Intangible Podcast
Welcome to the Intangible Podcast. We sit with professional athletes, coaches and experts to uncover the intangible qualities that drive peak performance. Through our conversations we discover the strategies, mindset shifts, and hidden strengths that elevate athletes to new heights.
Intangible Podcast
Janee' Kassanavoid | The Mindset Behind Becoming a World Medalist
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In this episode of the Intangible Podcast, Chris Spencer sits down with Janee’ Kassanavoid, one of the most powerful and inspiring throwers in the world.
Janee’ shares the mindset, discipline, and inner strength it takes to compete on the global stage, while also carrying the pride of her Comanche heritage into everything she does. From chasing big goals to handling pressure, overcoming setbacks, and learning how to trust the process, this conversation is packed with lessons for young athletes, parents, and coaches.
This episode is a reminder that greatness is not just about talent. It is about identity, resilience, consistency, and the intangible qualities that help athletes rise when the moment gets heavy.
Tap in to hear Janee’ Kassanavoid’s story and discover what intangibles drive her.
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All right, we're joined here with uh Janae is joining us, and we're really excited to have her on the Tangible Podcast. Um, you know, before we get into you know the story of Janae, we want to talk a little bit about her highlights and who she is. And she's a go all the way back to high school, a multi-sport athlete, uh, women's volleyball, basketball, softball, and she's also a track star. Um we also look at her her career as making the USA the uh team USA as a hammer thrower. She's a three-time Big 12 champion, she's a four-time NCAA All-American, and she also has set records at K at K-State. Um she has medals, um, she has world championship medals, bronze and silver, um, 2022 and 2023. Um she's also one of the top 10 tours in the world. I think the personal best there is 7.8 meters. Is that right? 78 meters. 78 meters, I think. Yes. She's also an advocate for indigenous representation and youth empowerment. And she also uses her platform to celebrate culture street and native athletes. So welcome to the tangent podcast. We're really excited to have you here.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.
SPEAKER_01As you think about, you know, all the different sports that you grew up playing, you know, what led you to track and feel, um, and particularly wanting to throw a hammer.
SPEAKER_00It wasn't my choice, and I did not pick it. Uh, it kind of chose me. But things to when it came down to, yeah, um, here we are. But I think when it came to making the decision of college and playing sports at the next level and what I want out of life, and my scope was just very small with my mom and dad's, you know, road and their education and what they wanted for us and what they pushed us towards. Like I didn't think college was not necessarily possible, but I didn't know what could come of it and how to get there and what it all meant, even though those are the things they pushed for us to do in high school. At the time, I was like, oh, don't worry about it. Um, so when the opportunity came, getting letters in the mail for all the sports I participated in, considering getting recruited, um, I was attending a halftime coursework culinary arts program during high school. And that was a really big passion of mine and what I could consider doing that and hanging up the cleats for good and not kind of following in the footsteps of my older siblings and be like, well, I'm okay. I'm gonna do something different. Um, but that financial avenue wasn't there, and my family wasn't the best. Um, you know, on the financial aspect, we struggled a lot and of course couldn't participate as heavily in sports as we wanted to because of that. Um, just resources and access. So track and field was that one that I did for fun. I was good at it. They put me in whatever event I needed to score points. Um, so it was it was cool. My older sister, Jasmine, was a shot putter. She was really good, went to state, state champion as a sophomore. I was like, well, that's cool, good for you. Yay. But when I did it, we didn't have coaches that were event specific in the throws. We just went out there, skipped the warm-up lap, threw for 30 minutes, went home. That was our high school practices.
SPEAKER_02I can relate to that.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And so I had okay marks through high school. I went to state every year in the shot in the disc. I tried to take it more seriously at practice, and we did get a coach like my senior year, but still nothing amazing. Um, when Johnson County Community College, I found out they had like a world-renowned chef apprenticeship program. I reached out to the coach. My sister helped me write up this email uh because she was familiar with the recruiting process. And he's like, Oh yeah, we'll have you on a visit. I think you'd be really great. Went on a visit, was like, Yep, you'll pay for everything, sign on the dotted line, show up to practice the first day. And he's like, So you know you're gonna throw a hammer, right? And I said, Hammer, like principal trench bowl hammer. I'm a little scared, um, but okay, we'll try it. So I threw the shot, the disc, the hammer, and then for indoor season, the weight throw. And I got second throwing the weight throw for the first time indoors, and then I actually won the hammer first year outdoors. And I was like, well, this is cool. This is fun.
