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Youth Inc. with Greg Olsen
Why a 3x Olympic Medalist Won't Put Her Kids in Gymnastics | Dominique Dawes Interview
00:47:00
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- [00:00]
A
What's up, everybody? Welcome back to Youth Inc. We've got some really fun stuff coming up right down the road. We've got a great, really cool interview with Dominique Dawes, the legendary trailblazing Olympic gymnast, three time Olympian, now doing some really interesting stuff in the youth gymnastics world all over the country. So great conversation with her. We're going to do a lot of fan questions. A ton of listeners reaching out to us, asking about their perspective about their experiences, our perspective. So really excited that. Appreciate all you guys for tuning in and keeping up with all the things we have going on here at you think. Youth sports in America are at a crossroads and I'm here to help lead the conversation forward. I'm Greg Olson. Each week we're sitting down with top athletes, coaches and more to talk about what's working, what's broken and what's next. Welcome to you think.
- [00:51]
B
In the Wall Street Journal last week there was an article about the $40 billion Game of Youth sports. In summary, esports is bigger, more expensive and more commercial than anything. Families are spending tens of billions annually. Costs have exploded. Gear, travel, teams, private training, baseball alone, which you might know a little bit about, has a huge cost increase, the biggest in sports. My question for you, Greg, and our question for you is, is this still being built for kids or is it being built around kids?
- [01:17]
A
Well, there you go. That's the million dollar question of all this. And I think I've said this both on, on our show here at you think. And I've said this when I was a guest on some other people's pods. I think there's nothing wrong with the commercialization and privatization of youth sports. I think it's creating better formats, better coaching, better access to training. I think kids are getting more instruction at a younger age than ever before. Kids are better than ever before. So I do think there's a lot of really good that's coming out of it. So to sit here and say we want to strip all of that away and go back to 40 years ago where you just picked up a stick and a broom and you went out in the street, I'm not suggesting that that's the answer. So I do think things are always going to progress, things are always going to evolve as long as the fundamental root of youth sports is still on pouring into the development and the maturation of young athletes. And that comes through skill development, but it comes through personal development, mental health development, the ability to deal with resiliency, the ability to have. We talk a lot about teamwork we talk a lot about being coached and, and, and listen, the reality is you're going to be on a lot where you don't like the coach and he might not be fair or she might not like you, or she might play someone over you. And then you're going to get into a job one day or you're going to have a teacher in college one day or whatever, you're going to get in and you're going to have relationships in your life that are not easy. And you're going to have to figure out a way to deal with different people that have different perspectives and find a way to work and make it all fit together. So, like, there's no greater way to teach all these things. Been through youth sports. We talk on and on, on it, about it here, on you things. So as long as that continues to be the North Star, and that continues to be why all of this is continuing to be built for the kids, not for the adults, not for the can this be built for the kids? And then the residual benefits of that, the privatization, the, the private equity, the businesses that's brought up around it. I'm all for people making money. I'm all for people building successful businesses. That is the backbone of our country. But it cannot become, it cannot exploit the kids, it cannot take advantage, it cannot, you know, take away from their future as just functioning, you know, process, you know, functioning contributors to society. So, like, that's the slippery slope. When it becomes more about the adults, that's when things get a little bit tricky. So it, it right now, I think we're straddling this line, and I think it's up to the voices and the adults to make sure we stay on the, on the correct side of that line. And as long as we do that, I think there's a lot of really good innovations and a lot of really good leagues and trainers and facilities and information and education that's popping up as a result of this expansion that I think is doing a lot of people a lot of good. I'm super excited for today's conversation. Dominique Dawes, one of the most accomplished, not only American, but just one of the most accomplished gymnasts in the history of the sport. One of only four female American gymnasts compete in three separate Olympic Games. I remember being a kid watching you in the 96 games in Atlanta and the team and the event, and we'll dive into all that. But Dominique, I know now with you being super involved in the youth space in gymnastics, we're going to cover it All. But thank you so much for joining us here on youthink. I'm really excited to dive into it.
- [04:36]
C
Greg, I feel like you're telling me you're telling everyone my age by the fact that you were a kid when you were watching me.
- [04:43]
A
You know, I. I think all of us fall in love with sports that maybe we weren't accustomed to through the Olympics, and whether it's, of course, gymnastics or swimming. And there's moments in Olympic Games that, like, at different stages of my life, I remember, like, I remember being. I won't say how old, because I don't want to compare our ages, but I was. I remember at those Games, like, watching you and Carrie Strugg and Dominique Muchiano and that. That group of girls obviously go on and, and. And win the whole thing. Like, I remember vividly watching those Games. I remember Michael Phelps winning, like, and you were part of one of the most iconic, memorable American Olympic moments. So super cool to have you on today.
- [05:22]
C
Yes. It's unreal to think that it's been 30 years since that, that team, the Magnificent Seven, won gold at those Olympic Games, and I was blessed to be a part of it.
