How to Engineer Excellence: Dr. Angela Buckley’s Path to Team USA

In this episode of "Spirit of an Athlete," Amanda had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Angela Buckley, an engineer and athlete. Angela shares her inspiring journey through various sports and discusses her transition from playing soccer to swimming and water polo, eventually representing Team USA in triathlons. She highlights the physical and strategic challenges of each sport, the importance of community support, and the significance of balancing athletics with academic and personal commitments. Angela also touches on her work in leadership development, emphasizing self-care and mentorship. Her story is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the pursuit of excellence.

Angela Buckley is a multifaceted leader with a doctorate in Organizational Leadership. She focuses on the intersection of adult learning theory, cultural change and change management in organizations. She has raced for USA Triathlon as an age-grouper in Team USA. She played Water Polo for Ohio State and raced Triathlon for Penn State, both as club sports, before they were available as NCAA sports. Her highest finishing at Worlds was 7th in Abu Dhabi. Her Strength in Nature leadership focuses on mindset, grit, and positive reinforcement to influence change. Angela strongly believes the first step in becoming a leader is to lead yourself. Learn more about the leadership series at
www.strengthinnature.com

www.instagram.com/angelajbuckley
www.instagram.com/creativelyefficient
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Reach out to Angela: angela.buckley@creativelyefficient.com

Time Stamps: 

• [00:00:05] Angela Buckley's athletic journey across multiple sports, including soccer, swimming, water polo, and triathlons.
• [00:01:15] The transition from high school sports to collegiate athletics and the challenges faced.
• [00:02:30] The physicality and strategic elements of water polo and its similarities to soccer.
• [00:03:45] The impact of medical challenges on Angela's athletic focus and her shift to swimming.
• [00:05:00] The experience of competing in triathlons and the adaptation required for different race formats.
• [00:06:20] The importance of community and support among athletes in triathlon racing.
• [00:07:35] Strategic aspects of triathlon racing, including transitions and drafting techniques.
• [00:08:50] The role of biking as a family activity and the importance of mentorship in improving skills.
• [00:10:05] Leadership development and personal growth through reflection journals and self-care practices.
• [00:11:20] The significance of empowering the next generation of athletes and promoting equality in sports.

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Take the Gutsy Chick Quiz to find out how your athletic mindset might be holding you back from healing your chronic health issue: https://gutsychickquiz.com

Transcript

0:19

Welcome back to another episode of spirit of an athlete. I'm your host, Amanda Smith, creator of the Gutsy Chick quiz at Gutsy Chick Quiz. Com. On this episode, I interviewed Doctor Angela Buckley. This one's another one that's near and dear to my heart because Angela is an engineer like me. Super exciting to have her on and to talk leadership, as well as the myriad of sports that she has played throughout her life, culminating in being on team USA for triathlons. In this episode, you'll hear about how she was just one step ahead of the sport, becoming something more. I find that highly entertaining and I hope you do too. Doctor Angela Buckley, thank you so much for joining me on spirit of an athlete. You and I have a bunch of things in common which I'm excited to talk about, but let's start at the beginning. When you were in high school. Things changed on the course of your athletic career. What was it that changed? Um, well, I had been playing soccer and primarily boys soccer, but our high school team actually had a girls team, so I was able to to play varsity as a freshman, not because I was varsity, but because there were no JV teams. Actually, there were there weren't enough leagues, enough girls that were playing soccer and then the leagues that were built up. But, um, my freshman year, I broke my foot. And so, um, That is unfortunate. It didn't heal quite right. It was a hairline fracture that they were having a hard time identifying. And then it fractures. It healed incorrectly, and they ended up removing the foot or the bone. Sorry. Not my foot. Yes, just the bone. Um, but what happened there then, is that I really wasn't playing soccer for the rest of my academic career, but I really focused a lot more on swimming. And, um, I actually got into the swimming world because I have scoliosis. And so the doctor was like, um, you can do all these exercises, or you could have surgery and so opted for exercises. And once someone says you have to go to the pool three times a week for 20 minutes, like that doesn't even feel like it's worth it to put your suit on. So being a Type-A type person, I promptly joined a swim team, and