June 25, 2025 • 48 mins
In this episode of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast, Dan is joined by Tenly Kuhn to discuss her journey as an All-American Track & Field athlete at the D1 level, including her gymnastics background, impact of family and faith, and beyond. Tenly Kuhn, a junior at Baylor University, is an accomplished pole vaulter, active NIL athlete, and Division I Indoor Track and Field All-American, balancing her role on the track and field team with a rigorous accounting major. In 2024, she set a personal record of 4.11 meters at the Big 12 Championship. She consistently placed in top finishes throughout the season, building on her successes from 2023, including her first collegiate PR at the Razorback Invitational. Transitioning from a gymnastics background, Tenly quickly excelled in pole vaulting, driven by her commitment to resilience and focus.Alongside her athletic and academic achievements, Tenly is a member of Baylor’s Women in Business club, advocating for time management, positivity, and strong relationships among aspiring athletes. Her Christian faith and her father’s inspiration fuel her dedication to growth, making her a role model for peers who balance sports, academics, and personal development.For more on Tenly be sure to check out tenlykuhn.com & @tenlykuhn*SEASON 6 of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast is brought to you by Isophit. For more on Isophit, please check out isophit.com and @isophit -BE SURE to use coupon code BraunPR25% to save 25% on your Isophit order!**Season 6 of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast is also brought to you by Firefly Recovery, the official recovery provider for Braun Performance & Rehab. For more on Firefly, please check out https://www.recoveryfirefly.com/ or email jake@recoveryfirefly.com***This episode is also powered by Dr. Ray Gorman, founder of Engage Movement. Learn how to boost your income without relying on sessions. Get a free training on the blended practice model by following @raygormandpt on Instagram. DM my name “Dan” to @raygormandpt on Instagram and receive your free breakdown on the model.Episode Affiliates:MoboBoard: BRAWNBODY10 saves 10% at checkout!AliRx: DBraunRx = 20% off at checkout! https://alirx.health/MedBridge: https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/brawn-body-training or Coupon Code "BRAWN" for 40% off your annual subscription!CTM Band: https://ctm.band/collections/ctm-band coupon code "BRAWN10" = 10% off!Ice shaker affiliate link: https://www.iceshaker.com?sca_ref=1520881.zOJLysQzKeMake sure you SHARE this episode with a friend who could benefit from the information we shared!Check out everything Dan is up to by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/braun_prLiked this episode? Leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to another episode of the Brown Performance and
Rehab Podcast, powered by Isofit and Firefly Recovery. Isofit is
my go to for all things isometric strength training. For
more on Isofit, be sure to check out isofit dot com.
Episodes like this are made possible by Firefly, the official
recovery provider of the Brown Performance and Rehab Podcast. For
(00:22):
more on Firefly, be sure to check out recoveryfirefly dot com.
This episode is powered by doctor Ray Gorman, founder of
Engage Movement. Learn how to boost your income without relying
on sessions. Get a free training on the Blended practice
model by following at Ray Gorman dpt on Instagram. Joining
me today is ten Lee Kuhn. Ten Lee and I
(00:43):
are going to dive into her journey surrounding pole vault,
her background in gymnastics, and so many other things along
the way. This was a phenomenal episode and I really
appreciate ten Lay's time. I really enjoyed learning more about
her as a person in addition to her athletics career,
and I know you will to enjoy. Henley, Welcome to
the podcast. I'm super excited to work with you today
(01:05):
for people who aren't familiar with you, or maybe they
haven't heard about your incredible backstore as it relates to
sport that way, would you mind film in a little
bit about who you are and all the amazing things
you've got going on.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Hey, my name is Tenley Kuhn and I'm currently on
the track and field team at Baylor University. I'm a
poll vaulter, and I joined the team in fall of
twenty twenty two as a walk on, and now I'm
heading to my first outdoor nationals this year, so I'm
super excited for that.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Absolutely. I mean, it sounds like you're incredibly successful and
huge shout out to all the amazing stuff that you've
been able to accomplish in the track and field space
that way, in particular around poll viollet. But as you mentioned,
it sounds like your path to track and field with
Baylor is a little unique that way. You mentioned you
walked onto the team, and a lot of the times
when I talk with athletes, you know, they're under the
(01:54):
impression that they're going to get recruited somewhere, go there
for sport that way, and then they're you know, off
to the race is from there tell me a little
bit more about your path getting into track and field
that bailor that way, because from what I remember, you
have a kind of unique backstory around that.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
So I used to be a gymnast and I did
gymnastics for about five or six years, and it finally
got to the point where my back was hurting so
bad that I genuinely just couldn't do it anymore. So
I decided to stop doing that. Freshman year of high school,
and then sophomore year, COVID happened, so everything was pretty
much shut down. I couldn't do anything or try any
(02:31):
new sports. And then junior my parents were like, oh,
like you should try track, and I was like, I
hate running, why would I do that?
Speaker 3 (02:39):
And they're like, no, but.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
You've always been fast, so just try it. I was
like okay. So then I joined the track team and
the head coach found out that I used to do gymnastics.
He was like, you should try pull vaulting, and I
was like, honestly, anything to get me out of running.
So I tried pull vaulting, and yeah, it just ended
up going well. I mean, my body awareness and strength
(03:00):
and everything from gymnastics really just helped out with learning
how to pull vault pretty fast.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
And then senior year.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
I got into Baylor on my own and my coach
ended up just reaching out to the track coach and
being like, Hey, I have this girl, she jumped this high.
Would she be able to be on your team? They
let me come on an unofficial visit and I loved
it there, So the rest is really history.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Yeah, that's amazing. That's so great to hear. I mean,
first off, it sounds like gymnastics. Every time I talk
with people about it, they eventually start to tell me that,
you know, back hurts, things hurt, that sort of thing.
It's a sport of the extremes. And I think that's
what makes gymnastics so impressive to me, is just how
elegant and artistic you make all these legit complicated things.
(03:44):
And I think, to your point, it probably does carry
overwhell to pole vault, because I think about the sport
of pole vault, you know, just running full speed towards
this like little pit thing and you're going to stick
a pole in the ground, fly through the air, do
some kind of flip while you're in the air, and
somehow lay and on this like cool little matt thing
that way, Like there's a little bit of that element
of body control, body awareness, but still artistic movement in nature.
(04:08):
I think that kind of bleeds over from gymnastics into
pole vault that way. So I think that's really impressive.
How how did you get into gymnastics in the first
place that way? What got you involved there?
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Yeah, well, I've always loved tumbling. Just as a kid,
I loved doing like flips and tricks and stuff on
the grass. So my parents were like, let's get you
into a tumbling class. I was like, okay, that's fine.
I did it when I was super young, and I
honestly am originally from Nevada, and I did it when
I was very little. I also did competitive cheer when
I was younger, but I didn't love the whole stunting
(04:40):
thing because people were dropping me on my head and
that was not fun. So I was like, can I
do this, but just like the tumbling part. And so
when he moved to California, my parents just found a
random tumbling class to put me in, and then they
were talking to other coaches found some gym that had
trampling and tumbling, which is the type of gymnastics I
ended up doing, and I was like, that sounds so fun,
(05:01):
an actual competitive place where I can jump on a
trampoline and tumble, like it was so perfect fit for me.
And yeah, my dad just happened to stumble upon the
gym that I ended up training at for five years.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So that's amazing. It just kind of fell together, fell
into place that way, Bunny, as you're talking about the
transition to track and field and the intro to track
and field that way, you mentioned about the running thing,
and I feel like you probably get this a lot.
People are like, Oh, you're on the track and field team,
what event do you run? And you're like, bro, we.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Don't do that.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
It's crazy, how I think a lot of the times
when we think of track and field and sport in general,
we think of the running element because that's just, for
whatever reason, what comes to mind, and we forget about
the throws, the pull vault, some of these other events
that are just as impressive, if not more impressive, in
my opinion, And I think the fact that we forget
about them kind of, you know, hides a lot of
(05:51):
opportunity from people.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
That way.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
I mean, think about you know, just thinking about your story.
It's like, man, if you had to be the one
who is just running every meet, would you have kept
with track and field because it sounds like you're like
me in the sense that running might not be your
favorite thing in the world.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
No, it's definitely not. So I definitely agree with you, though.
I feel like a lot of the time our field
events are overshadowed by the sprints, because I mean, honestly,
sprints are easier to watch. Like you go, you sit
for like a few races, and then it's done. With
like field events, you could be there for hours. I
could be competing for up to three to four hours straight,
just depending on how long the meat is going. So
(06:27):
I get it, but it is kind of being hard
being in a sport where your event specifically is just
always pretty overshadowed by everything else.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Absolutely, And like I mentioned, it's a wicked impressive event
to watch, and it's one of those things that I
think as I watch it, I'm like, man, I could
I could never do that. I don't know how y'all
master that whole like twist flip thing in the air
and all like, it is insanely impressive to watch. And
I also just watching it feel like there'd probably be
a fear effect at first, or at least if I
(06:56):
was going to try it, I would be freaking scared.
I'm like, got this like pull in my hand, running
like straight ahead towards the thing that way, Like, I
think there would be a fear factor element, at least
for me involved with that. So what's the kind of
mental side of the pull vault look like for you
that way? How do you go about prepping for you know,
your routines and all that sort of thing, and how
have you developed that over time?
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Yeah, honestly, that's a great question because last year and
freshman year as well, I was dealing with probably the
worst mental block I've ever gone through in my life.
I had someone I did gymnastics where I just wasn't
able to do a skill and it was hard.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
But this was to the point.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Where I was in practice and I not take up
a single jump, like I would just run down the runway.
And I don't know if I was scared or if
my body just wasn't responding or what was going on,
But I went basically a year and a half straight
without taking up a single jump in practice. But then
we would get to a meet and the bar would
go up and I would miraculously jump at the bar
and be like.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
What is happening?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Why can't I do this in practice?
Speaker 4 (07:55):
So it's a great question because this year has finally
been the year where I was able to to kind
of get over that. And what I realized is it's
really just a sense of confidence. Like I didn't really
change anything about my vault or my approach or anything.
It was just getting on the runway and being like,
I can do this. I know I can do this.
I'm going to take up this jump, And I think
(08:17):
that's so important. It's just believing in yourself and you know,
hoping and believing that nothing's going to go wrong because
you are a professional, you know what you're doing, and
just I don't know, worrying about everything that could possibly
go wrong is not going to set you out for success.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Absolutely. I mean, at the end of the day, fear
is ultimately a liar and it's self imposed. But because
it's self imposed, meaning you created it yourself, it also
means that you kind of have to be the one
to beat it back and destroy it, which obviously is
easier said than done. That way, what kind of things
did you lean into and what kind of things made
(08:52):
the most difference for you as you were kind of
beaten back that like plateau or mental obstacle if you will.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Yeah on it.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
For a while there, I was really questioning if I
even wanted to pull vault anymore, because I was like,
I'm at the point where I don't know if it's
worth it. I'm showing up and I'm doing the drills,
I'm doing everything my coach is saying, but things just
aren't coming together. But I think for me, what helped
me get through that was just sitting there and realizing that, like, no,
I chose to do this, so I'm going to follow
(09:21):
through with it and being able to push through all
those hardships.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
And honestly, my.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Faith has been a big aspect of it too, because
we're all human. We're all gonna fails. Inevitable that humans
are going to fail, that's just honestly how it is.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And the one thing that won't fail is God.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
And that is something that.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
I've had to learn is if I just lean on
myself and try and think that I can do everything
on my own, like I'm just gonna be upset all
the time, because that's not actually how it works. I
am very limited and by myself, I can't get that done.
