E47 | Brittany Ducroz: Negotiating Your Worth

[00:00:00] Donnie: Welcome to the team Behind the Team podcast. I’m your host, Donnie Mae. This is the monthly show focused on building conversations around the team-based model approach to athletic performance, strength and conditioning, sports medicine, sports science, mental health and wellness, and sports nutrition.

Hello and welcome back to the team Behind the Team podcast. I’m your host, Donnie Maib. And man, it is already July in Austin, Texas, and surprisingly, we have had a very mild spring, even beginning of summer, but today, of course, coming in the studio a hundred degrees. And you’ll see why in a minute have a.

Great guest, a good friend of mine, high level coach, professional. Uh, we’ll get to that guest in a moment, but, uh, first and foremost, coach Joe is out today. He has not been feeling well, so hate to miss him, but he will be back, um, soon. So anyway, just wanna let you know about Coach Joe. He will be back. And with that this month, I have the distinct pleasure of welcoming, uh uh, Great friend of mine, a colleague, somebody I look, look up to and respect tremendously.

Uh, coach Brittany DeRose, welcome to the show, Brittany. Thanks, coach. I’m glad to be here. Yeah, thanks for making time. Um, coming down to the 40, 40 acres, how was that traffic, uh, coming in?

[00:01:28] Brittany: Always popping in Austin.

[00:01:29] Donnie: I know. Um, we are currently, uh, our NCAA championships going on with track and field, so that’s always fun to, to get on campus with lots of people.

So thank you for making time. Of course. Anytime, anytime. We’ll get into Coach Brit here in a minute, but just wanna, uh, if you’ve never met Brittany again, a good friend of mine, she just the last couple years ago, became a mommy. That’s right. And so, We’ll get into some good questions, but as a dad, I’m a dad and we’ve shared some, some things with his coach.

What has that been like being a mommy and kind of like, how’s it changed your life?

[00:02:05] Brittany: I mean, completely. You know that, right? The moment kids step in the booth, it’s like the whole perspective shifts. Life gets a bit more complicated, but you think in a whole different lens. Professionally everywhere. You know, everything’s different.

Um, but it’s the best title. It’s the best accolade I think I’ve ever had in my life I ever will have in my life. It gives you so much joy and just, I, I’m smiling and talking about it, but you know, it’s the hardest one too, because. They will test you and they are your clone. She is. And they are better than you.

What, what is Ms. Little Stevie, right? Yeah. Is little Stevie after Stevie Nicks. So

[00:02:42] Donnie: that’s great. Yeah. Can you keep up with her yet?

[00:02:44] Brittany: No. All she wants to do is run. I know, right? She’s gonna be at that track and field one here in about 18 years, so,

[00:02:49] Donnie: well, that’s, I mean, again, I’ve always respected you coach, but now that you have a baby little Stevie, that, that nothing but love.

Cause I appreciate that. I know that, that, that can test your character and stretch you in ways that you can’t even imagine. Yeah. Um, cool. Let’s get into a little bit of the show. I would like to give some career highlights about you, and you can speak into these in a minute. So again, uh, I first met Coach Brittany, uh, 2011, 2012.

She interned here with me and helped with that national championship team in 2012. That was amazing. So again, thank you for all that help. Back then, that was a crew right there that set the tone for kind of where we’re at today. So that was a big piece of it. Um, currently you’re the Dive London head strength and conditioning coach, right?

2014 to now, right? Yes. Yes. That’s which I can’t believe it’s been that long. I

[00:03:36] Brittany: know. When you think about it, I’m like,

[00:03:37] Donnie: whoa. Like I said, you worked at Texas for a little bit, uh, from Texas. You went and got a job at Purdue, worked with women’s basketball, volleyball, soccer, men’s and women’s, uh, swim and dive, track and field, competitive cheer.

Lot of teams there. You had your hands in different coaches and philosophies that definitely shaped. Kind of your, your career path and thought process and professionalism. Uh, Houston 2013, uh, you were with, uh, swimming and diving, soccer and softball. Again, very high level teams. And then you work with coach Bruce Johnson, a good friends of mine.

Here in, uh, Austin as well, but he’s, he still lives in, uh, Philadelphia now, doesn’t he? That’s right. Yeah, he moved. But anyways, helix kinda the private sector. Uh, so that’s some of kinda the places you work. You’ve definitely got some accolades from different gold medals. Uh, personal best in swimming in the Big 10.

Uh, again, volleyball championship here. Help with that. Super Bowl championships. Uh, Commonwealth Game medals. Man, you have had a tremendous career in such a short time. You’ve impacted so many athletes. So, um, with that being said, your career path has been so different. But here’s the one thing about Brittany that has just stood out to me time and again, that wherever you’ve gone, you’ve been successful.

And that’s hard to do. Uh, how have you navigated the transitions from college, college to private and then private working with Olympians overseas?

[00:04:59] Brittany: Uh, ooh, that’s a loaded question. I think I was fortunate enough to get to work with you, um, and get to model what a successful coach does. The level of expectation that they bring day in and day out, um, that’s something that I have held very close to my heart.

Since I’ve been here and got the opportunity to work with you. So I appreciate that because that molded me and how I approach mm-hmm. Anyone that I work with, um, have a good blend. You know, it can be fun. It doesn’t have to be so like just. Head down and not, you know, coming in and having a good time. It’s a process, it’s a long process and appreciate the process while you’re in it and, and love it and learn and grow.

Mm-hmm. And every opportunity that I’ve had, whether it be private sector side with professionals, with college athletes, um, with amateur athletes, you know, the private sector side gives you the whole Rolodex. You get, you get the high school kids, you get, you know, the ones that want to go to college. You get the college kids and you get the pros.

So just. Embrace every single one and be fortunate to, to be there and work with these athletes because they’re humans. I think a lot of times we forget that, you know, they’re not just these athletes that we put on a pedestal and we want them to do X, Y, and Z. They’re humans and they wanna come in and they wanna have a safe space, and that’s important for them to be successful.

Yeah. So for me, I, I take it as a, a privilege to be able to walk into a room with, with anyone that I come across.

[00:06:24] Donnie: One of my, uh, I. I remember when you were at Texas and we went to the C S C A conference and you were an intern, you were volunteering here, you weren’t getting paid. That’s right. So you were busting your butt, um, coming in early, dealing with all these knuckleheads, dealing with me, and then this conference comes up and you spend your own money.

To, to go out there and I forget where was at at that year. And it was in Orlando. Yeah. So you spent all your money, your time to go out there and you just got in her hip pockets, started meeting people. And I was like, cuz I was like, part of me at the time. I remember thinking like, uh, you know, interns, you, I don’t know if she’s gonna make it like it’s gonna be Buck Wow.

Cost money. Yeah. Like, I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I was real skeptical. Right. Should, you shouldn’t. And we came back from this conference. And lo and behold, you had a job offer from Purdue, and I was like, wait a minute. Who is this girl again? Oh, I’m messing around you again. You were that coach that just from that point on, I was like, I just looked at you differently because you weren’t fearful to go and just get yourself in a, in a, in a zone of uncomfortableness with people you didn’t know.

