The SuiteSpot
SuiteSpot Interview Series: Part One: Mykal Manswell, M.S.,LPC- Athletics Counselor, Mental Health and Performance Specialist. Resilient. Authentic. Purpose-Driven
Guest interview, Part One of two — see Part Two for the continuation
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Part one of a two-part conversation with Mykal Manswell, M.S., LPC, an athletics counselor and mental health and performance specialist. Manswell describes his own path from Division I football to counseling, built on an experience familiar to many college athletes: being unexpectedly dismissed from a team and losing, almost overnight, an identity built entirely around sport. He and Dr. Suite discuss how anxiety, depression, anger, and even spiritual conflict are normal human responses to that kind of loss, not signs of weakness, and how radical acceptance and grief can become turning points for rebuilding a sense of self once competition ends. Manswell offers a practical formula he returns to often, “time plus intentional effort,” and talks about the “wounded healer” idea — the way his own lived experience of loss now helps him build empathy with the athletes he counsels. The conversation also touches on today’s shifting college athletics landscape (the transfer portal, NIL, and changing eligibility rules), on masculinity and the decision to be transparent about needing support, and on fatherhood and raising a future athlete with balance. Part Two continues the conversation the following day. This episode is aimed at athletes, coaches, and counselors interested in identity and mental health beyond the scoreboard.
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Today, We sit down with Mykal Manswell to talk about what college athletics looks like when performance is not the whole story and life hits harder than the scoreboard. His path from Division I football to counseling shows how identity, grief, and healing can become a foundation for real mental strength.
Suite Spots: • returning to the college athletics setting with a new lens after COVID, transfer portal changes, NIL, and shifting eligibility rules • being unexpectedly dismissed from a team and the shock of losing a dream overnight • anxiety, depression, anger, and spiritual conflict as normal human responses to loss • radical acceptance and grief as turning points for rebuilding identity after sport • “time plus intentional effort” as a practical formula for healing • the wounded healer mindset and why lived experience builds empathy with athletes • youth development, autonomy, and building belief beyond a single identity • masculinity, pride, and the decision to be transparent about needing support • being both a therapy client and a clinician and what that teaches about change • fatherhood, purpose, and raising a future athlete with balance • mentors and parental figures as stabilizers during the best and worst moments Remember, we all need to ask for help sometimes, because it's only gonna make you a better person -- Stay tuned for part two of our interview with Mykal tomorrow
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Read the full episode transcript on Buzzsprout (automatically generated; may contain transcription errors)
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