Sydni O’Connell: Combining Strengths To Connect with Kids

 
Many of us go through a stretch in life wondering if our talents are being maximized, thinking back to a time in our lives when we prioritized something we love, but somehow that something has fallen off. I’m talking about singing, or acting, or drawing, or playing sports, or simply being more active. We find ourselves on a singular track and say, “I know I can do more. I just have to find that sweet spot.”
 

That exact dynamic led to the birth of Exerpysch, an adolescent physical and mental health studio owned and operated by Syndi O’Connell, a former basketball player at Walpole High School and Hobart and William Smith College. Sydni loves to exercise and stay fit and her studies, after basketball, earned her a Master of Science in Applied Educational Psychology from Northeastern, as well as a Certificate of Advanced Grad Study in School Psychology. From 2017-21, Sydni settled in as a school psychologist in the Newton public school system, and learned how to help navigate the minds of students.
 

“I once worked where a student would show up and walk into the room and not speak. Nothing,” said Sydni. “It made for a long 50 minutes. My supervisor was saying, ‘There’s gotta be something we can do for this kid. How are we gonna help him?’ This school had a gym, so they sat in the gym on rowing machines side-by-side and just casually started rowing. The kid, he started talking like crazy. It was incredible. That was a pivotal moment for me where I realized, it’s not always effective to have the kid just come and sit down. Some kids can, sure, but to just come and sit and look at you across the room? They just came from math class, they’re headed to their science test and you have this 30 minutes and you say, “Talk to me. What’s going on?’ Right? That doesn’t work for a lot of kids.”
 

Through a series of grassroots experiments like that, Sydni learned she could be effective in the adolescent mental health space by combining her passion for exercise with her expertise in psychology. She would not only serve kids more effectively, but enhance her own fulfillment.
 

Exerpsych’s studio was opened on Hartford Street, next to Universal Power Yoga in the back of the plaza on High Street featuring ARCH Orthodontics and Comella’s. Sydni had a home to bring her magic to life.
 

“It’s the happy chemicals,” she said when I asked what makes exercise the secret elixir to get kids to open up. “You hear about serotonin and dopamine that go into the brain – that’s one aspect of it. Then, in many ways it’s a distractor for kids. They come in here anxious, all worried about things that are going on outside of here in school. Exercise shifts their focus to something else. There are so many benefits.”
 

For a woman who competed on the court through college, the end of Sydni’s athletic career came to a halt quickly. Finding this way to stay physically engaged while also engaging mentally with people she’s qualified to help was a home run… or in her case an, “And One!”
 

“I’ve always been a helper,” said Sydni. “I’ve always been fascinated by human behavior and what makes people different – what makes them act differently. I think all kids can benefit from meeting with a mental health professional. So as I learned about how effective the combination of exercise and psychology is, I figured combining my two passions would be a great way to break down a natural barrier.”
 

Sydni works with small groups and individuals, starting relationships with a get-to-know-you session and evolving into a series of sweat sessions where the ice is cracked and the happy chemicals are released, making it easier for all to connect.
 

“Ultimately, it’s just meant to be a feel good space,” she said. “You walk in the door, the music is blaring, we have six stationary bikes over there. It looks like a spin studio, honestly. We ride to the music, just have fun, and then the other side of the studio is our zen space.
 

We sit among the fairy lights and chat with one another, maybe play a game. The whole space is just meant to make you feel good.”
 

Listen to my full conversation with Sydni in Episode 100 of the Westwood Living Podcast, found on the Westwood Living Podcast Network across SoundCloud, Spotify, Amazon, Buzzsprout, YouTube and Facebook.