How is performance coach Gena Bradshaw walking the walk in training young athletes to be their best?
For some athletes, developing their health and fitness are a necessary evil that comes with the task of playing competitive sports. However, for others, it is a core value that permeates every aspect of their lives.
My guest on this episode, Gena Bradshaw, is a two-time cancer survivor, former college track and field athlete, and performance coach working with young athletes. Gena’s personal experiences and family background underpin her passion for health and wellness.
In Episode 28, Gena talks about how her competitiveness extended to the halls of Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital, how her growth mindset led her to develop into a college javelin thrower, and how she applies her experiences to help young athletes be their best.
Gena spoke openly about her experiences as a two-time cancer survivor and how that has made her grateful for all of the opportunities in her life. She truly has a growth mindset and seeks to pass that mindset onto the athletes that she coaches.
My suggestion to young athletes is to surround yourself with coaches like Gena, who value the whole person and will challenge you to be your best no matter what the circumstances.
I want to thank Gena for her kind generosity and the wisdom she shared with The Freshman Foundation Community.
You can follow Gena on Instagram @genabshaw, @bpfitcoaching, and @girlstoqueenspodcast, which she co-hosts with my guest on Episode 16, Erica Suter.
You can learn more about The Freshman Foundation on our website at freshmanfoundation.com.
Thank you for listening. We’ll see you back soon for Episode 29!
Mike: Hey Gena, how are you? Thanks for coming on.
[00:00:03] Gena Bradshaw: Hello, how are you?
Mike: Good. For everybody who's listening, could you just give, maybe tell us a little bit about your background?
[00:00:11] Gena Bradshaw: Sure. So currently, I am the head coach and Director of Marketing for our family fitness business “Bradshaw Personal Fitness”. I work with also high school boy’s track and field. I do primarily work with the throws and jumps. So I helped, like build up that events and those events. And currently, actually you had, I consider on, I think, last week right, so her and I are kind of going through a new, like project adventure. And we actually started our own podcast, it's called Girls to Queen’s podcast. And it's really for young girls, who are athletes and non-athletes going through some challenging times. And we kind of talk about and discuss some topics in terms of health, fitness, wellness, business, and some things that they maybe don't learn in school and on a daily basis, and maybe they aren't learning that in the environment that they're growing up in.
Mike: Yeah, that's great. I mean, as I told Erica, when we spoke, I have a young daughter who's going to be 11, and so to have those kinds of resources, and she's a soccer player. So to have those kinds of resources available. And know there are role model models out there, like you and Erica is really encouraging for a father of a young woman.
[00:01:33] Gena Bradshaw: I love to hear that because this was you know, something that we had been working on for some time now and just been thinking about it and you know, for it to come to fruition and getting really positive feedback from parents is so cool, and just really inspiring really.
Mike: It's amazing. So why don't you take us back? So tell us about your background as an athlete.
[00:01:56] Gena Bradshaw: Sure. Okay, so I guess we'll start I have to go all the way back because this kind of plays into like how I ended up in the health and fitness industry. So my parents have had their business “Bradshaw Personal Fitness” for over 35 years. They started out in New York City, and then eventually they had me, I'm the oldest of five. And funny enough, all of us are collegiate, or work collegiate athletes. I'm the youngest of the bunch is actually playing football currently right now in college. So when I was three and a half, I was diagnosed with leukemia. And you know, that was a long, tough battle for a couple years. And, you know, fast forward, my parents grew up very healthy, played sports, holistic lifestyle, and my mom grew up in an Italian household where they grew up in the restaurant business. So no canned foods, no sodas, farm to table kind of foods. So that's how we grew up. And honestly, it really helped develop how myself and my siblings are today. So then we go into, you know, I played a bunch of sports. We played every sport, actually, we were just playing and you know, there wasn't any pressure on us to be like, Okay, you need to pick this sport, you're going to play this sport only we played anything we wanted. Fast forward to high school, where I went to an all-girls Catholic High School for the first two years of my life. I hated it. So I did end up playing, or being a part of the track and field team, and my mom ended up coaching. So she had been at this school for over 10 years, she coached there developed the entire program. So that is where I learned how to throw the javelin, which as a young female, I was kind of like, oh, I don't really Know like, this is a little weird. But you know, I played softball, so I had a great coach. And this was prior to my mom coming on board, and he told me how to throw the javelin. So I go on to another Catholic High School, and I played a pretty big role in terms of their throwing and field events. So honestly, it was just kind of like a cool niche that I had, and you know, I sprint it as well. And then when I got to college, I competed at Ithaca College, a part of the women's track and field team, and I specialize in short sprints and javelin. And now and I also majored in exercise science. So the combination of the two kind of just played a huge role into like, where I'm at today with my career, and I can say I knew exactly where I wanted to go when I was in college. But you know, it was cool to kind of develop and over time learn all these new skill sets and business models and I worked in a corporate environment for about five years Post College and I learned a lot was able to apply to our business today. And you know, it kind of like brought me to where I'm at, on track and field is, you know, just like Erica soccer’s her thing, track and field’s my thing, and my mom and I actually just share that passion because she was also a track and field athletes. So it's really cool to be able to coach together, she's the head coach, me and my dad help or the assistant coaches, and it's just like a fun environment that we have going on. And we've seen the kid’s progress and really just make strides and leaps. And especially this past year, with everything going on, we were able to compete, and just help the kids and you know, bring them to the next level if they did want to compete in college and get recruited.
