Tammy Mahon - Volleyball

This is episode 162 of the Empowered Team Podcast. Psst.

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Welcome to the Empowered Team podcast where we explore how to optimize your performance.

In career, sport and life.

And now, your host, executive coach and life strategist, Kari Schneider.

Hi, Tammy. It is so amazing, amazing to see you and talk with you. We are starting in on this Empowered Team podcast with somebody who I'm so grateful to speak with. And I don't know whether you go by your maiden name or your married name. So what should we address you by?

With anything to do with volleyball or kind of talking about my past experiences, I do just use my maiden name. It's just easier for people to kind of connect the dots, you know, with who I am or if you want to toss it in a Google search, well, then it's much easier to come up as Tammy Mahan instead of Tammy Slaworski. So that's all beautiful. Beautiful.

So for anyone who hasn't been fortunate enough to get to know you, some of your background is pretty prestigious. It's pretty impressive. However, in the world of volleyball, a lot of people would know you. Outside of volleyball, it's not something that female sport accolades don't naturally get splashed all over the news or, you know, things like that. So just to give our listeners a sense for what you've accomplished, you were with Team Canada for 10 years, almost 10 plus years, 2002 to 2012, you were captain of the women's national volleyball team from 2008 to 2012. You played pro overseas, which that's really the only opportunity for volleyball players is professionally, is overseas in Europe typically, or Asia. Played pro for 10 years, living in seven different countries. So that's pretty awesome. We want to dive into that a little bit. You've been inducted into the Manitoba Volleyball association hall of Fame. Top female athlete of the half century from Manitoba High School Athletic Association. This blew me away because I'm like, that's a thing. There's a half century award. Like, does that mean we have to. What about the century award? Do you have to live to be over 100 to be in a century? Or like, what is this Canada west hall of Fame? Just you've had these incredible awards and accolades and yet when it comes to female sport or athletes, female athletes in general or in the sport of volleyball, These are relatively unknown in the rest of the world because in North America, a lot of the coverage is on the Big Four. In Europe, there's more coverage on different sports, but North America, we're just typically not aware of that. What's that been like for you? Does that matter to you? Is it something that you wish was more. There was more awareness around for women's sport or what's it like for you?

Well, I was lucky enough that I came from a small rural community, so I actually feel like I did. I know it wasn't national attention necessarily, but because I came from such a small rural community, they always made me feel like it was a big deal. You know, it was always about putting Holland on the map and my mural is painted on the side of the rink in my hometown. And, you know, so I actually always got a little taste of that feeling of what I was doing was kind of outstanding in my field and I'm always grateful for that. I just went back last weekend and did some camps in and around the area. And that's just kind of my way of trying to give back to this community that really supported me all along. And that started in high school with the high jumping and stuff that I did previous to becoming a part of the national volleyball team. And they supported me right from the get go. And so I kind of always had that a little bit feeling of what I was doing was kind of something special and I had that support. And I mean, obviously volleyball isn't a, a real, kind of one of those top four sports in Canada, but I think it is getting there now. And I think, you know, even, even with social media help of being connected to the athletes and connected, being able to watch their games online or whatever it is, you know, I just think that there is more access out there for young athletes, specifically young female athletes, to connect with someone who's on the national team. And these girls are doing a wonderful job of having social media platforms that are personal but also sports related, where someone can tap into their knowledge and kind of the. And their real life struggles too, not just within the sport, but kind of the real life stuff that's going on here. So, yeah, I was lucky enough that I was from a small town, so I kind of always got that a little bit like, oh, what I'm doing is really special, even if it's not worldwide for these people, you know, it really is. And then when it comes to the awards and stuff, like, I really feel like in a sport like volleyball, you know, what award truly is mine. You know, no award truly was just about me. You know, if it's an MVP award, if it's a hall of Fame award, whatever it is, you know, I was receiving them. But there was so many people, you know, yourself included, who are included in these awards that were given to kind of recognize, you know, success or improvement or whatever it is. And I just never really felt like the awards were just about me. They were about the team and about the program that I came from and about my coaches. And so that's kind of how I feel about that.

