Episode 51
On this week’s episode, Joan is joined once again by Kim Geist – multi-time world (Team Pursuit) and national champion as well as owner and operator of Kim Geist coaching and coach for Team T-Town. They delve into the pillars of Finesse and Fury, what Kim has been up to for the last year, with the Kim Geist Academy, and being inducted into the T-Town Hall of Fame.
Thanks to B Braun Medical Inc. for sponsoring the Talk of the T-Town Podcast. BBraun is a global leader in infusion therapy and pain management, B Braun develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical products to the healthcare community. They are also strong believers in supporting the quality of life in the communities where their employees work and live.
Transcript
Joan Hanscom:
Welcome to The Talk of the T-Town podcast, where we discuss all things track cycling. Broadcasting from the Valley Preferred Cycling Center. I’m your host and executive director, Joan Hanscom.
Joan Hanscom:
Welcome to The Talk of the T-Town podcast. I’m your host, Joan Hanscom and I’m excited today to have only our second ever repeat guest on the podcast. Today we are joined by two time world champion and coach ordinary, Kim Geist. And we should also say, hall of fame inductee, Kim Geist. So we thought it would be great to get Kim back on the pod this week, because she’s got some exciting follow up to our pod when we first had her on. So we thought it’d be super fun to swing back around and follow up with her and get caught up. Kim, welcome to the podcast.
Kim Geist:
Hi, thanks for having me on, I think I was episode number one. You are well down the line from there.
Joan Hanscom:
You were close to episode number one, Mandy Marquardt beat you.
Kim Geist:
Oh, right.
Joan Hanscom:
But you are beating Mandy to the return to the pod. We’ll have you there. This is episode 51, if you can believe it, which is kind of crazy that we’ve done 51 episodes of this podcast that sort of started as a weird little side project that now I think is a really cool thing. So yeah, episode 51 with Kim Geist. And so we have some fun stuff to talk with you about today. For our listeners who don’t know, when Kim came on last year, she had just announced both the Kim Geist Academy and Kim Geist Finesse & Fury coaching program. And so we thought it would be very fun to circle back around with Kim. If you follow her Instagram, you’ve seen the progress of the Kim Geist Academy coming to life.
Joan Hanscom:
And we thought it would be a really great opportunity to check in with Kim, see how that project’s going and share some more information. Finesse & Fury has surely been fleshed out a bit in the inner reading year and also to talk about the hall of fame induction, because I thought that was a pretty cool thing. So Kim, tell us about first the Kim Geist Academy, the building project.
Kim Geist:
Okay. Yeah, I’m finally feeling like I’m in the home stretch on the project. All of the renovations are actually complete, as complete as they can be. Of course, things keep coming up constantly, and I’m sure that will be ongoing projects. But we actually just put half the flooring, the rubber flooring down. And once we get the other half down, equipment will move in, some finishing touches and that’s really it to go with actually getting the physical location up and running.
Joan Hanscom:
For those who haven’t been following along on your Instagram, this was a major renovation project. You took a, what looks to me at least like a pretty traditional old Pennsylvania building and turned it into essentially a high performance center. And it’s beautiful, like the concrete floors and everything, you’ve raised ceilings. And you’ve done a lot of work yourself. Talk about that? If somebody told me I had to renovate an old Pennsylvania building, I would be like, “Yeah, no.” But you took this project on and you’ve done a lot of the work yourself. Talk about that just a smidge because I find it fascinating?
Kim Geist:
Yeah. Well maybe you would have been to some benefit and knowing what would have gone into that. I had no idea upfront. So being naive I think was a plus. But yeah, it’s actually a bit of a circle building. So it’s in Longswamp Township up by Bear Creek Mountain Resort and is built in the 1860s. The first floor, which is the facility for the Kim Geist Academy was a little bit more modern, but it was an old tavern. So an old bar and restaurant. So yeah, pretty much for the past 16 months, we’re going on a year and a half now, it’s been a process of early morning, late night, learning as I go. I have a handful of helpers who have been instrumental in teaching me some things along the way, but a lot of it’s been trial and error and that’s definitely added to the time it’s taken me to get everything renovated. But I pretty much for the last almost year and a half lived in the same outfit, it’s covered in paint and dust and all of the aspects of construction. So looking forward to like wearing [crosstalk 00:05:21]-
Joan Hanscom:
You’re going to be a contractor.
Kim Geist:
Yeah, right.
Joan Hanscom:
[inaudible 00:05:25] right. It’s the …
Kim Geist:
I definitely have some new found skills for sure. But it’s been fun. I get up and look forward to working on something.