- [05:31]
A
I want to talk a little bit about your journey, and then I think it's super relevant to dove into the Dominique Dawes Academy. And we were just talking a little bit offline about the approach that you're taking with your daughters and just other young, young female gymnasts around the country. But before we get into that, I just want to kind of paint the picture of what your journey looked like. We talked so much on here about, you know, what is too much, what's not enough. Do we specialize, like, all the conversations that parents are having throughout the country? So take us back to your journey. Take us back to, like, how did you become one of the most accomplished gymnasts, not only in American, but in just the history of the sport? Because I think the journey you went on is going to be very different than the journey you're hoping your children or the children that you mentor in the community go on today.
- [06:16]
C
Very much so. I started the sport of gymnastics when I was six years old. The story is that my mom tried to sign me and my older sister Danielle up for a tumbling class. And I was super excited about it because I was a very active child. I guess no one signed up for that tumbling class, she said. I was in tears and devastated. And so she needed to find something similar to it. And she stumbled upon a gymnastics gym in Wheaton, Maryland, which was not super far from my hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland. I remember walking in the gym at six years old and falling in love with what I was seeing. There were, there were short kids like me, because I was very short my whole life. Little kids and doing flips that I had never seen before. I had never watched the Olympics, I had never watched gymnastics. And so I was enthralled with what I was seeing. And I knew that someday I could work hard and accomplish what those older girls were doing. I committed the first nine years of the sport of gymnastics to making it to my first Olympic team. And that was when I was 15 years old in 1992, and I became one of the first African American females to qualify to the Olympics at the Olympic trials in Baltimore. Baltimore, Maryland, not far from my hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland. And that was, I thought, a dream come true. And Greg, I'm speaking from my younger self and what I was experiencing. And I really felt honored. I felt the pressure of my race, needing to represent my race because there were not a lot of young women of color in this sport at that time. And so I felt that weight. And to Compete at the 92 Olympic Games in Barcelona, to bring home a bronze medal with my team was a dream come true. But when I got home and I landed at Dulles Airport in the Virginia area, I remember a reporter pulling me aside, interviewing me on TV and saying, what are you going to do next? And I said, I'm going to go to the gym and keep training. And that's how I was always wired. I loved what I was doing. I more importantly, loved the impact that I was making on the young gymnasts around me. When I was 11 years old, I received my first piece of fan mail letters. And this is when back in the day, people had pen and paper and they would like, write to their sports heroes and their sports heroes like myself. I would sit down and I would get my school paper and I would respond and I would answer every single question. And I came from a middle class family, so we didn't have money. And my parents would pay for those school photos. And I would cut out my school photo and I would autograph my school photo and drop it in the mail to my fans because it meant so much to me, the impact that I could make on other people's lives. And I think that's why the journey in the sport continued for so many years. In 94, I signed to go to Stanford University alongside, you know, the great golfer Tiger woods that everyone knows. And I was excited to go off and have this phenomenal college career. But a little birdie got in my ear and said, hey, there's an Olympic Games two years away. You're peaking. I had just won national championships in Tennessee. I won the all around. I won vault, bars, beam and floor. I was the best that I had ever been throughout my career. And someone convinced me, hey, become a professional athlete in the sport of gymnastics and you can maybe go off and make some money. And so I trained two more years. It was the most horrific training two years of my life because I fell into every injury possible that you could have. And I was blessed to qualify to my second Olympic Games and that in Atlanta, Georgia. And to be a part of the Magnificent Seven, the first ever women's gymnastics team to win a gold was truly a humbling experience. It was an honor. And the journey continued. I fell in the all around competition, which, you know, when I look back at my 18 year career in the sport of gymnastics, that is honestly one of my greatest achievements was getting back up after that fall in the Georgia Dome in front of nearly 40,000 people and 3.4 billion people watching worldwide. And all that pressure to know that, you know what, I'm going to get up, I'm going to finish strong and I'm going to somehow learn from this, this experience. And I did many years down the road. Long story short, I didn't want to take my leotard off. I ended up training for a third Olympic Games for the team, and that was in Sydney, Australia. I somehow qualified to that team, I have no clue how. And I ended my career, my athletic career after three Olympic Games. And I was ready. I was ready to hold up my, to hang up my leotard and really find my next passion in life and really find the path that, that God
- [10:23]
A
had set for me to do three different Olympic Games. You know, obviously you mentioned your first, you know, the first African American to win an individual gold in Atlanta. To be able to do it in three different decades, I mean, it's just a remarkable achievement and longevity. So I guess my question is this like as you look back now with the ability of like retrospect, when you're going to your first Olympic Games at 15 and then your final Olympics Games, you're, you know, what, 23 to 23, 23. How you walking into the gym for lack, even though it's the olympics and you're 15 and then you walk in again, give or take, 10 years later, like, how different is the perspective? How much more do you enjoy the moment? How is it more nerve wracking or less because you're at the end of the journey. Like very few athletes can, can participate and experience the highest of their sport at three very different stages of life. Right? You are a 15 year old young girl, you, you're an 8th grade freshman in high school and then you could have been a, and then you're a college student. That's very rare. Professional athletes, professional football players that you're not going to. So I'm just very interested in like how you handled the mental element of it both at a young age and then again at an older, more mature age.
