, you can either unmute and ask or you can throw them in the chat. Ask her about what chile was like, you can ask her about her olympic experience, or, you know, professional or college or selfishly.

Speaker 4: 23:02

Coach ab always wants to know what is your top you know, mental skill that you rely on in your game, either that you've learned or that you've kind of self-developed um, well, it's kind of.

Speaker 3: 23:21

It's kind of a little controversial I. So I always grew up, like I said, around the boys, my dad always taught me to just be like a very hungry, hungry, hungry athlete. Like, just when I step onto the field, I have to be almost a different person, and so I think that was a trick that I learned was like I have almost an alter ego, like, and so when I ask young athletes like, who's your favorite role model, who do you look up to? And when they say their name, I'm like, okay, every time you step onto the field, that's who you are, even if it's like a cartoon character, like you're a superwoman. Every time you step onto the field, you're a superwoman.

Speaker 3: 24:01

And so me being a very shy athlete, I had to be somebody who was outgoing, somebody who was very talkative, because I was a catcher and I can't be a quiet catcher. And so every time I stepped onto the field, I wasn't Deja the soft-spoken little girl, I was Deja, the confident leader that you know was able to speak to her team and lead her team, and things like that. That was able to speak to her team and lead her team, and things like that. And so I think sometimes stepping onto the field, not maybe as your shy self, but somebody who maybe you want to embody is something that I learned very fast, so that's something that I like to do.

Speaker 3: 24:26

Or I do a lot of breathing, and so I know a lot of people speak about breathing and how important it is, but it's scientifically proven that breathing helps you, um, and so I'm a big breather, um, and when I can't breathe, I chew gum, and so chewing gum kind of just gives me. I can't multitask. Something to focus on is I'm chewing gum, trying to blow bubbles, um, pop my bubbles. So a lot of time during my at bats you'll see gum in my mouth or, um, just bubbles all around me and uh. So those are probably the two main things, um, that I've learned, mindset wise, that have helped me.

Speaker 4: 25:00

Well, I think one of the skills that we forget is it's the alter ego, is an identity of your choosing to act as if you're choosing that best version of yourself. That's absolutely a mental skill.

Speaker 2: 25:12

So good, I've never heard of that one, that's. That seems like a fun one to try.

Speaker 3: 25:17

Yeah, especially for young athletes. They love that.

Speaker 2: 25:21

What were, what were you as a kid? What was the, what was the character that you took on?

Speaker 3: 25:27

So I didn't learn this until later, but I always just embody it. It's more like characteristic, Like I am a vocal leader, I am a confident woman out there, Like I am this really strong athletic female that you know that I envisioned myself as, and so one of my teammates, Danielle O'Toole my dad, he has a travel ball team too, and one of the pitchers was like Danielle O'Toole is my favorite person ever and I was like okay, every time you step onto the mound you are Danielle O'Toole, and I kid you not. The day the game after, I told her that she lights out and so it's just. It really is a mental thing for them to correlate with yeah, olivia asked in the chat there um.

Speaker 2: 26:08

She must have logged in a little bit later. What college did you play for?

Speaker 3: 26:12

uh, the university of arizona in tucson, the wildcats, not the Sun Devils.

Speaker 2: 26:17

I'm sure you get a lot to mix up between those two. And then Lexi's asking growing up, did you look up to any softball players Like? Who did you look up to when you were growing up?

Speaker 3: 26:28

I looked up to Kaylani Ricketts very specifically because she is a Samoan softball player and that resonated with me. But, like I said, I didn't have, I wasn't very knowledgeable about softball early on. I had more male idols, which I hate to say nowadays, because I'm all about female sports and helping promote female sports and it doesn't matter what sport it is. If it's not softball, if it's a female athlete, I'm all for it, and so I really harp on young athletes nowadays to be knowledgeable about, you know, female athletes that they look up to, because it is so important to to have that at a young age and to see maybe somebody that looks like you or somebody that you resonate with and you know that's your idol and it doesn't have to always be a male, a male professional athlete, and so Kehlani Ricketts was a huge one for me.

Speaker 2: 27:19

Yeah, we live in a great day now where it's so much easier, like you said, so much easier now that female athletes are so much more visible, and so much more accessible. Awesome, awesome to have those. What's your favorite part about catching?

Speaker 3: 27:36

I love to be very active in the game. Um, I tried outfield out and I wasn't as involved and I I have to be focusing on something for me to be like locked in and so catching for me. I became a catcher when I was eight years old because I was only. I was not afraid to get hit with the ball. I was one of the only girls that wasn't afraid and I thought I was so cool when I got my first pair of catcher's gear and just being involved in every single play and always having a say nowadays because I call pitches in the outcome of the game.

Speaker 3: 28:07

I think that's so special and so unique in it. It makes you really focus and learn the game because you know you're the one back there calling pitches. Yes, the pitcher throws it, but you are her helping hand in the success or the failure of the game and, um, I take so much pride in that and getting to know my pitchers and I think it's so fun. It's a different part of the game that is overlooked. Are you a catcher? Let's go all right.

Speaker 2: 28:36

Last chance, we promised Deja half an hour, so we're right there. Anybody else have any questions? All right, deja, thank you. This was awesome. This was so fun to hear your story and I hope you girls, I hope you guys, really were taking notes there, because there is a lot of great wisdom in there teaching you about, yeah, for how to, how to be successful, how to you know, despite any challenges or obstacles you might feel are in your way, like you can be successful, regardless of where you come from or what what your experiences are. So I think that was a great message for this. Thank you so much.