Bring Inward Athlete to You

An Inward Experiential Approach to Athlete Authenticity

Athletes spend crucial developmental years of their life dedicated to their sport and athletic endeavors. During this time their identity, purpose, and belonging become inextricably linked to their sports. So, when it is time for their athletic careers to come to an end, they can end up feeling lost, unsure of who they are, and left seeking the answers to "who am I?"

Proactive and inclusive approaches are needed in the holistic athlete development space to provide athletes time with inward reflection that is needed to process all of who they are to expand into their most authentic self. This is the time more than ever to invest in the holistic development to athletes' expansion of self as leaders. And without it, many athletes stay in a confining box of who they think they are rather than evolve into the fullest expression of who they are meant to become.

Hi,

I'm Dr. Jen Gellock. I am an educator, researcher, storyteller, mindfulness and leadership coach, and poet. The day I began taking an inward approach to my own self-development practice was the day I became free from all of the boxes I had put myself in. After many years of engaging in leadership and personal development work, I realized I mostly looked outside of myself for someone else to tell me who I was, where I should go, and what I should be doing with my life. I have been able to trace my misdirection all of the way back to my transition after being a competitive dancer and three-sport high school athlete. It was only when I began writing and sharing through authentic expression, I realized I was not alone in my lived experiences of feeling lost and it helped others became validated through me sharing my journey.

And now, I am excited to share that I am blending my worlds together by taking my former life as an academic and combining it with my creativity to create one beautiful journey for athletes to experience just for themselves.

I am excited to share with you the Unlocking You experience.

Unlocking You is a two-hour experiential workshop specifically designed for athletes to go on an inward journey and bring awareness to who they are and their purpose outside of athletics.

In Unlocking You Athletes Will Experience...

• Teaching through the art of authentic expression (storytelling and poetry),
• Key teachings and conversations around identity, purpose, leadership, goal-setting, self-worth & confidence, honoring of self and others,
• Guided reflection and optional post performance writing workshop,
• Dedicated time for sharing, listening, peer witnessing, and inward reflection,
• Post workshop opportunities for athletes to stay connected with Dr. Gellock through submitting their writing to receive responses on their inward journeys.

This experience is for your school/team/athletes if...

• You want your athletes to live a life on and off the playing field with a vitality for life, joy, clarity, and confidence in who they are,
• You want to support your athletes to become more self-aware as authentic leaders and leverage the skills they have already acquired through playing sports in all areas of their life,
• You want your athletes to learn how to honor their athletic career and take the intentional time to celebrate the years of hard work and commitment they have dedicated to their sport(s),
• You want to support your athletes to connect to a purpose and mission outside of just their athletic talents,
• You want to support your athletes who are feeling anxious with tools to navigate the unknown future of what happens next after sports,
• You want to support athletes who might feel unsure of who you they are when they are no longer an athlete,
• You want to hold space for your athletes to devote time and energy to discovering new passions outside of athletics,
• You want to support your athletes in feeling inspired to take ownership in consciously creating their life,
• You want to support your athletes in being proactive in developing mindfulness skills that will improve their mental, physical, and emotional well-being.