Our Champions

Arman Taghizadeh

Sports Psychiatrist, Former NCAA D1 Wrestler, TEDx Speaker

Former NCAA D1 Wrestler. Board Certified Child/Adolescent/Adult Psychiatrist, Sports Psychiatrist, TEDx speaker ("Control the Controllables"), Host of The Mindset Experience® podcast, Founder of Mindset Training Institute®, Distinguished Fellow of American Psychiatric Association and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ultra Endurance Athlete

DeAmez Ross

UCF Baseball Player

Mr. Stretch | UCF Baseball Christian | Colossians 3:23

Ellen Reed

Elite Performance Coach

Dr. Ellen Reed is a leading expert in mental training and performance coaching with over 15 years of experience helping Olympic athletes, CEOs, and high-achievers maximize performance. She is the best-selling co-author of Relentless Solution Focus, known for blending science-backed psychology with practical strategies that create rapid, lasting change. With a PhD in experimental psychology and a background as a professional dancer, she teaches individuals to build confidence, focus, and success with less stress. Dr. Reed is a sought-after speaker and coach who helps people transform ambition into achievement while leaving perfectionism behind.

Janine Tucker

Former Head Coach, Johns Hopkins Women’s Lacrosse

Janine Tucker, the all-time winningest coach in Johns Hopkins Women’s Lacrosse history, led the Blue Jays for 29 seasons, guiding their rise from Division III to Division I. A five-time IWLCA Regional Coach of the Year and recipient of the Diane Geppi-Aikens Lifetime Achievement Award, Tucker is celebrated nationally for her passion and dedication to the game. A Hall of Fame inductee, she is among only nine Division I coaches to surpass 300 wins.

Jeff Forrester

Mental Performance Coach

Jeff Forrester is a dedicated coach specializing in whole-person development for parents and student-athletes. With 27 years of corporate experience leading successful teams, Jeff brings a unique approach to coaching, focusing on individual strengths and weaknesses because he understands that everyone is unique. His holistic coaching philosophy integrates spiritual life, social life, academics, and athletics to help families unleash their full potential. Faith serves as the cornerstone of Jeff's coaching, guiding every aspect of his work.

Kelly Berger

Former All-American and Team USA lacrosse player

Former All-American and Team USA lacrosse player, Kelly turned her passion for fitness into a thriving career. After competing at James Madison University and winning three gold medals with Team USA, she founded her virtual fitness platform, Resistance Fitness, and later opened her own studio, Resistance Cycle, in Baltimore. As an entrepreneur and mother of two daughters, Kelly’s mission is to help others become stronger, more confident, and more resilient—empowering them to be better than they were yesterday.

Lizzie Colson

Professional Lacrosse Player

WLL Professional Athlete Entrepreneur- LColson Lacrosse LLC Author- Celebrate Small Wins 2023 World Champion 2017, 2019 National Champion 2020, 2021 Team Captain

Mary Griffin

Virginia Tech Lacrosse Alumni

A former Virginia Tech Women’s Lacrosse captain, Mary Griffin has turned her passion for sport and storytelling into purpose. She’s worked with adidas, Athletes Unlimited, and host produced the Not a 10 podcast—As part of ISNation, she’s helping reshape the conversation around athlete mental fitness—one story, one connection at a time.

Nick O'Kelly

Retried US Army Green Beret, Author of 'Stigma'

Nick O’Kelly is a retired U.S. Army Green Beret and Night Stalker helicopter pilot who served in some of the most elite units in Special Operations. Now an author and speaker, he uses his experiences from the battlefield and beyond to dismantle mental health stigma and redefine what strength truly means. His debut book, Stigma, reveals the hidden battles high performers face and the courage it takes to overcome them.

