What if the most important thing you could do for your athletic performance had nothing to do with training?
Heather sits down with Courtney Stone, a licensed clinical social worker and athlete mental health therapist based in Los Angeles, to talk about the inner work that makes athletes more resilient — in and out of sport. Courtney works with athletes navigating eating disorders, body image concerns, ADHD, and the mental performance side of sport. She's also an assistant high school cross-country coach, a marathoner currently training for Chicago, and someone who has lived through both an ACL tear and spine surgery — so she's not speaking theoretically when she talks about what it's like to lose access to the sport you love.
They get into process versus outcome goals, what core values actually are and how to find yours, the "life wheel" exercise for athletes transitioning out of sport or sitting with injury, and why setting a goal that's a little too achievable is almost always the right call. It's equal parts practical and personal, and it's the kind of conversation that makes you want to grab a journal.
Chapters
[00:11:00] Training update: IT band, a hard decision on a long run, and what "doing it differently" actually meant
[00:18:00] Core values as an athletic framework — and how Brené Brown and Adam Grant got Courtney here
[00:24:00] Coaching high school cross country: what younger athletes are teaching her about goals
[00:28:00] Process goals vs. outcome goals — and why both matter
[00:33:00] One goal in, one goal out: Coach Diljeet Taylor's approach and how Courtney applies it
[00:35:00] When you can't be in sport: identity, grief, and the life wheel exercise
[00:43:00] Setting realistic goals at every level — and why too achievable is a feature, not a bug
[00:47:00] University of Michigan's Social Work and Sport certificate: what it covers and who it's for
[00:50:00] Working toward the CMPC certification — and what supervised hours are teaching her
Resources mentioned:
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Project Purple — the pancreatic cancer research nonprofit Courtney is running Chicago for
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Coach Steph Mundt, who is also a physical therapist in our Lane 9 Directory
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The Curiosity Workshop — Brené Brown and Adam Grant's podcast; search it on your preferred podcast platform
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Inervit 2-to-1 Gel, Mango — Courtney's current race day gel of choice
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Find Courtney Stone, LCSW in the Lane 9 Directory: lane9project.org/directory
Are you an athlete?
Find a sports dietitian, DPT, therapist or coach who understands athletes at lane9project.org/directory.
Are you a clinician or coach?
If this conversation resonated with you professionally, Lane 9 Membership was built for you. Join a community of dietitians, DPTs, psychologists, sports medicine providers, and coaches who are doing this work, and get listed in the Lane 9 Directory so athletes can find you. Future clinicians and coaches are welcome too.
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