Rennae Stubbs just short of her 40th birthday is enjoying a career of semi-retirement from professional tennis. Stubbs the longest serving member of the Australian Federation Cup team has made her professional tennis mark as a doubles specialist. Over her twenty year career on the tour she has chalked up sixty tournament wins, including six grand slam doubles titles. Stubbs made history this year by becoming only the fourth player in World Team Tennis history to be on five Championship teams. Stubbs participated as the co-captain on the Washington Kastles. The team was the first in WTT’s 36 year history to have an undefeated season. Rennae’s tennis career is not over but as she winds down she’s been shifting into a new role as a t.v. commentator.
This is part 1 of a 4 part interview with Rennae that spans her starting out as a tour player, training on the road, goals, players who mentored her, the challenges of life on the tour, career transition, and advice for parents and players thinking of about a career as a professional athlete.
SZ: It was kind of you to offer Sloane Stephens, (rising young American tennis player), encouragement after losing her match this afternoon.
RS: For me it always translated better when it came from a peer rather than a coach because you see a coach as a coach but you don’t see a coach as a peer unless of course if you’re being coached by someone who’s been there and done that. When I heard it from peers I was a little bit more receptive. It sunk in more.
SZ: Early on you played doubles with Helena Sukova?
RS: Yes, I won my first WTA event with Helena.
SZ: Did it help you recognize your talent as a player that she asked you to play as her doubles partner?
RS: Of course. I felt like I could lean on somebody out there, because I felt she could sort of get me through something that I didn’t understand and I could sort of lean on her or sort of feel like you’re just running behind them, and they are going to clear the air for you a bit and make it easier.
SZ: So you trusted her.
RS: When you are playing with someone who’s achieved so much you just think it’s routine for them and if I just sort of do what I’m doing, she’ll tell me if I’m not doing it right. Then I’ll know I’m not doing it right. Whereas if she is encouraging me then I’m
probably doing something right. So you just sort of keep doing your thing.
SZ: You have an enviable professional career doubles record. Did you envision yourself as a career doubles player?
RS: I sort of felt before I even walked on the court with Helena for the first tournament that she felt I was worthy to be out there. It’s a funny story. I had played against Helena in Tokyo and I guess she saw something in me that there was potential to be a pretty decent partner. She she came up to me and asked if I would be interested in playing in Osaka the following week. I mean when she asked I instantly thought to myself, “Oh my god no way that’s too much pressure.” I didn’t have any plans to go to Osaka so my instant reaction was, “No, I’m not playing there.” But inside I think it was more like, “Helena Sukova just asked me to play doubles and I’m not ready for that.” I don’t think I was mentally ready for it. About twenty minutes went by and I was sitting with myself going, “What the hell have I done? What am I joking one of the best doubles players that have ever played the game has just asked me to play a doubles event. So I went “Okay this is my chance, take it.” I remember walking back and saying to her, “Helena have you found a partner for Osaka?” She said, “No.” So I told her I would go and play with her and we ended up winning the tournament.
SZ: Fate and Destiny?
RS: I think in some respects I would have been a good player eventually anyway because I felt like I had the skill. But I think that everything happens for a reason and I think my sort of taking the bull by the horns and saying, “yes” in the end and taking the responsibility that if we didn’t win the tournament it would be my fault. That’s how I felt. If we don’t win the tournament it’s 100% because of me. I’m the one that sucks between the two of us. That’s what you think when you’re young and you haven’t achieved anything. So when we won it I was pretty pleased.
SZ: Was there more pressure going forward?
RS: No because the next tournament I won was with Steffi Graf in Germany. So that’s pressure! Basically I learned that the secret to doubles is picking people who are much better than you. That’s the secret.
SZ: Is there a bit of humbleness going on?
RS: No. I always say pick someone as good as you or better.
SZ: Does it motivate you to show up?
RS: I think when I was younger of course when Steffi asked me to play the doubles event in Hamburg, again I said, “No.” Playing with Steffi in Germany, even though we were friends I was still like, that’s pressure. I was playing club tennis for her club in Germany at the time and really needed to be back for a match on Saturday. It was a match against a rival club team and she said, “Don’t worry you’ll be back for the semis because we play, Jana Novotna and her partner second round, so we will lose.” These were Steffi’s words, “So we will be out of the tournament and you’ll be back in time to play the club match.” So we win our first round and end up upsetting Jana Novotna and her partner in the second round. I went back and played the club match near Frankfurt and then flew back to Hamburg in the same week. I played the semi-final club match which we won then I told Steffi she had to tell the guy I was playing for at her club, that ended up being her manager, that I can’t get back to play the big club rival final and it’s her fault because we were in the finals of the tournament. Steffi and I ended up winning the tournament.
SZ: You have an amazing career record of winning 60 doubles titles, 6 of them grand slams. Many people have no idea how incredible your doubles record has been over the years yet ninety-seven percent of people who come to watch professional tournaments are social recreational players who play doubles. As you shift into your burgeoning career as a t.v. commentator do you envision making doubles a premiere part of your broadcasting future?
RS: Most people watch singles because they see these players on t.v. and in print media. People who follow tennis know who I am and sort of know what I’ve done through the years. Certainly when I played with Lisa Raymond or Cara Black we loved going to events like San Diego, and Eastbourne and different events around the world that really appreciated who we were as a doubles team. The audience would share with us how much they loved watching us play and that’s sort of one of the reasons you keep playing, because the people really appreciate what you do and they can’t believe the shots you can make because they play doubles.
Doubles is a different game. Even Serena Williams has said to me when we were playing WTT, she wasn’t returning very well one night and she said, “Returning in doubles is so much harder than in singles.” So you know there are things about doubles that are much more difficult than in singles. The physicality in singles is obviously more difficult because you are essentially covering the whole court and you are out there by yourself. Doubles is tactically much more difficult than singles. Anticipation, having the courage to move at net on balls that are just sitting there. The timing and ability to take a ball quickly out of the air, and there’s obviously the precision in returning serve. If you look at where a opponent is standing at the net there’s only a few spots in the court where you can hit a clean winner. That would be a perfect return down the line which is over the highest part of the net which is difficult to do. Or a clean winner inside out and then you’ve got to get past the volleyer so it’s very precise. Doubles is a very different game than singles. I don’t think it’s explained to people enough how difficult it is. As Serena said it’s so much harder to return in doubles because in singles you can hit the return of serve back into the middle of the court. In doubles the middle of the court is the worst shot. So it will be nice to promote and educate to help people understand how difficult it is to do what the really good doubles players do.
SZ: Did you have an idea you would be involved in doubles for your professional career or were you hoping to be more involved in singles?
RS: I don’t think any player starts out thinking they are going to make their living playing doubles. I was always a better doubles player. I played a lot of doubles as a kid in team events in Australia. The weekends were filled up with a lot of doubles for me. I think it just lends itself to my nature, my game and it just came naturally. Singles I had to really work on. Then I got some pretty bad injuries that affected me. When I came back and trying to qualify for singles events I was always doing well in doubles so the problem was I couldn’t really go and play qualifying at some of the events for singles. So that’s another reason why some players only go into doubles because they are making money doing it that way and then they have to forfeit essentially doing well in doubles to go and play a qualifying event in singles. That becomes difficult because the player ends up giving up a guaranteed decent pay check to go and possibly get another one in singles. It’s hard because you are paying your own way and I had bills to pay. I was on my own so those decisions you make over time. I mean I didn’t quit playing singles until I was 29 so I played a long time but it was hard for me because I was always doing so well in doubles. I had to make a decision and when I did it was when I really started to excel in doubles.
Tomorrow, Rennae reflects on training on the road, goals, players who mentored her.
Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Raquel Giscafre - Mercury Insurance Tennis Director
Raquel Giscafre is the tournament director of the professional women’s tennis event being held at the La Costa Resort and Spa beginning July 30th. Raquel a former player brings a wealth of experience as a player and tournament director to this event. During her playing career was the number one player in Argentina for six years, number 13 in the world in 1975, semifinalist in the U.S. Open in doubles and mixed doubles. The Mercury Insurance Open runs, July 30th-August 7th is headlined by Kim Clijsters, the world’s No. 2 ranked player and Wimbledon Champion, Petra Kvitova.