I was not a competitive swimmer prior to that moment. So, um, I had a lot of learning right up into like, oh, like what a competitive swimsuit looks like. Showed up in some girly suit that, you know, dragged all over the place. But, um, so I went from not a competitive swimmer to a competitive swimmer to a successfully competitive swimmer to swimming in the boys lanes, because I had really like, topped out with within my team. And then within probably 18 months, I was already on private competitive teams. Um, so that was exciting. And that really probably like, I was always running, I was always soccer, I was soccer, soccer, soccer. Um, but with I still do play, I still can play. Um, but it was it's a lot of cutting and turning. And once, once you start, you know, getting success in a sport and kind of meeting your people, you just follow that direction as well. So it's still I still love the soccer, but, you know, swimming has been a good friend for me. And so, um, my senior year I was getting scouted for swim teams, but I was no longer in the United States. I took a scholarship from Congress to go to Germany and lived in Germany. And so when you're your senior year and the scouts aren't really seeing you because you're not in our system, um, you're no longer getting really scouted. And so when I came back, I could have done a walk on, but, um, I kind of missed soccer. And so I joined Ohio State's water polo club instead. So I'm a Big Ten girl and, um, water polo. I was a starter from day one and just the combination. And I had been actually scouted at Penn State and at, um, uh, Case Western for water polo, which is really, honestly, like some person approached me. I didn't even really think about it. But when they heard that I wasn't, you know, I don't know. I must have mentioned something about my foot not playing soccer. And they're like, if you can swim and you can play soccer, you've got the strategy and you've got the strength for water polo, come join our team. Yep. And so, um, that's that was literally how I even found out about the sport. Okay. And so that was pretty exciting to be able to play. At that time, there was no NCAA league. It's kind of the story of my life here is that I've always been one step ahead of where the sport world and the sport business was. Um, so I was a starter for the clubs. All the clubs were self-supported Many of the clubs now are NCAA teams. Um, but at the time there was no such thing. And so we did our own fundraising. We were allowed to wear OSU uniforms. So I do have OSU things all around, but it's a club sport and not, um, a supported sport at the time. Okay, so NCAA club athlete playing water polo. You. That's that's quite the journey up into college I mean soccer player meets swimmer meets. Let's do water polo. It does. It totally makes sense. Like you said where the strategy for soccer and then this the swimming capabilities. But I've watched water polo. It looks like football in. No it's hockey. It is, it is. So there's a strategy of hockey. It is. But like, because of like hockey, you can't shoot behind the that two meter line. We have a two meter line in water polo. We have a shot clock in water polo. Like the angles, the triangles that you play in a hockey. Yeah. Is what you do in water polo. You are constantly playing a triangle game. Um, you should be doing this in other passing sports as well, but it's really, really highlighted. The plays are very, very specific in those sports. So, um, I learned a lot about hockey from all of my strategy learning sessions in water polo. Let's go to the physicality of it. Because when I watch when I water polo scares the crap out of me, I feel like it's the most it's it's the toughest sport to play because one, you're in the water to your. There's a lot of body contact in this sport. And yes, I was just talking to someone who, who does triathlons. And I told her, actually Iron Man's and I told her the thing that scares me the most about triathlons and Ironman is the swim, because everybody's diving into the water at the same time. Now, I heard that the rules have changed and will probably get into that, but that's the that was that's the scary thing for me, is being drowned by a bunch of other people swimming on top of you. And that's kind of the thing when it comes to water polo, is it not? So, um, a shout out to all my triathlete friends, right? So I do race for team USA triathlon age group, but, uh, we do not go out of our way to cause our fellow competitors to drown. We do stop and help them if we know. Notice someone's in distress. Um, but you are right. There is a significant difference between water polo and entering the swim in. In a triathlon. In that water polo. I really do want you to go underwater. I do. I want you to go down so I can take the ball. Thanks. Uh. You're getting done. Triathlon. We're getting along a little bit better, you know, like there should be. No. There should be no contact. There is some contact. But, um, it's not intentional where it's water polo. The rule is, if the ref can't see it, he can't charge you for