That's so powerful. There's so many things there. First off, just highlighting the benefits of the technology that we have today, the benefits of being able to connect, being able to get sports like volleyball out there that have been so powerful for people like you, but so many kids who especially need that right now, and then also shining the light on the gratitude that you have for all the support you've had along the way from the very, very beginning in different sports that led to volleyball for you. But from the standpoint of it being a team sport, yes, you couldn't have had those accolades without your own hard work and without your own perseverance and without your own dedication. However, it takes that group of people, it takes all of those teammates and all of those support systems along the way that really allow you to shine. As long as you keep working, those support systems are continuing to help you along the way. So really powerful. And I think it's such a huge example for the young volleyball players now who some of them are just being able to get back into back on court. Some of them are just able to get back with a team and they've either missed it terribly or they wanted to do it and their opportunity was taken away because of COVID So it's so powerful to hear you say some of the impact that it's had on you. On that note, if we go back, what, you know, I think of you as a player, I think of you as an athlete overall. And by far, you're easily one of the top, hardest working athletes that I got to work with. And that says a lot because I worked with a lot of different high, high level athletes. And you had a work ethic and a level of resilience that not a lot of athletes have. And I have a sense of why that is or where that came from. But can you share with the audience what gave you that and what's your take on that?

Thank you for those kind words. You know, it's funny I was just talking with another coach about that this weekend. Where does that separation lie? When you're running a camp and you've got the girl who the posts need to be set up to start the camp and they're running around and they're getting the posts and the pads on and they're getting the balls ready and the other ones are on their phone on the bench, you know, laughing or chatting. And where. What is that? Is that just a special something just in some people? Is it environment, Is it just ingrained in you? And for myself, I mean, I will 100% credit my upbringing on the farm, My kind of small town, rural upbringing is, I think, really where kind of that work ethic came from. And also the level I think of gratitude and thankfulness I always got for every opportunity that kind of came my way. Yes, it came from hard work, but like I alluded to earlier, it also came from my support systems and the people who are giving me these opportunities. And I always felt, you know, grateful. Not that it does. I deserved it. Just because I worked hard, I didn't deserve it. You know, these opportunities were given to me and I learned that as I went on in sport too. Like your hard work and your work ethic and they don't guarantee you success, you know, they aren't that you need those things to get there. But what was my ultimate goal? It was to go to the Olympics. And we never did that, you know, did I put enough of the work and the time and the energy into deserving that goal? I believe I did, you know, but I think that's what some people, athletes think is, well, if I put in X, Y and Z, this will be the outcome and I will, you know, I will deserve it. And that, that was the. One of the hardest lessons I kind of learned along the way is just, you know, my. I would work hard for everything I got. And it just didn't always mean you were going to get what you were kind of dreaming of or what you were aspiring to. But in the midst of all of that, I mean, there isn't a day in my life now that that hard work and work ethic doesn't serve me. You know, I wouldn't trade one year of hard work actually to go to the Olympics. I want my 10, 12 years of work ethic and hard work and learning from the people beside me and the people in front of me and the people who bettered me every single day. Like, I would take that lesson over one year of hard work going to the Olympics and hanging up the shoes. You know, I would take my journey over that for sure.

So it's amazing to hear you say that because, you know, there's so many athletes who couldn't imagine thinking that or feeling that or saying that, and yet to come to that realization of what it's actually given you is so, so powerful. And at the same time, you're pointing to something that people forget or they never learned, and that's that there are no guarantees. You can do all the right things and still have the wrong outcome or the outcome you didn't necessarily want, and you can do all the right things. And there's still this element of grace or luck or other people's support that has you go that final distance, that final step. And personally, this is something that I end up coaching more than I ever anticipated and have been. The hard lessons for me as well is that life isn't fair and so much suffering could be removed by just taking away that expectation of what you think it was supposed to be, if there's this ultimate scale of fairness or something. But life isn't necessarily always fair, and some people get a lot more handed to them than they maybe deserve. And it just doesn't. It's not indicative of the lessons that we can draw because you've just pointed to what the hard work has given you. Even though you didn't get exactly what you wanted, getting what you want isn't necessarily the best thing. So if you back up a little bit, I think that when you say the work ethic that you learned on.

The farm.

