We were lucky to catch up with Jamie Cantrell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jamie 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?

Backstory: I am a Division 1, Scholarship Collegiate Athlete. Played soccer at SMU. Team Captain, four-year starter and played in the NCAA Final Four.
Went on to coach both club and Varsity high school soccer. Served as Head Varsity coach for Ursuline Academy of Dallas for 9 years— winning 9 Consecutive State Titles. And earning Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) Coach of the Year.
Now, as a parent— I am raising the next generation of athletes. My stepdaughter played collegiate volleyball. And both of my sons play club sports and school sports.

I have served as a player, a coach and a parent in each domain of an athlete’s journey. And because of each of these roles, I have collected valuable experience, wisdom and connections. It has ALWAYS been my passion to coach and serve. That is just part of my DNA.

Four years ago, I began writing down a vision—-I began to really see the challenges of sports today. The same issues kept showing up— and so I began to get curious and investigate. And then I asked myself this question. If God has given me these experiences in life, how can I use them to serve the athletic community? The parents that are doing all they can for their kids’ athletic endeavors. At the selfless sacrifice of their time, resources and even their own health. The athletes, themselves—- we tend to focus SO much on the actual sport itself— the practices, extra skills sessions, the equipment, the travel— that we overlook the entire wholistic journey of what it means compete and succeed in today’s sports culture. Addressing the needed and necessary topics of physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, social and financial buckets of health. Both on and off the field.

Nine years ago, I fell into this amazing wellness community out of pure necessity. I was a broken down athlete. All those mistakes I made growing up—as an athlete, as a coach— and now as a parent— had led to this place in my own life, that I had to make health and lifestyle changes.

Which leads me to today. When the pandemic initially forced everyone home, ( I was already working from home) one of the greatest gifts it gave to people—myself included— was this time to really reflect and soul search. It gave me time to bring this vision to life. I have recently launched The Complete Athlete, where I get to coach, now, in the greatest arena.. The game of life. The Complete Athlete creates a wholistic approach for families of athletes to adopt healthy habits and gain a competitive edge in sports AND life.

Jamie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got into the wellness industry, by accident. As a former collegiate athlete, health teacher and coach, the irony wasn’t lost on me. Years and years of ignoring healthy practices—nutrition, stress management, etc— had led me to this gradual degeneration. And my poor habits were being passed along to my kids. It took the courage of our family pediatrician to recognize, that we were the Standard American Family, eating the Standard American Diet. For years, because of sports, I got away with it.. Until I couldn’t anymore. My health was compromised, and now, my children’s health picture was being impacted. Our pediatrician recognized that we needed to add more fruits and vegetables into our diets. More than 90% of American families fall short of eating the recommended servings of fruits and veggies daily, so she offered a simple solution that a tired, worn our mom need. JuicePlus. It was about all I could do at that time. For nearly 12 years, we have been eating JuicePlus— and it has been a catalyst for our family in a lot of positive ways.

I solve the problem most people have. We all know we should be eating more fruits and veggies. There is a difference between knowing and doing. And often times, the reasons we don’t commit to this foundational aspect of good health is that we lack of time, finances, or interest. Especially athletes and their busy families.

So JuicePlus is a simple solution to help people take the first step. JuicePlus is concentrated Whole Foods— more than 50 different types of important fruits and veggies that have been juiced, cooled, crushed and then made into powder form. 5 Consumable products to help people bridge the gap between what they do eat and what they should. To me, it is a “no brainer” for athletes, when their daily consumption of produce should be around 16-19 servings a day.

Nutrition and healthy habits as the foundation of the Complete Athlete— this is about serving the wholistic athlete. From a place of healthy physical habits—- and so much more. All the lessons, triumphs, losses and lessons learned along my journey— shared in the hopes of making someone else’s journey better. And blessed with so many amazing connections in the athletic arena, leveraging all their areas of expertise and knowledge — to benefit athletes and have their families.

Having the Complete Athlete come to life, means equipping athletes and families with the tools they need to meet their goals. It goes beyond the field, the court or the diamond. This transcends into every aspect of their lives. Brand is launching soon.. Look for me on IG (jamie.l.cantrell) for the foundation of it all.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Albert Einstein said,” information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience. You need experience to gain wisdom.”

If you ask me, that is the greatest value add I bring to the table. I am blessed to have a lot of athletic wisdom. Not saying I have it all figured out—actually have learned more in my setbacks as opposed to anything else. But you cannot replace the high-level experiences or roads I have traveled. And from different perspectives: as a player, then a coach, and now a parent.

Having been a 4-year starter, Team captain and earning a full NCAA Division 1 Scholarship… AND, having the rich opportunity of playing at the NCAA Final Four. That is a dream of many young athletes. Only a few get there. I want to show the world of sports what it takes, from a player’s perspective, a parent’s perspective, and a coach’s perspective. I can relate, in every aspect of athlete experience.

I want to share it all— the good, the bad and the ugly. I want to open gateways to real, raw and authentic conversations, equip families with tools they need and connect them to experts that can help support their specific journeys

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My son, Caden, was born in January of 2007, . Around spring break, if memory serves me correctly, it was time to renew my contract with Ursuline. Ursuline is this incredible community and culture. And I loved teaching and coaching on staff. However, the commute to Ursuline was far from my home. And between the commute, the long hours involved with coaching and my teaching responsibilities, I was discovering that I was spending more time with other people’s’ kids as opposed to my newborn son. And that was really hard.

My husband and I made the decision for me to stop my teaching responsibilities (I could still coach), and come home to raise Caden. It was an easy decision for me, for all the right reasons; yet, for the first time in my life, I was not working full time. I had put so much of my time and identity into working outside of the home, that I had to pivot.

If given the chance, I would make the exact same decision all over again. Being with Caden in those early years, and eventually Kellan.. those moments are irreplaceable. And I feel very fortunate to have that option. Yet, that decision didn’t come without challenges. I had grown accustom to earning my own income, being on a routine schedule, working with other adults. I had to learn to embrace, adjust and pivot. And in doing so, in time, it did allow me the opportunity to explore options to work from home.

Contact Info:

• Website: The Complete Athlete website is coming… To order JuicePlus products as part of the nutritional foundation: www.cantrell2.juiceplus.com
• Instagram: Jamie.l. Cantrell
• Facebook: Jamie Campanaro Cantrell

Image Credits
Chloe Saltarelli Photography (one image)