Latest / Authentic Living / Are Olympic Athletes Born or Created? with Angela Kelly
Transcript
- 0:01Welcome to authentic living with Roxanne, a place where we conscious conversations about
- 0:08things that really matter in our lives.
- 0:12And now here's your host, Roxanne Derhodge.
- 0:36Sandra, let's let's just kinda jump into this whole concept of, that athlete athletes are
- 0:43created.
- 0:44You know, I'm gonna assume and the the Brian is how old now.
- 0:4928, twenty eight years old.
- 0:51And when did you kind of first see?
- 0:54Now I know with your background, you were an athlete going up and, you went to things like
- 1:01officer, which is the Ontario, kind of regionals for running.
- 1:05So I'm gonna say that wasn't her blood to begin with.
- 1:08Yes.
- 1:09So at some point, she started to demonstrate a skill.
- 1:13So when when was that?
- 1:14That she started to kind of show the the ability to, to run or even had, you know, show
- 1:22that you wanted to be an athlete.
- 1:25We tried many different sports with Mariah, but nothing seemed to fit for her her personality,
- 1:30her style.
- 1:32So it was in, we would always do a little running ourselves as a family, and, she always
- 1:38participated in that.
- 1:39And there was a when she was at Notre Dame, which was a grade school, in the area.
- 1:46So you're saying that, she showed acumen, not until she was about fourteen years old.
- 1:52Actually, younger than that.
- 1:53Around 12.
- 1:54Around 12.
- 1:55Okay.
- 1:55Around 12 years Okay.
- 1:56So you'd go on your little family runs.
- 1:58I remember when we would go walking, or you'd say she would go on her roller blade.
- 2:02She would give up, and you would keep running.
- 2:04Yes.
- 2:04And that was probably when she was a little bit younger.
- 2:07Yes.
- 2:07Okay.
- 2:08So you're saying that there's she started to demonstrate something that said there was more.
- 2:14Well, she always wanted to be good at something, and she would always talk.
- 2:17What do I need to do?
- 2:18What do I need to do to be the best at this?
- 2:20So running was something that I said, you know, you have some natural talent in running.
- 2:24Why don't you think about pursuing that?
- 2:27So at 12, she competed at the Notre Dame Delegienes against all of the children there,
- 2:34all grades, 7 and 8.
- 2:36And she actually won the cross country meet.
- 2:40So that was enough to instill the confidence she needed and be, you know, to allow her to
- 2:45feel that, yeah, this is something I can do.
- 2:48And by the time we got into grade 9, we had signed up with a local trackbook, Niagara
- 2:55Regional Athletics.
- 2:58And she was committed to making the Olympics at some point.
- 3:02So she's been talking about making the Olympics since she was fifteen years old.
- 3:06Wow.
- 3:07That's pretty amazing.
- 3:08Right?
- 3:08So she's she had it in her.
- 3:10I would say genetically from some from you guys running and you being going off and doing
- 3:15regionals yourself.
- 3:17And at some point, she decided I'm into it, and then she wants to go to the Olympics.
- 3:22Was there ever talk about that when you were growing up and you were running?
- 3:25Absolutely.
- 3:25I was, I was third in all Canada or the 8 1500 meter.
- 3:32And there was talk.
- 3:34I was in grade 9 at the time, and there was talk of me, you know, going off for the summers
- 3:39and competing at a higher level internationally in the US and throughout Canada.
- 3:45And, my parents weren't quite sure if that was a good idea.
- 3:48For me.
- 3:49And at 15 or 14, the age I was, I wasn't really able to make that decision either.
- 3:55So, I I don't regret not pursuing it, but in my cards, it just didn't play out, but I had the
- 4:02town I had coaches and and schools looking at me also in grade 910 about going away to
- 4:09compete.
- 4:10So, yeah, there was some, you know, genetics that she gained, but I think what she had that
- 4:16most athletes at this level, displayed as she had that innate ability to commit and do
- 4:23whatever it took to make it.
- 4:25And she believed that she could do it.
- 4:28Let's talk about those that innate ability.
- 4:30Right?
- 4:32So what does that look like?
- 4:33Like, she starts running.
- 4:35Obviously, she I mean, she's talented.
- 4:37She's she's she's slender.
- 4:38She's longer.
- 4:39She's got the record of physique.
- 4:42So when you see any ability to kind of commit, what what does that look like?
- 4:47It's never giving up.
- 4:48Like, there's lots of setbacks in a sport like the 1500 meter, which is what she is
- 4:53specializing in now.
