Pro Corner with Austin Surhoff

Austin Surhoff
  • 5.0 (16)
  • SPORTS

What does it mean to be pro? Host Austin Surhoff talks with the highest achieving professionals in sports - athletes, coaches, executives, and more - about their immersion into the world of being a pro. Being a pro isn't about the money. It's not about the medals. It's about giving yourself over to the relentless pursuit of excellence. It's not what you do -- it's who you are.

  1. 06/28/2021

    Aaron Peirsol Part Two: Swimming at Texas & Nike Sponsorship

    Part One of Austin's conversation with Olympic Gold Medalist & World Record Holder Aaron Peirsol. Aaron is one of the most dominant swimmers in his events (backstroke) in the history of swimming. In the 2000's, you could count on one hand the number of times he lost a backstroke race in international competition. That level of consistent domination is almost unheard of in the world of sport. In Part Two, the guys discuss Aaron's time at the University of Texas. It was a shock initially: coming from a unique training group under Dave Salo in California, Aaron had to adjust big time to the Texas heat, the intense training, and the awesome feeling of swimming for something bigger like a close-knit college swim team. They also cover Aaron signing with Nike and going pro after 2 years at Texas. Estimated episode timeline: 0:00 - Austin introduces the episode 2:00 - Why Texas? 4:30 - How Aaron avoided common pitfalls people fall into in sports 11:30 - Agency to make his own decisions that he developed at a young age 16:30 - Big adjustments to the training at Texas...and the heat! 28:00 - The essential role Kris Kubik played as assistant coach for 3 decades 31:30 - Navigating times where Texas team culture was hurting 44:00 - Going Pro 53:00 - Sponsorship with Nike Swim 1:08:00 - Routines to tune out distractions at the Olympics Enjoyed the episode? Rate & Review to tell us what you think, and hit Subscribe to be notified of all new episodes! Follow us on Instagram @procornerpodcast for all episode updates Follow Austin @AustinSurhoff on Instagram and Twitter Use this homepage for all updates about Pro Corner: https://linktr.ee/austinsurhoff Thanks for listening!

    1h 17m

  2. 05/19/2021

    Aaron Peirsol Part 1: Career Beginnings & Choosing College Over Going Pro

    Part One of Austin's conversation with Olympic Gold Medalist & World Record Holder Aaron Peirsol. Aaron is one of the most dominant swimmers in his events (backstroke) in the history of swimming. In the 2000's, you could count on one hand the number of times he lost a backstroke race in international competition. That level of consistent domination is almost unheard of in the world of sport. In Part One of our conversation, the guys discuss Aaron's career beginnings - his incredible training environment growing up in Southern California, the heroes and mentors he had early in his career, and his big decision to go to college instead of turning pro after winning a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics. That decision required a level of wisdom not usual found in high school kids. Estimated episode timeline: 0:00 - Austin introduces the episode 4:10 - Choosing to help out the Texas college team by volunteer coaching for them in his final year as a pro from 2009-2010 13:10 - Why did he decide to help out? 17:40 - His place as one of swimmings biggest stars, and what it means to him to use it to contribute to the swimming family 24:00 - Growing up in a swim Mecca like Southern California - heroes, mentors, great coaches 28:30 - The community that swimming provides 32:00 - The importance of irreverence and silliness when pursuing such high pressure goals like Olympic medals 41:15 - When did he know he wanted to be a pro athlete 46:00 - Choosing college over going pro at age 17 51:00 - How did he have such outsized wisdom and perspective as a high school kid? 60:00 - the importance of sport as teaching tool Enjoyed the episode? Rate & Review to tell us what you think, and hit Subscribe to be notified of all new episodes! Follow us on Instagram @procornerpodcast for all episode updates Follow Austin @AustinSurhoff on Instagram and Twitter Use this homepage for all updates about Pro Corner: https://linktr.ee/austinsurhoff Thanks for listening!

    1h 8m

  3. 05/05/2021

    Cal Ripken Jr. Part 2: Playing Through Injury and Changing Positions to Help the Team...plus: the '98 Orioles/Yankees Brawl!

