Conscious Teams
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Conscious Teams

TEAM CULTURE, DONE DIFFERENTLY.

for women's collegiate and pro sports

I help coaches and performance staff turn a roster full of different motivations into one shared drive. Not with more pressure. With a real understanding of what moves each of your athletes, and a way to build that understanding into how your team actually works together.

Book a Free Call See the Motivation SPACE Model

FREE 30-MIN CALL · NO PITCH · NO PRESSURE

Women's professional soccer match at dusk
A women's pro match, the kind of stage this work is built for.
Trusted by teams at University of Portland · Portland State University · Oregon State University · Warner Pacific University
Where it usually breaks down

There's real potential sitting untapped when nobody's looking at team psychology.

Here's where I typically find it.

  • Players who feel disconnected from each other, even when the talent is there.
  • Confidence that disappears right when it matters most.
  • Strategic changes that take far too long to actually stick.
  • A team that has quietly stopped having any fun.

I've been on both kinds of teams.

The ones chasing the same thing without anyone needing to say it out loud, and the ones where nobody can quite explain what's going on beneath the scoreboard. In fourteen years of playing soccer, ultimate frisbee, disc golf, volleyball, and now trail running, I've learned that the second kind isn't a talent problem. It's almost always a trust problem.

Old-school coaching says push harder, yell louder, cut whoever can't take it. I think that's not just outdated. It works against you. Your athletes are already motivated. The job is figuring out what motivates each of them, then building a team where that can actually show up.

Is this a fit

Let's be honest with each other first.

A good fit if

  • You coach or lead a women's team and something under the surface needs attention.
  • You're willing to look at team dynamics, not just skill and conditioning.
  • You want your athletes to want to be there, not just show up.

Probably not yet if

  • You're looking for a one-size-fits-all personality test.
  • You want a binder that gets read once and shelved.
  • You're not ready to bring the team into the process with you.
The Motivation SPACE Model

Five things every athlete needs, in different amounts.

My proprietary framework, built on organizational psychology, for understanding what actually drives each person on your roster.

SSignificance

Recognition and a meaningful impact.

PPredictability

Certainty, clear expectations, fairness.

AAutonomy

Independence and real decision-making.

CConnection

Belonging and real relationships.

EExpansion

Growth, learning, visible progress.

Learn the full model
In their words

Teams and colleagues on working together.

"Cara is simply incredible. She is both a deep thinker and an excellent practitioner. She leads with an inclusive, collaborative mindset and is continually bringing out the best in people."

Dr. Sarah Budd, PsyDAdjunct Professor & Executive Coach

"Cara brought a refreshing and vibrant energy to her role, always maintaining a fun and positive can-do attitude that is truly infectious. She exemplified the qualities of a truly caring professional."

Lisa Cole MillerGlobal Channel Activation Team Lead

"Her collaboration with us was incredible and I highly recommend the work she does. She was able to tailor her coaching to the specific needs of our team, and her consulting skills made a huge impact in helping us accomplish our team goals."

Beckie PerstonWomen's Ultimate Frisbee Head Coach, University of Portland
Ready when you are

Let's build a team that runs on trust, not fear.

Book a Free Call Get the Book
What we can work on

PICK THE STARTING POINT.

We'll go from there.

Every one of these starts from the same belief: your athletes are already motivated. My job is building a culture where that shows up, instead of the grind mentality that burns people out. Here's how we can work together.

INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS

These sessions give your team a shared language around motivation, fast. We move past theory into practical tools your athletes and staff can use right away, naming what fuels their performance and what quietly works against it. Teams walk away with the SPACE Model as common ground, and coaches who know how to stay present when it counts most.

DURATION: 2–4 SESSIONS IN PERSON OR REMOTE
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ONE-ON-ONE COACHING

For athletes and leaders who want to go deeper, this is high-touch coaching built around your own motivation profile. We work on the shift from being pushed by outside expectations to being pulled by what actually matters to you, so you can perform at a high level without burning out.

THREE 45-MIN SESSIONS IN PERSON OR REMOTE
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TEAM CULTURE CONSULTING

Long-term, strategic support for athletic departments and organizations ready to rebuild their culture from the ground up. We bring organizational psychology and leadership development together so Significance, Predictability, Autonomy, Connection, and Expansion show up everywhere: recruiting, practice structure, conflict resolution, and player retention.