Mike: That's great. I mean, there's so much there that I could kind of follow up. Yeah, it's so I mean, obviously the most, you know, kind of serious thing and that is that you were you're a leukemia survivor. So can you just talk about how that affected your journey as an athlete?
[00:06:01] Gena Bradshaw: For sure. I guess my mindset in general, and maybe the way that I grew up, you know, I can't say when I was young I knew, I can't say that I remember exactly at that age, what was going on or what happened? I do remember some of the positive things when I was, this is funny. So when I was in the hospital, I would have races with some of the kids on our IV poles. And we would like, so I started yelling like, I was competitive young. So, you know, I think that develop that, you know, obviously my family was a huge role in that but down the line. And actually, in college, I was also diagnosed with thyroid cancer. So my junior year in college, you know, I was kind of, I was ending my season I was going on to see championship meet finals, and I went to the health center for a migraine and she started feeling my thyroid, and she was like, I don't really like what's going on here. And honestly like, as an exercise science major. Personally, I feel like they don't teach you those things, when you're going through that curriculum. So I had no idea what any of that meant. And she was like, you need to get a biopsy immediately. And I was like, Okay. I got states, like, I need to finish up school. Like, I can't be doing this right now. So my mindset personally, I just kind of pushed through it. I was like, alright, this can be on the back burner. Yes, my health was absolutely important. I took care of myself. But you know, it was either a point of like, stop schools, stop competing, go get a surgery, and kind of see what happens. And I was like, I want to finish school and go to states and see what I can do. So I waited, and I came home in the summertime, got the surgery, which by the way, I did not know that it was thyroid cancer at the time. They told me after the fact I went to Memorial Sloan Kettering, which they were amazing. And you know, I didn't have to go through any radioactive iodine, no chemo. I'm not on any medications, I have half of my thyroid and fun fact you can survive with and function with 1/3 of your thyroid. So you know, that's where, you know, health really was so important to me. I'm like, Okay, I'm not, my goal is not to be on any medications, like, I got to do what I have to do to keep my mental tasks and my physically my body strong, so that I can work. I can do what I want to do and live my life as a young adult female and it also brought me to a lot of fundraising. So I was recently nominated for a woman of the year through Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which was such an honor and just helping and giving back and it really just gives a connection to what I do and how I can like help other young adults, like get through some tough times like that, you know, you got to be mentally tough and that's exactly what you kind of discuss on your podcast. And you know, I'm grateful to be here and you know, talk about it.
Mike: Well, thank you for coming on. And thank you for sharing that. Because obviously, there are things that are bigger than athletics, but clearly, like at that point in your life, like competing was important. And I think the other thing that comes through there is that and I think this is a really important message for any athlete who's listening is like, taking care of your body and nutrition is such a big part of being able to compete at the highest level and it's not just the competition, but it's just your long term. You know, it's your longevity as a human being you've got to take care of yourself and I think sometimes particularly young people take it for granted because you know, they're afraid nothing. It’s an invincibility, right?
[00:09:48] Gena Bradshaw: Yeah, exactly.
Mike: So when you're learning I'm also curious about this, when you're learning about the Javelin, you're learning how to throw the javelin. Can you talk about like what that progression was like from the time you picked it up to the point where you felt like okay, maybe I'm getting good at this?