People that were more seasoned than you, and to jump right in there and just own it. And, you know, connect with different people and follow up with them, be professional and get an offer that fast to move all the way up, you know, all the way to Purdue and then go up there and do a great job. I mean, I was just blown away.

And that’s something I think today that young coaches, they, they don’t do sometimes. No, you cannot put a value. On face-to-face time, no, you can’t Re, resumes are a diamond dozen, but when I get in front of you face-to-face and can socially have social intelligence, which is what you had of how to connect and relate and have a conversation and not be like insecure about that and do the job you did to get a job, you got.

Was so impressive. So

[00:08:15] Brittany: stood out. I mean, for me, when you’re passionate about something, you just gotta go for it. You know, you learn whether it be a good path or bad path along the way, but if that’s what you want, and that’s how I was raised, you go for it. You, you mm-hmm. Like jump in the deep end right away.

If that’s where, if that’s where you want to go.

[00:08:31] Donnie: What would you say, uh, coach Brittany to, like, somebody listening. They just, man, they just, the opportunities just aren’t there. Like, how do you. Create, find, take advantage of opportunity, especially if they’re, maybe it’s competitive and you keep getting rejected turned down, or just the door’s not opening.

What would you say your advice to something like that? Someone like that?

[00:08:54] Brittany: Be honest with yourself. I mean, I always self-reflect, right? I think a lot of times people go with the lens of like, People just don’t like me or this isn’t working out for me. Maybe this isn’t my path. But if it’s something that you genuinely love to do and you wanna do, you know, self-reflect, what, what am I doing that’s getting me to get past up?

Is there something that I’m not elaborating on to, you know, better paint the picture of how I can fit into this program? Or am I dropping the ball? And, you know, not sending that letter mm-hmm. Or email now, now it’s not letters dating myself on, you know, responding back to those people or continuously checking in.

You don’t, you don’t have to feel like you’re bothering someone. People, I personally, I’m not, you know, I don’t know how you feel about this, but. We lack passion in this, in this field. Right now. I want someone blowing me up mm-hmm. To come and work with me alongside of me. I want that person to want to be there.

I don’t want them to just send me a casual, preempt it. Thank you for let me talk to you. Email, you know? Mm-hmm. I want, I wanna know that you have that desire to be here, so, so push, you know, fight for what you like. And I work with coaches, you know, one of my favorite coaches, and we’ve known each other for so many years, who I work with now, we’re, we’re go-getters.

Like, if, if it’s not gonna work and I can’t get it somewhere or here, I’m gonna go find somewhere else to get it because that’s how I’m successful. Mm-hmm. So if we’re not getting what we need, we go get it ourselves. We don’t wait for nobody else. And that’s, That for me has worked, and that’s what’s gotten me where I’ve been, I, I think right now in my profession.

[00:10:25] Donnie: Yeah. No, I like that because I, you know, again, if I could drill down a little deeper, uh, just what I’ve seen with you over the years, um, obviously when you were working here and now you’re, you’re at St. Edwards and still doing some of your private stuff. What I have always, that’s always kind of stood out to me that was just like caught my eye about you, is like she not only.

Loves this job. She genuinely cares about her athletes and they feel it. And so what happens with that you’ll see is like they’re drawn to you because they feel the love and the care and it’s not a love, like, we’ll get in this in a minute, or you just let people get away with everything. Like, it’s a tough love, but it’s a genuine, and so I think people, to your point, athletes and coaches see that, and it’s hard to find today to have that like genuine passion.

That’s just not for, you’re not just flipping it on off, it’s just who you are. So, uh, that’s a big piece. Appreciate that. Oh yeah, I appreciate that. I mean, I think too, to your point, um, you know, these can be burnout jobs big time, right? I mean, little off the script here, but how have you. Kind of guarded that and made sure that that kind of stays, um, at a high level for you.

How, what, I mean obviously you’ve, we’ve all struggled with Yeah. That stuff at some point, but how have you kind of kept that intact?

[00:11:41] Brittany: I, I’m, I’m big on balance and, and I have not done well with this, so I feel like I’m really kind of, Calling myself out. But you know, we, we always give and give and give in our profession, which is why we get burnt out so quick.

You know, we feel guilty if we, if we take a break or we go on a vacation or, you know, we take time for ourselves. And, um, I’ve burned the candle at both ends multiple times, and you know, it’s just gotten to a point where you have to start taking care of yourself. I can’t do my job to the level that I think is acceptable.

Mm-hmm. We all hold ourselves accountable in a different way if I don’t give myself balance. Mm-hmm. Um, being a parent is actually really, really helped massively because when I’m at work I value and appreciate me being a professional. But when I’m at home, I’m mom and that switch has to get turned on and my work hat has to get turned off.

Um, and it’s forced me because, you know, this kids, kids force you to be there with them and be present. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I have to say present in every realm. So that has helped. If I’m not present, um, I can’t be successful, and then I get mad because I didn’t do the best job that I could do. And then if I’m not present for my daughter, That’s molding her in a way that I’m not gonna, you know, appreciate and value later on when she’s in my shoes and, you know, doesn’t have a foundation that’s strong and solid.

So, balance, all balance.

[00:13:06] Donnie: That’s it. I like it. Um, change topic just a little bit here. This is probably my favorite topic, um, as of recent, um, with all your experience in the private sector mm-hmm. You’ve had to run your own business, right? You’ve had to manage multiple athletes, whether it’s overseas or here on the ground.

Locally. Uh, again, you’re a mom. You’ve had a lot going on, so you’ve had to really make sure, now that you have a little Stevie man, you gotta pay the bills, right? That’s right. There’s tons, and I mean, I could tell you like in Austin, right? Austin’s very expensive now to live in. I know other cities are, so you’ve had to do this negotiation piece of your contract.

And my conversation with you, like you kind of like a little bit of a Jedi knight in my eyes, but let’s talk about like contract negotiation again, doesn’t have to be private. I tell, uh, younger coaches all the time, like, when you’re going to interview, don’t just let them ask you questions like you interview them and see kind of what they’re offering.

But like, if, if that’s not enough, like let’s get into some negotiation here. So, Talk about like how you negotiate and kind of some of those pieces, how you look through that lens and go from there. I

[00:14:22] Brittany: think there’s been a huge growth period with that. Uh, when it originally started, I was terrible at it because I was so passionate.

About the job, I would just take whatever. You could have thrown a dollar in my way and I’d have been like, done. Or you want me to do it for free? I’ll do it. Cuz I, I genuinely care and love what I do. Um, it doesn’t feel like work to me. So sometimes that can convolute things. Um, but I work hard. So as I would get into that process, I would be like, why am I not getting paid enough?

I’m over here working my, working my butt off and I’m like making pennies what’s going on? Mm-hmm. And I would get frustrated and. You have to know your worth. And we say this all the time in our job and our life, and sometimes you want a job so bad that you’ll, you’ll put yourself on the back burner because you just want that title or you want that job.