So being able to put those fears and anxieties into
God is kind of something that helps guide me and
bring me more confidence, just even in pull Vall and
(10:02):
life in general.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Absolutely, that comes up so often on the podcast when
I'm working with athletes, whether that be you know, they're
recovering from some crazy injury, whether that's ACL or something
along those lines, or they're just talking about their sport
and the success in general is it seems like this
element of faith is a key hallmark piece for so
many athletes that way, and some of them have gone
(10:26):
as far to say that's the foundation that holds everything
up and without it they wouldn't be where they're at today.
And to me, understanding that, at least for myself, the
definition of faith is having complete trust and confidence in
someone or something that's unseen. Right. You can't see it,
you can't physically see it with your own two eyes.
It's not worldly or earthy, but you know it's there
(10:49):
and you know it's going to happen. And to me,
that just that's literally sport in a nutshell.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
It's like if you've looked thirteen feet and you want
to get to fourteen feet. You know what the end
goal is, but you haven't accomplished it yet. You can't
see it, but you believe in the path there. You
can't necessarily see it, you can't measure it, but you
know it's there. So I think having this element of
faith and having you know, some kind of religious practice
that way. And you know, I'm very open to say
(11:16):
I'm a little biased in the sense that I believe
in the Christian faith, and that's something I'm not ashamed
to admit by any means. But I think having that
element as part of your practice, that spiritual element is
just so essential and so overlooked.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Right.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
A lot of times when we talk about health, we
talk about the physical, the mental, the emotional, and all
these different things, which is great, but I think the
spiritual is what kind of blends all of that together,
if you.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Will, oh yeah, And I mean it helps with your
self worth and self image because when you're not doing
well in your sport, if that's all you have, you're
not doing well mentally, physically, anything in between, because that's
how you're basing your worth. But if you can base
your worth in something greater than you, that stuff doesn't
affect you as much. Like, yeah, it's upsetting if I
don't if I go and no out of meat, But
(12:01):
I'm not going to sit there and think that, oh wow,
I am a failure, because that's just not true.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Absolutely no, I completely agree, and on that point as well,
as you mentioned, you're going to come up short at times.
You're going to fail at times. That's just how life happens.
But for a lot of people, they fail, and failure
is what stands. They never move past it, they never
revisit it. They just come up short in some moment
(12:27):
and that's it. And I think understanding some of the
different teachings that come from a faith based background that way,
as you mentioned, as you outlined, help equip you to
overcome those times when things don't necessarily go your way
because you realize that there might be a reason it
didn't go your way. It's not all about you at
the end of the day. Maybe there's some kind of
(12:48):
higher power, higher purpose that's kind of behind the whole
thing that way, and maybe it's actually a good thing
that it didn't go your way, which it takes a
lot to start to think like and I'm by no
means perfect at it myself, but I've started to kind
of embrace this concept of thinking like, when things don't
go as I plan, maybe it's a good thing. Maybe
(13:09):
there's something bigger and better in the works that I
can't quite fathom and can't quite comprehend, and this failure
is actually teaching me something or it's an opportunity to
make myself better. So I think the more you kind
of reframe your mindset around failing, and I think again,
faith plays such a key role in that, I think,
the better off you're going to be long term, not
(13:30):
just in athletics, but even into the human element of
this whole thing as well, because I think a lot
of people forget you'll have lives outside of sports sometimes.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Yeah, we definitely have those.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Tell me more about what life outside of sport looks
like for you, Tenley. Obviously, track and field pull vote
in particular, is a big part of your life. That way,
What else do you like to do? What other things
kind of get you going and get you out of
bed outside of track and field?
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Yeah, So I am an accounting major right now, which
honestly takes a majority of my other free time unfortunately.
But I also have a cat named Sushi, and he
is the cutest thing to ever exist, so I spent
a lot of time with him. I also have some
(14:17):
really great friends. I have a great boyfriend. Honestly, my
free time is just spending time with people I love
and care about, and you know, trying to get that
time in because there's really.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Not that much of it.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Absolutely, it sounds like you've got this really good, like
just group of people around you that way, And I guess,
I guess we should throw your cat Sushi in there
as well. Great people and animals around you that way
as well. I gotta ask, what's the motivation behind the
name Sushi? Is there? Like, is that like a favorite.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Food group or yeah, honestly, sushi is my favorite food.
He's also okay, so salm and sushi is actually like
my favorite food of all time. And I have an
orange cat, and so when I saw him, I was like,
oh my gosh, he looks like Sam and Sue she
because he's kind of like orange on the top and
white on the bottom, and so I was like, oh
my gosh, his name should be sushi.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
I love that. I love everything about that, and I
think having a great group of friends and people and
animals around you in this case is so essential for
just this more like I call it like living a
good life, right, just happiness and purpose and just all
these senses that come with life. And I feel like
for a lot of athletes I talk with that can
(15:29):
be very difficult for them to balance because they understand
the demands of you know, playing participating in a D
one level sport, and they understand the training and the
riggers that go into that. And I find a lot
of times athletes have difficulty balancing that like life, good life,
happy life kind of thing with sport. And I think
(15:49):
that you can have both, and I think they should
go hand in hand together. That way, tell me a
little bit more about how you're able to balance all
the things you like to do outside of sport with
the things that you like to do within the sport
that way.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Yeah, Honestly, it can be very difficult at times. And
I think for me, there's a big balance between when
I'm in season and when I'm off season. So in
season is a very crunch time, pretty much traveling every
single week for about half a week. It really just depends.
So there, I think my free time is very limited.
(16:24):
My self care is like, oh, I can watch an
episode of my favorite show tonight, Like awesome, I have
time to do that. But I think for me and
what keeps me honestly sane is being able to knock
go as hard during off season versus when I'm in season.
So off season is when I'll see more of my friends.
I'll like play pickleball, I'll go on walks, like, I'll
(16:46):
do kind of more fun stuff like that, So I
can get a lot of it in and be kind
of chill during that time. And then once I'm in season,
it's kind of harder to get that done. But it's
just it looks the same, just on a way smaller scale,
if that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Yeah, absolutely, So it sounds like when you're out of season,
you take some time away from sport to just kind
of do whatever you want to do that way, and
then you slowly reintroduce kind of that sport element and
then ramp it up towards the season, and then once
season comes around, it sounds like you still have that
element of what we'll call balance in this case in
your life, but the scale is kind of tipped heavier
(17:23):
towards sport and lesser towards kind of everything outside of sport.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Yeah, yeah, I think I think that's pretty accurate. And
I'm just very lucky that I have people in my
life who understand when I'm in season, like I'm probably
not gonna see my friend as friends as much. So
it's it's nice though, because I feel very supportive and
or supported by my friends and family because they know,
like season is kind of a crunch time for me,
(17:48):
but like I feel like at that moment they kind
of decide to help put in more an effort so
I don't get lost or busy and too.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Caught up and everything.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
So it's nice though, because normally I'd say it could
be more fifty to fifty when it's off season, but
when it's in season, i'd say the people around me
kind of do.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Like, let's say seventy thirty.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
So it's nice that they're able to kind of keep
it balanced, but maybe sometimes they're putting in a little
bit more to kind of help keep me in.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
It absolutely, and it sounds like they have no issue
pouring into you that way. How do you like to
give back and pour into others because, as I probably
famously said when we first met, that way, my own
kind of personal like mantra for life, if you will,
is just trying to give back to as many people
as I can. Right, you can't go through it with
the catchers me in both hands. And I think the
(18:39):
more you throw back and elevate others around you, the
better we all do that way. So what's your own
kind of personal concept of giving back to others and
helping others along their journey.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Yeah, I think I think it really depends for the
season in life and if people come into my life
that I feel like it would be beneficial for to, like,
you know, help them figure out some things. Like a
lot of it for me right now is like younger
girls who are pull vaulters on Instagram, like sending me
dms and being like, Hey, this is wrong with my
jump or like what is wrong with my jump?
Speaker 3 (19:13):
Can you help me out?
Speaker 4 (19:14):
And so I think that has been something that has
been so rewarding recently because I'm like I was in
their shoes just a few years ago, and I love
how they feel like they can reach out and talk
to me about it because I would have loved to
have that too. I don't think I would have done
that in high school because I would have been too
scared too. But it makes me feel so happy that
these like younger girls who want to go D one,
(19:35):
who want a pull vault are like trying to actively
get better and they feel safe asking me about that.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Absolutely, I love that. Is that something that you kind
of see coming up in the future for you is
kind of like a coaching element around pole vault.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
I don't know if I would ever get into actual
one on one like coaching or like club or anything like.
I kind of like the way it is on social
media now, we're like, oh, they can like ask me
questions and I can kind of help out in that way.
But I don't know if I'd ever want to be
like actual sit down coach and have that be what
I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
I find it interesting because some people absolutely want their
sport to kind of take over the rest of their
life and they want to fully immerse themselves in it,
whether that be with coaching or something kind of similar
to it that way, and some people they're just kind
of like, you know what, this is my time in
sport that way, and afterwards, like I still want to
be involved, but you know, maybe coaching isn't for me
(20:35):
that way, And it sounds like, at least for you,
i'd imagine, you know, when this chapter wraps up, you're
probably not going to like disappear from the pole Vault
world entirely, but it sounds like you're probably not going
to transition into like a full time track and field
coaching kind of roll by the sounds.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Yeah, probably not.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
But I don't really know where track is going to
go after college because there's a chance that I might
go pro kind of just depending on if you know,
my body still feels good, if I'm still jumping high
enough to do so, so might be in it for
a little longer after college. But we will definitely see.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Tell me about what the professional side of track and
field looks like, because I feel like this does not
get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
Yeah, I feel like that's like hitting the nail on
the head is like it really doesn't.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Which is kind of difficult.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
It's harder to get sponsors and actually hard to make
decent money. Like you can go and see pretty much
any NFL football player and they're making millions of dollars
every year, even if they're just on the bench, which
is crazy. But then you have probably the number one
track athlete in America and I think they make six
They do make six figures, but it's not like millions
(21:47):
and millions of dollars like any NFL superstars, you know,
And these are people actually going to Olympics and winning medals,
and yet it's just so underpaid. And I think it's
honestly just because track and field isn't a huge thing
in America. Like in Europe, they are a much bigger
thing and people actually go to track meets. But in America, honestly,
(22:07):
people just don't really care that much about track.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 4 (22:12):
I honestly, I just think it's a culture thing. Like
we're very much like football, basketball, Like I think those
are already very prominent sports in our culture, so there's
not really room for other ones. And so I think
in like Europe and stuff, they don't have football. If
they do, it's on like a much smaller scale than
(22:32):
what we have in America, and it's not really part
of their culture. So they do actually put effort and
they care about looking into things like track and stuff,
But here I just think it's so out of the loop.