The lessons that you got from that, describe to someone, because there are so many, whether it's a young athlete, a coach, so many people who just have no idea what that would actually mean. Does that mean that, you know, she was milking cows? Does that mean she, you know, like, what. What does she mean? Work ethic on a farm? Like, what is that? So describe to someone what, you know, a day in the life of Tammy was back in, I don't know, grade 10 in high school.

Like, what.

What were you doing that instilled this. This work ethic that you came from?

I think, you know, it wasn't. It wasn't like a game plan my parents had or whatever. And it wasn't necessarily some sort of strict rules. It was just small, little tastes of things. Right. You know, right from when I was little, I think that feeling of the farm life, everything really is greater than yourself. And, I mean, I'm living that now. Like, I don't just Wake up in the morning. For me, everything we do is for the farm. Our life is 247 farm, cows, the work, and we do it together as a family, the four of us, all the time. You know, I mean my husband and I are together 247 so. But yeah, I mean, so I, I grew up in that, I grew up in a home where my dad was, you know, had his coffee and out the door and he was working hard every day. Lots of people have a dad who goes to work every day, you know, but for, for me in a farm life, you, you see it and you see how it's for your family and the greater good I guess is, is the thing. You just see that from a really young age and when you think about a team, I mean it's just very similar, right? And my dad was, he was a high level hockey player when he was growing up and coached a lot of hockey and coached me in ring it. And there's just a lot of things that I learned from him about, you know, being an athlete and, and your work ethic and, and I mean he was hard on us. There was days that if, if he said, you know, Saturday morning you're getting up to clean the barn and that starts at 8:00 and you walked out at 8:03, you were pointed back towards the house and you're, you were done for the day and you had to live with really the kind of guilt and disappointment of not showing up on time, you know, and not being there now. I mean he wasn't raging mad at us, but that was just always the lesson. I mean I asked you to be out here 8. This is when I needed you. That's when you showed up and you didn't go a minute late, you know, and he was my ringette coach and I remember one day we got a Nintendo for Christmas and I was just crazy about this Nintendo and, and he said to me one time we're leaving at whatever it was, 6:30 for practice. Well, at 6:30 that vehicle took off down the lane and I was not in it. I was still playing my Nintendo and I ran out to the kitchen and my mom was like, well he told you you were leaving at 6:30. So I mean those are just off the top of my head, some small little lessons that I learned about. But definitely kind of the work ethic of working together, which is I think why I was always so drawn to volleyball. You know, I had a lot of success in high jumping, but that is clearly an individual sport as much as you're on a team of athletics, an athletics team, you know, it's an individual sport. And I was always much more drawn to team sports. And I think that's why, I mean, just as a farm family, you kind of grow up as a team. Everyone plays their role. And my nickname used to be the boss on the farm, because I used to, hey, that needs to go here and you need to be doing this. And so, and then, I mean, just the hard physical work, right. Like you're out stacking bales and you're out cleaning barns and, and you just kind of do what the team needs you to do. So if that kind of sums it up, I think those are two of the biggest things going into high level sport that served me so well. Just kind of that team mentality and for the greater good, what, you know, what you're doing is for everyone. It's not just about you. It's not just for you. And that makes you want to do your best job. Right. Because it's for everyone, not just yourself. Yeah.

With what you've described, it's easy to see, you know, I mean, hindsight's 20 20, it's easy to say this now, but it is easy to see not only how you were so how you became someone who could make a national team, stay on a national team that long, because that's, that's not a common thing. And then at the same time step into a leadership role. All the things you described from the physicality, from the time leadership, from the showing up, from the seeing what's missing, the initiative, all of those things are leadership qualities that naturally you were exposed to along the way, but then got refined and refined and further developed as you were a national level and a professional level athlete. Another thing you pointed to is something that even in the years that I worked with you, that I used to coach, which was on a team environment, training like an individual sport athlete for the benefit of the team, even though you're a team sport athlete. So bringing the best out in yourself in order to elevate the output of the group as a whole. And that's kind of this natural thing that occurred for you coming from an individual, coming from team sports, having to work individually and among a team. On the farm, you had this amazing life. Examples of blends of individual performance contributing to a group or a team environment, which I don't think that. I think that's where a lot of either athletes or people in general struggle in business, in sport, where they might have only had one exposure they might have only had group exposure and they're always passing the blame or the buck sometimes to the next person on the team, or they've only had individual exposure and they've never really learned how to contribute or elevate themselves to work as a group as a whole. So it's such a powerful example of what you experience, but then nurtured along the way to become the incredible athlete and contributor that you've become. So it's interesting to me to hear all of that for our listeners. Take us a bit further into.

