#101: Lauren Ammon: Called to Serve Athletes
Season five kicks off with Lauren Ammon, a growth mindset coach for athletes. Lauren is a former endurance swimmer who, after 17 years in the pool feeling most like herself, to 17 years out of the pool, and having no idea who she was, finally found her calling serving athletes. The transition from athlete to mindset coach makes for compelling listening — get lost in the rhythm of swimming, competitive training, pattern breaks, and training your mind, like you train your body.
Deep dives in this episode include;
- Coaching moment – blindsided by suspension 1:20
- Coaching moment – endurance swimming, knowing what buttons to push 4:50
- Sliding Doors – someone who doesn't want to fix us, called to serve athletes 7:46
- What makes a great coach? 12:33
- What’s behind your why? 14:30
- How did you get started in swimming? Lost in the rhythm of swimming. 18:52
- Perfectionism 24:29
- Flipside on being a coach 27:17
- Identity: ‘17years in the pool, feeling most like myself, 17years out of the pool, had no idea who I was.’ 30:22
- Hybrid office: less and better, laser focused on priorities 35:30
- Mental Demons: pattern interrupt by saying things out loud 40:00
- Words of Wisdom: train your mind, like you train your body 44:51
At the age of 5, Lauren was literally thrown into a pool so she would have something to do at her sisters’ swim meets. 17 years later, with a high school state championship and a top 3 finish in the Mid-American Conference, she said goodbye to a successful swimming career. This foundation as a student athlete set the tone for high achievement in the professional world.
After 13 years in HR, Lauren received her professional coaching certification from the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) to feed her passion for supporting others in reaching their full potential. She started her business focused on leadership development and career advancement, but while watching the 2020 Olympic games it all changed.
As she watched Simon Biles remove herself from competition and Katie Ledecky do everything in her power to hide her disappointment following a lackluster race, she knew who she was called to serve. Athletes. It was validated when Michael Phelps told the world, "Competition is overwhelming. We just want someone to listen to us. Someone to support us mentally through the pressure-filled moments and who doesn't want to fix us."
Lauren specializes in working with student athletes to master the mental part of the game. Her company, Performance Reimagined, exists to show athletes there is an outlet to be heard, seen, and supported, mentally and emotionally, at the same level they are physically.
Lauren Ammon | ACC Coach | Mentor | Trainer
Lauren Ammon Coaching
laurenammon.com