Joan Hanscom:
I know, it’s got to feel really satisfying to see it actually take shape and become a real thing and not just a work site. Like now it’s a real thing. And I can’t imagine, as an event producer, every time an event would happen, get pulled off and I would see the race start and everything go, I’d be like, “Yeah, I made this.” I cannot imagine that feeling of, “I made this,” when you look at your building. That has to be enormously satisfying to say, “I did this with my bare hands.”
Kim Geist:
I definitely catch myself just standing in say the middle of the big room and just looking around like, “Wow, this has come such a long way. and I did this.” It’s awesome feeling.
Joan Hanscom:
Yeah, that’s super cool. Maura’s going to make sure that she puts links into the Kim Geist Instagram so that folks can go check, because it is really impressive the work you’ve done and people can go back through your feed and so to be like, “Whoa, they’re not kidding, she did a lot of work. Oh, it’s super cool [crosstalk 00:06:37].”
Kim Geist:
Yeah, there’s so much behind the scenes. I mean, being an old building, there were months upon months of work that nobody will ever see, things like plumbing and electrical and structural.
Joan Hanscom:
Just to get it up to code, right? Just to make it pass. And so what’s even cooler though. So now you have this beautiful. It is going to be a training resource that your website at least says is for Kim Geist coaching athletes and the public. So how is that going to work, that piece of the puzzle? Or have you not quite fleshed that out yet?
Kim Geist:
Right. So it’ll be a resource for those who I already coach. So those athletes that I coach will have opportunity to set up personal sessions with me to do small group sessions-
Joan Hanscom:
Nice.
Kim Geist:
… strength and conditioning and indoor cycling.
Joan Hanscom:
Great.
Kim Geist:
And then the plan is to have some community programs going as well. And that’s actually tied in with the Finesse & Fury program. But the plan is to have with me some opportunities for strength and conditioning and with members of Finesse & Fury to have some opportunities for indoor cycling classes. So folks who are in the local cycling club and general can come in and utilize the facility as well.
Joan Hanscom:
Nice. So that’s a nice segue into what I think must have been even more work than building the building, which is the Finesse & Fury by Kim Geist coaching, which when we last spoke, you gave a really great teaser. And for those who want to sort of see what the great teaser is that there’s video available on Kim’s website, but you really fleshed it out now into what this looks like. And to tee it up. This is a program for young cyclists who wish to really seriously pursue national and international level track cycling competition. And you have outlined essentially four pillars of the program’s sort of ethos. And there’s, some of them are super interesting out of these four pillars. The first one, which to me is, should be obvious for any coaching program, but I think sadly is not, is your first pillar is coaching-based in experience in education.
Joan Hanscom:
And as anybody who’s ever made a joke about having your local cat three as a coach should appreciate, there’s a lot more to that. Though it seems like that should be an obvious one. I think sadly in our sport, it is not obviously an obvious one. But tell us about that first, because I think that’s your first pillar Why don’t you talk to us a little bit about that one?
Kim Geist:
Yeah, I think that is the most obvious part of the program. So you’ve all had say a coach who specializes or has experience in sort of the skills of the sport. So you can use a high school coach as an example, they would teach you how to dribble the basketball or kick the soccer ball correctly. And for us that’s on the track that’s maybe how to execute a standing start correctly, or going even further into tactics. So where to be in the group in a points race to be able to score points in the points sprint. But in our sport, we also have this huge aspect of it where there’s the physical training. So that same coach who can teach you the skills and tactics doesn’t necessarily have the background to tell you what, and more importantly, why to do the training that you’re doing.
Kim Geist:
So from my point of view, if you have a coach who can both explain the skills and tactics part of your support, and also write your training program appropriately and explain the why you’re doing your training program the way you are, that’s really the basis of a sort of really strong coaching program.
Joan Hanscom:
So I’m going to pause there. Because personally, as an athlete, I love the why, like why am I doing these these efforts, because they suck. So I want to know why I’m doing them because otherwise I’m really not super motivated to do an interval that is, I don’t know, four minutes at 130% of threshold sucks. So if I understand why I’m doing it, it helps. So I guess one of my questions for you, and this is probably leaping a little bit ahead in these four pillars is for athletes that you are selecting into Finesse & Fury is curiosity about the why a requirement?
Kim Geist:
Oh, it’s not a requirement, but I think it tracks pretty well with the personality of the athlete who are expecting to take part in the program. If your goals are high enough that you are looking at a national level plus goal, you’re probably going to be really interested in why it is you’re doing what you’re doing. And you’re going to be looking for every little ounce that goes into maximizing your program. So I believe if you understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, like you just said, you’re able to get that much more out of yourself. It’s not just a routine daily thing that you’re going in and doing. There’s purpose to it. So that adds to motivation and adds to the drive of your training.
