Derek Ingram is the head coach of Canada’s National Amateur and Young Pro Golf Teams, he also coaches and mentors numerous professional golfers, including PGA Tour winners Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners. I caught Derek on a rare week off in Winnipeg, Canada where he lives with his wife and two sons. Derek has coached all over the world and at every level of golf. He’s been recognized with almost every coaching award you can win in Canada, and in 2016 he was selected to coach Canada’s Olympic golf team at the Rio summer games (the first time in over 100 years that golf was included as an Olympic sport).

This is a favourite so we are posting it again!

Paul Dewland is a Mental Performance Coach and a certified trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (INLPTA). Paul’s clients range from corporate executives to professional athletes. He is best known for his work with professional golfers, where his client list includes players from the PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Ryder Cup team members, Korn Ferry Tour, Champions Tour, Symetra Tour, European Senior Tour, PGA Tour Canada, PGA Latin America, and several other professional tours.

Shelly is a Certified Human Resources Professional, a Certified Psychological Health & Safety Advisor holds an MBA, and is a Chartered Professional Accountant who believes in the importance of healthy, safe, and productive work environments as both a social and business imperative. She has over two decades of experience in the professional services environment, where she rose to the executive level as a Director. Shelly has a breadth of experience, in regulatory compliance and risk management with extensive experience developing, leading, and facilitating national and local training programs in a professional setting.

After a bout of burnout that developed over several years and required 18 months of recovery, Shelly left her Director role and founded Navigation Consulting & Training to pursue her passion for speaking, teaching, facilitating, and consulting and leverages her professional experience to create a positive and meaningful impact in the organizations she works with.

As a “Recovering Type A,” Shelly intimately understands burnout and the organizational and personal elements that contribute to it.

“I say recovering Type A because I'll probably always be a Type A. It's just trying to be a little more mindful . . . So now it's about taking on work when I know I have time to do the work, it's taking on work that I love doing and that I enjoy; it’s not doing things that I don't enjoy doing, and outsourcing where I don't like doing them. But trying to remind myself to take the downtime and find the escape that actually does allow me the chance to unplug my brain. Some days, I'm better at it than others. Some days, quite frankly, I suck at it. And I just go back to being Type A Shelly. But, you know, you just keep plugging along and you hope that every day you get better. “

Shelly emphasizes that strong leadership is essential in striking the right tone from the top in any successful organization that wants to drive productivity while fostering a healthy work environment. She understands the importance of recovery but also gets that discussions about self-care in the corporate setting may not get you very far unless self-care is framed as performance optimization.

Shelly is engaging, honest, and authentic. In this episode, we talk about burnout, leadership, resilience, culture, courage, performance, and how these seemingly unrelated concepts are deeply intertwined. Please enjoy our conversation with Shelly Meadows.

Jorie is an RD (registered dietitian) and the Director of Sport Dietetics at the Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba. She holds a Diploma in Sport Nutrition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is currently the lead for performance nutrition services for Curling Canada and The Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Jorie works with other professional athletes and high performers, including members of the Winnipeg Jets and the Faculty of Family Medicine at the University of Manitoba. She often sees links between nutrition counseling and other areas of life; she recently completed a Women in Leadership program at Cornell University and is a certified Life and Executive Coach through the Certified Coaches Federation (CCF).

Jorie’s approach to nutrition and food is grounded in curiosity, an open mind, meeting people where they are at, and helping people do the best they can with what they have:

Let's not get stuck on right and wrong around eating. And let's explore what works best for you right now; it doesn't mean that you won't change up things as you move along in your journey of this life. But I don't think that food should consume all of our thoughts and our mission.

Jorie provides us with real-life advice for eating for health, nourishment, and performance. She compares how we fuel our bodies to stoking a campfire and talks about fuelling for performance by comparing food choices to gassing up our cars through a discussion around types of fuel and how full our tanks need to be. We also discuss diets, sustainable eating, nutrition trends, and strategies to use and try with kids (yes, veggies are important, but everything in moderation can be best - so ice cream and candy are ok!) Jorie reminds us that we are all humans first, and performance of any kind only comes when we work directly with the human in front of us (and their reality).

Highly knowledgeable and deeply caring, we learned a ton in our time with Jorie and are sure you will too. Please enjoy our discussion with Registered Dietitian Jorie Janzen.

