Clean Run - August 2014 - 66

bar it will be." She ran the course and
did, indeed, drop that bar. "When I asked
her why she thought it happened, she
said it was because it was a right turn.
Then I pointed out that there were ﬁve
other right turns on the course and the
bars stayed up." The problem was the
change in the handler as she approached
that jump. "Her striding shortened and
tensed, her shoulders raised up. She told
the dog with every ounce of her body that
he should drop that bar." When Kathrine
provided the evidence that the dog could
do it, the dropped bars stopped.
She recently worked with a client whose
dog was popping out at the tenth weave
pole. No matter what the handler did, the
dog popped out. When they reviewed the
video together, it was clear. "As she approached the tenth pole, you could see the
handler's brain going 'crap!' Sometimes
it looks like the handler is crushing grapes
instead of running freely. Voice can be a
big give away. You can hear the anxiety
coming through. It's those sorts of things
and often people aren't aware of it."
She once asked a client where he though
he was holding his stress. It took him a
while to realize it was in his elbows. Katherine prescribed breathing and warm-up
exercises. "Being aware is being proactive. People are not victims, but rather
have a relationship with their mindset
gremlins. That means they can do something about it. That is very empowering."

Teaching the Teacher
"It is a privilege," Kathrine says, "for me
to work with the trainers of a club. Not

only will the work impact them, but it
will impact their trainees as well." Often,
she explains, people tend to criticize in
others what they most dislike in themselves. Watching someone teach a class
will give Katherine a window into the
teacher. She believes that behaviors are
caught not taught and says, "Sometimes
people will take action to change for others, where they wouldn't for themselves.
It is easier for a teacher to face making
changes when it is about other people
catching those unwanted behaviors."

Outside of Agility
Kathrine says that she is not surprised
that there are definitely recurring
themes, but what has been a bit of a revelation to her is the universality of those
issues. The problems that she sees are
not unique to agility or to the US or any
particular locale. "I would have thought
that the cultural piece would have played
a part, but no matter where you are in the
world, mindset gremlins are pretty much
the same and they will undermine people
the same way. The problem is the problem, not the person."
Some of this she has learned working
with competitors in sports other than
agility. She has had the opportunity to
work with top-level golfers and a competitive cyclist. "Things don't change
that much even if the sport involves an
inanimate object. The object is still affected by the mind." On a personal level,
Kathrine also ﬁnds it very rewarding to
learn something about other sports.

Awe-Inspiring
The relationships that Kathrine builds
with her clients are close. "They are
making themselves vulnerable, even if
they never talk about anything besides
agility. It takes a lot of courage." Some
people have even said that the hardest
thing they have done was to actually hit
the button to apply to conﬁdence camp.
"Some people have been given some really unhelpful messages about who they
are in the world, in general. To face that
is really difﬁcult. Just when I think I see
the limit of what can happen with the
class, someone else comes along. They
are the experts in their lives so our work
is a true collaboration. I am so stinking
blessed to be working with these people."
The competition successes are lovely. Increased Qs, regional, national, and worldlevel awards are results her clients have
gained as a result of their work together.
But what gets Kathrine just as excited
is seeing the big life changes that are a
byproduct of working with her clients.
Many of those who have come to her
for sports coaching apply the principles
to other aspects of their lives. Several of
her clients have lost what she calls serious amounts of weight-upwards of 50
pounds. Others have started their own
businesses. She has seen clients enjoy
changes in their personal relationships;
where once they were unable to set boundaries, now they can. "They grow into
themselves enough that they can make
that happen." Kathrine confesses that
she is "in awe" of her clients. "They are
rock stars. Off the charts amazing." D

Sally Silverman is a freelance writer whose life has gone to the dogs. She and her husband share their hearts and their home with three Australian Shepherds. An
avid agility competitor, Sally is working on MACH3 with Bounce, who also has a PDCH, as well as many canine freestyle and herding titles. Java is now in AKC and
USDAA Masters and working on her Advanced freestyle title. Sally is an active member of Y2K9s Dog Sports Club outside of Philadelphia, where she trains and teaches.

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