[00:10:05] Gena Bradshaw: Yeah. Okay, so I had like an awesome coach, his name was Ed Kelly. He's alive to this day. Amazing, amazing man. I through softball growing up, and you know, my dad always just had us like outside throwing the football around. And I just walked onto the track and field team and you know, they do testing. So obviously, they want to see if you could jump, throw, sprint, what kind of your event you'll be in. And he had me, he saw me throw and he was like, you're gonna throw the javelin, I'm like, what even is that, and it's a really long spear. It's, I mean, taller than I am, and it's ounces, like very light. And he started, he was just like, throw it, just throw this, he didn't make it complex. Because again, we're at high school. And this is where you know, also the job as a high school coach, and just dealing with youth athletes. You can overcomplicate it, because then they're gonna be deterred, and they're gonna be like, I don't want to do this. So he made it super easy for me to just pick it up, throw it, and then do my thing. And I did my own research, he actually would send me all these educational tools on how to learn the javelin, you know, read more about it, kind of watch videos on it video analysis. And I really started to like, enjoy it. I'm like, this is so cool. And I didn't realize my potential until my parents were like, you can like throw this in college, you're pretty good. I'm like, guy’s okay. So you know, and that also played a part in to why I transferred out of the all-girls school was because there was no progression for me really, if I did want to compete onto college, so that kind of was another reason why I transferred. And then I played a big role on the St. Anthony's high school team in general on their field events, and also had a great, I think just having great coaches throughout my life, male and female played a huge role in being a female athlete, and not being deterred to get on the runway, and just like, chuck a spear. So it was like really, like empowering thing I could say, for as a young woman.
Mike: And it sounds like your parents were super supportive as well, based upon the little bit that you said, can you talk about their role in your progression as an athlete?
[00:12:38] Gena Bradshaw: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, growing up in our household, it was, you either play or were a part of activity or play to another sport, like there were no if ands or buts. So, you know, it was like, pick something, and you're gonna stick with it, and you're not gonna quit. So I think that, parents need to play like a bigger role when it comes to. And yes, education is a huge part of it, absolutely hands down. But also, there is potential for your child to be a really phenomenal athlete, like if you just support them and kind of go to their track and feel me. It's go to any of their sporting events, and kind of just support them in terms of where they want to go, what their goals are kind of like ask them, what are you interested in? What do you want to play? Like, do you see yourself going on to the next level? You know, and it doesn't have to be super aggressive. It's just kind of getting that mindset and that thought process going. And I'm sure you've had this conversation with your daughter, like, where do you want to go with this, you know, just or you could just play like, pick a sport to just play. So I think, you know, that's where my parents played a huge role in terms of making sure that I guess, you could say, not quitters. I guess you could say, just sticking to it not being deterred, or giving up or you know, if you have let's say, if you didn't perform well, you like give up. I don't want to play the sport anymore. I'm done. You know, they were kind of like, no, like, you got to put in the time and effort and you'll be good. And you know, you have the potential to move on to the next level. And they weren't super aggressive with it, either it was just a matter of like, Hey, this is what you're doing. You have a choice. But you know, you're not going to stop playing just because you know, I do nothing.
Mike: Yeah, while I was listening, that's the way I was raised, that's the way I raised my children to a certain extent. I think as they get older, I am more willing to give them, say so in what they choose to do, but once they commit to something particularly in a season, there's no turning back, right?
[00:14:51] Gena Bradshaw: Right
Mike: You've committed to this and if you want to do something different afterwards. That's a different story. But then there's also the element of asking those questions to get them to take off ownership and think about what their future could look like versus telling them, hey, you know, you need to do this, right? So it's a very for me, it's a very fine line. It sounds like you are given the freedom to say, hey, where can I go with this, but also like, when you're in it, like, hey, you need to give 100% and put everything into it that you could.
[00:15:19] Gena Bradshaw: Right, absolutely. And then when it came to moving on to the next level, in terms of like, the high school to college, you know, the recruitment process, they did help me but also, like, that was up to me, like, if I wanted to compete, like I needed to learn how to communicate with other coaches, and you know, go visit schools and be able to like, present myself and, you know, leadership qualities and just take ownership of like, hey, like, I really want to do this, like, what will be entailed and finding out those details so that you can make that decision at the end of the day. And just having the support from your family, and you know, your parents, your friends, even some girls now growing up, some of their friends may not be into sports, and that's okay. But that shouldn't deter you from playing something that you want to be a part of. So that's what I like to kind of communicate with my high school female athletes and just my youth athletes. Like, hey, it's okay, if your friends don't play, but like, if you want to play then go ahead and do it.
