Two (2) William and Mary Hall of Famers sit down to discuss coaching, parenting, playing and #RaisingAthletes. Kirsten and Julie touch on how to build culture, how today's athletes want to be seen and heard, and how so much of success is just showing up every day (Grit! Growth Mindset!).

Rett Larson is the Head Strength and Conditioning / Sports Performance Coach for the German Women’s National Volleyball team, currently preparing them to make the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Rett previously was the head S&C coach for the Netherlands, and the Chinese Women’s Volleyball team, where he won a gold medal🥇 . His training videos have gone viral using music and dancing and fun to prepare his world class athletes.

Rett is another fellow William & Mary 💚💛alumni who used his love of sports and turned it into a career.

Rett's level of expertise across all aspects of coaching and fitness are unsurpassed by anyone else I've ever worked with. He is determined to make movement and sport training FUN! Likewise, his generosity with his time, enthusiasm and knowledge is a rare combination that makes working with Rett a motivating and educational experience. Rett is one of those people who is so clearly passionate about what he does and his energy is oozing out throughout this pod! 🧠🏋️🏐

SHOW NOTES

@rettasaurus

Currently preparing the German Women’s Volleyball team to make the Paris Olympics

2016 Rio Olympics 🥇 Team CHINA

2015 World Cup 🥇 Team CHINA

W&M 1995

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kirsten-jones0/support

Nothing is more important in youth sports than HAVING FUN! Here is a clip of how Rett balances fun with the expectations of structure in youth sports.⚡️

Rett has so much passion and energy for what he does which it is clearly shown in this podcast!🏐🏋️

Rett Larson is the Head Strength and Conditioning / Sports Performance Coach for the German Women’s National Volleyball team, currently preparing them to make the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Rett previously was the head S&C coach for the Netherlands, and the Chinese Women’s Volleyball team, where he won a gold medal🥇 . His training videos have gone viral @rettasaurus using music and dancing and fun to prepare his world class athletes.

Rett is another fellow William & Mary 💚💛alumni who used his love of sports and turned it into a career!

@rettasaurus

It's our 100th Episode !!!!!

And.....drumroll please....we have a guest who needs no introduction…Susie and Kirsten are joined by one of the most successful people in the NBA, Golden State Warrior Head Coach Steve Kerr.

Winning 9 NBA championships as player and coach, Steve (or Stevie as Susie calls him!) is a proven winner who discusses his experience working with NBA legendary players like Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant and learning from legendary coaches like Phil Jackson, Greg Popovich and Lute Olson.

He explains the importance of leading with joy and how creating a positive environment is most important when the going gets tough. You don’t want to miss this episode!

Kirsten continues her discussion with the Student Athlete, speaking to Pepperdine and Stanford Men's Volleyball All-American, Jaylen Jasper.  Jaylen and Kirsten touch on Jaylen’s journey from 2017 Volleyball Magazine High School Player of the Year to Stanford, persevering through Covid and ultimately transferring to Pepperdine to continue to play volleyball and get his Masters.  Jaylen discusses how he played multiple sports before finding volleyball,

In this sneak peek of next Monday's #RaisingAthletes podcast, Jaylen tells a story where he learns that if he plays bad, he still has value. This clip speaks to how the power of good coaching affects an athlete's performance and overall mental health. We love this story!

Meet one of Kirsten’s star pupils! Kenzie Chang is a national champion equestrian, Team Gold Medalist at the 2021 Pony Finals, and Winner of the North American pre junior trials. Kenzie has been working with Kirsten for close to a year now and is showing why it can be so beneficial to have a peak performance coach in your corner. She has put so many of Kirsten’s tools into practice and is reaping all of the benefits as she continues down her equestrian journey.

SHOW NOTES

Instagram: @kenziechang_

Meet one of Kirsten’s star pupils! Kenzie Chang is a national champion equestrian, Team Gold Medalist at the 2021 Pony Finals, and Winner of the North American pre junior trials. Kenzie has been working with Kirsten for close to a year now and is showing why it can be so beneficial to have a peak performance coach in your corner. She has put so many of Kirsten’s tools into practice and is reaping all of the benefits as she continues down her equestrian journey.

SHOW NOTES

Instagram: @kenziechang_

Team KJ’s favorite podcast are be re-released!  This is the first of three re-airs (with a new intro) in our #RaisingAthletes: Student Athlete Series.  If you haven’t already listened to these the first time around, these will be a treat!

First up, Kirsten has the opportunity to sit down and talk with her oldest son, Caelan (CJ), about his basketball journey and the lessons sports have taught him. From the highs to the lows and everything in between Caelan (CJ) and Kirsten go back and forth about their moves throughout his childhood, high school basketball, the transfer process from D1 to D3, and his most recent journey at Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

There are so many amazing takeaways and wonderful moments in this honest conversation between a mother and her son. This is a supersized episode because they had so much to talk about!

Listen

Team KJ's favorite podcast are be re-released!  This is the first of three re-airs (with a new intro) in our #RaisingAthletes: Student Athlete Series.  If you haven't already listened to these the first time around, these will be a treat!

First up, Kirsten has the opportunity to sit down and talk with her oldest son, Caelan (CJ), about his basketball journey and the lessons sports have taught him. From the highs to the lows and everything in between Caelan (CJ) and Kirsten go back and forth about their moves throughout his childhood, high school basketball, the transfer process from D1 to D3, and his most recent journey at Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

There are so many amazing takeaways and wonderful moments in this honest conversation between a mother and her son. This is a supersized episode because they had so much to talk about!