Reed Steele – The Humble Hero
By Kelly Joy
“Exercise is adult play! It is when we embrace that playful state, the real work can be done.”
Before meeting Reed Steele, he was just a name in a text and Aubrey had asked me to interview him as the newest Coach for All Day Endurance (ADE).
Let us start with the fact that I like names. Because names can conjure up an image, and a feeling before a person comes into view. Invariably nothing like the individual, you actually meet. Reed in my head was Superman! I mean Reed Steele, “man of steel” and “Christopher Reeve” (sounds a bit like Reed) all in one name – awesome! Of course, the man who came into view was not in a red cape, nor was he standing in a power pose, although that would have been pretty darn cool. Instead, the man that filtered into view, as Zoom kicked up a gear, was sitting patiently, poised and gave off the same quiet confidence. Initial impressions were of a calm, resilient, kind, passionate, steady, humble man. Which in fact is everything Superman is and more.
The interview began. I was here to find out more about the man behind the name, and what his love of people, and the sport he excels in would bring to the ADE family.
So, who is Reed Steele?
In the present-day Reed is a 42-year-old with a “Master’s in Psychology” and works as a corporate leadership consultant. In addition to that, he is also a two times Iron Man competitor; where he was first out of the water on both occasions, husband of Julie and father of one year old Ezekiel. He is now adding, “Triathlete Coach at ADE” to his arsenal of accomplishments. But where did Reed come from, what makes him the person and coach that he is becoming today?
Hailing from the Great Lakes region of America; Reed went to the University of Iowa on a scholarship for Division 1 Track. Here he excelled and was one of the “Big 10” Freshman of the year. Sadly, as with many young athletes, big jumps in training and milage cannot come without some repercussion. He sustained multiple hip stress fractures, which eventually meant an end to his college running career. A huge blow to the young college student. However, when thinking about this, as much as this is psychologically hard for anyone to go through, let alone a 19-year-old kid at the very start of his athletic career. It is over coming these hardships, where strength can grow, and lessons be learnt. From an injury a true understanding can made of the body, and the process it needs to go through to attain physical achievements. Therefore, now the man and not the boy has a deep appreciation for time and patience when working towards an athletic dream. Because dreams can come true if you are tenacious and give them the time to come into fruition. This is the understanding you will get from Reed as your coach.
Once his collegiate running career was over, Reed fell in love with swimming. I mean how else can one rehabilitate stress fractured hips; you can take the stress off them! Then in 2009 he bought his first road bike and the Triathlon journey begun.
The Road to ADE
As much as I could give a chronological timeline of Reeds sporting achievements, which are inspiring to say the least. To me that is not his superpower. Yes, he is talented and physically strong, but it is his ability to dig deeper into the person, that is a true strength. The ability to understand why people train the way they do, pushing their bodies to the limit, this is what really fascinated me? Reed understands humans. I mean have you ever met anyone who pushes their boundaries in sport, and not have some underling quirk, demon, personality trait they are working on, keeping in a box, or running away from? It is these foibles that can open the door to sport.
I really loved this interview as there was a wisdom coming out in our conversations, an observation on the coaching process that was new and fresh and exactly what 2022 needs. Reed explains what he loves most about his sport, and what it has given him personally. Firstly, it is how he met his wife Julie, who is also an accomplished Ironman Athlete. He enjoys the camaraderie; he loves the silence and flow state one can achieve when pushing towards the mastery and improvement of a skill.
“Triathlon is like a chess game, playing with strategy and as the strategy works one can see an athletes’ confidence grow”. He excels in the water, and this will be a talent he brings to the ADE family, as open water swimming is where he finds his Zen and is his “happy place”.
What I found most refreshing about Reed was his enthusiasm for “people” after 12 years in psychology and leadership consulting, he truly has a love of “helping people”. Watching an individual grow athletically when physical work is put in to play with the mental work. Also, understanding that individuals are different and one should work with those anomalies, not against them. This means bringing in things like visualization, goal study and motivational drivers. Understanding that attainment is a journey, not a secular moment in time, it is a consistent dedication to the sport; this includes all the highs and lows.
Reeds athletic journey is extensive, and he admits that Aubrey is a mentor both as an athlete and as a coach, but he is also slightly intimidated by him. Because we all know how awesome Aubrey is as a coach, person, and his attention to detail for his athletes is second to none. Yet with Aubrey’s already well know acumen and teaching skill, plus Reed’s additional skills and psychological awareness, this truly is a match made in heaven. They sincerely will make a formidable team at ADE.
As our interview winds down, I ask Reed what his 5-year plan is? A broad and ambiguous question, but also quite freeing to be able to put dreams out on the table.
Reed thinks for a while….
5 Year Plan
In life, his 5-year plan is to build up on his already growing leadership platform, and he has written a book….
“What is your, Big Scary, Hairy Goal?”
He wants to be able to support his family, especially as it begins to grow. As well as enable his wife Julie to pursue her ambition to be a photographer.
In Triathlon and coaching – in coaching “I want to be able to help as many people as possibly can achieve their dreams, and help them write those chapters”. In Triathlon Reed plans to do some smaller local races to feel that racing spirit and get back into competition,
“As racing is “play” you need to just strip it down, to have fun while you see how fast you can go”. Moving on from there he is looking at Augusta 70.3, and then Ironman Florida in November 2022.
Reed Steele ADE Coach and Mentor
I truly believe he can achieve all these goals and more. From the brief hour we had together, I managed to catch a glimpse of what Reed will be giving to ADE, he has this beautiful sense of steady calm, that is reining in a fire for pushing boundaries, a Ying and Yang in perfect balance of when to push and hold back. All of which is grounded by a knowledge of the body and the mind, plus a huge amount of ingrained respect that one cannot work without the other. That the mind, body, and soul are one finite package in perfect balance.
Reed is most certainly nothing less then a fabulous new addition to the ADE team.
A.D.E CORE VALUES
Resiliency - creating robust and strong athletes
Inner strength - to be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable
Good Health – you cannot be strong, unless you care for everything else in your life (nutrition, sleep, stress)
Consistency – consistent in training. Random training = random results, you must believe in the process and trust it.
Reed Steele Fun Facts
Favorite Fuel – Peanut Butter and banana – the perfect combination of Protein and Carbohydrates
Favorite Sneaker – Hoka Carbon X
Favorite Piece of Kit – The swim snorkel – a great tool to help people work on swim technique.
Inspiration – My son, “we work to balance training, so we can spend more time with him”.
What excites you about Triathlon – “the strategy, playing with the discipline to achieve results.”
Secret Skill – can complete a Rubik’s Cube in 20 seconds
Dreams – To stand on stage as a keynote speaker, and to stand on stage on an open mic night. To learn improv.
Welcome to the ADE team Reed.