SZ: Raquel you were one of the founding members with Billie Jean King of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). What are the significant shifts you’ve seen on the business side of women’s tennis, besides larger prize money purses that benefit tour players?
RG: I was not one of the original nine players that you see in the pictures with the one dollar bill that started the tour. But I was the first Latin American on the board of the WTA. The changes that I see in the WTA are gigantic. It has evolved into a very strong tour, it is the most important tour in women’s professional sports. I don’t have the numbers in front of me but I think the tour offers over 60 million dollars in total prize money a year. It’s amazing. Players can make a very nice living and can travel with family, coaches and trainers. At the beginning of the tour we didn’t even have a bathroom in the hotel room.
SZ: Beyond the money what are the benefits you see? Are the players able to create businesses or participate in businesses after leaving the tour?
RG: Absolutely. The WTA has a division that is in charge of educating the players and helping players in their transition from being a tour pro to being able to move on beyond being a player. The tour offers courses and other tools to players and seminars at several tournaments. As a player I enjoyed the social part mingling with sponsors and tournament directors. When I retired I started promoting tennis because I liked the social part. So I began to learn by doing and a lot of players still do that but everything is more organized. There are more tools today for players to make that transition that is so difficult.
Now there are sport psychologists like yourself, (sport psychology consultant), and that is huge. I wish we had sport psychologists traveling with us when we were playing. That’s huge for a players self-esteem. In tennis you lose a lot. Everyday you’re proving that you can be better than your opponent and that you can win. Money has brought the evolution of the sport. Todays tour is strong and has very good people working on it, from the president of the WTA, to tour supervisors, to player relations, and the medical department is very sophisticated.
SZ: The days you played on the tour a player needed to be in the top 15-20 to bring home good money to make a living. How much deeper in the rankings is the range of making a living on the women’s tour?
RG: I personally made enough money to cover my expenses while I played. When I retired I probably had 20k in savings. But I wasn’t a player that played a lot of tournaments. In 1973 the first Virginia Slims tournament was a 10k purse, distributed to 54 players. There wasn’t much money to be made.
SZ: Would the top 50 today make a healthy living?
RG: They can make a lot of money and the players that are only playing doubles can make a great living.
SZ: You participated on the tour at a time players didn’t make enough prize money to hire traveling coaches and trainers. Now that prize money enables players to travel with more resources what are the travel essentials for today’s players?
RG: Most of todays players bring along a coach. In many cases they bring along either their own trainers or their own physical therapist if the player has been struggling with injuries or potential injuries. It’s not unusual for a player to come with two or three people, family, partner, coach.
SZ: Today’s audiences like to feel close to the players and part of the tournament experience. How does the Mercury Insurance tournament provided these opportunities?
RG: The venue of the La Costa Resort tournament is great because it provides a very intimate setting for the tournament. It’s not a large venue like Indian Wells, or Miami where you have a large stadiums. Tennis has been played here for decades. It’s a great venue. The players stay on the property. They love being about to get out of bed and roll onto the courts and walk around the grounds. They have all the amenities provided for them here.There is plenty of security but there is a sense of freedom. It is a favorite tournament for the players.
SZ: What are some of the biggest challenges to putting on this event?
RG: The biggest challenge is raising the money to produce the event and make it profitable. It’s necessary to find sponsors and provide a lot of different events within the events like a fashion show, wine tasting, and music. It’s a different economy. We promoted the tournament at La Costa from 1991 then in 2007 it went away. Two years later the tournament returned. The difference in the economy is interesting. Having operated a tournament in a booming economy and operating this tournament now is different. You rethink how to do everything and you have to be creative to create include everyone in the tennis community.
SZ: What type of events are put on within the tournament to draw community interest?
RG: We work closely with coaches in the community and tennis directors at various clubs and community centers like the YMCA. We put on a kids day, this year it will be held August 1st in the morning and all the kids get in for a free tennis clinic.
SZ: Do the tournament players participate in this or is it mainly local teaching pros?
RG: Some of the tournament players participate in the clinic. Last year Victoria Azarenka who won the 2010 Bank of the West tournament at Stanford came here and did a clinic. That’s how we get the kids involved.
SZ: Are there programs in place to give back to local community organizations from the proceeds of the tournament?
RG: Yes, through the years the tournament has raised over 3 million dollars and given to local charities such as the TriCity Medical Foundation. TriCity Medical Foundation is a sponsor of this years tournament. We put on a big dinner and the tournament donates tickets to the foundation. The tournament also benefits Youth Tennis San Diego.
SZ: As tournament director besides running a smooth tournament what do you most look forward to?
RG: I look forward to the great matches, fantastic atmosphere and seeing people having fun at the event.
Raquel thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk about the upcoming Mercury Insurance Tournament at La Costa.
The Mercury Insurance Open is a participating tournament in the Olympus U.S. Open Series. The U.S. Open Series now in it’s eighth year, is a six week summer tennis season that links the ATP World Tour and WTA tournaments together. The series leads into the U.S. Open. The Mercury Insurance Open is the second women’s event within the series.
SZ: Raquel you were one of the founding members with Billie Jean King of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). What are the significant shifts you’ve seen on the business side of women’s tennis, besides larger prize money purses that benefit tour players?
RG: I was not one of the original nine players that you see in the pictures with the one dollar bill that started the tour. But I was the first Latin American on the board of the WTA. The changes that I see in the WTA are gigantic. It has evolved into a very strong tour, it is the most important tour in women’s professional sports. I don’t have the numbers in front of me but I think the tour offers over 60 million dollars in total prize money a year. It’s amazing. Players can make a very nice living and can travel with family, coaches and trainers. At the beginning of the tour we didn’t even have a bathroom in the hotel room.
SZ: Beyond the money what are the benefits you see? Are the players able to create businesses or participate in businesses after leaving the tour?
RG: Absolutely. The WTA has a division that is in charge of educating the players and helping players in their transition from being a tour pro to being able to move on beyond being a player. The tour offers courses and other tools to players and seminars at several tournaments. As a player I enjoyed the social part mingling with sponsors and tournament directors. When I retired I started promoting tennis because I liked the social part. So I began to learn by doing and a lot of players still do that but everything is more organized. There are more tools today for players to make that transition that is so difficult.
Now there are sport psychologists like yourself, (sport psychology consultant), and that is huge. I wish we had sport psychologists traveling with us when we were playing. That’s huge for a players self-esteem. In tennis you lose a lot. Everyday you’re proving that you can be better than your opponent and that you can win. Money has brought the evolution of the sport. Todays tour is strong and has very good people working on it, from the president of the WTA, to tour supervisors, to player relations, and the medical department is very sophisticated.
SZ: The days you played on the tour a player needed to be in the top 15-20 to bring home good money to make a living. How much deeper in the rankings is the range of making a living on the women’s tour?
RG: I personally made enough money to cover my expenses while I played. When I retired I probably had 20k in savings. But I wasn’t a player that played a lot of tournaments. In 1973 the first Virginia Slims tournament was a 10k purse, distributed to 54 players. There wasn’t much money to be made.
SZ: Would the top 50 today make a healthy living?
RG: They can make a lot of money and the players that are only playing doubles can make a great living.
SZ: You participated on the tour at a time players didn’t make enough prize money to hire traveling coaches and trainers. Now that prize money enables players to travel with more resources what are the travel essentials for today’s players?
RG: Most of todays players bring along a coach. In many cases they bring along either their own trainers or their own physical therapist if the player has been struggling with injuries or potential injuries. It’s not unusual for a player to come with two or three people, family, partner, coach.
SZ: Today’s audiences like to feel close to the players and part of the tournament experience. How does the Mercury Insurance tournament provided these opportunities?
RG: The venue of the La Costa Resort tournament is great because it provides a very intimate setting for the tournament. It’s not a large venue like Indian Wells, or Miami where you have a large stadiums. Tennis has been played here for decades. It’s a great venue. The players stay on the property. They love being about to get out of bed and roll onto the courts and walk around the grounds. They have all the amenities provided for them here.There is plenty of security but there is a sense of freedom. It is a favorite tournament for the players.
SZ: What are some of the biggest challenges to putting on this event?
