“My desire is to make some decisions regarding allocating my energy, time, and resources going forward.” After reading this sentence, what preceded and followed in Jacqui’s email, which included a defined problem and desired outcome, were less important to me. Why? Because of Jacqui’s attention to the word, “energy.” This…

“It’s a basic equation, Joe,” Fritz enthusiastically conveys to me. “X1 + X2 + X3 + X… = Your best performance,” he continues. “Identify your variables, make each one as good as you possibly can, and this is your optimal performance.” Motivating me, the young athlete, may not have been…

On a day that marks the completion of my 52nd lap around the sun, I thought to share some reflections that feel relevant at this moment in time. These reflections may sometimes appear to contradict each other. But, as I have considered and embraced each one along my journey down…

Before checking out for the summer, let’s divert from our normal “story and point of transfer” format and do something a little different with today’s Sunday Morning Joe post. Today, I am sharing some resources that contribute to or align with the ideas about which I typically write as well…

“So, what are you going to do when you get back home?” asks Bill. “I’d like to speak to groups and share our story,” I reply. Bill is the Head Coach of the U.S. Olympic Canoe Slalom Team. The bus upon which we are riding is a part of a…

The loud auditory beep sounds briefly but clearly in this eerily quiet moment. The line transitioning from one phase of life to another is crossed. In this moment, contentment surrounds us. But being humans, we begin to search for confirmation of exactly how content we are… The scoreboard that overlooks…

On a cool morning sitting in comfortable lawn chairs in the podium area beside the roaring Dora Baltea River, we breathe in the thick tension of this anticipated day. The sun starts to climb over the Italian city of Ivrea where athletes and coaches have come together for the European…

At the Parc del Segre, just a few seconds of sprinting our doubles canoe across calm water separates the Olympic start line from the first drop on the river channel where we descend into the whitewater. From outside the river, our quick and synchronized strokes off the start line must…

“More pasta? Lecky asks me. “Of course!” I reply. On a cold, late winter evening in northwestern Connecticut, in a rustic house next the training site on the Housatonic River, we stand up from our places in the living room and make our way towards the kitchen. Plates in hand…