Shannon Gander is nationally recognized as a leading expert in mental health and resiliency. The founder of Life Work Wellness, she is a Mental Health and Resiliency Strategist who combines her counseling background with her expertise in mental health, conflict resolution, mediation, and corporate wellness to guide organizations in the creation of cultures where everyone can thrive. In her work with hundreds of companies, Shannon has advised organizations on investing in and implementing mental health practices that benefit employees and leaders in and out of the workplace.

A dynamic and engaging presenter and facilitator, Shannon provides information in a way that empowers those receiving it to take actions that support resiliency, holistic well-being, and effective work-life boundaries. This podcast is no exception; you may want a note-taking device or writing utensil handy as the takeaways are plentiful and actionable.

We dig into Shannon’s diverse expertise, discussing topics ranging from managing the anxiety associated with returning to the office, psychological safety, office culture, and the importance of “good morning.” We also discuss resilience (spoiler alert, we are all resilient– a lack of resilience is not our problem), how to say no, and receive a powerful demonstration of how to think about our energy and resource allocation.

Shannon is highly engaging, incredibly knowledgeable, and always caring. We hope you enjoy this discussion as much as we did!

Dr. Marco Cardinale has worked with and continues to work with the highest performers in the world (athletes, coaches, administrators, physicians, nurses, and surgeons, among others). He is currently the Executive Director of Research and Scientific support at Aspetar in Qatar. Before that, Dr. Cardinale was the Head of Sports Physiology at the Aspire Academy in Qatar. From 2007 through 2013, he was the Head of Sports Science and Research at the British Olympic Association. In this role, he was the Head of Science for Team GB at Beijing (2008), Vancouver (2010), and London (2012) Olympics. Dr. Cardinale holds a B.Sc. from ISEF in Italy, an M.Sc. from the US Sports Academy in the USA, and a Ph.D. from Semmelweis University in Hungary. Professor Cardinale holds two honorary academic appointments, one at University College London (UCL) in the Division of Surgical and Interventional Medicine and the Department of Computer Science and the other at the University of Plymouth.

When Dr. Cardinale was completing his education, sport science was an emerging profession. Endlessly curious and willing to travel, his journey was driven by a will to learn and also guided by a phrase his Greek and Latin teachers imparted upon him (loosely translated to English):

“When you are a guy with one eye, and everyone else around you is blind, you are the king.”

He explained to us that throughout his career, he has been looking for his eye! We think it is clear that he found it. However, early on in his studies and career, he figured out that he needed to identify how to differentiate himself so that he was employable. Whether that was learning different languages, understanding how to bring detailed data analysis to sport, or simply (early on) being able to use excel, he was consistently seeking out ways to bring value to the groups he worked with.

Our conversation with Dr.Cardinale yielded reflections and advice on various topics, including leadership, the importance of people and process, as well as diversity and inclusion. We also talk about youth athlete development and the definition of success. Dr. Cardinale’s experience with high performers in international contexts is enlightening and entertaining. We are grateful he chose to spend time with us. We hope you enjoy the discussion.

Laura is a High-Performance Coaching Advisor with Own The Podium.  She embodies the unique skill of caring deeply about people, their development, and well-being while also taking an uncompromising approach to excellence and living her values.  Laura’s strengths show an experienced professional with a demonstrated history of excellence in the sport and coaching industry.  She leads the Coaching Enhancement Program to "support Canada's coaches in the pursuit of world-class coaching excellence in Olympic and Paralympic sport.”

Along her education journey, she completed Executive Education at the Sauder School of Business. She earned a Masters in High-Performance Coaching and Technical Leadership (MHPCTL) from the University of British Columbia. She was the first-ever National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) certified Master Coach Developer, facilitating coach and coach developer education across Canada and internationally.

Our discussion with Laura focused on leadership development and the creation of trusting communities where leaders and high performers can thrive.  We talk about the stress and freedom associated with building programs as you go (akin to building the plane while you fly it), and we also delve into the world of wine!  Laura’s fascination with the world of wine earned a Level 2 with Honors from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET). 

Engaging, authentic, personable, and highly knowledgeable about leadership development and program implementation, there is a lot to take away from this discussion.

Dave Johnston is the Founder and CEO of Johnston Group Inc, one of Canada's Leading Group Insurance Administrators. He also co-founded Payworks Inc, a leading expert in the field of total workforce management solutions, providing cloud-based Payroll, HR, Employee Time and Absence Management to businesses across Canada. Both businesses are platinum members of Canada’s Best Managed Companies.