RG: The biggest challenge is raising the money to produce the event and make it profitable. It’s necessary to find sponsors and provide a lot of different events within the events like a fashion show, wine tasting, and music. It’s a different economy. We promoted the tournament at La Costa from 1991 then in 2007 it went away. Two years later the tournament returned. The difference in the economy is interesting. Having operated a tournament in a booming economy and operating this tournament now is different. You rethink how to do everything and you have to be creative to create include everyone in the tennis community.
SZ: What type of events are put on within the tournament to draw community interest?
RG: We work closely with coaches in the community and tennis directors at various clubs and community centers like the YMCA. We put on a kids day, this year it will be held August 1st in the morning and all the kids get in for a free tennis clinic.
SZ: Do the tournament players participate in this or is it mainly local teaching pros?
RG: Some of the tournament players participate in the clinic. Last year Victoria Azarenka who won the 2010 Bank of the West tournament at Stanford came here and did a clinic. That’s how we get the kids involved.
SZ: Are there programs in place to give back to local community organizations from the proceeds of the tournament?
RG: Yes, through the years the tournament has raised over 3 million dollars and given to local charities such as the TriCity Medical Foundation. TriCity Medical Foundation is a sponsor of this years tournament. We put on a big dinner and the tournament donates tickets to the foundation. The tournament also benefits Youth Tennis San Diego.
SZ: As tournament director besides running a smooth tournament what do you most look forward to?
RG: I look forward to the great matches, fantastic atmosphere and seeing people having fun at the event.
Raquel thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk about the upcoming Mercury Insurance Tournament at La Costa.
The Mercury Insurance Open is a participating tournament in the Olympus U.S. Open Series. The U.S. Open Series now in it’s eighth year, is a six week summer tennis season that links the ATP World Tour and WTA tournaments together. The series leads into the U.S. Open. The Mercury Insurance Open is the second women’s event within the series.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Emily Miller - Off Road Racing
Emily Miller is a team driver for Rod Hall Racing. Trained by off-road racing legend, Rod Hall, Miller debuted as a team driver at the 2006 Baja 1000. She has been racing for eight years and has multiple podium finishes and wins as both driver and navigator. She holds the distinction of being the only woman to “ironman” the longest off-road race in the US taking third in the Stock Full Class.
SZ: You are a team driver for Rod Hall, off road racing. What’s it like to be a female race car driver. Are there many females in your sport division?
EM: There are not many women. In fact, in one race last year, I was the only female out of well over 100 racers. It is great to be a woman race driver. I feel very fortunate and from a personal perspective it just doesn’t matter whether you are male or female when you put your helmet on.
SZ: What are the challenges and joys of racing cars?
EM: Challenges – money, time, lack of interest and understanding of off-road racing and its forms in the US. Joys - Working as a team, personal satisfaction, the terrain/race courses are incredibly beautiful, the challenge of keeping focused for such long periods of time, the competition itself
SZ: In what ways if any does gender influence decision making behind the wheel? In what ways is it an advantage being a female driver? What are the disadvantages?
EM: I believe it can be an advantage being a woman for the type of racing I do. I do longer endurance type racing, so being able to make smart decisions over a long period is very important. Finishing often means leaving the ego and testosterone at the door. I also believe women listen and don’t think they have all the answers. Being able to be coached and listening to your coach is key.
In driving, men and women compete directly against each other, which is fairly unique. As a woman, you are under the microscope in ways men just aren’t. And you are dissected in a way that men just aren’t. Driving and any sport can be a real poker game. The challenges of being a woman means that you often have to take all the speculation and talk behind your back and let it roll off of you. If you let it get to you, it will bite you and you will make mistakes by not having your head where you need it to be.
SZ: George Phillips who writes a blog titled “Oil Pressure” recently blogged about Switzerland’s Simona de Silvestro, who was named the 2010 Indy 500 rookie of the year. De Silvestro, has been written about recently for three crashes she has had this year. What are some of the mental challenges de Silvestro faces not only her own as a race car driver but in satisfying sponsors, other drivers and fans that she is back on track?
EM: I really liked that article and it was very well written and fair. I thought Phillips summary didn’t take a subconscious or conscious approach about where she is mentally because she is female. He gave a lot of credit to her drive and talent and really brought up how important the entire team is in performance and the head space of the driver.
Every driver understands the risk when getting into the car. Since I don’t know de Silvestro, personally I can’t speak to what she faces mentally because I don’t know how she processes her racing experiences – positives and negatives. Plus, the racing she does is different and a lot more high-speed than what I do.
However, I can say there is a fine dance between patience and the short term. Drivers can be impatient, wanting results immediately. This year is part of her track record and moving beyond the frustration, the concern, the wrecks could take time. But the good thing about the old cliché is true – “time heals.” The tough thing is the sponsorship and funding game. She has a track record for results, is a great rising star and seems to have what it takes to move beyond the accidents.
SZ: In your experience when a female race car driver of any of the types of racing has a dramatic crash does the media tend to focus the coverage angle on the driver’s level of confidence and whether she belongs in the sport? Does the media approach this angle if it’s a male driver?
EM: Well, we don’t have a lot of women racing let alone having big dramatic crashes for the world to respond to. However, when drivers’ abilities and confidence are questioned, it is tough to hear speculation by people who have never taken the responsibility of sitting in the driver’s seat and make comments as an armchair race driver. But that is just part of the program.
In terms of the question regarding women, I don’t hear “confidence” levels in male drivers questioned.
SZ: Is the sport of car racing in it’s different formats experiencing an increase of female drivers?
EM: From what I can tell, yes. When I was growing up, women only did certain sports. Today, girls get to try many sports (at least in the US and other various countries) and have plenty of female athlete roll models. I also think parents and fathers are doing great jobs giving their daughters opportunities. I think women in car racing will continue to see great growth over coming years and it’s very exciting.
SZ: What are the roads to entry into this sport for female drivers? Once a female driver establishes herself as a capable competitor what are the perks of involvement in this profession?
EM: There are so many forms of racing that it is tough to say. Each discipline is so different. There are some fundamentals though – money, time, practice, great coaching, well-prepped equipment. From a physical and mental perspective, sheer mental toughness and solid physical fitness. I can speak from the off-road racing side. You can start when you are older, and it helps to have general life experience. I think life experience translates directly to decision making in off-road racing. We don’t get to learn courses, practice and memorize corners. It isn’t glamorous, it is hard work just to reach the finish line. If a woman wants to get into off-road racing, the best thing is to first go to the races and volunteer for a team to ensure this is what she wants to do.
The perks of involvement for me are being part of a team, personal satisfaction out of sheer love of driving off-road, but very importantly, getting to see parts of the world from a very unique perspective.
SZ: What is up next on your racing calendar? How can fans follow you?
24 Hours of Paris (first week of September)
Baja 1000 (November)
www.emilysmiller.com
Emily thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule for this interview.
*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro.
SZ: You are a team driver for Rod Hall, off road racing. What’s it like to be a female race car driver. Are there many females in your sport division?
EM: There are not many women. In fact, in one race last year, I was the only female out of well over 100 racers. It is great to be a woman race driver. I feel very fortunate and from a personal perspective it just doesn’t matter whether you are male or female when you put your helmet on.
SZ: What are the challenges and joys of racing cars?
EM: Challenges – money, time, lack of interest and understanding of off-road racing and its forms in the US. Joys - Working as a team, personal satisfaction, the terrain/race courses are incredibly beautiful, the challenge of keeping focused for such long periods of time, the competition itself
SZ: In what ways if any does gender influence decision making behind the wheel? In what ways is it an advantage being a female driver? What are the disadvantages?
EM: I believe it can be an advantage being a woman for the type of racing I do. I do longer endurance type racing, so being able to make smart decisions over a long period is very important. Finishing often means leaving the ego and testosterone at the door. I also believe women listen and don’t think they have all the answers. Being able to be coached and listening to your coach is key.
In driving, men and women compete directly against each other, which is fairly unique. As a woman, you are under the microscope in ways men just aren’t. And you are dissected in a way that men just aren’t. Driving and any sport can be a real poker game. The challenges of being a woman means that you often have to take all the speculation and talk behind your back and let it roll off of you. If you let it get to you, it will bite you and you will make mistakes by not having your head where you need it to be.
