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I’m on the airplane headed to Los Angeles, California on this Tuesday morning. I was offered the opportunity to present at the largest annual gathering of soccer coaches in the world. When I first was put in contact with the operations coordinator about the possibility of speaking at this NSCAA convention in January 2017, he responded back with two comments: 1) To please send an outline of the topic in which I’d like to speak on; and 2) To date, they have never had a presenter speak on eating disorders.  I paused for a minute after reading the latter of his comments. In a studyRead More →

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Thinner. Faster. Better. The three words that kept repeating in my mind the summer before my sophomore soccer season at Michigan State. I was a midfielder; an outside midfielder to be exact. In simpler terms, I was responsible for covering a lot of ground, and doing an excess amount of running from end line to end line. It only made sense to me that if I was able to lose weight, it would be easier to gain stamina, and, therefore, be a better player. It was essential that I felt light on my feet, quick, and agile in order to achieve success at that level.Read More →

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Dear Michael, I have the absolute utmost respect and admiration for you. Of course, just like millions of other people, I have found your success in the swimming pool to be superhuman, unbelievably remarkable, and your ability to conquer feats that no other individual has accomplished. This past week, you earned yourself a record-breaking career with 23 Olympic gold medals. That, in itself, has placed you on an elite pedestal in sports; one of the greatest athletes of all time. But, my appreciation goes far beyond just your race times, medal counts, and victories; and that is what you have demonstrated as a human being,Read More →

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As I embarked on this new journey of sharing my personal story relating to my struggles with an eating disorder as a collegiate athlete, I knew the topic was sensitive, yet relatable to many people. An article that was published in USA Today about 2016 Olympians competing in Rio whom, also, have encountered similar obstacles as myself was not only enlightening, but a huge step in continuing to raise awareness of such a prevalent issue among athletes. I could not relate more to these women who are standing up, and publicly sharing their personal issues related to eating disorders and body image. As a youngRead More →

Erin Konheim Mandras Blog on Eating Disorders

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As we are approaching the hottest, most humid summer days, I can’t help but reflect back to the summer before my sophomore year of college. I was on a mission to train as hard as possible so I would report to preseason in the best shape of my life. I set out on this challenge, clearly, without any guidance or a strategic plan to make sure my mission was completed in the healthiest manner. My goal focused solely on running, more running, and then even more running. I was aware that drinking water was essential to staying hydrated, and I had, also, been attuned toRead More →

Erin Konheim Blog Soccer

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As high school and college graduation pictures continue to appear on my newsfeed, I can’t help but reflect back to those exciting, yet terrifying times in my life. The exhilaration of being a senior, moving away from home, and establishing independence is remarkable. Parties, freedom, friends, and community celebrating for what seems like weeks. But, in due time, each student will begin packing and preparing for the next phase of life. An abrupt transition from confidence to uncertainty occurs, and anxiety subtly begins to set in. Regardless of one’s connection and relationship to home and family, moving out can be very scary and overwhelming. ForRead More →

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My sport was soccer: where we got physical and dirty; wore over-sized uniform shirts and shorts; and wore shin-guards, covered to our knees with sock. Besides emphasizing needing strength and power in our bodies, nothing was ever discussed as far as body weight or shape–at least in my experiences. In fact, it was a style in my day to wear larger clothes to compete in. I used to stare at other athletes in various sports who needed to wear and compete in either a leotard, spandex, or even a swimsuit, and wondered how they felt comfortable competing in front of such a large crowd withRead More →

Erin Konheim Mandras Blog

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I was 18 years old, and I was home for the weekend visiting my parents during my freshman year of college. My mom and I, as we so often do, decided to head to the mall to go shopping. My mom has always been an expert at recognizing what styles would look most flattering for my body type. However, I can’t help but still wonder why every brand manufactures jeans that appear to not even fit in length of a 6’2″ skinny girl. So, as you can imagine, my short stature, all five feet one inch of me, was never promising when trying on pants.Read More →

Jewish and an Athlete - How it led to my downfall

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My last post about being an athlete and being Jewish may not have discussed body image or eating issues directly, but the challenges I faced related to being different from my peers were added stresses in my younger years. Eating disorders can develop as a result of many different causes, whether psychological, environmental, or biological factors. In my case, my eating disorder began when the pressures in my life became so overwhelming, and unbearable, that I clearly wasn’t able to cope, other than turning to food and exercise. As I reflect on specific scenarios in my childhood, I am able to identify experiences that caused immenseRead More →

Jewish Athlete Hall of Fame

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We say athletes come in all shapes and sizes; so, wouldn’t it make sense that culture and religion among athletes is equally as diverse? From my personal experiences, I always felt like the only Jewish kid in school who played competitive sports, outside of school and community leagues, and the only player on my travel and competitive soccer teams who was Jewish. I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, similar to that of any other city’s area where a large population of Jews migrated and settled. It almost seemed like any other religion outside of Judaism was a complete minority. Clearly, these types ofRead More →