In this conversation, we discuss entrepreneurship, leadership, the hard thing about hard things in business, and the role business can play in building better communities. This bio doesn’t tell you, but in this episode, you hear that in addition to being a successful business person, Dave is also incredibly active in the community through non-profit work. He is a pretty relatable human when you get to talking to him. As the Founder and CEO of Johnston Group, he’s built a very successful National Business, and it’s fun and inspirational to hear about the entrepreneurial journey that it took to get to this point.  Please enjoy our conversation with Dave Johnston.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast platform.

Gerry built a career as a leader with some of the world’s most respected firms—companies like American Express and Pfizer Inc.—where he oversaw multi-million dollar lines of business. But this was an unlikely path. Gerry’s early life was spent in poverty, in a low-income part of New York City, and as the child of a single mother. He went on to earn a B.S. in Engineering from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the New York University Stern School of Management. Along the way, Gerry found that the adversity of his youth had given him what he needed to succeed in the corporate world; and that turning adversity into advantage is a skill he can teach others.

Gerry inspires people to build resilience, overcome setbacks and learn how to see adversity as a source of opportunity and innovation.  In his first book, “The Thriving Mindset - Tools for Empowerment in a Disruptive World,” he provides a practical approach for taking on the disruption we experience today and turning it into opportunity through case studies and the sharing of personal experience.

Today he operates how own company where he advises corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and entire companies on turning challenges into an advantage. He specializes in leadership vision, building resilience, unlocking innovation, and showing leaders how to use the best within themselves to inspire the very best in others.

Our conversation with Gerry is wide-ranging and informative.  We unpack critical elements of the book; we talk about fear, disruption, self-care, and taking courageous leaps. We discuss leadership and leading through disruption and change—a timely conversation for the present time.  Please enjoy our conversation with Gerry Valentine.

Gary LeBlanc is a Life Engineer and the founder and CEO of Zero dB. Previously a Vice President at Bacardi, and a Site Director with Kraft Foods, he left the corporate world when a close friend was diagnosed with cancer.  His friends’ diagnosis caused him to question his purpose and seek his passion.  After much contemplation and research, he realized that his calling was rooted in health and wellness and helping people live up to their potential.  Gary has spent the last ten years researching and understanding diet, health, and fitness concepts.  He is an international thought leader -  coaching individuals and organizations towards finding their purpose through leading, developing, inspiring, creating, and listening.  Gary has authored two books:  Find your superhuman:  Unlock your unique potential and Ikkuma:  Evolution of Vitality.

After time away, Gary has re-entered the corporate world.  He is the founder and CEO of Zero dB, an innovative organic beverage brand that helps people quiet the (mental) noise in their lives. Zero dB is based on over 20 years of neuroscience and is 20-25x more effective than CBD.  It is the world's first noise-canceling beverage line, powered by cannabis-free full-spectrum plant extracts.

A Life Engineer, Gary has an undergraduate degree in engineering and an MBA from McGill University.  In addition, he is a certified coach practitioner, personal trainer, and speaker, working to empower people to find meaning in their lives and reach their full potential. 

It turns out we need to sleep and more hours a night than you probably think.  And that wine you had before bed?   It made you sleepy, but it didn’t help you sleep.

Dr. Amy Bender, our guest for episode 30, is the Director of Clinical Sleep Science at Cerebra Medical and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary.  She received her Ph.D. and Master of Science degrees in Experimental Psychology from Washington State University, specializing in sleep EEG. She has helped develop the only validated sleep screening tool for athletes and has implemented sleep optimization strategies for numerous Canadian Olympic and professional teams. Her current interests focus on how to help people sleep better by improving sleep disorder treatments with more precise digital sleep metrics. In addition, she was a  college basketball athlete, did an Ironman in 2009, has climbed volcanoes, and currently chases her three young kids around.    

 These are Amy’s take on the top three functions carried out by our bodies while we sleep:

1. Neurons shrink to allow cerebrospinal fluid to flush out toxins like a dishwasher

2. Tissues and muscles are being repaired

3. Memories are being consolidated AND pruned (you don't need to know what you ate for lunch five days ago).

The takeaway?  Sleep detoxifies us, repairs our injuries, and makes room in our brain for essential information while wiping away inconsequential things (like lunch five days ago).