Raindrops Mindset LLC

Mindset Life Coach

Boyd Melson is a retired professional boxer, decorated U.S. Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel, and nationally recognized advocate for spinal cord injury research. Born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Louisiana Creole Catholic father and an Israeli-born Jewish mother whose parents survived the Holocaust, Boyd’s life has been guided by discipline, service, and an unwavering commitment to helping others. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Boyd earned the World Boxing Council U.S. Junior Middleweight Championship, donating 100% of his professional boxing earnings to fund a clinical trial aimed at curing spinal cord injury. His advocacy led him to serve on a spinal cord injury research panel at the U.S. Capitol, addressing members of Congress and medical leaders. Boyd holds a Master’s in Psychology from Harvard University, an MBA from Touro University International, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership at the University of Southern California. He also earned graduate certificates from Harvard in Human Behavior and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Leadership, and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer Course. An Iraq War veteran, he continues to serve as a Public Affairs Officer assigned to the 353rd Civil Affairs Command. Athletically, Boyd was a Collegiate National Champion, World Military Boxing Champion, Team USA Captain, and Olympic Alternate, representing the U.S. worldwide. He was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and later partnered with Gloves & Doves in Israel to use boxing as a bridge for cross-cultural unity. As a Certified Emotional Intelligence Life Coach, Boyd combines his military, athletic, and academic experience to help individuals cultivate self-awareness, accountability, and emotional strength. His humanitarian efforts earned him the title of World Boxing Council Ambassador of Peace, as well as honors including the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the U.S. Forces in Business “Role Model of the Year” Award, and the CXO 2.0 “Excellence in Business Leadership” Award. Boyd’s story has been featured on HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, The Breakfast Club, and the upcoming docuseries “Legacy Makers” premiering in 2025. He is also a partner and motivational content creator for ISNATION, a mental fitness platform for competitive athletes. His spoken-word music album, Raindrops: Changing Your Weather, is available on Spotify — reflecting his lifelong belief that every challenge carries the potential for transformation.

Savage Flight

CEO & Hi Performance Officer

OFF-THE-FIELD Under the guidance of Nick Savage, he navigated through life as an inventor, author, executive, speaker and producer for over 10 TEDX\TED events. The vision - Savage Flight elevates the holistic, athletic ability of the world's most distinguished performers in the world of sportpreneurs, emerging elites, pros and Veterans transitioning through Life's phases beginning to the end. At the local level, he helps rising stars discover a love and commitment for their sport. While at the global\national level, he prepares professional athletes for the big stage, such as the NFL, Olympics, World Cup, and Warrior Games through continued education and training. ​ ON-THE-FIELD An academic All-Big Ten nominee, Coach Nick excelled as a two-sport athlete on the University of Wisconsin's football and track & field teams. He also became one of the first Computer Science graduates in the Big-Ten as major sport student-athlete. Today, coach resides in the Northwestern High School Hall of Fame as a quarterback, cornerback, jumper and hurdler in Baltimore, Maryland.

SwimRVA

Head Coach/Swim Team Director

I am the Head Coach and Director of a year-round USA Swimming competitive swimming program called SwimRVA. Our non-profit organization strives to drownproof the Greater Richmond area by providing cost-free swim lessons to every second grader of every elementary school in surrounding counties. As the Head Coach of the competitive swim team, I help my program support the mission of SwimRVA while also working to build the most amazing individuals possible through the sport of competitive swimming. Throughout my 28 years of competitive swim coaching, I have had the pleasure of experiencing countless truly transformative moments with athletes ranging from learn to swim lessons, elite grade school, high school as well as the collegiate ranks, some of whom have even gone on to win Olympic Gold Medals! Regardless of the talent or level of ability of my athletes, the top priority is that each of them remember they are not an athlete, they are a PERSON. Sports is not who we are, it's something we do. And we use the lessons we learn through the ups and downs of competition to help build the person we are into the person we want to become.

UNDRAFTED Coaching

Mental Performance coach and Football Recruiting

Owner of Undrafted Coaching Retired 10 year NFL vet and Super Bowl Champion