SPEAKER_01It's impressive, but I mean, I think when you combine all the other sports that you've done, and then you combine dance with all of that, it's I feel like all of that kind of comes together in that in that circle. The the the flow, the precision. I mean, I think you were you were building it without even knowing, being built for that. So that's pretty cool to do it for the first time and then and then win.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I think that was the transition of my first year at Johnson County at community college to getting recruited at a D1 level. Um, I think it was just the perfect time. And so I left uh my sophomore year and attended Kansas State University. And the coach there, Greg Watson, that I'd worked with for 11 years of my career. Um, he's like, you know, you're meant to be hammer thrower, you're designed to be hammer thrower. So we're gonna drop everything else and I'm gonna train you to be a hammer thrower. And I said, Okay, all right, whatever you want me to do, I'll do it.
SPEAKER_01Here we go, here we go.
SPEAKER_00I think just with that competitive mindset, wanting to be the best, it really just took it on its own. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Now, when you think about stepping into that kind of uh arena and from a competitive standpoint, how did you know, being that you're big with big into your family and growing up in a small town again? I can relate to all of those things growing up in a small town, Mississippi, uh, not having a lot of resources, um, you know, but finding your finding your place, you know. So as you found your place, what was it like stepping into competition and bringing all of that that the family history and things along with you to that that really helped you succeed as your sport?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think through college for me, um, it was still like I was still finding my ground and finding my feeding because I was so new to the world and so new to the sport. I was learning a lot and then trying to still develop as a young adult and like who I am, you know, how do I want to carry myself? And it was really then that I discovered like more identity, if you will, about my culture and where I come from and being prideful in that and honoring it and kind of I didn't have the privilege growing up in a community in a reservation, whether that may be looked on now as good or bad, but I wasn't able to learn a lot of my language or you know, our culture and heritage and traditional things like powwow dancing or wearing regalia and things of that nature because my dad raised us outside of that and away from family where we could learn. And so a lot of my college career was just self-discovering and trying to reach out to my culture and moving into the pro world, it was like this is something I'm super proud to have and to kind of represent and to grow my platform. But I can't do that if I'm not throwing far. And so that was my big priority and focus is if I keep working hard and throwing far, the results will come. But with that, I have this amazing, beautiful platform to share and to bring awareness and to promote to indigenous athletes and indigenous youth and to women to be powerful and like strong is beautiful. Um, so it really was just how I chose to carry myself because growing up, other than my siblings, I really didn't have those role models or those professional athletes in these spotlight positions to who I could look up to. So I really it just really all came together. Um and so stepping in that ring, it's not competing for myself, but competing for something much bigger than me and to have purpose and a mission, it's just that more heartfelt drive and the backbone to why I do what I do. Yeah so it's been great.
SPEAKER_01Can you think back to a moment where you were in an arena and you weren't sure how it was gonna go when you needed to really lean on this new culture that you you have been working on, cultivating and learning about that gave you the extra spark to get you across that phase line?
SPEAKER_00I definitely feel like it was um Eugene 2022 World Track and Field Championships. Um, you know, most world championships for the US athletes is traveling across the country and it's this big experience, and it's oh my gosh, this is so awesome! And I was like, oh, I gotta go to Eugene, Oregon again. I've been there millions of times for NCAAs and things like that. So it was kind of a more comfortable environment, but knowing it's still a world championship and all these countries and all these athletes are coming in. We're now on the infield versus every other meet we're on the outfield, um throwing hammers so we get more fans, more music, more spotlight. So it was a lot of pressure. And coming off of 2021 Olympic trials, we fell just a little short of making the team. We got fourth. So it was a comeback year. It was, hey, we're not leaving without anything. Um, and I'm just big on I worked for this, so I said what I'm gonna do type of mentality versus oh, we're just happy to be here. No. Um, so that was really how I approached that 22 season and having the community of support and the people that were just standing beside me and with me after falling short, um, was just even more going into 2022 that we are good, we do belong here, we're good enough. Um, let's go put on a show. And so having that bronze medal, my competitor, it was like, ah, I'm not happy with bronze because I still know there was more in the tank. I could have done better, but hey, I'll take this. My first team, my first medal. We made history as an Indigenous woman. So it was a big, big win. And I felt like that was really the kickstart to my like career as a professional hammer thrower. And this is now, this is it. This is what we're doing, this is what we've worked for nine years in, didn't see a result, but it was worth it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm sure time flies, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It flies.