Mie: Yeah. And I mean, I think that's a great message and it's also a hard one. I think, for young people to, sometimes to grasp latch on to, because they're so social, and they want to do what their friends are doing. And they don't want to like go a different path. And so, you know, to have the confidence in yourself to say like, this is really important to me, and I don't care what other people think. Like, I think that's one of the biggest challenges that parents have is to let their children kind of make those choices for themselves, but also feel like it's okay to be different. It's just the challenge when you're a teenager or you're a tween, like it’s a life. That's how you learn, you learn from life. And so, when you were choosing when you were going through the process of being recruited and thinking about, like college, like, what were some of the factors that were important to you, when you're choosing a college at that point?
[00:17:26] Gena Bradshaw: I wanted a sense of community because I did come from like a great team in general, from high school that, you know, we were like a close knit community, but also like, it was very important for me that I had like, a great coach. Because, you know, I've spoken to athletes that we've trained from high school into college and it’s unfortunate the things that you hear when they move from having like a really great coach in high school to a subpar coach in college. And I hate to say it but, you know, I feel like in general, we need to create like a higher standard for coaches and trainers, just in general. Because you are dealing with youth and you are dealing with, you could literally make or break someone else. So that was important for me. And I think also because my parents were in the health and fitness industry, and they were coaches, and they were for some sports, they were our coaches, you know, soccer, flag football, tee ball. So these things were, you know, I learned and I did have great coaches growing up. And I think just being in that type of environment, I wanted that within my collegiate experience and dealing with coaches. I had a phenomenal coach at Ithaca College. Jen Potter, she ran a great team and still does to this day, and you know, someone who has like leadership qualities, they're very open and communicative, dealing with girls and young adult females is challenging. So to have those skill sets and to teach and you know, it's not just coaching them in the sport, it's also you got to teach them so you can, they could be good people at the end of the day and in life. You're teaching them skill sets for life at the end of the day. And I know that's how I like to view coaching as myself and like, you know, I have to step back and say, okay, am I doing right by this athlete or this individual? So that's kind of how I viewed it.
Mike: Yeah. I mean, I coach on various levels. And for me, it's all about showing the athlete, especially the young ones that you care about them. Because if they sense that you care about them, then they're much more likely to be open to your advice and listen to what you have to say. And, you know, it's not just the technical aspects of it. It's not just the access and knows the strategy, it's the whole person. And I think that's where a lot of coach’s fall down is that they don't necessarily have those interpersonal skills, they might know a game. You might have a mom or a dad or a coach is really good. On the technical side, they were really good player. But if they don't know how to communicate and get that information across, I don't care how good you are as an athlete, if you don't have that skill of being able to teach, it's gonna be really hard to be a good coach and understanding a coach's ability comes through asking questions and communicating both ways from the athlete to the coach and coach to the athlete.
[00:20:34] Gena Bradshaw: Absolutely. And, you know, if it's unfortunate that the amount of saturation that's in, you know, our field in general. I mean, you know, I'm sure you see it coaching, in general youth athletes, it can be frustrating, but also just knowing like your place and knowing like, okay, like picking and choosing your battles, being able to really, you just have to say, okay, like, is this going to be beneficial for the athlete at the end of the day? And if not, then I'm just going to step back and just let it rock out, and then we'll figure it out from there.
Mike: Exactly. So I mean, coming from Long Island, coming from a big family, obviously, ethic is not that far away, but like, what was it like leaving home for the first time?