If you have questions about sleep, Amy has the answers for you.  We could have talked to Amy for hours and grilled her about all things sleep and recovery-related, but we restrained ourselves and just kept the conversation to around an hour!  We cover several topics in our discussion - why we sleep, how much sleep is needed across the lifespan, how to sleep better, how to go back to sleep if you are awakened in the night, kids and sleep, and of course, what caffeine and alcohol do to our sleep (spoiler alert, neither are good for us).  Amy is passionate about helping people sleep better and a leading expert in this area.

This podcast is packed with helpful information and insight, as are Amy’s website and Instagram page.   We recommend checking out all of them.  Please enjoy this informative conversation with Dr. Amy Bender.  The discussion will keep you intrigued; the information will make you want to sleep (in the best way!)

Jason Thompson is a writer, story artist, animation director, animator, and designer on productions for Disney Jr., Disney Interactive, Warner Brothers, CBC, Teletoon, National Geographic Kids, and the Cartoon Network. In addition, as an artist and animator for Electronic Arts in England, he created some of the first Harry Potter game series designs before the movies had been released.

Also an educator, Jason was a Professor of Story, Animation, and Gaming at Sheridan College for 12 years and was the founder of Sheridan’s Transmedia Storytelling Centre that bridged faculty and students from departments as diverse as dance and video gaming to create extraordinary narratives.

Several years ago, Jason and his family moved from Toronto to the Banff area in the Rocky Mountains. Following that move, he pivoted his career and created the STORYIST, a story consulting company that helps people and businesses find and tell their best stories.

Jason is passionate in his belief that stories can change the world, and after listening to our conversation with him, you will believe that too. Everyone has a story, and people love listening to stories. When we use a story to make a point, sell a concept, or introduce ourselves, we better engage with our audience and have the opportunity to create an authentic connection with the people in front of us. Storytelling is a powerful tool that can help organizations and individuals manage change and spark innovation and connect in leadership, sales, and strategy.

As you can imagine, this episode is full of great stories as well insight into following your passion, managing change, and the ups and downs of parenthood. We hope you enjoy our conversation with the engaging and creative Jason Thompson.

You can learn more about Jason at jasonthompson.ca and check out his stories of parenthood at the art of dad online or on Instagram at artof dad.

Brendan Reimer is Assiniboine Credit Union’s (ACU) Strategic Partner, Values-Based Banking. In this role, he serves as a strategic adviser to the CEO and senior management team regarding values-based banking initiatives. In addition, Brendan supports the Board and committees to meet the objectives set out in ACU’s Values-based Banking Policy and action framework. He helps ACU embed the principles and practices of values-based banking into the credit union's core functions and daily work.

Brendan's early days in Paraguay set the stage for his passion and commitment to social justice. His parents were actively involved in community development and social justice, and their influence echo throughout Brendan's life path. Brendan’s early career found him working in the restorative justice field, and he ran a social enterprise with men with various disabilities. Currently, Brendan provides leadership as the co-chair of the Canadian Credit Union Association’s Community Impact Committee. He volunteers as a board member with both SEED Winnipeg and the Manitoba Real Estate Association Shelter Foundation. Brendan is a passionate educator and organizer dedicated to creating inclusive, fairer, and more sustainable economies and communities and has worked effectively with academia, governments, the private sector, and community organizations in advancing that vision.

When we asked Brendan what motivates and inspires him each day, he told us he is relentlessly hopeful and optimistic that something better is possible. “Hope is so important, the belief that something better is possible is so important, and creating places where everyone feels they belong and are valued is so vital.” Both at ACU and through his volunteer roles in the community, Brendan seizes opportunities to create a world that we all want to live in by giving people hope, breaking down barriers, and building systems where everyone has the chance to live a holistically good life.

Our conversation with Brendan is as inspiring as it is broad. From the incredible work ACU is doing in the community, to living and managing by values, to a discussion about B Corps and the ability of business to be a force for good, we dive deep, and we learn a lot. This conversation will leave you yearning to live your purpose and take a holistic approach to your life and work. Please enjoy our conversation with Brendan Reimer, Assiniboine Credit Union’s Strategic Partner, Values-Based Banking.

Assiniboine Credit Union was created for Manitobans in 1943. It is still working for Manitobans now. To learn more about ACU, check out their origin story here.