And, and the older you get and the more experienced you get, um, You know that your worth way more than typically what they’re offering you in our profession at least. Um, and you have to sell yourself. Um, and that’s not making you look like, you know, you have this huge ego. You have to sell that what you are doing is extremely important because a lot of times I think people think we just show up in a weight room and we magically have these workouts and that’s all we do, and we dip out and we’re good.

And that’s not even. Close to what we do, um, but sell yourself and why it’s important and, and I realize that my passion can be a gift and a curse, but it can be a gift in the sense of how I can explain my value and what that value brings and why the price tag that I’m telling you is acceptable is where it is.

Because that’s the level that I’m gonna bring to you. That’s the passion I’m gonna bring. This is what’s going to happen and this is how this program can be better because I can help assist. Everyone, not just the athletes, but we work with a ton of different variables here, right? Mm-hmm. It’s not just strength coaches.

We’re working with, we’re working with psych, nutrition, athletic trainers. I mean, you talk about it, we’ve got 80 million people in the hat, right? So you also have to have that good balance and be a people person and be able to communicate and be opening to listening to everyone, um, or it’s just not gonna work.

So, That you come, you can’t put a price tag on that. But I, you know, starting out, I, I was not great at negotiation at all. And I’ve learned that putting a value on what you do is important. And also you believing it is important because you get in that negotiation and they start jacking with five grand or two grand or whatever, and you start feeling bad.

No, don’t feel bad. Revisit why you approached them with that, that dollar amount anyways. Right. Um, because that, that’s, that’s important. And if you don’t get it, you’re going to be mad afterwards that you didn’t go get it. Uh, my sister-in-law is in hr, um, and she does all that, so she’s like, B, sit down. I’m gonna break it down.

Number-wise, how much they’re spending on you per month. That ain’t that much. You deserve more. You know? So I have a hype person in that realm that really helped me kind of go, go for it. Mm-hmm. And not think that what I was asking was I. Way out of, you know, left field and was something that is still realistic and something that I know that they can invest in and that they can see the joy and the benefit of having me and paying that dollar amount.

Cuz a lot of times they’re like, Ooh, I don’t know about that. But that’s, that’s where it is now. It’s you’re selling yourself, but you’re selling yourself because you have to do it. We don’t get paid much in this profession. I mean, look at our jobs and what we encompass and how many hours we work. I think one time when I broke it down at Purdue, I figured that if I worked the amount of hours I was working, I could go to Baskin Robbins and make minimum wage and still make more than what my salary was.

I mean, this is back in the day, so I’m not knocking Purdue, but you know, I mean, that’s the amount of hours that we work, right? So, yeah. Um, especially when you’re in that grind mode, so don’t, don’t feel bad. It’s there. You just gotta kind of press it, you know? Um, They got the money. They wouldn’t be there if they didn’t.

That’s a good

[00:18:25] Donnie: word. Uh, you, you cracked me up. I remember 1994, my first gig, my first job, university of Colorado, six month internship. 12,000 a year. Yeah, buddy. Like living in a shoebox, eating crackers, uhhuh ramen noodles. Yep. Working 80 hours a week. Um, so fast forward all the way to, I think it was 2011.

I’m here at Texas and sitting in the office talking to a deputy ad who’s, he no longer works here. And here’s the question. He hits me with B because I go in there and like I’ve been offered the director role, but I don’t know I’m gonna get paid. Right. To

[00:19:06] Brittany: your point, you coming in with the whole script, script

[00:19:09] Donnie: ready to roll.

Yeah know. So I’ve got, I’ve done my homework and all that. So he looks across at me, he goes, So tell me what you’re worth. And I was not prepared for that. It started sweating. I thought we were gonna, because I mean, and I wanna go back to what, cuz you, you nailed it. We don’t think we’re worth very much. No.

Therefore, we don’t want to ask for the money. We feel bad, we feel guilty because we like, that’s too much. Right. And to your point, the money is there. It’s, do you believe you’re worth the money that’s in that account? Right. And now do you have the courage and the backbone? To ask for it and then back it up.

Mm-hmm. And that’s a problem today. We take whatever, okay, I’ll take that low salary, I’m, I’ll take it just cuz I want the job. Right. Versus like, if we would start saying, no, we’re not taking these jobs anymore. You know that, guess what would happen? That rate that ceiling on that R salary would get a lot higher.

And I think, you know, this is a different topic, maybe not for today, but you’re seeing like I was at an athletics, um, Director conference in, uh, October, and one of the consistent themes across the country, people are leaving.

[00:20:14] Brittany: Yeah. They’re, you don’t see that many old heads anymore. It’s young because there’s

[00:20:17] Donnie: better jobs out there.

That’s right. For better pay in less hours. Yep. And so there’s gonna be this, I think this kind of tidal wave of. Vacancies that they’re going to have to address. Like I, I think you’re seeing it probably in teaching industry right now, these lower paying jobs for the hours because the level of impact and care you’re providing for these kids.

How do you put such a low number on

[00:20:37] Brittany: it so you can’t, I mean, what other profession is there out there? This is what I always say. I mean, for our jobs, especially at a college level, typically the, the going level of expectation is you have to have a master’s, you have to have a certification. But not just one, but multiple certifications.

You have to have some level of experience, whether you’ve interned or been a what, what degree or job field or anywhere else are you coming in with that list? Laundry list of expectations and getting paid as low as we get paid. Mm-hmm. And it’s, it’s like a known, I mean, people would just accept it and you’re going, we always complain we’re not getting paid enough, but, I don’t see nobody changing it.

I’m looking around the room and I don’t see nobody doing anything different. So

[00:21:23] Donnie: to your point, like the problem with the structure like you’re talking about right, is you’ve got these revenue support head coaches that are ascribing value cuz they know how valuable, but they don’t know how to evaluate if you’re really good at your job.

Correct. And if it’s a risk, oh, that’s why you’re having all these, these lawsuits and stuff because they’re getting the good old boy. Mm-hmm. Paying him big salary, but they’re not necessarily competent. Now the, they, obviously they’re, they’re, they’ve got great charisma. Charisma and can motivate and push people and demand a lot from people.

But there’s a, the day and age we live in, like you need to know what you’re doing or you got a lawsuit, so you gotta be competent. Correct. Yeah. Very close. And so, but how do you put a number on that, right, to your point?

[00:22:02] Brittany: Yeah. Um, it’s hard. I mean, we have technology now, which has been extremely helpful because we have, tha we have data in, in instances where we can back stuff up, where we can help improve or stretch or widen the gap with an athlete and how we can make them, you know, quicker, faster, stronger, and where our impact is and how that fits.

But it’s still, it’s still an issue. I, I, I don’t understand why we can’t get past that hump and we just, we, we can’t, hopefully the way things are growing and evolving, we’ll be able to get there. Right. Um, and people are starting to understand our value, but, you know, sadly, our value is still shown by the data that’s previously been here.