- [11:40]
C
A lot of people like to say that young teenagers do not feel the pressure. I felt enormous pressure at 15 years old. I felt the weight of my race on my shoulders because I understood there were not young athletes of color represented in the sport of gymnastics. I would come up with, you know, personal mottos. D3 determination, dedication, desire to stay focused on my dreams and goals, to block out any negativity. The sport of gymnastics the way that it always has been, and this is what we're trying to change in my academies today, is there has always been a focus on perfection. When Nadia Comanich in 1976, you're not going to remember this Greg, because you weren't alive.
- [12:18]
A
She got the perfect 10, right?
- [12:20]
C
She got the perfect 10. And I like to say that she ruined it forever.
- [12:22]
A
I'm a gymnast, I'm an avid gymnast follower. Dominique, come on.
- [12:25]
C
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. But in 1976, when Nadia Comani scored that perfect 10, I was born that year. And when I became a gymnast, everyone talked about that story, that a perfect 10 was possible. And so it ingrained in young gymnasts back then that you had to strive for perfection. And if any, if you fell short of that, then you were imperfect or you were flawed and you needed to better yourself to become perfect. And so I always felt that pressure of needing to be perfect in the sport of gymnastics. Then also the sport teaches you to compare and judge because there are coaches and judges 24, 7, criticizing every single thing you do, from your hair to your body type to your posture to your gymnastics moves. And so it was an enormous amount of pressure that I felt at 15, same pressure that I felt at 19, maybe a little bit more weighted because it was in Atlanta, Georgia, which is now like a second home to me. And knowing that I was a leader of that team, knowing that I contributed to my scores on all eight events for the team to win gold. And then When I was 23 years old I was done. Like I really was done. But it was a farewell to my fans and to say thank you for the support and the love and the appreciation. But I felt the pressure the whole time and it was very much the culture of the sport back then, striving for perfection and comparing and that's what made that weight so great.
- [13:43]
A
I just find it so incredible. And we hear all these stories every year, whether it's figure skating. We just saw it in the Winter Olympics with some of the figure skaters that are super young and of various ages and of course with swimmers and you know, people want to label them as like prodigies. We just don't see that youth, those young ages in like the, you know, football and basketball and baseball and boys or girls, you know, it doesn't matter which side. So I'm always just fascinated by how fast Olympic athletes, gymnasts, whatever, have to mature, how fast they have, they have to, you know, when you're 15 and if you fall or you stumble people, you still get, you still get graded, you still get evaluated, your score is no different, different than if you were 23. Like no one feels bad for the 15 year old girl who stumbles. And I just stand back as the father of a 13 year old daughter and I say like that's her in a year and a half. Like I, I, I, I just have so much appreciation and respect for how wise beyond your years young athletes are. And I just think it's so important that we can share with our viewers. Not that they're going to be Olympians, not that they're going to go compete in the summer games in 28, but like just the ability of mental toughness in a world where do stress is achievement scores, batting average, points. But so much of this sports journey is just being able to handle the ups and downs mentally regardless of how old you are.
- [15:09]
C
That's very true. But I guess I don't look at it as we should not admire these young kids that are achieving great things. I think we need to look at the big picture and I think it's Today as a 49 year old woman, I'm a wife, I'm a mother of four beautiful children. When I look back at my Olympic accomplishments, or let's say the 1996 Olympic Games and Carrie Strugg standing at the end of that vault Runway believing that she needed to make the vault for the team to win, I think from a mother's point of view, I would never want my daughter in her shoes. I would never want my Daughter to feel that enormous amount of pressure or that physical pain that we knew. She, as well as the other six athletes on that team, we were all in pain we're going through. And I think that's why I'm trying to do things different in the sport. Because while I am very blessed, I'm not complaining about what I accomplished and the people that I inspired along the way. But I know when I look at my journey in the sport of gymnastics and I look at my beautiful four children, I do not want them to endure what I endured. Young kids, in my opinion, should not be waking up at 5 o' clock in the morning and feeling that enormous amount of pressure and training five to seven hours a day and then five hours on the weekend. Why? Because I think we're not. Not helping develop the whole child. While I learned a lot about physical health, there were a lot of gymnasts with eating disorders because they were overly critical of their body, because people were obsessed with their body. There's a lot of gymnasts where they might have emotional toughness, but because of how we were coached throughout those decades, there are emotional scars because of how our emotional health was treated or neglected throughout our careers. Mental health as well. And then also, I always talk about social health. My husband, who played basketball, Division 2 basketball, he likes to say it's Division 1 now, because I think his school is now Division 1. So he's like, I'm a Division 1. Yeah. And he was. He reminds me, he's like, the sport of gymnastics is an individual sport. You guys never learned how to truly work together on a team, day in and day out, like you did Greg in football. We were taught at a young age to rely on ourselves. It was me, myself, and I. I am the one that's going to have to get myself back on that balance beam or stand up after that vault. And I think because of the way gymnastics has been, it really stifles a young person's growth. While we look very mature beyond our years. And we are, because we've had to face the pressure or we've had to put on a facade many times our growth was stifled. And that's why I'm trying to create a healthier culture in this board of gymnastics where it truly is about developing the whole child so that they're not a great champion in the athletic arena, but more importantly, they're ready and prepared and a champion in life.
