Strength Chat #92: Rachel Balkovec

We have a lot of incredible guests on this podcast, but today's conversation with Rachel Balkovec is truly a testimony of passion by an incredible woman with deep, raw introspection into her own life experiences and a hunger to live out her vision. Rachel is a powerhouse in the strength & conditioning world; and now in professional baseball as she just signed with the Yankees to become the first full-time female hitting coach hired by a major league organization! Rachel has previously worked for the Astros and Cardinals as a S&C; Coordinator and is currently wrapping up her work at Driveline Baseball, a data-driven performance training facility in Washington state. She has two graduate degrees in the science of human movement and is a life-long student, intentionally seeking out mentorship and drawing out knowledge from her experiences. After Rachel shares an absolutely hilarious story (seriously, one of the best funny stories we've had), her and our hosts dive into a wide range of topics ranging from life and identity, to belief systems, the challenge of being a woman in a very male-dominated industry, the flow state, visualization, and of course her experiences on and off the field working as an elite-level coach.  Rachel breaks down her value system and what drives her deep down to continue pushing and breaking new ground as an educator, coach, and human being. She discusses her background growing up in Omaha, Nebraska and the nomadic lifestyle (she's lived in 13 countries in the past 10 years) that takes her all over the world and allows her to be minimalist, nimble, and focused on her passion of learning and growing as a human and professional - wherever that may be. You don't want to miss this one!