How to Achieve Greatness and Remain True to You w/ Arkansas Softball Head Coach Courtney Deifel

The Women in the Arena

In this episode, Arkansas Softball Head Coach Courtney Deifel takes us deep into her dynamic arena as a woman leader in sports and in life. Paige kicks it off with an introduction, shedding light on Courtney's remarkable journey from being a successful head coach to a loving mom.

The conversation highlights the empowering lesson of recognizing and acknowledging one’s capabilities, while exploring how women evaluate career opportunities compared to men. The episode also unveils the challenges of being perceived as "too nice" in competitive spheres, shedding light on society's tendency to misinterpret kindness as a sign of vulnerability.

Paige and Courtney navigate through personal challenges in their careers, share insights from high-pressure scenarios, and discuss what it truly means to be a woman in the arena.

Takeaways:

1. Being nice should not equate to being weak or naive.

2. Oftentimes, women are so much more capable than they give themselves credit for.

In this episode:

[0:27] Paige opens the episode by introducing Courtney Deifel, her background as a winning head coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks softball team and as a loving mom. She also tells about the story of their first phone call and how she ended up working with Courtney for 8 years.

[7:18] Courtney expounds on one of the most impactful things Paige has picked up from her– ”you never know what you can do until you’re doing it.” The two also talk about the difference between men and women when looking at job opportunities and assessing their capabilities for the role.

[13:13] Courtney gets candid about the time when she was told she wouldn’t make it to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) because she was “too nice”. She dives into how people tend to weaponize this trait, equating being nice with being weak or naive.

[18:45] Paige asks Courtney if there was ever a time where she hit rock bottom. Courtney talks about how she’s never had one as a relatively optimistic person, but shares about a challenging experience she had during the pandemic.

[25:50] Paige and Courtney talk about the big recruiting week they’ve worked on together which was among their most stressful experiences. Paige wraps up the episode by asking Courtney how she defines being a woman in the arena.

Resources

1. The Women In The Arena

2. Courtney Deifel

Quotes

1. "I think the best thing that I did in my life, (and) in my playing career, and my profession is just (to) say yes to opportunity." - Courtney Deifel, Arkansas Razorbacks Head Coach

2. "I think that women in general are superhuman…we can juggle more, we can handle more on our plate, we can do a lot more than we ever give ourselves credit for. We just need to let ourselves try things." - Courtney Deifel, Arkansas Head Softball Coach

3. "Sometimes you just hold on so tightly to a result that it makes you lose sight of the process. The sweet stuff is found in the process of being who you are and doing what you love.” - Paige Rene, Host