Not by the Playbook

Sometimes the odds seem so stacked up, and the challenges so large you can lose your sense of self when trying to navigate a path to success. So this week we set aside all doubters, embrace the impossible and hear how those who were told they couldn't do it proved everyone wrong.Kelsie Whitmore is at the heart of a development in baseball that has been many years in the making. In 1943 a professional women's league started and lasted for 10 years, it was successful, if you've seen the Hollywood movie, A League of Their Own" with Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna then you'll already know. Well fast forward 70 odd years and women's professional baseball is back! The "WPBL" or Women's Pro Baseball League is set to launch later this year with four initial teams based in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The inaugural draft has just been held where San Francisco chose Kelsie Whitmore as the very first pick. No real surprise because alongside representing the USA. Kelsie was the first woman to appear in the Atlantic League, a successful, independent professional men's league.Football club Red Star Paris has built a culture that means it's cool to be a fan of the team. How have they achieved this? Well in no small part through the influence of the clubs former creative director David Bellion. His is a name not unknown amongst football fans. David Bellion played the game professionally for almost 20 years, ending at Red Star Paris but with four seasons at Manchester United along the way with Sir David Beckham, Sir Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo and all.Imagine being told you were too nice to succeed. That to get ahead you have to change your sunny disposition to a grumpy demeanor. That's what happened to double Commonwealth Games sprint champion Harry Aikines-Aryeetey. He tells us about how talked about how that upbeat personality helped him transition from star of the track to star of the small screen. He's currently "Nytro" on the UK TV show Gladiators and even when focused on winning gold at the Commonwealth Games he had one eye on what life beyond the 100m might look like for him.In 1967, the American motorcycle stuntman Evel Knievel made his name with a spectacular - if unsuccessful - attempt to jump over the fountains of Caesar's Palace Casino in Las Vegas. We discover the man behind the legend.PHOTO: Kelsie Whitmore pitches in the bullpen before her game against the Charleston Dirty Birds at Richmond County Bank Ballpark on July 08, 2022 in Staten Island, New York. Whitmore was the first woman to appear in the starting lineup in an Atlantic League game. She also became the first woman to pitch in an Atlantic League game. (CREDIT: Al Bello/Getty Images)

We look back on a year full of inspirational stories from around the world and interviews with people defying the odds!Inspirational stories from around the world. Interviews with people defying the odds Discover Not by the Playbook - the podcast which seeks out the most incredible stories from sportspeople and athletes. We bring you interviews with the sporting heroes who have achieved success in the face of seemingly impossible challenges. Formerly known as Sportshour, Not by the Playbook is brought to you by the BBC, the world's most trusted international news provider. Tune in to hear from some of the most famous names in sport on subjects you've never heard them discuss before. You don't have to be an Olympic gold champion to have an extraordinary story – we also scour the globe for inspiring individuals who make a difference through sport. Whether you’re a football or soccer fan, tennis lover, golf aficionado or cricket addict, you’ll find inspiration in the stories of resilience, determination, and discipline. Expect insightful, honest, and thought-provoking conversations from people who live and breathe sport. Listen to Not by the Playbook on the BBC World Service every Saturday at 0900 GMT, or find it as a podcast wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Get in touch with us via email and use the hashtag #NBTP on social media.

Hockey means different things to different people. In India it's second only to cricket in terms of popularity, but no the kind that is played on Ice... In Canada the frozen form of the game is the national sport, and has made worldwide stars on many of it's players, but those who represent the Canadian field hockey team are not well known. As we roam the globe we realise one thing really binds the two versions of the sport, amazing and inspiring storiesIn 2015 ice hockey player Daniel Carcillo was still living his dream playing for the Chicago Blackhawks and winning Stanley Cups. But despite having his named etched on the Staley Cup again in 2015 the year proved to be his last on the ice. Not even winning the most sort after prize in Ice hockey could hide the trauma he was going through. In February of that year he lost his best friend and former team mate Steve Montador. It was later revealed Montador had suffered with CTE, a degenerative brain condition is caused by concussions, something he and Daniel were more than used to as professional hockey players. Carcillo hung up his skates and left the rink for good but retirement did not bring him any peace, in fact his health deteriorated. Desperate for answer and living in the shadow of CTE, Daniel turned to researching alternative, less mainstream forms of treatment. He came to believe that the answers to the issues he was suffering with could be helped by Psilocybin, the main psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms. He tells us his story.Having represented New Zealand at the last four Olympics it's fair to say that Hugo Inglis has dedicated his life to the game of field hockey. Now into his mid 30's he decided to retire from the sport after the Paris Games, but unlike so many stories of sport stars struggling with life after competing, Hugo is thriving. What he's turned his hand to will have a far more reaching and positive impact in the world than he could ever imagine. Alongside friend and fellow athlete Marcus Daniell, Hugo has started High Impact Athletes an organisation which helps athletes channel the charitable efforts in a way that maxamises their money time and platform. Their mantra is "We believe in a world where all those who can give, give effectively".Field hockey in India is second only to cricket in terms of popularity... So it's not as unusual as you might think that when the women's team won an unlikely gold at the Commonwealth Games of 2002 their story inspired the hit Bollywood film, "Chak De India!" (Come On, India!), which is credited with improving attitudes to women’s sport in India. Not by the Playbook's hears from to the Indian goal-keeper, Helen Mary Innocent.It's 45 years since the USA beat the USSR in the Ice hockey competition at the Winter Olympics of Lake Placid in 1980. It's one of the iconic stories in Games history and retold at every opportunity! but what about the the other side of the Miracle on Ice story? time to hear the Soviet players viewPhoto: Raitis Ivanans #41 of the Los Angeles Kings and Daniel Carcillo #13 of the Phoenix Coyotes are restrained by the officials during their game at Staples Center on Feburary 18, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (CREDIT: Juan Ocampo/NHLI via Getty Images)