And you know a lot of football players just do
track in high school to stay in shape for football,
so nobody's there for like actually track.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Yeah, it sounds like for a lot of people track
and field it's not their main thing. And I've even
heard that in relation to those on the run side
of things as well. Right, they do cross country in
the fall and they're concerned about cross country, and then
they do track and field in the spring to stay
in shape for cross country, and then after the college
career wraps up, they make a run at kind of
(23:14):
like the professional running side of things. They don't necessarily
go into professional one hundred or two hundred meters sprints
most of them. Most of them go into some kind
of more distance running, ultra endurance kind of thing, if
you will that way, which to your point, I think
it's a shame because I think track and field kind
of has this really unique kind of sporting opportunity that
(23:35):
way where I think personally there's something for everyone. It's like,
you know, you could be fast, you could be kind
of the engine that never stops running. You could be
someone who's just really powerful and explosive and wants nothing
to do with running. You could be someone who has
this like really good sense of body control and awareness.
Whatever your own kind of strength and skill set is
biased towards, you can find events towards that, and even
(23:59):
if there's event that you want to do, that kind
of play off of those skill sets, but still challenge
you and don't come as easily. I think there's a
lot of value in that as well. And the nice
thing with track is you don't have to be like
locked in to one specific event. You can almost kind of,
you know, blend them all together and do two or three,
or I guess if you're crazy, you could do like
a decathlon or something like that. But it's just got
(24:22):
this unique element where it kind of provides something for everyone,
in my opinion, and I think that's something that I
would like to see in sports more going forward, is
when I watch a sport, it's not just one specific thing.
It's kind of something for everyone if you will oh yeah, no.
Speaker 4 (24:38):
I mean even in high school when I started pull vaulting,
one of the coaches who helped with jumps like triple
jump and long jump was like, oh, do you want
to try a long jump.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
I was like, sure, and so.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
I long jumped at a few track meets, and then
the other coach who wanted me to actually sprint, was like, oh, well,
you're actually going to run the two hundred two. So
I ran the two hundred a couple times. So it's
not like I feel like, especially in high school, you
can literally try any event that you want to. So
even me, when I only really wanted to do pull ball,
I was still doing two other events just to.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Like do it absolutely absolutely. It's like you kind of
balance it all together that way, if you will. And
the other thing I like about track and field too
is I feel like you get this team that's big
enough that you get a wide array of people and
personalities and skill sets, but it's small enough in the
sense that it still feels like a community that way
(25:28):
as well. At least that's what I've heard from a
lot of other track and field athletes is they wouldn't
replace their track and field team with anything else, And
a lot of them have different sporting backgrounds in the
past that way, different sports, and they just feel like
the track team is just the most closely kind of
tied together and kind of close knit if you will
that way. So I think there's something powerful about you know,
(25:49):
to your point, even though the sport is overlooked, and
I definitely want that to change. It seems like in
the moment you all really make the best of the
situation and play the cards you're dealt.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Well, Oh yeah, I definitely agree.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
It's honestly so cool to be on a team where
there's so many talented people, but they're talented in such
different ways. Like I feel like with certain sports there's
just like kind of like cookie cutter, this is a
great athlete, and you have to be this way to
be a great athlete. And I think it's so cool
to be on the track team and being like, oh,
that person is great at throws and there's complete unique
(26:23):
reasons that make them good at throws versus what makes
me a good pull vaulter. So it really has me
gain a greater appreciation for just athletes in general, because
there's so many things that I never would have thought
would make you like really good or really athletic, but
here these people are like showing me all these different
attributes and characteristics that make them successful, and it's really awesome.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
To see absolutely, And speaking of attributes that make people successful, obviously,
as we've been talking, you are highly successful within the
sport of pole vault in particular, so much so that
you're going to be competing in or gone very soon.
Walk me through a little bit about what you feel
helped get you to this point, helped you become successful
(27:06):
here that way, and also what kind of advice do
you have for others to kind of get to this
point in your career.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
Yeah, honestly, I am just a very competitive person to
begin with. So if I'm doing something like, it's with
my whole heart, and I think that's something that I
see a lack of sometimes in sports, is someone's just like, Okay,
well I'm here, I'm just going to do it because
I have to do it, just running through the motions.
But I think something that's so important is, you know,
(27:36):
trying to reignite that motivation and remember why you're there,
which honestly I do struggle with sometimes it's hard to
not get burnt out of something that you're constantly doing.
But I think of just staying realistic and trying to remember,
like what your goals are, what you're trying to do,
kind of helps keep that motivation and get you through
like every single workout you're going through.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Absolutely absolutely I love that. And what kind of things
are you bringing with you into, you know, into nationals
that way that you feel are gonna help set you
up for success there, whether that's kind of the mindset,
the mentality, the training, what kind of things do you
feel like really help you lock in for this?
Speaker 4 (28:15):
Yeah, Honestly, it's weird because it's kind of a feeling
that is very hard for me to describe. But when
I'm in a competition, when I get on that track,
my mind is in a completely different mindset than it
is anywhere else. It's like I get in, I like
pick up my pull, I get on the runway and
I'm just locked in. There could be like a fire
(28:35):
alarm going off or police sirens, and I honestly would
not be able to hear it because of how laser
focused I am just on the runway and I've kind
of just I honestly am gonna call it a gift
because I don't really.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
Know what else it is.
Speaker 4 (28:48):
But I've had it really since I've done gymnastics, where
it was like I'd get on the trampoline and everything
was just locked in. And I think that's such a
blessing because you know, every time I get on that
runway and I'm ready to compete, it's like my mind
and my body knows what it has to do and
it's just ready to go.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Absolutely. So you have this ability to just kind of
lock in and enter that what do they call it,
like a flow state almost.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
If you will, Yeah, yeah, I think so.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
And that's just something you've just naturally had, and you know,
it's not something that you had to develop, It was
just kind of always there. That's such a gift in
my opinion, because I talk with a lot of people.
I mean I see it myself, like there's times when
I can lock in and be present and in the
moment and have a conversation like this and just be
(29:33):
off to the races that way. But there's also times
where it's very easy to get distracted. And that's regardless
of what I'm doing, whether that's you know, work from
a petis standpoint, sometimes even during podcasts like whatever. It is, Like,
I find distractions are very plentiful in today's day and age,
and I think having this ability to lock in and
just be present in the moment and kind of live
(29:56):
it up that way, for lack of a better way
to put it, is really a lost art my opinion.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
Yeah, And I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm definitely
no stranger to distraction. I have ADHD, so I'm like
all the time like looking around, like trying to figure
out what's going on, or even.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Trying to study for exams.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
It's like it takes so long for me to actually
sit down and get done when I need to get.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Done, because it can be so hard.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
But I mean, even with that, I don't I honestly
don't know what it is because you know, the second
I get on that runway, I'm just very locked down.
I'm like, you know, I wish I had this when
it came to school so I could just sit down
and study for like five hours stream, but.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
I just can't do that.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
You know.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
It's so crazy to hear you say that that way,
because we literally just did a podcast with a girl,
another college athlete d one lacrosse, and she was mentioning
about how she feels like her ADHD is almost like
a cheat code to life that way, and she's like, yeah,
you know, I can never shut my mind off it's
always going. But because of that, I'm able to do this,
(30:56):
do this, do this, and all these different things that way.
And I was like, you know, I've never really thought
about that. Like a lot of times, I think we
hear someone's story and hear certain things that way, and
we automatically assume it to be in negative context that way,
when in reality, it's just a new opportunity presenting itself. Right,
Like in relation to track and field, for example, there
(31:18):
might be someone who hates running and we might think, well,
you know, track and field is not the thing for you,
don't do that, blah blah blah. But it's like, in reality,
it's just a matter of how do we reframe this
into something that you know, they're very much here for
and they can tackle and accomplish quite well. Quick Break,
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Speaker 4 (32:24):
Oh yeah, no, I definitely agree. That's the awesome part
is you could probably have any single person walk under
the track team and they could find a spot for them.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
You know, it's.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Not not very limited to what type of athletes or
what talent they need.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Honestly, absolutely no, it's it's very it was the right
word inclusive or something along what is We've talked about
a lot of different things so far, but one of
the things we haven't talked about it's kind of the
typical practice and physical preparation flow for you all that way.
So what's the typical day to day look like for
you surrounding practice and kind of prep for this incredible sport.
Speaker 4 (33:02):
Yeah, so we work out five days a week. Normally
we vault three days a week, and then we do
drills two days a week. So our vault days are
typically Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and within those vault days, we
have short run and long run days, and so Mondays
are typically short run day that's just very like technique related.
(33:23):
You're not really trying to jump your highest or push
huge pulls, like you're literally just working out the nitty
gritty stuff.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
In your jump.
Speaker 4 (33:31):
And then Wednesday Friday are typically long jump days, which is,
you know, trying to take that technique that you got
on Monday and transferring it over to your full approach.
And then Tuesday Thursday are kind of drill days. The
drills that we do are just very interesting, so it's
kind of hard to explain. Like we have like a
high bar like gymnastics bar that we do stuff on,
(33:51):
we have a rope, we have rings, so it's really
just a lot of full body workout stuff. We do
plyo metrics, We do hurdles, box jumps, all that type
of stuff. So it's pretty much a very all around
body workout type of sport.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Absolutely no. I love that, and I think it's so
essential to have that element of what I call park
whole approach and practice where you're kind of doing the
whole thing right, the pole vault and that sort of thing,
but then you're also having this element that you break
it up into pieces, if you will, to kind of
complete the entire puzzle. I think it's essential to have
those kind of separate elements that way, and I think
(34:32):
that often leads to the best performance and the best
confidence within the sport as well, because, as we mentioned before,
that way, you know, it's not just a matter of
physical preparation, because obviously you're a D one level athlete,
you've been a gymnast, you have this physical preparation thing down.
In my opinion, it's also just kind of that mental
confidence and belief and everything that comes together to ensure
(34:54):
that you are locked in and going to be successful
when the time comes around.