SZ: George Phillips who writes a blog titled “Oil Pressure” recently blogged about Switzerland’s Simona de Silvestro, who was named the 2010 Indy 500 rookie of the year. De Silvestro, has been written about recently for three crashes she has had this year. What are some of the mental challenges de Silvestro faces not only her own as a race car driver but in satisfying sponsors, other drivers and fans that she is back on track?
EM: I really liked that article and it was very well written and fair. I thought Phillips summary didn’t take a subconscious or conscious approach about where she is mentally because she is female. He gave a lot of credit to her drive and talent and really brought up how important the entire team is in performance and the head space of the driver.
Every driver understands the risk when getting into the car. Since I don’t know de Silvestro, personally I can’t speak to what she faces mentally because I don’t know how she processes her racing experiences – positives and negatives. Plus, the racing she does is different and a lot more high-speed than what I do.
However, I can say there is a fine dance between patience and the short term. Drivers can be impatient, wanting results immediately. This year is part of her track record and moving beyond the frustration, the concern, the wrecks could take time. But the good thing about the old cliché is true – “time heals.” The tough thing is the sponsorship and funding game. She has a track record for results, is a great rising star and seems to have what it takes to move beyond the accidents.
SZ: In your experience when a female race car driver of any of the types of racing has a dramatic crash does the media tend to focus the coverage angle on the driver’s level of confidence and whether she belongs in the sport? Does the media approach this angle if it’s a male driver?
EM: Well, we don’t have a lot of women racing let alone having big dramatic crashes for the world to respond to. However, when drivers’ abilities and confidence are questioned, it is tough to hear speculation by people who have never taken the responsibility of sitting in the driver’s seat and make comments as an armchair race driver. But that is just part of the program.
In terms of the question regarding women, I don’t hear “confidence” levels in male drivers questioned.
SZ: Is the sport of car racing in it’s different formats experiencing an increase of female drivers?
EM: From what I can tell, yes. When I was growing up, women only did certain sports. Today, girls get to try many sports (at least in the US and other various countries) and have plenty of female athlete roll models. I also think parents and fathers are doing great jobs giving their daughters opportunities. I think women in car racing will continue to see great growth over coming years and it’s very exciting.
SZ: What are the roads to entry into this sport for female drivers? Once a female driver establishes herself as a capable competitor what are the perks of involvement in this profession?
EM: There are so many forms of racing that it is tough to say. Each discipline is so different. There are some fundamentals though – money, time, practice, great coaching, well-prepped equipment. From a physical and mental perspective, sheer mental toughness and solid physical fitness. I can speak from the off-road racing side. You can start when you are older, and it helps to have general life experience. I think life experience translates directly to decision making in off-road racing. We don’t get to learn courses, practice and memorize corners. It isn’t glamorous, it is hard work just to reach the finish line. If a woman wants to get into off-road racing, the best thing is to first go to the races and volunteer for a team to ensure this is what she wants to do.
The perks of involvement for me are being part of a team, personal satisfaction out of sheer love of driving off-road, but very importantly, getting to see parts of the world from a very unique perspective.
SZ: What is up next on your racing calendar? How can fans follow you?
24 Hours of Paris (first week of September)
Baja 1000 (November)
www.emilysmiller.com
Emily thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule for this interview.
*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Dr. Phil Wagner - SPARTA Performance
SPARTA is an athletic training facility for high school, college and professional athletes who strive to maximize their sport performance while minimizing their risk of injury. Located in Menlo Park, the athletic programs are individualized incorporating a foundation of science, technology, training, nutrition and recovery programs.
Dr. Phil Wagner, owner of SPARTA, “I was always interested in training athletes. My career path has been based around that from the beginning.” The East Bay native received his medical degree from USC and in 2008 set up his training headquarters in Menlo Park because of the city’s location and abundance of high level athletes. Athletes who train at SPARTA are first tested on a force plate using the company’s proprietary software. The test results spotlight how each individual athlete moves and what his/her strengths and weaknesses are in relation to force and time output. Dr. Wagner says the process is similar to taking a fingerprint but of the total athlete. An athletes training program is then developed based on that fingerprint.
SZ:There are many performance training facilities in the bay area, Sparta has developed it’s reputation around being a science driven training facility. Explain how this method is a safer, healthier method of training for athletes.
PW: We focus athletic performance and injury prevention into its simplest need; force production. How much force you can put in the ground determines how high you jump, your sprinting speed, your ability to change direction, and how hard you can hit or throw a ball. The second major aspect of force production is the way you produce force, whether it very quickly or smoothly over a longer amount of time, as this balance determines your injury risk. The final aspect we analyze is the consistency of force production. If your nervous system is healthy and trained, you can repeat the same intensity over and over again.
We use a force plate buried in the ground to measure these qualities, coupled with our customized software to measure the needed values. After completion, we compare the athlete to our database of training over a hundred professional athletes and Olympic medalists of all sports and both genders.
SZ: What are the psychological benefits for the athlete using this method?
PW: There is a psychological component in everything we do, whether it is the tone of coaching feedback or the scientific approach. In the end, the goal is the same, to get results. So psychologically, the athlete feels more confident when they see the drastically improved results every day. If they happen to not improve as much, then they must learn to cope with disappointment and focus on aspects they can control.
SZ: What experiences from your own athletic play or training created your drive to seek out a scientifically organized method of improving athletic performance?
PW: I had countless injuries on the field; seven concussions, several surgeries on shoulders, and dozens of muscle strains and broken bones. While some could not be prevented, most of the setbacks were from pursuing training that was only supporting my innate imbalances. For example, I was naturally strong, so lifting heavier weights was fun, but did not necessarily increase my athleticism or improve resilience to injury. This training made me more explosive but also more prone to muscle strains
SZ: In an article you wrote for The Performance Lab, “Too Much Playing Harms Youngsters,” you mention that, “training the same muscles year round is believed to be the main cause of the rise in overuse injuries in young athletes.” What is Sparta’s system for recognizing overtraining outside of Sparta? Do you have a conversation with the athlete and parent when this occurs? What is a typical recommendation for the athlete when this occurs?
PW: Every athlete over trains, it just comes down to how much. Over trains doesn’t necessarily mean working too much as it does over specialization. Baseball players playing their sport year round never experience jumping or agility, while soccer players never learn how to throw a ball. We provide a stimulus with other skills to prevent the overuse of certain movement patterns, while still trying to enhance the most important parts of their sport.
SZ: What are the most interesting parts of your job?
PW: Improving athletes’ lives, helping them to achieve their dreams and changing lifestyle habits (nutrition, sleeping, etc.) that will last long after their sporting career is over.
SZ: Do you have a favorite quote or story that has guided you on your professional path?
PW: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Aristotle
The most important thing we measure is consistency; how often you can produce force, reproduce a skill, and pursue positive regeneration habits (nutrition, sleep, etc.).
Phil thank you for taking time out of your extremely busy schedule to talk about SPARTA
and the training it offers to athletes.
To learn more about SPARTA Performance: www.spartascience.com
*Guests featured are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro.
Dr. Phil Wagner, owner of SPARTA, “I was always interested in training athletes. My career path has been based around that from the beginning.” The East Bay native received his medical degree from USC and in 2008 set up his training headquarters in Menlo Park because of the city’s location and abundance of high level athletes. Athletes who train at SPARTA are first tested on a force plate using the company’s proprietary software. The test results spotlight how each individual athlete moves and what his/her strengths and weaknesses are in relation to force and time output. Dr. Wagner says the process is similar to taking a fingerprint but of the total athlete. An athletes training program is then developed based on that fingerprint.
SZ:There are many performance training facilities in the bay area, Sparta has developed it’s reputation around being a science driven training facility. Explain how this method is a safer, healthier method of training for athletes.
PW: We focus athletic performance and injury prevention into its simplest need; force production. How much force you can put in the ground determines how high you jump, your sprinting speed, your ability to change direction, and how hard you can hit or throw a ball. The second major aspect of force production is the way you produce force, whether it very quickly or smoothly over a longer amount of time, as this balance determines your injury risk. The final aspect we analyze is the consistency of force production. If your nervous system is healthy and trained, you can repeat the same intensity over and over again.
We use a force plate buried in the ground to measure these qualities, coupled with our customized software to measure the needed values. After completion, we compare the athlete to our database of training over a hundred professional athletes and Olympic medalists of all sports and both genders.
