#44 Remaining In the Moment with Berit KAUFFELDT
#44 Remaining In the Moment with Berit KAUFFELDT
April 3, 2016
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Athlete Case Study: PROFESSIONAL VOLLEYBALL PLAYER, LOKOMOTIV BAKU VC & GERMAN NATIONAL TEAM
BACKGROUND
For today’s Athlete Case Study, we have a German Volleyball Star, Berit Kauffeldt on the line telling us her story. We will dive into how she got into volleyball and where her hard work has taken her throughout her career. She will give out some tips and tools that will help you optimize your path to whatever success you may be seeking as an athlete or a business person in this world and most importantly, REMAINING in the MOMENT.
BIOGRAPHY
Born, Berit KAUFFELDT, from Parchim, Germany .
One younger brother, parents divorced since she was 4 years of age, raised in her mother’s household,
Began playing volleyball at age 11; Left home at age 13 to go to school and train to improve in the sport; lived at a boarding school; graduated as an honorary student in academics
Has studied Psychology Via online courses and books sent to her home and is expected to graduate this Spring and is .
Played for Junior National Team since the age of 14; Winner of the European Championship in 2007; advanced to SENIOR National Team in 2008 and train with the team ever since; World Champion of 2009; Bronze Medal at the 2011 Grand Prix; 3X German League Champion with Schweriner SC
Has played in multiple other countries such as Italy, Poland, and currently for a Champions League team in Baku, Azerbaijan
Berit's is active in the stock market at the moment.
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PERSONAL QUOTE
“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
KEY DISCUSSION POINTS
When was one of your bigger struggles during your volleyball career so far?
What did you learn from these struggles?
How did you move forward?
When did you have your lightbulb moment in your career, moving from good to great?
What is one of your proudest moments in your non volleyball related life?
What was one of your proudest volleyball moments this season?
What are you most excited for coming up in the future?
KEY LESSONS
When tough times come around during season, never forget to focus on yourself and your improvement.
“I started focusing more on myself and developing myself, I started doing yoga
and also reading about nutrition…” -BK @ 17:36
Only you can decide how your attitude is and your reaction to coaches and teammates, you control your own efforts to be better
We can either run from challenges or face them head up and conquer them no matter how tough it may seem
It is important to be able to tell yourself at the end of each day, training, match, that you gave 100%
“When I went to the gym, I always tried hard, I DIDN’T GIVE UP...my positive volleyball moments, I got not from matches, but I got it in practice...after each day I want to say I tried hard.” -BK 19:46
Remember to remain focused on present; not the next ball, or next play, not previous ball or previous ball, not the stats, STAY IN THE MOMENT
Strong relationships you have built with people is one of the biggest joys you can get in life while being an athlete as you make you way around the world
Berit’s Daily Ritual
In bed between 10:30-11pm, wake up between 7-8am, Oil mouth Rinse for 20 minutes, brush teeth, prepare bag for practice, breakfast, check phone, Get to practice by bus with the team
Berit’s TIP JAR
Recommended Book: How to Train a Wild Elephant : And other Adventures in Mindfulness, by Jan Chozen Bays
Tool/Habit used to stay Healthy: Meditation every morning
Parting Piece of Wisdom: Never stop trying, try your best, and that is enough, don’t put yourself under big pressure
FOLLOW Berit HERE:
Facebook | Instagram | Matches
DEFINITION OF BEING BEYOND ATHLETIC?
“If you can respect all people and all people equally, and feel empathy for the people you are acting with.” -BK
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#33 World Champion At Age 23... What Now? with Trofym ANDERSON
#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
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
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
INFO
Past/Current Teams:
Current: George Washington University Men’s Rowing; also Under 23 Men’s Canadian Team
Past: Canadian Junior National Rowing Team
Mentioned:
