Hi everyone, and thanks for visiting my web site. Last night I spoke at The University of Colorado in Boulder. It was amazing! I had a wonderful evening and was treated incredibly. Colorado has one of the most beautiful campuses in America. The following is already a response from a student-athlete on the CU Ski Team. It again reinforces that my message does indeed make a difference and moves people. I am honored to feel so fortunate to have such an opportunity.

Hi Joe,

Thanks again for your presentation last night. I’m still receiving feedback from last night’s presentation, but this one really stood out. I wanted to share the reaction of one of our skiers. Her feedback is recounted below:


I just wanted to put in some feedback because I thought the talk made a huge impact on my teammates on the ski team.

For me, an athlete with a history of six head injuries, the worst of which was the result of a driving incident where I broke the window behind me with my head (fortunately I was wearing my seat belt in the backseat and there was no drinking involved, only a immature driver behind the wheel), I had a lot of personal investment coming into this talk. I did not realize how hard it would hit home.

Before last night, my teammates always avoided talking about my current neurological state. My neurologist just recently gave me the direct and firm "no"
on whether or not I would ever ski again. My balance is shifty and my entire left side is structurally different from my right side. My right eye does not track left or right, only up and down. And my heart races because my brain cannot control it and this leads to a major lack of sleep each and every night.

As we walked out of the room, my teammates came up to me individually to ask if I was okay. They've never done this before. I don't ask for them to do this, but it was quite evident that they, like me, were personally moved by the talk, enough so that they would approach me and ask me if I needed anything.

I appreciate that Joe Rhea was brought in and I think it helps to shed light on the day to day battles people with brain and neck injuries face. However minor the change may be, any change in motor skills makes a huge impact on an athlete.
It is important to bring these issues to the surface because it raises the level of awareness. In turn, this awareness has given way to support and more knowledge on the subject.

So thank you.
Woman's Ski team member

Thank you,

Ryan Kataoka
Academic Coordinator
University of Colorado