it. Uh, so, um. Definitely. I have had marks on my back. We do? I don't know if anyone's ever told you, though. They trim your fingernails all the way down and you have a nail check before every event, because that's one of the big visuals that you have, is people will have scratched up backs and legs. Yes. And there is a reason that you have to wear two swimsuits. So in the 1984 Olympics, Matt Biondi had to have a swimsuit thrown to him in order for him to get out of the water. So there is a lot of underwater foul play that a referee cannot see. Mhm. Um, so we wear those funny looking caps to protect our ears from cauliflower ears. Yes. Personally, I wish we could put a little pad right here because I have had a number of concussions. Um, from elbow to the top of your head. Oh, yeah. It is an absolutely aggressive sport. Yes. Absolutely aggressive. You are putting your hand on somebody else's hip and raising yourself up, and there's no doubt about it. Like water polo players are not thin the way you see some of the other athletes, because during tournament play they burn so many calories they lose 5 to £10 even more. The men in particular tend to lose more. You cannot put enough calories into your body during tournament season to keep up. So they they come in heavy. Oh my God, it's not. It is not the same sport as other sports. No, it's the it is the most brutal sport that there is to play. And congratulations to you for, for, you know, saying okay. Yeah I played soccer and swam. Let's do it. Let's do it. You know. Well I you know, I don't I didn't start the big I was a starter but I wasn't like our start sprinter. So they toss a ball in and then you get. But by the end of the first season, I was that person to get to the ball because I had the sprint. So, um, oh, it was fun. I mean, honestly, like it was a lot of fun. I worked really, really hard. It is not easy to keep up a sport at that level. And, you know, like we we did the same hours as an NCAA sport, right? Um, but you. I was doing two degrees, so an engineering degree and a German language degree. So I'm already running between two different colleges on campus and then running. I literally ran to practice to, like, fit it all in. And I used to try to, you know, split the pizza with the guys. Right. And if I paid for the half, I was like, I'm eating half right. That's mine. That I paid for it, I'm eating it. And they're like, man, when we split with other girls, like, we get the rest of the pizza and I'm like, oh no, like food down hatch. I'm hungry. Right. So water polo, do you understand? You do not understand how many calories I burn in an afternoon for sure, right? Oh my. Gosh. Okay, so engineering degree and a German degree while playing water polo. And something evolved by the end of your college career. What what happened at by the end of your college career? As for athletics, at least because I have a feeling school kind of trickled down a little after that. I, you know, I keep going, So, um, school is has done well for me. Um, academically, I did I did well enough. It was a good place for me. I enjoyed the thinking. And so as long as people were going to help me out with tuition, I just kept going to school. Yeah. Um, I. Mean. I do, I do now have a PhD. Yes. So, um, at some point I was at Penn State pursuing a different PhD. And so I, my brothers went out and did a triathlon. And now my brother was a competitive cyclist. We all swam on the summer swim team. Clearly, I swam at a different level on the summer swim team. But they're competent swimmers for sure, and above average. And um, so they did one and they had fun together and they're like, and you have to come join us. So I did, and I have no clue what I'm getting into. So I'm like riding a road bike. And I'm afraid of those tiny little tires. And I'm wearing a swimsuit and I try to put bike shorts on, which, by the way, like every newbie does this. And also in the 80s, like 80s 90s this wasn't as it wasn't as slick as it is today, right? Like, first of all, the money, the knowledge and everything and the uniforms. But also, yeah, that just like the if you're only going to do it one time, you don't go out and buy a $300 uniform. Right. So I'm in my I'm in a swimsuit and I try to put bike shorts on and your brain is left in the water like it always is. This is a normal thing. My helmet's like all askew. And it was. In short, it was a horrible race, right? Like I didn't know what was going on. The guys next to me were like six foot four in the water, and all of a sudden we start and they're like two arm strokes ahead of me. I'm like, what? What just happened? Then my bike shorts were all like, sticky. And I have never really ridden on a road bike before. And then I realized that riding into running is actually really hard. And I was cramping and but so was everyone else. Like like this was it was ridiculous. So of course, when I got done, I said, let's do it again. Yes. Why not? Yeah, that was fun. Let's do it again. Exactly like my. My calves have never cramped like this before, so clearly I need to do it again. Okay, so was it a