Current sport scientist at the university of Nebraska Mi-ah Watkins stopped by the Pod! Mi-ah and I are former teammates (during the 2018-19 season) and both share New York ties. The oldest of 3, Watkins remembers often undergoing trial by fire. Mi-ah was heavily involved in sports growing up, particularly enjoying gymnastics before specializing in track and field. Mi-ah joined a loaded throws group in the Fall of 2015, redshirting to focus on the hammer throw. She fondly recalls her conference championships in 2017, where she grabbed a bronze medal. Despite larger team dramatics at the time, which were indicative of the changes to come, Watkins was among those who grabbed hardware. Mi-ah put together a string of strong performances over her final two years, including a then- school record in the weight throw in 2018. After graduating with a B.S. in human performance, Watkins struggled with direction. She spent some time enrolled in a masters program at VCU, before realizing that it did not align with her interests. Mi-ah was able to immediately get into coaching, but it wasn’t her day job. She worked and worked… and worked. Eventually, she was able to intern at William and Mary, getting an up close look at her future career. Watkins reflects on the management of the athletes and the tracking of progress; the marriage of analytics and expertise. Her time there ,under former Howard S&C coach O’mary, helped her realize that there was a seat at the table with her name on it. Watkins received her masters degree in exercise science, and continued to accrue knowledge and experience. She made stops at Maryland and most recently UCONN, working with various teams. All roads led Watkins to Lincoln Nebraska, where she currently works with the Olympic sports at the University. Mi-ah is blazing her own trail, prioritizing her work and her players. Thank you to her for rapping with us and thanks to you all for listening!!! Recorded: 8.8.24