What.

Was it like being able to be a professional athlete? Not a lot back then. When I say back then, this is years ago, but even if you think when you finished your career in 2012, but you think of yourself playing professionally in those years, 2005, 2006, let's say around there, it wasn't as common for women to have professional paid sport opportunities back then. There's more opportunity now, especially in soccer, especially in volleyball. But back then there wasn't as much opportunity for other sports. So being a professional female athlete, what was that like for you, being able to live in other countries, earn a living? Tell us a little more about that.

Yeah, well, I mean, it was a journey for me that ended up lasting, I think, just kind of way longer than I ever thought it would. And then it was just a continual journey of kind of growth and experiences that, I mean, I just, we would have to sit here for hours to try and, you know, sum up the things that I learned while I was over there. And there was some not super glamorous times either. You know, there was some really kind of in the trenches moments of doubt and worry and stress. And as a female, you kind of touched on it earlier, saying the length of my career and, you know, lots of times we look at why women tend to not be staying in programs as long, and it's sort of that societal thing of marriage and babies and. And so I think one of the things that often I felt during my career, which after about five years I just, it just went to the back of my head, was, but what are you going to do after? And when are, you know, when are you going to have kids? When are you going to get on with your real life, as people would often say? And I, I totally bought into that for the first few years. Yeah, what am I going to do after for real life? Before I could really kind of look at it and say, this is my real life. I am a woman who is by myself and moving to different countries and playing professionally and getting paid to do something I'm very good at, kind of sort of realizing the value of my skill and kind of what I had to offer and that that was okay, that that was what I was doing, you know, that there wasn't this big plan after and just really kind of rolling with it and being good about that. So, I mean, yeah, I had some pretty amazing years and some pretty amazing experiences. I was in the Netherlands there for a few years, and I mean, I can't say enough about the people there. What a wonderful experience. And I got to play with some of my closest friends, you know, over there, and then switching gears, you know, to a place like Romania, you know, where as a female athlete in the Netherlands, you were regarded upon quite highly, you know, for your skill and what you had to offer in your knowledge. And in a country like Romania, not. Not as much you were to be seen, really, and not heard. You know, we had very strong, dominant male coaches and that was fine. But that was kind of what came, you know, with that time in that country and with every country that I moved to. You, you really. There was a huge level of adapting and. And that's one of the biggest things even now being a farm wife and a mom is just that adaptability to just kind of, okay, this is. This is the deal now, and this is what we're doing, and here's where we're going. Kind of just adapting to the environment that you are put into. And then I had a season over in Azerbaijan, which was, again, just a really incredible cultural experience that, you know, as an athlete, you can go to each one of these countries and just be in your apartment and go to your practices and only have those exposures, or you can really dive in, you know, into the culture and the people. And I always welcomed, you know, so and so wants to have you over for dinner. Well, they can't speak a lick of English and I can't speak a lick of Russian, but, you know, let's do it. Because that is an experience, you know, like in and of its own. I mean, I just. Yeah, I think back on those years and in ways they feel like so. So long ago, and in other ways I can look back in pictures and just really feel kind of those moments still to this day, you know, it feels like a different lifetime. But I know, I know it was this one because I. I have the lessons every day of what I learned over there, and I use that stuff all the time. So, you know, and just. And also the back and forth between the national team and the professional teams. That was always a very interesting thing to kind of navigate as well. Right. Like with the national team, we were so structured. We were all on the same page. My coaches spoke English, you know, you as our strength coach knew us, you knew our bodies, you know, what we had to do. And then you go to these foreign countries and they've got a strength coach who's also your water boy, who has really no experience. You've got coaches who can't speak your language. Those are all. But those are. Man, that's the gravy right there. That's good stuff. All those memories.

There's some good stories. Do you have any favorite stories, whether it's pro or national team that you want to share?