- [17:45]
A
Well, that. That's so fascinating. I want to dive deeper into that because I know it's so important to you with, with your academy and the, in the manner in which. But let me ask you this. And again I'm, I'm just taking a back seat here and just presenting a simple question for any young male or female that wants to be will just stay in gymnastics in today's environment, can you achieve greatness? Can. Would Dominique Dawes make three Olympic Games across three decades if that was not the environment that you're in? And again, I know coaching has changed. I know I'm not saying any, that it was right, wrong or indifferent, but it was what it was back in those days. Very similar to the football world. How we were coached in football 25 years ago is very different. It evolves and it gets better. But can you achieve all the great things that you achieved and the other members of your team that are very well known around the world to this day? Like, like, could you have done it if you weren't put in those really difficult training situations, the harsh coaching, like can you have one without the other?
- [18:49]
C
That is a wonderful question and many people have posed that question to me numerous times. And I will say that's why the Dominique Dawes academies are not focused on Olympic training. Because we care about the well being of the child. When they walk outside of our gymnastics academy. It's not about building champions, only in the athletic arena. The, the, the mindset that the coaching academy that I came from, not my academy, came from, was to build up a child. We rip them down in hopes of building them up. They tear you down in hopes of building you up. And I had heard that from multiple parents that watched me endure and some of my teammates, not Olympic teammates, but teammates in Maryland. What we endured, that harsh environment, the physical abuse, the emotional abuse, the verbal abuse, I lived with my coach. I would not advise that. I lived with my coach for much of my childhood. And when I was kicked out of the gym, I was left in the waiting room locker room waiting for her to scream my name, for me to come out when everyone else was leaving the gym and going home to their parents and their siblings.
- [19:49]
A
So you lived at your coach's house?
- [19:51]
C
Yes. Yes, my parents were still in the state of Maryland. It was just very difficult for my parents. They had three children. I have an older sister and a younger brother. And it was just very difficult. When I was in my home environment in Silver Spring, I had to wake up at 4:45 in the morning to try to get to practice by 66 in my coach's environment, I was waking up at 5 and my mom had A very difficult time. Maybe schlepping me to the gym that early in the morning. And I remember as a young child trying to shake my mom to wake up. So a lot of this drive came from me. It definitely came from me. It was not pressure from my parents. People never saw my parents at the gym actually. And I remember shaking my mom and trying to get her to wake up at 4:45. And then I would call the gym and I would be crying, I would be sobbing, and I would communicate to my coach that my mom won't get up. I'm not able to make it to practice now, mind you, I'm a very young child, like 9 years old, 10 years old. No one else is going to be there at practice but me. Like my coach was there waiting for me. And for some reason I had this drive in me that I knew the sport of gymnastics was an outlet for me. I came from a middle class family. It was a very dysfunctional, abusive home. So the sport of gymnastics for me was a more positive outlet. However, when I look at things, there was great abuse there, there was great pressure there, there was a lot of neglect and a lot of emotional scars that resulted. By the way that I was trained. However, to answer your question back then, I don't know if things could have been different. I know any coach could have gotten me to the Olympic Games. I was a hard worker, I was very talented. It did not have to be my coach in the state of Maryland, but that was the way the sport of gymnastics was. It was very cold, it was very harsh. It was something that Bella Caroly, when he came over from Romania, brought that to the United States and a lot of American coaches modeled that. And that's where they were able to then produce champions, hence the 1996 gold medal winning team. Things need to change though, because it is damaging. It's physical, physically harming, it's mentally harming, it's emotionally harming on these young athletes. And it creates a very toxic culture for monsters like Larry Nassar to be able to infiltrate and take advantage of these vulnerable girls that are neglected by the adults around them. And so I believe that there's changes that are being made. But my way of making change is to create the academies the way I'm doing them and focusing on the well being of every child and creating a healthy culture.
- [22:13]
A
Yeah, and I just applaud you for all that. And I applaud you for being willing to talk about it.
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C
Right.
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A
I think everyone has their varying levels of degree of comfort of Reliving things that they're not proud of or fond of or don't think back of fondly. So I appreciate you sharing all that and have a ton of respect for just your willingness to just even look back and share that with our listeners.
- [22:34]
C
In the beginning, I will say this. I used to feel guilty about bringing up the abuses in the sport. Like, I used to feel bad because I was made to believe that my coach did so much for me. I heard it from her all the time, how much she sacrificed, how much she's doing, you know, how she's making it possible that I'm accomplishing what I accomplish. It wasn't until I became a mom, I got to know my husband, who is not a former gymnast. He is not in the bubble. He is not privy to the world that he then, as a school teacher of nearly 20 years, opened my eyes more so to the level of abuse that not only I experience, but many of my, many of my teammates experience. And we realize it wasn't our fault. We were children and these adults were treating us that way. And so today I have no problem sharing this because I really do want to open the eyes and ears of parents that have their children in the sport of gymnastics to make sure they're in the right environment.