[00:21:25] Gena Bradshaw: Oh, I was so upset. I was so nervous, I was so upset. You know, my parents dropped me off, and I was like, you guys are leaving. You know, also being the oldest, like, I'm the first to leave the [inaudible 21:41], but it was like such an amazing experience. Like, I knew that I wanted to go away to college, and my parents pushed me for that they were like, go away to school, like, go get your experience. And also fun fact, my dad also did go to Africa. He was on the football team there. So you know, he didn't force that on me. I saw the school. And I was like, I want to go here. So that was cool. But also, I think the thing with college sports and recruiting and you know, parents maybe not knowing the field that much is. You hear some of these kids and the amount of like, stress level and anxiety, like, I only applied to six schools. That was it. I knew where I wanted to, you know what I wanted to do. And that's okay, if you don't know what you want to major in. But I think it's a little ridiculous when they're applying to 20 to 30 schools. That's way too overwhelming. I think it's too much for athletes, and in general kids. Overall, I think it's too much mental stress. Because when you have too many options, and it's like, I have no idea what I want to pick. I have no idea. So I think like also on the parents and doing the research and being like, okay, like knowing my child's personality, knowing my child's skill set and their level and somewhat what they want to do helping them kind of discover and figure out like, okay, like, we don't need to choose this many schools, like if you want to pick three schools, that's cool. You know, we could talk to the coach, we'll go together, we'll figure out what helps you and kind of take it from there. But I just have seen so much anxiety and stress with some of these kids, especially where we coach. They're applying to 20 or 30 schools, and they're like, oh, I don't know what to do. I don't know where to go, you know, what do I say to the coach, what I do. And it's a little bit I guess, frustrating in our end. Because, you know, obviously, we're not parenting the child, but you kind of just want to talk to the parents and be like, listen, like they're a little stressed out. Again, knowing your place as a coach, you know, you don't want to overstep any boundaries. You know, if you have that relationship with the parents, you know, that's cool too. But kind of like talking to the athlete and letting them know, hey, like, you don't actually need to apply to this many schools. It's okay.
Mike: Is that pretty common? Did you see that pretty commonly and working with the high school athletes at your school?
[00:24:08] Gena Bradshaw: Yeah. And I think now just because everything's I see, like sports specialization is so common now. You know, you see these kids starting at three years old, and you're seeing these injuries happen at 12. And I completely understand where parents are saying, you know, full ride scholarships, understandable, because college is expensive. However, you need to also look at, what's good for the athlete and what's good for your child? And is it going to cross that barrier of like, mental sanity? Like is it going to cause them, you know, mental discomfort and just not knowing where to go and who to rely on and who to talk to is there too many like pieces to the puzzle? I personally, like our motto is keep it simple, stupid. That's it, you know. So that's kind of like where we're at. There's definitely a lot of that going on I think. And, you know, in the times we're in.
Mike: I see that too, with the athletes I work with when they start to talk about college and where they want to go. I think there's just a lack of understanding about what's important. And when I try to explain to them is it's about what you want, like, what's a fit for you? Where do you want to be? What do you want the school to be? Like, is there major that you want to have, like, what are the attributes that you want? Because I don't think a lot of kids think about it strategically. I think this is a theme that comes up all the time is that, social media and kind of the pressure, peer pressure about? Where am I going to go picking the biggest name or I want to go [inaudible 25:51], that the families and the athletes are not really thinking about what's best for us long term, what's best for the athlete long term in terms of, hey, I'm gonna go to work probably in four years and get a job like, where do I want to be? Like all those things I have to live in this place that I'm going to go to. And I think people just don't think about it. They say, I want to go here, well, why do you want to go there and they go, I don't know. So having and simplifying, I mean, I'm a big believer in that across the board. And when things get to be too much, make it simpler, pull stuff out of the equation and say, Hey, let's put it to the side, because it's too much going on. And I think that that is really good advice as a coach, because it applies to performance on the field, too. Sometimes we get so into our heads and so mechanical, which I'm sure comes up and track and field, when you're coaching throws about technique and all these things. And rather than just going and doing it, you're internalizing the mechanics or the technique, and that can be you know, that can have a negative effect as opposed to a positive one.
[00:26:50] Gena Bradshaw: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, to your point on, these athletes saying up, well, I want to go D1. Why not D2? Why not D3? You could be a star athlete on either one of those teams and get a scholarship, and be in a community where you gain all these close relationships, and you have a great coach. Why not go D2 or D3? I mean, it's a good college is D3, and I had an amazing experience there. I had a great coach. So these things that I mean, for me personally realistically, do you want, especially in track and field, like wasn't really a realistic goal for me. So I was like, Okay, let's scale it back. Let's look at moderate to smaller size schools. Let's see where I stand in the rankings. And, you know, I obviously progressed and I had a personal record, we're not while I was there, but these things that, like you said, aren't discussed earlier on. Because then sometimes, and we've seen it plenty of times these kids go to school. And let's say they do go D1, and they're on the bench, and they're not playing at all the whole four years. And they're like, I should listen to you or they end up transferring, maybe two years, three years down the road. And it's just like it can turn into a catastrophe really. So I think if you're dealing with youth athletes, these are the conversations that you kind of need to have with those kids.