SZ: What are the psychological benefits for the athlete using this method?
PW: There is a psychological component in everything we do, whether it is the tone of coaching feedback or the scientific approach. In the end, the goal is the same, to get results. So psychologically, the athlete feels more confident when they see the drastically improved results every day. If they happen to not improve as much, then they must learn to cope with disappointment and focus on aspects they can control.
SZ: What experiences from your own athletic play or training created your drive to seek out a scientifically organized method of improving athletic performance?
PW: I had countless injuries on the field; seven concussions, several surgeries on shoulders, and dozens of muscle strains and broken bones. While some could not be prevented, most of the setbacks were from pursuing training that was only supporting my innate imbalances. For example, I was naturally strong, so lifting heavier weights was fun, but did not necessarily increase my athleticism or improve resilience to injury. This training made me more explosive but also more prone to muscle strains
SZ: In an article you wrote for The Performance Lab, “Too Much Playing Harms Youngsters,” you mention that, “training the same muscles year round is believed to be the main cause of the rise in overuse injuries in young athletes.” What is Sparta’s system for recognizing overtraining outside of Sparta? Do you have a conversation with the athlete and parent when this occurs? What is a typical recommendation for the athlete when this occurs?
PW: Every athlete over trains, it just comes down to how much. Over trains doesn’t necessarily mean working too much as it does over specialization. Baseball players playing their sport year round never experience jumping or agility, while soccer players never learn how to throw a ball. We provide a stimulus with other skills to prevent the overuse of certain movement patterns, while still trying to enhance the most important parts of their sport.
SZ: What are the most interesting parts of your job?
PW: Improving athletes’ lives, helping them to achieve their dreams and changing lifestyle habits (nutrition, sleeping, etc.) that will last long after their sporting career is over.
SZ: Do you have a favorite quote or story that has guided you on your professional path?
PW: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Aristotle
The most important thing we measure is consistency; how often you can produce force, reproduce a skill, and pursue positive regeneration habits (nutrition, sleep, etc.).
Phil thank you for taking time out of your extremely busy schedule to talk about SPARTA
and the training it offers to athletes.
To learn more about SPARTA Performance: www.spartascience.com
*Guests featured are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Bay Area Bandits - Women's Football League
The Bay Area Bandits’ organization was founded by a group of five players who wanted to prove that a women’s football team in the San Francisco Bay Area could be successfully managed, sustained and positively integrated into the community. The mission of the Bay Area Bandits is to afford its members an opportunity to play tackle football, a sport not traditionally offered to women, in an organized, life-enriching manner that promotes teamwork, discipline and dedication, while fostering the skills and knowledge necessary to compete nationally.
SZ: The Bay Area Bandits women’s football team began in 2008. How many players were on the original roster and how many players does the team have today?
Bandits: We started with nearly 68 women who tried out and carried 45 players on the roster for the inaugural 2010 season. In 2011 we began the season with 45 women on the roster.
SZ: How would an interested player learn about where and when try-outs are held?
Bandits: There are try-outs each year for both returning and new players. These try-outs
typically run between September and December, which is during our mini-camp training period. Interested players can learn about our try-outs by visiting our website or via the hundreds of information fliers that are passed out while recruiting prospective players. Our advertisements are typically via free or low-cost media and word of mouth.
SZ: I read that the Women’s Football Alliance which has leagues across the nation is owned by Jeff and Lisa King, and has grown to over sixty teams for the 2011 season.
What are other features of women’s football that readers are probably not aware of?
Bandits:
* Women’s football has been in the U.S. since 2000.
*It’s a league where the women pay to play.
*Several teams nationwide participate in philanthropic youth programs such as,
NFL Play 60, Special Olympics, Girls Inc. etc.
Women’s football is an international sport.
Approximately 30% of the money spent for a single football season is given back to local schools and city parks and recreation departments.
SZ: What are some of the qualities that attract women to participate in football as a sport for health and well-being?
Bandit (Jen Romanini): Football is an opportunity to play a sport that has never been offered to women. It’s a chance to be involved in a team sport and experience the challenge of playing a sport that requires physical aggression.
Bandit (Julia Jalalat): Love for the game gives me the motivation to keep going and push harder during the most mentally challenging and physically strenuous moments during games and while conditioning.
Bandit (Cori Evans): The qualities that attracted me to participate in women’s football include the opportunity to compete beyond collegiate athletics. The challenge to succeed in a new sport that I love and dreamed of playing.
Bandit (Sandra Hernandez): Many women are attracted to being part of a team a unit. Many athletes have experienced that sense of camaraderie and want to feel “a part” of something again. The great physical conditioning is definitely attractive and a physical sense of accomplishment.
SZ: What are some of the physical and mental skill sets that are useful for players to have or acquire who wish to compete on a women’s football team?
Bandit (Jen Romanini): The more physically fit and strong the player the more likely the player will find success playing the game. Physical skill sets range from speed, agility and power to brute strength, endurance, athletic skill and coordination. The skills that prove to be more useful are mental. Work ethic, drive, determination, leadership and the ability to work with others, trust. Much of what a player does on the field affects the rest of the team. Understanding that a players individual success comes from and contributes to the teams success is a crucial key in enjoying and finding success in this sport.
Bandit (Danielle Golay): The mental toughness that is needed to play this sport is something that is ultimately needed for any player to be great. A big heart, a great work ethic, and the desire to continue to become better are also great traits for a player.
SZ: Does the team have a quote, motto or story that expresses the team’s culture and/or philosophy?
Bandit (Jen Romanini): Dedication. Determination. Domination. We ask a lot of the ladies that make up our roster, instilling in them our goal of bringing home a championship to the Bay Area. It takes a lot of time, preparation and organization to be successful in this league and this game. The bar has been set high and is being set higher each year. The longer the opportunity for women to play football is around the stiffer the competition gets.
Bandit (Julia Jalalat): I wish everyone got to experience what it feels like to be running your last 100 yard sprint thinking surely this time you will perish, and have your teammates come and run the final sprint with you, not letting you run or perish alone, their very presence giving you life. In all other athletics I felt tolerated; in football I have a sense of belonging. Feeling like I belong moves me to want to become stronger, faster, better. When I step onto the football field, I am home.
Lady Bandits, Danielle Golay, Cori Evans, Julia Jalalat, Jen Romanini, Sandra Hernandez, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to share your thoughts and experiences of participating in women’s football. As of this writing the Bay Area Bandits 2011 record stands at 5 and 0, next game is Saturday, June 4th.
*Guests featured are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
SZ: The Bay Area Bandits women’s football team began in 2008. How many players were on the original roster and how many players does the team have today?
Bandits: We started with nearly 68 women who tried out and carried 45 players on the roster for the inaugural 2010 season. In 2011 we began the season with 45 women on the roster.
SZ: How would an interested player learn about where and when try-outs are held?
Bandits: There are try-outs each year for both returning and new players. These try-outs
typically run between September and December, which is during our mini-camp training period. Interested players can learn about our try-outs by visiting our website or via the hundreds of information fliers that are passed out while recruiting prospective players. Our advertisements are typically via free or low-cost media and word of mouth.
SZ: I read that the Women’s Football Alliance which has leagues across the nation is owned by Jeff and Lisa King, and has grown to over sixty teams for the 2011 season.
What are other features of women’s football that readers are probably not aware of?
Bandits:
* Women’s football has been in the U.S. since 2000.
*It’s a league where the women pay to play.
*Several teams nationwide participate in philanthropic youth programs such as,
NFL Play 60, Special Olympics, Girls Inc. etc.
Women’s football is an international sport.
Approximately 30% of the money spent for a single football season is given back to local schools and city parks and recreation departments.
SZ: What are some of the qualities that attract women to participate in football as a sport for health and well-being?
Bandit (Jen Romanini): Football is an opportunity to play a sport that has never been offered to women. It’s a chance to be involved in a team sport and experience the challenge of playing a sport that requires physical aggression.
Bandit (Julia Jalalat): Love for the game gives me the motivation to keep going and push harder during the most mentally challenging and physically strenuous moments during games and while conditioning.
Bandit (Cori Evans): The qualities that attracted me to participate in women’s football include the opportunity to compete beyond collegiate athletics. The challenge to succeed in a new sport that I love and dreamed of playing.