- [23:26]
A
Would you say in your time growing up, whether it was your gym or Carrie Strugg's gym, would you say that that was pretty much a very standard approach across the way, or were there some more forward, progressive thinkers that were operating their gyms? A very high level Olympic style female gymnast that didn't fall into that bubble in that box? Or was it pretty standard across the board that this is the way to create Olympians and everyone just bought into it.
- [23:52]
C
You would, as a young athlete, you would hear about what was happening at other gyms, but I didn't live it at other gyms. I only know what I went through. And so, you know, I think some athletes have been willing to speak out, some of my former Olympic teammates throughout the, throughout the years, and some are choosing not to speak out for whatever reason.
- [24:09]
A
Right.
- [24:09]
C
But I just know what I went through and hopefully the sport is trying to change.
- [24:13]
A
You're at the tip of the spear of that change. You told me it's you just opened your six academy, is that correct? Yes, obviously some Florida, the DMV area, and you said your most recent one's going to be in Houston. So I have a young daughter and she likes gymnastics. I bring her to your academy. You already said you're not in the business of training Olympians, I bring my daughter to you to achieve what? Like give me the, the. You have the magic wand and you take my young 8 year old daughter through high school. The end of the road is what
- [24:43]
C
the end of the road is really helping develop happy, active, strong kids. I'm a mom of four kids. I want my kids to have a balanced childhood. I understand and recognize that my children have one childhood and I want to make it the best one possible. I want to help develop them physically. I want to help develop them emotionally, mentally as well as socially. And in my academy, kids walk in, they're smiling and they leave smiling and sweating. They work hard, they enjoy the journey, they're making friendships. Our coaches are the magic makers where they are lifting up the self esteem of every young kid that walks through our doors. And what I like to communicate to parents is gymnastics I truly believe is the greatest foundation you can give your child. The flexibility, the strength, the balance, the coordination is something that can be transferred into football, that can be transferred into soccer, baseball, golf, you name it. My kids have played so many different sports and that's something that I did not get a chance to do when I was training for three different Olympic Games for 18 years of my childhood. And so gymnastics is just a beautiful foundation. And there's so many professional athletes that I've known throughout my walk in life and they wish they did gymnastics. I know some men are like, I'm not doing gymnastics. That's why we also have Ninja. And Ninja is a nice way to supplement and really work on those strong foundational elements that'll help that multi sport athlete.
- [26:00]
A
Oh, trust me, there, there's a lot of guys. Christian McCaffrey, a dear friend of mine for years, a lot of his, like early on, like early in the off season, as he eased into his ground, before he got on the track, before he got outside. There's videos of him online and he's on what I would equate to like a floor, like what you guys would do the floor routine on like a springy pad of what, whatever they call it. And he's doing crawling and he's doing different plyometric drills and he's doing different tumbling rolls, a lot of gymnastics type exercises just to prepare his body. So I, I totally get where you're coming from from a physical standpoint. Talk a little bit about how this new approach in gymnastics, the academic profile, kids going to school, I, I, I have to assume in your, you know, in your days, homeschooling and Being in the gym all day was probably very prevalent. Is that something now with academies like the Dominique Dawes Academy and the new age of gymnastics that, that young girls especially can have that balance you talk about. I'm a normal student, but then I also can, you know, pursue gymnastics to whatever le level I choose to.
- [27:09]
C
It's all about balance. When I was a young athlete, I actually went to public school. There were teammates of mine that chose to be homeschooled. That was their parents decision and they chose to literally live in the gymnastics gym. My focus is on balance. As a mother of four, that's what I want for my children. The sports is not end all, be all. And at our academy there's the recreational focus where kids will come for a one hour class or a 75 minute class once or twice a week. And then of course there is the competitive side, but it's not too intense. You'll maybe come two days a week or possibly four or five days a week. We encourage these young girls that are competing in our academy to play other sports. I believe in the importance of seasonality. I did not have that experience whatsoever when I was a gymnast. We were training the five to seven hours a day all year round. I did, I got one vacation with my parents. I think I was maybe 10 years old. I took a week vacation to Ocean City, Maryland. It was a blast. I remember coming back to the gymnastics gym, struggling to do my, my flexibility work, struggling to do my conditioning and my foundational skills. And my coach said to me, you're never taking a vacation again. And she made sure she had that level of control over my whole childhood. We are not those type of dictators in our academy. We want kids to be happy. We understand that this is a part of their overall development. I don't want people living in the gymnastics academy. I want them playing soccer, I want them playing golf. I want them to be a part of their church group. You need to have different circles of activities and different circles of friends because it's all about creating well rounded, well developed kids.
- [28:40]
A
It's actually counterintuitive to what people would think. There's probably the ability to create in your world better gymnasts that happen to be well rounded athletes and get breaks and they don't feel that mental and physical exhaustion. All of a sudden you look when they're 16, 17 years old and you go, oh my God, they're, they're actually better. They're actually better at this thing that we're not giving our entire being to because they're healthier, they're happier, they want to come to the gym, they're not burnt out. And maybe now I'm assuming some of these girls can go on to college. Like is there opportunity beyond high school for maybe not the Olympics, but still continue to chase that dream of high achievement?
