Three-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith is a coach, public speaker, and basketball icon. Katie attended Ohio State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Life and Human Sciences and, during her freshman year, led the Buckeyes to the Big Ten Championship and the NCAA title game. In 2014, Katie earned her Master’s degree in Medical Dietetics. She won two WNBA Championships with the Detroit Shock and two ABL Championships with the Columbus Quest. Katie was also a seven-time WNBA All-Star and is named among the WNBA All-Decade team. Katie was Head Coach of the WNBA New York Liberty and served as an analyst for women’s collegiate basketball at ESPN. In 2020, Katie joined the Minnesota Lynx to serve as its official Assistant Coach.

Katie joins us today to share the motivation, work, and learning it takes to be the best in any endeavor. You’ll hear about her journey to becoming an Olympic athlete and coach. She outlines insights on coaching she picked up while she was still an athlete and discusses the value of communication in coaching. You’ll also learn about the factors that make great coaches and going for gold in your field.

“Take pride in whatever you’re doing–school, sports, mowing the lawn–whatever it is, do it at a level where you can take pride in and other people don’t have to correct you.” - Katie Smith

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

• Katie’s childhood and her road to becoming an MVP college basketball player, Olympic athlete, and coach
• Where Katie’s motivation and drive to do well comes from
• Her recruitment into collegiate sports and how she realized she was meant for sports and not dentistry
• How Katie started her career in the Olympics
• Katie’s first Olympic ceremony and what it feels like to represent your country as an Olympic athlete
• Why getting selected as an astronaut is similar to becoming an Olympic athlete
• Instilling work ethic in people and creating motivation
• The insights Katie picked up from her coaches
• The importance of communication in coaching
• Katie’s pathway from athlete to coach and the lessons she learned along the way
• The time commitment involved in being a sports coach
• Katie’s thoughts on Name, Image, and Likeness in collegiate sports
• Her advice to young people figuring out their way through life and career

Our Favorite Quotes:

• “The best coaches are confident enough to allow us to be ourselves. They embrace what we bring to the table: personality or game.” - Katie Smith
• “All the things we do come together to make us who we are.” - Katie Smith

Connect with Katie Smith:

• Katie Smith Website

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

In this podcast, you can explore, reflecting on lessons learned from life so far and from my brilliant and ever-inquisitive guests. We explore together in this very moment from right where you are--spaceship not required.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Visit my website at kathysullivanexplores.com to sign up for seven astronaut tips to improving your life on earth and be the first to discover future episodes and learn about more exciting adventures ahead!

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