- 4:55It's only you you can look at when you fail or when you have setbacks.
- 5:00There's no one else.
- 5:00In a team, you have the whole team behind you in in running or track and field.
- 5:05It's only you.
- 5:06So she just demonstrated the ability, what do I need to do?
- 5:10Tell me what I need to do, and I will do it.
- 5:12And she did.
- 5:13Everything that she was told, she did.
- 5:16She left nothing to chance.
- 5:18And she slowly started to succeed.
- 5:21The other thing I think she, displayed was the belief that she could overtake her opponents.
- 5:28So she'd look at someone like, that was way better than her and say next year, I'm gonna
- 5:34get her.
- 5:35And the following year, she'd be way ahead of this this young lady that she was competing
- 5:40with.
- 5:40So that that whole concept of of seeing it in your mind.
- 5:43Yes.
- 5:43Right?
- 5:44Is something that she sounded that she did very well, very young.
- 5:48Was that her personality
- 5:49all her life?
- 5:50Yeah.
- 5:50Always.
- 5:51Okay.
- 5:51So tell me what she was like as a little girl.
- 5:54Well, whatever she set her mind to, she would do.
- 5:56She just asked, how do I need what do I need to do to accomplish this?
- 6:00How will this be if I if I get to this level?
- 6:03And we always instilled in her if you believe and you try, you will succeed.
- 6:10Right?
- 6:10So I think that's, something that's important and and and neatly believing that because
- 6:15sometimes you can say that to children, they they don't believe it.
- 6:19She really did believe that if she put in the hard work and she did everything she was
- 6:23supposed to, that she would succeed.
- 6:25So let's talk about some of these traits you're referring too.
- 6:28The that there's certain, like you said, athletes are created.
- 6:31They're not born.
- 6:32And that said, I wanna say she had to have certain genetics.
- 6:37Like we said, she may have gained from you.
- 6:39She obviously had the right environment that said, hey.
- 6:42You know, if you can see it, you can you can do it, but it's gonna take a whole lot of hard
- 6:47work.
- 6:48And, and, I mean, I know I follow her on Instagram and Facebook, and I see what it
- 6:52takes.
- 6:53You know, and and it's ongoing, you know, day in, day out and and the sacrifice that she's
- 6:58had to make.
- 6:59But so what are some of the qualities that you said These athletes or people like Mariah have.
- 7:05I think it's they have to have confidence, and the confidence comes from their success.
- 7:11From that, they have to have a strong sense of motivation.
- 7:14There are times where she puts way more effort in what she gets back out of it, meaning that,
- 7:20you know, her her workouts translate into a certain performance, and then it doesn't ever
- 7:26not ever.
- 7:26Sorry.
- 7:27It sometimes doesn't show when it should on the track.
- 7:30Mhmm.
- 7:30So dealing with that setback and having to analyze and look at where you can do things
- 7:37differently.
- 7:38Think being able to receive criticism or being coachable you can never get to a level where
- 7:44you're not coachable.
- 7:46You always need to be able to improve.
- 7:48I think the other thing is, having that inner desire to succeed and she's demonstrating the
- 7:54that most of her life, she's never gonna be a failure.
- 7:57She was never going to fill anything she ever put her mind to, she was successful at.
- 8:03Another example is academically, we put her in an all French school from Junior kindergarten
- 8:08to grade 8.
- 8:09She ended up being fluent in French.
- 8:12She was the valedictorian of that school.
- 8:16So you know, all the challenges that we presented to her, she overcame with some
- 8:22setbacks and, of course, some, you know, difficult trying times, but believed in what
- 8:28sorry.
- 8:28She was trying to accomplish.
- 8:30I think they have to be a natural goal center, and she was always very good at that.
- 8:34In fact, I still have her 4 year plan when she was fifteen to get to the Olympics and what she
- 8:40had to do and every step of the way and the things that
- 8:43she had to take Well, did she have, like, a journal or a log of just journaling?
- 8:48And she also had a poster of Robert bed where she laid out the time frame.
- 8:52With all the steps.
- 8:54All the steps.
- 8:54Wow.
- 8:55Yeah.
- 8:55So it's so funny because I, obviously, you know, RJ gulfs that that's also something that
- 8:59he does.
- 9:00And you know, I would see on his desk at night, he would talk about what he did that day and
- 9:05what he was going to try to achieve that day.
- 9:07So it's interesting.