RETAINER IN PERSON OR REMOTE
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Players and referee on the field during a night match
Game night. The work is built for moments like this.
Workshop participants talking at a table
Small-group work between sessions.
Not sure which one you need

That's exactly what the free call is for.

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The framework

THE MOTIVATION SPACE MODEL

Turning different drives into one direction.

Every team wants to move faster toward its goals. Most motivation advice treats that as a purely individual problem. This model reveals the team dimension of motivation, so you have a practical way to ask more of your athletes, in the way that actually moves each of them.

This isn't a personality test. It's a practical toolkit. Once we understand what's driving someone, we can ask for what works. The real change happens when your team builds that understanding together.

SSignificance

Getting recognition and making a meaningful impact on the team.

PPredictability

A sense of certainty, clear expectations, and fairness in how the team runs.

AAutonomy

Real independence and a genuine say in decisions that affect them.

CConnection

Meaningful relationships and a real sense of belonging on the roster.

EExpansion

Growth, learning, and being able to see their own progress.

Women's professional soccer match under the lights
Game night. This is where the work actually gets tested.
Two teams lined up facing each other before a match
Same model, every level, whichever two teams are lining up.
What teams report

What changes when everyone understands the SPACE model.

  • Players who can self-motivate through a slump, instead of waiting to be rescued.
  • Increased self-awareness, which unlocks deeper motivation and resilience.
  • A culture that actually attracts and retains your top talent.
  • Championship-level performance that holds up under real pressure.
How it works

Three steps, in order.

1

Take the assessment

Fill out the free Motivation SPACE assessment to identify the factors driving your own behavior. It's the groundwork for everything after.

2

Do the workbook

Get the Motivation Workbook to understand the research behind the model and how to put it to work for you.

3

Bring it to your team

The real impact happens when your team discusses these insights together. From there, we can schedule a workshop or talk about a season-long partnership.

Ready to bring this to your team

Let's talk about what that could look like.

Book a Free Call
About

MEET CARA

Founder & Facilitator, Conscious Teams

I've spent the last fourteen-plus years helping organizations build cultures where people actually want to show up, across tech, higher education, government, nonprofits, and collegiate and professional sports. I hold a master's degree in organizational psychology, and a genuine belief that high performance starts with trust, not fear.

I'm an athlete myself, in soccer, ultimate frisbee, disc golf, volleyball, and trail running, so I know what it feels like to be on a team that clicks. I also know exactly what it feels like when it doesn't.

That lived experience, paired with neuroscience-based approaches, is what shaped the Motivation SPACE Model, a framework that helps coaches and athletes understand what truly drives them so they can communicate better and perform at their best.

  • Holistic Player Development
  • Team Dynamics Assessments
  • Organizational Culture
  • Team Connection Workshops
  • Research-Backed Methods
Cara at a Lexington Sporting Club match
Cara, courtside at a Lexington Sporting Club match.

The old-school approach isn't just outdated. It's actually working against you.

"Yell louder, push harder, cut whoever can't take it" treats motivation like it's the same for everyone. It isn't. My work is about helping coaches tap into what actually works: understanding each person's real motivators, building authentic connection, and creating an environment where people can thrive. Once trust is there, everything else tends to follow.

On my own team

Fourteen-plus years of learning this from the field, not just the whiteboard.

Cara throwing a disc mid-play in an ultimate frisbee game
Still playing after all these years.
Cara contesting a disc against an opponent
Competing hard and staying connected to the team around me.
Cara celebrating with her ultimate frisbee team after a win
The kind of team culture I try to help every client build.
Let's work together

Start your team's path to team excellence.

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Get in touch

LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR TEAM.

At Conscious Teams, I'm here to support your journey. Reach out and let's see if this is the right fit.

BOOK A FREE 30-MINUTE CALL

VIRTUAL 30 MIN NO COST
  • Share what's happening on your team and what you're hoping to shift.
  • Learn how Conscious Teams coaching works, and whether it's a fit.
  • Walk away with clarity on your next step. No pressure, no pitch.
Schedule on Google Calendar
A quiet Kentucky landscape

Based in Lexington, Kentucky. Working with teams in person and remotely, nationwide.

Get the Book: Countercultural Motivation