Ian Smith is an innovator, leader, consultant, and coach passionate about authentic relationships that fuel growth and results both personally and professionally. When asked what would make his time on the podcast a hell yes, Ian told us, “ I care deeply about authenticity, accountability, honesty, and humility in relationships and inspiring people to just “do you.” If I can encourage people to step out, ask the hard questions of themselves about what they are really built for, and inspire them to do what they are passionate about…. that’d be a "hell yeah!”

It was a hell yes for us too.

In 2005, Ian wrote a mission statement that still inspires him today. In all his work, he aims to "Grow continuously, lead with integrity and teach passionately and creatively to inspire others towards their God-given purpose.” Ian has started companies, lead teams, consulted for non-profits and businesses, and helped create captivating content.

Ian’s intriguing journey crosses several contexts. From his work in the ministry and learning online marketing as that industry unfolded to being the CEO of Funding Change (a tech start-up) to work he does now in copywriting, brand identity, and communication strategy, there are many varied experiences to draw on. Throughout it all, Ian has been open to learning and fanatical about being authentic. Both easy to talk about but tough to live.

In this episode, we dive into several topics, including authentic leadership, how imperative it is for leaders to provide space for people to take risks, the importance of perspective, and developing an awareness of your ego.

Both serious and fun, we enjoyed our time with Ian and hope you walk away from the episode inspired to just “do you.”

As the Director of Olympic Performance for the Canadian Olympic Committee, Derek was responsible for Team Canada at nine Olympic Games. Known for being innovative and visionary, Derek has a track record of creating world-leading excellence by creating systems that enable individuals and teams to perform their best in complex, high-pressure environments. A former competitive national-level athlete and coach himself, Derek implicitly understands the importance of mindfulness in achieving success - more than a series of techniques; it is a personal journey.

Based in Montreal, Canada, Derek Covington is a certified mindful performance enhancement (mPEAK) instructor through the Centre for Mindfulness at the University California, San Diego. Through First Water Performance, where he is the Principal, he works with individuals, groups, and teams to help them live and perform mindfully. Derek is passionate about helping clients and teams perform their best from a place of well-being, achieved through mindfulness practice, applied science, and the Olympic experience.

Our discussion with Derek is wide-ranging and insightful. We discuss the concept of mindful performance and dig into several ideas, including flow, self-compassion (precisely why self-compassion is the new hardcore), trusting your preparation, awareness, and the importance of embracing the process, not the outcome. We also discuss the characteristics of high performers (spoiler alert, high performers tend to be attached to outcome goals and excruciatingly hard on themselves); and jam on how high performers can transition to mindful performers.

Please enjoy our conversation with the inspiring, insightful, and mindful Derek Covington!

In need of some inspiration today? Check out this podcast with Michelle Sawatzky-Koop. In addition to holding a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and working as a broadcaster with Golden West Radio, Michelle is the only setter in Canadian history to win anything at the Olympics. In 1996, the women’s Canadian volleyball team qualified for and competed at the Summer Olympic Games. They won one match against Peru, besting them over five sets, and Michelle played that match.

Taken on its own, this fact is pretty amazing. Under the circumstances, it is downright extraordinary. Michelle is 5’5”. An average height for a woman, but a bit on the short side for an elite volleyball player. Her entire career, she was told she was too short and that she would never make a provincial team, let alone any team at a higher level. At every point in her career, she was reminded about her lack of height, once told to “never come back because she would never grow.”

Well, some people are gritty, and then there is Michelle. Early on, Michelle decided that while she could not control how tall she was, she could control her work ethic and attitude. Michelle made it her mission to work harder than everyone else and do everything she could to make those around her better. Michelle decided that she would make her teammates so good that they could not imagine being on the court without her. It took years of extra early morning practices and thousands of sets, but she became priceless to her team, named Canada’s best player on more than one occasion.

This podcast is rooted in a story about an athlete, but it teaches us about the power of passion, tenacity, love, family, and our will to do our best. There will always be people who tell you what you’re doing is impossible; there will always be people who suggest you need to be perfect, and there will always be people who tell you that you don’t belong. After listening to this conversation, you will walk away believing that nothing is impossible, that mistakes are essential and that what other people think doesn’t matter. What matters is your belief in yourself and your faith in your ability to do anything you set your mind to.

Please enjoy this discussion with Michelle Sawatzky-Koop.

Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr is a writer, speaker, storyteller, and movement builder who is impacting global narrative based on her belief and championship of the power of people to change the world. She is the Founder of She ROARS; the Chief Community & Communications officer at Ubuntu Foundation, a World Economic Forum Global Leadership Fellow, a fellow at the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance; An Atlantic Dialogue Emerging Leader, and an Associate Fellow of Nigerian Leadership Initiative.

Chidiogo holds a B.A. International Relations & Political Science, UPenn & Sciences Po Paris; an M.A. International Relations & Economics, SAIS Johns Hopkins; and has completed both the Executive Leadership Program and a Master in Global Leadership, at the World Economic Forum.

Her upcoming book is her first, and it chronicles the life of her late mother, Dora Nkem Akunyili. 'I am Because We Are: An African Mother's Fight for the Soul of a Nation' illuminates the role of kinship, family, and the individual's place in society while revealing a life of courage, how community shaped it, and the web of humanity that binds us all. Chidiogo’s mother, Dora, was a professor and served as the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control in Nigeria. From 2008-2010 she was also the Nigerian Minister of Information and Communications. In this episode, we dig into Chidiogo’s writing experience, including how she gained the insight and the courage to leave an upward trending career in international and community development to follow her truth and tell her mother’s story.

Chidiogo has been recognized for her outstanding contributions by several groups, including ‘100 most inspiring women in Nigeria’ by The Guardian; ’100 most influential Young Africans’ by Africa Youth Awards; ‘100 most Influential Nigerians’ by Avance Media. She has also been recognized as the ‘Young Professional of the Year’ by Future Awards Africa. Chidiogo has over 15 years of professional experience in community building, business development, intercultural dialogue, and strategy management consulting in her work. She has lived and worked in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, North America, and Europe and speaks seven languages, including Chinese, English, French, German, Igbo, Italian, and Spanish. Her wide range of experiences in different cultures and languages have proven invaluable tools that have helped her bridge lives, people, and global realities.

Throughout our discussion, Chidiogo reminds us of the power of listening to our truth, the importance of empowering others, and how interconnected we all are through the web of humanity.

Prepare to be inspired in this discussion with Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr.

Dr. Nikos Apostolopoulos is the Founder and Developer of microStretching® and Stretch Therapy™. microStretching® is a recovery- regeneration technique rooted in functional-clinical anatomy. It is the applied outcome of Nikos’ Ph.D. research. Since its inception, microStretching® has been used to treat many professional, elite, and amateur athletes, including those who compete at the Olympic level and the NHL, the NBA.  The premise behind microStretching® is to dampen the sympathetic nervous system (the one that triggers a fight or flight response) so a relaxation response is created (i.e., the parasympathetic nervous system is engaged) through a stretching technique that is fully supported and causes no pain. When the body is placed in a supported, pain-free position, the parasympathetic nervous system is engaged, relaxing the body, thereby enhancing its recovery and regeneration. The process is helpful for everyone, from those in their senior years right through to elite athletes.

Nikos came upon the microStretching® concept as he was recovering from a training accident in 1989.  At that time, he was in pursuit of a position on the 1992 Canadian Olympic Track Cycling Team, but he was hit by a car, and the accident resulted in severe injuries. A few years later, Nikos required surgery to fuse his spine at C5 and C6.  The development of microStretching® came out of his attempts to alleviate the pain he was experiencing - he hung his head over the side of his bed with support, and he started to get relief in his neck.  That discovery sparked his curiosity.  He engaged in research, and microStretching® is the result of his learning.

In addition to the concept of microStretching®, we cover a wide range of topics around recovery, inflammation of the body, sleep, the difference between stretching, yoga, and recovery.  We talk about the microStretching® course and why you should not stretch after activity (but what you should do instead).  Please enjoy our conversation with Dr. Nikos Apostolopoulos.

Carolyn Trono is an Olympian, a leader, and a game-changer. She competed in the 1984 Olympics as a coxswain on the Canadian National Rowing team. Following her athletic career, she decided to be a sport administrator and make the Canadian sport system better. Throughout her career, she has held several leadership positions, including the Director of Coach Education with Rowing Canada Aviron, Sport Lead (volunteer) with the 2017 Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg, and as a systems development consultant with several organizations, including Athletics Canada, Special Olympics Canada, and Tennis Canada. She is the Winnipeg Newcomers Sport Academy founder and is currently the Director of Quality Sport Development for the Sport for Life Society (a national multisport organization). She recently served on Canadian Sport Minister Kirsty Duncan’s Work Group for Gender Equity in Sport.

