Kara Winger: Hello again. Welcome to another TrueSport Expert Series video in 2022. I’m Kara Winger and we’re here with Nadia Kyba. We’re going to talk about overcoming generational blindspots for better communication and relationships in general. So, generations, kids and parents, me and my grandparents, etc., etc., have different ways of communicating, right?
Nadia Kyba: Absolutely.
Kara Winger: In this time, there’s a lot of change happening, like how can we confront generational blindspots, overcome them and communicate better in sport?
Nadia Kyba: It’s a great question and I’m really excited about this topic because I see it happening a lot in sport just starting out with what do we mean by generational blindspot. Yeah. So, generational blindspots really are contributed to by the way that we see the world, by the way, depending on when we’ve been raised and how we’ve been raised and our age, and they contribute to this whole idea of when we think things should be a certain way. And that’s where we sometimes will find that we have blindspots because in our minds, maybe they should be a certain way, but for someone who’s 20 years younger, they should be a different way. And certainly that impacts communication, it impacts language, and it can cause a lot of rifts where people are making assumptions about each other and forming beliefs that are not based on what’s actually happening.
Kara Winger: I get intimidated by like pop culture as younger generations like come up and are in the workforce, are on my teams. I don’t know what they’re talking about, whether it’s a TikTok dance or like the newest music. And I, you know, I’m not embarrassed that I’m dating myself because it’s a natural thing growing older. And how can we bridge that gap, whether it’s social media or pop culture or what have you? How do we make that leap to communicate intergenerationally? What’s the most important thing?
Nadia Kyba: Well, I think that it’s important to be aware of where your blindspots are. So, rather than assigning a value to it, so, the way that I communicate may be as a head coach who’s 45 years old, would be by emailing. And my expectation is that if I’m working with an assistant coach who’s 20 years old, that they respond to my email and acknowledge that they’ve gotten it and maybe answer the email if there’s a question involved. However, I think that for the younger generation that’s not part of their culture. So they don’t feel the need to send that response email. They just get the email and take in the information and then move forward. Whereas I may think that that’s rude or that they’re poor communicators and yet they’re not in terms of their generation. So, I think that just being open to understanding that different generations do things differently and understanding some of the reasons behind why they do what they do. In my mind, the core to all of this is relationship building. The core is solid communication and working together as a team, whether that be a sports team, whether that be a team of coaches or a team of sports administrators. It’s about building relationships so that if there is misunderstanding, that’s based on things like generational blindspots, you’re able to communicate about that and the way that you build relationships is getting to know each other outside of the platform that you know each other on. So using social media and just understanding where people are coming from and why they do the things that they do.
Kara Winger: Yeah. What makes them tick, what they’re interested in, like just shooting a post to somebody lets them know that like something about this resonates with me as a human being, like at my core. And that’s just such a cool component of the world that we live in now. We are socially distanced, but we can have so much more in common because people are so interesting and we relate to them in a different way in all these different avenues of communication to build relationships, love it. So ,how important is it to, in the spirit of building relationships, just state your needs, like know what your needs are so that you can build a relationship with somebody that you need to communicate with effectively?
Nadia Kyba: It’s so important because to me that comes down to trust. And if you don’t trust someone, you’re not going to be able to work well together. So, if you don’t trust someone to respond to an email or a text or whatever, where you’re communicating within a timeframe that you’re needing, then you’re going to have a lot of difficulty moving forward. I hear what you’re saying, if that’s not how they communicate, that’s fine and great. The key is to have that open conversation about what both of your needs are and what your preferences are, and then come to an agreement on how you are going to communicate. And then if one of you isn’t doing what you say you’re going to do, have that conversation like, hey, we agreed to communicate within 24 hours of getting a text, text back, or email an acknowledgment that you received my email, whatever it may look like, but have a clear agreement and a guideline of how you’re going to work together.
Kara Winger: Yeah, set the expectation early. I love that. Especially if you are in a coach-athlete relationship. That’s much closer than what I’m doing right with these fellow athletes and so much more important to keep building that relationship. So, is that one of the benefits of overcoming these generational blindspots? Like what are some great things that can happen when you communicate well across generations?