Joan Hanscom:
And that’s a fair assessment of the high performance athlete. So moving on, because we said, that first point seems to be a no-brainer even though I think sadly it often is not a no-brainer in our sport, but you also for Finesse & Fury, and we’re going to get into a little bit more about how to apply and how to get into this program if you’re listening and you’re interested in a little bit, but first we want to tee up what it is. You’ve identified that people accepted into this program are going to have the benefit of a narrowly focused peer group. And I think that’s incredibly powerful, right? Because there is a group energy, right? And there’s also group motivation. And I’ve said it a bazillion times on this podcast. I’m a big fan of the Garrett Thomas podcast because he’s just, I think he’s funny, but what always comes out in conversation is, even for an athlete who’s on the Tour de France and one junior [Perry Rebe 00:13:39] and has been a very highly, multiple gold medalist on the track.
Joan Hanscom:
He’s a highly accomplished athlete, but what you get a sense of when he talks is the importance of the team training, the group training with his peer group. It comes through a lot in just his ability to push himself. And I think that that’s sort of what you’re saying here is that you’re going to have like-minded individuals who are all really focused on the same thing. And there are multiple benefits of that, right? One, it’s your training with peers. So you understand where your peers are in the process. You also get a lot of motivation, I think from being in people on the same track as you, and then there’s just the straight benefit of training with other people at your level, because you’re going to be challenging each other to raise your game. But I think you even go deeper than that on that narrowly focused peer group. So talk a little bit about that and what it means to you?
Kim Geist:
Right. So you definitely interpreted that as it’s meant to be. So I think this is probably the most important aspect of the new program. We’ve really narrowed down the focus to be even smaller than you mentioned. We’re looking to work with young endurance tracks like this. And by young there’s a lot of room in there. I just mean not a master’s athlete who’s looking to race masters nationals or looking at junior elite level riders. And the basis of this really came from my personal experience. So when I was a junior rider, we had as many junior riders do now, training group. So you went through the community programs at the [inaudible 00:15:35], which are all group based, but then also when you moved into individual coaching, that was in a group setting.
Kim Geist:
And as a junior, I had great success. I won more national titles than anyone to that point, met all that junior roles, achieved all my goals. But then when I moved into the U23 and the elite rank, it was the dawn of internet coach. And there wasn’t really a group here at home to train with for what I was wanting to do. And I found out my result really stagnated. Yeah, I was a really good rider. I was winning national championships still, but I wasn’t progressing as I wanted to. And that went on for years of upon years. And it wasn’t until the last handful of years of riding that I just so happened to stumble upon really a training partner. So at that time, and still currently I was coaching Kim Zubris, who’s a partner in the new program with me now, and I was writing a program, and one day I saw we had an overlap in workout and I figured, “Well, we were becoming friends as well. So I’d ask her if she just wanted to go and do the workout with me.”
Kim Geist:
And we started doing that a little bit more, a little bit more as we had overlaps in our programs. And what I found is all of a sudden I went from being the same as I was for years upon years, to having just this little boost that I needed as an elite athlete to get completely different results. All I needed was, sort of cliche, but literally that 1% to make a difference. And it wasn’t that we were in any sort of set program together. We never talked about, “Yeah, let’s train together. This is going to be the magical stat that makes us both improve.” But it just happened. All it took was another warm body being next to me, sometimes literally inside on the trainer, where there’s no competition, doing the same thing to the same end goal. We both wanted to maximize our opportunities on the national team and sort of this unsaid little bit of rivalry and a little bit of support that turned the corner for me and helped her improve significantly.
Kim Geist:
So in our new program that’s really the basis. We’re going to have riders who are close enough in focus and close enough in ability. Those are the two key things that we can do workouts, we can do training. We can go to the track and have sort of that unsaid support and that unsaid competition that makes the difference.
Joan Hanscom:
Yeah, this pushes you that little extra bit every time, right? You ring that extra little bit out of your training sessions when somebody else is there. Totally, I totally get that. And I think it’s one of the things that’s actually sort of interesting to watch, because it seems to happen more in the track environment than in the road setting, unless you’re really in a full-time road program, it almost feels like, and everybody does group rides on the road. So I’m taking group rides out of the equation, but that really consistent training partner that can consistently push you versus a group ride, which is also great and also pushes you. So I’m not diminishing the importance of a spicy group ride, but it seems the track setting really does have that group thing super dialed.
Joan Hanscom:
And maybe it’s because it’s got a physical location that it’s able to do that, and that that’s what’s missing for us roadies is that you don’t have a consistent physical location, you have roads. But that ability to have a consistent training partner, I think, is super cool about the track. And it sounds like you’re just going to amplify it to something even more powerful, which is very, very cool.
Kim Geist:
Yes. For the track the training is so important. We spend overall in the year so little time actually racing. Especially as you get higher and higher levels, how many world, now called Nations Cups? How many do we have in a year, and how many do you actually go to? Spend so much time training that that’s where the actual biggest benefits come from.
