The Good Athlete Podcast

Today, Jim sits down with Casey Eichfeld, a 4x USA Olympic Slalom Canoeist, father, and husband. A dedicated competitor since the young age of 5, Eichfeld has represented the U.S. at the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2024 Olympics in the Men's Canoe Single (MC1) event. His performances on the world stage, including strong finishes at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, Pan American Championships, an...

www. GoodAthleteProject.com Today, Jim sits down with Reilly Dampeer, the Head Rowing Coach and High-Performance Program Director at OKC National High-Performance Center. Continuing her sixteenth year coaching rowing, Coach Dampeer continues to build a strong development program for rowing in the United States. Since 2010, Dampeer has coached various national team athletes at the Olympic Games, Se...

www. GoodAthleteProject.com Today, Jim sits down with Dean Tolson, a former NBA professional basketball player and motivational speaker. He began his life in the ghettos of Kansas City, Missouri. As a promising young high school basketball player, despite being illiterate, he went on to play for the University of Arkansas where during this time, he also served in the U.S. Army and continued his ed...

www. GoodAthleteProject.com Today, Jim sits down with Kelly Gunther, a 2014 US Olympian in speed skating. At the age of 6, Kelly knew she wanted to be an Olympian when she saw others take the ice. She briefly took up figure skating before taking up in-line speed skating because she wanted to move faster than the music allowed. As an inline skater, she won multiple World Championship gold medals on...

www. GoodAthleteProject.com *[Correction] Foundation Executive Director Today, Jim sits down with Carissa Gump, a 2008 US Olympian in weight lifting. She is a multiple-time American record holder, a five-time consecutive American National Open champion, and is in the New England Weightlifting Hall of Fame. Carissa has spent her life in sport whether it be as an athlete, advocate, or as an executiv...

www. GoodAthleteProject.com Today, Jim sits down with Pat Williams, a basketball Hall-of-Famer, former general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, and co-founder of the NBA’s Orlando Magic. He’s also been the general manager with NBA teams in Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Orlando, including the 1983 World Champion 76ers. He’s also beaten an incurable form of cancer, Multiple Myeloma, and has...

GoodAthleteProject.com This week, Jim sits down with Nina Kraus, a scientist, inventor, and musician. Nina studies the biology of auditory learning at Brainvolts Auditory Neuroscience Lab at Northwestern University. She began her career measuring responses from single auditory neurons and was one of the first to show that the adult nervous system has the potential for reorganization following lear...

GoodAthleteProject.com This week, we’re joined by Jamie Mittelman. Jamie is the founder and host of Flame Bearers, an award-winning podcast and the world's first storytelling platform, specifically for women Olympians and Paralympians. She founded Flame Bearers while receiving her Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School where she received an award for her significant impac...

GoodAthleteProject.com This week, we’re joined by Jake Flint, the Director of Athletic Development at LSU. Prior to LSU, Flint spent 12 years at Notre Dame on the strength and conditioning staff. During this time, he helped Notre Dame compete in 11 bowl games, 2 College Football Playoffs, and the BCS National Championship Game. Flint is also a certified CSCCA and USAW strength coach and trained ov...

GoodAthleteProject.com This week, we sit down with Carl Evans, an author and a leader in suicide prevention. Carl has spent the last decade pioneering Mental Health Awareness. He is the CEO of Hope For Us Network and a Senior Director for Hope For the Day. By developing the Proactive Suicide Prevention Theory, Carl aims to disrupt the highest risk factors for mental health crises. He works with al...

GoodAthleteProject.com This week, we sit down with Jodi Marver, the 2023 IBCA Illinois Basketball Coach of the Year and Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach at Willows Academy. Jodi has been an athlete all her life, from playing in the Maccabi Games in 2008 to playing basketball for Knox College. Jodi studied elementary education and paved the way for the future of Knox Basketball. Additionally, Jo...

GoodAthleteProject.com Today, Jim sits down with Dominique Robinson, Defensive End for the Chicago Bears. Robinson was picked up in the 2022 NFL Draft in the 5th Round by the Bears. Growing up in Canton, Ohio, he played basketball and was the starting quarterback for Canton McKinley High School. Robinson was rated as a two-star recruit and committed to playing college football at Miami University...

