my story

Founder, Evergreen Performance
Coach, Explorer, Aging Athlete

For as long as I can remember, soccer was my thing.

It was more than a sport — it was my identity, my worth, my place in the world. As long as soccer was good, I was good. And for most of my life, it was: championships, accolades, captain's armbands. I climbed every rung, until I was one of the youngest NCAA head coaches in the country, coaching my alma mater at age 27.

And then for the first time in my life — it wasn’t good.

As the losses stacked up, year after year, I slowly shut down.

Until I was on the verge of complete collapse.

I vividly remember a moment in my last season of coaching. We’d finally broken a losing streak, and one of my players said, “Coach, you look so happy.”
I replied, “Because I finally won.”
He cocked his head, confused and said, “You mean we finally won.”

Something hit me at that moment.
I didn’t know what it was — but I knew it wasn’t right.

That I wasn’t right.

Two weeks later, I was in the office getting ripped by one of my athletic directors for not leading with integrity. And in that moment — something inside me broke apart.

Who is she talking to?
That’s not me…is it?

I walked out of the office and straight to the bathroom. Looked in the mirror — and didn’t recognize the guy staring back.

I was 40+ pounds overweight.
Deeply Depressed. Still managing to wear a smile.
But barely hanging on.

And no one knew — because how could they?
I didn’t even know.

And that’s when the real work began.

The Breaking Point Became the Starting Line

Over the next year, I went deep.
Reading. Therapy. Mindfulness. Journaling. Anything I could get my hands on in pursuit of self-exploration. It was my new toolbox.

One I used to tear my life down to the studs and start rebuilding it on new awareness, understanding, and the pursuit of meaning. Of creating a life worth living.

As I untangled soccer from my identity, the broader seed of being active and adventurous took root in its place.
No more scoreboard.
Just opportunities to reconnect with my body, my mind, and my heart — through movement in wild places.

Later that summer, in the midst of COVID, A 10-day road trip with my brother through Oregon sparked the search for a slice of wilderness to call home. We found 5 acres along the wild edge of Washington’s Hood Canal. A few months later, I packed my few possessions — and my German Shepherd — and drove west.

A New Place. The Same Patterns.

But as they say: wherever you go, there you are.

Slowly I retreated back into safety, into old patterns.
And the same question returned:
Is this as good as it gets?

That question pushed me to re-exam where I was at and what I was doing. That lead me to the decision to drop the safety of teaching and go all-in on myself.

With my degrees in exercise science, 19 years of coaching and teaching, and a deep love of movement and mentorship — I launched into personal training. I found home in The Club at Gig Harbor and built relationships with all sorts of people, including the types I resonate with deeply:

Former athletes in pursuit of expanding their capacity.

Why Evergreen Performance Was Born

My in-person training business is full. And I wanted a way to connect with more of these people. The people that inspire me, the people I enjoy learning from, and the people I have the unique experience and skill set to help.

The Evergreen Athlete isn’t just chasing aesthetics or adventure.

They’re pursuing a meaningful and well-lived life.
They value movement, exploration, competition, and the pursuit of their edge in order to expand — not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and relationally.

They want to lead their families and their lives with clarity, intention, and presence.

That’s the kind of athlete and human I’m aiming to become — and who I’m here to serve.

Evergreen Performance is the system I built and am evolving for them — and for myself.

To stay athletic for life.
To expand our capacity across every domain that matters.
And to do the real work of becoming the human we were meant to be.