I feel very fortunate to have experienced so many facets of the sports realm.  As a professional athlete, I learned first hand the trials and tribulations of struggling to achieve goals and the physical and mental situations that must be navigated.  It was during this time that I started to explore a Masters in the field of Sports Psychology and Kinesiology, as well as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certifications (NSCA-CSCS), so that I could find a way to optimize my performance against more experienced players.  I also realized how professional sports can bring out the true essence of a person and the elation when a life goal is achieved.

Following my retirement, I moved into the business side of sports.  Ever the entrepreneur, the experiences I gained as the VP of Operations for the Professional Beach Volleyball Tour in the United States and CEO and co-founder of a live stream broadcasting company were invaluable in my endeavor to understand the multiple facets of the sports world.  While I enjoy the business side tremendously, I missed the program development and personal interactions with players, teams, and coaches (one can only sit in front of a computer screen for so long) and decided to take my company international.  Transitioning into interacting more frequently with international players brought with it a new set of learning experiences as I worked to navigate language barriers and cultural differences.

Since its inception in 2005, Ratto Consulting has focused on business development and consulting to sports entities both domestic and international with a specialization in sports psychology and program development. Whether in individual session or in team/corporate program development, I believe that it is crucial to work to develop the complete athlete: psychologically, physically, and perceptually.  I am constantly striving to increase my knowledge base through research, learning, and experiences.  I bring a unique viewpoint from my well-rounded involvement in the business, academic, and applied sports sphere.

In addition to sports psychology and program development, Ratto’s passion lies in coaching. She has been coaching since 1996 and has coached at every level. Internationally, Ratto developed and implemented an Olympic Sports Psychology Program for the Olympic Training Center in Poland and coached all of the Olympic beach volleyball athletes in the pipeline in both skill and mental drills. She also was the head international coach in Italy and was responsible for all international coaches for BeachCamp.SE (2013-2017); Director and Professional Athlete/Coach for Volleyball Vacations in Turks and Caicos, a play and party with the pros adult experience, and coached the Mauritius National Team at the Swatch FIVB World Championships (2011). She has also run several tours, taking professional hopefuls to Puerto Rico (2005) and recreational adults to Italy (2017). Domestically, she has been an evaluator for USA Volleyball Elite Development Program (2015), Assistant Director and coach of Beach and Bay Volleyball Club (2006-2011), Assistant Volleyball Coach at Southwestern (2008-2010), Assistant Soccer Coach at Southwestern (2010), Head Intercollegiate Club Coach at San Diego State University (2004) and has been a head varsity and assistant varsity coach for multiple schools and sports (2001-2010).

Ratto played D1 volleyball at University of California, Riverside. While there, she was a 2-year captain, Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2000), All CCAA Academic Award, Rhodes Scholar Nominee, and still holds 2 records: 3rd in career assists and first in single season career attack percentage. Following a brief time playing indoor overseas, Ratto returned to start playing beach volleyball professionally on the AVP tour (2003-2010, 2015-2016). She also represented the Unites States twice internationally; once at a NORCECA event in Mexico (2009) and again at an event in Orleans, France (2009). She has also competed and won the Beach Volleyball Marathon in Bibioni, Italy; the largest beach volleyball tournament in the world (2015).