- [29:19]
C
I would say chase that dream of high achievement. And maybe it's not college gymnastics, Division 1 scholarships, but there are other great programs out there, like dance, like cheerleading now, like flag football. I mean, the foundational skills that you're learning in gymnastics will help you be a kick ass flag football player on the field. And so that has always been my dream. I opened my doors in the middle of a global pandemic. July 2020. So we've only been open just under six years. We've seen some kids go to college, but it was more so for acro tumbling. But it's to make sure like these are well, I just want well rounded kids. At the end of the day, you're a, you're a parent, you know, we want our kids to be hacked, happy. We want them to be active, we want them to be strong. I don't need my kids to be trailblazers. I do not need my kids kids to be gold medalists. They don't need to be professional athletes. If it's in the cards for them, I will support them. But I also look at, I don't want them to sacrifice their development. I don't want them to sacrifice time with their family, time with developing their faith, time with actually just being a kid. And that's something that I didn't experience. And even my husband has to remind me, Even now at 49, I will revert back to my like Olympic self. And he'll like, he'll say to me, like, like, let's just let the kids be kids today. Like, let's just let them have a play date or play on the swing set. And they don't have to like grind it out in practice. And you know what, sometimes you can get punished for missing practice. But I have to remember and we have to remember, my husband and I, we're supposed to nurture our kids. We're supposed to protect our kids. We're supposed to make sure that they have an amazing childhood, one that they look back at and they smile and that it's not about the grind and getting the job done. And that that was my childhood. I can accomplish so much, you know, and, but I will sacrifice things that are very important to me. And that's not a That's not a life that you want to have. You want to have that balance so that, you know, at the end of the day, it's having that well rounded child and well rounded family.
- [31:08]
A
If one of your children did say, mom, I want to be just like you and I do want to be an Olympian, what is that conversation?
- [31:17]
C
You know, there was a, a gymnast that was at our gym and her dad was an NFL player and he was, he's retired. And he said to me, what are you going to tell your children? Because he knew I did not want that for my children. He knows that I do not want my child, my children living in the gym five to seven hours a day. Because that is unfortunately what it seems like it takes. And all these training camps and being under a microscope and it's just a physical, emotional toll that you do not want a young person to go through, you know. And he said, what are you going to tell your child? And I said, you know what? They won't understand it, it as a teenager, they won't, they'll be so mad at mom that I didn't want them to wake up at 5 o' clock in the morning and grind it out and sacrifice so much to represent their country and their race and what have you in the sport for that slim shot of making it. But when they are 30, when they are 30 and they are secure in who they are and they make smart decisions in the people that they marry and they recognize what is important and what true happiness is and fulfillment is, then they will be like, now I know why mom did what she did. And I, this is just from my perspective, someone else might be like, dominique is completely off, but I will share with you what I sacrifice, and I've said it many times, was not worth it. And I appreciate the impact that I was, that I was able to make on other people's lives. But I do feel as if the development that I want for my children would be lacking if I had them go down the road and the journey that I experienced. And I'll take it back to if I had parents that knew how to love, if I had a home life where there's a mom that's there willing to give me a hug. Not money, not, not, you know, things, but just able to, like, breathe in life and security and faith and dreams and hopes and a dad that was secure in who he was, I would have walked away from the sport of gymnastics the way it was back then. Because the sacrifice was too great. It was too great. But honestly, I saw the sport as an outlet for me to make something of myself. I guess if I could change anything, I wouldn't. I wouldn't change anything. I wouldn't change the pain. I wouldn't change anything because the motto I go through life is pain serves a greater purpose that leads to our passion, that allows us to make a greater impact. I care deeply, and my number one vocation in life will always be to be a mother, because I've always wanted a mother. And to have the joy and the blessing to be able to raise and rear these four beautiful kids that didn't ask to come into this world is my utmost priority. And that came from a source and a place of pain. We started the Dominique Dawes Academies in the middle of a global pandemic because of the toxic, abusive culture that was highlighted in the sport in 2016. And that planted a seed in me and also planted a seed in my husband to say, hey, you've got to do things different. I am naturally very private. I am naturally very, very introverted. And my husband is the complete opposite. He is the fun guy. He is extroverted. People love laughing and grabbing a beer with him. And he said, you know what? You've got to bring down these walls and you've got to let people in, and you're going to do it by opening these academies. He was like, I don't know how you're going to do it, because I'm not an entrepreneur, I'm not a business guy, I'm a school teacher, and I love impacting kids. But he's like, you can do this, and we've done it together, and that's why we feel so blessed opening our sixth academy, soon to be our seventh academy and many more, because the impact that we're making is truly changing lives. I can't say this enough. It's not about creating champions in the athletic arena, because many of those champions are lost, are broken, are insecure. It's more importantly about creating secure champions and confident champions in life.
