We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stef Bingham. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stef below.
Alright, Stef thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.
After finishing my Division One college basketball career and graduating from St. Francis College in New York, I had no idea what I would do next. At the end of my last season, I was approached by our college’s sports analyst and offered a local coaching gig at a nearby private school. For me to coach the girl’s basketball team, I would first have to coach their girl’s volleyball team. This was a surprise! The truth was, I had never touched a volleyball before, and I didn’t know any of the game’s rules or regulations. Quickly I learned to adapt to the role of, “Motivational Coach,” providing encouragement, gentle suggestions, and reminders from the head coach. I then began to throw in a few affirmations, based on things that I knew would inspire individual students. Through forming connections with the volleyball players, I began to realize my connection and passion for teaching and mentoring young people.
After the girl’s volleyball season ended with a record of 9-5, I was offered a K-12 Substitute Teaching position within the private school. There, I quickly learned classroom management, lesson execution, and relationship-building skills. I would later take those same skills to my first full-time position as a Youth Development Coordinator of an LBGTQIA+ non-secure placement facility in Brooklyn, NY. After a year of working with state-governed youth, I transitioned into the field of education where I would later serve as a STEM educator for grades 6-12 in the underserved communities of Brooklyn, NY for over 10 years. The knowledge gained during my experiences as a coach and educator inspired me to start my coaching and mentoring business for youth which I named Hey Healers LLC. The name Hey Healers LLC was created to inspire and encourage other “healers” to share their knowledge of healing with others.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
My name is Stef Bingham and I am the founder of Hey Healers LLC. Basketball was the first place that I learned to feel and be 100% Stef. As children, we grow older and are either asked or told who or what we are going to be. I stumbled my way into basketball because of my tall height at a young age. The court was the first place that allowed me, an anxious straight-A student, to learn to release some of my stresses and anxieties physically. During both my athletic and academic careers, I learned the importance of knowing and understanding yourself. My passion for basketball fostered my drive and growth. This passion has transitioned throughout the years, from my basketball career to now exposing young people to the tools and education needed to understand, develop, and guide their own goals and dreams.
At Hey Healers LLC, our mission is to empower young people to learn how to heal themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally through motivational coaching, mentoring, and education. I offer individualized mentorship and athletic/life coaching sessions. I enjoy working with clients as we set SMART goals personalized to targeted life areas of growth. Many of my clients come seeking help with general and social anxieties, introspective work (self-help, coping, managing), and academic tutoring. Other clients who are interested in athletic training usually seek improvement in overall player performance or skill development in a private or small group setting. I pride myself in demonstrating and upholding high attainable expectations of my clients while nurturing and fostering the development of their critical thinking skills, confidence, and personal direction.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
As an avid overthinker, a lesson that finally freed my mind was learning that we are not our thoughts. In 2019 during the covid-19 pandemic, with a lack of physical human connection, contact, and the alarming death rates, like many others, I fell into a depression. I felt stagnant, lost, and even more, lonely. Trapped inside my “Cinderella shoebox” apartment with 2 roommates in one of the loudest cities in the world, I was engulfed daily by the clutter of my own negative thoughts and the news.
Looking for small outlets of relief, I turned to mindfulness and meditation. Quickly learning the power of being mindful and taking time to meditate helped me find small bats of peace throughout my day and life. Using tools such as journaling and grounding to channel my energy and thoughts to release unnecessary thought patterns and replace them in ways that I’ve never had before. I learned the importance and power of thought. The power that our thoughts have is immeasurable and can either be the uprising or downfall of a person. Our thoughts are everything. They can be everything dreadful, peaceful, or in between, but the ultimate choice is ours.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Growing up my parents always instilled in my sister and me the importance of education and how it was the role of children in the family to rise higher or to seek higher opportunities than their parents have. So one of my earliest goals in life was to go to college. When I first began eighth grade, I got invited to attend a college exposure program that changed my life! The program allowed middle schoolers to spend two days with college students on campus, attending classes with them, sleeping in their dormitory, and even eating with them in the food hall. This was the first time that I’d ever stepped foot on a college campus and knew right then, that I would do whatever was in my power to be able to be in those same shoes as the college student that hosted me for this experience.
I’ve always been a hard worker, but during my high school career, I made extra efforts before and after school to practice my skills to ensure the highest playing performance and quality possible. After an injury to my dominant shoulder that limited my scoring and playing ability, I began to lose momentum in the interest of college teams. At the end of my senior year of high school and I was not yet committed to play for any collegiate basketball programs, which worried me tremendously. Despite my injury, I began to reach out to schools that I was interested in attending and playing for, and I received three calls back from colleges inviting me to their campus for a visit.
The first two colleges that I went to visit weren’t a good fit for me, but the last college visit was my final shot. I got invited to explore the beautiful city of NYC, the school’s campus, and the sports facilities. At the end of the visit was offered an opportunity to play in a pickup game with the team. The catch was I would be playing against another recruit who was interested in the last opening on the team as well. This was my final chance to become part of a team and earn a full Division One scholarship, so I played this game with all of the fire and power I had to get the attention I needed at that moment.
At the end of the visit, I said my goodbyes to the team and coaching staff, and she let me know that she would be in touch later in the week. Wednesday was the official closing day of all college teams, so if you were not selected for a team you most likely weren’t going to play that season. On Monday evening, while helping my younger sister’s AAU practice, I received a call from an unfamiliar 917 number. The voice on the other line was the head coach from the weekend offering me the last spot on her collegiate team and a full Division One basketball scholarship. She informed me that the last vote came down to the team and they all agreed that my work ethic, skill set, and team player attitude were the better fit for the team.
It was that evening that I became the first person on both sides of my family to be accepted and later graduate from college. I owe this journey to my resilience and determination as a young child, planting the small seeds that would one day blossom into the realities of my wildest dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: HeyHealers.net
- Instagram: heyhealers