Speaker 4 (34:59):
Oh yeah, no, I definitely agree. And one thing that
has really helped me with kind of the mental side
is at the beginning of off season, I got like
a little notebook that stays in my track bag and
I write down like my goals for the practice, like
the jumps. I took what I needed to work on
in the jumps, like all my different marks, so I
(35:20):
know exactly where I was and where I'm at in
each practice. And I think that it seems like it
would help the physical side, but I think that helped
my mental side more because it helped me get everything
else physically doing, just onto paper so I could go
back and look at it, look at my goals, see
if I accomplish those goals. Also look at like where
I was jumping from, what pole I was jumping on,
(35:40):
and so you know, if I'm ever unsure about it
in the future, I can just go back a few
pages and be like, oh, I did this last week,
I can just start on this. And so there's nothing
I really have to like second guess, which is honestly
essential to feeling confident about that stuff.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Right, because you can choose between different pole sideses like
you can go up, you can go down, that sort
of thing, right, There's a lot of variables and things
you can change.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
Yeah, there are honestly like a million different variables to
pull ball, which makes it fun but also pretty difficult.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
And I feel like, yeah, to your point, that's definitely
a unique challenge, But that is something that makes it fun.
Is it's, you know, this constant questioning of what can
I do today to help me perform at an elite
level or at the most elite level I can that way,
And I think having that kind of process of journaling
and self reflection definitely plays a key role in that.
(36:32):
Is that something that you know, as you mentioned, you've
kind of got your journal that way. Is that something
you just kind of like word vomit stuff onto and
kind of go back later. Is there kind of like
a process that you've developed from a journaling standpoint.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
I think mainly how I use it is I'll open
it up each day, put like the day and if
it's meat, like put whatever meat it is. And my
first thing I write down are my goals and so
I'll just keep it pretty brief. Honestly, it's like two
to three bulls points of just like the main things
I want to focus on. And this doesn't have to
be like actual jumping goals. It could be like, oh,
(37:06):
make sure to have fun, like make sure that you
remember to drink water like random stuff like that. But
I honestly go in write down like my two to
three top goals, because especially in a meat setting, it's
kind of hard to remember a million different things to do.
So I kind of just try and keep it to
like the very important things, and then I'll like write
down all my jumps, and like I said, it's mainly
(37:29):
pretty concise. I keep it down pretty short, and so
I'm not sitting there super long working on it. But
if I wanted to go back and read it, I
write enough to where I'd get an idea of like
where my headspace was at, what my jumps were looking at.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Absolutely no, I think that's great to kind of have
that like framework and kind of journal that you can
look back upon and reference in the future. That way,
I think that's absolutely essential. And again I think that's
a practice that should be developed by more people, myself included. Right,
it doesn't matter what your goal is, whether that's sport
or high ach in life or whatever it is. That way,
I think if you have that framework and you take
(38:04):
these lessons that sport can teach you on performing at
a high level, you know, the sky is really your
limit and you can just kind of go out and
do anything or anything and everything that life throws at you.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
Oh yeah, No, I definitely agree, And.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
I feel like, at least for you, knowing you've got
that background in accounting and that's kind of where you're
heading in the future that way, and knowing you've got
the sport background, you're definitely destined for phenomenal things in
life post college that way. What's kind of on your
like bucket list for after college or what kind of
things do you really want to go out and be
able to accomplish following your time at university that way.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, I want to
travel a lot, so I'm trying to. I really want
to get into the point where I'm like financially free
enough to just travel and see the world a little bit.
It doesn't have to be like, oh, quit my job
and travel year round full straight like I nothing like that.
But I think being able to see the world would
(39:02):
be super fun and that's kind of cool. That's another
opportunity with possibly going pro and pulvil is they have
a whole European league over there called the Diamond League,
and it's the most competitive track and field league there
is to compete in, and so I think a huge
goal with that would be being able to compete there
and live in Europe for a little bit and just
(39:23):
travel around, which honestly would be a lifelong dream.
Speaker 1 (39:26):
So absolutely now, I think it would be absolutely incredible
for you to get that opportunity to travel and see
the world and just kind of live it up at
the next level that way. And I think that's something
that once you start, it's very difficult, if not impossible,
to stop. Is I For the longest time, it's like, oh,
I don't want to travel. I don't want to go anywhere.
I just felt like a bit of a homebody, if
(39:47):
you will. And then I started to go places and
I was like, you know what to say, so bad,
this is pretty good, this is pretty fun. And now
I'm looking at my month of June here and I've
got like four different flights and I've got a train booked,
and it's like, well, you know, if you ask me
to years ago, I wouldn't have expected to be here.
But I think once you get a taste for some
of these different things in life, and they're good things,
(40:07):
mind you, it becomes this. I wouldn't say addiction, because
I feel like addiction has a negative connotation, but it's
just one of those things that you just don't want
to go without in life, because life is far too
short to not have it in the picture. And I
think it leads to this line of thinking where it's like,
how can I get this in my life for the
(40:27):
rest of you know, as long as I want it
to be there? If you will, And it sounds like,
at least for you, you can certainly do that through
pole vaulting, but I think you're also going to be
able to find ways to do it even beyond pole vaulting,
even after a professional career. That way, if you'd like,
it's just a matter of what's important to you and
then how can you find a framework that allows you
to pursue those things.
Speaker 4 (40:48):
Yeah, I definitely agree, And I was so blessed when
I was younger. My parents loved going on trips, so
we traveled pretty much every summer just as a family together,
and so I feel like that's where I got my
little taste and it's to wanting to travel again. And
so I look back on those family trips and just
have such fun memories, and I'm like, I want to
create that for my own family someday.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Absolutely. What other impact did your family have on you
getting to this point in your life.
Speaker 4 (41:14):
Tenly, Yeah, honestly, they have been my foundation, And honestly,
my dad has been through the most I would probably say.
I mean last year, when I was not doing well,
I would like call him bawling after practice and be like,
why is this happening? Like I don't know what's wrong
with me, Like please help me fix it. And so
(41:36):
he was just very gracious and would listen to me
when I was pouring out my heart and I think
that was just honestly something I needed at that time.
And even now, like if I have a good practice
or something goes well, like he's the first person I call.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
I'm like, oh, I.
Speaker 4 (41:53):
Guess what happened today, And he's always like, thank you
for calling, Like it's so nice to hear from you.
So I think that has been he really helped get
me through a lot last year. Him and along with
my grandma too, Her and I call like once a
week for probably over an hour every week, which is
so nice. And her and my grandpa also traveled to
(42:15):
a bunch of my meets, and my dad has actually
come to every single track meet, which is so awesome.
So it's just it's great to have people who really
just continue to show up for me in that way.
Speaker 1 (42:28):
That is absolute life goals right there. Give it twenty
five thirty years from now and when I've got kids
in college playing sports that way, because they will be
playing sports. Yeah I'm not picky, but they'll play sports.
Definitely need to find a way to get to all
of their events that way wherever they are. That's just
such an incredible thing that way because you guys travel
(42:50):
all over the US from what I remember.
Speaker 4 (42:52):
Oh yeah, I mean just this year, We've been to Florida,
We've been to Virginia, we've been to Kansas, we go
all over the place, and he never fails to make
that happen.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
So it's it's so sweet.
Speaker 4 (43:06):
And I can just always count on hearing him cheer
from me when I'm on the back of that runway.
Speaker 1 (43:10):
So absolutely, I love everything about that. What's you know,
because I realized as we're talking, in the back of
my mind, I've got this context of outdoor track and field,
not indoor, but obviously there's an indoor element as well,
and you guys travel through the winter and all that
sort of thing. Is there anything different about indoor versus
outdoor track for you on the pole vault side of things.
Speaker 4 (43:32):
Yeah, honestly, weather like it's it's something that you wouldn't
I don't know, like it seems obvious, but being a
pole vaulter and wind specifically can screw.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
You over so hard.
Speaker 3 (43:44):
It could be that.
Speaker 4 (43:46):
That's something I've had to learn a lot this season.
Is we've dealt with some crazy winds, and even at
our outdoor conference meet just I think two weeks ago,
the wind was crazy and it was like swirling and
the gusts were up to fourty miles an hour, and
trying to pull vault with gusts that high is so
difficult because it can just blow your pull right over
(44:08):
and it's really not fun to deal with. So honestly,
being like physically tough enough and mentally tough enough to
deal with the weather is something that I've been really
trying to learn this outdoor season.
Speaker 1 (44:21):
I would imagine that's quite a challenge. My goodness, I
didn't even think about that.
Speaker 4 (44:25):
Yeah, yeah, it's it's honestly pretty crazy. And for that
to happen at our conference meet, I mean it was
everyone was struggling, so.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Oh, my goodness. Yeah, And I would assume that. That's
just a great example of some of the things we
discussed so far. Right, It's like life is going to
throw some unique obstacles your way, and you got to
decide how you're going to respond to them and rise
to the occasion. Which was it that meat that you
set the like almost fifteen foot pull volt or four
and a half meter pull volt or was it the
(44:57):
one before that?
Speaker 3 (44:58):
No, it was the one before that.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
I wish it was that meat, but it was the
one right before it.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
What was that feeling like when you wrapped up and
they told you the height that you had just cleared,
or you probably knew the height it was going to be? Yea,
was that feeling like immediately afterwards?
Speaker 4 (45:14):
I mean, honestly, it doesn't feel real half the time.
I'm sitting there and I'm like, I just did that,
Like that's awesome. But it's just I feel like this
year especially, I have felt so much gratitude and I
just feel so blessed to be in the position i am,
because especially of having such a difficult past two years.
It's like, you know, even every meet for me.
Speaker 2 (45:37):
Is just a blessing to compete.
Speaker 4 (45:38):
I'm I feel grateful even if I'm not jumping that
higher pring because I'm like, you know what, I'm strides
ahead ahead of where it was last year, like mentally physically,
So even if I'm not jumping the highest, like, it
just feels so nice to be back and be able
to compete.
Speaker 3 (45:55):
And so I think that's one thing.
Speaker 4 (45:57):
It's like, yeah, it was awesome jumping fourteen nine and
a half, but I'm also like, you know, it's awesome
jumping any other time too.
Speaker 1 (46:05):
Absolutely, it's always awesome to have the opportunity to do that.
And I think that mindset that you've developed helps you
to realize like how many people would just do anything
to be at the level that you're at. But also,
as you mentioned earlier, the inspiration effect that you have
on the next generation. Right you mentioned about how there's
a bunch of different girls middle school, high school, and
beyond that way reaching out to if your advice, coaching tips,
(46:27):
that sort of thing, And it's like, what a blessing
it is to be able to have that level of
impact and leave that kind of legacy on the sport.
Right even if you know, even if hypothetically like fourteen
and change is you know, your highest jump ever, it's
like the amount of people that you're able to push
towards that higher ground of life that we talked about
metaphorically earlier, just from your impact in the sport so
(46:50):
far is just such an incredible blessing. And I think
sometimes that's what we need to kind of remember, is
while the outcomes are great, while the winds are great,
sometimes it's not just about the on the field. It's
the winning off the site of competition and all the
people that we get to that metaphorical higher ground of
life that I've referenced a couple times.
