S1E72 - Enjoy the Journey with Olympic Diving Coach Kenny Armstrong

Pursuit of Gold with Laura Wilkinson

On this episode of the Pursuit of Gold, Laura welcomes her diving coach of thirty years, Kenny Armstrong, to the podcast. Not only is he a two time Olympic diver, but he’s also a coach turned father figure who helps aspiring divers get Division One scholarships and even gold medals. The pair dive into Armstrong’s origin story as well as his ‘out of the box’ training style, and why it works. As a young boy, Kenny began his diving career rather uniquely: diving into a pond. A decade and a half later, he would find himself at the 1972 Olympics, diving in front of a large audience for the first time. It wasn’t until the University of Calgary, however, that he got his start coaching.

Since then, his career earned Kenny a legacy defined by consistency, adaptability, culture, and fun. Like Laura says at the onset of the episode, “A good coach can change the game. A great coach can change your life,” and for so many athletes, Kenny has done just that. Today, he talks about why he loves it all so much, what it is about the sport that gets him excited, and why the athletes’ success is far more important than his own. Reminiscing on ‘offbeat’ diving retreats during which he lost half of his squad, his team’s special comradery, moments of victory with Laura, and practicing sports psychology, he notes that the journey always supersedes the destination to him. He and Laura strongly hold the belief that the two minutes of victory on the podium are too fleeting to hold onto; it’s the moments in between that really matter. So listen to this special conversation to hear about the legend that is Kenny Armstrong and his unique and highly successful career.

The Finer Details of this Episode:

• Armstrong’s first dives into a pond
• The ‘72 Olympic Games
• Reckoning with his international status
• Getting his coaching start at the University of Calgary
• Creating culture
• Why consistency wins
• Knowing your people and letting them know you
• Winning gold together
• Why the journey > the destination
• The freedom of diving
• Father figure and mentor

Quotes:

• “A good coach can change the game. A great coach can change your life. I feel like that describes Kenny in a nutshell.”
• “These athletes would want us to continue, which was probably true. I mean, if they had a vote… we'd have been probably still going.”
• “Well, I finally found out that I could be competitive on an international level. I did pretty well in Nationals and in the Olympic trials. Finally, I think the year of 1980, I beat Greg in his home pool.”
• “Everybody says we have to separate politics and sports, but it's impossible. You can't do it.”
• “You have to have a culture. Like it's one thing for me to tell somebody how to win a gold medal. It's another thing if they get to train with somebody that is doing that.”
• “People seem to say about all the greats from different sports that these coaches knew each one of their athletes so well individually, how to push their buttons, or how to back off– and they had to back off.”
• “This whole culmination of your life has to be about more than two minutes standing on the podium.”
• “So don't lose the fun in sport. That's what brings kids, and when they get too serious about it, that takes the fun away. So you've got to be obviously serious, or you're not going to make it, but you have to also be very careful with that.”

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