Mike: Absolutely. So about your time in college and what else, were there any other challenges that you faced, as a student athlete in college that you can like, kind of pinpoint and say like, this is really hard for me?
[00:28:35] Gena Bradshaw: Oh yeah, absolutely. When I started school, I ended up doing 18 credits. I was taking anatomy and physiology and honestly, my grades suffered. You know, I had to definitely work hard in school. I was an average student, but I worked hard. You know, I'm on the student that's like, wait, I have a question. And I spit out like, three different questions. You know, I would I would go to my professors after class, and I would ask them like, hey, I really just like don't understand this. So yeah, and then I think just like learning my boundaries in general and not like overdoing it because I would get to a point of just like, really overwhelming myself and mental stress where I'm like, what am I even doing? I don't, you know, and then you have like mental breakdowns which you see a lot in college like, it's almost normalized, which I don't know I don't think it should be but it is what it is at this point. So you know, that's why it's important like for someone like you who's talking about mindset and development, I think it's super important that these kids learn at a young age how to deal with like mental stress and stress management in general. And yeah, you know, obviously going through some things you like adversity and in terms of dealing with my thyroid and having to go through surgery, I kind of like blocked it out. That was like my coping mechanism, I kind of was like, this isn't happening. I'm not doing this right now. And I think it worked at the time and also, I think being young and invincible, and you know, saying I feel good, I don't understand what's happening. I think now looking back that worked for me then but currently, I wouldn't suggest that for myself now. So I think just learning and developing those boundaries over time, you know, it takes time. It's like a trial and error, you figure out what works for you, what doesn't work for you. And, you know, you don't want to get to the point of so overwhelmed that you're just having mental breakdowns all the time and anxiety attacks and being depressed. That's no way to live a life.
Mike: It's not. And that's exactly like why I do what I do, which is to say like when I went to college, like I didn't have, and I wasn't even an athlete. But in college, I mean, it was only through high school, and I didn't have parents who went to college. So they didn't understand what it was like to go to college. And it's you cope, and you figure out a way to do it, but what I do, what I try to do is to give the athletes that I work with strategies, these mental strategies, emotional strategies to say, Hey, you're prepared to go on to this next level to operate on your own in a more efficient way, in a more effective way, as opposed to just trying to figure it out on your own. And then 10, 15, 20 years later go, or I wish I would have known that. Well, if we know it now, why shouldn't we pass it on to them before they get to college? I think that's the point. And so yeah, we learn from our mistakes, and we try to pass those messages on to the people that we work with, and we coach. So after college, did you always know that you wanted to be a coach, given your family background?
[00:31:53] Gena Bradshaw: I did. I just didn't know where I kind of wanted it to go in general. After college, like literally right after, I got a job. And I actually grand open one of the lifetime clubs, the lifetime athletic clubs, here on Long Island, and it was a great experience. I knew that I wanted to merge and come on to our family business. But in general, I wanted to specifically learn those managerial and business skills, because being an exercise science major, I did take classes, but they don't teach you business, they don't teach you finances, they don't teach you those things. So it was really important for me and my parents supported that 100%. They were like, go do it. Do your thing. So for me, that was super important. I worked my way up to management, and I ran the metabolic department there, and I learned a ton. I did great exercise testing when I was in college, and I was able to take that skill set and apply it to where I was in lifetime and you know, build a department and literally, I had to rebuild the department and then eventually I knew that I wanted to move on from there and take those managerial skills and the business model and apply it to our business today.
Mike: So tell me about your business today, what does that look like? I know you have a lot of things that are going on right now.
