Beth Laughlin
VP of Marketing and Customer Relations

Most of you know Beth Laughlin as Vive's VP of Marketing and Customer Relations. Many of you don't know, however, that Beth was once an elite gymnast, ranked number 1 in the US and poised for Olympic gold. Somewhere jumbled in a cardboard box in the basement or garage - she's not sure where - are national team leotards, along with gold medals from the National Sports Festival, the US National Championships, the US vs Japan competition, and many other elite competitions.

 

So why isn't Beth on any cereal boxes? In 1983 just 6 months before the Olympic trials, Beth made a difficult decision that would change her life forever and end her quest for Olympic gold. Read on to see what she did, why she did it, and if she has any regrets.

  
VIVE: What allowed you to be so successful in gymnastics?

 

BL: I think I just had an intuitive sense of how to move my body.  I picked things up really quickly.  Mostly, though, I just really enjoyed it.  It was fun and exciting and I started my career really understanding the joy of the sport.  For me, the joy of training and competing were what fueled success. It helped that my first elite coach, Bob Moss, was an excellent spotter, so that made me feel safe just in terms of trying new tricks.

 

V: What does it mean to be a good spotter and why is that important?

 

BL:  Well, as you get to a level where you're flipping and you're twisting and you're airborne over the beam, it's important to have the confidence to just go for it. You can't do that without someone spotting you through the moves, giving you the confidence to go for it without fear of catastrophe. 

 

V: Does that have any applications to your work with kids

 

BL:  Sure.  When we work with a kid or a family at Vive, we really give a lot more attention and support on the front end and then we continue to sort of step back over time to let them do more of the work themselves as they build confidence.  So yeah, spotting has been a metaphor for much of my work with kids.

 

V: Have you brought your athletic passions to your direct work with kids?

 

BL: Yes.  When I worked at girls' boarding school, Will and I took a group of girls who had never really trained for anything and set a goal to compete in a triathlon. One of the girls showed up to the first practice in heels!  It was a motley crew, but all the girls finished.  Will and I were so amazed and so proud.  My best athletic memory of all time was finishing the triathlon with a girl named Hanna; she was truly one of the most difficult girls at the school but she got inspired by this challenge; she was absolutely determined to finish, and asked to run it together.  Over the course of two hours of stumbling, gasping, and giggling our way to the finish line, she and I had finally bonded.  It changed both of our lives.

 

V: So tell me about training for the Olympics.

 

BL:  When I was 14 I moved away from home to train for the 1984 Olympics under Bela Karolyi.  I lived with Mary Lou Retton and Diane Durham.  I was already on the national team, and felt that training with Bela was the next logical step in my career.  At that point, though, I was beginning to lose some of the enjoyment.  It was becoming like a job.  But I felt I really needed to test my will to see if this was just a phase, or a real change of passion.  It was a hard decision to move to Houston-especially coming on the heels of a major injury. But I made the decision to try. 

 

V:  Did you ever beat Mary Lou?

 

BL: (Laughs) I did.  At the National Sports Festival I won and Mary Lou came in second. 

 

V: There's been a lot of attention on the abusive nature of gymnastics training and coaching.  Was that your experience?

 

BL:  At times in my career, yes.  But there are definitely a lot of gymnast/coach relationships where the boundaries get blurred, and where the coach's ego and the gymnasts youth collide in unhealthy ways. Bela, though, was an excellent coach. He was very open to parental involvement and was very no-nonsense, so that was probably the healthiest environment that I ever trained in.

 

V: Did you go to the Olympic trials?

 

BL:  No.  I quit six months before the Olympic trials. By that time I had begun to question why I was doing it and who I was doing it for; I was having a more and more difficult time answering those questions.  I think the turning point was when, in anticipation of the Olympics, Bela asked his top gymnasts to withdraw from school to take correspondence courses so that he could control our workout schedule.  I told him I understood the importance of that, but that my education was too important to me.  So I was the only athlete on the Olympic development squad who stayed in school.  I think that was when I began to wonder, "Is this worth the cost?"