a fold triathlon? No, it was just a sprint, a local sprint. Here we in central Ohio have, um, fantastic racing community. And it was right here. It turned out to be like Little Family Day wasn't really again, wasn't really intent. Right. My two brothers race as well. Um, but we had fun. It was a great day. It was beautiful. It was a flat course. Honestly, if I went and ran that course right now, it would be like a super fast course for me. But that first experience wasn't. So I was like, this is really fun. And my brother's like, I think that there's like clubs that are starting up. Now that you're at Penn State, you should look into it. And sure enough, Penn State has a very active triathlon club again. Until actually this year we did not have an NCAA league. So, um, it was a club team. So I raced all the years there, ended up coaching the swim portion of our team for a while because hello, a lot of swim experience. Um, but met my best friend on the Penn State triathlon team. We're still best friends to today. And, um, that really set my trajectory for racing. One of our guys was one of he. He was always encouraging me, even then, to go to nationals and, like, pursue the team USA thing. And I just, I didn't think I was good enough. And he's like, you're good enough. Like go do it. And I just I guess I just didn't have confidence, right? So, um, I didn't go until actually after my child was born. And by the way, that's not a good time to go because you haven't fully recovered, right? And you are budget constrained, so I can't I went by myself, I can't I still had some tearing and I did not wear a wetsuit in a very cold race. And when you want to race at nationals, you do have to have the same equipment everybody else has. And I did not like my bike that I thought was a really nice bike. I was really proud of my bike. It looked like a big wheel compared to everybody else's bike. Right? So, um, so I learned a lot, like, as it should be. And I missed a roll down call by like, three places. And I was like, well, if that's not, do better next time where I eat. Yeah, exactly. Ah, um, I love your mentor. But then I think six months later I was in a pretty bad car accident. And so that just sort of knocked it off trajectory for a while. Yeah. So, um, I continued racing, but just not the same focus of, like, high level racing and whatever. And then I started back like part of my screw you car accident thing was the start up, a PhD program. And so that like was more of a focus than racing. And then about halfway through I was like, you know, I'm not I don't look like I like to look, I'm not doing the things that I like to do. And so it's time to get back at it. And so I did and I was racing again. And I got a nice bonus through Covid. And I spent it all on a nice bicycle. Not a big wheel. Not a big wheel. No, no. Probably more than my car. Um, and so I went down to the first nationals that was open after Covid and I placed fourth. Oh, so they put me right on the right on the team. And so I've been racing for our age group teams ever since. Our age group teams I love I love talking about that. Okay. Had a kid like, we gotta rewind to that. So at Penn State you're going for the PhD. The first question that pops into my head. So NCAA, if you're in Division one, Division two and so on, you have a certain amount of time that you can be in a sport. Yes, you can be in different sports. Does the same rules apply to club sports though? Not really. And so some people drop out of like like Janet Evans for example, quit swimming for Stanford for a while because she was an endurance athlete and she wanted more training time. Interesting. Okay. So, um, so now there's a little bit of like, especially with the endurance athletes, you'll see they're not pushing at the NCAA level. They are not pushing the extreme endurance. Right. You mentioned Ironman earlier. Um, the focus is the Olympic distance. And you can do the Olympic distance successfully within the NCAA guidelines, in particular, if you are also doing other sports. Right. So most people are running cross-country plus triathlon or something, or swimming competitively, plus triathlon. Um, if you're an endurance swimmer, you might be able to pull that off as well. Okay, interesting. I want to go look at the stats on that because that's to me, that's fascinating to, to, uh, be able to play that game because, yeah, softball was soft, like there was no time for any other sport. They kept on telling us, you know, if you want to play another sport, because I was a tri sport athlete going into college, I was like, you know, it'd be really sweet to play volleyball in the fall and softball in the spring. And they were like, no, no, there's fall softball and then there's spring softball, and you get a little bitty break in the middle. Yeah, our little itty bitty break is December. Exactly. Yeah, yeah, that's my break. That's exactly my break. Right after Thanksgiving into January 1st. And then boom, we are back at it. Exactly. And it's and it's really challenging because we already have three sports. Right, exactly. So, um, and