BEHIND THE WORK

My
Journey

The human story behind the performance. The lived experience behind the expertise.

Strength of Will Training was built on more than credentials, methodologies, or achievements.

​

It grew from a lifetime shaped by discipline, resilience, and a deep understanding of what it means to pursue excellence — not only in sport, but in life. This page reflects the personal foundation beneath my professional work: the experiences that shaped my philosophy, my standards, and the way I support athletes today.

​

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

​

This quote has stayed with me for years.

It is not metaphorical — it is lived experience.

It represents the quiet strength required to keep moving forward, even when the path is uncertain, and to find meaning, clarity, and purpose in the hardest seasons of life.

​

My story in figure skating began in childhood and grew into a full athletic career that took me across the country and eventually around the world. After competing as an NCAA varsity athlete in both figure skating and cheerleading, I spent nine years touring internationally as a professional show skater. Those years taught me not only performance, artistry, and athletic mastery, but how culture, environment, and leadership shape the way athletes learn, grow, and thrive.

​

Living and working across the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East expanded my perspective in ways that formal education never could. I experienced firsthand how different systems support or limit athlete development, how culture influences training and communication, and what athletes truly need to succeed long-term. Those environments taught me to see beyond single techniques or single training plans — toward the broader performance ecosystem that shapes an athlete’s entire experience.

​

My academic work deepened that understanding.

Earning advanced degrees in kinesiology, psychology, and human performance — while simultaneously building a career as a coach, judge, educator, and consultant — allowed me to integrate science with lived practice. It shaped the multidisciplinary lens I use today.

​

And then, life added another dimension.

Navigating cancer treatment while continuing my academic and professional journey redefined my relationship with resilience, longevity, and the athlete’s lived experience. It sharpened my clarity about what truly matters in performance, in health, and in supporting athletes as whole human beings. It strengthened my belief in sustainable excellence — excellence that honors both ambition and well-being.

My story is not linear. It is layered, expansive, and shaped by continual reinvention. And it is those layers that inform the work I do today.

​

My experiences taught me that:

• Performance is never just physical — it is cognitive, emotional, environmental, and deeply human.

• Athletes thrive when coaches, systems, and expectations align with their developmental readiness.

• Longevity requires precision, clarity, and intentional recovery — not just harder training.

• Environments shape athletes as much as technique does.

• Resilience is not a trait; it is a practiced skill developed over time and through adversity.

• Sustainable excellence emerges when the system honors the whole athlete, not just the result.

These principles became the foundation of my methodology and the reason I approach athlete development through a systems-based, athlete-centered lens.

​

Today, every aspect of my consulting — technical development, movement analysis, LTAD strategy, organizational design, and performance psychology — is grounded in the intersections of:

• lived experience

• scientific knowledge

• coaching and judging expertise

• global cultural perspective

• long-term development philosophy

I understand the athlete’s world not from observation, but from having lived it — in competition, in performance, in coaching, in leadership, in international environments, and in moments that demanded profound resilience.

​

Behind the systems I build is a deep respect for what athletes endure, what they aspire to become, and what they need in order to thrive long-term.

​

This is the heart of my work, and the reason Strength Of Will Training exists.

​

Behind every methodology is a lived story.

​

Behind my work is the belief that strength — real strength — is built over time, through clarity, intention, and the courage to keep moving forward.