She's an all-American swimmer, part of the California Hall of Fame, a world record holder, and a gold medal winner; she is Staciana Winfield.
Show Highlights
- She is an Olympic gold medalist, world record holder, in the Hall of Fame at the University of California Berkeley, where she set school records, an all-American swimmer, a teacher, a yogi, and the founder of the Swimming Forward Foundation
- How becoming an assistant coach to Andi Kawamoto-Klatt at Irvine Novaquatics Swimming after winning her Gold Medal at the Olympics allowed her to continue to be involved in the sport she loves
- What she has learned during her time as a swim coach at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School
- She has been coaching for 20 plus years at the high school and college levels and teaching Physical Education and Health and Wellness at the middle and high school levels
- Why her students are so grateful after completing a yoga session with her
- How her dad’s philosophy that “you are your own master” helped shape her into the leader, she is today
- What she learned from having coaches who were passionate about what they did and passionate about guiding her
- What she does to help build relationships with her students and athletes and why it’s so important
- How the competitiveness and politics played into her and fellow Olympic teammate Amy Van Dyken’s experience during the Olympic process
- One of the beauties of swimming for her is that the sport is time-based instead of reliant on coaches or judges
- How swimming and Coach Dave Salo helped her through the fear and anger, she felt after being diagnosed with alopecia at 12-years-old and deal with articles highlighting it during her Olympic career
- How becoming a role model for others revealed a network of support from others with the condition and friends/family of those with alopecia
- Why she started her yoga journey
- How yoga is the perfect exercise for people as they get older, for both physical and mental wellness
- What the International Swimming League hopes to bring to the world of swimming
- How excited she is to return to CUI as a professor and keynote speaker
Tags: Masters in Coaching, Coaching, MCAA Podcast, Alumni, Olympics, Team USA, Swim