So, you know, with my job now, it was, well, here’s the average salaries mm-hmm. For your profession. And you have to educate them on. Yeah. But do you think that that is an actual livable, average salary for a human? Mm-hmm. Just a human? I’m not talking about any, like, just not even my profession. Do you think anyone can live on this and, and not feel like they have gotta go get a second job or, or do something extra on the side or, you know, burn themselves even

[00:23:12] Donnie: further and, no.

I talked, I talked to coaches weak Brittany that. Living out in a great city, great university had to work four or five jobs. Exactly. Because her salary is just too, is too low.

[00:23:23] Brittany: And then you’re working how many hours. Right. So that’s, that’s another thing that is another soapbox that I get on. I have, you know, big rocks, right?

We talk about big rocks, non-negotiables and, and as a younger coach, I was extremely. You know, guilty of this, that you, you have to know when to turn it off and turn it on. Right. Balance, like I said earlier, th there’s times where I’m like, I am not doing that. I, I’m have a cutoff switch. If you want me here working from 5 30, 6 o’clock in the morning, I’m out at this time, time you have boundaries.

I’m, I’m not like, this is the window of my training period. That’s it. And don’t tell me nothing different. I’m not doing it because I wanna be present for my child and I wanna be home to be able to see my child. Mm-hmm. Um, I’m gonna give you everything I got here, but. I’m stopping here. Mm-hmm. And I’m, I’ve worked my butt off to get to that point to where it ain’t changing.

Sorry.

[00:24:16] Donnie: All right. I got a, I got a good question for you here. Let’s, so let’s say you’re ta, you’re sitting down, have a cup of coffee, Uhhuh, somebody’s interviewed for a job, they came back and they, you know, it wasn’t the salary that they wanted or needed. How would you counsel or mentor that young coach or professional to go in and negotiate for higher?

A higher salary, like what would be some of the kind of talking points and approach that you would, would you, uh, recommend? Just think through that for a minute.

[00:24:47] Brittany: Ooh. Uh, first I would say, what’s your job description? What are they expecting of you? Right? Um, what are they expecting of you on paper, but what are they expecting from you off paper?

You know, we got a, a description of a job, but when you get there, the expectation is, is a whole lot more. And you got a whole lot of other things. Oh, can you, can you do this as well? And we expect you to do this and that, but what are those two things? Right? Um, and why does. That look like this salary. Um, you can be with people that are data driven, number driven, that are, that you’re trying to fight with, right?

Let me give you the numbers. Let me tell you how many hours I’m gonna be here. And do you think that if you were in my position, that would be right? Oh, that’s good. Adequate amount of salary. If you flip the script on that, yeah. Yeah. Flip it. Because they’re gonna be very quick to turn around and be like, well, I wouldn’t take that job.

Okay, so then why are you offering me it for that amount of price? Right. So, And if they know, which, if you’re in this discussion about, you know, salaries, right? You, you’ve gotten to a point of what they expect from you and what your job description is on paper, right? Um, so, hey, this is all that I’m doing.

This is all I’m bringing to the table. So that value isn’t right. And this is where do we meet? Cuz they’re gonna negotiate. There’s always, there’s a wiggle gap that they’re gonna give you, right? Let’s say you come in, it’s 50,000, right? But you push back. They know that that’s their, their baseline. There, there there’s a ceiling that, that you haven’t even hit yet.

So push back. Mm-hmm. It’s not, it’s not as bad as you think it is, and if, if they say no and you keep pushing, you have to also be willing to walk away. That’s it right there though. That’s tough. That’s, that’s tough, man. I’ve had to do it and I tell you what, man, I, I’ve sweated and I’ve been so just bummed, but I have to do it.

And walk away to feel better. And you know what? Something else better has come along every single time. Um, or you push and you push and you push, and then they finally break again. It’s, if you’re not gonna do it, I’m gonna go do it myself mentality, right? Mm-hmm. Walking away is hard and everybody talks about it doing it, but it until you actually have to do it, you, you.

But learn a lot. You learn a lot. You

[00:26:54] Donnie: know what I mean? But it’s hard. But though you feel good about yourself, cuz you’ve not let somebody just ascribe a lesser value you

[00:27:00] Brittany: do for the job you do. It’s scary though, like in my situation, I didn’t have anything else. So it was like, I have to do this, I have to do it for me.

So the whole time the negotiation process is going on, I’m telling myself. Stance. This is your baseline, right? You, you said this is what your baseline number is, and if that baseline number doesn’t get met, mm-hmm. You also have to be okay with saying, I unfortunately can’t do this. I appreciate you giving me this time and the value that we’ve had of coming back and forth and negotiating this salary and the opportunity, but this is where I.

Where I have the, the bottom line at and we can’t meet it. So maybe if the opportunity comes along later on and, and this chance happens and we can sort it all out, it’ll be there. Mm-hmm. But if not, like I have to, I have to be honest and true to myself. Because if I take that job and I didn’t get what I wanted, how bitter am I gonna be the whole time I’m there?

Like that is just an unhealthy work environment from the jump. So I’m coming in and I’m already mad because I’m not getting what I feel like I’m worth, so. Mm-hmm. How successful are you gonna be in that job? Not really. Yeah. No.

[00:28:09] Donnie: You know, you know, you’ve been to college too, but. You’re kind of fight for yourself.

I know in the college scene or professional scene, you know, you gotta, there’s some different strategies you can use, right? Like you can have, again, I’m basing this off the assumption that you’re doing a great job. I better be right? Because if you’re not doing a good job, they ain’t giving you nothing, right?

Yeah. No, I, nothing that needles not moving no matter how much you push back. So I think, you know, getting buy-in from your head coaches, your, your other performance team, whether it’s sports, med, or, um, I would say even really the athletes, right? Mm-hmm. The athletes will tell it now and they’ll tell it and they’ll, they’ll let the coach know how valuable you are.

And so the more you can kind of build those, those, um, stakeholders, the. Influence with them. It just helps your Cause. I know, going back to my story, when, when he asked me that question, I. What are you worth? It helped because leading up to that conversation, some of my head coaches had been in there and put in a good word for me, which gave me some credibility and authority, right?

Sometimes you have to borrow influence from people to make a, get a decision to punch through. So those are some strategies I know with negotiations helped me some. Oh,

[00:29:22] Brittany: definitely. I mean, you, you have to call around. I, I, I’ve talked to you multiple times about. Hey, what do I do here? How do I manage this?

How do I explain it in a way that they’re gonna understand it? You know, getting viewpoints from all different avenues. Um, most of my friends and family, they’re not in this realm that I’m in, so they’re in different, completely different workforces. And getting different viewpoints from different workforces is, is huge because it brings another tangible end that you kind of don’t think about until you go into that negotiation style.

Mm-hmm. Because, Most people you negotiate with, they’re not in our profession, right? They’re, they’re the higher ups, they’re the top dogs. So they are in that like dollar cents. You know, we are looking at this from a cost revenue standpoint. What you gonna bring to the table? So you to be able to switch that over and kind of relate with them in that way.