    Part two of our conversation with legendary baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.  In the episode, the guys discuss Cal's role as a veteran leader on the great Baltimore Orioles teams of 1996 & 1997. Cal talks about playing through serious injury - what motivated him to keep playing through pain (hint: helping the team).  He also talks about his move to third base in 1997 after already having a Hall of Fame career as baseball's best shortstop, in order to help firm up the team's defense. Why did he put aside ego and make the move? (hint: to help the team) The guys also dig into the lighter side of things with Cal's POV of an infamous 1998 brawl between the Orioles and the Yankees. The storylines involved sound straight out of the WWE! Estimated timeline: 0:00 - Austin Introduces the episode 5:15 - Cal's leadership on the Orioles' 1997 "Wire to Wire" team 10:00 - Playing through excruciating pain to make sure the Orioles stayed in the playoff race 13:30 - What makes someone a "player's manager?" Cal's analysis of what made Davey Johnson a great manager 22:30 - The infamous Orioles/Yankees brawl in 1998 - what lead to it happening? What's happening on the field during a brawl? 30:30 - Cal's decision to move to third base after a storied career at shortstop Enjoyed the episode? Rate & Review to tell us what you think, and hit Subscribe to be notified of all new episodes! Follow us on Instagram @procornerpodcast for all episode updates Follow Austin @AustinSurhoff on Instagram and Twitter Use this homepage for all updates about Pro Corner: https://linktr.ee/austinsurhoff Thanks for listening!

    36 min

  4. 04/28/2021

    MLB Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., Part 1: Playing Another 500 Straight Games AFTER Setting the Record...plus: Pickup Basketball Stories!

    This week's episode is Part One of our interview with Baltimore Orioles legend, the Iron Man, Cal Ripken Jr.  Cal is an MLB Hall of Famer, and by many counts the greatest shortstop in modern baseball history (don't @ me Jeter fans). He revolutionized the position because of his size (6'5") and ability to hit for power - an anomaly for a position normally populated by smaller players that contribute more with their glove than their bat. Oh yeah, and there's that consecutive game streak - 2,632 games in a row without a day off. 501 of those games came AFTER he broke Lou Gehrig's record of 2130. How did he continue that level of consistency after reaching what many of us see as a crowning achievement? In part one of our conversation, we get serious about the streak and the aftermath, and not-so-serious about the legendary pickup basketball games Cal would host during his playing career. He gives a scouting report on who could actually ball on the Orioles and the Ravens, and even NBA players that would stop by. Estimated Episode Timeline: 0:00 - Austin introduces the episode 6:00 - The aftermath of breaking Lou Gehrig's legendary consecutive game streak record 16:30 - Pickup basketball stories - who could ball on the Orioles and Ravens?? 24:30 - Why'd he keep his streak going after setting the record? Tune in next week for Part 2! Enjoyed the episode? Rate & Review to tell us what you think, and hit Subscribe to be notified of all new episodes! Follow us on Instagram @procornerpodcast for all episode updates Follow Austin @AustinSurhoff on Instagram and Twitter Use this homepage for all updates about Pro Corner: https://linktr.ee/austinsurhoff Thanks for listening!

    39 min

  5. 04/21/2021

    Trey Mancini Part 2: Veteran Leadership for a Rebuilding MLB Franchise

    Part 2 of our conversation with Baltimore Orioles star Trey Mancini! In this episode, Trey talks about his MLB career up to this point. Specifically, the guys cover Trey's evolution from exciting rookie prospect to steady veteran presence for the team. Along the way he learned just how much focus it takes to achieve at a high level for an entire 162 game MLB season, and what it actually means to be a leader in the locker room. This episode covers his career path up to making the major leagues. Part 2 will cover his MLB experience. Estimated Timeline of topics: 0:00 - Austin Introduces the Episode 3:45 - Getting called up to the Majors for the first time 5:45 - Remembering his first MLB game (including his first home run) 9:00 - What he learned from Orioles veterans and Buck Showalter during their 2016 playoff run 14:30 - The electric atmosphere of a sold-out stadium playoff game 17:00 - His first full season in the big leagues in 2017 19:30 - A deep dive into his game-day routine 29:30 - Excitement about changing team culture under new leadership Enjoyed the episode? Rate & Review to tell us what you think, and hit Subscribe to be notified of all new episodes! Follow us on Instagram @procornerpodcast for all episode updates Follow Austin @AustinSurhoff on Instagram and Twitter Use this homepage for all updates about Pro Corner: https://linktr.ee/austinsurhoff Thanks for listening!

