Liz Gleadle knows that the smallest improvements could lead to the biggest breakthroughs.
The Canadian record-holder in the javelin has learned valuable lessons throughout her career, and she hopes to pass the wisdom and insight that she’s gained to the next generation of athletes.
“It would be a huge shame to waste everything I’ve learned to not pass it on, or to only pass it on to one or two people,” she said.
Gleadle did everything that she could do in her power to make her first Olympic team, including stopping school, changing her lifestyle and moving to what she said was the middle of nowhere.
She said that her thought process was to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. While it worked, she realized that there was another way that could be more beneficial not only for her, but for other young athletes as well.
“It would be so great if I could do this for someone else,” she said. “You don’t need to try to do absolutely everything – you can start here and make a huge move forward and maintain your sanity, and you don’t have to upheave your life to move forward.”
That’s where the Varsity Glow comes into play.
The goal of the program is to get young athletes to the next level with strategic and realistic high-performance habits – specifically athletes in the 15-20 year-old age range. The program will initially consist of a couple of seminars that build upon each other. The first seminar will consist of basic concepts that Gleadle feels that those who participate to be aware of will make people aware of their choices.
From there, Gleadle wants to follow up with the participants to see what their sticking points are and to help them take away two to three things that they can follow through with. Gleadle says that the larger vision of the program is for it to be a four year course.
In addition to her own experiences, she talked with other young athletes to get a feel for what they needed, or what they felt was lacking from their respective programs. She thought it would be more useful for the young athletes to be more specific, that way it fits the student-athlete lifestyle.
Through the program, Gleadle hopes to continue her role as a big sister and mentor to younger athletes, especially since she didn’t have that influence throughout her career.
“I didn’t have someone to take my hand and say that I’m going to make your life a whole lot easier right now, and you don’t have to struggle so hard at this exact point,” she said.
Liz hopes to go to different Universities and offer these courses in-person. She’s not sure when she’s going to retire from the sport, but she’s excited to help others in this new chapter in her life.
“I’m really excited to start working in this area,” she said. “It’s the next phase of life a little bit, I don’t know whether or not I’m going to retire or not this year, but it’s really exciting to stay within sport and to still have my finger on the pulse and hope to help some athletes push through and get to the next level.”
For more information about the Varsity Glow, be sure to follow them on Instagram and on Gleadle’s personal website, https://www.lizgleadle.com.