They sometimes appreciate that, and they’re like, oh, okay, you’re kind of with it more than I thought. I should have done my homework a little bit better before you came in and, and, you know, shifted gears into my direction and I didn’t have to shift into your direction. So that has helped me because I need to see it from a lot of different viewpoints.

I mean, My profession and my career has put me in a lot of different fields. So, and that’s what I think has helped me out long term and sustained where I am right now. So why not look at it from a different viewpoint?

[00:30:38] Donnie: Yeah. I always feel like there’s, this is just my gen, I’m just a very gen generic as far as like my experience of dealing with this kind of negotiation.

There’s usually one person that’s the no person always, like their, their job is to tell you no. Yes, no matter what you do. They’re not gonna budge. Yeah. So you’ve got, to your point, you’ve gotta do your homework. You’ve gotta have different ways of presenting the job you do so that they can be educated on it.

Mm-hmm. And fight for your worth and value. Again, that may be that it may be being patient, being persistent. Maybe, like you said, you just have to walk away and not take the job, which sometimes you do that, then that person’s telling you no, if somebody really wanted you, now they’re gonna have to have a tough conversation, right?

Of why did we just lose this employee? So there are some other in intricacies to it that’s kind of interesting. So yeah, it’s a cool topic.

[00:31:32] Brittany: It’s been a battle I, I’ve learned the hard way I think. But it’s, it’s gotten me here now to where I’m like, mm-hmm. Let’s go, let’s take the gloves off. I don’t even need gloves no more.

Let’s, let’s work with it. So one, one

[00:31:42] Donnie: more question on this and we’ll we’ll move on, but, um, what would be your counsel or thoughts on what are some other, uh, intangibles for, maybe it’s the job you want, but maybe they, they got the salary up a little bit, but not meeting you. What are some other intangibles you could put on the table to negotiate some thoughts there on that?

Whether it’s, um, you know, it could be professional development, I don’t know, stuff like that, you know? Yeah, it

[00:32:11] Brittany: could be. I mean, we’re, in our profession, we have a lot of different avenues. We can do, like you said, professional development, um, growing a program out and you know, sorting out other avenues with getting into the community, working in the community mm-hmm.

And having that avenue. Um, Oh gosh. There’s, there’s so many. I mean,

[00:32:30] Donnie: nothing for you. You, you definitely, I think from, remember, correct me if I’m wrong, being able to keep some of your private stuff open too. Correct. And not just having to shut down everything. Right. I mean, that’s always, I.

[00:32:41] Brittany: Something that you, it’s just been a good blend.

Yeah, and it makes good money. The private side is, you know, we joke, it’s the dark side, right? Cuz you get over there, you don’t have to work as many hours, make a little bit more money. Um, but at the same time, you’re in an island by yourself and mm-hmm. You are your own promoter. So you, if you’re not working, you’re not making money, right?

Mm-hmm. Um, so there’s those gifts and curse, but yeah, you, you be a jack of all trades, I think. You can’t just be one dimensional in any, any realm of life that’s not. Good. No way to be successful. I, me personally, I, but I mean, look at other ways to do it. That’s not gonna just run you in the ground, right?

Mm-hmm. Private sector’s. Great. Uh, I, I’ve had people, because you have so much knowledge, expertise, experience, and your profession, a lot of people have gone over into more of like a PT realm side of things. Mm-hmm. And done, done that. Um, There’s a lot, but getting into the community, working with them in that way, seeing different types of athletes, different types of people.

I mean, at one point I was even doing personal training, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m making money at the end of the day. I’m coming home with a paycheck. I could pay my bills. I got food on the table. I’m driving a car. Mm-hmm. You know? All my bills are paid. So don’t let your ego get in the way of that.

Right, right. I mean, whenever I was here with you, I would ride a bike down from a studio that I was training at, and I’d park it, work here, bike back up, and right train again, and then go do private sector stuff at night. So it, it, it’s always temporary. It’s never permanent.

[00:34:09] Donnie: Yeah. And I think too, you can, um, when you’re negotiating for contracts and a job, like what can you do?

They, they’re offering you this, right? They’re just trying to check a box, but what can you put on the table and push back on that would make that job a better job and more appealing to you? Right. So that could be work life schedule. Mm-hmm. Right. Kind of when you work, when you’re off, could be not traveling as much.

Mm-hmm. So you have more time for your family. Could be site visits, could be maybe you wanna learn. More about technology or research something, or maybe you want to have, you know, in the summers you wanna take a two week trip to do an internship somewhere, I don’t know, whatever it may be. But there’s a lot of ways you can negotiate your contract today that’s not always monetary.

Correct? Correct. That kind of sets you up for Right success down the road. And I think, I think that’s a big piece of it too today. You know, it is

[00:35:01] Brittany: cuz I mean, you can have. Uh, you can have the best job in the world, right? This shiny looking thing. I’m at a Power five school, I’m, you know, this director, I’m doing all this stuff, but when you get there, you’re going, this isn’t what I thought it was gonna be.

Mm-hmm. I’m not happy. I’m working too much. I don’t have balance. I’m not getting this price tag that I thought was great and, you know, all this shiny stuff that’s in front of me, it’s really not worth it because I am not my, me, I’m not myself. I’m, I’m Michelle, who I am, I’m not able to even get to enjoy this money.

So, yeah. I don’t even want this anymore. You know what I mean? So negotiating those things I think are just as important as the dollar amount because you can’t put a dollar amount on your health and having that balance, I mean, you, you can’t, you know, and it’s, it’s hard to do, but it’s, it’s huge. Yeah. It’s gotta be done.

It’s all way you can

[00:35:51] Donnie: be successful. Yeah. It’s all about trade offs. If you take one thing, you’re gonna lose something. So is that a trade off worth making? You know, and I think anytime to your point, I think you’re spot on. Any trade off you can make that puts you in a position where you’re not burned out.

Overstretch over committed. Right. And, and overrun. And you got some time and space in there to make sure you’re healthy, you’re having a good time, you look forward to coming to work every day and every week. That’s a trade off worth making.

[00:36:21] Brittany: So, right, and, and them knowing the value in that, because if I’m coming into work and I’m, I’m fresh and I’m with it, and I’ve had that balance, how better am I gonna be able to do my job?

Right? Mm-hmm. Um, how better a coach, how better a mentor am I going to be whenever I have. A fresh face, and I don’t feel like I’ve just not slept in three weeks, and now I’m just here to check a box. You know? I mean that, that’s huge and that’s important, and that’s how people get better and that’s how you get better as a coach.

That’s how the athlete gets better. You know? You build those relationships. It’s important. It’s huge. Speak.

[00:36:56] Donnie: I could keep talking, but, uh, we’re gonna, sorry, we’re gonna, no, I like that. That’s one of my favorite topics. I could, we could do a whole show on that one. Yeah, no, really. You could. Um, let’s talk a little bit leadership now, change topics.

