What does it truly mean to engage with sport? In a deeply personal and inspiring conversation on Episode 5 of Sports Clamor, host PJ Kwong welcomes Olympian, World Cup alpine skiing medalist, broadcaster, and multifaceted communicator, Kelly VanderBeek. This episode ventures beyond the metrics of participation, exploring the profound emotional, mental, and communal impact of sport and movement.

Kelly shares her journey of facing down intense fear, the critical role of language in shaping our experiences, and why, ultimately, the most important thing is simply to "Just Move!"

Beyond the Podium: Facing Fear, Understanding Emotion

For many, the idea of downhill ski racing evokes sheer terror. Kelly doesn't shy away from that reality. She vividly recounts her first downhill experience at 14: "I was terrified... crying, shaking, my vision had narrowed... I was as scared as you can get." Pushed out of the start gate, she barely made a few gates before going out. But in that moment of recovery, an important shift occurred.

"I saw the athletes going by... and I was like, 'Oh that doesn't look so hard.' ...And then I started to go, 'Wait a sec, what was that emotion that I just felt that brought me to my knees?'" For Kelly, the "addiction" wasn't to adrenaline, but to understanding that powerful emotion, learning to "harness it... manage it so it didn't manage me." This ability to walk beside fear has served her throughout life.

"Words Matter": The Power of Language in Sport and Life

A central theme of the discussion is the profound impact of language. "Words matter," Kelly emphasizes, "Communication is connection. Without connection, we're not communicating." This applies to how we speak to servers, our children, and importantly, how we frame our own emotions.

She highlights the shift in mental health language: "It's like, 'I'm not anxious.' No, no. 'I'm feeling anxious.' This moment is causing me anxiety. Changing our language around emotion is exceptionally powerful." This nuanced understanding allows for healthier emotional processing and mental toughness.

Storytelling and Validating Experience: Keys to Connection

Whether working with athletes or corporate leaders, Kelly champions storytelling and the crucial step of validation. "I really try and validate before I problem solve," she explains. Acknowledging someone's feelings and perspective ("Okay, I hear you, I understand you...") creates a receptive space for learning and growth. This is particularly vital when coaching youth who might be overwhelmed by fear or pressure.

Mental Toughness, Mental Health, and Rediscovering Play

Kelly challenges the notion that today's kids aren't tough. Instead, she sees sport as a prime arena for developing mental resilience through a growth mindset – learning from every fall, every setback.

She shares a pivotal moment in her own career when, at 20, feeling burnt out and six seconds behind the leaders, she was ready to quit. Deciding to ski her "last" World Cup races purely for herself, she explains, "Guess where those other four seconds were? ...It was bringing that childlike play back into my life that was what unleashed my talent."

Thriving in the "Attention Economy": Trust & Transparency for Sports Orgs

In a world of endless choices – the "attention economy" – Kelly stresses that for sports organizations to thrive, they must build trust through integrity, transparency, and consistent communication.

"If you've built trust and you've built a community and you deliver on promises made, then people buy in," she notes. Good governance is key, especially in how organizations manage "bad apples" or challenging situations, ensuring safety and integrity.

The Foundation: Lifelong Movement

Echoing sentiments from previous guest Scott Russell, Kelly underscores the importance of fundamental movement skills learned young. "If you aren't learning the building blocks of movement when you're young, it's very hard to feel confident taking on a physical sport later in life." Sport isn't just about elite pathways; it's about "health for life, movement for life, community for life, engagement for life."

Kelly's Call to Action: Just Move!

Ultimately, Kelly VanderBeek's message is beautifully simple yet profound: "Move. Doing something is better than doing nothing. And movement is connection. Movement is a way to engage with our surroundings, engage with our community... Sometimes it just takes that first step."

Our Take: Fostering Connection Through Movement

Kelly's insights resonate deeply with Communiti's mission. While she speaks to the internal and interpersonal dynamics of sport, the environment organizations create is crucial. Building that trust she highlights, ensuring clear communication, and making programs transparently accessible are foundational.

Communiti aims to provide the tools that help sports organizations create these positive, connected environments. Whether it's through a branded marketplace (like Volleyball Connect) that simplifies discovery and builds a clear community hub, or by enabling seamless online booking and communication that respects people's time and expectations, our goal is to help remove barriers and make it easier for everyone to take that first step and "Just Move!"

Dive deeper into Kelly VanderBeek's inspiring journey and wisdom:

• Hear more about her approach to managing high-stakes pressure.

• Learn about her parallel passion for photography and visual storytelling.

• Get her full perspective on governance in sport.

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