Joan Hanscom:
Right. The third thing on your list, flexible resources. To me, you refer to it as closely related areas of supplemental, physical, mental performance enhancement. And I think that this third point, flexible resources is really to me a cornerstone of a high performance program where it’s not just the training on the bike. It’s not just your time in the gym, but it’s all aspects. It’s resourcing whatever those extra elements are that give you yet another percentage of gain. Whether it be massage therapy or rehab, or dry needling or whatever it is that’s going to put you, mental training, sports psychology, that’s the complete picture of high performance to me. It’s every aspect of your training life is high performance. And so talk about this, because it looks like you’ve developed some interesting, I mean, you’ve got InsideTracker as a resource partner, you have a lot of different things that I think a lot of coaching programs maybe do one or two, but you seem to really be doing this complete high-performance package. So talk about this flexible resource attribute of Finesse & Fury. You’re just aggregating amazing support for your athletes.
Kim Geist:
Right, so we’re really trying to provide a comprehensive coaching program, but with being one coach, Kim Zubris is partner, but she does not write programs and does not do the physical aspects of that. I don’t have the in-depth knowledge as professionals who are specified in their field do. So yes, I have a degree in sports nutrition, but I still work with a registered dietician because she has further knowledge than I do. So we’ve set up a situation where athletes can have easier access to the other aspects of performance to help with their development. So formal relationships we have with a physical therapist, a massage therapist, a sports psychologist, and a registered dietician, which I think starting out takes into account really all the major points that need to be addressed.
Kim Geist:
When you’re looking to become national plus level athlete, it’s really a lifestyle. So taking everything into consideration is the best way to go. But at the same time, even though we have alliances with these certain individuals and recognize that not everybody is going to mesh personally with them. Just take the sports psychologist for instance, if your personalities don’t quite align very well, you’re not going to be able to get the most out of that relationship. So we’ll help to set you up with those who we think are best in the field, but we’re not going to, this is a key point, we’re not going to require that you work with those other professionals who are involved with us.
Joan Hanscom:
Right. I have to say, I mean, that’s to me also such an important aspect of a good coaching program is that in many ways that takes the coach’s ego out of it. That you are aware enough to say, “Yes, I have a degree in nutrition, but I’m not as knowledgeable as a sports nutritionist.” That’s like that absence of ego, again, that is I think in a high performance setting really important. And you’ve talked about that this program was based on the best and the worst of what you experienced. And again, I don’t want to speak for you, but to me it seems like having a coach that has the ability to take the ego out of it and say, “I’m not the best sports nutritionist in the world, or I don’t have the best depth of knowledge. I’m competent, but I know to pull in other resources,” is incredibly valuable.
Joan Hanscom:
And it’s certainly something that I have valued in coaching relationships where people don’t pretend to be everything and they know when it’s time to resource out. And I think that’s pretty admirable. And again, I wonder if that hasn’t been something that you’ve come across in your past as an athlete where it’s like, “Oh, wait, I would have benefited from being resourced additionally, in addition to the coach I was working for.”
Kim Geist:
Oh, absolutely. And most of the professionals I’ve worked with personally, and I would say that that’s a characteristic of them as well. I’ve challenged them with questions that they’ve honestly said, “Yep, I don’t know the answer to that, but I’m going to ask another colleague or I’m going to do research and get back to you [inaudible 00:25:53].” And I’m like that as well I think, even though my specialty is the coaching aspect, the exercise physiology side of things, I ask other coaches too. Sometimes I get stuck and I need another pair of eyes or some other thought. And that’s why we do it.
Joan Hanscom:
I think that’s always super interesting to know just how collaborative coaches are with each other and understanding that oftentimes like, “Well, I can’t get this athlete over this hump. This is how I’ve been approaching it. How would you approach it,” kind of thing. And sometimes that’s what it takes to bust through a leap forward. Super, I find it all fascinating. Again, that’s when the ego comes out of it and it’s just doing the best for the athlete and there’s no ego involved, and that is pretty cool. Your last component is interesting, and I think probably the most challenging. You identify that there is a character component and that you said that, “The program supports admirable personal character in both training and competition, as well as life through daily commitment, a selective admission process and a unique,” essentially you’re offering unique work study program options for people who may not be able to afford access to what is a highly expensive sport.
Joan Hanscom:
So that’s a lot in one little bullet point, but I’d like to sort of focus in on admirable, personal character, and ask you what I think is going to be your biggest challenge. How are you identifying that? I mean, it’s obvious on the surface, but what’s your process for really drilling down into a person’s character to understand if they’re going to be right for the chemistry of your program? Because I think it’s another one of those duh things like, it seems obvious on the surface, but I think it’s really challenging to do. So how are you going to approach this piece of the puzzle?