Nadia Kyba: Well, you, first of all, are then able to manage conflict when it comes up, because that’s very normal. And if you are making a whole bunch of assumptions about people based on generational blindspots, then you’re going to have a tough time communicating through that conflict because you’ve already got all these preconceived notions about the other person. If it’s someone who’s older, they may think that the younger person is being lazy or they’re just, you know, they don’t know how to write an email anymore or, you know, communicate face to face. And a younger person may just think that the older person’s out of the loop and they don’t know how things are done these days. And one example that I’ve seen recently is I was teaching a course at a university and they were taking notes on their phones. And my assumption was that they were all on Snapchat and I started to get upset about that. And I think that that happens with coaches a lot as well. And it could be that they’re using phones as a way to document what’s happening at practice. Another example is that I see the younger generation doing more is they’re very open about talking about mental health and mental wellness and that makes some older people a little bit uncomfortable. Right? So, having that conversation about, you know, are we going to have these conversations on our team? What are they going to look like considering everybody’s comfort level and just respecting that.
Kara Winger: Yeah. Creating space for conversations that are going to push everyone forward but maybe aren’t something that an older generation is comfortable with. Yeah. That idea of leadership from younger generations is so cool to me that just like any attribute, any trait of a human being, youth and a fresh perspective can really help you grow as an older person, so, super fun.
Nadia Kyba: I absolutely agree. I learned so much.
Kara Winger: So, you know, I’m a pretty good texter. I’m 35. I’ve still got good dexterity, blah, blah, blah. But I’ve also always been really good at in-person communication, conflict management. I have had to have some really difficult conversations in the course of my athletic career to kind of state my own needs in a way that I really had to think through and package for somebody that I know thought differently than me. And I’ve always prioritized doing that in-person. So for me, that’s my comfort zone. But is that always the best way to communicate?
Nadia Kyba: Well, it’s so funny that you’re asking that because I preach in-person communication as a conflict management principle. Like you cannot manage conflict by text or email. That said, I think it’s really important to acknowledge that everybody has a different comfort level with in-person communication and, you know, if you are working with someone who is more comfortable with texting, then it’s incumbent on yourself to be flexible enough that if that’s what they want, that you go with that. And I think that that’s really key and especially right now with the pandemic. I think that a lot of young people are at a practice with the face to face communication. We’ve had the benefit of more years than they have with practicing it and, you know, practicing speaking publicly. And so, just being kind and recognizing that and recognizing that it is a bit of a blindspot for us because it’s not something that we grew up with, texting, whereas this is one of their key communication tools.
Kara Winger: And the honor of like honoring that person’s comfort level. To me, that just shows how much you care about working through this conflict when you as someone who’s maybe more comfortable in-person, can take that to digital communication, be it DM or email or text or Snapchat or whatever. And I also think, like to your point about young people, maybe your athletes, if you’re a coach, not having as much practice at in-person communication, for them to be able to like be at home and take the time to talk to a parent about how to respond to a text message or an email and kind of think all the way through it, think all the way through the communication, respond in a way that is all encompassing and thorough and actually productive can be really helpful. So, digital communication absolutely has its place.
Nadia Kyba: Yeah. And I think that, absolutely, and it goes back to that, the key of building trust. And if you are if you are open to communicating in the way that they’re asking you to communicate, which is by text, you’re building trust. And that’s the key to relationship building. And down the road, then maybe they will be comfortable with that in-person communication. But shutting them down right at the beginning and forcing them to come face to face, you may not get much and you’re losing that opportunity to build trust.
Kara Winger: Yeah, meet them where they’re at. So that in the future you can work together in all the ways maybe. Yeah, it’s very cool. Thank you so much for your insight on generational blindspots today, Nadia, it was lovely talking to you.
Nadia Kyba: It was wonderful to be here.
Kara Winger: And this was one of our TrueSport Expert series videos in 2022. Stay tuned.