As a 16 year old this was pretty tough to process this.  I remember staying up all night, writing out the pros and cons.  By morning I had made the decision that it was time for me to retire, regardless of the olympic opportunity. 

 

V: It sounds like you were something of a purist about the sport, even at that young age.

 

BL: I felt like I was losing balance in my life and that I was losing my athletic purpose.  When I told Bela about my decision, this gruff Romanian coach became very fatherly, so of course I just burst into tears and cried through the whole conversation. He wisely sensed that my heart was slipping away from the sport and knew, I think, how important a change that was.  Bela told me that I was a smart girl and that he knew I would do well. He just allowed me to feel that it was the right decision.  I'm forever appreciative of that.

 

V:  Was there any disappointment or regret?

 

BL:  No.  It was the right decision for me.

 

V: What did you do after that?

 

BL: I moved back home.  I got a boyfriend, went to the prom, and had a normal senior high school year.  Midway through the year colleges started calling, and I accepted a recruitment offer from Stanford for a full scholarship.  So I dusted off my leotards and went to California. College gymnastics was, by comparison, very low key, so I felt like I could focus on my education and just have fun with gymnastics.

 

V: What advice do you have for other young elite athletes, or young people who are very accomplished at anything?

 

BL: Have fun.  Always be aware of your passion for what you're doing.  Protect it.  Joy and passion are more important than the external recognition those things can produce. 

  

V: Are you still in touch with Mary Lou and Bela?

 

BL:  After working very hard to forge a life away from sport, Will has pushed me to reconnect with that part of my life.  I just contacted Mar Lou after twenty years.  It's really cool.  I haven't reconnected with Bela yet, but I will and I'm looking forward to it.  

 

V:  Has your experience in sport informed your choice of career?

 

BL:  Yes.  I studied psychology as an undergrad and counseling in graduate school with the intention of working with young athletes.   Having painfully but successfully, I hope, navigated my own struggles with identity, I felt like I could connect with young women who were struggling with similar issues.

 

V: What's uniquely tough about being a teenage girl?

 

BL: Girls are so social.  Growing up can be very hard, managing the pull of so many powerful social forces:  friends and school and family and teachers and coaches, all in the context of a foggy and unformed identity.  I see a lot of young women struggling to find their place and their voice in a culture that puts pressure on women to fit into some pretty narrow confines.  I think young women need someone who's not going to judge, who can come alongside them, and just help them feel their way back to who they are.

While enroute to the Olympics, Amanda Thomas of Vive interviewed her friend, Equestrian Rider, Beezie Madden, about her quest for Olympic gold.

Beezie returns for her second consecutive Olympic Games aboard Authentic. Since her gold medal in Team Show Jumping in Athens, Madden and Authentic have had many more impressive achievements together. In 2004 she became the first woman and the first American rider to reach the top three on the Show Jumping world-ranking list. In 2006, Madden and Authentic earned individual silver and contributed to team silver at World Championships. In 2007 Madden was awarded her second Whitney Stone Cup for her consistent excellence in the sport, making her the first person to have ever won this prestigious accolade twice.

We asked Breezie a few questions to learn a little more about her journey to the Olympics. Good luck, Breezie! We will be cheering for you!!

When did you know you wanted to strive for the ultimate goal of the Olympics?

"As a little kid I had that dream of being in the Olympics and in my mid-20's I knew then that I had a real chance."

As a young adult how did you maintain your focus on your dream?

"Step by step.  I looked for a job that would help me get there.  I started out with a student job with an Olympic caliber rider and step by step I began creating support systems to help me get to my end goal."

When faced with challenges and obstacles, how did you overcome them?

"I always tried to keep my end goal in sight and believed in myself and my supports.  I had to keep in mind what was best for my horses and sometimes I had to alter my plans a little bit, but tried not to get too far off of my path.  I had guidelines to follow, sometimes I had to slow down or speed up; but ultimately I kept believing in myself, my horse, and tried to keep my vision on the overall goal."