Speaker 4 (47:08):
Yeah, No, I definitely agree, And well, pull Volt itself
has been such a great time for me, like it
has also helped me grow in many other aspects in
my life that I never would have thought. Like, Honestly,
I used to deal with super bad anxiety and somehow
being able to face my fears with pole vault has
helped me conquer some of that just in my personal
(47:30):
life as well. So it's just crazy the amount of
lessons you can learn from sports that translate directly into
your personal life that you would have never thought.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
Absolutely now one hundred percent, and I feel like we
could probably talk about this all day long, Tangley, is
there anything that we missed in our discussion today around
pole Vault and your kind of life journey?
Speaker 3 (47:50):
No, I honestly don't think so.
Speaker 4 (47:52):
I feel like we got a pretty good overview of
everything awesome.
Speaker 1 (47:56):
For people who want to find out more about you,
catch you online and that sort of thing, where can
they find you?
Speaker 3 (48:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (48:01):
So, my Instagram is at Tenley Koon along with my TikTok,
and I also have a website, tenleycoon dot com. If
y'all want to find out more information to reach out
about anything that is.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
Awesome, we'll link to all of that in the description below.
That way, if you didn't quite catch it, you can
just click there and see everything that Tenley is up to. Tenley,
this was amazing. I really appreciate your time and insights,
and I wish you the best of luck in Orgon
next week.
Speaker 3 (48:25):
Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (48:26):
I really appreciate it.
Welcome back to another episode of the Brown Performance and
Rehab Podcast, powered by Isofit and Firefly Recovery. Isofit is
my go to for all things isometric strength training. For
more on Isofit, be sure to check out isofit dot com.
Episodes like this are made possible by Firefly, the official
recovery provider of the Brown Performance and Rehab Podcast. For
(00:22):
more on Firefly, be sure to check out recoveryfirefly dot com.
This episode is powered by doctor Ray Gorman, founder of
Engage Movement. Learn how to boost your income without relying
on sessions. Get a free training on the Blended practice
model by following at Ray Gorman dpt on Instagram. Joining
me today is ten Lee Kuhn. Ten Lee and I
(00:43):
are going to dive into her journey surrounding pole vault,
her background in gymnastics, and so many other things along
the way. This was a phenomenal episode and I really
appreciate ten Lay's time. I really enjoyed learning more about
her as a person in addition to her athletics career,
and I know you will to enjoy. Henley, Welcome to
the podcast. I'm super excited to work with you today
(01:05):
for people who aren't familiar with you, or maybe they
haven't heard about your incredible backstore as it relates to
sport that way, would you mind film in a little
bit about who you are and all the amazing things
you've got going on.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Hey, my name is Tenley Kuhn and I'm currently on
the track and field team at Baylor University. I'm a
poll vaulter, and I joined the team in fall of
twenty twenty two as a walk on, and now I'm
heading to my first outdoor nationals this year, so I'm
super excited for that.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Absolutely. I mean, it sounds like you're incredibly successful and
huge shout out to all the amazing stuff that you've
been able to accomplish in the track and field space
that way, in particular around poll viollet. But as you mentioned,
it sounds like your path to track and field with
Baylor is a little unique that way. You mentioned you
walked onto the team, and a lot of the times
when I talk with athletes, you know, they're under the
(01:54):
impression that they're going to get recruited somewhere, go there
for sport that way, and then they're you know, off
to the race is from there tell me a little
bit more about your path getting into track and field
that bailor that way, because from what I remember, you
have a kind of unique backstory around that.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
So I used to be a gymnast and I did
gymnastics for about five or six years, and it finally
got to the point where my back was hurting so
bad that I genuinely just couldn't do it anymore. So
I decided to stop doing that. Freshman year of high school,
and then sophomore year, COVID happened, so everything was pretty
much shut down. I couldn't do anything or try any
(02:31):
new sports. And then junior my parents were like, oh,
like you should try track, and I was like, I
hate running, why would I do that?
Speaker 3 (02:39):
And they're like, no, but.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
You've always been fast, so just try it. I was
like okay. So then I joined the track team and
the head coach found out that I used to do gymnastics.
He was like, you should try pull vaulting, and I
was like, honestly, anything to get me out of running.
So I tried pull vaulting, and yeah, it just ended
up going well. I mean, my body awareness and strength
(03:00):
and everything from gymnastics really just helped out with learning
how to pull vault pretty fast.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
And then senior year.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
I got into Baylor on my own and my coach
ended up just reaching out to the track coach and
being like, Hey, I have this girl, she jumped this high.
Would she be able to be on your team? They
let me come on an unofficial visit and I loved
it there, So the rest is really history.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Yeah, that's amazing. That's so great to hear. I mean,
first off, it sounds like gymnastics. Every time I talk
with people about it, they eventually start to tell me that,
you know, back hurts, things hurt, that sort of thing.
It's a sport of the extremes. And I think that's
what makes gymnastics so impressive to me, is just how
elegant and artistic you make all these legit complicated things.
(03:44):
And I think, to your point, it probably does carry
overwhell to pole vault, because I think about the sport
of pole vault, you know, just running full speed towards
this like little pit thing and you're going to stick
a pole in the ground, fly through the air, do
some kind of flip while you're in the air, and
somehow lay and on this like cool little matt thing
that way, Like there's a little bit of that element
of body control, body awareness, but still artistic movement in nature.
(04:08):
I think that kind of bleeds over from gymnastics into
pole vault that way. So I think that's really impressive.
How how did you get into gymnastics in the first
place that way? What got you involved there?
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Yeah, well, I've always loved tumbling. Just as a kid,
I loved doing like flips and tricks and stuff on
the grass. So my parents were like, let's get you
into a tumbling class. I was like, okay, that's fine.
I did it when I was super young, and I
honestly am originally from Nevada, and I did it when
I was very little. I also did competitive cheer when
I was younger, but I didn't love the whole stunting
(04:40):
thing because people were dropping me on my head and
that was not fun. So I was like, can I
do this, but just like the tumbling part. And so
when he moved to California, my parents just found a
random tumbling class to put me in, and then they
were talking to other coaches found some gym that had
trampling and tumbling, which is the type of gymnastics I
ended up doing, and I was like, that sounds so fun,
(05:01):
an actual competitive place where I can jump on a
trampoline and tumble, like it was so perfect fit for me.
And yeah, my dad just happened to stumble upon the
gym that I ended up training at for five years.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So that's amazing. It just kind of fell together, fell
into place that way, Bunny, as you're talking about the
transition to track and field and the intro to track
and field that way, you mentioned about the running thing,
and I feel like you probably get this a lot.
People are like, Oh, you're on the track and field team,
what event do you run? And you're like, bro, we.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Don't do that.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
It's crazy, how I think a lot of the times
when we think of track and field and sport in general,
we think of the running element because that's just, for
whatever reason, what comes to mind, and we forget about
the throws, the pull vault, some of these other events
that are just as impressive, if not more impressive, in
my opinion, And I think the fact that we forget
about them kind of, you know, hides a lot of
(05:51):
opportunity from people.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
That way.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
I mean, think about you know, just thinking about your story.
It's like, man, if you had to be the one
who is just running every meet, would you have kept
with track and field because it sounds like you're like
me in the sense that running might not be your
favorite thing in the world.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
No, it's definitely not. So I definitely agree with you, though.
I feel like a lot of the time our field
events are overshadowed by the sprints, because I mean, honestly,
sprints are easier to watch. Like you go, you sit
for like a few races, and then it's done. With
like field events, you could be there for hours. I
could be competing for up to three to four hours straight,
just depending on how long the meat is going. So
(06:27):
I get it, but it is kind of being hard
being in a sport where your event specifically is just
always pretty overshadowed by everything else.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Absolutely, And like I mentioned, it's a wicked impressive event
to watch, and it's one of those things that I
think as I watch it, I'm like, man, I could
I could never do that. I don't know how y'all
master that whole like twist flip thing in the air
and all like, it is insanely impressive to watch. And
I also just watching it feel like there'd probably be
a fear effect at first, or at least if I
(06:56):
was going to try it, I would be freaking scared.
I'm like, got this like pull in my hand, running
like straight ahead towards the thing that way, Like, I
think there would be a fear factor element, at least
for me involved with that. So what's the kind of
mental side of the pull vault look like for you
that way? How do you go about prepping for you know,
your routines and all that sort of thing, and how
have you developed that over time?
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Yeah, honestly, that's a great question because last year and
freshman year as well, I was dealing with probably the
worst mental block I've ever gone through in my life.
I had someone I did gymnastics where I just wasn't
able to do a skill and it was hard.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
But this was to the point.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Where I was in practice and I not take up
a single jump, like I would just run down the runway.
And I don't know if I was scared or if
my body just wasn't responding or what was going on,
But I went basically a year and a half straight
without taking up a single jump in practice. But then
we would get to a meet and the bar would
go up and I would miraculously jump at the bar
and be like.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
What is happening?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Why can't I do this in practice?
Speaker 4 (07:55):
So it's a great question because this year has finally
been the year where I was able to to kind
of get over that. And what I realized is it's
really just a sense of confidence. Like I didn't really
change anything about my vault or my approach or anything.
It was just getting on the runway and being like,
I can do this. I know I can do this.
I'm going to take up this jump, And I think
(08:17):
that's so important. It's just believing in yourself and you know,
hoping and believing that nothing's going to go wrong because
you are a professional, you know what you're doing, and
just I don't know, worrying about everything that could possibly
go wrong is not going to set you out for success.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Absolutely. I mean, at the end of the day, fear
is ultimately a liar and it's self imposed. But because
it's self imposed, meaning you created it yourself, it also
means that you kind of have to be the one
to beat it back and destroy it, which obviously is
easier said than done. That way, what kind of things
did you lean into and what kind of things made
(08:52):
the most difference for you as you were kind of
beaten back that like plateau or mental obstacle if you will.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Yeah on it.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
For a while there, I was really questioning if I
even wanted to pull vault anymore, because I was like,
I'm at the point where I don't know if it's
worth it. I'm showing up and I'm doing the drills,
I'm doing everything my coach is saying, but things just
aren't coming together. But I think for me, what helped
me get through that was just sitting there and realizing that, like, no,
I chose to do this, so I'm going to follow
(09:21):
through with it and being able to push through all
those hardships.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
And honestly, my.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Faith has been a big aspect of it too, because
we're all human. We're all gonna fails. Inevitable that humans
are going to fail, that's just honestly how it is.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And the one thing that won't fail is God.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
And that is something that.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
I've had to learn is if I just lean on
myself and try and think that I can do everything
on my own, like I'm just gonna be upset all
the time, because that's not actually how it works. I
am very limited and by myself, I can't get that done.
So being able to put those fears and anxieties into
God is kind of something that helps guide me and
bring me more confidence, just even in pull Vall and
(10:02):
life in general.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Absolutely, that comes up so often on the podcast when
I'm working with athletes, whether that be you know, they're
recovering from some crazy injury, whether that's ACL or something
along those lines, or they're just talking about their sport
and the success in general is it seems like this
element of faith is a key hallmark piece for so
many athletes that way, and some of them have gone
(10:26):
as far to say that's the foundation that holds everything
up and without it they wouldn't be where they're at today.