TrueSport Expert and registered social worker, Nadia Kyba, addresses how parents, coaches, and athletes can respect and overcome generational differences to improve their communication and relationships.
Learn more about Nadia Kyba.
Hi. I’m Trevon, Trey, Jennifer. Team USA wheelchair basketball player, paralympian, and true sport athlete. Today, I want to talk to you about goal setting. And there are three things that I would like you to know. First, successful athletes set goals and a planned roadmap. Second, goals should be written down, assessed over time, and changed if necessary. And third, goals need to be challenging in order to be worthwhile. As a freshmen at Edinboro University, I was a part of a team that made the national championship game. And at that time I recognized I was the low man on the totem pole, but I felt in my heart that I knew my dreams were so much bigger than winning a national title. I wanted to make Team USA. I knew what achieving my lofty goal was not going to be easy and that I would need to work hard every day.
So, as a reminder, I created a pyramid of goals that I kept right above my bed. This pyramid reminded me of the accomplishments that I was working towards and visually represented my need to create a solid foundation underneath me before reaching the top. In the bottom roll of my pyramid of goals I listed goals such as obtaining my bachelor’s degree, becoming a scholar athlete award recipient, and becoming an All-American. The middle row listed winning a national title and playing for a professional team. And at the top row, the most challenging of them all, I listed becoming a gold medalist for Team USA.
By understanding that there are smaller stepping stones to achieving my ultimate goal of being on Team USA, I was able to stay motivated and to stay focused on completing the smaller stepping stones fully before moving onto the next one. Now I’ll be the first to admit that not every goal that I listed on my pyramid was accomplished, but seeing my goals every day when I went to bed, I was able to push through the days that I felt like doing nothing in hopes of achieving the bigger picture. Remember, create a clear goal roadmap, assess your goals often, and continue to challenge yourself. I hope that you never stopped dreaming big or reaching for the stars. And I look forward to seeing where your roadmap takes you.
Hi, I’m Kara Winger, Olympic javelin thrower, and true sport athlete. Today I want to talk to you about body image and I have three things I’d like you to know. First, healthy thoughts often lead to healthier bodies. Second, there are varying body types and no one’s body is exactly like another. And third, true beauty goes deeper than the skin. As a multi-time Olympian, I’ve experienced a lot of variation and progression in my training. My coaches and I adapt to my training frequently, all with the goal of supporting my long-term success and health in the sport of javelin. I’m talking to you about body image today because sometimes even with the best of intentions and a common goal in mind, the changes you make to your training habits can prove to be detrimental if made for the wrong reasons. In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic trials, I was told in order to improve my performance on the field, I should try to become a leaner, skinnier version of myself.
So I changed my diet. I went along with what I was being told to do, even though I’d had great success at a slightly heavier weight and higher body fat percentage, and became much leaner than ever before. It seemed like a successful change at first, but I didn’t have nearly the results I’d had before. And I believe becoming leaner than my body naturally wanted to be was what caused my ACL to tear. In the end, it cost me heavily going into the 2012 London games. The takeaway for me, and hopefully for you, is that it’s important to know what works for you and your body and to not compare yourself to others. You should do your research and experiment with your diet to find what makes you feel the best, rather than focusing on what you look like. Today, if I feel like having a chocolate chip cookie, I have one, just not every day.
I’ve learned what a properly balanced meal for my body looks like and I recognize food as the fuel that keeps me throwing. I hydrate and allow myself time to recover. And I listen to and communicate with my body so that I can be the best version of myself. In the end, you are in control of how you see, treat, and respond to your body. We only get one and it’s amazing to discover how many things our bodies can do. Be a true sport athlete. Love who you are in this moment and get excited for all the places your body will take you.
Hi, I’m Izy Isaksen, Team USA, Modern Pentathlon, Olympian, US Army Sergeant, and True Sport Ambassador. Today, I want to talk to you about being a good sport. There are three things I’d like you to know. First, real winners act the same toward their opponent, whether they win or lose. Second, follow the rules and be a gracious winner and respectful loser. And third, sportsmanship reveals your true character.