Kim Geist:
Yes, I agree. I think it is going to be challenging. We’ll find that out. But there will be an admission process. So the plan is to have a brief questionnaire basically, and then the more important part will be an interview. And I think you can get a lot from an interview by asking the correct questions. And since this is a local type program, you do need to reside in the area to benefit from it. It’s not like we’re in a situation where we haven’t seen you out and about before. And I think you can tell by people’s mannerisms and how they act around other people, what their character might be, how they act after race when they win or they lose. And really, we’re just looking for people, going back to ego.
Kim Geist:
So looking for people who can support others in the program. Who can put their own ego aside a little bit, despite needing to achieve their own goals, to still support those who are alongside them. So we’re really looking for yes, the ability to work hard and be there every day, show up and do your best. But also being respectful to other people and have, I think you need to have some sort of humility as well. So that’s what we’re, we’re going to attempt to try and figure out first.
Joan Hanscom:
I think for your small peer group focused training, the chemistry of the group is super important. So yeah, I think it’s a challenging thing, but to your point, these people are going to largely be known commodities and sidebar here kids, don’t be a Dick, because if you are, it comes back to haunt you. Cycling is a small world and you never know how your behavior will come back around one of those days, I think there’s the sidebar on that. Mom always told you to be good and to treat others as you would like to be treated. And certainly that kind of thing can come into play for selections in these types of programs. General life lesson, don’t be a Dick. So you’re going to start an application process. How many people are you targeting for this first class of Finesse & Fury?
Kim Geist:
We’re going to keep it small. So a maximum of eight I would be up to starting with.
Joan Hanscom:
Nice.
Kim Geist:
Honestly, if I get significantly less than that, as long as I can call it a group, I think that’s all it’s going to take. As I said, from my personal experience, it took one other person to make the difference, and that’s it. The key is really going to be selecting people who fit the program the best. So who are close in abilities, who are close in focus. We might not necessarily take the rider who’s currently vying for a national championship if they don’t fit within the group. We might be working upfront with riders who all racing for fifth place. As long as they can push each other to race for fourth place, then that’s what we’re looking for.
Joan Hanscom:
Right. And what if, and I say this because, T-Town, when it’s open in the summertime, attracts people from all over the country, you’ve identified that this is going to be a local year round program for people who live in the area who are reasonably local. What if you get a kid from California who says, “This is super cool and I want to relocate to the Lehigh Valley to be part of Finesse & Fury.” Because we have listeners everywhere. We have listeners in the UK and Australia who may say, “I want to be an endurance athlete like Kim Geist.” What is your position for that to start? And it may change, who knows?
Kim Geist:
Yeah, absolutely. I wouldn’t expect it to start like that. I would be very happy if it would, but yes, I would absolutely be welcoming of that. When I first started out, we did a small group study and one of the things that came up was that exact point, what riders would need to be able to relocate take part of the program and the biggest striving factor behind that was housing. Which I think upfront we have great host housing networks and friends in the community who could help out with that. Part of the building here at the Kim Geist’s Academy is that there is residential space as well. That’s been part of behind the scenes work. So not immediately available, but it could be an option in the future if there is interest in riders wanting to relocate that we could also be able to provide that ourselves.
Joan Hanscom:
That’s sort of an interesting thing to tease out five years from now. Sorry if I’m getting ahead, And I was like, [inaudible 00:33:50], knowing you and knowing how well you do everything and knowing that you think big, I was sort of teasing this out. I’m like, “Wonder what her five and 10 plan is for this?” So then for our listeners, you can’t see Kim, but we’re on Zoom and she’s got a little twinkle in her eye. Clearly she’s got the Cheshire cat grin going on. So clearly there’s bigger plans in the works that we’re circling around, I think is the, or bigger goals long term maybe. Global domination for Kim Geist Academy is where we’re going with this. No, I think it’s super cool. And so when do you anticipate opening up applications for this? I mean, because I’m certain there are people who are listening right now who are like, “I want to apply. I want my kid to apply.” So what’s the plan for that?
Kim Geist:
Right. So not being quite open yet, that will be happening shortly, but not quite being opening yet and sort of coming into the season. I don’t want to onboard anyone right now and disrupt their bigger picture. I would hope and assume that riders are preset in their plans for the year. So I’m looking to open up the application period this September for then a fall start. So then be able to sort of seamlessly work into the next season.
Joan Hanscom:
All right. People start thinking, if this is on your radar, be nice all summer long, train hard, show that you’re a good candidate at T-Town. So that if you’re interested in this program, you’re behaving appropriately. Speaking of behaving appropriately, and this is going to be my weird, awkward transition. But for our listeners, we inducted a class, two classes actually of riders into the T-Town Track Cycling Hall of Fame over the summer. And I thought it was a really great list of folks that we inducted and you amongst that class, I thought you gave, and this is no disrespect to any of the other induces. I thought you gave an incredible speech and you didn’t read it off a piece of paper, you spoke from the heart. And I thought that the whole speech was great.