And to me, understanding that, at least for myself, the
definition of faith is having complete trust and confidence in
someone or something that's unseen. Right. You can't see it,
you can't physically see it with your own two eyes.
It's not worldly or earthy, but you know it's there
(10:49):
and you know it's going to happen. And to me,
that just that's literally sport in a nutshell.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
It's like if you've looked thirteen feet and you want
to get to fourteen feet. You know what the end
goal is, but you haven't accomplished it yet. You can't
see it, but you believe in the path there. You
can't necessarily see it, you can't measure it, but you
know it's there. So I think having this element of
faith and having you know, some kind of religious practice
that way. And you know, I'm very open to say
(11:16):
I'm a little biased in the sense that I believe
in the Christian faith, and that's something I'm not ashamed
to admit by any means. But I think having that
element as part of your practice, that spiritual element is
just so essential and so overlooked.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Right.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
A lot of times when we talk about health, we
talk about the physical, the mental, the emotional, and all
these different things, which is great, but I think the
spiritual is what kind of blends all of that together,
if you.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Will, oh yeah, And I mean it helps with your
self worth and self image because when you're not doing
well in your sport, if that's all you have, you're
not doing well mentally, physically, anything in between, because that's
how you're basing your worth. But if you can base
your worth in something greater than you, that stuff doesn't
affect you as much. Like, yeah, it's upsetting if I
don't if I go and no out of meat, But
(12:01):
I'm not going to sit there and think that, oh wow,
I am a failure, because that's just not true.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Absolutely no, I completely agree, and on that point as well,
as you mentioned, you're going to come up short at times.
You're going to fail at times. That's just how life happens.
But for a lot of people, they fail, and failure
is what stands. They never move past it, they never
revisit it. They just come up short in some moment
(12:27):
and that's it. And I think understanding some of the
different teachings that come from a faith based background that way,
as you mentioned, as you outlined, help equip you to
overcome those times when things don't necessarily go your way
because you realize that there might be a reason it
didn't go your way. It's not all about you at
the end of the day. Maybe there's some kind of
(12:48):
higher power, higher purpose that's kind of behind the whole
thing that way, and maybe it's actually a good thing
that it didn't go your way, which it takes a
lot to start to think like and I'm by no
means perfect at it myself, but I've started to kind
of embrace this concept of thinking like, when things don't
go as I plan, maybe it's a good thing. Maybe
(13:09):
there's something bigger and better in the works that I
can't quite fathom and can't quite comprehend, and this failure
is actually teaching me something or it's an opportunity to
make myself better. So I think the more you kind
of reframe your mindset around failing, and I think again,
faith plays such a key role in that, I think,
the better off you're going to be long term, not
(13:30):
just in athletics, but even into the human element of
this whole thing as well, because I think a lot
of people forget you'll have lives outside of sports sometimes.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Yeah, we definitely have those.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Tell me more about what life outside of sport looks
like for you, Tenley. Obviously, track and field pull vote
in particular, is a big part of your life. That way,
What else do you like to do? What other things
kind of get you going and get you out of
bed outside of track and field?
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Yeah, So I am an accounting major right now, which
honestly takes a majority of my other free time unfortunately.
But I also have a cat named Sushi, and he
is the cutest thing to ever exist, so I spent
a lot of time with him. I also have some
(14:17):
really great friends. I have a great boyfriend. Honestly, my
free time is just spending time with people I love
and care about, and you know, trying to get that
time in because there's really.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Not that much of it.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Absolutely, it sounds like you've got this really good, like
just group of people around you that way, And I guess,
I guess we should throw your cat Sushi in there
as well. Great people and animals around you that way
as well. I gotta ask, what's the motivation behind the
name Sushi? Is there? Like, is that like a favorite.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Food group or yeah, honestly, sushi is my favorite food.
He's also okay, so salm and sushi is actually like
my favorite food of all time. And I have an
orange cat, and so when I saw him, I was like,
oh my gosh, he looks like Sam and Sue she
because he's kind of like orange on the top and
white on the bottom, and so I was like, oh
my gosh, his name should be sushi.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
I love that. I love everything about that, and I
think having a great group of friends and people and
animals around you in this case is so essential for
just this more like I call it like living a
good life, right, just happiness and purpose and just all
these senses that come with life. And I feel like
for a lot of athletes I talk with that can
(15:29):
be very difficult for them to balance because they understand
the demands of you know, playing participating in a D
one level sport, and they understand the training and the
riggers that go into that. And I find a lot
of times athletes have difficulty balancing that like life, good life,
happy life kind of thing with sport. And I think
(15:49):
that you can have both, and I think they should
go hand in hand together. That way, tell me a
little bit more about how you're able to balance all
the things you like to do outside of sport with
the things that you like to do within the sport
that way.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Yeah, Honestly, it can be very difficult at times. And
I think for me, there's a big balance between when
I'm in season and when I'm off season. So in
season is a very crunch time, pretty much traveling every
single week for about half a week. It really just depends.
So there, I think my free time is very limited.
(16:24):
My self care is like, oh, I can watch an
episode of my favorite show tonight, Like awesome, I have
time to do that. But I think for me and
what keeps me honestly sane is being able to knock
go as hard during off season versus when I'm in season.
So off season is when I'll see more of my friends.
I'll like play pickleball, I'll go on walks, like, I'll
(16:46):
do kind of more fun stuff like that, So I
can get a lot of it in and be kind
of chill during that time. And then once I'm in season,
it's kind of harder to get that done. But it's
just it looks the same, just on a way smaller scale,
if that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Yeah, absolutely, So it sounds like when you're out of season,
you take some time away from sport to just kind
of do whatever you want to do that way, and
then you slowly reintroduce kind of that sport element and
then ramp it up towards the season, and then once
season comes around, it sounds like you still have that
element of what we'll call balance in this case in
your life, but the scale is kind of tipped heavier
(17:23):
towards sport and lesser towards kind of everything outside of sport.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Yeah, yeah, I think I think that's pretty accurate. And
I'm just very lucky that I have people in my
life who understand when I'm in season, like I'm probably
not gonna see my friend as friends as much. So
it's it's nice though, because I feel very supportive and
or supported by my friends and family because they know,
like season is kind of a crunch time for me,
(17:48):
but like I feel like at that moment they kind
of decide to help put in more an effort so
I don't get lost or busy and too.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Caught up and everything.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
So it's nice though, because normally I'd say it could
be more fifty to fifty when it's off season, but
when it's in season, i'd say the people around me
kind of do.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Like, let's say seventy thirty.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
So it's nice that they're able to kind of keep
it balanced, but maybe sometimes they're putting in a little
bit more to kind of help keep me in.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
It absolutely, and it sounds like they have no issue
pouring into you that way. How do you like to
give back and pour into others because, as I probably
famously said when we first met, that way, my own
kind of personal like mantra for life, if you will,
is just trying to give back to as many people
as I can. Right, you can't go through it with
the catchers me in both hands. And I think the
(18:39):
more you throw back and elevate others around you, the
better we all do that way. So what's your own
kind of personal concept of giving back to others and
helping others along their journey.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Yeah, I think I think it really depends for the
season in life and if people come into my life
that I feel like it would be beneficial for to, like,
you know, help them figure out some things. Like a
lot of it for me right now is like younger
girls who are pull vaulters on Instagram, like sending me
dms and being like, Hey, this is wrong with my
jump or like what is wrong with my jump?
Speaker 3 (19:13):
Can you help me out?
Speaker 4 (19:14):
And so I think that has been something that has
been so rewarding recently because I'm like I was in
their shoes just a few years ago, and I love
how they feel like they can reach out and talk
to me about it because I would have loved to
have that too. I don't think I would have done
that in high school because I would have been too
scared too. But it makes me feel so happy that
these like younger girls who want to go D one,
(19:35):
who want a pull vault are like trying to actively
get better and they feel safe asking me about that.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Absolutely, I love that. Is that something that you kind
of see coming up in the future for you is
kind of like a coaching element around pole vault.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
I don't know if I would ever get into actual
one on one like coaching or like club or anything like.
I kind of like the way it is on social
media now, we're like, oh, they can like ask me
questions and I can kind of help out in that way.
But I don't know if I'd ever want to be
like actual sit down coach and have that be what
I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
I find it interesting because some people absolutely want their
sport to kind of take over the rest of their
life and they want to fully immerse themselves in it,
whether that be with coaching or something kind of similar
to it that way, and some people they're just kind
of like, you know what, this is my time in
sport that way, and afterwards, like I still want to
be involved, but you know, maybe coaching isn't for me
(20:35):
that way, And it sounds like, at least for you,
i'd imagine, you know, when this chapter wraps up, you're
probably not going to like disappear from the pole Vault
world entirely, but it sounds like you're probably not going
to transition into like a full time track and field
coaching kind of roll by the sounds.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Yeah, probably not.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
But I don't really know where track is going to
go after college because there's a chance that I might
go pro kind of just depending on if you know,
my body still feels good, if I'm still jumping high
enough to do so, so might be in it for
a little longer after college. But we will definitely see.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Tell me about what the professional side of track and
field looks like, because I feel like this does not
get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
Yeah, I feel like that's like hitting the nail on
the head is like it really doesn't.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Which is kind of difficult.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
It's harder to get sponsors and actually hard to make
decent money. Like you can go and see pretty much
any NFL football player and they're making millions of dollars
every year, even if they're just on the bench, which
is crazy. But then you have probably the number one
track athlete in America and I think they make six
They do make six figures, but it's not like millions
(21:47):
and millions of dollars like any NFL superstars, you know,
And these are people actually going to Olympics and winning medals,
and yet it's just so underpaid. And I think it's
honestly just because track and field isn't a huge thing
in America. Like in Europe, they are a much bigger
thing and people actually go to track meets. But in America, honestly,
(22:07):
people just don't really care that much about track.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 4 (22:12):
I honestly, I just think it's a culture thing. Like
we're very much like football, basketball, Like I think those
are already very prominent sports in our culture, so there's
not really room for other ones. And so I think
in like Europe and stuff, they don't have football. If
they do, it's on like a much smaller scale than
(22:32):
what we have in America, and it's not really part
of their culture. So they do actually put effort and
they care about looking into things like track and stuff,
But here I just think it's so out of the loop.
And you know a lot of football players just do
track in high school to stay in shape for football,
so nobody's there for like actually track.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Yeah, it sounds like for a lot of people track
and field it's not their main thing. And I've even
heard that in relation to those on the run side
of things as well. Right, they do cross country in
the fall and they're concerned about cross country, and then
they do track and field in the spring to stay
in shape for cross country, and then after the college
career wraps up, they make a run at kind of
(23:14):
like the professional running side of things. They don't necessarily
go into professional one hundred or two hundred meters sprints
most of them. Most of them go into some kind
of more distance running, ultra endurance kind of thing, if
you will that way, which to your point, I think
it's a shame because I think track and field kind
of has this really unique kind of sporting opportunity that
(23:35):
way where I think personally there's something for everyone. It's like,
you know, you could be fast, you could be kind
of the engine that never stops running. You could be
someone who's just really powerful and explosive and wants nothing
to do with running. You could be someone who has
this like really good sense of body control and awareness.