SPEAKER_00It does.
SPEAKER_01Now, when we when I when I think back, if we go back to you know how you started, you started in community college. Um, you start working your way through community college and getting to Kansas State, and then Team USA. That's a huge climb. That's a huge time in itself, just to go from community college all the way through. You know, what was a common thread for you to carry you through uh each each level of getting through that process of uh community college and then getting to K-State and then also making it to making it on to the team USA?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um I love track and field now because it's my career and I've experienced it. I've traveled all over the world, I've met the best of the best, and it's been an amazing opportunity. But I also didn't understand that you could do track at the youth level and do club and do travel, indoor, outdoor, you could make youth world teams, you could do everything under the sun. And so I was very, very late to the game. And so there were kids, you know, Sydney McLaughlin's of the world, people super young at 16 doing amazing things because they put the work in a long time ago. And so for me, starting at 18, starting as a freshman, learning the hammer, learning the sport. Um, I was just in for the ride. And I was like, let's be a student of the sport, let's learn, let's watch videos, watch film, do whatever the coach says. Like I was just locked in and dialed in. I had zero expectations because I thought 50 meters was far, and I threw 53 meters as a freshman, and the American record was 74, 75, 76. And I was like, that's impossible. That's crazy far. These girls are wild. And then it was just every year we were climbing the ladder farther and farther distances, always seeing progress. And I think that just helped with the mindset of like be locked in, be dialed in, work hard, and the hard work will pay off. Um, but the biggest, I guess, sentiment that my coach always said through those years were what is the equation of power? And it's work over time. And so if you for track and field, it's a very developmental sport. And if you have the time to give to it and you're willing to work hard, I think you will see big results. But in the society of today, we want results now, we want you know things at our doorstep tomorrow. So people really aren't willing to see things through. And I was just like, let's see that competitor mindset, the willing to work hard. Uh, it's what I know.
SPEAKER_01So, yeah. I mean, when you think about the um this this day and age right now of, you know, I want it right now, and then we sit here, we're talking about breaking records, you know, but the we people don't always see the setbacks, you know, and so you've had some setbacks. What did that teach you about composure and patience through that through some of those setbacks?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, our knees are uh rough.
SPEAKER_01Tell me about that. I'm feeling like zero, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, I think that was a big one through college of constantly battling knee injuries and having surgeries. And you know, I think any athlete wants to never sit out, and we always want to participate and always be in the game. Um, so that was hard. I feel like if I didn't have surgeries and I had more time to train, I wouldn't have, I may have progressed faster in college and through further. But even the results I did have because I was diligent on wanting to come back, coming back stronger. You know, I didn't have a lot of time uh to develop and be in the ring and throw. My experience was little, my time competing was little, so I was just playing catch-up to everyone else with those surgeries. But again, just as a part of it, I think everyone as an athlete experiences injury, they experience taking time off or change. And I think just knowing that it's a part of the journey, knowing that you're gonna be back stronger and having the support system, family, friends, athletic trainers, coaches that are there for you. Um, you're gonna come back. And I think it's just that positive mental aspect of it that if you're in it, you're gonna go through it, but you're gonna be optimistic and you're gonna come out stronger. Um, that's a huge part of it.
SPEAKER_01Did you did you find a way to mentally talk yourself through those downtimes? Like the positive self-talk. You know, what was your routine like as you were you know starting on the front end of the journey to you know getting to almost back to being 100%? What was that journey like mentally just uh you know talking yourself through that process?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think at the times through college, it was always three month periods of recovering. And so if it was right after outdoor season, was hey, we got to get in and get the surgery done, then it's through the summer and it's hot as heck here in Manhattan, Kansas, or I'd be taking a summer course and I'd be on campus with crutches, or I'd have to get to and from the athletic training room to my classes, and I'm like, and it's just me on campus. No other traffic field athletes are like, peace out, when school's over, we're done. And I was just always the athlete that never went home on breaks. I was always working a part-time job, training full-time, you know, the heavy course load work. So I just feel like it was what I had to do, and I was going to do it no matter what. Um, and then I was just like, all right, every day we're gonna go to the athletic trainer, get treatment, recover, rehab, ice. And if I needed to do stuff at home, I would do it. My mom would come in for surgery. Um we just worked through it. And when I was let go, coach is like, all right, back in the full swing of things. And I said, Okay, let's go. No baby steps.