Bandit (Sandra Hernandez): Many women are attracted to being part of a team a unit. Many athletes have experienced that sense of camaraderie and want to feel “a part” of something again. The great physical conditioning is definitely attractive and a physical sense of accomplishment.
SZ: What are some of the physical and mental skill sets that are useful for players to have or acquire who wish to compete on a women’s football team?
Bandit (Jen Romanini): The more physically fit and strong the player the more likely the player will find success playing the game. Physical skill sets range from speed, agility and power to brute strength, endurance, athletic skill and coordination. The skills that prove to be more useful are mental. Work ethic, drive, determination, leadership and the ability to work with others, trust. Much of what a player does on the field affects the rest of the team. Understanding that a players individual success comes from and contributes to the teams success is a crucial key in enjoying and finding success in this sport.
Bandit (Danielle Golay): The mental toughness that is needed to play this sport is something that is ultimately needed for any player to be great. A big heart, a great work ethic, and the desire to continue to become better are also great traits for a player.
SZ: Does the team have a quote, motto or story that expresses the team’s culture and/or philosophy?
Bandit (Jen Romanini): Dedication. Determination. Domination. We ask a lot of the ladies that make up our roster, instilling in them our goal of bringing home a championship to the Bay Area. It takes a lot of time, preparation and organization to be successful in this league and this game. The bar has been set high and is being set higher each year. The longer the opportunity for women to play football is around the stiffer the competition gets.
Bandit (Julia Jalalat): I wish everyone got to experience what it feels like to be running your last 100 yard sprint thinking surely this time you will perish, and have your teammates come and run the final sprint with you, not letting you run or perish alone, their very presence giving you life. In all other athletics I felt tolerated; in football I have a sense of belonging. Feeling like I belong moves me to want to become stronger, faster, better. When I step onto the football field, I am home.
Lady Bandits, Danielle Golay, Cori Evans, Julia Jalalat, Jen Romanini, Sandra Hernandez, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to share your thoughts and experiences of participating in women’s football. As of this writing the Bay Area Bandits 2011 record stands at 5 and 0, next game is Saturday, June 4th.
*Guests featured are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
Monday, April 25, 2011
Marlene Bjornsrud - BAWSI - Female Athletes On The Move
The Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative (BAWSI) was founded in 2005 by Olympic and World Cup soccer stars Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy and Marlene Bjornsrud. Bjornsrud, BAWSI’s CEO, has over 30 years experience in management and nonprofit work. Bjornsrud was previously general manager of the San Jose CyberRays women’s professional soccer team. Before her role with the CyberRays she was assistant director of athletics at Santa Clara University, where she supervised marketing and media relations as well as eleven sports.
SZ: BAWSI arose from the remnants of the professional Women’s United Soccer Association which ran from 2001-2003. “The rallying point was a consensus that the full aspirations of women in sports are yet to be realized, and that the full benefits of sports in society cannot be achieved without women.” What’s BAWSI’s role in moving this philosophy forward?
MB: Much of that comes from the thought that in our society a little boy can turn on the television and see athletes that look like him competing. ESPN will put on a men’s paintball championship before it will put women’s basketball, soccer, or lacrosse on the television. So our sense was that due to lack of media coverage how could we set about to make the invisible side of athletics, the female side, visible? We chose to do it in a meaningful way by aligning with female athletes in the community and involving them at the grass roots level to make a change in the lives of young girls who don’t have the opportunity to have women athletic role models in their lives.
SZ: In what way is BAWSI’s approach unique from other community based grass roots community sports programs?
MB: One distinguishing feature about what BAWSI does that sets us apart from everyone else, is not our curriculum because what we teach is common everyday playground games, hula hoops, kickball, a little soccer and basketball, but that’s not where the magic comes from. The magic comes from who is serving those young girls and that is women athletes, hundreds of professional, Olympic, collegiate, and amateur weekend warriors. We have a belief that every women is an athlete and any woman who cares about young girls especially those who live in poverty and have very little opportunity to be involved in sports, they are the ones going on the playgrounds and that is the distinguishing feature. Beyond the bay area I don’t know of any other organization that has focused on mobilizing the women’s sports community to serve young girls and that sets us apart.
SZ: That’s a great defining feature. What is the time commitment asked of the athletes involved with the school programs?
MB: We ask them to make a commitment for a semester. There are some teams that can’t make a semester commitment but will participate for four weeks. We are not interested in athletes who want to attend once, because that doesn’t build an authentic relationship. Santa Clara University Women’s Basketball is our shining star in terms of level of commitment. Every year they take on two BAWSI schools in the city of Santa Clara. Team members are on the playgrounds two afternoons a week. The women’s softball team at Gavilan College in Gilroy is the same way. They have a deep commitment year round to the girls that they serve.
SZ: What type of feedback are you receiving regarding the benefits of BAWSI in the schools? What type of benchmarks are you noticing where you can say, “This working it’s a good thing.”
MB: Certainly enough that we keep going and we keep expanding. The number of principals who apply for our programs is getting crazy. At this time we can’t accommodate all the requests we receive to be on campuses. The principal at Washington Elementary in San Jose, which is a very poor community in Santa Clara County, has shared with us that BAWSI is the factor that is allowing the school community of young girls to begin to participate not only on the playground, but it’s also allowing them to build their confidence in the classroom where they are raising their hand more. Teachers are telling us at every single school that often they had never heard the girls speak about college until BAWSI came on campus because the girls had never been around college students. As much as we began as a health initiative there have been a number of factors related to self esteem and confidence that principals, teachers, parents and intervention counselors are talking with us about and saying we want you here every year. That’s why we began a program for the mom’s. The girl’s are the anchor of what we do. They are the rallying point for the athletes but we also noticed early on that as we worked with the girls more and more moms’ would come and watch. A friend of mine from the Hispanic Foundation said, “I would be interested in giving you some seed money to see if you could do something for the mom’s.” We were fortunate to find a Latina elite athlete who has begun the program for moms’ and women that is now bursting at the seams.
If you go to a school in the afternoon where BAWSI is there you will see anywhere from 15 to 50 women working out with an athlete who speaks English and Spanish. The program involves fitness, a fifteen minute session on nutrition and making healthy choices for feeding their families and a few minutes of mindfulness training. So you’ll see mom’s out there in one part of the playground and eighty girls on another. It would be the only time of the week that you would see the females owning the playground.
SZ: What type of growth has BAWSI experienced since it’s inception in 2005?
MB: Brandi Chastain and I began with seven girls in April of 2005. We fast forward to just a few weeks ago in 2011 we’ve just enrolled our 10,000th girl. In six years we’ve given the BAWSI girls experience to more than 10,000 girls.
SZ: To date which BAWSI accomplishments are you most proud of?
MB: Every time I walk on a playground I experience a huge surge of emotion and it’s not ego or pride. It’s a funny sense of being both honored and humbled that this little idea is actually working. Because when this idea was created by the eight women who sat in my living room in 2005 there was a sense of we really need to mobilize the women’s sports community to do something right and do something good. I am amazed and moved as I watch what’s happening out there and my greatest sense of pride is the number of athlete’s that have said “Yes.” It’s also a huge tribute to Brandi Chastain who in the earliest stage day in and day out was on the playground every afternoon so that the athletes would see her and say, “If she’s out here I’m going to be out here too.”
SZ: You have an amazing history of involvement in women’s sports and it’s a challenging road. Do you have a favorite quote that has guided you on your professional path?
MB: The incredible highs and lows are like a roller coaster ride. I love quotes and someone gave me one the year BAWSI began and I keep it on my desk in front of me all the time. “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” Robert H. Schuller. I think of that a lot because even though we are almost forty years into Title Nine being passed as a Federal Law everything in the women’s sport world is still on the level of attempting to do something extraordinary so that has been something that guided me not just with BAWSI but beforehand with the CyberRays and while I was working at the collegiate level.
Marlene, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to explain how BAWSI works and how it’s influence is growing within communities.
Join BAWSI on Wed. May 4th at the Leavey Center on the Santa Clara University campus
for “Game On,” A Sportsapalooza to benefit the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative.