Oh, man, there's just so, so many. Anytime I got to have a cultural experience mixed with the volleyball was always really special, you know, with national team, lots of. We would travel to these gyms and really only see the gym and the hotel. But in 2009, I believe it was, we did a tour down in Argentina and Peru. And I mean, just, it was really mind blowing. Like the bus rides were long and hard and it was the Argentinian winter, so the gyms were like freezing. But we went, we were in Peru there and went to some pretty phenomenal places and saw some pretty cool things. And when I look back on the pictures, that's a big memory there, that trip. And I mean, overseas, each country offered their own awesomeness, whether it was just the people that I got to play with or the connections that I made that I still have a Swedish teammate of mine for my first team ever when I went in 2003. And I was terrified and I cried like, you know, every day. I was just, I was so homesick and I still, you know, and that's a teammate who really took me under her wing. She just was so sweet to me. And I just talked to her this morning, just quick on private message, you know, because she had a little girl. And I just think, like, man, that's so amazing. Like I've known you now for 20 years almost, and, and that's. And it's just, just over volleyball, you know, so well.

And to speak to that. It's the relationships that you've developed and at the same time, the experiences that you've had. To live in another culture, to live in another country, no one gets that going on a vacation. No one gets that going for a week, stay somewhere. When you live somewhere and you're immersed in it, you truly understand a different culture and different people in a different country's way of being and doing things. And it's that kind of expanding of your mind that I think allows more acceptance of people in the world in general as a whole is there. When you think of some of the things that young athletes are going through today, what kind of message would you want to make sure that you send out there? I know that you're impacting people by helping with coaching and running camps, and you have this connection with young athletes, and if you can spread that even further via this platform, what would you want to say to young athletes knowing that they might be interested in volleyball or sport or something pro, and they might be really struggling with what's happened in their lives that's been disrupted with COVID what would you send out to them?

Kind of like I alluded to before, I think different than 10, 12, 15 years ago, when I was a young kind of up and comer trying to kind of find my way through sport. There is, and maybe it's too much availability. Maybe they don't even, you know, know what kind of corner to turn to. But honestly, around everyone, there is motivation. Whether you want to connect with or talk to a player who is currently playing, you know, or connect with a coach or connect with someone like you who can help on, on both levels. The availability for someone to, to kind of help you and guide you, I think is, Is actually quite phenomenal. It might even be slightly overwhelming maybe for them if they could look inside their own little circle, someone that they look up to, even, you know, even if it's an adult who isn't involved necessarily in their sport, but just someone who can kind of guide them and sort of point them in the right direction. I was, I was lucky. I had very supportive parents and we were a long drive from any, you know, practice or club team. But they, my parents put the time in, and I'm sure a lot of young athletes have parents who will help them with that too, you know, and it often, I think, goes unappreciated. But parents play a big role in that, you know, in that wanting their kid and pushing their kid to get involved and be involved and stay involved in this with all this Covid stuff going on. You know, I have had a lot of thoughts about that. Where are our numbers going to be? Even recreational sports? Where are numbers going to be for kids who want to be involved, who, who are afraid to be involved because it's just going to get canceled or it's just going to get changed or for the older kids who. But it's just not the same. You know, there is going to be a, I think a big kind of gap there. It may weed out some of the people who their interest was not quite there and so they've gone in another direction. And I hope that they find something that they're just as passionate about. You know, it doesn't have to be sport, you know, just something that they are passionate about and can do. But if it is sport, I hope they just can hang in there kind of through this all. And I know it would be hard for them to see, but just that this was part of their journey. This was part of a, an early struggle, whether it be club team got canceled or I couldn't make a tryout or my entire season got canceled, that this is just kind of one hurdle and there will be a lot more, you know, and so how you kind of can respond and react to this, it will either, you know, it can light a fire inside of you, it can be used to motivate you. And there's other ways. With a sport like volleyball, there's lots you can do kind of on your own, you know, might, you might just come up with different ways of training, different ways of training different parts of your body, not even your physical self, but you know, your mental and all that. So I would just encourage them to, while they can't take care of their actual on court skills, to really take care of all the other things around it, I guess.