- 9:08Because that was not something that I ever taught him or he was really exposed to at a
- 9:13young age.
- 9:14Right.
- 9:14You know?
- 9:15And I think that's something that you see in these elite athletes some self disciplines,
- 9:19another one that she's had to make many decisions and be disciplined, when everyone
- 9:25else in her age group or out, you know, drinking and partying.
- 9:29She she would go along, but come home early because she knew she had a long run the next
- 9:34day or she had, you know, a race that she was competing at.
- 9:38Optimism is another one, I think, to be optimistic and believe that you can make that
- 9:42world stage.
- 9:43And what that performance translates to.
- 9:47There's no self doubt.
- 9:48Right?
- 9:48You have to believe and, move forward.
- 9:52We talked about the natural leadership, and I think she demonstrated that most of her young
- 9:57life and into her adult life.
- 9:59I see it how she speaks to her teammates.
- 10:02How she is at events.
- 10:04When she does do interviews, she talks about that leadership, you know, ability and leading
- 10:09others.
- 10:11Resilience, I think is another one.
- 10:14And I think all elite athletes have this sense of resilience.
- 10:18You know, and, the ability to to work through that.
- 10:23So let's talk a little bit, you know, resilience which, you know, we talk a lot, and,
- 10:27you know, obviously, you know, my brand is completely about resilience and get them back
- 10:30up when you get knocked down and how you're gonna make sense of it.
- 10:34Now as a parent, so I'm gonna think you played 2 roles.
- 10:37I think you gotta you probably helped her with the mindset stuff ongoing, but you also were a
- 10:42mom.
- 10:42And, obviously, you know, dad was there too.
- 10:44And so how do you kinda differentiate those roles?
- 10:49It it can become it was easier as she was younger because needed more of that parenting
- 10:56mother figure plus the, you know, the believing, the raw raw that she or leader in
- 11:00the background.
- 11:01As she's been in her adult life, It's been much more difficult.
- 11:05She doesn't need me as a mother anymore.
- 11:07She needs me more as a mom that asks about how she's doing personally, not how she's doing
- 11:13with her races or how she's performing.
- 11:15So I've taken a conscious approach to this, and I try not to follow all of her races.
- 11:21I looked them up after.
- 11:22I don't talk about them with her until she's ready to talk about them.
- 11:26If I do watch a race, via video.
- 11:31I'll wait till she calls me to talk about it versus calling Ruff saying, oh, I saw your
- 11:36race.
- 11:36You look so great.
- 11:38I try to give much technical feedback.
- 11:42I stick more with the, you know, what I see as a mom.
- 11:46And how proud I am of her and all of that.
- 11:49She'll often get into those discussions, the technical piece, and she'll, you know, sound
- 11:53things off and I listen.
- 11:55Think listing is really important, especially with an adult elite runner.
- 11:59Mhmm.
- 11:59She knows exactly what she needs to do, and sometimes she just needs some reassurance.
- 12:04It's really kind of taking the perspective as being mom first as she's become an adult versus
- 12:10maybe when she was younger, you know, you probably were teaching her a lot more
- 12:13nutrition, maybe a bit about mindset.
- 12:16I mean, obviously, with her training camps, like, that I see all the time, she's got the
- 12:21coaches.
- 12:21She's got I mean, her eating, obviously, you know, she's ripped to the point where, you
- 12:26know, it's it's just phenomenal to watch.
- 12:28Right.
- 12:29The level of commitment it takes with nutrition and all those things, right, and she's
- 12:33constantly training.
- 12:34So really being unconditional with her as a mom, you're saying is one of the best qualities
- 12:41that she needs at this point to to help her kinda get to where she's going.
- 12:45Right.
- 12:46Yeah.
- 12:46She doesn't need me to be telling her what to she already knows what she needs to do.
- 12:50Sometimes she needs some reassurance that she's on the right track, or she might ask me
- 12:55something about nutrition and what she might be able to clean up, and then I'll give some
- 12:59feedback on that, but you're right.
- 13:00She's supported by a lot of efforts.
- 13:04Sometimes she just needs to just to be listened to.
- 13:08So let's talk a little bit.
- 13:09Now when she started to she went from, obviously, winning.
- 13:12You said that 1st championship there's she's been at level after level, and she's to get to
- 13:16have gotten where she's gotten.
- 13:17So tell everyone kind of where she's at now and, in reference to where where she's trying
- 13:23to get to in the next law.
- 13:25So right now, she is on track for 2020.