    36 min

  6. 04/14/2021

    Trey Mancini Part 1: A 25% Chance of Making the MLB

    Baltimore Orioles Star Trey Mancini stops by Pro Corner to talk about his path from falling in love with baseball as a 5 year old to becoming an MLB player.  Along the way, Trey was an 8th round draft pick by the Baltimore Orioles. After being told that players drafted in that round only have a 25% chance of making it to the Show, Trey resolved himself to beat those odds, and consistently improved himself and adapted his game in the minor leagues in order to do so. Now, he's a star for the Orioles and a veteran leader on the team. This episode covers his career path up to making the major leagues. Part 2 will cover his MLB experience. Estimated Timeline of topics: 0:00 - Austin Introduces the Episode 4:00 - Trey's funny story about getting tossed from a minor league game 6:45 - Beating colon cancer & getting back to playing shape this offseason 10:00 - Falling in love with baseball as a 5 year old kid at Cleveland Indians spring training games 12:45 - Taking his game to the next level as a high school athlete 16:15 - How mentors made an impact on him 22:15 - The most valuable things he learned at Notre Dame 26:00 - Deciding to turn pro 32:00 - First impressions of the minors 33:15 - How he transformed his game to prepare for the big leagues 40:30 - How to dictate an at-bat 43:15 - How he became a big league outfielder after having ZERO experience at the position Enjoyed the episode? Rate & Review to tell us what you think, and hit Subscribe to be notified of all new episodes! Follow us on Instagram @procornerpodcast Follow Austin @AustinSurhoff on Instagram and Twitter Use this homepage for all updates about Pro Corner: https://linktr.ee/austinsurhoff Thanks for listening!

    51 min

  7. 03/04/2021

    Elizabeth Beisel Part Two: Stardom Beyond Swimming

    In part two of our conversation with Elizabeth Beisel, Austin steers the conversation to her career post swimming as swimmings biggest crossover media personality. Broadcasting, TV appearances, writing a book...Elizabeth has put together all of the pieces to keep growing in the industry for years to come.  But even though the work is exciting, and makes her famous, and comes with all of the fun parts of being "known" in the world...it's still work. And Elizabeth got her start the same as most people in their jobs: dreams as a kid, studying the subject in college, taking unpaid jobs after college, and constantly working her ass off to improve. She even watches film to analyze her performance on camera -- just like swimmers analyzing film of their stroke. Relentless pursuit of perfection: the mark of a pro. Estimated Timeline of topics: 0:00 - Austin Introduces the Episode 2:45 - Beisel's early attraction to performance, including theater & violin classes as a kid 8:45 - What she learned from her first experiences with commentating 11:45 - Mentors & Idols she learned from in broadcasting, and how they helped her improve 23:00 - Her experience appearing on Family Feud, and what she learned from Steve Harvey 36:15 - The importance of genuine rapport in the broadcasting booth 39:45 - Writing her book Silver Linings after having zero previous experience & never thinking she'd write a book 45:30 - How much work she put into the book AFTER she wrote it: editing, design, promotion Enjoyed the episode? Rate & Review to tell us what you think, and hit Subscribe to be notified of all new episodes! Follow us on Instagram @procornerpodcast Follow Austin @AustinSurhoff on Instagram and Twitter Use this homepage for all updates about Pro Corner: https://linktr.ee/austinsurhoff Thanks for listening!

    50 min

  8. 02/24/2021

    Elizabeth Beisel Part One: Reframing Olympic Success & Taking Ownership of Your Pro Career

    Elizabeth Beisel is one of the toughest swimmers in the history of the US Olympic Team. A 3x Olympian in arguably the hardest event in swimming (the 400IM), she gave herself over to some of the hardest training on the planet to achieve her goals for over a decade.  What's most impressive about Elizabeth is her ability to have an impact outside the pool -- she is incredibly outgoing and postive, and always thinks of how to help her teammates succeed as much as herself. A true pro, and a true teammate.  Estimated Timeline of topics:  0:00 - Austin Introduces the Episode  4:15 - What Elizabeth is up to nowadays as a retired Olympic swimmer  11:30 - Pro Career Beginnings  14:55 - How Her Idols Positively Impacted her Path to Being an Olympian  21:50 - How Her Preparation Process Evolved As A Pro  29:00 - The Intensity and Positivity of Her All-Male Pro Training Group at Florida  29:50 - How She Put Together a "Job" From Pro Swimming  37:10 - Reframing Goals Going Into Her Last Olympics  45:50 - Her Choice to Contribute as a Leader in the Wake of Personal Disappointment  50:30 - 400 IMers are NUTS! Austin and Elizabeth discuss....  58:15 - Austin Solo Outro  Enjoyed the episode? Rate & Review to tell us what you think, and hit Subscribe to be notified of all new episodes!  Follow us on Instagram @procornerpodcast  Follow Austin @AustinSurhoff on Instagram and Twitter  Use this homepage for all updates about Pro Corner: https://linktr.ee/austinsurhoff  Thanks for listening!

    1 hr
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5
out of 5
16 Ratings

About

What does it mean to be pro? Host Austin Surhoff talks with the highest achieving professionals in sports - athletes, coaches, executives, and more - about their immersion into the world of being a pro. Being a pro isn't about the money. It's not about the medals. It's about giving yourself over to the relentless pursuit of excellence. It's not what you do -- it's who you are.

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