[00:33:23] Gena Bradshaw: Yeah, we do. And in general, so we deal with a few different sectors. So we deal with the corporate wellness aspect, we deal with sport performance, and also just in general adult population. In terms of churn, we do training and nutrition coaching for both. So we had to develop just with the pandemic, we've had to you know, reevaluate our business model. And we've now developed and have been doing a hybrid model. So virtually and in person, it just depends on who's comfortable with what. We also have in terms of like the corporate wellness sector, we have a business to business option where we can give or we develop presentations and seminars, for example, sport teams, which we did with the Syosset lacrosse team. The girls team specifically recently, you know, corporate headquarters will develop nutrition seminars for them, how to cope with stress and in general how to develop and optimize a healthy lifestyle so that they can work and they can, you know, optimize their work and career efficiently. And we deal with like one on one groups, partner so that's kind of where we're at today. And we have our own private training studio. So that's like more of our one on one partner training. And then you know, we do a lot of our group training, obviously, outside right now because it's nice out so why not go to the field and trade?
Mike: Great.
[00:34:57] Gena Bradshaw: Yeah.
Mike: So and in the middle of all of that, which sounds like an awful lot, you're also a coach.
[00:35:03] Gena Bradshaw: Yes, track and field, which is a non-negotiable for me. And it does sound like a lot. But all of these pieces play a role and come together because this is what our careers are, and this is what I love to do. And this is my passion in terms of optimizing people's health, fitness and wellness. And just in general, myself being a two time cancer survivor, if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. You can't work, you can't live your life, you will end up with mental distress and you know, long term, what do you want your life to look like? You know, so that's the overarching message and how we kind of articulate that to others, because it's super important. And, you know, we start them from youth and develop them all the way to adult population. So, for us, that is just something that we love to do. And our slogan is performance nutrition excellence, and we stand by that, and you got to walk the walk and talk the talk.
Mike: So with that in mind, so what are some of the biggest challenges you have or see with working with young athletes in terms of getting that mindset across to them?
[00:36:17] Gena Bradshaw: Okay. I would say that one of our biggest challenges I think right now is, the saturation of our field. And, you know, my grandmother could take a certification online to become a personal trainer. So dealing with other coaches, that kind of like poach other athletes, or really just put them at harm. And then honestly, we kind of have to clean up the mess, then they come to us, and they're like, you know, I had my ACL was torn, I have this injury, and you know, they're so young, I don't understand why all these you know, injuries are happening at such a young age. And I think that it's just a matter of explaining to them in a very, like simple way. Like, hey, if you want to be able to play this sport down the road, and you see yourself playing long term, you have to take care of yourself now. And when we did our nutrition seminar for the girl’s lacrosse team recently, you know, they were so receptive, like they wanted to learn. And I think actually, the problem right now is the messaging right now in terms of social media, there's too much stimulus, there's too much out there for them. It's way too overwhelming. And this is why we're seeing so much anxiety, mental, mental illness, depression, and honestly, like, I'm seeing so many just young people that are on medication, just too early on in life. And I feel like the simple things of eating well, training your body properly, movement, getting stress management skills, all these simple tools that should be taught at a young age. I feel like, there's information out there 100%, like your podcast, what we do in general, what Erica does? But there's just too much stimulus for them. And it's really hard to get them to kind of grasp, I guess you could say, because, you know, you have their parents and you have other coaches in your ear. So, you know, you kind of just have to be, I think patient with it, and really kind of just keep saying the same message over and over again, and keep it simple, and it will click, it may take some time but patience, I think is key.
Mike: I love that. I mean, I try to take the same approach. And my coaching is to kind of, you know, use the lessons more, because if you give them too much information, it's just overwhelming, and then nothing gets retained. And then if you look outside into the outside world, there's so much stuff coming out. And I mean, listen, there's good information, and there's bad information. And then there's just massive amounts of information good and bad. And so it's just a lot to understand and a lot to figure out what's right for me. And I think that's the value in having a good coach. It can't be overstated. If you have somebody who cares about you, and has your best interests at heart, and then you know, they're going to take care of you, then you can rely on what they're telling you. And if they can help you do something, they're probably going to say, I can't help you. You need to go see somebody else for this particular thing, whatever it is, because I can't help you with that. And I think that's really important, but it's just there's just a lot, I totally agree. So what are the some of the strategies you use in working with young people? Like in terms of coaching them, you know, whether it's on a technique or whether it's just sort of motivational, like what are some of the things you go to make sure that they are in the right place to succeed?