Joan Hanscom:
You though at one point said, “You’ll lose more races than you win.” And essentially to paraphrase, “This shit’s hard, but it it’s worth it.” And your speech blew me away. Honestly, I stood back on the track and listened to your speech. And I was just like, “God dammit, I wish I was recording this right now.” Because it was so good. And I feel sorry for every person who didn’t hear it, because it was really powerful. But talk a little bit about that speech and where that came from. Because like I said, I thought it was incredible. I’ve been dying to talk to you about it ever since. It came from a, I thought a really deep place inside of Kim Geist. So talk a little bit about that speech and what the points you were making in that if I can take you all the way back to August, because a lot’s gone by since August?
Kim Geist:
Sure. Well, funny story. It did come pretty much from the heart because when you called me up and told me about the induction I had asked, “Well, do we need to prepare anything? How long should we be speaking?” You said, “Oh, just keep it short. Just real informal.” So I show up that night, having thought about some points that I would make, but Becky Quinn is there and she has pages and Paul Pearson’s there with like a thick index card stack. My shoot Joan, so it did come from deep within.
Joan Hanscom:
It was so good. It was, Maura, chime in here Maura. I was blown away by it.
Maura beuttel:
No, it was good. And again, no disrespect to anybody else, but we appreciate that you didn’t have pages or a thick stack of cards. No, it was so good. I mean, Joan, we talked about it for weeks afterwards.
Joan Hanscom:
Yeah. I mean it was really powerful. And I think you just spoke from somewhere so profound and it feels like what you said in that speech is really also sort of been forming Finesse & Fury with the character aspect. I mean that speech that you gave for the Hall of Fame induction really spoke to character in my mind. And what perseverance means and what the experience, even if you don’t win, what the experience of trying and the experience of discipline sort of means to you. So maybe talk about that?
Kim Geist:
Yeah. Maybe the best example would be, and the last coach I had on the national team, Gary Sutton came on a couple years before I retired and he sat down with us each individually as riders, and in my meeting he opened up with, “Well, Kim, I heard that you have been kicked in the teeth, but you keep coming back.” And yeah, I was sort of taken aback by that because no coach had ever spoken to me like that, being that honest, a lot sort of fluff up your ego a little bit. But I think that encapsulated my career pretty well.
Kim Geist:
I took a lot of losses, like I said in my speech, but I kept coming back because I thought, and it turned out that it was, it was worth it. Now being, like I said in the speech as well, being able to stand beside so many athletes and influencers in the sport who I really looked up to when I was growing up, and Sarah Ulmer’s mom was standing next to me at the Hall of Fame induction. And I remember watching her win junior roles at Trexlertown and that was so inspiring to me. I wanted to win junior roles because I was able to see that. Being able to stand next to those people it’s absolutely worth it, to able to look at that and say, “Hey, I accomplished something that put me into that group.”
Joan Hanscom:
Yeah, it was such a cool speech. It was so good. It was one of those, I don’t know, it’s like good sports writing is like magic. And to me, your speech was like really good sports writing. It was like a little bit of magic. It was a little bit of what the poetry of what makes sports so great and makes sports so compelling is that just … I don’t know, it’s the wide world of sports. It’s the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. It was all encapsulated in your speech. And I thought it was just brilliant. And I don’t think I’ve had an opportunity to tell you that since then, but it was profound. So bravo to you. And I hope that-
Kim Geist:
You enjoyed it.
Joan Hanscom:
Yeah, I hope that speech for the people that were in the audience was as inspiring as it was to me. But I really hope that it was that inspiring to like the Team T-Town athletes and who said, “Shit, that’s my coach. Look what I’m standing next to every day when I go to practice.” Or the Kim Geist athletes, I know Joanne Trimpi and I talked about it, how good it was. And yeah, I hope that other people found it as inspiring as I did. Even at my grizzled old age and cynical nature, I thought it was just really profoundly inspiring. What else is going on, Kim? You’re getting ready to take the Team T-Town athletes into yet another season. We have national championships coming up at T-town in the summer, which is yet to be determined dates, or yet to be finalized dates, I should say. So what else is in the future besides of probably a bit more polishing on the physical site and getting ready to head into a new season? Tell us what’s going on. Tell us about your plans for 2022?
Kim Geist:
Yeah, Team T-town’s still plugging along. So they’re doing their winter training currently over at [inaudible 00:43:05]. And we’re still on the search for a warmer, less snowy day so we can get outside on the weekends. Yeah, good luck with that.