Carolyn has never shied away from asking tough questions and challenging the status quo. Constantly pushing her colleagues and, by extension, the sport system to be better, change, and the need for it is not something Carolyn is afraid of. While there are plenty of examples of this type of leadership style in Carolyn’s career path, we think it is best demonstrated by the initiative she took in founding the Winnipeg Newcomers Sport Academy (WNSA) in 2016. The WNSA was created to provide opportunities for children who are new-comers to Canada to engage in sport. The program started because, at a gathering with her family, she learned that there was a soccer program for young refugee men aged 18-25 but no programming for kids. Without knowing what she was getting into, she decided to start a program - simply because she recognized that access to sport and physical activity programming is imperative for all children and because she believed in the transcendent power of sport to change lives.

Her work with the WNSA has changed her life, broadened her perspective, and profoundly impacted all the kids, families, and coaches involved with the program. In our conversation, she conveys a story about how one of the boys from the WNSA played on a high-level soccer team in the city. Carolyn went to the last game, telling us:

I went to the last game . . . I wanted to say thank you to the coach, and thank you to the manager and the families for supporting him, and get a picture. And I watched a little bit of his game. As I walked back toward the parking lot, the coach came out, I called to him [to thank him], and he said, “Carolyn, you shouldn't be thanking us, we should be thanking you and Ahmed, because in the time of traveling from his house to the games, and in practice, we learned about the story of his family, the war, how they're all over the place, just how the war impacted them. Hearing his story made us better Canadians.”

So this is the thing - if we don't integrate and include, we're depriving our Canadian children of this opportunity to learn about what is going on in the rest of the world. We can turn off the TV, but when you hear Ahmed’s story, he talks about the bombs coming down in his house and how his family would have to hide in the basement until the bombs would stop. Imagine that? [Many of these] children didn't go to school for years because they would bomb the schools. That's just not real to us. But when you see, when you hear that from a real person, they're telling you this real story, and you go, wow. We [had a program session] at a school recently, and the kids were all out playing. And they're chasing balls, and they're having fun, and it's on a flight path, and the plane starts to come over. It's a trigger, and I didn’t know [this], and all of a sudden, they just stop. And everything goes into slow motion because this is what they hear when they're in Syria in the war zone. And it’s just something that hits you because it's just too easy to turn off the television or not read the article. But this is real because you hear the real stories.

Carolyn reminds us that it is crucial to listen to perspectives and experiences different from our own. She is an inspiring exemplar of someone who takes action when she sees a possibility for a better future. This overview only scratches the surface of the wisdom Carolyn shares in our discussion. Please listen to the entire episode for the complete story

Wherever Leisha goes, a lecture hall, a classroom, a coaching environment, or as a Director with ANANSI School for the Performing Arts, she always carries the four C’s at the forefront of her mind. “How do I develop confidence? How do I develop competence? How am I going to make more connections? And how am I going to influence their character? So I'm really trying to think about that. I kind of take those four C's with me, wherever I go, knowing those are the stepping stones to thinking about positive development.”

Dr. Leisha Strachan is a first-generation Black Canadian, proud daughter of Jerome and Margaret Strachan, who immigrated to Winnipeg 53 years ago from the Caribbean island of Grenada. She is blessed to stand on the shoulders of elders in her family and the Black community in Winnipeg who came to Winnipeg facing discrimination and racism yet remained for the opportunities that they foresaw for their children.

Currently, Dr. Strachan is a Professor and serving as Associate Dean Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba. Her research is focused on positive youth development through sport, and she is interested in exploring positive coaching behaviors and parent involvement. Along with Dr. Dany MacDonald and Dr. Jean Côté, she began Project SCORE, an online resource for coaches and parents to learn about the 4 Cs in sport (i.e., competence, confidence, connection, and character) and how the Cs can be incorporated to promote positive youth sport spaces.

Leisha is a former national team member in the sport of baton twirling, earning two bronze medals at the world championships. She has been coaching in the sport for the past 26 years and is a judge and choreographer in baton, working with athletes across Canada, Scotland, England, and Australia. She continues to engage and develop the next generation through directing ANANSI School for the Performing Arts, a group working to teach African and Caribbean culture through the arts.

In our conversation with Leisha, we talk about positive youth development and the four C’s, including how each can be developed and how the four C’s apply to leadership and leading. We also chat about the vulnerability involved with learning new things and the link between dance, movement, culture, and resilience.