Robin Bone turned 25 on Wednesday. She's jammed plenty of life and athletics into a quarter-century and she filled Nikki B in on most of it during Episode 24 of the Play Like a Girl podcast.
The native of Canada who attended high school at
Darien (Conn.), played "every sport under the rainbow," growing up, including softball, soccer, basketball, football, gymnastics, lacrosse and finally track and field.
She was a competitive gymnast, training roughly five hours each day, during her youth, but after suffering her fifth concussion, she had to give up the sport at age 15.
It was heartbreaking, but as one sporting door closed, another opened, the world of track and field and pole vaulting came calling. Now she's one of the best in the world at it.
It came with a cost. Because of her previous concussions, she was forced to wear a helmet, which made her an easy target for bullying. They called her "Helmet Head." The remarkably determined and fit Bone let none of it deter her. She gives young athletes an inspiring look at a fearless young female athlete who was going to find her physical niche, one way or another.
It helped to have a very supportive father and older brother as mentor. Bone tells the remarkable story of her days playing football with the boys in organized league. One register wasn't going to let her participate, because of her gender, but dad would hear none of it, and Bone turned out to be one of the league's top players.
Her all-inclusive upbringing paved the way to a relentless competitor.
"It was never girls played this and boys played that in our household," Bone said. "I just played."
It was all music to the ears of Nikki B, whose guest have been telling similar stories the last 23 episodes.
Bondura, the
upbeat former collegiate athlete from Northern California, is building
confidence in females who play sports by offering vital life
skills and advice in order to enhance their athletic careers, and
overall lives. Her guests are uplifting and in many cases,
inspirational.
In her weekly podcasts, Nikki B brings in
expert guests to discuss a plethora of topics, ranging from and dealing
with teammate drama to peer pressure to social media to relationships
to inappropriate coaches.
A
winner on the Golf Channel's "Shotmakers," Nikki B is a former captain of the
Sacramento State golf team. She is a leader in the fields of blogging, social media, marketing, networking and branding.
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