Joan Hanscom:
You’re still feeling good with Women’s Wednesdays?
Kim Geist:
Yes. Yeah. Preparing for another seasons of Women’s Wednesdays. So I’m sure we’ll be talking about it soon what that will look like. But those are the other two major things right now.
Joan Hanscom:
You’ll keep busy at all. I mean, good Lord. So yeah, let’s run this down. We got the building construction. We have Team T-Town. We have all your Kim Geist coaching athletes. We have Finesse & Fury. We have Women’s Wednesdays. You stay busy. You stay very busy.
Kim Geist:
Yeah, that’s the way I like it. I do not like to be bored.
Joan Hanscom:
Kim got 27 hours in a day. Do you sleep?
Kim Geist:
I do, believe it or not, yeah, pretty well.
Joan Hanscom:
Pretty impressive actually. You are finding time to do all of this stuff and still sleep. And I don’t know, not in the five degrees snow and sleet and ice, but do you still find time to train yourself? Are you still pedaling a bike, or?
Kim Geist:
So that portion has gotten significantly harder. I do ride with the Team T-Town kids. So that’s a given, that’s very reliable. And if I can get out additional one day a week, that is great. That has not been happening all that often, but okay.
Joan Hanscom:
So there is something has to give in the work-life balance, right? Yep. Is it a relief to not train at the same level that you used to?
Kim Geist:
It is, yeah. I mean, I was so goal driven, not having goals for myself on the bike now is really just about enjoyment and staying fit and healthy. So, I know that I don’t need to be on seven days a week and I don’t need to be completely tired from doing that at the end of the day-
Joan Hanscom:
You have other-
Kim Geist:
It feels good.
Joan Hanscom:
You’re still goal-driven, you’re just, the goals have shifted?
Kim Geist:
Exactly. Yeah.
Joan Hanscom:
It’s funny. I was speaking with Brent Bookwalter weeks ago and he’s just retired from the world tour and he is becoming a normal human and talking about that, redefining his relationship with the bike. You’ve had a couple seasons now to redefine your relationship with the bike. Do you still enjoy it?
Kim Geist:
Oh yeah, absolutely. I love being out there, and I actually really enjoy the winter. So I do like being out there in the cold. Yeah, five degrees. That’s fine.
Joan Hanscom:
See, this is why I belong in California. It’s going to be 70 here today and I’m going to ride my bike and it’s going to be delightful. I am not a five degree person, but more power to you. You don’t ride on the road, you ride off road? Or do you ride on the road?
Kim Geist:
I ride on the road.
Joan Hanscom:
Yeah.
Kim Geist:
As long as the roads are clear, I’m out there.
Joan Hanscom:
I can hear Maura’s head going, “That’s a no for me.”
Maura beuttel:
No, thank you.
Kim Geist:
We’ll just go over how you dress then you’ll be fine. Don’t stop. That’s the key, don’t ever stop.
Joan Hanscom:
Yeah, I just know there’s no cafe rides in five degrees. Get out and get it done. That’s funny. Is there anything else you’d like our listeners to know, Kim, anything else or have we summarized everything for our last year’s update?
Kim Geist:
If we could maybe take a moment and just loop back around to the work study program for Finesse & Fury. I think that’s a really unique aspect of it.
Joan Hanscom:
I like that-
Kim Geist:
Little bit of that [crosstalk 00:47:10]-
Joan Hanscom:
… is not just scholarship, that there is a commitment back component. So yeah, absolutely. Talk about that.
Kim Geist:
Yeah, so the work study program is sort of solving two issues. I mentioned that I did the focus group. And I had identified prior to doing that group that there were programs that existed that were trying, that were sort of keyed high, I hate that word, but high performance elite level programs, but they hadn’t succeeded. And they basically turned into master’s programs again, where they came from. And I figured that the reason that that was happening was because they were too highly priced for the athletes that they were trying to get into the programs. And it was really the one thing that came out of the focus group that was steadfast and that we really need to try and bring down the price to athletes. But I also needed to solve the issue of, “Well, this is my full-time job as a coach and I need to sustain myself. So I can’t do the work for free or for less than it’s really worth.”
Kim Geist:
So to solve that problem, I pitched the idea of a work study and everyone was fully onboard because everyone who was an athlete or involved with athletes at that level knew that you had to support yourself. You got to pay for your coaching, your travel, your entry fees, everything. And why not do it tied into something that you’re already involved with? You were already at the location, you already had a passion for. So athletes in the program will have the opportunity to pay the full cost of the program, the full tuition if they’re able to, but if they’re not able to, they still have opportunity to take part, but they will essentially help me, for a coach time is money. So they will help me save time and do some of the tasks that I would otherwise need to do.