Whatever your own kind of strength and skill set is
biased towards, you can find events towards that, and even
(23:59):
if there's event that you want to do, that kind
of play off of those skill sets, but still challenge
you and don't come as easily. I think there's a
lot of value in that as well. And the nice
thing with track is you don't have to be like
locked in to one specific event. You can almost kind of,
you know, blend them all together and do two or three,
or I guess if you're crazy, you could do like
a decathlon or something like that. But it's just got
(24:22):
this unique element where it kind of provides something for everyone,
in my opinion, and I think that's something that I
would like to see in sports more going forward, is
when I watch a sport, it's not just one specific thing.
It's kind of something for everyone if you will oh yeah, no.
Speaker 4 (24:38):
I mean even in high school when I started pull vaulting,
one of the coaches who helped with jumps like triple
jump and long jump was like, oh, do you want
to try a long jump.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
I was like, sure, and so.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
I long jumped at a few track meets, and then
the other coach who wanted me to actually sprint, was like, oh, well,
you're actually going to run the two hundred two. So
I ran the two hundred a couple times. So it's
not like I feel like, especially in high school, you
can literally try any event that you want to. So
even me, when I only really wanted to do pull ball,
I was still doing two other events just to.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Like do it absolutely absolutely. It's like you kind of
balance it all together that way, if you will. And
the other thing I like about track and field too
is I feel like you get this team that's big
enough that you get a wide array of people and
personalities and skill sets, but it's small enough in the
sense that it still feels like a community that way
(25:28):
as well. At least that's what I've heard from a
lot of other track and field athletes is they wouldn't
replace their track and field team with anything else, And
a lot of them have different sporting backgrounds in the
past that way, different sports, and they just feel like
the track team is just the most closely kind of
tied together and kind of close knit if you will
that way. So I think there's something powerful about you know,
(25:49):
to your point, even though the sport is overlooked, and
I definitely want that to change. It seems like in
the moment you all really make the best of the
situation and play the cards you're dealt.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Well, Oh yeah, I definitely agree.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
It's honestly so cool to be on a team where
there's so many talented people, but they're talented in such
different ways. Like I feel like with certain sports there's
just like kind of like cookie cutter, this is a
great athlete, and you have to be this way to
be a great athlete. And I think it's so cool
to be on the track team and being like, oh,
that person is great at throws and there's complete unique
(26:23):
reasons that make them good at throws versus what makes
me a good pull vaulter. So it really has me
gain a greater appreciation for just athletes in general, because
there's so many things that I never would have thought
would make you like really good or really athletic, but
here these people are like showing me all these different
attributes and characteristics that make them successful, and it's really awesome.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
To see absolutely, And speaking of attributes that make people successful, obviously,
as we've been talking, you are highly successful within the
sport of pole vault in particular, so much so that
you're going to be competing in or gone very soon.
Walk me through a little bit about what you feel
helped get you to this point, helped you become successful
(27:06):
here that way, and also what kind of advice do
you have for others to kind of get to this
point in your career.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
Yeah, honestly, I am just a very competitive person to
begin with. So if I'm doing something like, it's with
my whole heart, and I think that's something that I
see a lack of sometimes in sports, is someone's just like, Okay,
well I'm here, I'm just going to do it because
I have to do it, just running through the motions.
But I think something that's so important is, you know,
(27:36):
trying to reignite that motivation and remember why you're there,
which honestly I do struggle with sometimes it's hard to
not get burnt out of something that you're constantly doing.
But I think of just staying realistic and trying to remember,
like what your goals are, what you're trying to do,
kind of helps keep that motivation and get you through
like every single workout you're going through.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Absolutely absolutely I love that. And what kind of things
are you bringing with you into, you know, into nationals
that way that you feel are gonna help set you
up for success there, whether that's kind of the mindset,
the mentality, the training, what kind of things do you
feel like really help you lock in for this?
Speaker 4 (28:15):
Yeah, Honestly, it's weird because it's kind of a feeling
that is very hard for me to describe. But when
I'm in a competition, when I get on that track,
my mind is in a completely different mindset than it
is anywhere else. It's like I get in, I like
pick up my pull, I get on the runway and
I'm just locked in. There could be like a fire
(28:35):
alarm going off or police sirens, and I honestly would
not be able to hear it because of how laser
focused I am just on the runway and I've kind
of just I honestly am gonna call it a gift
because I don't really.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
Know what else it is.
Speaker 4 (28:48):
But I've had it really since I've done gymnastics, where
it was like I'd get on the trampoline and everything
was just locked in. And I think that's such a
blessing because you know, every time I get on that
runway and I'm ready to compete, it's like my mind
and my body knows what it has to do and
it's just ready to go.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Absolutely. So you have this ability to just kind of
lock in and enter that what do they call it,
like a flow state almost.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
If you will, Yeah, yeah, I think so.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
And that's just something you've just naturally had, and you know,
it's not something that you had to develop, It was
just kind of always there. That's such a gift in
my opinion, because I talk with a lot of people.
I mean I see it myself, like there's times when
I can lock in and be present and in the
moment and have a conversation like this and just be
(29:33):
off to the races that way. But there's also times
where it's very easy to get distracted. And that's regardless
of what I'm doing, whether that's you know, work from
a petis standpoint, sometimes even during podcasts like whatever. It is, Like,
I find distractions are very plentiful in today's day and age,
and I think having this ability to lock in and
just be present in the moment and kind of live
(29:56):
it up that way, for lack of a better way
to put it, is really a lost art my opinion.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
Yeah, And I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm definitely
no stranger to distraction. I have ADHD, so I'm like
all the time like looking around, like trying to figure
out what's going on, or even.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Trying to study for exams.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
It's like it takes so long for me to actually
sit down and get done when I need to get.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Done, because it can be so hard.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
But I mean, even with that, I don't I honestly
don't know what it is because you know, the second
I get on that runway, I'm just very locked down.
I'm like, you know, I wish I had this when
it came to school so I could just sit down
and study for like five hours stream, but.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
I just can't do that.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
You know.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
It's so crazy to hear you say that that way,
because we literally just did a podcast with a girl,
another college athlete d one lacrosse, and she was mentioning
about how she feels like her ADHD is almost like
a cheat code to life that way, and she's like, yeah,
you know, I can never shut my mind off it's
always going. But because of that, I'm able to do this,
(30:56):
do this, do this, and all these different things that way.
And I was like, you know, I've never really thought
about that. Like a lot of times, I think we
hear someone's story and hear certain things that way, and
we automatically assume it to be in negative context that way,
when in reality, it's just a new opportunity presenting itself. Right,
Like in relation to track and field, for example, there
(31:18):
might be someone who hates running and we might think, well,
you know, track and field is not the thing for you,
don't do that, blah blah blah. But it's like, in reality,
it's just a matter of how do we reframe this
into something that you know, they're very much here for
and they can tackle and accomplish quite well. Quick Break,
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Speaker 4 (32:24):
Oh yeah, no, I definitely agree. That's the awesome part
is you could probably have any single person walk under
the track team and they could find a spot for them.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
You know, it's.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Not not very limited to what type of athletes or
what talent they need.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Honestly, absolutely no, it's it's very it was the right
word inclusive or something along what is We've talked about
a lot of different things so far, but one of
the things we haven't talked about it's kind of the
typical practice and physical preparation flow for you all that way.
So what's the typical day to day look like for
you surrounding practice and kind of prep for this incredible sport.
Speaker 4 (33:02):
Yeah, so we work out five days a week. Normally
we vault three days a week, and then we do
drills two days a week. So our vault days are
typically Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and within those vault days, we
have short run and long run days, and so Mondays
are typically short run day that's just very like technique related.
(33:23):
You're not really trying to jump your highest or push
huge pulls, like you're literally just working out the nitty
gritty stuff.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
In your jump.
Speaker 4 (33:31):
And then Wednesday Friday are typically long jump days, which is,
you know, trying to take that technique that you got
on Monday and transferring it over to your full approach.
And then Tuesday Thursday are kind of drill days. The
drills that we do are just very interesting, so it's
kind of hard to explain. Like we have like a
high bar like gymnastics bar that we do stuff on,
(33:51):
we have a rope, we have rings, so it's really
just a lot of full body workout stuff. We do
plyo metrics, We do hurdles, box jumps, all that type
of stuff. So it's pretty much a very all around
body workout type of sport.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Absolutely no. I love that, and I think it's so
essential to have that element of what I call park
whole approach and practice where you're kind of doing the
whole thing right, the pole vault and that sort of thing,
but then you're also having this element that you break
it up into pieces, if you will, to kind of
complete the entire puzzle. I think it's essential to have
those kind of separate elements that way, and I think
(34:32):
that often leads to the best performance and the best
confidence within the sport as well, because, as we mentioned before,
that way, you know, it's not just a matter of
physical preparation, because obviously you're a D one level athlete,
you've been a gymnast, you have this physical preparation thing down.
In my opinion, it's also just kind of that mental
confidence and belief and everything that comes together to ensure
(34:54):
that you are locked in and going to be successful
when the time comes around.
Speaker 4 (34:59):
Oh yeah, no, I definitely agree. And one thing that
has really helped me with kind of the mental side
is at the beginning of off season, I got like
a little notebook that stays in my track bag and
I write down like my goals for the practice, like
the jumps. I took what I needed to work on
in the jumps, like all my different marks, so I
(35:20):
know exactly where I was and where I'm at in
each practice. And I think that it seems like it
would help the physical side, but I think that helped
my mental side more because it helped me get everything
else physically doing, just onto paper so I could go
back and look at it, look at my goals, see
if I accomplish those goals. Also look at like where
I was jumping from, what pole I was jumping on,
(35:40):
and so you know, if I'm ever unsure about it
in the future, I can just go back a few
pages and be like, oh, I did this last week,
I can just start on this. And so there's nothing
I really have to like second guess, which is honestly
essential to feeling confident about that stuff.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Right, because you can choose between different pole sideses like
you can go up, you can go down, that sort
of thing, right, There's a lot of variables and things
you can change.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
Yeah, there are honestly like a million different variables to
pull ball, which makes it fun but also pretty difficult.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
And I feel like, yeah, to your point, that's definitely
a unique challenge, But that is something that makes it fun.
Is it's, you know, this constant questioning of what can
I do today to help me perform at an elite
level or at the most elite level I can that way,
And I think having that kind of process of journaling
and self reflection definitely plays a key role in that.
