We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Casey Rovinski a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Casey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

I started playing tennis about 2 years ago and at 33 years old it was the first sport I had ever played. For some context, growing up, PE was my least favorite activity – especially, and I can’t tell you why, anything involving a ball coming at me fast. I ran, literally, in the opposite direction. But, after years of engaging in activities that I closely grazed perfection in, I was inspired to find some contrast.

Since playing, I have been constantly catching mini lessons that are completely parallel to those I am moving through in my own personal playing court of life, love, and entrepreneurship.

During a lesson a few weeks back, I made the connection between the perceived “slow down” of the ball coming at me and the ease or “flow” in my racket meeting it. It was clear that as I became more skilled in tennis, the speed of the ball appeared to slow down, giving me more “time” to process, plan, and follow through with a full swing that worked. I felt AMAZING here – comfortable, super capable, playful, and ultimately just a better tennis player. BUT a the same time, with every 20 minutes of ease, came the next opportunity to chip away at my potential by sharpening my new skill set, with a cue from my coach, for example, to tweak my wrist or modify my weight placement. The novelty of the adjustment required more time for my body to acclimate, less time to process, and the perception was “AHH the tennis ball is coming at me much faster now!”

My coach’s strong attunement for my need to ground and be present in the pleasure of my play while simultaneously holding the next box of mastery to fuel my potential allowed me to engage in a beautiful dance of expansion. This awareness has been a reference point in not only my own personal practice, but also within my romantic partnership, my team of therapists at SOTB, and with the parents and children that I get to serve.

The question I come back to is, how can I sink into the comfort of my creation while, at the same time, trusting in discomfort’s magic to move me forward? As a Speech-Language Pathologist and parenting with autism coach, I pin the question:

“How can we be present with the raw, beautifully imperfect, and awkwardly playful pieces of our child (and their reflection of us) while simultaneously inspiring new milestones by holding the highest vision of their growth?”

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I graduated in 2016 with a masters degree in Speech-Language pathology and opened a pediatric private practice two years later. Currently I have an incredible team of women who all share the similar vision and are devoted to supporting families of children with speech-language delays.

I would say that my personal purpose has changed dramatically within these last 5 years but what has always remained to be true is my heart’s yearning to hold a meaningful space for the children and families that I serve.

I have learned that my purpose here is to create connection and, thank you to the universe, I get to do that everyday with the little and big angel beams that I call my clients. My clients are children with autism and their parents, teachers, or guardians who dedicate themselves to supporting their children everyday. My clients are the mothers and fathers who have to dig deep into their own psyche in order to meet their children where they are at, accepting, and loving all of their gifts WHILE holding the vision for their highest potential to blossom on their own time. My clients are a true inspiration and the fuel that keeps me craving for that connection.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Embodiment.

I have been playing around with this intention to fully embody everything that I teach, coach, or yearn to inspire in my clients for a while now. It isn’t just an act of doing something a certain way, it is a practice in a “way of being” in each fleeting moment.

I say practice to make room for grace, awareness, reflection and fine tuning. I say practice to leave room for our humanity.

A few qualities that consistently come up with the parents of children with Autism that I work closely with are (1) acceptance (2) trust and (3) vulnerability, to name a few. All three are such powerful tools for connection. So for example, a practice that I am in is learning how to be more accepting and more trusting of myself in order to be able to be fully vulnerable when needed. This type of intentionality, I believe, creates opportunities far beyond our own individual purpose or field, but out rippling into the word around us. Everywhere.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I don’t think there is enough to be said in entrepreneurship about just being a good human who brings light, energy, and love into a space. The power within the “feeling” that a person gives off is the thing that we, as humans, crave most. Ultimately it’s the feeling of connection – of being seen, felt, or heard. You can’t learn or unlearn this though- you just have to open your heart and your gifts can’t help but be received.

It is this truth from Maya Angelou who said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”, and that says it all for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.speakoutsidethebox.com/
• Instagram: @caseyrovinski

Image Credits
Tracy Marks