#33 World Champion At Age 23... What Now? with Trofym ANDERSON

Athlete Case Study: Rower for George Washington University; 3 High school National Championships; Winner of 2 Canadian Henleys; 2014 World Champion at coxed four; Under 23 senior Developmental Team for Canada

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March 12, 2015

Trofym ANDERSON - Team Canada World Champion Rower | Beyond Athletic Podcast

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BACKGROUND

On today’s show, Trofym will tell us about his journey from where we was as a young kid, to how he got to where he is now. He will share his experiences as an “obese” young boy who was pushed to the limit at an early age and became an elite rower and received multiple scholarship offers from the United States. He explains WHY he decided to compete and receive and education in the US instead of staying home in Canada. We will get many lessons from today’s episode as Trofym expresses the importance of Never giving up and always making sure you are “10x better.”

BIO

Born, Trofym Anderson, from Ontario, Canada.
Trofym grew up as an only child.
Started rowing in the 9th grade; eventually transferred schools and rowed for the best high school in Canada, E.L Crossley High School; has won a total of 3 high school Championships; has won 2 Canadian Henleys; was 7th in the men’s 8 at the 2010 Junior World Championships.
Received Scholarship offers from the University of California, British Columbia, and George Washington, which is where he attended and received his bachelor's degree in Business
Finished 5th in the men's coxed four at the 2013 Under 23 World Championships; Won the 2014 World Championship at coxed four
He is now preparing to get a shot at the next Olympics with the Canadian Under 23 Senior Development Team
Currently working on masters degree in Sports Management; has done research at the last 2 Olympics; desires of working with the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland

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PERSONAL QUOTE:
“You always gotta make sure you are 10x better than the next guy.”
-John Ruscitti

Key Mentors in his life:

John Ruscitti: His high-school coach that pushed him through and helped him overcome the adversity of being an undersized rower
His Uncle Harry (ex-NHL Player): Trofym was obese at an early age and his uncle got him up early in the mornings at 5am and pushed him to the limit

Key Discussion Points:

When was one of your biggest struggles?
When was your lightbulb moment?
When was your proudest moment in life so far?
Why did you choose to go to a US college over a Canadian College?

Key Lessons:

You can change if you want to, its all about taking that first step

“My biggest lesson was just never giving up no matter what.” TA @ 16:12

Nothing ever comes easy, you have to work hard always
We don’t always know our talents or what we are good at until we branch out and try different things
Sometimes we need to stop what we are doing, look at our situation and ask ourselves what we are willing to do to get what we truly want

“It was that day that I said...‘I gotta stop what I’m doing. I gotta revamp everything, I gotta look at my training..I gotta get a strict week program..I needed to get serious with my training..it all started there.” TA @ 24:19

Once we make the decision to make a positive change, we should never look back
If you’re serious about whatever you’re doing, demand more of yourself, put a plan together, and associate yourself with the best
Winning at the highest level comes with struggle and obstacles along the way

“It’s not because we won, but its because during the 9 years to get there, there were just so many obstacles and so many miserable days.” TA @ 27:15

Having a champion like mindset means you know you can always push to be better
When choosing a school for your sport, it's important to think about what you truly want out of it

“In trying to choose where I wanted to go… ‘ do I want to go to a massive, already established team, and maybe be the guy that helps continue to make the team as good as it is..or do I want to come to a smaller team at George Washington..take them from the absolute bottom, to now finishing 14th in the country last year.” TA @ 36:51

If we stay in our comfort zone, we will stay where we are; you have to get a little uncomfortable in order to improve

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TROFYM’S TIP JAR

What is the best advice you have ever received?
Nothing is impossible

One thing you like to do when you come to a new arena to compete?
Walk around really slow and look at everything, become comfortable with the area

Sleep & Morning ritual:
In bed by 9 or 10pm, wake up at 5am, stare out the window..check my phone, 2 shots of espresso; 20 minutes to get ready, bike to practice, 20 minutes of core stretching; row for 90min-2hours; get home and have breakfast. “Maximize your day by starting early.” -TA

One way you’d like to improve yourself as a person?
Reading more and further educate myself

One tip on how to live a little bit healthier?
Planning; writing down a weekly plan on Sundays

Knowing everything you know now and having all the resources now available (ESS, Beyond Athletic Podcasts, Mentors), if you had a do over, what would you do differently?
I would have started rowing the single earlier; challenged myself as it was something that I always avoided