I started competing in Modern Pentathlon eight years after my older sister and three-time Olympian, Margaux Isaksen, began competing. I soon realized that people often compared the two of us. I would overhear spectators and teammates asking, “Who’s the better athlete,” and “Who’s going to beat the other.” Instead of letting outside pressures create a negative experience for us, I chose to practice winning and losing with grace and respect. I know that it would have been easy to let our hyper competitive mindset affect our relationship, but instead we decided to support and cheer for each other, regardless of our own performance. My experience of competing against and being compared to my older sister, taught me to focus on how to perform at my best, rather than putting wasted energy into wishing for others to fail.
I believe that sportsmanship reveals true character. So, no matter what situation I encounter during competition, I know it’s important to always treat people with respect and be a good sport. Remember, be a fierce competitor, find grace in all your victories and losses. And I hope to see you out there.
Edwin Moses: You’re a coach. Maybe what you want is very simple, for everyone to just run in the right direction, score for their own team, to try and try again and again. Maybe you want your athletes to become all stars. You want them to earn trophies, medals, win titles. You want them to reach the highest height their sport allows. And wanting all of that, of course, that’s good. But as every great coach discovers, developing a great athlete means nurturing, nurturing the even greater person within. Truth is, you have even more influence than you know.
You have the ability to affect even deeper change, to take what’s in your hands and do something even more extraordinary. You can be both the coach who provides the skills needed to win the game and the coach who helps them learn and succeed beyond the sport, to become all stars wherever they land in the future, and to enjoy their lives more now, because the confidence and courage they find working with you will stay with them when they need it the most. There are games to be won, lives to change. Coaches have the power to do both.
I’m Edwin Moses, and the lessons I’ve learned through sport have challenged me, guided me, and shaped my life forever. What kind of coach do you want to be?
At first glance, dietary supplements look the same. They seem safe and healthy, but just because the label says a product is a dietary supplement, that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Unfortunately, you can’t tell whether a product is safe or not just by looking at the label. Most vitamins, minerals, fish oil, and other supplements containing nutrients are probably just fine, but supplements are not evaluated or approved by FDA before they are sold. Although it is rare for vitamins or minerals to be contaminated with drugs, there has been at least one case of a vitamin containing an anabolic steroid.
At the other extreme are products that contain drugs, stimulants, anabolic steroids, or other hormones. Even though these are not technically dietary supplements, many of them are labeled as supplements. For example, body-building products sometimes contain anabolic steroids or Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, known as SARMs, or other hormones. Some pre-workout or energy products contain illegal stimulants like DMAA, ephedra, or other amphetamine-like stimulants. Weight loss products might contain prescription drugs like sibutramine, or hormones, like human chorionic gonadotropin, also known as hCG. All natural or herbal sexual enhancement products might contain hormones or Viagra-like drugs. Products like these can harm your health and career, but they’re for sale online, in some nutrition stores, and they’re labeled as dietary supplements.
When you pick up a supplement, especially one that promises performance enhancement, you don’t know if it belongs in the “Mostly O.K.” pile or in the “Dangerous” pile. After all, two products might look the same, but one might contain just amino acids and other legitimate ingredients, while the other also contains anabolic steroids. Because of this, FDA has issued a warning about certain categories of supplements: body building products, weight loss products, and sexual enhancement products. Be extremely careful when considering a supplement in one of these categories. We strongly recommend that you avoid products in these categories.
Even when FDA tests supplements and finds dangerous ingredients, companies sometimes refuse to recall them. Sometimes, they simply repackage their product and continue selling it under a new name. Just because a product is on a store shelf doesn’t mean it is safe. You need to do your research and be an informed consumer. The dietary supplement industry is enormous. Supplements that appear to be safe could actually be dangerous products in disguise. If you use dietary supplements without doing your research, you may be taking serious risks with your health and your career. Please visit USADA’s Supplement 411 for more information about dietary supplements.