- [34:59]
A
I don't think it can be any better. Said I was going to ask you, can you bring some of this approach into, like, your work with the Washington spirit and your ownership group with the Atlanta Falcons. So I know, I'm sure that's super exciting. You mentioned how important Atlanta is to you, the home of the, you know, your Olympics and all that journey. But I like, can you bring some of this spirit, some of this perspective, like, when you bring it into the ownership groups or any of the meetings, like, can you crack into some of these team sports that might look at you and say, oh, we're, you know, I'm not sure we're ready for that in the NFL. Like, what is that reception like?
- [35:32]
C
Well, I think my reception right now has been me sitting back and just listening and taking it all in. I know what I know and I know what I don't know. And these are very savvy, these smart business people that I'm surrounded by. And I, more importantly, love the heart that they have and the character that they have. When I had an opportunity to be a part of the Washington spirit, I love the fact that it's about impacting youth in the D.C. area that need this more than ever. Trinity Rodman is a phenomenal person. She's not only a great soccer player on the field, but more importantly, she cares about impacting the kids. I had an opportunity to go to a close scrimmage in Orlando versus the Spirit. And the time that she and her teammates spent connecting with my kids teammates and giving them hugs and words of advice and autographs was truly special because I remember doing that when I was a young athlete on the floor with the Falcons. I just feel very blessed to be a part of an organization led by an amazing leader, Mr. Arthur Blank. I think people know, you know, his goals and dreams of winning on the field. Of course we want to win on the field, but more importantly, he's winning off the field through his work with his foundation, the Blank Stuttering center, his hospital, I mean, you name it, he's giving back and doing so much in the community. And so really right now I feel like I'm sitting back, I'm absorbing, I'm listening and I'll be able to put some input in when needed. But these are amazing leaders that are doing great things on the field and off the field.
- [36:54]
A
Well, I can tell you this, they would be very wise to listen to your perspective and your stories and your journey because I know here at you think like, like we are better now, our listeners. Like this is one of the the best conversations we've had. I think it's so relevant to some of the struggles facing the youth today, especially in their sports journey. And someone who's as highly, you know, has achieved what you've achieved, the levels, you know, you mentioned you were a trailblazer not just within your sport, but just around the world for what you represented and who you represented. For you to now share those experiences, both the good and the bad. Everyone loves sharing the gold medals. Everyone loves sharing all the Good. But oftentimes it's sharing the scars and the warts and the struggles that have the biggest impact. So for you to take that time to come here on Youth Inc. And share it with our listeners and viewers, we are super grateful.
- [37:42]
C
Oh, well, thank you, Greg, for this opportunity. I appreciate it.
- [37:45]
B
All right, questions sent in by our listeners. Hey, Mr. Olson. First, are you okay with being called Mr. Olson?
- [37:52]
A
Yeah.
- [37:52]
B
Hey, Mr. Olson, at what age or point in your child's sports career does a parent seek one on one specific training? Training? I'm a big believer in multi sport kids and not specializing. But do you start to seek that extra help at what age?
- [38:05]
A
Yeah, this, this is a great question. You know, I, I think like most things, I, I would advise that there's not a certain, a certain like cutoff. I don't think it's the same for every kid. I think there are some kids that are mentally, they're physically, mentally and emotionally mature enough at younger ages than others that they might be able to take that real direct one on one instruction and actually be able to implement it, make corrections and seek improvement and seek development. I think there's some kids that maybe are not ready for that at a younger age and that that threshold is going to be hit a little bit later in the developmental pipeline. So I think the biggest thing for all families and, and parents and, and coaches is to understand your child or understand your athlete because each one of them is going to be receptive to different styles of coaching at different times of the developmental curve. So identify that, understand where them, where they're at and not where you wish they were. Because even in my own household, you know, the different ages that my kids, you know, kind of took to different sports at more competitive levels varied within our own household. So when you factor that across a team or across a community, I think it's going to be very different. So once you feel like your son or daughter is physically, mentally and emotionally ready for a more intimate, detailed, serious type of training environment, which would be that one on one, I would advise to give it a chance. But if they're not there yet, that's okay. It is not a race to 12. When that moment comes, you'll know and you can take that next step.
- [39:42]
B
You say you'll know. Is there like something you should specifically look for?
- [39:45]
A
Yeah, I think you'll know. Your kids will be begging you to go seek more improvement. They're, you're going to see them working on their own. You're going to see that they're able to focus for a 30 minute or an hour session, whether it's doing their homework or whether, whether it's working with you in the backyard, you're going to see signs that your son or daughter is going to be able to be in a one on one or even a semi, private, enclosed, very serious, detailed type of a session where they're going to actually be able to walk out of that session, have some, you know, have some clarity of what they were being taught, have the ability to, to kind of hang on to it and be able to implement it into their next game or their next practice or whatever the next step down the road is. So I think the signs will be there. I think as a parent you'll know. And if your son or daughter is not there yet and some of their peers are, I think that's okay because they are going to mature at their own pace. The developmental curve is not linear. And I think the best case is to get your son or daughter into those training sessions at the right time. That's more important than actually just doing it. If you do it too early when they're not ready, you're not going to get a lot of return on your investment. Investment.
- [40:55]
D
All right, our next question. This parent asks thoughts on having kids ease up when dominating our team is good, but we don't want to demoralize our opponents.
- [41:03]
B
What do you know about that, Greg?
