Kelley O’Hara still remembers post-Olympic depression settling in after her first tournament in 2012.

The London Games marked her second major international competition with the U.S. women’s national soccer team, and the squad left the Olympics with gold medals. But O’Hara found herself struggling with the transition back to daily life.

“Post-Olympic depression was very real for me,” O’Hara said on the most recent episode of Snacks. “And we won, which is kind of crazy.”

The USWNT defender isn’t alone in those feelings. A 2021 study of Olympic and Paralympic athletes found that 24 percent reported experiencing high or very high psychological distress.

Following the 2012 Olympics, the team went on a 10-game victory tour that fall (which was “a lot, but also super fun,” O’Hara said). But as they were going on their run, the Women’s Professional Soccer league was folding. While O’Hara had signed with the Atlanta Beat in what was supposed to be a homecoming for the Georgia native, she and other players now had to figure out what to do next.

“We won, we had this incredible experience, and then we came home and it was such an incredible homecoming as well,” O’Hara said. “But we didn’t have games to go back to.”

That roller coaster of emotions can come after a loss as well, O’Hara noted, saying: “You’re gonna feel it either way.”

Even with the sustained success of the USWNT, the team has suffered its fair share of disappointments in O’Hara’s career: A silver at the 2011 World Cup; a quarterfinal loss at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil; a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

“I think that winning bronze is probably more enjoyable as a team sport athlete in the Olympics than winning silver because you basically lose [during the gold medal game] and in the moment you probably can’t appreciate it,” she said.

While the 2011 loss “wasn’t as intense” because it was her first major international tournament, O’Hara said, the sting of the 2016 Games stuck with her for a while.

“I think 2016 was probably the worst I felt post tournament, because we went out in the quarters of the Olympics,” she said. “I tried to be cool and normal about it, go to the parties, go see some events which were fun, but I was like, ‘This sucks, I’m not having fun.’

“I sat on my balcony overlooking the beach for an entire morning until the afternoon because I just was like ‘I don’t wanna do anything. Why am I here, why did I come here? What am I doing with my life?’”

Following the third-place finish at the Olympics last summer, O’Hara said she was able to reset a bit with a week off in between the international tournament and returning to her NWSL club, the Washington Spirit. The disappointment of the Olympic loss pushed her to help the Spirit go on a tear to win the NWSL title.

“Us losing in Tokyo was a bit of a catalyst for me to be like, ‘No, we’re gonna win this championship this year. Like, that’s all I have left to do, we’re doing it,’” O’Hara said. “I was like, absolutely not.”

The 2025 NCAA volleyball season is down to four top teams, as the Division I national championship tournament's Final Four takes the court in Kansas City on Thursday night.

No. 1 seeds Pitt and Kentucky survived a series of high-profile tournament upsets to punch their tickets to Thursday's semifinals, where No. 3 seeds Texas A&M and Wisconsin will join the Panthers and Wildcats.

"The Final Four is just so special, it is so incredible," Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield said ahead of Thursday's action. "You want as many of your players that are committed, that decide to come here, you want them to experience that."

Two teams will look to make history this weekend, with Pitt and Texas A&M both in pursuit of a program-first national championship.

While the Aggies are in uncharted territory, booking their first-ever semifinals berth last weekend, the Panthers are hunting a breakthrough, hoping to claim a first-ever championship final appearance in their fifth consecutive trip to the Final Four.

As for Kentucky and Wisconsin, the Wildcats and Badgers will be looking to add a second trophy to their cases after booking their first program titles in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball Final Four

The 2025 NCAA volleyball semifinals begin at 6:30 PM ET on Thursday, when No. 3 Texas A&M takes on No. 1 Pitt before No. 3 Wisconsin faces No. 1 Kentucky at 9 PM ET.

Both Final Four clashes will air live on ESPN.

As the 2028 LA Olympics come into focus, the FIFA Council unveiled the regional allocations for the Summer Games' first-ever 16-team women's soccer tournament this week.

According to the Council's Wednesday report, 2.5 slots will go to AFC (Asia), 2 to CAF (Africa), 3 to Concacaf (North and Central America), 2.5 to Conmebol (South America), 1 to OFC (Oceania), and 4 to UEFA (Europe), with one additional slot reserved, as always, for the host nation — the reigning Olympic gold medalist USWNT.

While the expanded competition allows for greater depth, one AFC and one Conmebol team will ostensibly have to face an inter-continental playoff to determine which region can send an additional team to the 2028 Olympics.

One the other hand, Concacaf's representation will double from 2024, growing from two to four teams given the automatic berth of the USWNT.

Similarly, after host nation France's autobid boosted UEFA'a 2024 allocation to three teams, this week's new distribution doubles the European confederation's previous non-host two-team max for the LA Games — meaning all four of the 2027 UEFA Nations League semifinalists will qualify to compete for gold in 2028.

Notably, CAF and OFC are the only confederations to not see an increase on their previous allocation from the FIFA Council.

The puck dropped on the 2025/26 PWHL Takeover Tour on Wednesday, when the No. 2 Montréal Victoire took down the No. 5 Toronto Sceptres 2-1 in an overtime shootout in front of a sold-out crowd in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Packed into Scotiabank Centre, 10,438 fans watched Team Canada and Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin score the shootout's lone goal, handing Montréal their third straight win.

"It was amazing to see the young girls and boys in the crowd wearing our jerseys, saying our names, and wanting our autographs," said Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie. "It's just extremely special."

The PWHL's 16-stop Takeover Tour is just beginning, with nine games planned for Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Washington DC, Denver, and more before the league pauses for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

"We hope that the impact is a positive one. Everywhere we go, that's the impression we want to leave — for little girls to know that they have a dream and that their dream can become a reality," said Sceptres captain and Nova Scotia product Blayre Turnbull following Wednesday's Tour stop.

Halifax marks the third-year league's fourth sold-out stop, joining fellow Canadian cities Edmonton, Québec City, and Vancouver.

How to attend the 2025/26 PWHL Takeover Tour

The PWHL will next pull into Chicago's Allstate Arena for a Takeover Tour stop on Sunday, when the No. 8 Ottawa Charge will take on the No. 6 Minnesota Frost on at 2 PM ET.

Tickets are currently available for purchase via Ticketmaster.

Months after Napheesa Collier set the WNBA ablaze with her viral exit interview criticizing league leadership, the Minnesota Lynx star said "nothing has changed" at the front office level as CBA negotiations stall.

"The conversation has been had now [and] people are seeing that changes need to be made," Collier said this week from Miami, where Unrivaled 3×3 is gearing up for its second campaign.

"I feel confident in the [union] and where we are internally with our players and the future," she continued.

In her October press conference, Collier publicly called the WNBA front office "the worst leadership in the world," putting commissioner Cathy Engelbert in the hot seat amid tense CBA negotiations with serious implications on next season's play.

The league and the WNBPA are currently sparring over revenue sharing, with diverging compensation expectations further distancing the two sides.

"Obviously, there's frustration in that both sides are trying to get what they want, but we still have that fire within us that we're willing to do what it takes," Collier said. "We're going to do whatever it takes to get what we think we deserve."

As talks drag on, Collier sees Unrivaled — the offseason 3×3 league she co-founded with New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart — as fueling the players' fight.

"Us being here in December and January until March, it's a crucial time in the CBA," Collier acknowledged.

"Having us all in one place is beneficial," she explained. "To have players congregate in that way, where you can have those in-person conversations and updates like that, that does help to get things moving more quickly."