Kim Geist:
So that could be anything like at the academy wiping down the equipment after a session and cleaning the area, it could be providing social media content for followers. Or what’s super cool, I think, because it comes full circle, is helping to run the community programs that we have at the Kim Geist Academy. So not only does the athlete have the opportunity to bring down the cost of their tuition and make the program affordable, but a member of the community by taking part in something that’s going on at the Kim Geist academy helps the person in the Finesse & Fury program continue their training.
Joan Hanscom:
Right.
Kim Geist:
So it’s a win-win for everyone. I had more time that I can work on programs and my job, the athletes can essentially earn a credit off their tuition and the community has opportunity to come in and take part of our facility. That’s I think really unique and I think it’s going to work out super well.
Joan Hanscom:
I like it. I mean, I think again, just because there is that aspect of you’re giving to the thing that you’re benefiting from. And I think that’s super cool and it requires that level of character commitment that you are seeking. Which I think is super cool and probably will help in the selection process. You know, if you’re not [crosstalk 00:51:01]
Kim Geist:
Yeah, absolutely.
Joan Hanscom:
Wipe down equipment, maybe the humble athlete aspect is missing, so yeah. I think it’s really admirable and I think it definitely addresses one of the big problems. I know at T-Town we’ve tried so hard to keep the programming accessible price wise because the cost of entry into our sport is so high and that I think it’s really important, if you want to get better athletes doing our sport, the pathway in has to be easier.
Joan Hanscom:
And unfortunately I think we’ve gotten that wrong, not T-Town per se. I think T-Town’s gotten it quite right in terms to pricing. I think our sport in general has gotten it wrong. I think our Federation quite honestly has gotten it wrong a lot of the time, in that they haven’t prioritized supporting youth programs or development programs in the way that they could have. I just look at, and this is not an overt criticism maybe, and I understand that there’s a lot of factors weighing in on them. But what I don’t think people appreciate is that, even for programs like the ones we run, there’s a surcharge for every day of insurance on a youth that’s $5.05. So if you get those kids together in a program that has a permit, so that you’re insured, so that your coaches are insured. So that everybody’s covered from an insurance standpoint, $5.05 of every day, every time the bike wheels touch the track, that’s $5.05 that’s extracted from the ability to cover the cost of the program because it goes to the Federation.
Joan Hanscom:
And I’d love to see the Federation be a bit more progressive on the cost of permitting youth programs. But I also understand that insurance is incredibly expensive. We’re a litigious society and they maybe can’t do it, but I wish there’d be more discussion around that so that we could keep the price of entry into these programs super cheap. But I think finding solutions like work study that help bridge that expense gap for people who really truly want to commit, it’s important. And bikes aren’t getting cheaper. And the cost of doing the sport isn’t getting cheaper. So it’s great that there’s innovative thinking going into, how do we address one of these major hurdles. So kudos to you for creative thinking around that. And for finding people who are willing to do it too, which is awesome. And yeah, takes a little bit of the entitlement out of the picture.
Kim Geist:
Yeah, absolutely.
Joan Hanscom:
So, yeah, that was a downer to end on, because everything else was super good. And then I went on a tirade, sorry. Budgets though. Budgets are real. Budgets are hard. Yeah, cool. Well Kim, thank you for making time for us on this cold Pennsylvania day to chat with us about what’s going on and please do, for our listeners, check out the show notes and we’ll have links to Kim Geist Academy. We’ll have links to Finesse & Fury, so people can read more. We’ll certainly link to your Instagram account. Tell our listeners where they can follow you on the socials, because you do a great job with that. And then Maura will include that in the show notes. So it’s Instagram handle is?
Kim Geist:
Yeah, Instagram is kimggeistcoaching and Facebook is as well. Twitter sort of falls along. I don’t have a whole lot of activity on there, but that’s @KimGeistCoach.
Joan Hanscom:
Cool. So our listeners can follow along for the rest of the journey, and I do encourage you all to go see, because I’m telling you those concrete floors were beautiful. And the raising of the ceiling was super impressive. So I can’t imagine. So yeah, follow along with Kim and her progress and we all will look forward to seeing you out on the track once the surface is done and the track reopens and warmer temperatures arrive and stay safe in the cold weather. And don’t get the COVID and yeah, we’ll I’m sure circle back around with you again when things kick off, but for now, thank you. And this has been The Talk of the T-Town podcast with Kim Geist of Kim Geist Coaching, Kim Geist Academy and Kim Geist Finesse & Fury. We look forward to bringing you more news as it develops. Thanks for listening.
Joan Hanscom:
Thank you for listening. This has been the The Talk of the T-Town podcast. I’m your host, Joan Hanscom. Thank you for joining us for this week’s episode. Head over to our website at the velodrome.com where you can check out the show notes and subscribe, so you’ll never miss an episode.