You were recently, you were named Director of Strength Conditioning at St. Edwards here in Austin. What’s it been like so far, starting up a program that didn’t really exist? So you’re kind of pioneering this, so what’s it been like and then kind of what’s your vision?

[00:37:18] Brittany: Oh man. Uh, this is, it’s been hard, but it’s a task that I think when I.

I felt it was available to approach was something that I really, really, really wanted to do. Um, I like a challenge. It pushes me, it makes me get outside of the box. It makes me get outta my comfort zone. So when it was available to me and I had the opportunity, I was like, let’s go. I actually was the one who pushed for it more.

Um, cuz this has literally never been. Create it had, this is the first time this has ever been there. Um, I think that school is a great school because it’s in a phenomenal conference and Austin’s a great city, right? And. Between San Antonio and Dallas, there is nothing like that school. It’s a small school.

Um, it’s great. It’s very pretty. You can’t, you know, if you ever walk around the campus, you should, I’ll take you around one time. It’s, it’s a beautiful school. Um, and it, I felt like it was a diamond in the rough. So I was like, you have an opportunity to grow a school mm-hmm. In an athletic department in a way that could really bring in a ton of more athletes and, and students.

So why, why are we not doing this? Like, let’s make this happen. Um, and it’s been, I mean, it’s a challenge. It’s chore. It’s me and I’m starting everything from scratch. So we’re talking budgets to weight rooms, to, you know, anything you could possibly think of. Um, I am doing it. I have my. Hand in every cookie jar known to man.

Um, so I’ve had to find balance in that. And it’s a trial and error period, you know, I found that if I just go to where it’s only focused on the athletes, then the admin side struggles, right? And if I only go to the admin side, then the athletes are like, Hey, what, what’s up? Like you’re not, you’re not here.

What are you doing? So how do I stay in a weight room all day, but then also check off everything that needs to get done from the admin side. So it’s trial periods. I. You know that I’m like, whew, that was not good. So let’s revamp and re-look at it and. I’ve approached it from a semester approach. Um, what’s two things that you wanna get done this semester that are realistically manageable?

Mm-hmm. Not like I wanna do something off the charts that’s not gonna get happen within that semester period. Um, and make ’em happen and get ’em done and chip away at it slowly. This is not something that’s gonna get done overnight. Um, so I have to have patience with that and I’m not a patient person, so, um, Yeah, it’s, it’s good.

I, I enjoy it and I know it’s gonna be a battle, but Right. It’s a battle that I’m willing to fight and I think. All in all as a whole, I think it will, I don’t think, I know it will help better the athletic department as a whole, and the goal is to grow it out for it to be its own department, you know?

Mm-hmm. Just like every other university has, they have a strength and conditioning department. Right. So let’s make it happen. What’s, why can’t this school be any

[00:40:02] Donnie: different? I love that. What you said earlier about, um, the, the admin piece and then the, the athlete, I think, you know, th and I’ve, I’ve been guilty of this.

Um, And we all are at some point. But I think one of the greatest like mistakes we can make as a leader is, um, we put paperwork before paperwork. Mm-hmm. And again, I’m not saying you, you have to do admin work if you’re gonna be a director, if you let that go, you’ll lose your job. Correct. For sure. But you know what I’ve seen in, in, you know, I’ve been doing this 29 years now, you’ll see as you move up in any organization, especially in college sports or pro sports, What I’ve noticed that a lot of times people tend to get kind of like stuck up in the ivory tower, so to speak.

Mm-hmm. And they’re doing all their admin work and paperwork, but they lose that disconnect with people. And I think, again, this is just me. If you wanna keep that edge, you gotta get outta the ivory tower. Yeah, yeah. And come down, get in. You don’t necessarily have to be like in the trenches fully, but like go around and, and talk to people and see what they’re doing.

I, I love that show. What was it? Uh, I forget what it was. Uh, who’s your, what was it? Where the boss would switch? Oh yeah. What was it? I forget the name of the show, but I’m blanking on it. Yeah, they

[00:41:19] Brittany: go in and they disguise themselves and they, uh, so they’re

[00:41:23] Donnie: the, the owner or the ceo. Right. And they take like a ground job.

Working

[00:41:27] Brittany: and they go in working, oh, what was it called? I forget the name of it. Hey, I know what you’re talking

[00:41:32] Donnie: about. And they usually goes, see one. My favorite part of that show would always be this. At the end of the show, the boss, the owner would be welling up in tears cuz he would be back in the kitchen or back in the car wash would never realize.

Yeah. Or whatever. Yeah. In the factory. And seeing these employees working hard and they’re hurting and have, he would just, he would get his edge back. Right. Right. Because if you’re gonna be good at what you’re gonna do, you gotta have passion. But if you only have passion and no compassion, you become a tyrant.

Correct. But if you have only compassion and no passion, people walk over you, so you need passion. Yeah, to drive and be that demand and like, let’s get stuff done, like you said. But dude, you gotta have some compassion for people that if they’re gonna follow you, you gotta have empathy and pat compassion and then that’s the blend you want.

I feel like, you know, and that’s

[00:42:19] Brittany: hard, right? I mean, you said it we’re guilty of both of those, right? And, and a lot of times that they didn’t realize that that’s a person. Mm-hmm. Right? You get so caught up in just. Oh, we checked that box. Why aren’t you doing this? Why aren’t you doing that? Well, that’s a person.

They also have a life outside of this job that they’re battling. They also have got, you know, four kids and you know, two grandkids are raising too as well. Mm-hmm. And they’re coming here every day. And you know, that’s why they start crying is they realize this person’s showing up every day and doing better than me.

Oh yeah. And, and they got a whole lot more going on than I, I ever would imagine to have. And they’re doing it for little to no amount of money. Right. So we are people too, you know, people don’t understand that. You just show up, just do your job. Well, yeah. There’s a lot of other stuff that goes on too.

Mm-hmm. We show up, you know, but there’s a lot that goes on just besides this job and this position, you know? Um, we’re humans and we also have. A lot going on in our lives.

[00:43:14] Donnie: Yeah. And that, again, we, it kind of ties back into our negotiation, but like, I think that’s always a piece you wanna evaluate, whether it’s a college setting, private, um, maybe it’s pro, uh, maybe if you’re working with multiple organizations, but like how they treat people.

Yeah. You know, uh, you, you definitely, you want to, you wanna work with winners, but you also wanna work with people that it’s not just a one-way street like it should be. Mm-hmm. The best re the best relationships. Right. Are always, to me, I’ve seen are win-win. Correct. Right. Correct. Because I always felt like there’s four, there’s four ways people can, um, there’s four, excuse me, four types of relationships that kind of impact you.

Right. Every relationship can either add to you, Right. It can subtract from you, right? It can divide or it can multiply, right? Right. And so I think two of those, you really, those add and multiply relationships, those are ones man, you, those are hard to find, but you, when you get ’em, you wanna keep working with them.