- 13:29And, She is, very close, I would say.
- 13:36There's a third spot open top 3 athletes in Canada go.
- 13:40To the Olympics.
- 13:41She is competing for 3rd spot right now, and the difference between the three other girls
- 13:47that are there is a 10th the second each.
- 13:49So it's it's all reachable.
- 13:52She still has to run the standard, which is for 406.5.
- 13:57For the fifteen hundred meter.
- 13:59Her best performance is 409 low.
- 14:04So it seems like a lot, but, I think under the right circumstances, she's right there.
- 14:12This year, she placed 3rd in Canada, and she was on the podium and received a medal.
- 14:18And I think that was a really another good place for her to be to boost her confidence.
- 14:23As to where she should be this year.
- 14:26So this is a big year for her.
- 14:29The Olympics is in July of 2020.
- 14:32It's in Tokyo, and, everything goes on the track today, as of today and this year.
- 14:40She's got nothing to lose.
- 14:41Everything to gain and all of her hard work is going to, transpire into a place.
- 14:47On the Canadian side.
- 14:49Wow.
- 14:50That's that's amazing.
- 14:51Well, you know, the sheer amount of, you know, tenacity that it takes even when things went
- 14:57wrong.
- 14:57So let's talk a little bit about that.
- 15:00For anybody that obviously has a goal, like, we you talked a lot about, seeing that goal well
- 15:06ahead of time.
- 15:07And I know with you with a lot of the the things that you've done, not just with Angela,
- 15:11with, Mariah, but just with other people in your different environments, and health and
- 15:16wellness and those types of things.
- 15:17You're co you're constantly coaching people to maximize.
- 15:21So I'm I'm gonna assume some people on the line that are listening to us are parents that are
- 15:25trying to coach their kids if they see aptitude at times in HR, which is your background and
- 15:31disability management.
- 15:33You're trying to support people.
- 15:35To to do to do the best.
- 15:37So what kind of things do you find from an HR perspective?
- 15:41If we could talk a little bit about that, shifting a bit from sports, which is really no
- 15:44different, to be able to support people when they do have goals.
- 15:48But maybe they're not so good as Marai, which she just kinda you know, locks it up, seals it
- 15:52down, and it's it's done.
- 15:55But the every everyday person that has goals, we all struggle with goals, first of all, I
- 15:58would say.
- 16:00I think the most important again is instilling that confidence, right, believing that they
- 16:04could achieve that goal and breaking that goal down to help them with the little steps.
- 16:10To say to someone, you know, you need to eat right in order to lose weight, that's easier
- 16:15said than done.
- 16:16So you need to break it down.
- 16:17What is eating What do they know about eating right?
- 16:20What do they think is eating right?
- 16:21Mhmm.
- 16:22What are some of the things that they've never really been active?
- 16:25How do they get If you don't just go and run a 5 k, you start with maybe walking 10 minutes a
- 16:30day.
- 16:31Maybe you start with just walking on your lunch.
- 16:34Taking the stairs.
- 16:35So we break down the goals, and I found that most successful when I had a program at the,
- 16:40Niagara Falls View Casino And Casino Niagara.
- 16:44Where we took 700 participants over a 1 year period, and they were all in, you know, on the
- 16:52line of having 4 chronic illnesses, and needed to make some major changes.
- 16:57And we sort of turned the most of them competed and turned it all around with a translation of
- 17:04about a 25% reduction in our benefit costs.
- 17:07Wow.
- 17:07And that was over a short period of time, like 3 months stints, and I think we had 4 four
- 17:13programs.
- 17:14So in that short period of time, but what we found was not only did you have to motivate
- 17:19them, make it fun.
- 17:20You had to educate them.
- 17:21And then you had to show them how to sustain it.
- 17:24So I think that sort of all goes a long way when you're dealing with, when you're talking
- 17:29about an elite athlete or a potential elite athlete that your child or, you know, an
- 17:34individual that's just trying to improve their overall health and wellness.
- 17:38Breaking it down.
- 17:39You know, we we we would say small, salience, doable.
- 17:43Yeah.
- 17:43And, time limited.
- 17:45Right?
- 17:45Right.
- 17:45Because all of us you know, we'll make these, you know, new, you know, the New Year's
- 17:50resolution goals.
- 17:51And then and people go, oh, yeah.
- 17:53Yeah.
- 17:532 weeks out.
- 17:54You know, every gym is, you know, signed up and everybody's gotten those things.