What would you want to convey to young people about maintaining their hope of achieving their dreams?

"Find something you are passionate about and make your passion your living; let your passion be your guide."

Beezie will be competing on August 15, 17, 18 and hopefully the 21st.  See your local listings for details.

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Jeni Breezely, Office Manager
Two things stick out for me one is playing field hockey under the lights at night for the state champs in high school. Even though we lost the game, nothing could beat the excitement and camaraderie of being part of a team that had made it that far. The other one was a solo adventure running the Burlington City Marathon. While most of my friends were partying it up late night prior to college graduation, I was going to bed early and training every morning. Although I couldn't run the entire way, I did finish in just over 4 hours and felt pretty darn proud. I couldn't sit down for a week after that but I sure could eat a lot! 

Doug Carney, Mentor
I was captain of the track team at Denison University in Ohio during my senior year. My individual accomplishment was going to nationals in the 110 meter high hurdles. The hurdles are over a meter tall, practically up to my navel. My best time was 14.3 seconds. That's really good for a small college but not Olympic material. I was one of three athletes from my team to go to the national meet. But really my proudest moment was when our team won the conference championship that year. We were the best of ten teams and it took the effort of our whole team of talented athletes to win. It felt amazing to be a part of that day, a leader and member of a fantastic group of hardworking and dedicated people. 

Josh Carpenter, Parent Coach
My first triathlon- my goals was to NOT finish last and I ended up placing for my age group.

Beth Laughlin, V.P. of Marketing and Customer Relations
I think one of my most meaningful athletic acheivements recently was completing an off road triathalon with a student that trained with me at Auldern Academy. We set a goal togehter, pushed through training for something that neither one of us has ever done and came through the finish line together. It was a great day for both of us!

Rohini Ross, Parent Coach
The athletic achievement I am most proud of happened after I was thoroughly humiliated at the age of eight at summer camp when I was deemed such a poor swimmer that I had to stay in the demarcated shallow portion of the lake by myself when all my camper buddies were swimming and jumping off platforms in the deep part.  So when I got back home I immediately signed up for swimming lessons and worked hard at it until I made it to the silver level.

Amanda Thomas, Referral Liaison
When I was 20, my proudest moment was jogging out on the floor of Rec Hall at Penn State as a Nittany Lion Volleyball Player. Now, my proudest moment is that I am still good friends with so many of my teammates, coaches and players across the world. One of my proudest moments was when I was coaching in New Zealand; I coached the Scorpion Volleyball Team in Dunedin New Zealand both men and women.  My women's team was ranked 30th or something the first year and the second year, they where amazing and impressed me with their commitment, determination, and love for each other.  They finished 8th.  It was an amazing experience to see them glow with pride and confidence. 

Andrew Larke, Mentor
My proudest athletic accomplishment was winning the Marshfield High School Sportsmanship Award for school athletes as captain of the tennis squad as a senior.

Judy Ford, Parent Coach
I don't really have an athletic accomplishment since I'm not very athletic.  Probably the most athletic thing I've done is zip lining in Costa Rica.

Jamey Hyman, Mentor
I can still taste the sweat! I was 11 years old, and up until this year, a veritable couch potato. 1 year ago, I had dragged my butt from its perch by the TV to watch my parents cross the finish line of the 6-mile Peachtree Road Race. When I saw them, something in me sort of flamed up! I felt ashamed that they could accomplish such a feat and that I couldn't. That night, I went for my first run. I barely made it to the end of the street! Next year, though, I crossed the finish line with them.

Will Laughlin, V.P. of Business Development
Training my brother in law for his first marathon at the age of 55.  He had been inactive for years and was really out of shape.  At the end of three months of training, though, he'd lost 20 pounds and finished the race!  I was really proud of him and super excited to have infected someone else with my passion for sport.