SPEAKER_01So no, you throw it right back to the fire.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I think just navigating that space made the second surgery and the third surgery easier because I kind of knew the ropes, but it was just hard to kind of be alone in my experience with it because in college, like you have coaches and stuff, but it's a huge, like you're still a very individualized sport. I'm on my own. Um, and so yeah, it was definitely hard to do it, but I still think I performed just the same and worked a little harder.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's awesome. Um now, hammer being a hammer thrower, it's a very mental uh technical game, I can imagine. I mean, I can't really say I mean I I attempted it, but I wasn't that good at it, so I don't know all the technical aspect of it. But um, you know, so I can imagine it's it's a very technical or mental mental game. What happens in your mind before you make a big throw? Take us through that process.
SPEAKER_00Oh, it's so hard because even when a big throw happens, I'm like, huh, that's okay. But it went far because there's still yeah, there's still times where I'm like, oh, I don't think, oh, that was ugly, that felt weird, I fell off, I crashed here, I released too soon, and it goes far. There's times where I'm like, oh yeah, that was a really good throw, and it didn't go anywhere. I'm like, all right, I guess I don't know anything. Um, but that is just hammer, and I think coming in with a super raw athletic ability and a willingness to work hard. It was the great template and building up hammer strength, taking those reps of throws, building volume of balls heavy to light, um, just rep after rep after rep. I just needed to catch up and do the time, and then I was gonna get better. Um, but I think really learning the technical aspect is the hardest part. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00To understand tension, to understand connection. Um, it's not my feet are moving super quick, it's the ball has to be moving before I go. And so having the coach that I worked with, Greg Watson, did an amazing job of helping me understand the event, understand hammer, understand some of the different great athletes. Like they all threw differently, but what did they kind of all do the same? And how am I alike in those athletes? Um, but I'd say I'm still now an outlier of a lot of hammer throwers. Um, I just view myself as an athlete versus a hammer thrower. Yeah. And being an Indigenous athlete, I have a more purpose in a platform than just being a hammer thrower. I'm good at throwing hammer, but I don't identify as just a hammer thrower. And so I think that's huge for me because I'm allowed to step in that ring and separate, you know, training throws and where I've messed up and all these cues and like this, this, this list of things I need to focus on. It's hey, you've done the work, get in and go throw. You've taken a million throws in your lifetime, get in, have fun, be a competitor, um, and the ball will just do its thing. So I love when I take the last throw of the day at training, we're not thinking about it, we're not overthinking. It is what it is. We go live life. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Now, when you you just list off these all these things that you're thinking about. Um, when you do have a foul or or a misattempt, how do you reset your mind so that you don't go through? Because I can imagine, like when I go play golf, when I have a bad shot, the first thing I'm thinking about, oh, I gotta turn my hands over, okay, I gotta do this, okay, I gotta do that. How do you reset yourself so that you can you can get back to just letting me fly?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the biggest thing for me is me as a thrower personally, my individual um bad habits that have always been there for my career is just the wines and the entry. So if I don't get those first parts of the throw, I know two, three, four is gonna be off. And so for me, I go in to a training block and I'm like, I'm working on this one, two things, and that's it. Um and we're just working and working and working, and same thing. I know I have a competition this weekend from the moment I pack my bags to getting on the flight to pre-meet to waking up the morning of comp. It is strictly just these one, two things. Think about it, work on it, feel it. But other than that, when you're in that rain, you just take a deep breath from the time the motion of the hammer starts. You just gotta have confidence in yourself, trust yourself, um, and everything will be fine. I think mentally I've not avoided thinking of the mental mindset aspect, but I don't ever let it affect me just because I'm so hard-headed and stubborn. I don't let emotions get involved, even though I'm a very emotional person. Um, I just know we're here to get the job done, and I don't let anything get in the way of that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But sometimes we have bad days and that's hard, but we move on.
SPEAKER_01Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, it's as an athlete, you always it's always gonna be your good days and bad days. How do you consistently stack those good days? And so that's what we always strive, striving to do. Um I mean, those are great. I mean very, very competitive athlete that you're sitting here talking to. Um so um we're gonna take a little breather, take a little breather. Break and kind of ratchet down a little bit, but it's going to be some basic what I call my two minute. It's going to be some quick rapid fire questions. No overthinking. All right. So I think I'm talking to the right person who doesn't overthink. So all right. You ready for me? Yeah. All right. Give me your favorite meat atmosphere.