- 17:57And then before you know about week 3 or 4 of January, everybody's kinda dropped off.
- 18:02So So goals, really achievement of goals, whether it's at an, like I said, an elite
- 18:07level, like Mariah, or whether you're coaching someone, you know, at work, you're really
- 18:13trying to understand the person's why.
- 18:15Right.
- 18:16So Mariah's why was what?
- 18:18Her why was she just needed felt this need to be successful at something.
- 18:25This sense of belonging.
- 18:26You needed to belong to something her brother was a natural athlete.
- 18:31Also did well in hockey, did well in baseball, we'd play soccer, and she did those sports as
- 18:37well, but didn't find that real love for that sport.
- 18:41When she found learning, she found a real love for that sport.
- 18:44Wow.
- 18:45And to this day, I've asked her many times.
- 18:48Do you ever lose the passion?
- 18:50She says, no.
- 18:51On my worst days, my, you know, where I haven't felt like I've performed, I still enjoy the
- 18:57freedom of what running gives me.
- 18:58And that's the clear mindset going out there and doing it.
- 19:02So in all these years, which has been now, we're talking
- 19:0714, 15 years,
- 19:0812 years.
- 19:1012 to, like, heavy competitive, training for 12 years.
- 19:15She has not once lost her focus for it.
- 19:17And I think that's the other thing that elite athletes have is this focus and this ability to
- 19:22see the end and to keep motivated while you're going through your setbacks, which is your
- 19:27resilience, and and being able to pick yourself up and go after it again.
- 19:33So I I just wanna talk a little bit more on the HRN You know?
- 19:36Because, you know, when you think about leadership, right, and you think about change
- 19:39in environments and you've been in multiple environments now, in the on the HR end.
- 19:46And sometimes organizations make changes.
- 19:50Right?
- 19:50And what And they may not get people with that same level of motivation that you were talking
- 19:56about here today.
- 19:58So what kind of guidance would you give HR, right, like, hey.
- 20:01You know, they've been told about it.
- 20:03You know, the change is coming, and some people kinda, you know, they get in the the fast lane
- 20:08and they kinda make the change and other people Hannah, chug along, and then you have the
- 20:12people that say, I'm not getting off the sidewalk.
- 20:14Do no no hell.
- 20:15Am I doing it?
- 20:17From a from a HR coaching perspective, for people that leaders that might be listening or
- 20:21HR people, what kind of things have you found that were success in URLs to mow to use the
- 20:26kind of motivation that we know Mariah hell has to kind of motivate that employee base around
- 20:33around change.
- 20:34Define what's in it for them.
- 20:35Yep.
- 20:36You know?
- 20:36And I think you have to break it down.
- 20:38So, you know, if we take the Niagara Casinos and that, health and wellness program.
- 20:44Yeah.
- 20:44The staff, the employees were asking for wellness programs.
- 20:48They wanted fitness memberships.
- 20:51When we went back to them to ask them why they all, you know, listed issues that they had,
- 20:56whether they had diabetes or they were overweight or you know, not able to participate
- 21:01with their children that the how they used to.
- 21:05So we decided to create a challenge I think that's the other thing when you're invoking
- 21:09change around health and wellness.
- 21:11If you can create create a competition between people, then they know what's in it for them.
- 21:19There's a competition, whether it be a department, an individual teams that are
- 21:23forming, there's camaraderie.
- 21:25They support each other.
- 21:27And at the end of the day, our goal was to have a healthier, more engaged workforce.
- 21:32And at the same time, we made a, significant impact on our bottom line.
- 21:38Senior management, their focus was what's in it for them, which was the bottom line focus.
- 21:43How are we gonna save money?
- 21:45Right.
- 21:46The employee didn't really care about that.
- 21:49Doesn't have any impact because they weren't paying the benefits.
- 21:52It was all part of the plan, but they had a personal goal, whether they wanted to engage
- 21:56more with their family, They wanted to feel healthier, have more energy, and this program
- 22:02was able to, meet the needs of everyone involved And I think the fact that it was
- 22:07tailored and it had lots of different opportunities for people to participate, was
- 22:12another.
- 22:13A part of its success.
- 22:15The last piece is it wasn't free.
- 22:18They had to pay.
- 22:18They had to pay a little bit of it.
- 22:20So the company paid half and they paid half.
- 22:23And I think that's another piece that goes a long way.
- 22:25When they have some skin in the game, they might have something to lose.
- 22:29It wasn't a lot of money, but it was something then they make the commitment as well.
