Athlete Profile: Erin Little

“Erin Little? Really? I love people with ironic last names.” – Bender

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Erin Little at Syracuse University

“Optimist Prime” as we like to refer to her, is possibly the most excited, most peppy person I ever have had the good fortune to work with. At a solid six feet of awesomeness, Erin’s laugh is infectious, her drive unparallelled, and her support of those around her is unwavering.

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Erin attempts a hit during a volleyball match.

A little bit about Miss Little: she is a recent NCAA Division 1 volleyball standout at Syracuse University, and was a professional player with Finnish League Bronze Medalists Oriveden Ponnistus VC. As you can see, Erin came to the CA well-decorated. Her sensational attitude toward others and training made her an easy fit here.

There was work to do though, and finding the right training partner was important. This is where “Optimist Beta” comes in. Lauren Salter, a CA sponsored athlete, got a tweet one day from Erin, who inquired about the Facebook pictures under Contemporary Athlete’s page. The two kept in touch via Twitter until Erin returned from Finland. Only a few days later, Erin made her CA debut.

Lauren has been as much a driving force and supportive role for Erin as Erin has been for Lauren. Together, they have learned to succeed here in the CA and out.

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Attempting a block

There is something important to be said for having a great training partner: the right one will always make you perform better and vice versa. Erin’s place in the CA is important: She is an athlete of constant confidence, of moral support, and ultimately she is a leader by example.

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Erin (right) and her training partner, Lauren Salter during warmups at Contemporary Athlete

I’m not sure of what Erin thought when she first showed up at the CA. Probably that I was a little crazy as most of what we do is unconventional, but Lauren talked her into staying and she has been a stalwart of hard work and fun. This carries through her work within the CA Professional Athletes as well as with the other amazing people I work with in my open training groups.

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Off-weight lunge and twist…a “favorite”.

Erin, like many of the athletes I see walk through my doors, suffers from OTS (Over Training Syndrome). Too many days of training in a gym, on a court, and on game day, and not enough rest had left all kinds of issues in her body, and she was headed down the road towards injury. We reigned in her training and essentially started at square one with her lifting.

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A particularly early Monday morning usually means coffee in hand during warmups.

Erin’s foundation as an athlete is solid, so stripping away the clutter was easy to do. With the right support, her goal-setting is moving forward, and watching her grow has been extremely fun. Erin recently decided to return to her alma mater to act as an assistant volleyball coach in order to further develop her own game, and losing her for the school year will be hard. Knowing she will be back next summer, though, has made that loss much easier.

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Athlete Profile: Lauren Salter

Lauren Salter (Part 1)

Life offers you what you need when you need it. The question is will you know how to see it and will you accept the opportunity when it walks through your door? – Bender

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Lauren pushes her sled at the start of 2013 US Skeleton National Championships

Lauren goes by many names here in the CA, Captain of the “Salty Crew”, “L”, “Salter”, and my personal favorite “Optimist Beta” (Thanks Erin!). All of them are good, yet small indicators of who she really is.

I met Lauren through a great friend of mine, Lindsey Murray, who was Lauren’s roommate when they both slid skeleton together. Lauren was visiting Saratoga Springs, and Lindsey told her she should come check out the gym while she was in town.

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Working on snatch

Lauren came during a Saturday workout and we talked a bit of shop before I said I would love to help her train if she decided to move to Saratoga for the summer. A few months later, I got a phone call saying she was moving down, and wanted to know when she could start. I replied, “Great! I’ll see you in 6 to 8 weeks”.

She seemed perplexed.

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Lauren (right) and Erin Little during a heavy lift day

As her trainer (I’m not sure what she actually calls me) I was going to help her get to the next step, but she was coming off of a season that essentially had lasted eleven months. Lauren needed time off. So I made her take it.

We talk a lot about what training is, and I have a simple formula. W+R=T (Work + Recovery = Training). It’s not complicated, but it takes all of those parts to make things happen. “R” is what she needed, so that is what I told her to do. During her month and a half of rest,  she apparently finished several TV series via Netflix.

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Another day, another test.

Lauren’s first day back was with my super awesome “Team XXX” (the Tuesday night women’s group). Unfortunately, she came out of the “pan” that is the Olympic Training Center, and into the “fire” that is CA. It was a dreaded “cards” day, where each suit is a different workout, and the number on the card is the number of repetitions the athlete does.  I am pretty much sure that Lauren will never look at step-ups the same way  again. She got through day one, but the road was long and full of adversity.

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Lauren and Haley Sive (right)

We all come upon forks in our psyche at one time or another. As we go from “faking it” to “making it,” there is a place where we are unsure, insecure, and question everything. Eventually, it takes us to a place where we ask no more questions, put our head down, and accept our wants and desires in order to take the next step.

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Braving the heat during an early track day

Let’s jump ahead a bit.  Lauren has now learned that “awesome” is a mindset, and it comes from somewhere that even most 13-year-olds know instinctively. Ironically, a 13-year-old client of mine reminded her of this during a goal setting session.

In order to win races, games, or matches, an athlete has to be strong and fast. If they want to be fast, they have to have to have fun. If they are having fun, then they will be awesome. As we get more experience our views change, but ultimately, it’s about having fun. If you want to win a 5k, or go to the Olympics, it all boils down to having fun, because if it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing.

20130524-213649More on Lauren at www.dashofsalter.com

Read her blog post for USBSF: The “O” Word