now that we again, just like two years ago, really have an official NCAA, um, championship. So we we officially have 40 teams, uh, registered. We, uh, I think people are starting to navigate that now, and it's still I'm not sure that they there are coaches, but I'm not sure that the environment is significantly different than it was with our club sport, because it's still not as funded. And to be truly competitive, you need a bike, right? Like you really need a bike, you know, and not a 2 or $3000 bike. I'm thinking I bought it. I bought a pair of used tires from one of my friends for$2,000 in the bank called me. They're like, it's that. They're like, you just wrote a personal check for $2,000. I'm like, yes, yes I did. Yes, I bought used tires and they were used. She's like, okay, if you feel good about that. They just she's like, and you're not feeling pressured. I'm like, no, I'm not feeling pressured. Oh my God. Good deal. That's a sweet bank. But at the same time, wow. Yeah, I think a lot of people are really surprised at the price tags. Like I told someone, I have really only told 1 or 2 people about the price tag on my bike, and they literally had, like, sweat popping up on there. They were so shocked by the price. And so usually I just tell people that in all likelihood, my bike box costs more than their bike. Yes. Yeah. The thing that we put the thing the bike in to fly. On the airplane is probably more expensive than your personal bike. Yeah. So, um, like, we invest in our investments. Yeah, it's a it's a lifestyle and it's a commitment, and it's a pretty tight community. And that's really what makes it awesome. So you love strategy? I mean, as an engineer, I can totally relate. I am a big fan of strategy. So as a power lifter, I know my first lift is squat, my second lift is bench and my third lift is deadlift. I'm keeping a lot in the tank for deadlift because that's my biggest lift. That's that's where I'm going to get my most, uh, total. Okay. I put some some reserve in, during which bench is not my strongest lift. It's not my it's it's I'm not going to get a whole lot of pounds out of or kilos out of my bench. When it comes to being a triathlete, do you have a similar strategy? Uh, yes. And it the fun part of racing triathlon is that everybody's strategy is different, right. Because like I come from a swimming background. Mhm. I don't actually have to put too much into my swim. As long as I come out near the top and I can conserve a lot of energy. If it's a short race I'm going to go out and like own it. Um, but I have to reserve because I am not a deep well runner. Right. Like soccer is a bunch of start stop sprints. Yeah, for two hours. Yeah. So running straight like a, like that endurance kind of running. My body is not super conditioned to it. Even now I get, I get hot. Um, so I have a lot of heat management issues. Um, and I mean strategies and tactics in place to manage heat on a longer run. Um, some of the newer sports, especially in the age groups, is there's Aqua Bike, and so it's swim and bike without the run. How nice of that race. Especially as my knees get a little bit older. I'm like, oh, I will own that one. Um, and then the other one that I really, really enjoy is called Aqua Salon, and it's a 2.5 K run and then A1K swim and a 2.5 K run. Okay. But you can only do that format when the water is warm enough to not need a wetsuit. Oh okay. So you're very aware. And when. Where and when we don't always get to run that format. But that's my favorite format. Um, and so I've raced both of those at worlds and I've been seventh and 20th respectively. So, um, those are a lot of fun. Um, the, the people, like just lining up on the just lining up is great. Like, the energy is great. The women are great. Um, people are cheering each other on. We see people from other countries that we've seen before, and honestly, people are comparing fingernail polish and a little bit of prayer before you hit the water. Make sure everybody comes out safely. And no jellyfish, no shark. Like, these are conversations, um, and really hot days, right? Like you're watching out for your competitor as well, just for their well-being. I love that. so there's a lot of support. But you know, there's also a lot of like, I'm going to race and I'm going to focus. So it's an interesting balance between I want to beat you, but I also want you to have a good race. Yep. In powerlifting we have a similar energy. I love the community in powerlifting because everybody's supporting everybody. But there's also an energy management that you have to think about. So if you go and do your lifts and now you're done and you're cheering on the other people because you've got time, a lot of time in between lifts, you cannot do a complete and total power surge like you are rooting for another person, because you've got to have that energy management right. You don't have time for that. It's sprint, sprint, sprint. That's I mean oh, I love that you. Yeah. We're not like once the race starts, it's all in. Exactly, exactly. It's it's go from the beginning to the