- 22:34So reading from a leadership level, like, I mean, we always say, like you said, the
- 22:38leadership said, what's the ROI?
- 22:40Right.
- 22:40Right.
- 22:41On this change happening, but really, and I often talk about return on relationships versus
- 22:46return on investments.
- 22:48So it was finding something of, why in those individuals lives, plus like you said, the
- 22:54challenge and making it fun.
- 22:56Right.
- 22:56Right.
- 22:56So not just you know, by a certain date, I'm gonna wait a certain amount without knowing
- 23:02what was important, but really digging down into why?
- 23:05Why am I doing what I'm doing?
- 23:06If I'm diabetic, And I have to, like, you know, give myself a shot every day, and I can't get
- 23:11out there with my kids.
- 23:13That motivation for that person would be I wanna be able to get out there and, you know,
- 23:17run around or get on the hockey rink with my kids.
- 23:20That's that person's motivation.
- 23:22So leadership could learn something from making that connection to just really kinda
- 23:26understand.
- 23:26It's not about, I'm gonna say, you know, 4.8 days on short term disability claims.
- 23:32But it's that the fact that, you know, if it's, you know, Jane Doe that she can actually enjoy
- 23:38her family a little bit more, and that's where you get the buy in for people to be able to
- 23:42challenge, have fun, and to make change.
- 23:44Right.
- 23:45Makes sense.
- 23:45Yeah.
- 23:46So much sense.
- 23:47And I think would you agree that a lot of environments miss that?
- 23:51I think they missed the opportunity to connect the dots for
- 23:53their employees.
- 23:55You know, it it comes across.
- 23:57I think that's the intention, but it comes across as being driven from the top down versus
- 24:02the bottom up.
- 24:04It comes across as a benefit for the company instead of the employee.
- 24:08And it comes across that we must do versus we want to do.
- 24:12And it's it's a pleasure or it's, it's a, added benefit for you as an employee to participate
- 24:20with.
- 24:20So it's almost like an ideal model would be that the top and the bottom should kind of meet
- 24:25somewhere in the middle.
- 24:26Where they almost create, like, a, a hybrid.
- 24:29Yes, the bottom line is, yes, this is gonna benefit the company, but really, you know,
- 24:33what's gonna be the benefits in that person's individual life?
- 24:37Right.
- 24:37Right.
- 24:38About why they're making the change.
- 24:39And often you get that from your surveys, right, and anytime you do a survey and
- 24:43implementing a health and wellness program.
- 24:45The employees all will suggest child care, you know, better flexible working hours, gym
- 24:52memberships because they're all struggling with this, you know, trying to balance between the
- 24:57healthy lifestyle and working.
- 24:59Right.
- 25:00So that's that's pivot a bit more and kinda go back to parents.
- 25:05So I don't know about you, but I I know I know a lot a lot of parents that want the kids to,
- 25:09you know, be the top on the hockey team or, you know, be the best runner, going off to offset
- 25:15or whatever.
- 25:16And people, you know, a lot of times we have dreams for our children And we superimpose
- 25:20those, not knowingly sometimes, what kind of guidance would you give parents that might have
- 25:27an athlete potentially that has acumen, or other kids that just don't have it as their
- 25:34parents to be able to excel that kid to a certain level.
- 25:36What kind of things would should parents consider.
- 25:39Yeah.
- 25:39I think it's the same thing that we just talked about.
- 25:42It's finding where the passion is for that child.
- 25:44Mhmm.
- 25:45And once you find that passion, and you you support it with the, the sense of confidence,
- 25:51the the belief that they can achieve.
- 25:55That sense of belonging.
- 25:56Mhmm.
- 25:57And then you let the child lead.
- 25:58And if the child is taking that initiative, they know that, you know, to be a good runner,
- 26:03they need to go out and run three times a week, and you're not have to say, have you done your
- 26:08run yet?
- 26:08Are you going over your run?
- 26:10Right.
- 26:10You know, and they're taking that initiative then,
- 26:13they're
- 26:13you're likely all you're doing is guiding and allowing that to happen.
- 26:17Mhmm.
- 26:17Now with Mariah, it was never a problem of you know, her going out for a run.
- 26:21Her problem was when she was gonna run.
- 26:23So sometimes we'd have to set some parameters.
- 26:26Okay.
- 26:26We've got you know, this much time.
- 26:28So you need to do your run between 9:1 o'clock.
- 26:31Because after that, we've got other things that we're doing.