Yeah, pointing to that. And the access to mentorship is so powerful because it's there. It's there. They may not know it, but it's absolutely surrounding them with. Without too much, not as much effort as maybe we might have had in the past, without as much technology. You've been in such powerful leadership roles, being at the pinnacle of your role in your sport, in your country and leading in that stance. And this can apply to not only leaders and sports and coaches, but also people who are in other leadership positions in their family or in business. What do you think were it could be one or two or three of the things that were maybe characteristics or attributes that helped you the most in a leadership role?

Well, first, I mean, I think a lot of my abilities or to be able to lead came from the strong women in front of me who really kind of paved the path and showed me the skills and attributes that it really took to be a good leader. And so I think if that's something I think part of being a leader is a natural thing. But I also think there can be a lot of learned, learn behaviors. Right. And so, I mean, for me, it was just these women before me who really showed me and they all showed me different things throughout my time with national team. You know, there was, there was many previous captains before me and they all had skills and attributes that I kind of pulled from and that, that was how I reacted to their leadership, you know, and that was what was important to me. And I felt with Team Canada, that became very much our culture. It really stemmed from our leadership down. It just became a part of how the group was and who the group was and we all kind of bought into it. And so I think it's important to look at the people before you who inspired you, who you felt were great leaders. And again, that doesn't necessarily have to be a teammate. It could also be a coach or it could be someone, something that happened in a different sport. You know, for me, it was other coaches before me too who taught me a lot about leadership. And then I think one of the biggest things about being a good leader in a team sport like this is being able to relate to every single role on your team. And I, my career just led to that. I, I was a non starter, I was a bench player for six years previous to becoming, you know, any kind of starting role in the top 12 on our team. And you know, a lot of people would say like, that's that when I tell the younger kids that, like I'll say, oh, you're complaining about not being a starter in your first year? I said six years. I played and I worked just as hard as everyone else and I never started. I played an integral role, you know, on the B side or on the training side, but it took me six years to get there. And so I really climbed the ranks of every kind of role on our team. And I think it's important as a leader to really have the awareness of where each player on your team is and what they might be going through and how they might be feeling. And if you can't relate to just having for sure an open communication, you know, and having that relationship with everybody where they know they can come to you and talk to you. And if you can't relate, you'll find a space or a place or a person that can help them, I think that's really important. And yeah, I mean, it's so powerful.

You describing the, relating to the roles and the other people, but also if you can't relate, being open enough to discover and be curious or to find help with people who can. And I'd like to offer some things that I've seen firsthand with your leadership, and it's the following. It's that you've been able to lead yourself first, meaning you've been able to practice. You'd practice everything fully to the extent that you were capable of before you'd ask anyone else to do the same. You'd be absolutely taking those steps first. Your work ethic was unparalleled. Your optimism to, in front of and with others, I always saw as something that was very inspiring. Just being optimistic and looking for the positive. You were also extremely resilient through ups, down downs, the challenges of fatigue, exhaustion, loss, all of those things. And being able to pivot as well. Just being able to shift and go from one success to another focus or a failure to a different focus, being able to pivot quickly. So all of those things you demonstrated consistently, consistently, consistently and personally, those are some of the things as well that as an observer could see made you so, so powerful as a leader.

Thank you. Yeah, I think I still, every day, you know, use those skills and can draw upon, draw upon them. Just being a mom, being a wife, being, you know, my. A business partner with my husband. I think I can draw and use those skills every day. I still do. They aren't dusty. They get used all the time knowing.

That you have to step back into your current demands and being mindful of time. Is there a last thing, a last message that you want to share with people that you just want to send out there, or even just sharing what's most important to you right now? What's there that you want to finish off with?