(36:32):
Is that something that you know, as you mentioned, you've
kind of got your journal that way. Is that something
you just kind of like word vomit stuff onto and
kind of go back later. Is there kind of like
a process that you've developed from a journaling standpoint.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
I think mainly how I use it is I'll open
it up each day, put like the day and if
it's meat, like put whatever meat it is. And my
first thing I write down are my goals and so
I'll just keep it pretty brief. Honestly, it's like two
to three bulls points of just like the main things
I want to focus on. And this doesn't have to
be like actual jumping goals. It could be like, oh,
(37:06):
make sure to have fun, like make sure that you
remember to drink water like random stuff like that. But
I honestly go in write down like my two to
three top goals, because especially in a meat setting, it's
kind of hard to remember a million different things to do.
So I kind of just try and keep it to
like the very important things, and then I'll like write
down all my jumps, and like I said, it's mainly
(37:29):
pretty concise. I keep it down pretty short, and so
I'm not sitting there super long working on it. But
if I wanted to go back and read it, I
write enough to where I'd get an idea of like
where my headspace was at, what my jumps were looking at.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Absolutely no, I think that's great to kind of have
that like framework and kind of journal that you can
look back upon and reference in the future. That way,
I think that's absolutely essential. And again I think that's
a practice that should be developed by more people, myself included. Right,
it doesn't matter what your goal is, whether that's sport
or high ach in life or whatever it is. That way,
I think if you have that framework and you take
(38:04):
these lessons that sport can teach you on performing at
a high level, you know, the sky is really your
limit and you can just kind of go out and
do anything or anything and everything that life throws at you.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
Oh yeah, No, I definitely agree, And.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
I feel like, at least for you, knowing you've got
that background in accounting and that's kind of where you're
heading in the future that way, and knowing you've got
the sport background, you're definitely destined for phenomenal things in
life post college that way. What's kind of on your
like bucket list for after college or what kind of
things do you really want to go out and be
able to accomplish following your time at university that way.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, I want to
travel a lot, so I'm trying to. I really want
to get into the point where I'm like financially free
enough to just travel and see the world a little bit.
It doesn't have to be like, oh, quit my job
and travel year round full straight like I nothing like that.
But I think being able to see the world would
(39:02):
be super fun and that's kind of cool. That's another
opportunity with possibly going pro and pulvil is they have
a whole European league over there called the Diamond League,
and it's the most competitive track and field league there
is to compete in, and so I think a huge
goal with that would be being able to compete there
and live in Europe for a little bit and just
(39:23):
travel around, which honestly would be a lifelong dream.
Speaker 1 (39:26):
So absolutely now, I think it would be absolutely incredible
for you to get that opportunity to travel and see
the world and just kind of live it up at
the next level that way. And I think that's something
that once you start, it's very difficult, if not impossible,
to stop. Is I For the longest time, it's like, oh,
I don't want to travel. I don't want to go anywhere.
I just felt like a bit of a homebody, if
(39:47):
you will. And then I started to go places and
I was like, you know what to say, so bad,
this is pretty good, this is pretty fun. And now
I'm looking at my month of June here and I've
got like four different flights and I've got a train booked,
and it's like, well, you know, if you ask me
to years ago, I wouldn't have expected to be here.
But I think once you get a taste for some
of these different things in life, and they're good things,
(40:07):
mind you, it becomes this. I wouldn't say addiction, because
I feel like addiction has a negative connotation, but it's
just one of those things that you just don't want
to go without in life, because life is far too
short to not have it in the picture. And I
think it leads to this line of thinking where it's like,
how can I get this in my life for the
(40:27):
rest of you know, as long as I want it
to be there? If you will, And it sounds like,
at least for you, you can certainly do that through
pole vaulting, but I think you're also going to be
able to find ways to do it even beyond pole vaulting,
even after a professional career. That way, if you'd like,
it's just a matter of what's important to you and
then how can you find a framework that allows you
to pursue those things.
Speaker 4 (40:48):
Yeah, I definitely agree, And I was so blessed when
I was younger. My parents loved going on trips, so
we traveled pretty much every summer just as a family together,
and so I feel like that's where I got my
little taste and it's to wanting to travel again. And
so I look back on those family trips and just
have such fun memories, and I'm like, I want to
create that for my own family someday.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Absolutely. What other impact did your family have on you
getting to this point in your life.
Speaker 4 (41:14):
Tenly, Yeah, honestly, they have been my foundation, And honestly,
my dad has been through the most I would probably say.
I mean last year, when I was not doing well,
I would like call him bawling after practice and be like,
why is this happening? Like I don't know what's wrong
with me, Like please help me fix it. And so
(41:36):
he was just very gracious and would listen to me
when I was pouring out my heart and I think
that was just honestly something I needed at that time.
And even now, like if I have a good practice
or something goes well, like he's the first person I call.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
I'm like, oh, I.
Speaker 4 (41:53):
Guess what happened today, And he's always like, thank you
for calling, Like it's so nice to hear from you.
So I think that has been he really helped get
me through a lot last year. Him and along with
my grandma too, Her and I call like once a
week for probably over an hour every week, which is
so nice. And her and my grandpa also traveled to
(42:15):
a bunch of my meets, and my dad has actually
come to every single track meet, which is so awesome.
So it's just it's great to have people who really
just continue to show up for me in that way.
Speaker 1 (42:28):
That is absolute life goals right there. Give it twenty
five thirty years from now and when I've got kids
in college playing sports that way, because they will be
playing sports. Yeah I'm not picky, but they'll play sports.
Definitely need to find a way to get to all
of their events that way wherever they are. That's just
such an incredible thing that way because you guys travel
(42:50):
all over the US from what I remember.
Speaker 4 (42:52):
Oh yeah, I mean just this year, We've been to Florida,
We've been to Virginia, we've been to Kansas, we go
all over the place, and he never fails to make
that happen.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
So it's it's so sweet.
Speaker 4 (43:06):
And I can just always count on hearing him cheer
from me when I'm on the back of that runway.
Speaker 1 (43:10):
So absolutely, I love everything about that. What's you know,
because I realized as we're talking, in the back of
my mind, I've got this context of outdoor track and field,
not indoor, but obviously there's an indoor element as well,
and you guys travel through the winter and all that
sort of thing. Is there anything different about indoor versus
outdoor track for you on the pole vault side of things.
Speaker 4 (43:32):
Yeah, honestly, weather like it's it's something that you wouldn't
I don't know, like it seems obvious, but being a
pole vaulter and wind specifically can screw.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
You over so hard.
Speaker 3 (43:44):
It could be that.
Speaker 4 (43:46):
That's something I've had to learn a lot this season.
Is we've dealt with some crazy winds, and even at
our outdoor conference meet just I think two weeks ago,
the wind was crazy and it was like swirling and
the gusts were up to fourty miles an hour, and
trying to pull vault with gusts that high is so
difficult because it can just blow your pull right over
(44:08):
and it's really not fun to deal with. So honestly,
being like physically tough enough and mentally tough enough to
deal with the weather is something that I've been really
trying to learn this outdoor season.
Speaker 1 (44:21):
I would imagine that's quite a challenge. My goodness, I
didn't even think about that.
Speaker 4 (44:25):
Yeah, yeah, it's it's honestly pretty crazy. And for that
to happen at our conference meet, I mean it was
everyone was struggling, so.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Oh, my goodness. Yeah, And I would assume that. That's
just a great example of some of the things we
discussed so far. Right, It's like life is going to
throw some unique obstacles your way, and you got to
decide how you're going to respond to them and rise
to the occasion. Which was it that meat that you
set the like almost fifteen foot pull volt or four
and a half meter pull volt or was it the
(44:57):
one before that?
Speaker 3 (44:58):
No, it was the one before that.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
I wish it was that meat, but it was the
one right before it.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
What was that feeling like when you wrapped up and
they told you the height that you had just cleared,
or you probably knew the height it was going to be? Yea,
was that feeling like immediately afterwards?
Speaker 4 (45:14):
I mean, honestly, it doesn't feel real half the time.
I'm sitting there and I'm like, I just did that,
Like that's awesome. But it's just I feel like this
year especially, I have felt so much gratitude and I
just feel so blessed to be in the position i am,
because especially of having such a difficult past two years.
It's like, you know, even every meet for me.
Speaker 2 (45:37):
Is just a blessing to compete.
Speaker 4 (45:38):
I'm I feel grateful even if I'm not jumping that
higher pring because I'm like, you know what, I'm strides
ahead ahead of where it was last year, like mentally physically,
So even if I'm not jumping the highest, like, it
just feels so nice to be back and be able
to compete.
Speaker 3 (45:55):
And so I think that's one thing.
Speaker 4 (45:57):
It's like, yeah, it was awesome jumping fourteen nine and
a half, but I'm also like, you know, it's awesome
jumping any other time too.
Speaker 1 (46:05):
Absolutely, it's always awesome to have the opportunity to do that.
And I think that mindset that you've developed helps you
to realize like how many people would just do anything
to be at the level that you're at. But also,
as you mentioned earlier, the inspiration effect that you have
on the next generation. Right you mentioned about how there's
a bunch of different girls middle school, high school, and
beyond that way reaching out to if your advice, coaching tips,
(46:27):
that sort of thing, And it's like, what a blessing
it is to be able to have that level of
impact and leave that kind of legacy on the sport.
Right even if you know, even if hypothetically like fourteen
and change is you know, your highest jump ever, it's
like the amount of people that you're able to push
towards that higher ground of life that we talked about
metaphorically earlier, just from your impact in the sport so
(46:50):
far is just such an incredible blessing. And I think
sometimes that's what we need to kind of remember, is
while the outcomes are great, while the winds are great,
sometimes it's not just about the on the field. It's
the winning off the site of competition and all the
people that we get to that metaphorical higher ground of
life that I've referenced a couple times.
Speaker 4 (47:08):
Yeah, No, I definitely agree, And well, pull Volt itself
has been such a great time for me, like it
has also helped me grow in many other aspects in
my life that I never would have thought. Like, Honestly,
I used to deal with super bad anxiety and somehow
being able to face my fears with pole vault has
helped me conquer some of that just in my personal
(47:30):
life as well. So it's just crazy the amount of
lessons you can learn from sports that translate directly into
your personal life that you would have never thought.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
Absolutely now one hundred percent, and I feel like we
could probably talk about this all day long, Tangley, is
there anything that we missed in our discussion today around
pole Vault and your kind of life journey?
Speaker 3 (47:50):
No, I honestly don't think so.
Speaker 4 (47:52):
I feel like we got a pretty good overview of
everything awesome.
Speaker 1 (47:56):
For people who want to find out more about you,
catch you online and that sort of thing, where can
they find you?
Speaker 3 (48:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (48:01):
So, my Instagram is at Tenley Koon along with my TikTok,
and I also have a website, tenleycoon dot com. If
y'all want to find out more information to reach out
about anything that is.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
Awesome, we'll link to all of that in the description below.
That way, if you didn't quite catch it, you can
just click there and see everything that Tenley is up to. Tenley,
this was amazing. I really appreciate your time and insights,
and I wish you the best of luck in Orgon
next week.
Speaker 3 (48:25):
Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (48:26):
I really appreciate it.
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