Ontario, Canada
Canada
E.L Crossley High School
Canadian Henleys
2010 Junior World Championships.
University of California
British Columbia
George Washington
2013 Under 23 World Championships
2014 World Championship
Olympics
Under 23 Senior Development Team
Sports Management
International Olympic Committee in Switzerland
John Ruscitti
George Washington University Men’s Rowing
Under 23 Men’s Canadian Team
Canadian Junior National Rowing Team
Resources:
Tim Ferriss; Speed Reading
Audible.com
Follow Trofym:
Twitter
Parting Pieces of Wisdom
"10x better, that’s the way you gotta approach everything, this goes for any sport...even if you’re in a sport that doesn’t require as much cardio or is more technique based..always being able to improve...always FINDING and area you can improve on" -Trofym Anderson
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ITUNES -OR- OUR SITE -OR- Tweet @BEYONDATHLETIC
3 Things I Learned In Italy, Switzerland & Turkey by Gabi KOEVA [blog]
3 Things I Learned In Italy, Switzerland & Turkey
by Gabi KOEVA
“As I often like to remind myself - there are no good or bad experiences in life. They are all experiences from which we learn. Same rule apples for our sport lives. ”
1. Switzerland (CH)
What did I know about CH before going there? Pretty much what everybody knows - it's the land of swiss chocolate, swiss watches and swiss banks! What I didn't realize is that Switzerland was the land of rules...a lot of rules I mean. In fact when I first went before the season to sign my contract and meet the president, he asked me one simple question:
"How are you with following rules?".
"I guess I'm good, I can follow rules..." - I said.
"Then you'll have no problem whatsoever in Switzerland!"
How to follow the rules is one of the most important things I've learned there. Being organized and disciplined, scheduling your time wisely and never, absolutely N-E-V-E-R permit yourself to be late for an appointment! Swiss tend to take it personally! They are very sensitive when considering time...and wasting it.
2. La Bella Italia... (ITA)
(lit. 'The beautiful Italy')
As Italians lie to refer to their lovely country is no doubt (or at least it was few years ago) the country of some of the strongest European club teams. Teams that merged experienced with young athletes on the court, playing side by side, leaded by some of the best coaches in the volleyball world.
It was a great experience to get to be a part of Serie A1! The only thing that went bad that season was the fact that our team Riso Scotti Pavia struggled a lot and we finished the regular season second last with just two victories behind our backs.
Even though season was difficult for the team I played really strong. I scored over 70-80% in attack almost every game and even finished a couple of matches with 100%. Every once in a while I meet some of the coaches from IT that year and they'd tell me "Wow it was an incredible season for you in Italy..."
So the most important thing I'd learned from my Italian experience? It was that even though "team comes before individual," it's still important to be able to focus on your own performance. Even when the team is doing bad, to be able to give your best, no matter the outcome! There will be always someone who notices that and it will probably open many doors for you in the future.
3. Türkiye (TR)
Turkey...I fell in love with this (I'm here now!) country and most of all with the crazy, sleepless, colorful Istanbul! But let's talk about volleyball.
The last few years the Turkish championship has been one of the strongest in the world alongside of Russia's and Brazil's. Turkish teams play many finals and win gold medals in (almost) every CEV and FIVB tournament during the past 4-5 years. So it's never easy to go out on the court, facing the best players in the world, not feeling like an underdog.
But being the underdog has it's advantages and that's what I've learned here in Turkey. As long as you give your best on the court and fight for every ball, even when it seems impossible, no team can underestimate you for it only matters what's the result after the game. I am playing for the team of Besiktas JK and we have never been one of the top teams in the league but that didn't stop us from winning against the big teams of Galatasaray and Eczacibasi for example.
Let me help you picture the situation of being an underdog with one other example where we made IT despite the odds and expectations of everyone else:
So it's season 2013-2014, the team of Besiktas didn't have the chance to play any European cup tournament, because previous season finished in 7th place after the regular season. The only chance we had was to compete and try to win the Balkan Cup and get a wild card for the CEV Challenge Cup. And we did it, we won! So there we were, last team to make it to Challenge Cup and guess what? We played final that year! It was a tough journey, we advanced 5 times by winning a golden set and we truly surprised everyone by making it to the final round.
Unfortunately, we lost that one against a Russian team, but the lesson we all learned was that no matter the expectations, no matter who's on the other side of the net - the court is still 18 m2 for both teams, the ball is round and at the end, if you never give up and your heart is big enough, you can beat the odds and prove everyone wrong!
Hugs,
Gabi