Transcript
Cheryl Gilberg
Hello, and welcome to this edition of "Coffee With.” I'm Cheryl Gilberg and I'm excited to have with me in the studio, Kerri Strug, olympian and gold medalist. Thank you Kerri for joining us today.
Kerri Strug
Thanks for having me, I'm glad to be here.
Cheryl Gilberg
So take us back to that iconic and inspiring moment in 1996. It's July 23rd, the Georgia Dome, prime time, millions of people are watching on TV. You're clearly hurt after your first vault, and now in order for the US team to win gold, you have to perform again. What happened?
Kerri STrug
Well, after my first vault I was pretty much just flabbergasted. This is not supposed to happen. This is not any competition, this is the Olympic games. We thought, this is the first ever women's gymnastics gold medal on the line, for the team competition in an Olympics. So, to be honest, it's kind of ironic that everybody knows me for that final vault where I did land on the one foot and I clinched that performance because most of my gymnastics career, I was known as the girl who had a lot of talent but couldn't put it together when it counted most. And I think it took me years of my competitive career to kind of finally realize I could only control me, and I couldn't focus on everyone else and think about every situation and look at other girls' scores, that I had to just focus on the task at hand.
So I had a lot of years of practice of doing the wrong thing, to then try and do the right thing at that moment. So I looked at my coach, Bela Karolyi and as everybody knows he said, "You can do it, Kerri." And I think that's kind of interesting that that's all he came up with at such a critical moment, because he didn't talk about the technique of the vault, nothing gymnastically. It was just, you can do it. That's what I tell my young toddlers, right before they go up for a competition or to go to bat or whatnot. But I think he knew I had put in the time and I had put in the effort and my muscle memory knew what to do. So I had to just stay focused on that task at hand, be positive, and so I said to myself, "you can, and you will do this." And went on automatic pilot, there was no magical words of wisdom, no epiphany, just a lot of hard work through the years that I think paid off in that moment.
Cheryl Gilberg
Well it was that absolutely truly inspiring, to watch it live. So sticking with gymnastics for a bit, no pun intended. Is it true that gymnasts are taught not to keep score during the competition?
Kerri Strug
Yes, from a very early age, they tell you, this is a subjective sport, you can't control the score but you can control yourself and your routines. Again, a lot easier said than done when you tell an eight year old, "Don't worry about the score, just focus on you." And so again, it took me a long time to learn to just run that tape through my head, focus on what I needed and be mentally tough and think about my routine. But through the years, I eventually learned how to do that, but it took a lot of practice, both physically and then also, mentally visualizing things in your head and having a plan of what you're going to say to yourself and how you're going to concentrate on you and not everything around you.
Cheryl Gilberg
So how do you think about applying that mindset maybe in our daily lives or in our careers?
Kerri Strug
Of course, it's very applicable to any facet of life. In so many instances, you can't control what happens but you can control how you handle the situation. And if you're prepared, you can move forward. And of course, we're going to have barriers but if you're mentally tough and you're physically fit or you've practiced your field, you'll know what to do.
Cheryl Gilberg
So moving on to your life after gymnastics, you took on a career working with children, first as an elementary school teacher and then in DC with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, what drew you to working with young adults and children?
Kerri Strug
Well, the majority of my adolescence I was focused just on me and it was all about me and my gymnastics career. So after the Olympics, because of my success I was able to kind of work with various children's charities and I realized that I could connect with these youth. I am very small statured and I have a high voice, and it was very self satisfying to have an impact on others. And I knew that I wanted to do that in my career of choice. I wasn't quite sure what that might be, that I wanted it to involve children and making a difference. And so I tried teaching, and I have to say I commend all those teachers out there because it is a lot harder than you think. I enjoyed it, but I just knew if I wanted to have my own children that wasn't the right career for me. I wanted to have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for them when I came home from work.
So I was very fortunate after working in a couple of different departments in DC to fall at the Department of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. And I audit programs that receive federal funding for high risk youth. My focus area is in mentoring, so prevention type programs, the big ones everybody's familiar with, are Boys and Girls Club of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters, National 4-H. And because they receive so much federal funding which is essentially taxpayers' money, we need to make sure that they're utilizing those funds efficiently and effectively. And so I go out on site and make sure that that's happening, it's really rewarding because a lot of these children, they're in a very different situation than I was when I was a youngster. And my parents were always supporting me emotionally, financially, and physically, whereas we're providing them opportunities to make the right choices and to make the best of their situation, and it's very fulfilling in that sense.
Cheryl Gilberg
Oh, thank you for giving back, it does sound like it's really, really fulfilling. So switching gears a bit in light of Women's History Month and International Women's Day, do you have any inspiring thoughts to share or maybe even advice for young females starting in their career?
Kerri Strug
Well, there's no question women have really made a stance and it's a great place right now where we are. I think women have really come together and, the opportunities are limitless. I think, just look at the number of women in Congress, look at what women athletes have done since Title 9. Having a four year old daughter it makes me proud to see the steps that women have made and that they're advocating for themselves and that we have a strong voice. And so I only hope that she will emulate all of these different women that have served as role models and that she really truly believes and knows that her dreams are limitless and she can do whatever it is that she wants to do.
Cheryl Gilberg
So I feel like there's so much talk about mindful wellness these days, whether it's yoga, Pilates, CrossFit, meditation, whatever the latest craze is. How would you describe your approach to health and wellness, and what's your fitness routine now?
Kerri Strug
Well, my fitness routine now is I really like the elliptical machine and running after my children. I do play soccer with both of them, occasionally I'll try and throw the football around, not so good at that as my son would say. My son likes tennis so I've picked that up a bit but I don't think it's really my thing. So for me, it's about having fun now, for so long, although I love the sport of gymnastics, that was more like a job. I trained, eight hours a day five to six days a week, whereas now I really think it's important just to get some physical activity each and every day. So I make an effort either if I don't get in my own personal exercise in the morning to then go play with my children in the evening at their activity. So yeah, definitely 45 minutes to 60 minutes a day is important. It's good for your stress level, it's good for your heart, your cardiovascular system. And I think we have to lead by example too, having two youngsters I want them to know, mommy didn't just exercise all the time when she was young and then now do nothing. It's important that it's a part of your lifestyle.
Cheryl Gilberg
Absolutely, great advice. Now, in order to get to know you a little bit better we want to do something we call the "Mizuho Lightning Round". Okay, are you ready?
Kerri Strug
I'm ready.
Cheryl Gilberg
Coffee or tea?
Kerri Strug
Coffee
Cheryl Gilberg
Vanilla or chocolate?
Kerri Strug
Chocolate.
Cheryl Gilberg
Dogs or cats?
Kerri Strug
Dogs.
Cheryl Gilberg
Dogs, definitely. Winter or summer?
Kerri Strug
Summer, I live in Arizona.
Cheryl Gilberg
And the Olympics, right?
Kerri Strug
And the Olympics.
Cheryl Gilberg
Texting or talking?
Kerri Strug
Talking.
Cheryl Gilberg
Pizza or sushi?
Kerri Strug
Pizza.
Cheryl Gilberg
And last one, Hawaii or Vegas?
Kerri Strug
Hawaii, definitely.
Cheryl Gilberg
Absolutely. Well on that note, Kerri thank you so much for playing along, for being a good sport and sharing your insights today.
Kerri Strug
Thanks for having me, it was fun.
Cheryl Gilberg
It was my pleasure.