SPEAKER_00My best one world championships. World championships. So I would say Budapest in 2023, silver medal.
SPEAKER_01All right. Great atmosphere. Okay. Yes.
SPEAKER_00It's packed, lights everything.
SPEAKER_01Your biggest pop, it'll be um your favorite pop-up song before a meet.
SPEAKER_00That is Stadium Pow Wow, um hallucination. All right. So it gets the blood flowing and the tears ready to go.
SPEAKER_01All right. Most underrated part about being a hammer at the work.
SPEAKER_00We are athletes too.
SPEAKER_01Trust me, you guys are definitely athletes.
SPEAKER_00But we're always outside the stadium and never inside. Oh man.
SPEAKER_01All right, so guys, we got to get them inside the stadium so they can be a, you know, be a so they could be part of the other athletes in the stadium. Why is that, by the way? We're gonna take a timeout. Why is that not in the stadium? I've never understood that.
SPEAKER_00In in Europe, mostly in Europe and international competitions, they always are because it's like a track and field designated stadium. But for places in the US, I don't know why safety or they can't logistically make it happen like everywhere else, but we're always outside or like a drive away or something. Um, and so it's always stinks because I like I know a lot of throwing community, like we want to be the heart of the competition, we want to get screen time, we want to get all these highlights, but they'll show like the farthest throw of the winner for two seconds, and then that's it. I'm like, oh, we were there too. Great.
SPEAKER_01All right, we're gonna start a petition on that. We're gonna get that. All right, yeah. All right, we're back in. Um if you were if you wasn't throwing, what sport would you've chosen to do?
SPEAKER_00Um I wish honestly, I would have tried out tennis, but my first love was basketball. The dream was the WNBA, but the knees.
SPEAKER_01Hey, the hardwood, the hardwood floor takes some special needs to be there for a long time.
SPEAKER_00So yes.
SPEAKER_01All right. Uh what was your favorite food before competition?
SPEAKER_00Pickles. Pickles. Pickles, pickles, pickles.
SPEAKER_01Like uh a couple slices of pickles, a jar pickles. Like, I mean, I feel like you need a lot more energy to than just pickles.
SPEAKER_00No, breakfast is definitely like my go-to favorite meal of the day, and it's very important before a competition. But my go-to like snack before warm-up is pickles. I carry O snap packets of pickles with me on any airplane, and then when I land, anytime I go get fueling snacks and meals at a grocery store, I get a jar of pickles. Okay, so it's my thing.
SPEAKER_01Right, that's your thing. Yeah. All right. One word uh coaches use to describe you.
SPEAKER_00I would probably say resilient.
SPEAKER_01Resilient. All right, yeah. You've become a voice for indigenous athletes around the world. You know, when did you realize that your platform was so much bigger than just sport?
SPEAKER_00Um, definitely when I started my first year out professionally, um the track and field world world is like no guarantee, it's nitty-gritty, make it or break it, no sponsorships, no money. You just have to want to do it and see how far you can take yourself. Yes, and it's an individual sport, so you're doing it by yourself. Um, you may be blessed with a training group or support staff, but the biggest thing for me is I'm not gonna get a sponsor if I don't throw far. But if I throw far, then I should get a sponsor. And that's not how it works in track and field. And so kind of networking with who I would want a brand deal with, shoe contracts with, knowing that N7 exists within Nike, that was the dream for me of how can I be a part of the N7 family? How does this network work? Do you have to apply? Do they just pick you? Um, and so that was the biggest goal for me is to be a native athlete and have a platform and share my journey, but to be picked up with N7 that highlights athletes and does campaigns with apparel and things of that to just really showcase indigenous athletes doing amazing things. And that was something I really wanted to be a part of. Um, so with gearing up for the Olympic trials and growing on TikTok and Instagram and really just sharing me and who I am and being Comanche and being a hammer thrower, you know, that was also a two for one because not many people knew about the hammer um when TikTok was coming around. So I was like, let's see and let's put some videos up. And I kind of just it took off. And then being an Indigenous athlete, um, other than Jim Thorpe and Billy Mills, some of the greatest on the men's side, there wasn't many female athletes in those roles. And so I really just took it to okay, we can do this. Let's, it's scary because not learning a lot about my upbringing growing up, not speaking my culture or language. I went to a public school. Um, I've never lived on a reservation and things of that nature. I never danced in a powwow. There's just so many things that I felt like I didn't belong. Um, but I was still trying to learn and still trying to bring awareness to myself and to my family. Um, but trying to just navigate that space, it was very welcoming. And then growing the community um with sport and kind of just sharing everything that I can share, it's been very rewarding and an honor to grow the opportunity with my platform.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, and then the medals are just great too. So it's been truly a blessing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's that's really it's really cool. I mean, I and when I think about your your uh just being native and just trying to think about representation, you know, is even just for myself when I think about representation, um, it makes me think about from your your point of view, what does representation mean for you? Um not just being seen, but just but also being understood. What does all that mean for you?