end. There is no stop. I have big long breaks in between lifts. I'll do I'll lift for ten minutes and then I'll have a two hour break, and then I'll lift for ten minutes and I'll have another two hour break. Gotcha. Yeah. So you have recovery time. We don't have recovery time, so we have to be very careful, you know? Um, and again, it depends on the, the day, the temperature. It depends on the course. Um, it depends on the, the length of it. Like there are all different races, race lengths as well. So really understanding what your strength is on what type of a course and over what type of distance. And you can pick and choose obviously. Um, I think like we're our governing body is USA triathlon, but it's a misnomer. We're really USA multi-sport. And within that you have duathlon triathlon. You have off road versions of both of those. So you can do mountain biking or you could do gravel riding. Um, and then you have all the different distances. Plus you have a Kathleen and now mixed relay, which is fantastic. So much fun. Okay, so it sounds like you're more of a sprinter than a long distance. A little bit more of a sprinter. Yeah. Which makes sense considering the sports that you played before. Soccer and water polo. Those are sprint sports. Those are power sports is what we call power. Yeah. They are. Uh, so. what's a relay? And and how do you how do you know you love it so much? Um, so the relay, you do a super, super short sprint, like just a couple hundred meter swim. And I think it's like a one mile run or something, like five, five K bike and a one mile run. It's something ridiculously short. Yeah, yeah, it's all about the transition. And then the next person goes and does the same thing. And the mixed relays are two guys and two gals. So, um, it's a lot closer to what you would see by the like four by 100 meter, um, swim or the 4x4 hundred on track and field. Like, there's a lot more team, there's a lot more cheering. It's so fast. And you see people coming in and going so quickly. Um, and it's the only time we're really allowed to dive like take a running start. A lot of times you have to be like close on a ledge like safety right. So we don't, we don't get to do that very often. But you literally have to take your toe, your ankle strap off and hand it off to your teammate. And um, so it's, so you're doing your own transitions, right? Like you have to go from swim to bike to run, and then you take your strap and you hand it to the next person and they have to do the same thing. So there's a ton of transition. So there's a lot of energy coming back in. And and it is draft legal. So I didn't talk about that. But a lot of age group racing is not draft legal. What you see in the Olympics is draft legal. Yeah. Um, so there's a lot of strategy associated with being in the top pack group coming out of the swim so that you can sit with that lead in the bike, and you need to be a part of that in order to hit the run, to be competitive because you saved so much energy. Yes, exactly. You have me thinking about, uh, tour de France. That's the first time that I really understood drafting as a bicyclist. Drafting in a car is one thing. That's a very large body to draft with. Drafting on a bicycle, though. Oh yeah. Not a whole lot of drag going off of another person here. Uh, no, there's a ton. Like, I've been behind some pretty big guys where I'm like, I don't even have to pedal. Like I'm a tiny person anyways, thankfully. But like, there have been times where I was like, you can feel the difference. Like the kilowatt. um, the power output that you need to put up is significantly different. If you were the lead cyclist versus the tail cyclist. No, Ted, no Ted. That's. And being a small person, they don't even like me to lead all the time, because I don't break enough wind for that. Exactly. You're not a wall. Yeah, I am not a wall. But there have been times like I was behind the I mean, like it was a it was just like a country ride or something like, you know, they do these hundred mile rides just for fun. But I was behind some guy. I don't even know who he was, but he must have been like football player build. And I mean, I could have had a bungee cord behind his bike. Like I felt like I didn't even have to pedal at all. So. So it is real. Um, and that is like part of the game with triathlon is you have so many technical things that you really need to learn. You really need to keep your wits about you. It's not safe. You have to be paying attention for someone else. If they're having an energy low or a momentary like lapse of judgment or something, um, it's very dangerous. The types of bikes that you're racing on are different. If you do a draft legal race or a non draft legal race. Um, those are different bicycles. So how many do you. Have, Angela? Um. They hang. Everyone in our family has 2 or 3 bikes. Three brothers. Three. We all have three because I have a mom bike. You gotta have a mom bike. I mean, you. Have to have a mom like to go get ice cream. You can't, like, roll up with your bike. That costs more than your. And there's nowhere to lock it either. Like it doesn't. It doesn't come with a kickstand. By the way, race bikes don't come with kickstand. No, so that doesn't seem appropriate or safe. So, um. Yeah, so I do have a mom bike and I have a road bike and I have a race bike, and my brother has a whole set of bikes, and luckily his wife is about my size, so I, I benefit from his interest in bicycles. Oh, that's excellent. That that's very helpful. It's so nice. So. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And now my son is his height. So, um, we have benefited as again from borrowing Uncle Nate's bikes. Oh, I love that. So it's a big family activity. Like biking is a big thing. So for them. Yeah, yeah. Swimming for you. Biking for them. Yeah. Yeah. So you each get to learn from each other also I love that. Also I am a clearly a better cyclist because of my brother. Like he took me out and taught me techniques and taught me drills and like I don't I don't know how I would have gotten some of those things without him. Um, now a little bit more YouTube, but I don't know that there was that much available at the time when I was starting. Yeah. Um, but he would take me out and make me do drills, and I got better because of him. So it's not just get on the bike and go, oh my gosh. Mhm. That first race was. Yes yes it sounds like it on your big wheel. The first race was a little bit like that but um I have since developed a few techniques. That I could imagine considering your own team USA. You don't really have a choice in that regard anymore. There's always room. There's always room for more. And, you know, as women, our bodies change. And so even our training tactics have to change to account for the hormone changes as we age. So there is a difference all the time. So I'm always learning and I'm always sharing, and I'm always asking questions and letting other people ask questions and trying to share what knowledge or what experience I've had. I mean, I do have like a personal trainer cert, but I don't practice personal training. Yep. Um, but I feel comfortable in my knowledge and it helps me be a better athlete. Of course, of course, that it's that drive for you to learn, learn, learn, miss PhD doctor. I do enjoy learning. I enjoy asking questions and learning more and seeing how I can help people. I love that I am. I am exactly the same way when it comes to a when you become an adult athlete, it's really about sharing the knowledge and supporting each other. And we're seeing more of that in youth athletes because they're seeing that that's what the adults do now. And I you know, I'm here for it. And more females are involved as well. Like I just watched Disney just put out I think it's the woman in the sea. Oh, and it was about Trudy, Italy. And she she was the first woman to cross the English Channel. Um, and was like a star US swimmer before women swimming was a thing. Like she dealt with quite a bit. Um, I never knew she existed. And I feel like. I feel like with all of my experience and interests and everything that someone could have mentioned. Hey, look to the people who came before you. And I never did. Never hurt, never learn. So I feel like I want to share some of that information with other people as well. That the people that came before us broke down barriers. And we need to not only honor the work that they did and the experiences they had, but also like there are still barriers to be broken. Um, and how do we, um, how do we help that? How are we vocal? How are we showing up positively in the spaces to help the people and help the next generation come along? Yeah. And that includes, by the way, the boys being respectful of the girls. Yeah. So I think you and I have both experienced that in the engineering world. Uh oh. Oh, we we could do a whole whole nother episode of that. Yes. Yes, exactly. So we've got to talk about your books. You have written several books. What are these books and how can people get Ahold of them? What is it that they should be looking for in these books? So, um, reflection journal. I have one sitting here next to me. And really what the intent here, it's called likable leadership. And the first three comprise of a month's worth of journal prompts and journaling thoughts. Every single page has a gratitude section on it and a to do section, because I think that we, um, not I think like the science supports it. right? That the when we approach the day with gratitude that comes back to us, there is a gift and a joy associated with truly thinking joyfully. Um, and so I'm asking a person to write down everyday three things that they're grateful for, and then also three things relative to that prompt that they want to do that day. Now, not all of those are going to be your favorite things to do, and maybe not. So at the back there's a page for the top three things relative to the elements that we talk about. So each week has an elemental theme. The first book was, um, humility, generosity, integrity and consistency. And then the second one, which just dropped, by the way, um, has I have to turn the page. Give me a second. It has