#434 Professional Surfer Lakey Peterson on Perspective, Embracing the Journey, and Overcoming Disappointment to Become a Champion Again
Release Date: 06/17/2025
Way of Champions Podcast
Mark Gottfried is an American men's college basketball coach, basketball podcaster, and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Cal State Northridge Matadors. Gottfried played one season at Oral Roberts and three seasons at Alabama, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in each of his seasons with the Crimson Tide. He was an NBA draft pick but never played professionally, soon going into coaching. He spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at UCLA, including the team's 1995 NCAA championship season, three years as head coach at Murray State, eleven years as head coach at...
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Mike Potenza is the Head of Performance for the San Jose Sharks of the NHL, where he oversees the strength & conditioning and nutrition staffs and serves as a liaison to the Sharks medical training staff to ensure a streamlined collaboration between the two departments, focusing on the Sharks player’s health, training, fitness, and rehabilitation programs. Potenza began his career as the strength and conditioning coach for the University of Wisconsin Men and Women hockey teams, both who captured the 2006 NCAA National Championship. Potenza also had responsibilities with the wrestling and...
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Sam Parfitt is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of The True Athlete Project. He holds an MSc in Sport Policy, Management and International Development from the University of Edinburgh, where he then became an associate tutor. His dissertation focused on the role of sport coaches as social change-makers, basing his research at The Crags Centre - a community sports center in an area of high deprivation in Scotland, where Sam was the sport-for-wellbeing manager. Sam is a certified mindfulness teacher and a USPTA professional tennis coach, with...
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Ron Adams has been the assistant coach of the Golden St. Warriors since 2014, in that time winning 4x NBA Champions and being recognized in 2022 at the Tex Winter Award winner for lifetime achievement as an assistant coach. He owns previous coaching experience with Boston Celtics (2013-14), Chicago Bulls (2003-08, 2010-13), Oklahoma City Thunder (2008-2010), Milwaukee Bucks (1998-2003), Philadelphia 76ers (1994-96) and San Antonio Spurs (1992-94). Before joining the NBA, Adams coached collegiately for 20 years with head coaching stints at Fresno State (1986-90) and his alma mater, Fresno...
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Jennifer Paulett, director of ESPN Corporate Citizenship, is responsible for developing and implementing the company’s strategy on youth sports participation. Since joining ESPN in 2015, she has led efforts to expand access to sports for millions of kids through philanthropic investments and powerful storytelling. Paulett oversees ESPN’s youth sports initiative Take Back Sports, which aims to make the youth sports system more accessible so that kids across the country have the opportunity to play and keep playing. Together with the Walt Disney Company, leagues, professional athletes and...
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Jennifer Paulett, director of ESPN Corporate Citizenship, is responsible for developing and implementing the company’s strategy on youth sports participation. Since joining ESPN in 2015, she has led efforts to expand access to sports for millions of kids through philanthropic investments and powerful storytelling. Paulett oversees ESPN’s youth sports initiative Take Back Sports, which aims to make the youth sports system more accessible so that kids across the country have the opportunity to play and keep playing. Together with the Walt Disney Company, leagues, professional athletes and...
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Lakey Peterson (@LakeyPeterson) is an American professional surfer and star of the new film Making Waves: The Lakey Peterson Story by 805 Beer. She has been ranked as high as No. 1 by the World Surf League, the highest professional level of women's surfing, and is a 5x winner on tour. In 2009, Peterson landed the first-ever aerial in NSSA women's competition history and won the title. In 2023, after 8 winless seasons, she won the Corona Open J Bay in South Africa. In our chat today, we discuss her long career, how she overcame 8 seasons without a win by becoming process focused and paying...
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This week on the podcast, John and Jerry discuss Jerry's brand new book Lead with Love. This book is the culmination of Jerry's multiple decades working with National, Olympic and World Champion athletes and coaches, synthesizing his ideas about leadership, culture building, and building championship programs by winning the relationship game. As 9x NBA Champion player and coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors says, "Jerry has put together another amazing piece of work that contributes to and captures perfectly the coaching revolution that is blossoming in the sports world today. Here...
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Simon Hartley (@simonhartley) is a world-renowned expert in high-performance psychology and the founder of Be World Class. For nearly 30 years, Simon has worked with Olympic athletes, world champions, and top executives, helping them develop the mindset needed to excel in sports, business, and life. He’s the best-selling author of How to Shine and Peak Performance Every Time, and 10 total books, and has been featured on BBC and leading high-performance podcasts. He is also the co-host of The Podium Podcast and The Demon Charmers Podcast. Through his background in sport psychology he has...
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Dionne Koller is Professor of Law and the Director of the Center for Sport and the Law at the University of Baltimore. Professor Koller’s scholarly focus is sports law, particularly in the areas of youth, Olympic and Paralympic, and education-based sports, and she is a frequent media commentator and consultant to state and federal legislatures on issues related to sports and the law. In 2021, Professor Koller was appointed by Sen. Maria Cantwell to co-chair the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympic and Paralympics, which delivered its final report to Congress in 2024. Professor Koller also...
info_outlineLakey Peterson (@LakeyPeterson) is an American professional surfer and star of the new film Making Waves: The Lakey Peterson Story by 805 Beer. She has been ranked as high as No. 1 by the World Surf League, the highest professional level of women's surfing, and is a 5x winner on tour. In 2009, Peterson landed the first-ever aerial in NSSA women's competition history and won the title. In 2023, after 8 winless seasons, she won the Corona Open J Bay in South Africa. In our chat today, we discuss her long career, how she overcame 8 seasons without a win by becoming process focused and paying attention the the joy she got from surfing. We discuss her intense training regimen, how she owns her development by setting goals at training, as well as overcoming the disappointment of missing the 2020 Olympic games. You will love her joy, intensity, and perspective regardless of your sport, and we highly encourage you to check out her film Making Waves, which explores her career, showcasing her triumphs, setbacks, and unwavering determination. It delves into her mindset, the rivalries in the sport, and the high-stakes world of professional surfing, offering insights into her passion, resilience, and deep connection to the sea.
Click here to Watch Making Waves
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