And so I think that’s a big piece of. You know, in your job when you, when you start finding jobs or you’re working in a place that maybe the leadership changes and now they’re taking more from you than you’re, than they’re giving. Like, you kind of gotta reevaluate that job a little bit. You know? You do,

[00:44:30] Brittany: and you have to step back.

A lot of times, you know, we can’t get emotional, you can’t make emotional decisions, right? Mm-hmm. And, and working in an Olympic realm has helped me with that. You know, you’re going to have, uh, Arguments or disagreements mm-hmm. With coaches, and coaches are gonna come for you about certain things, but you know, you have to step back and, and it cannot be personal, but there still has to be a level of respect, right?

Like, you’re not just gonna talk to me reckless because that just means you don’t respect me and mm-hmm. This situation isn’t even a situation. And we need to now talk about the level of respect that somehow or another we don’t have for each other. You don’t have for me, or vice versa, right? So we’re still in a workforce.

You gotta talk to me. And you gotta respect me. And if you don’t respect me, then let’s peel that back like shelf the other stuff and let’s talk about why do you not respect me or vice versa, because I need you to be an ad and a multiply. I don’t need you to be a, you know, a subtract for me because that will make my life so much harder.

Think about like the jobs and the situations you’ve been, where you’ve been constantly surrounded by people who are, who are subtracting you, how much energy that steals from you on a daily basis and where you were at physically and mentally is. It’s insane. Yeah. You dread it. Yeah. Oh, you dread it and, and you’re a completely different person.

And then when you get out of that, it’s like you over in The Bahamas, you know, sitting with the MAs too. Yeah. It’s still enjoy. It can take you away from you. Yeah. You know, quickly. So I. We also don’t like having conflict and, and you have to have conflict. Conflict is good because that means you’re both passionate about something to an extent, right?

Mm-hmm. So like if, if you’re just going and floating along and you’re not addressing situations and issues that come along, especially when you’re building programs too, right? And you wanna be great. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had conflict with, you know, one of my coaches in the uk, but that’s good that she is one of the.

My closest friends, she’s a mentor. She’s someone that I have probably the most level of respect for. We’re going to have conflict, but that’s because we’re both passionate about what we do. Mm-hmm. And we both want to be great. That’s not like, we don’t wanna just get on a podium. We want to win, and we’re going to win.

So like, we’re going to butt heads, but we’re gonna wake up the next day and be like, Hey, what’s up? You know, chat at, move on. We’re adders to each other’s lives and we get that that’s gonna happen. Mm-hmm. It can’t just be, you know, Smooth sailing the whole way through. And I think sometimes coaches get mad because you have a dis, you know, you have a disagreement with them, but it’s like, it’s nothing, it’s not personal.

It’s just professional. Yeah. Like we, we want the same thing, right? So like, it’s not that we are here in on two different levels. We want the same thing. That’s why we’re, that’s why we’re kind of coming at each other for a minute, but like, Let’s know what our end goal is and let’s get to that and work together versus dividing each other.

[00:47:12] Donnie: Yeah. No, that’s so good. That’s another talk. We could do another show on that. I love the, what I, again, this is just my personal experience of learning. Yeah. The best work environments. There’s, there’s two pieces to this, right? There’s working together cooperatively, and with that, The trade is what everybody just agrees.

Correct. Okay. Okay. Yes,

[00:47:37] Brittany: yes, yes. The yes ma’am.

[00:47:38] Donnie: Yeah. And to me that’s kind of a mediocre, but it, it’s, that’s pretty normal. Right? Right. So, but if you flip the script over here on this side, you want really, you wanna work for that collaborative. Right. So you got cooperative and now, but now I really want collaborative where that is, we’re working together aggressively.

Correct. There’s gonna be sparks pushback. Not everybody’s gonna fall in line perfectly. And you’re not necessarily working for agreement, but you’re working for alignment. Correct. So we can agree to disagree, but we’re aligned moving forward. We’re gonna get better. It’s gonna make you better, it’s gonna make me better.

We’re gonna be a better team. So,

[00:48:18] Brittany: yeah. And that comes with growth too, right? Mm-hmm. I mean, you some, it’s hard not to take it personal, but it, it’s just, it’s Oh, for sure. Yeah. You know, I mean, it’s, it’s, you’re going to do it. We’re all human, but you have to separate it, you know, it’s. I always keep an end goal in mind, and again, the Olympic side has helped me with that.

We can’t, we can’t stop. We have a path that we have to get to in four years, so if we stop and we take time away, For those athletes who are trying to get one goal in four years, we’re doing them a disservice. Mm-hmm. So already you might as well just chunk me out the picture if we’re sitting here and wasting our energy mm-hmm.

On the fact that we got into a little tiff, like, no, we got into it, we figured it out, we, we sorted it, and we move forward because we gotta still wake up the next day and tackle our job. Mm-hmm. You know, and you can’t sit and dwell on it. It’s not, it never works out when

[00:49:07] Donnie: you do that. Yeah, it does. It takes maturity and time.

It does. Um, Change gears again here a little bit. Let’s talk program design, uh, training. What’s your approach to performance training and kind of what are some lenses or maybe tools you use to evaluate and make decisions?

[00:49:26] Brittany: A, a wise man once told me, which should be you right to. Look at every form and style of training.

Take what you like and put it in your toolbox and chunk what you don’t like and make and grow your own philosophy of how you do things and how you coach. You told me that many, many years ago, right? And that’s something that I’ve built the way that I train. Um, I love using technology and using trackers and velocity driven things and force outputs and rate of force development, all that fun stuff.

I can nerd out on that all day. Um, But I’m also going to watch the athletes move. When they warm up, I’m gonna see where they’re, where they’re kind of maybe tight. How they’re moving mentally and physically, where they are. Are they checked in, are they not? Is their nervous system looking a little bit run down?

Where are we? Mm-hmm. And I’m gonna use that coaching eye, which a lot of people would say is old school and, and have both. Um, there’s a time and place for that. And watching the athlete, you and I talked about this forever ago, is in a warmup, is probably one of the most. Key pieces to having a big mm-hmm.

Phenomenal, you know, lift. So if I know an athlete’s coming in and they’re not moving well, and they’re mentally just not here, I’m shifting things in my head immediately because I’m not gonna get what I need out of them during that lift, no matter, you know, what, what technology says, they’re mentally not here.

Right? So let’s shift it and, and work it to where we’re gonna get. Everything out of this piece that we need right now, and then wake up tomorrow and then we’ll revisit it again. But, um, you know, my philosophy is, is we’re gonna do something every day that is going to challenge you physically or mentally, or both.

But we’re not coming in here to check a box. Mm-hmm. We’re coming in here to get better and my expectation of you is to get better. And my expectation is to make you great because your goal is to be great. So, You can come in and have fun. It’s gonna be fun, don’t get me wrong. But we, we got stuff to do. We got, we got things that we gotta get ahold of.

So I use technology for that. Um, in this world, we’re all. Data driven and we need instant gratification. So for my athletes, I think that’s great to use because they can see, oh my gosh, I need to move a little bit quicker. Okay, yeah, I’m not moving, or dang, I sucked out at the pool, but I’m moving really well in here, so maybe I’m not having as bad of a day as I thought.