friendliness, positivity, availability and good listening. And the third one that's going to come out end of August, early September will be focusing on focus, celebration, honesty and authenticity. And so these pillars, these components, these elements, that's what I'm calling them, elements in my journals. They are like the foundations for likable leadership. If you notice that it really takes from the similar, um, theoretical foundations of servant leader hood servant leadership or transformational leadership. But the focus is that when you start a leadership journey, you also have to focus on yourself. You have to take care of yourself. You need to set those boundaries. You are only going to be an effective leader when you can take care of yourself, before you take care of your team. And how can you do that with with an element of humility and an approach of service in order to help them be better. And that's when a team flies together. So sometimes that might be a slower start, but then the long range, your team is a team. And then that those are the productivity teams. And you can look at a team as your family unit. You can look at your team as the people that you're working with at work. You can look at your team as the social organization that you're participating in. And obviously I think it works very well for sports as well. Um, so those three journals help you down that, that road of thinking as a leader. And then the fourth one was going to be it's not a journal. It will be the non-fiction leadership book of these are the elements. There's the science behind them. Here's the topic. So now you'll have an entire like strategy compact grouping of all the topics that go together. And how can you like create workshops to go out of that. Oh my gosh. So likable leadership. You can either find out at my website or you can find it on Amazon.com. Of course. Because because we're not. Why not. Exactly. Those will all be in the show notes so that the audience can find them. Ah, strength in nature. Com I. Love. Yeah, I love your website. That is absolutely the best name when it comes to the sports that you participate in. When it comes to the leadership skills that you're teaching people strength in nature. Absolutely. And then Instagram, people can find you at Angela Buckley. Also creatively efficient. Another great name. Good job. A little nod to the engineering world, right? Yeah. Exactly, exactly. And then you have a coupon code. Tell us what this coupon code is for. Um, so it'll be 20% off and, um, it'll be so for spirit of an athlete, like at 2025. So so 2025. And that will be. It will be, um, 20% off for anything that's available on my website at that time. Nice. Excellent. So the books are on there. They'll stay in there. But the coaching, like the coaching and everything else is there as well. Aha. Okay. So you have a coaching program. This is specifically for leaders. It is specifically for leaders. So emerging leaders there's a program for emerging leaders. There is a program for kind of overwhelmed parents who are professionals who really are saying I'm I'm close I know I'm almost there, but somehow I'm always feeling overwhelmed, right? Like, how do we learn how to put in all of these boundaries, time management, tactics, mindsets in order to like beat burnout? Burnout really has a heavy element of cynicism and exhaustion with it, as well as like the physical element of like you do actually need sleep, so you do. I know it's unfortunate, moms. There's no way. And athletes. Yeah, it is unfortunate, but we are required to sleep. Um, and the focus in my kind of like, ending with my PhD is actually an organizational development, and it's a focus on adult learning. And so I do talk about the fact that you need sleep in order for the learning to actually take to take hold. So you might be able to repeat it right now, but if you don't get your good night's sleep tomorrow morning, you won't. That is actually where the filing is happening. You need to sleep so that all of those things get into a longer term memory. Well, everything all those those things are just starting to, like, declutter in your brain. So, um, unfortunately, we have to sleep. So I have an entire podcast and one entire season is actually dedicated to sleep. Oh my gosh. Okay, we will have to make a note of that in the show notes as well. Yeah, Angela, we've got so much more to talk about, but we're going to have to do it on another episode. I appreciate who you are, how you show up as an athlete, and of course, the fact that you're an engineer and a mom. Thank you. Thank you for being on spirit of an athlete. And thank you for being who you are. Amanda, thank you so much. I am so glad to have like, come across your podcast and learn more about what you guys are doing and how you're showing up in this space. I think it's really important to get that message out and positivity and focus, and I think there's a lot more like I'm really excited for the next generation, right? Like, what can we break for them? Right. Yeah. So setting those stones and making history. Yeah, absolutely.