For more information: www.bawsi.org/events/gameon.html
*Guests featured are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
SZ: BAWSI arose from the remnants of the professional Women’s United Soccer Association which ran from 2001-2003. “The rallying point was a consensus that the full aspirations of women in sports are yet to be realized, and that the full benefits of sports in society cannot be achieved without women.” What’s BAWSI’s role in moving this philosophy forward?
MB: Much of that comes from the thought that in our society a little boy can turn on the television and see athletes that look like him competing. ESPN will put on a men’s paintball championship before it will put women’s basketball, soccer, or lacrosse on the television. So our sense was that due to lack of media coverage how could we set about to make the invisible side of athletics, the female side, visible? We chose to do it in a meaningful way by aligning with female athletes in the community and involving them at the grass roots level to make a change in the lives of young girls who don’t have the opportunity to have women athletic role models in their lives.
SZ: In what way is BAWSI’s approach unique from other community based grass roots community sports programs?
MB: One distinguishing feature about what BAWSI does that sets us apart from everyone else, is not our curriculum because what we teach is common everyday playground games, hula hoops, kickball, a little soccer and basketball, but that’s not where the magic comes from. The magic comes from who is serving those young girls and that is women athletes, hundreds of professional, Olympic, collegiate, and amateur weekend warriors. We have a belief that every women is an athlete and any woman who cares about young girls especially those who live in poverty and have very little opportunity to be involved in sports, they are the ones going on the playgrounds and that is the distinguishing feature. Beyond the bay area I don’t know of any other organization that has focused on mobilizing the women’s sports community to serve young girls and that sets us apart.
SZ: That’s a great defining feature. What is the time commitment asked of the athletes involved with the school programs?
MB: We ask them to make a commitment for a semester. There are some teams that can’t make a semester commitment but will participate for four weeks. We are not interested in athletes who want to attend once, because that doesn’t build an authentic relationship. Santa Clara University Women’s Basketball is our shining star in terms of level of commitment. Every year they take on two BAWSI schools in the city of Santa Clara. Team members are on the playgrounds two afternoons a week. The women’s softball team at Gavilan College in Gilroy is the same way. They have a deep commitment year round to the girls that they serve.
SZ: What type of feedback are you receiving regarding the benefits of BAWSI in the schools? What type of benchmarks are you noticing where you can say, “This working it’s a good thing.”
MB: Certainly enough that we keep going and we keep expanding. The number of principals who apply for our programs is getting crazy. At this time we can’t accommodate all the requests we receive to be on campuses. The principal at Washington Elementary in San Jose, which is a very poor community in Santa Clara County, has shared with us that BAWSI is the factor that is allowing the school community of young girls to begin to participate not only on the playground, but it’s also allowing them to build their confidence in the classroom where they are raising their hand more. Teachers are telling us at every single school that often they had never heard the girls speak about college until BAWSI came on campus because the girls had never been around college students. As much as we began as a health initiative there have been a number of factors related to self esteem and confidence that principals, teachers, parents and intervention counselors are talking with us about and saying we want you here every year. That’s why we began a program for the mom’s. The girl’s are the anchor of what we do. They are the rallying point for the athletes but we also noticed early on that as we worked with the girls more and more moms’ would come and watch. A friend of mine from the Hispanic Foundation said, “I would be interested in giving you some seed money to see if you could do something for the mom’s.” We were fortunate to find a Latina elite athlete who has begun the program for moms’ and women that is now bursting at the seams.
If you go to a school in the afternoon where BAWSI is there you will see anywhere from 15 to 50 women working out with an athlete who speaks English and Spanish. The program involves fitness, a fifteen minute session on nutrition and making healthy choices for feeding their families and a few minutes of mindfulness training. So you’ll see mom’s out there in one part of the playground and eighty girls on another. It would be the only time of the week that you would see the females owning the playground.
SZ: What type of growth has BAWSI experienced since it’s inception in 2005?
MB: Brandi Chastain and I began with seven girls in April of 2005. We fast forward to just a few weeks ago in 2011 we’ve just enrolled our 10,000th girl. In six years we’ve given the BAWSI girls experience to more than 10,000 girls.
SZ: To date which BAWSI accomplishments are you most proud of?
MB: Every time I walk on a playground I experience a huge surge of emotion and it’s not ego or pride. It’s a funny sense of being both honored and humbled that this little idea is actually working. Because when this idea was created by the eight women who sat in my living room in 2005 there was a sense of we really need to mobilize the women’s sports community to do something right and do something good. I am amazed and moved as I watch what’s happening out there and my greatest sense of pride is the number of athlete’s that have said “Yes.” It’s also a huge tribute to Brandi Chastain who in the earliest stage day in and day out was on the playground every afternoon so that the athletes would see her and say, “If she’s out here I’m going to be out here too.”
SZ: You have an amazing history of involvement in women’s sports and it’s a challenging road. Do you have a favorite quote that has guided you on your professional path?
MB: The incredible highs and lows are like a roller coaster ride. I love quotes and someone gave me one the year BAWSI began and I keep it on my desk in front of me all the time. “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” Robert H. Schuller. I think of that a lot because even though we are almost forty years into Title Nine being passed as a Federal Law everything in the women’s sport world is still on the level of attempting to do something extraordinary so that has been something that guided me not just with BAWSI but beforehand with the CyberRays and while I was working at the collegiate level.
Marlene, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to explain how BAWSI works and how it’s influence is growing within communities.
Join BAWSI on Wed. May 4th at the Leavey Center on the Santa Clara University campus
for “Game On,” A Sportsapalooza to benefit the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative.
For more information: www.bawsi.org/events/gameon.html
*Guests featured are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Steve Young - Mental Toughness & Sport Transition
After completing his career of more than fifteen years in the NFL, primarily with the San Francisco 49er’s where he received numerous awards including Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXIX, Sports Illustrated and Sporting News’ Player of the Year from 1992-1994, and the NFL’s Most Valuable Player for 1992 and 1994, Steve Young has made a successful transition to the next professional phase of his career. In 2005 Young was the first left-handed quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Young is also the highest-rated quarterback in NFL history and has the distinction of being the only signal caller to win four consecutive NFL passing titles.
Currently Young is a Managing Director and Co-founder of Huntsman Gay Global Capital. He also founded and chairs the Forever Young Foundation, which is actively involved in children’s charities worldwide and is currently the broadcast host as well as the former International Spokesperson for the Children’s Miracle Network which has raised over one billion dollars world-wide to benefit children’s hospitals. He remains involved with football for ESPN’s Monday Night Football pre-and post-game shows.
SZ: Steve as a professional athlete playing at the highest levels of football you demonstrated great mental toughness. In your opinion what are the qualities of mental toughness in professional football?
SY: I think like a lot of things people have a predisposition almost towards mental toughness. They just are that way. You can certainly become tougher. It can be taught. But if you really want to accomplish something, and I’m not talking about 4th quarter, down by four, but by daily looking at what you are trying to accomplish there’s a grit that I think you can really develop and accomplish by just demanding grit from yourself. You can be mentally tough in college sports or high school, but playing in the professional game does really separate a lot of people. That highest level, it’s like anything, it’s like any super talent that you develop. Mental toughness is a talent that can be developed. Mental toughness is as much a talent as eye hand coordination.
There are supremely athletically talented people that I’ve known that lack the mental toughness and did not succeed. They stopped a level below. They could have been a great professional player but were finished after college, not due to their lack of athletic ability.
SZ: The mental toughness is it the day to day discipline?
SY: It’s a challenge everyday. You’ve got to challenge yourself everyday if you are going to get there. At the professional level you develop it and you don’t know how to get rid of it. It seems innate. All those guys with mental toughness, they don’t back down.
SZ: Nothings going to get in their way?
SY: I’m not talking about being a bull in a china shop. I’m not talking about hyper-competitiveness where you race someone to the car. Mental toughness is not being overly competitive. It’s a quiet thing in the moment a grit that 99 out of a 100 people would stop or go around the challenge or would avoid it, and the one person who goes through it doesn’t duck.
SZ: A clarity or vision of the goal?
SY: No, it’s an inner will. I know a lot of really nice guys who are exemplars of this iron will. Peyton Manning comes to mind. There’s no backing down, but it’s within a context. I’ve seen people who are hyper-competitive who want to compete in places where it’s not useful.
SZ: It sounds as though you are describing mental toughness as a type of intelligence.