Right. Um, mentally I’ve found that that helps a lot physically, it helps shape me as we get going. And that piece, the Jedi mind truth. Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, I, I like a blend of both. Um, my style is, To have fun, but my level of expectation is always going to be here and I will always remind you what your end goal is and, uh, any of that, my athletes watch, they’re listen to this, they’ll crack up laughing cuz they’ll be like, Hey, did you really think that that was gonna get you where you wanna be at the end of the year?

Do you think you gonna be on top of a podium for that? Or, you know, They’ll see me watch them and I’ll kind of, they’ve got this look where I like tilt my head a little bit and squint and they’re like, what? And I’m like, it’s good, but that, that’s not what I wanna see. I need it a little bit quicker. I need you to turn over a little bit faster like that.

That’s gonna get you fourth. I need you here to get first. Mm-hmm. So let’s, let’s go. You know? And we laugh and we chuckle about it, but that’s the way I work. And you know, you gotta learn how to read an athlete. That’s something that I think has no value, that you can’t put a price tag on because we have.

Some great minds in this, in this industry, but they can’t read an athlete. And technology can only get you so far. Mm. And, and, and you can’t be the old school methodology where you don’t think that technology isn’t gonna help you. You know? So blend ’em both. And that to me has seemed to work. And you’ll see French contrast, you’ll see a little west side barbell.

You’ll see. I mean, I throw it all in there. Right? I love you. Yeah. There’s time of peace for it all. Um, and it helps. And diving is a sport that, you know. You gotta play chess with it, not checkers. So you gotta get these athletes in a position that they can get great range overhead, that they can have great tuck and pike shapes and you can’t compromise their flexibility.

But they need to be explosive, they need to be strong, and they need to be able, able to withstand hitting that water at the rate that they’re hitting. So, um, know that and, and get them to where they need to be. Don’t just follow one, one path. Mm-hmm. Me shaping my toolbox with all these other, you know, little tricks and trades, I think has helped me be a, a good

[00:53:51] Donnie: coach.

Yeah. You, I mean, you’ve definitely become more well-rounded and it’s like, coach damn Pav years ago, um, told me that kind of used a Star Wars kind of quote, but like only a si thinks and absolutes, right? So there’s, to your point, I mean I 100% couldn’t agree more is. You every athlete’s so different and they adapt different and they respond different.

So why would you only use certain training systems and tools Yep. To develop them, expand that continuum in your toolkit right there to get, because at the end of the day, you, you nailed it. Like, we want to be great. Not mediocre, not good, not okay. Not decent. But great. You’re, you’re dealing with athletes that standing on the world stage, they don’t get points for being okay.

Right. They need to be the best and so why not use the best tools? So

[00:54:42] Brittany: good stuff. Yeah. And they’re doing it, you know, every four years people, when people go to ask me why I do this, and I’m like, you, you have to understand this athlete. You know, you get to go and compete every year at a college level, right.

For that national championship. Right. They get one shot in four years. That’s it in that small window. You know, we, we have world championships and things of that nature that get us to where we want to be at at the Olympics and that are big. But that is the Kreme de la Kreme that is your equivalent, right?

Mm-hmm. And you can only get that at four years. So we gotta be great and we gotta be great always, or that’s not gonna get us there. We have countries that will kick us. In the teeth. Mm-hmm. Very quickly. If they allow, you know, if, if you allow it. So you have to be ready and you gotta bring it every single day for four years.

And that’s hard and that’s huge that they’re different. They’re a different athlete. I, I couldn’t do it. Mm-hmm. Four years for, for one thing and, and had that motivation day in and day out. Um, I use that with, with my college athletes cuz I’m like, you get a shot every year. Like that motivates you. They get it once every four years.

And in this instance with Tokyo, it was five. So how are you gonna motivate for five years?

[00:55:56] Donnie: Yeah. Yeah. It’s good. It’s big. Well, hey, we got time for one more question. Okay. I’m gonna have a fun question here for you, so a little off script, but, uh, Brittany now has to go back and you’re gonna give a younger coach Brittany advice.

For what’s coming down the pipe. What do you tell a younger Brittany, let’s just get started. Green, young, full of life energy. You still are today, obviously, but you’re just, you don’t really know anything. What would you tell yourself when you were getting into this? Uh,

[00:56:34] Brittany: buckle up for sure. Buckle up is, it’s gonna be turbulent, but, uh, Listen to your instincts and go with your passion and don’t let anybody take it from you, cuz it’s gonna try to get taken from you, but don’t.

[00:56:50] Donnie: That’s so good. I always feel like in this profession you have fire fighters and fire starters. Correct. Stay away from the firefighters. And get around the fire starters cuz they, you gotta put that circle around you to encourage you through. Because I almost, I mean, early in my career, I almost shut it down.

I mean,

[00:57:07] Brittany: you know, me too tough. I almost did too tough. I mean, I asked, yeah, it’s tough. You just haven’t talked me off a ledge there for a while. So, you know, it’s, and that’s

[00:57:13] Donnie: part of how you, you mature and like you said, you gained perspective and wisdom about how to navigate better. So, but you’ve done a, you’ve done a phenomenal job in.

Again, congrats to everything you’ve done and what you’re doing now I’m gonna do in the future. It’s been awesome to see. Well, I

[00:57:27] Brittany: appreciate that. Thanks for even considering me for this. Yeah. This, this has been awesome. I love it. This is, this is easy,

[00:57:32] Donnie: this Great. Well, hey, if anybody wants to connect, what’s the best way to reach out?

Any of our listeners wanna follow up? Talk a little more, shop with you, connect, come visit you in Austin. What’s the best way?

[00:57:41] Brittany: Yeah, for sure. Uh, probably email, I would think, uh, social media I need to be better at. So, um, you can, you can email me at any point in time. I’m always good on the phone, but you can, uh, my email is gonna be info T G A t x.com.

So email me, you can, uh, I’ll shoot you a text or call after that and we can link up, but I’m, I’m down to talk shop anytime. I love it. It’s

[00:58:08] Donnie: cool. We’ll put that in the show notes. Uh, anybody wants to connect? Definitely. Again, Brittany’s here in Austin, she’s all over traveling all over the world and stuff at, at times.

So, um, busy mom, successful coach, more than anything. Great human being. You would not, uh, regret any time with her. So if you can link up with her followers talk shop, you won’t regret it. So Brittany, thank you so much. Yes, of course. Thank you. I appreciate it. Well, hey, uh, that’s our time for the team behind the team podcast say thank you so much for tuning in, and we’ll see you next month.

Hook them. Thanks so much for tuning and listening to this episode of the team Behind the Team podcast. For future episodes, go to iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast, or Stitcher. We definitely want to keep having great guests on the show and great content, so if you have a moment, please go to iTunes, leave a rating and review and let us know how we’re doing.

I’m Donnie Mabe, and thanks so much for tuning in.