[00:39:50] Gena Bradshaw: Right. So recently, I think just and also, just over the years, we've seen a lot of the kids just be so stressed out and so fatigued, we have to scale it back. So when they're coming to us and they're like Coach, I am shot like I can't even run today, we've had to have days where we have them everybody sit down, you're gonna lay flat on the floor, we're gonna do some breathing exercises, shoes off, socks off. And we do mobility exercises, breathing techniques, some stress management tools in terms of maybe, for example, listening to some, like the calm app, or anything of that nature where to walk or, you know, keeping their stimulus level down, because if their central nervous system is just like on, on, on, you're going to see some problems down the road. And you're going to see problems in their performance, you're going to see, some of these athletes wouldn't be able to pick at the right time. And for us, because track and field is basically like a year round sport, we have to be very careful to not overstimulate and not over train the kids, because also they're doing a ton of things outside of where we're at practice, you know, maybe their strength training on their own and seeing somebody else. Maybe they're playing another sport, you know, which is common. So I think over the years, we've had to adapt to that. And kind of where the culture is in sport in general, and scale it back a little bit.
Mike: Yeah, it's a great point. When you are giving your explaining that, it actually sort of jog my memory because I work with so many kids who really don't, they really struggle to give themselves space to recover. And they'll tell me, like, you know, I've got to do more, I work out 2, 3, 4 times a day like, or I have an injury, and if I need to play through it, and there's like really no off switch. And there's really a lack of understanding about the value of taking a day off or active recovery or doing the mobility work or doing the breathing work. And so is that something I mean, do you see I mean, as a group, do you find it hard to get them to kind of turn off, turn off the, shut off the light switch for a bit, because they feel like, if they don't work harder, they're going to get left behind?
[00:42:22] Gena Bradshaw: Yes. Especially in the beginning of the season. However, we always say to them trust the process. And we've had to rebuild the team that we're at currently, for the last seven years. They did not have a great coach prior, and in general had a totally different philosophy. And we had to change the environment that they were in and the mindset that they had developed. And we get a lot of football players too. We have basketball and football players. It's just like, go, go, go, getting screamed out on the field, which it's just part of the sport, that's fine. But you know, these boys just want to coach I need to be lifting, I need to be doing this, I need to be doing this. And it's funny, because recently, we just had one of our athletes compete, he took a week off of just recovery. He hit a personal record, just from taking a week off and letting his body just recover. And we're like, see, you have to compete, we have a training program set out, however, you know, high school setting, and that's not always it's not going to play out like that. It doesn't work. This isn't College, like where they have to peak at the right time. And, you know, the micro cycles and the macro cycles, it doesn't work like that. So we always have to play on our toes as coaches and it's always like, Okay, how do you feel today? How's your energy level? Did you eat? Did you hydrate? I wish most of them don't drink water. So that's like a whole another topic. So I think just in general, like asking how they feel. And getting that feedback from them is super imperative.
Mike: Yeah, and helping them build an awareness of listening to their body and what the body's telling them and have it be okay to sort of take that break. Because what's great about what that, you know, the example you just gave is, all that kids need to see is that, that one story of the kid who took a week off and came in [inaudible 44:23], and they're like, oh, maybe I need to do that because now I have the results in front of me to prove it. If there's no evidence, they're just gonna keep going and going until they run themselves into the ground. So as we wrap up, if you had to give one piece of advice to student athletes listening to the podcast, what would you say it is?
[00:44:45] Gena Bradshaw: I would say, enjoy the time that you have and just enjoy the sport that you're playing and you know, don't take it for granted because you only have a select few years to play it and, you know, when you go on to the next level, it's gonna it'd be completely different. So just enjoy the time that you have, have fun and just live your life, that's really the most important thing that I could say.
Mike: I love that. And if you had to give one piece of advice to parents who are listening, what would you say?
[00:45:15] Gena Bradshaw: Support your kids, teach them healthy lifestyle, healthy habits, give them tools and set them up for success so that they know where they want to go and what they want to achieve and just support them and you know, their journey and their accomplishments and what they want to do, and just be there for them and help them to be a good person at the end of the day.
Mike: That's really, really good advice. So let's end on that. Thank you so much, Gena, for joining me. I really enjoyed our conversation.
[00:45:51] Gena Bradshaw: Thank you so much.
Mike: And hopefully, my pleasure… In the next time we do it, maybe it'll be me, you and Erica. We'll do a round table.
[00:45:59] Gena Bradshaw: Oh, we would love that.
Mike: All right. Well, best of luck with everything. Thanks again.
[00:46:05] Gena Bradshaw: Thank you.
Mike: Okay.