The Championship Mindset Podcast

Today on The Championship Mindset Podcast we speak with World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, Laura Wilkinson. Laura began her athletic career as a gymnast before switching to diving as a teenager. Six months before the 2000 Summer Olympics, Laura suffered a serious foot injury in training that kept her off the platform for several months. During that time, Laura used visualization to practice her dives and prepare for competition. She would compete and win the US trials just a couple weeks after returning to practice and would go on the win gold despite not being fully healed. In 2017, after nine years of retirement, Laura returned to the platform and placed 2nd at the US Nationals. We caught up with Laura as she was preparing for the US trails and hopefully a spot on her 4th Olympic team. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Laura Wilkinson.

This week on The Championship Mindset Podcast we welcome, Lauren Johnson. Lauren is a mental performance coach and speaker. Prior to opening her own consulting practice, Lauren served as the Mental Conditioning Coordinator for the New York Yankees. She received her Master's Degree in Performance Psychology from National University. Lauren helps elite individuals develop mental toughness so they can perform their best regardless of circumstance.

This week on the Championship Mindset Podcast we welcome Trinity International University Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Luke Ward. In his 6 seasons with TIU, he has completely turned the program around. Coach Ward has taken his teams to two NCCAA National Tournament appearances and back to back seasons with 24+ wins. This past season during a COVID shortened schedule, Luke led his team to a 17-9 record and a 3rd place finish in the CCAC conference. His team was also awarded CCAC Champions of Character Team. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Luke Ward.

Today we welcome Betsy Butterick to the Championship Mindset Podcast. Betsy is a life-long athlete and former college basketball player. Following her playing career, Betsy moved to the sideline enjoying a successful coaching career with experience in the WNBA as well as DI, DII, and DII levels. Today Betsy works with various Coaches and programs in her role as “The Coaches’ Coach”. As a Communication Specialist, Betsy helps organizations improve communication effectiveness while working collaboratively to create positive change at all levels of the team. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Betsy Butterick.

This week we welcome Purdue University Northwest Head Basketball Coach Boomer Roberts. In just 6 years as a Head Coach at the college level, Boomer has built a reputation of turning around programs. With his infectious energy, Coach Roberts’ Purdue Northwest teams increased their win total in each of this first two seasons. Prior to taking over Purdue Northwest, Boomer lead the Trinity International University men’s team to a conference championship and an appearance in the Elite 8 of the NAIA National Tournament. That season he was named CCAC and NCCAA Coach of the Year. Boomer began his coaching career as an Assistant Coach at Vanguard University following a successful playing career for the Lions. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Boomer Roberts.

Today on the Championship Mindset Podcast we are excited to speak with Ryan Brownlee, Assistant Executive Director—Coaching Outreach with American Baseball Coaches Association. He is also the host of the ABCA podcast. Ryan played 2nd base in college for the University of Evansville. Following his playing career, Ryan spent 20yrs coaching at the collegiate level including 7 seasons as the Head Coach at the D1 Western Illinois. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Ryan Brownlee.

Today we speak with former NBA player Swen Nater. Swen played his college basketball at UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden. Nater would win two national championships with the Bruins before playing in both the ABA and NBA. Despite never starting a game in his college career and averaging on 3.2 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game as a senior, Swen was drafted in the first round of both the ABA and NBA. Swen would win Rookie of the Year in the ABA before moving to the NBA where he would 9 seasons leading the league in rebounding in 1980. Swen is an author of multiple books and a highly sought-after motivation speaker. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Swen Nater.

This week we welcome Anne Stearns to the Championship Mindset Podcast. Anne is the Athletic Director and Girls Volleyball Coach at Paradise High School in Northern California. In November 2018, Paradise was devasted by the Camp Fire which took the lives of over 80 people and destroyed over 12k homes. Anne shares her story of being on campus the morning of the fire and how she helped students get out safely. She has worked tirelessly over the past couple of years to support her coaches, teachers, students and community. You will not want to miss this episode with Anne Stearns.

Today we speak with multiple time best-selling author, youtuber/podcaster, motivational speaker and life coach Chip Baker. He is a fourth generation educator who has spent over 20yrs as a teacher/coach. He is also the creator of the youtube channel and podcast “Chip Baker – The Success Chronicles” where he interviews people of all walks of life and shares their stories of positive inspiration and motivation. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Chip Baker.

This week we welcome Vanguard University Women’s Basketball Head Coach Russ Davis. Coach Russ has been with Vanguard for 25 years where is team has made 21 trips to the NAIA National Tournament with 5 Fab Four Appearances and a National Championship. Russ has compiled over 600 wins, 4x NAIA Coach of the Year and member of the NAIA Hall of Fame. Coach Davis has dedicated his career to mentoring young women and helping grow the women’s game. His yearly coaching clinic is attended by coaches at all levels from around the country. Coach Russ also coaches club basketball with Cal Swish…We hope you enjoy our conversation with Russ Davis.