Well, thank you for having me. It's. It's always these moments of reflection are few and far between. You know, you just get caught up in the busyness of life and the. The demands that are right here at your fingertips. And that's, that's my family and, and our farm. And it wasn't an easy summer in Manitoba. We didn't have great weather. Things are. Are very kind of stressful, you know, around here. And so I enjoy moments of reflection. Not back to a simpler time necessarily, but definitely reminding myself of where I came from and the things that are most important and the skill set I had. And so it's always really nice to reflect back and think about those days. And I love any opportunity to get in the gym, too, because it's something empowering moment when I touch the volleyball, you know, it's just. It's something I'm good at. And in the outside world now, my real life, as we used to refer to, you know, you're not good at everything. There's lots of days I lay my head down on the pillow and think, you know, like, man, I yelled at the kids today, or I didn't get this done, and the to do list is so long, and I didn't tackle it all. And I think you need to be aware maybe that you have more failures than successes. A lot of days, as a. You know, as a wife and a mom and a business, we're on, you know, our business venture here with the ranch. And so a lot of days feel more like failure than success. But when I get in the gym and I can touch the volleyball, it's a very. A moment of just kind of a powerful thing. This is something I'm good at. It gets me in a space, you know, where I'm like, oh, I was good at something once. And I just. I just love being in there and doing that with the kids. And so it's just so important, I think, to have those moments, you know, I wasn't able to give them to myself when I was pregnant or had a newborn. And now that the kids are a little bit older, it's very nice for me to get back to some of those things that make. Make me feel good kind of about myself and be able to use skills outside of, you know, housework and farm work. And so I think that that balance is. Is one thing I've. I struggled with, and I also struggled a lot with after retiring. You've said so many nice things about my work ethic and my resilience and that hard work. And I found it hard after stepping away from the team, just being, you know, by myself, all of a sudden, oh, I should do a workout. And everybody around me thinks, well, that should be so easy for you. You are a national team athlete. And it's like, I know, but now I'm totally removed from everything other than my own hard work and my own work, and I'm around. I'm removed from everything. That really kind of inspired me, motivated me, including facility, you know, like, I just. I didn't have it. We're out here on the farm, and.

And so you lost your structure and you lost your why, for sure, you.

Know, and it seemed to everyone else that should be so easy for me because of my background, you know, and it's like, no, that. That isn't. Like, there's a lot of Elements missing that created that environment for me. So I think it's important to be okay with that and recognize it and then find a way to fix it. And I really struggled with that for a lot of years after retiring and then getting back to a little bit of me time, a little bit of time that lit, not the fire that was dead. It's not dead inside of me, it's there. But just, you know, that little bit of something that makes me tick in a different way and really that balance, that balance with your life. Because I just went from national team athlete to out on the farm and you know, it was just, it was very different and it's, it's very rewarding. Our life here is, is so similar, you know, in so many ways. It's not the volleyball and it's not the team, but it is very similar. And I use a lot of things, but just being able to find that balance I think is just, is just so important. And that's, that's young athletes too. Like growing up, I was a multi sport athlete and I'm so thankful for that background, you know. And now it is very common that they focus on one sport, but it is important. Even at a young age, you feel like you have all the energy and you can do this one thing, but find that balance, make sure it stays fun for you. Make sure that it is still something that you're excited to go to the gym. Because ultimately you won't have the performance you want if you're not excited about doing it. Making sure to have that balance, whether it be friends, family, another sport, whatever it is.

It'S that question of.

Having.

For anyone young, any time in life, what else lights you up? What else do you look forward to? What else do you love to do? What other parts of you can be nurtured or nourished? Because when identity is all wrapped up in one thing and that one thing is either going poor or maybe is finished and something else is coming, then there's nothing else to look forward to or have fun with or be excited about. If there's not kind of a number of platforms or a number of different options to draw from to fill our own cups or to support our own different identities instead of just the athlete identity or the mom identity or the, you know, whatever it is. Because most of us who are achievers pour ourselves so fully into one thing, it can become detrimental down the road when there's not another thing to fill the cup or light you up or have a different focus. So that's Very, very powerful for people to hear from you and appreciate because you've experienced so much and that is your words, your shares, your authenticity. Coming from someone who's been so, so skilled and so powerful in the role that you've had, it's incredible to hear your authenticity, your even some of the struggles and things that you've gone through. So I really appreciate you sharing that with everyone. If anyone wants to reach you or ask any questions, you are on Facebook, I believe. Any other areas, any other places, if there's coaches or athletes or business people, whoever want to reach out to you, Facebook or anywhere else.

Yeah, I have my Facebook account. I'm also on Instagram under my married name though. And if anyone was ever connected with you, you know, you know how to get a hold of me too. So. So that's always an option.

Absolutely. Thank you so much, Tammy. You are a powerhouse and thank you for doing what you do, giving back, mentoring people and being such an integral part of what allows us as a country to eat and thrive and all of those things. So thank you, Tammy. Have a beautiful, beautiful day.

Thank you.

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