- 26:34So Those were some of the, you know, earlier stages where we would have to set a little bit
- 26:39of, boundaries around when she was gonna do it because she often would you know, do all kinds
- 26:45of things before she got to that.
- 26:48And and some of it was schoolwork.
- 26:49She grew a lot of effort.
- 26:51That's the other thing with Elaine athletes.
- 26:52They're often very good at school.
- 26:54They have a very high IQ because they have to be able to, you know, understand and,
- 27:02understand their bodies, be able to, have that knowledge to ask the right questions of their
- 27:08coaches.
- 27:09To challenge their coaches and to make sure that they're getting what they want.
- 27:14So in her in her routine, I'm gonna think that the mental piece is a big part of it.
- 27:21Can you speak a little bit to what kind of, coaching she's had?
- 27:25Well, she's had some very, even at 15, we had her with a sports psychologist, working on goal
- 27:32setting.
- 27:33When she got, into a D 1 University, Bailey University, she was accepted on 5 year running
- 27:41scholarship.
- 27:42She had the support of a psychologist on staff.
- 27:45Mhmm.
- 27:46And now where she's at the Olympic Development Center in Victoria.
- 27:52It's called the Pacific Institute of excellence, and she has a sports psychologist
- 27:59that she works with.
- 28:00And that sports psychologist is really important because, with any kind of sport,
- 28:05there's a whole mental piece that goes along with it.
- 28:08So not only are you training physically for it, you're training your mind mentally.
- 28:14You need to be able to accept the setbacks, analyze those setbacks, make those changes, you
- 28:20know, believe and and really articulate what your needs are to your coach and those around
- 28:26you to ensure that you do get.
- 28:28What you want.
- 28:30Because I I mean, the amount that she trains, it's anchored in her body.
- 28:34Mhmm.
- 28:34Right?
- 28:35I think the body becomes the instrument at some point.
- 28:38Right.
- 28:38But we know how the mental impacts the physical.
- 28:41And we're talking what what's what's the shave off time we're looking at for her?
- 28:45It's a couple seconds.
- 28:46Couple of seconds.
- 28:47So think about that.
- 28:48Right?
- 28:48Like, you know, when I think, you know, as a psychotherapist, you know, and what I teach
- 28:54people ongoing about how thought impacts the body and how the body impacts her thoughts.
- 28:59Right.
- 28:59It could be a millisecond that she could potentially think something Right.
- 29:04That shifts her off Oh, that That would stop her from shaving that time off.
- 29:09Right?
- 29:09And I think that's the other thing, that brings me back to the elite athletes.
- 29:14They have to remain focused.
- 29:16Mhmm.
- 29:16And they have to be focused in the moment regardless of what's going on, the morning of
- 29:21the day before, what may be anticipating in their mind that's gonna go on.
- 29:27She often speaks that in a race, she needs to be in that moment to hear the movements of the
- 29:33other women around her so that she can, you know, anticipate the move when she needs to
- 29:37make.
- 29:37So to hear the movement during the race, Yeah.
- 29:40Wow.
- 29:40Tough focus.
- 29:41So that's
- 29:41a not the crowd applauding, not, you know, me yelling in there in
- 29:46the skin
- 29:47and cheering her own.
- 29:48She has none of that in the moment.
- 29:50And when she's in the moment, you can see it, in her race performance.
- 29:55Wow.
- 29:55So completely right in the present, which is always what we we talk about in psychotherapy.
- 30:01Right?
- 30:02You know, or coaching.
- 30:03It's gonna this is all you have right now.
- 30:05This is all you have right now.
- 30:07What's gonna happen tomorrow?
- 30:08You have no control over and what just happened a second ago is gone.
- 30:11Yeah.
- 30:12And it's interesting because, at nationals, she actually forgot her spikes.
- 30:16And this is a girl that forgets nothing on
- 30:18race day.
- 30:19Her bag is packed.
- 30:20Everything's there.
- 30:21Forgot her spikes had to wear another person's spikes that weren't the size that she needed.
- 30:28And still, she was able to pull off, a third place finish.
- 30:33Amazing.
- 30:33Nationals.
- 30:34Again, not wearing, oh my god.
- 30:35I don't have my spikes.
- 30:37She just had to do what she had to do and get herself into that moment and and run that race.
- 30:42So now I'm gonna say that I'm super proud because she's from our little village of
- 30:47Chippewa, and I'm gonna call out to Chippewa because this is amazing.