- [41:05]
A
I don't know how our buddy Mike, Dr. Gervais would feel about my answer, but let me preface by saying are we talking about like five year old T ball? Are we talking about eight year old, you know, soccer? Again, I don't. When we're talking about those young ages and I even put myself back in those days where I'm running the blue machine at machine pitch baseball with and 7 year olds. Like I was that guy on the field when the score got out of hand. And if we were in the ability to, to, to be up by a lot, we would go one base at a time. We would not try to run the score up. There was no, like we always approach the game in a very respectful and appropriate manner, especially at that younger age. As time goes on, our focus has always been we are going to worry about how we play, not who we play play. And there are games that we've gone into where the other team was better than us. There was teams that we've gone into where we were very relatively evenly matched and there's been times over the years that we've gone in and we were significantly better than them. And we knew it. And we knew the game could get out of hand. But what's important for the kids to know is we don't pick and choose which games we play harder, prepare harder, warm up better, have better focus, take practice. Your serious. It is non negotiable that we treat every single session, every single game the exact same way. There is no ability to turn it on and off. That's not the way sports work as you get older. So we try to implement that at the younger ages. You know, I'm talking now like the middle school teams that we're coaching and whatnot. So yeah, we go into every game we are looking to win, we are looking to be uber competitive. We are looking to play our best. And then as the score indicates, we will make decisions on substitutions, we will make decisions on game strategy, we'll make decisions on what plays we call or how many bases we go, or we'll call off the press or whatever the case may be. But don't ever teach your kids not to give everything they have. And it is up to the adults to then turn the nozzle down through game strategy and game manipulation. But it is not up to the kids to choose when I play hard and when I don't play hard.
- [43:16]
B
Hard.
- [43:16]
D
In your football games, you guys had the fifth quarter at the start of the games. Do you think that more schools should be implementing that at that level or do you think that that's slowing down the game and making people not focus on what's important?
- [43:29]
A
I think the best thing that we had with our middle school team these last two years, and we'll have it again now, this year as we do it, as we start ramping up here in the next couple weeks to do it again, the best thing that we have is the fifth quarter. We are very fortunate that this past middle school year there was a lot of interest in being on the team. A lot of kids that had come out for the team had never played before. So when the season started between seventh and eighth grade, we had almost 50 kids. And you know, I'd say when it all, when all the dust settled and whatnot, we were like right at 48, give or take kids. And that's just a lot of kids to play. But what the fifth quarter allowed us to do, you know, and we did it on the front end of the game. The game. The name's a little misleading, but we did it on the front end of the game. And what that allowed us to do was to get in all the Kids. And between the fifth quarter and then the four quarters of the real game, everybody was able to get game action. And I think it serves two purposes. Number one, it just rewards the kids for all the hard work, right? Because whether you're the starting running back getting the ball every play, or you're a young kid who's never played and you know, your playing time as a seventh grader is a little bit, you know, is not quite there yet. Every one of those kids came to all of our summer workouts, and every single one of those kids comes to practice in full pads every day for two hours after school. Everyone's doing the same amount of work, so it's a great way to reward the work. And then number two, a lot of those seventh graders that are new to the sport are going to be kids now as 8th graders this year that are going to play more significant roles. So it's not a wasted season. They got the game reps, they got all the off season workouts, and then they also, I mean, they got the practice reps, the off season workouts, and now they have been in the fire before. They've been in a live game, they've been tackled, they've been knocked down, they've dropped a pass, caught a pass, pass, whatever the case may be. So that served a ton of value for us. We would always, we would always petition the league and the other coaches and the officials. Instead of 10 plays, can we do 20? I mean, if it was up to us, we would have done 50 fifth quarter plays. We want our young kids to play as much and get as many game reps as humanly possible. And for the most part, over the course of the season, I think it was a big reason why a lot of our young kids with maybe more limited experience playing, playing were able to see such improvement.
- [45:39]
B
I'm a big, I was a fifth quarter star myself, so it's nice to hear you say that.
- [45:42]
A
Hey, builds a lot of confidence. My, my younger son, my seventh grade son last year did not catch a pass in the re. In the tradition, you know, the quote unquote, like main game, like that, the actual game between the, you know, the kickoff and, you know, post kickoff, we would always say like before the kickoff and then we'd have a post kickoff game just to kind of brand it the way we wanted it to be presented. But like our post kickoff game game, you know, the quote unquote, actual game, he never caught a pass. He might have caught one, but in the fifth quarter he was able to build he had never played football before. He had never been tackled. He had never put on a helmet. So for him to go out there and get meaningful game reps and have a seventh grade quarterback throw it to a seventh grade tight end, he'd catch a couple, some for touchdowns, you know, then he'd be dropped, then he'd get tackled. Sometimes he'd catch it and run. Like all those things that you just can't simulate in practice. So now when we go to eighth grade, even though this might be the first time doing it in the actual game, it feels like I've been here before. It feels like I've developed some experience at this. So you can only get better by playing and you can only get better by those reps and game simulated reps in practice and then, of course, the actual game itself. Appreciate everyone listening. Catch you again next week here on you think.