September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and one part of this conversation with Luukas Ojala felt worth centering because of it.

Luukas served part of his mission in Colorado, split between a small town he loved and a stretch in Denver that was genuinely hard on him — real depression, tied to circumstances he doesn't go into detail about, that got serious enough he sat down with his mission president and his mission's mental health professional. Together they made the decision to transition him into service missionary work for the remainder of his time, rather than have him push through in a way that wasn't sustainable.

He's honest that the transition itself wasn't easy. He came home to take care of some medical appointments and felt, in that stretch, like he'd failed himself and let down the people he was serving for — even though that wasn't true at all. But what followed became some of the most meaningful work of his life: the Bishop's storehouse, the Portland Temple, a Catholic food bank, the Salvation Army, and coaching a group of twelve-year-olds in a stake soccer league with an aggressive tactical philosophy that produced 33 goals in four games.

The rest of the episode covers a lot of ground beyond that — his family's remarkable multi-generational conversion story in Finland, a formative loss on his high school swim team, his career in professional soccer administration, which he describes as his personal ministry, and Saints and Soccer, the global community he co-founded with Addison Walters connecting Latter-day Saints across professional soccer.

But the through-line worth sitting with this month is simple: asking for real help, from people actually equipped to give it, didn't derail his mission. It's what allowed the rest of it to happen.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by call or text.

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Kyleigh Hastings bought a car and accidentally found her dream school.

Her dad found a beat-up Charger for her older brother on KSL, they drove out to pick it up, and afterward found out whose car it used to belong to: Elisa Flake, then the star player at BYU. Kyleigh had no idea BYU even had a women's soccer program. That night the family watched the rest of Flake's season together. A year later, Makayla Kulahan's senior class went all the way to the NCAA final before losing to Florida State on penalties — a heartbreaking, unforgettable game that Kyleigh's family watched from their living room in Logan, right as she was entering the recruiting window herself. From that point forward, BYU wasn't a stretch goal. It was the only goal.

This episode is the first time this podcast has featured a Division I athlete, and Kyleigh — currently playing under a coaching legend in the final season of her career — brought a story with real range to it.

She talks about growing up in Logan, a bubble of its own but a different flavor than Utah County's, and how joining an ECNL club two hours away as a freshman changed the entire trajectory of her development. She talks about a strict rule her family lived by growing up: goals had to be things you controlled, never outcomes like making varsity or getting recruited, just the next tangible step forward — a rule enforced with soccer-ball stickers taped to her bedroom mirror for every goal scored.

She talks about going from a standout at every level to a guest player at La Roca who felt, by her own account, like the worst player in the gym every single day — and how learning to climb back from that exact feeling gave her the confidence to accept a bench role at BYU without it breaking her.

And she talks about her faith, honestly and without polish. A testimony that never quite felt like her own. A crisis triggered, of all things, by a large NIL deal and the question of whether to tithe on it. A prayer said in a parking lot outside the Provo City Temple — her temple recommend had actually expired, so she couldn't even go inside — where she heard four words that rebuilt her foundation from the ground up: "You are my beloved daughter."

She closes with advice she's already given to a cabin full of young campers: your identity is not your performance. It doesn't rise when you play well and it doesn't fall when you don't. It's fixed, because it was never yours to begin with.

Also — big shoutout to our newest sponsor, Good Candy: 70% less sugar, no artificial dyes or preservatives, and genuinely good. More on them soon.

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A quick one this week — no guest, no script, just some updates and some things that have been on my mind.

First, the good news: I got hired by Utah Valley University as an Athletics Academic Mentor. I'll be working closely with freshmen, transfers, and international student-athletes — exactly the kind of work that lines up with what this podcast has become about. First day is next week, and I'm genuinely excited.

Also — shoutout to Steadfast for continuing to sponsor this show. If you want to try them, use code SAHDAD20 for 20% off, and if you're in Utah County, delivery is free on top of that. Another sponsor announcement is coming late next week too, once it's finalized.

I'm recording this on September 11th, and that's part of why this one's a little different — shorter, less structured, more just from the heart. I've seen a lot of posts this week about needing to "be September 11th America again." I understand the sentiment, but I actually think about it differently. I'd rather we get back to September 12th America — the day after. The day the fear turned into resolve. The day I'd guess more prayers were said in this country than any other day in its history. That unity is what I hope we find our way back to.

Also — three of my kids are playing soccer right now, which means our weekends are wonderfully chaotic, and Arsenal is off to a great start this season. Small joys in a heavy week.

Next week's episode is already on the schedule and I'm really excited about it — a younger guest doing some genuinely impressive things, and I think it's going to resonate with exactly the demographic I'm trying to reach.

If any part of this hit home for you, I'd love to hear it. Faith. Family. Sports. Even on the short weeks.

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