SPEAKER_00It means a lot just because I think as youth um in Indigenous communities, there's not a lot of support for people pushing them to want better for themselves, um, thinking that they can achieve better for themselves, I think giving them a little bit of hope and knowing that you can do anything you put your mind to. And if anything, I do support you and I am rooting for you. And whether it's in athletics or in cooking or in art or entertainment, we are very talented, beautiful people. And you know, our ancestors survived, both your and my ancestors survived so we could thrive. And I think that is a huge part of my heart and my purpose and my mission. And so trying to be that for other people has been huge. And so I just tried to speak on it, but also be it, you know. And I've failed in making two Olympic teams, but I think because of that and being like persevering and having resilience in it and still up holding my head up high and continuing on and not giving up um shows a lot. And I just hope you just never know who's watching. Yeah, and so I think that's the biggest thing. I have a lot of nieces and nephews, and I just try to be a good role model uh and a leader for them.
SPEAKER_01I love that. I love that for you. Um you know, again, because we, you know, we are those type of people um who wants to carry, who wants to continue to carry the torch. You know, do you feel the weight of that kind of responsibility? And, you know, how do you keep it healthy?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. Um I definitely think after 2024, not making the Olympic team. Um, I think it's a huge weight on my shoulders because I feel like everyone is there supporting me, cheering me on, like, oh, this is the year because I have come back stronger than 2021. I made history and now I have two medals, and I've you know made two teams like the Olympics. Surely we'll get there. This is the what most people feel as most credible and the best of the best in the track and field world. And so I just haven't hit that one yet. Um, but even if I never made an Olympic team or won a gold medal, I think for me, my representation and my purpose um to continue to break barriers as an Indigenous woman and as an Indigenous athlete is the bigger takeaway from everything. So that's what that's what we got right here. That's cool.
SPEAKER_01That's cool. Um was there, you know, this is more of like story time for me. And so I want you to think about a story or something that's really kind of come to mind to me. Um, you know, when you think about your young fans and family members that you become in more contact with, um was there any kind of message or any kind of moment that really um reminds reminded you why disability matters for Indigenous people?
SPEAKER_00I think the the biggest one is the Nike N7 motto or logo or what they put on all of their campaigns is see me, see us. And so a big thing of when I compete at world championships or competitive meets that are televised, it's when you see me, you see us. And so it's I don't want to claim who I am and what I like and what I enjoy as all Indigenous people, but I think Indigenous people just recognizing that we are still here and we are strong and we are resilient and we are beautiful, um, that's something to be proud of. Yeah, and so that's what I try to carry myself with wherever I go in the world and compete and throw this heavy metal ball. Um, it's just something that I'm truly thankful for to have the opportunity to be in this position. But um, you know, I just hope that more athletes come up and are successful and know that they can achieve anything they want to as well.
SPEAKER_01Well, that's why we're here to talk about these things and share these stories and these different intangibles that make us who we are so that others can keep being inspired to to really do big things. So um really excited. I'm really happy that you're opening up and sharing your story. Um now as I think about your the mindset and I think about your future and where you're where you're headed. When you you know, when when I look at you, I think I know the answer to this because I think I've heard you uh enough now to to know what this this harm may be, but you've accomplished a lot. You've you've already, you know, from medals to history, your legacy, your me. You know, what is that thing that really still keeps you hungry?
SPEAKER_00So like if I say it, it's not gonna No, we gotta get it out there.
SPEAKER_01We gotta we gotta man, we will we manifest it. Remember, we manifest it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. Um people ask me all the time, you know, how much more time do I have to the sport? What does my future look like? Um, and I think right now the mentality is day by day and year by year. But of course I would love to compete on um, you know, our land in Los Angeles, California in 2028, and um to be there wearing USA across my chest and to hopefully you know make it to the podium just representing Native people and Comanche Nation, I think that would be a huge win. Um, but we'll see. We'll see um how the next couple of years go.