GoodAthleteProject.com Today, Jim sits down with Lawrence Rubin, a brilliant psychologist and play therapist specializing in working with children, teens, and families. He’s co-authored many journal articles and books for the Popular Culture Association and is an editor for Psychotherapy.net. As a professor of Counselor Education at St. Thomas University and adjunct online professor at the Univers...

GoodAthleteProject.com Hello Everyone! Today, Jim sits down with Tom Mietus, the Athletic Director of Glenbrook South High School, home of the Titans. Tom graduated from Carthage College and earned several master’s degrees from North Park University, NIU, and Northeastern. And ultimately, he found himself back in the suburbs he grew up in. He knew this was where he was meant to be. Starting as an...

GoodAthleteProject.com Today, Jim sits down with Mike Gattone, the Senior Director of Sports Performance and Coaching Education for USA Weightlifting. Mike is not new to the scene, he’s spent decades in the sports business. From being an assistant strength coach for the Chicago Bulls to managing Sports Intelligence for Gatorade, he has amassed a great deal of experience and knowledge in training h...

GoodAthleteProject.com Today, Jim sits down with Sven Erlandson- a former D1 football player, spiritual counselor, author of the “Spiritual but not Religious” movement, and much more. Working as a spiritual counselor for over 20 years, Sven continues to help people unlock the powerful voice inside them, so that they can begin living their truth and experience happiness and true aliveness. He atten...

GoodAthleteProject.com For today’s episode, Jim sits down with Mark Thompson. Mark is a former football player, originally from the United Kingdom. He has also been a long time, close personal friend and former teammate of Jim! Together, they played football in the UK and Ireland, for the University of Limerick Vikings. Michael has won multiple football championships in the Irish American Football...

GoodAthleteProject.com For today’s episode, Jim sits down with Michael Polydoris. Michael joined HUB International in 2020 as a senior consultant on the HRCS team. Michael partners with his clients on HR strategy, talented performance management, organizational design and structure, executive coaching, and employee development and helps them build high-performing team. Prior to Hub, Michael was an...

GoodAthleteProject.com For today’s episode, Jim sits down with Max Newlon. Max is the President of BrainCo, a brain-computer interface (BCI) company incubated in the Harvard Innovation Lab that is unlocking the potential of BCI technology for every person on the planet. BrainCo’s products provide amputees with the world’s most intuitive prosthetic hand, give students hands-on neurotech learning ex...

GoodAthleteProject.com For today’s episode, Jim sits down with Paul Donaher. Paul Donaher is a global leader with a track record of growing and transforming organizations with innovation at their core. He combines strategic vision, operating excellence, and a creative mindset to achieve results. Paul’s leadership style is the hallmark of his success, and the success of those he leads. He is focuse...

GoodAthleteProject.com For today’s episode, Jim sits down with Becky Moran. Becky Moran, CMAA is the Athletic Director at Round Lake High School. She has served in this capacity for 3 years and has worked in interscholastic athletic administration for 19 years at various high schools in the Chicagoland area. She has coached soccer and volleyball at the high school and collegiate level. She earned...

GoodAthleteProject.com For today’s episode, Jim sits down with Caroline Williams, the author of Move!: The New Science of Body Over Mind. Caroline is a UK-based science writer with over 20 years’ experience in magazine and radio journalism. She regularly writes for New Scientist Magazine and is also a feature editor working on neuroscience, health, and nature-based stories. Caroline is the author...

GoodAthleteProject.com For today’s episode, Jim sits down with Abby Seitz, an active-duty Marine. Abby is originally from the Midwest and grew up playing high school sports. With a love for fitness, language, and travel, she found military service to be a natural fit. She’s been an active-duty Marine for ten years and lives in Southern California with her husband and son. She speaks three language...

GoodAthleteProject.com For today’s episode, Jim and Joe discuss the early years of the Illinois High School Powerlifting Association (IHSPLA) while sharing their own experiences as a Youth Athlete in a quickly growing sport. Follow the IHSPLA on Instagram and Twitter: @IHSPLA or visit them at the website: IHSPLA.com Follow The Good Athlete Project on Instagram: @GoodAthleteProject and Twitter: @Co...

GoodAthleteProject.com For today’s episode, Jim sits down with Dr. Matt Wiest, a chiropractor and the owner of The Center of Movement which has multiple locations throughout Minnesota. Matt grew up in Enchant, Alberta, Canada, a small farming community just east of the Rocky Mountains. After high school, Matt spent three years in Vancouver playing junior hockey before moving to Wisconsin to play c...