Val Jones

If what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, then perhaps I am one of the strongest people I know.  Having said that, I recognize that many more have been through much, much more than me.  For them, I bow down.  But, I was forged in the fire.

It started when I was 13 years old and my Dad suffered a massive heart attack and died.  I watched the entire thing. I still have nightmares to this day.

My next blow came when I sustained a career-ending knee injury when I was 18.  My Olympic dream was over.  I had moved away from my family home when I was 11 with my Mom to train in the Bay Area with Brian Boitano and his coach.  I have shared the ice and the podium with Kristi Yamaguchi, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.  My Olympic dream was in sight.  And then it was over.

In the last 5 years, I have had 5 surgeries.  Right rotator cuff, L5/S1 back fusion, left rotator cuff, full right hip replacement and sinus surgery.  Nobody told me that ice was hard and that I would need to be bionically reinforced at my age.  In addition to the 5 surgeries, I also had diptheria (a form of), a severe case of vertigo, a stress fracture in my foot, a blown out calf muscle, and MRSA that was contracted during my sinus surgery.  Most people only contract one strain of MRSA, I contracted two.  The treatment for MRSA is much like chemo - it will either kill the cancer or it will kill you.  And it almost did.  On day 27, I went into the beginning stages of liver failure.  They stopped my protocol.  

In my keynote, I go over how I overcame those obstacles.  I give tips and tricks on how to persist through problems.  And I give you solid steps to annihilate the insurgency in life to develop razor sharp mental toughness to compete in your life.  And be your own champion.

I will coach you how to overcome your obstacles and reach your peak performance.