SPEAKER_01Well, you walk right into my next question is what is that mental preparation that that you were taking in day in and day out to get you ready for that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's just falling in love with the sport again. I think after every season, it's always a great time to kind of bring yourself back to ground zero, reset, refocus, and rebuild. And going into the 2024 year, I was way more experienced. I had way more competitions under my belt. I was now one of the best hammer throwers in the world. It was on paper, which is still always hard to believe from time to time. But it was a little bit of we have to change something because what we've been doing, we've seen a lot of progress and the results are there. But it's always something of getting to that meet that we've been to a million times, you know, USA nationals, what's the disconnect, or where do I go wrong? It's not that I feel like it's too much pressure, or the ring is the same ring I've competed at many a time. So, kind of how can we prepare the best of our ability mentally and physically and emotionally in that ring on the day it matters because it's not so much having a world leading mark or having a PR in May or June. It's doing it on the day when it matters, and that's hard. That's the perfect season for anyone, you know, breaking rhetoric breaking world records or breaking records on a championship meet. So it's like the perfect recipe. But I did have to make some changes after the 24th season and I moved to Florida. I'm working now with a group of different strength coaches and medical resources just to make sure my health is at the forefront. Um, and then just getting back to being an athlete. I'm 30 now, so rest is more important. Um, how I approach training is is different, and getting back to running, jumping, throwing, just all over body mechanics is more important than just throwing hammer right now. I've, you know, I've thrown for so long, I'll be okay, but I think being an athlete and staying healthy is the biggest part and just having fun with it.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, no, that's awesome. Uh kudos to you guys for you know putting that kind of work in and that kind of training to really be be ready and be prepared to be prepared to meet that moment. So um again, I couldn't imagine. I don't know if I was I don't know if I'm meant to be tough enough to do my uh, you know, just see it's you it's just you, it's just you. You're you're competing competing with yourself.
SPEAKER_00Like 350 days a year, Olympics is every four years, and it's just a decision like we're gonna give us another shot, okay? Another four years. Ah, came up short. Okay, we're gonna try this again another four years. And that's not just me, but a lot of track and field athletes. You know, it's it's cutthroat, and it's if you have the resources and the desire to make it happen. And I definitely think it's it's in the books for me. I do believe fully that 2020-28 is gonna be an amazing historical year. Um, so we're gonna keep working hard and keep showing up. So I'm excited.
SPEAKER_01We're we're cheering you all right here. We're cheering you all. Um, I I did say something about legacy, and when you think about the uh legacy that you were building, uh what's one lesson you wish you know every young athlete understood about Haitians and time?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think at the youth age it's fun. It's we're having friends, we're having fun, you're slowly getting better the more that you're involved. Um, and you see professional athletes and they're doing celebration dances and they're winning, and it's great. But I think the biggest takeaway is you have to love practice more than you love to play because there's not many times that you get to play, but those times are to just have fun and to show the hard work that you have put into it. And through the college years, I was still developing. I was new to hammer, new to the sport. I just took it all in. I had zero expectations. And at the pro level, it's we got to pay the bills somehow with its track, whether it's working. We did anything that we could to make it happen. Um, you know, it took me nine years from when I'm started to make a national team. Um, in the five years I was at K-State, because I did register to season, you know, I walked away being the indoor weight record holder, the outdoor hammer record holder, um, facility record holder, all these accolades. But I think my biggest presence now is if I retired yesterday or today or tomorrow, you know, who I am and my character and how I show up and how I represent myself and my community as an Indigenous indigenous athlete is more than any medal will be. Um, but I think as a youth, it's just having love for the game and love for the sport because sport, individual or team, is going to teach you so much skills of life and being a team leader, working well with others. Um, all of my programs I've had since college wrote trust the process, patience is key. All of these mottos and all of these little notes to myself, every day I would get to practice, read it, and just believe it. And just having no expectations helped so much, but I was really working to being the best. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Now you you did mention that you um had to make some changes. You made a move down to Florida, you're you know, working with some new new coaches and new strength coaches and things like that. Um, you know, for our for our artist and young young athletes, um what what is your approach to staying coachable? You know, even when you're making those type of transitions.