SY: It is. We have to actively engage will. You are right it’s not something that’s mindless. It’s almost like I see what I’m facing and human nature kind of tells me to duck it but I’m not going to and I’ve trained myself to face challenges in this way. It’s an intelligence definitely and that’s an important piece of the puzzle. The strongest willed people are the one’s that I think have learned, have trained themselves and those are the most scary because you go into it and you say, “Wow man this is going to be tough.” That’s a unique person and every once in awhile you find a person where iron will and talent meet and you get Jerry Rice.
You don’t necessarily develop an iron will at age ten but I think it develops very young. It’s how you deal with adversity that’s around you. You can blossom in this way later but I think it’s innate.
SZ: How have these qualities which we’ve just discussed helped you successfully transition into business after a playing career?
SY: I think the thing you hit on was awareness. Because a lot of guys fall off the cliff of retirement and don’t get back up because it’s too much of a transition. I think it’s because you are aware. There is humility to it, “I was really great at something, now I’m not great at anything.” So the misstep is to hold onto what you are great at. You want to talk about it you want to have people around you who talk about it. That activity that you were great at, it’s over, and that’s the challenging part. The process is, “I better become skilled at something new.” The greatest transition I made was saying that exact thing. I began the long haul process of becoming at least good at something else.
SZ: There’s humbleness in that process.
SY: There’s no question. The core piece to that puzzle is humility. You have to have the image within yourself of starting over. The knowledge of, “I did it once in one field, I’m capable of doing it again.”
SZ: Is it an exciting process?
SY: No, it’s a grind. But like anything else that you do head on in time is the most rewarding thing you’ll ever do. You take the best things in living life, after the grind, after the struggle and there’s richness to it. That’s in relationship, sports, that’s in transitions, there’s a depth of what’s accomplished. It comes through the struggle and so that’s why I think accomplishing something worthwhile the first time, you have that resource within yourself to do it again. Though you’ve got to accept it’s going to be a trial.
SZ: What are some of the challenges?
SY: At some level it’s like going back to school at 38 or 40 years old whether it’s metaphorical or real school. It’s not something you necessarily wish to do. That’s where the humility comes in. You have to say, “I’m not that knowledgeable yet in this profession.”
SZ: You already had your law degree prior to completing your professional playing career.
SY: Right so I had a leg up. I didn’t really have to go back to school. I was grateful for that. The fact that I had gone to law school gave me competency, so people could actually hire me. Once you are in the door it’s a game of making it happen. It’s like anything else at some point you get that job, you get that opportunity now you’ve got to make it happen.
SZ: Do you have a favorite quote, story or tip that has guided you on your professional path?
SY: One of the things that really helped me as a young professional football player was my hero Roger Staubach. Roger had served in the Navy for four years then came out and went on to become one of the greatest players for the Dallas Cowboys. I found myself early mid-career saying to myself, “Roger played late, I can do it.” Roger was a role model and inspiration for me.
Steve thank you so very much for taking time out of your extremely busy schedule to take part in this discuss of mental toughness and athletic transition.
*Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
Currently Young is a Managing Director and Co-founder of Huntsman Gay Global Capital. He also founded and chairs the Forever Young Foundation, which is actively involved in children’s charities worldwide and is currently the broadcast host as well as the former International Spokesperson for the Children’s Miracle Network which has raised over one billion dollars world-wide to benefit children’s hospitals. He remains involved with football for ESPN’s Monday Night Football pre-and post-game shows.
SZ: Steve as a professional athlete playing at the highest levels of football you demonstrated great mental toughness. In your opinion what are the qualities of mental toughness in professional football?
SY: I think like a lot of things people have a predisposition almost towards mental toughness. They just are that way. You can certainly become tougher. It can be taught. But if you really want to accomplish something, and I’m not talking about 4th quarter, down by four, but by daily looking at what you are trying to accomplish there’s a grit that I think you can really develop and accomplish by just demanding grit from yourself. You can be mentally tough in college sports or high school, but playing in the professional game does really separate a lot of people. That highest level, it’s like anything, it’s like any super talent that you develop. Mental toughness is a talent that can be developed. Mental toughness is as much a talent as eye hand coordination.
There are supremely athletically talented people that I’ve known that lack the mental toughness and did not succeed. They stopped a level below. They could have been a great professional player but were finished after college, not due to their lack of athletic ability.
SZ: The mental toughness is it the day to day discipline?
SY: It’s a challenge everyday. You’ve got to challenge yourself everyday if you are going to get there. At the professional level you develop it and you don’t know how to get rid of it. It seems innate. All those guys with mental toughness, they don’t back down.
SZ: Nothings going to get in their way?
SY: I’m not talking about being a bull in a china shop. I’m not talking about hyper-competitiveness where you race someone to the car. Mental toughness is not being overly competitive. It’s a quiet thing in the moment a grit that 99 out of a 100 people would stop or go around the challenge or would avoid it, and the one person who goes through it doesn’t duck.
SZ: A clarity or vision of the goal?
SY: No, it’s an inner will. I know a lot of really nice guys who are exemplars of this iron will. Peyton Manning comes to mind. There’s no backing down, but it’s within a context. I’ve seen people who are hyper-competitive who want to compete in places where it’s not useful.
SZ: It sounds as though you are describing mental toughness as a type of intelligence.
SY: It is. We have to actively engage will. You are right it’s not something that’s mindless. It’s almost like I see what I’m facing and human nature kind of tells me to duck it but I’m not going to and I’ve trained myself to face challenges in this way. It’s an intelligence definitely and that’s an important piece of the puzzle. The strongest willed people are the one’s that I think have learned, have trained themselves and those are the most scary because you go into it and you say, “Wow man this is going to be tough.” That’s a unique person and every once in awhile you find a person where iron will and talent meet and you get Jerry Rice.
You don’t necessarily develop an iron will at age ten but I think it develops very young. It’s how you deal with adversity that’s around you. You can blossom in this way later but I think it’s innate.
SZ: How have these qualities which we’ve just discussed helped you successfully transition into business after a playing career?
SY: I think the thing you hit on was awareness. Because a lot of guys fall off the cliff of retirement and don’t get back up because it’s too much of a transition. I think it’s because you are aware. There is humility to it, “I was really great at something, now I’m not great at anything.” So the misstep is to hold onto what you are great at. You want to talk about it you want to have people around you who talk about it. That activity that you were great at, it’s over, and that’s the challenging part. The process is, “I better become skilled at something new.” The greatest transition I made was saying that exact thing. I began the long haul process of becoming at least good at something else.
SZ: There’s humbleness in that process.
SY: There’s no question. The core piece to that puzzle is humility. You have to have the image within yourself of starting over. The knowledge of, “I did it once in one field, I’m capable of doing it again.”
SZ: Is it an exciting process?
SY: No, it’s a grind. But like anything else that you do head on in time is the most rewarding thing you’ll ever do. You take the best things in living life, after the grind, after the struggle and there’s richness to it. That’s in relationship, sports, that’s in transitions, there’s a depth of what’s accomplished. It comes through the struggle and so that’s why I think accomplishing something worthwhile the first time, you have that resource within yourself to do it again. Though you’ve got to accept it’s going to be a trial.
SZ: What are some of the challenges?
SY: At some level it’s like going back to school at 38 or 40 years old whether it’s metaphorical or real school. It’s not something you necessarily wish to do. That’s where the humility comes in. You have to say, “I’m not that knowledgeable yet in this profession.”
SZ: You already had your law degree prior to completing your professional playing career.
SY: Right so I had a leg up. I didn’t really have to go back to school. I was grateful for that. The fact that I had gone to law school gave me competency, so people could actually hire me. Once you are in the door it’s a game of making it happen. It’s like anything else at some point you get that job, you get that opportunity now you’ve got to make it happen.
SZ: Do you have a favorite quote, story or tip that has guided you on your professional path?
SY: One of the things that really helped me as a young professional football player was my hero Roger Staubach. Roger had served in the Navy for four years then came out and went on to become one of the greatest players for the Dallas Cowboys. I found myself early mid-career saying to myself, “Roger played late, I can do it.” Roger was a role model and inspiration for me.
Steve thank you so very much for taking time out of your extremely busy schedule to take part in this discuss of mental toughness and athletic transition.
*Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
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