Having scoured the globe for the best stories from the world of sport we've decided to just drop in and hang about. Don't you think the best and most unexpected conversations often arise from just briefly stopping by? But our guests are far from slouches, in fact they are some of the most inspiring, innovative and industrious people you could ever wish to meet!We start by dropping in on a new world record holder. Brazilian Sandro Diaz is one of those athletes whose brain seems to work slightly differently to most others, and in a most wonderful way. A skateboarder of great experience, he's 50 years old, he recently fulfilled a dream he'd had for decades. For this story it's important to learn some of the lingo ... most importantly the "drop in"... that's how you get going from the top of a ramp. You balance on the edge, shift your weight forward and off you go hurtling down the ramp on your skateboard. In competition it might be six or eight feet. That's nothing to Sandro, who has just "dropped in" from 260 feet, that's about a quarter of the way up the Empire State Building. No safety harness, no parachute, just a man, his skateboard, a ramp and very tall building in BrazilThe Olympic discipline of modern pentathlon is, well, modernising. For the LA games in 2028 running, shooting, swimming and fencing stay but OUT goes showjumping and in comes obstacle course racing to make up the five disciplines. Historically the preserve of school playgrounds or army training programmes, the Obstacle Course has been popularised in recent years by TV shows like Ninja Warriors. Britain's Mila Stanzani recently returned from the Obstacle Course World Championships with a bronze medalPremier League side Brentford is a family club, where a warm welcome is guaranteed, proved in part by a new initiative the club have got behind. Initially it was to help the mental health of the players but now it's being rolled out across the local community. It's the simplest idea of just hanging out and chatting on a park bench. Not by the Playbook's Steve Crossman has been to find out morePlus we're hanging out with Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci. An icon of Olympic sport she was just 14 years old she achieved the first ever 'perfect 10' at the Montreal Olympics of 1976. PHOTO: Sandro Dias performs during Red Bull Building Drop Project in Porto Alegre, Brazil on September 07, 2025. (CREDIT: Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool)

For nearly 50 years drivers have attempted to navigate the Paris to Dakar Rally. It is an off-road endurance event over all types of terrain from tarmac to gravel to sand. You can take part in a car or on a motor bike, but if you do not have the right skills and support team around you then you can find yourself lost in the Sahara desert. In 2001 German Jutta Kleinschmidt became the first, and still the only woman to win the event, but that is not the twist in her story.The cult classic film Escape to Victory from the early 1980s features the unexpected mix of Hollywood mega stars Silvester Stallone, Michael Caine and football legend Pele, with a plot set in Nazi occupied France. We hear from John Smith who has recently published a book called Escape: A Love Letter to a Cult Football Classic. Badminton is a sport watched and loved by millions of people. It is a sport dominated by athletes from the far East, but at the Athens Games of 2004 Britain's Gail Emms, along side her partner Nathan Robertson, were on the brink of mixed doubles gold. But once Gail had retired from the game the unexpected twists and turns of life saw her struggle to cope. She has detailed it all in her autobiography Grit and Goose Feathers: Chasing Medals and Finding Me. My Olympic Journey Uncovered.Dutch goalkeeper Eddy Treijtel played more than 300 times for Rotterdam giants, Feyenoord. But he is best remembered for one of his most talked about moments and remarkable incidents in soccer history! Eddy has been telling us about the unexpected moment that went down in football folklore.Inspirational stories from around the world. Interviews with people defying the odds Discover Not by the Playbook - the podcast which seeks out the most incredible stories from sportspeople and athletes. We bring you interviews with the sporting heroes who have achieved success in the face of seemingly impossible challenges. Formerly known as Sportshour, Not by the Playbook is brought to you by the BBC, the world's most trusted international news provider. Tune in to hear from some of the most famous names in sport on subjects you've never heard them discuss before. You don't have to be an Olympic gold champion to have an extraordinary story – we also scour the globe for inspiring individuals who make a difference through sport. Whether you’re a football or soccer fan, tennis lover, golf aficionado or cricket addict, you’ll find inspiration in the stories of resilience, determination, and discipline. Expect insightful, honest, and thought-provoking conversations from people who live and breathe sport. Listen to Not by the Playbook on the BBC World Service every Saturday at 0900 GMT, or find it as a podcast wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Get in touch with us via email and use the hashtag #NBTP on social media.(Photo: Actor Sylvester Stallone (L) getting pointers from soccer great Pele (R) during filming of motion picture Escape to Victory. Credit: John Bryson/Getty Images)