Kate Shult is an exercise physiologist who has her own practice called Training Edge. She's also a yoga instructor who has worked with Oak Ridge High School track and cross country runners since 2004. I first met Kate when her son Brennan ran for us, and she offered to do yoga classes for our cross country team. At the time I had no experience with yoga and no idea how on Earth that could help us. Over the years she's become a fourth coach for us, addressing the critical area of nutrition for performance and helping us to train our girls as well as possible, in addition to doing a weekly yoga class with our kids.
In this short conversation I ask Kate to begin by explaining what she does with our team, and we segue into a discussion of the ins and outs of helping female athletes to address the many questions and concerns that they and their parents may have about training hard while maintaining good health--especially for the long term. She defines the Female Athlete Triad and explains how she works with our girls and their families. Additionally, she answers the question that many male coaches may ask: how does an adult male coach help female athletes when both the coach and the athlete may have difficultly talking about what they need to talk about?
The answer? Often it's to find someone who is comfortable: a pediatrician, a trainer, a consultant (like Kate). Communication makes issues of eating and body function less daunting than they may seem. As a coach who wants to help all athletes get the best out of themselves, I'm convinced: if we want hardcore athletes we have to help them to take hardcore care of their bodies.
*At the 16:50 mark I had to take a phone call from my son, whose car had just died. That makes for a glitch in the recording. Sorry about that. We got the car towed, and he got a ride home after waiting in the rain for a half hour.*
If you'd like to contact me or Kate, please reach me at my Gmail, and I'll put you in touch with Kate. Or @ORHSXC on Twitter.
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