- 30:51Because I remember when you and I would be out and she would, you know, we wanna you'd wanna
- 30:54go further and run and she she'd go off to her grandma's and then she pivots, and then she's
- 30:59doing this amazing thing.
- 31:00She's, you know, she's made Niagara Falls proud already and regardless of where this goes.
- 31:05But we're rooting for her Now there's an event coming up, that I'd love people to reach out
- 31:11and and and and support her, and hoping that she's gonna try to the time to be on the show,
- 31:17so that it, you know, she can get more support from Niagara, not just Niagara, Canada.
- 31:21Right.
- 31:22So tell tell everyone listening how they could support her if there, you know, there's a I
- 31:27think there's a go fund me page.
- 31:29Yes.
- 31:29And there's this golf tournament coming up, you know, how they could help out for so we could
- 31:34see our girl go off and do big things.
- 31:37Right.
- 31:37So, the other thing that everyone should know, these elite acts in Canada struggle immensely.
- 31:44It costs anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 a year to support these athletes Canada does the
- 31:51best that they can, but their parameters around sport is not as lucrative as the US.
- 31:57The US tends to have a lot of private sponsors, corporations in Canada, unless you're already a
- 32:04medalist at the Olympics.
- 32:07Is the only time that your funding is completely covered.
- 32:10So we are raising funds as a family, you know, from Ryas last year, and we're a host a golf
- 32:16tournament on October 6th at Will Adele Golf Course.
- 32:20It's a 12:30 shop and start.
- 32:22It's a $100 per each player if they register before October 1st, and thereafter up to the
- 32:29event from October 2nd to 6th, it's a $120.
- 32:33There'll be a dinner after that will be open to people to attend, which will be $40 a person.
- 32:39There'll be raffles and giveaways as well as a silent option that we're hoping to raise about
- 32:45$12,000 to help Mariah along her way.
- 32:48So that she can focus on her training and not have to worry about finances.
- 32:54She also has a go fund me page, which she's been, people have been reaching out asking how
- 33:00they can support, and that's on, Facebook, right now.
- 33:05And, all the monies that are raised through that will help to get her to where she needs to
- 33:11be.
- 33:12Awesome.
- 33:12So what I will do is, I'll include both links So, so for the for the GoFundMe and also for
- 33:19the golf
- 33:19Tokyo is the What's it?
- 33:21What is it?
- 33:22Kellytokyo@gmail.com.
- 33:24It's the tagline that we've come up with for the eye on
- 33:28the prize golf tournament.
- 33:30Awesome.
- 33:30Awesome.
- 33:31Well, Anchas has been amazing.
- 33:34And
- 33:35It's been thank you for sharing and allowing me to have this opportunity to speak to everyone.
- 33:41And,
- 33:42And I'm sure everybody listening has gained a lot, but so I I just wanna kind of encapsulate
- 33:46what I heard, about what it is to to raise an elite athlete it's nurturing, its confidence,
- 33:56and it's allowing that elite athlete to connect with what they see mentally already so you can
- 34:01create anything in your mind first, and then everything else turns into place.
- 34:05For HR leaders and just leadership, Again, you talked about fun, buy in, and hooking the ROI,
- 34:14into, I'm gonna call it, say the ROR, which is a return on relationship.
- 34:18So get to know what your people, are wanting different in their own lives.
- 34:24And, you know, this top down strata mac macro to micro, is, you know, something that doesn't
- 34:31work in most environments when you're trying to motivate people.
- 34:34Try to figure out what the top says and what the bottom is needing and could currently try
- 34:38to kinda create that space.
- 34:42And, for anyone, needing, to get a whole of Angela, we'll make sure that there is an email
- 34:49if you're looking at, potentially, reaching out, talking as, as a parent that, maybe wants
- 34:55to learn a little bit more and, also maybe potentially coaching.
- 35:00So, and for myself, if you're needing any further information on me, you know that I'm a
- 35:05mental health and wellness expert, a keynote speaker and a coach, and, you can reach me at
- 35:10Roxanne.
- 35:12Okay, Anj.
- 35:13We'll talk to you soon.
- 35:14Thank you.
- 35:16Thanks for tuning in to authentic living with Roxanne, creating the space for positive
- 35:21healthy change.
- 35:22Roxanne is a keynote speaker, psychotherapist, and coach to work with Roxanne, visit
- 35:29rocksandurhaj.com/blueprint.
- 35:33We'll see next time on authentic living with Roxanne.