SPEAKER_00Um, I think for coaches in the youth level, high school, collegiate, and pro, I think they should always be willing to see growth and athletes, having good athletes or developing good athletes. I'm not to say every professional coach is the best and there's no one better because they do have a pretty good resume. Um, but I think just like an athlete, there's maybe things that people still may not know or be the best at or knowledgeable of and willing to hand them off to the next best. Like they've prepared them the best they could, and they still have room to grow maybe elsewhere if it's not with them. And I think for me that was the biggest thing because I I would say, I don't know, felt too comfortable and so safe with the coach that I had worked with forever because I trusted him and I grew to be so much closer to him than a coach. Like I grew so much as a woman through college and into my professional career. You know, he was like a second father figure to me and knew about me and my family and my journey and being close with my culture, just so much growth between us as an athlete and as a person. It was it was scary to even think about the possibility of working with anyone else because all I knew was his programming, his training, his cues, him at the back of the ring at all of my competitions. So it was scary to think that can I do this on my own or do I want to reach out to someone else? You know, Track and Feld is a small community with not a lot of hammer coaches at the best. The top five girls all have different coaches with all different training. So it's a really hard space to navigate if I chose to work with someone else. So right now I took this time to really learn the hammer more and learn the strength training side of things to program myself and take a little bit of a break from um just trusting and being accountable, more self-accountability and trusting that if I go any in the world, my coach isn't always there. So I have to be by myself and I have to be comfortable and confident enough that I can step in the ring and still grow and compete the best that I can. Um so it was hard parting ways, but him being at a university, um, you know, I didn't want to be a volunteer coach or to learn to be a coach. That wasn't my passion. So I kind of wanted to step away from any obligation working with track and field teams and kind of just be on my own, my own schedule, a little bit more flexibility and freedom for my training full time. And so I suffered in the cold for 10 years and threw in the snow, rain, shine. So I was at this point in my career on the back stretch and just want to be in a place where I can enjoy training, go out there, turn the music on, and just throw.
SPEAKER_01Well, I will tell you the heat is good for the knees.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Don't have to warm up for an hour just to feel warm. So it's been really, really great.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Well, Janae, we start a wrap up here. I, you know, I like to ask this question um because of your your your mental makeup and because your you know you've been really good at reflecting. Um and so this question is about reflecting. If you had to talk to your younger self, what is that thing you would go back?
SPEAKER_00What are some of those things you go back to saying to you know, looking back on things at an older, more mature perspective, I just appreciate the people in my youth years that not that they were out to get me, but teachers and coaches and parents that saw so much more in us as young adults than we saw in ourselves. Um emotional. But I used to went and talked to uh some high school teachers and some of their leadership classes as they invited me back to speak. And I was just so appreciative in them through my entire life and that they're still even teaching in the same classroom as they were when I was in middle school, but just appreciing those people at our point in the lives where we didn't really recognize their purpose. And so yeah, I would say just be more, I don't even know what that word would be. Not so hard-headed and stubborn as a young adult. More open, yes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, thank you for sharing that. Um, my last one for you. Um, and thank you for letting your raw emotions come out about it. Because I think that's one of the things that I like about that question. It's because it's there's a lot of work that goes into getting where you are. You can we as athletes have a hard time of uh you know looking back and reflecting. And so being able to reflect and it also continues to help set ourselves for for success because we can we can honor what we've done and and look at that so that we can then continue to do it because of the work that we put in. So uh so thank you for having some, you know, um going deep into that. So I really appreciate that. My last question for you ready for it. Yeah, all right. Um we again when you think about your career, you think about the work that you put in, the ups and downs, um, you know, what are those intangibles or a couple intangibles that really has made you in the world today?
SPEAKER_00I would definitely say just power, resilience, and resiliency and confidence. Um those are good ones. I think a lot of my journey has shown all of the the ups and downs and the good and the bads, but trying to carry myself in the best way possible, even in my lowest moments, um, just to shine light on the reality of sports and winning and losing, and even the best of the best have bad days, but doesn't mean they're any less than um, and so I think that's a huge one and something I always repeat to myself when I step in the ring um in major competitions is powerful, strong, resilient, and competent.
SPEAKER_01I love it. I love it, and you can feel it, you can see it um in all the words, in the in the words that you speak. And so, Janae, your story is not just about throwing, uh, it's also about carrying your history forward. It's also showing what belief looks like in emotions. So uh continue your work. Uh, we're gonna be cheering you all. We really appreciate you joining us on the Tangible Podcast. This has been amazing to hear this hear your story.
SPEAKER_00I appreciate it so much. I'm so glad I could come and chat with you. So it's been great, Chris. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much.
