We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erin Bratcher a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Erin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
I am very fortunate to have grown up with two very supportive and encouraging parents. They were both the oldest of their siblings and took it upon themselves to create their own career paths by venturing out to trade schools and learning skills that would lead them to successful careers in the technology field. My dad was a small business owner himself which served as a great example for me as I started down the path of business ownership myself. Being the youngest of four in my family, my parents taught us all to have a sense of ownership over what we wanted in our life and encouraged us to become self reliant. Of course they were always there for us when we needed them, and encouraged us to ask for help, but, more often than not, they pushed us to figure things out for ourselves. And it turns out that’s a big part of what owning a business is all about; learning to navigate different situations and opportunities with poise and confidence. Knowing when to ask for help versus when it better serves you to take the time to learn a new skill and get it done yourself. With us all being fairly self motivated individuals, having parents that helped guide us towards resources that allowed us to develop skills for ourselves lended to learning to think for ourselves and form our own opinions and values. Fundamental values make up the integrity which is the foundation of any small business. My parents did many things right in raising us and all of my best assets are credited to them; work ethic, integrity, and the ability to be independent.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
EB Athletics is a sports performance business in Raleigh, North Carolina, serving a wide range of clients, teams, and schools. I got my start in this industry when I was still an athlete myself, wanting to help other athletes reach their potential and live their dreams. After finishing my collegiate basketball career, I began playing professionally in the German Bundesliga and working as a strength coach in the off seasons. After my second season I decided to enroll in grad school and get my masters degree and further my education in the field while playing professionally. I played for 4 years before retiring as the leagues leader in steals and a top scorer. At that point I took my degree and a handful of certifications and returned to my hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina to begin coaching year round. I worked at two other gyms previously had begun serving as a strength coach for a small girls college here in Raleigh. During the pandemic of 2020 and the initial shutdown of businesses is when EBA was born, holding our first session in the backyard of a clients house. After losing my job due to the pandemic I was seeking a way to continue doing what I enjoyed and what I felt the athletes needed for their mental and physical health during the difficult times. 3 clients grew to 30 which grew to 100+ in a matter of weeks. We were fortunate to find a space for a physical gym after the shutdown was over and I continued working at the college as the strength coach as things reopened. Spring of 2022 I also began working as a strength coach at a high school here in Raleigh, training several of their teams both men’s and women’s.
At the EBA facility we train teams, individuals and adults from all walks of life, clients of all genders and ages; athletes as young as 10 and adults as old as 65. We cover all kinds of sports, anything they play in this area with the most represented being hockey, basketball, soccer, and rugby.
The slogan of EB Athletics is an acronym, G.R.I.T. which stands for Game Ready Intentional Training. The intent behind the training is truly what sets us apart. Everything we program, everything we do with the athletes has a specific purpose. We like to take the time to explain that to the athlete so that they understand the importance and learn ways to take care of their bodies both while they’re athletes and long after. We treat athletes like individuals and most of all like humans. We value their mental, physical, and emotional health and have built a network of resources in many healthcare realms to provide support for any of their needs. At the end of each calendar year we present the GRIT awards which are made up of 3 awards given to 2 athletes each; the Most Dedicated award, the Zäh award (athletes demonstrating resilience), and the More Than an Athlete award to encourage our athletes to get involved in projects and prepare for futures outside of and beyond the gym. These awards are something I’m really proud of, the athletes have really gotten into this and strive to get their names on the wall by bettering themselves, staying positive, and being strong members of the community.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Holding tight to our integrity, respecting others, being innovative, and working hard has built out this business. Our reputation has grown as a brand largely due to our ability to say yes. A real issue in the gym community is the often unwelcoming environment that makes certain populations feel like it isn’t a space for them and has created a stigma that misrepresents what this industry is truly all about. Female athletes have often been a part of the population that often feels unwelcome and we have made a huge effort at EBA to reverse that mindset. Athletes of all levels have come through our doors and each of them have received training fit for their needs. From the pros we have in the summer to the learn to play athletes we see year round. This means being innovative and finding ways to serve every client where they are; which is sometimes working to rehab a previous injury, sometimes sponsoring athletes that may not be able to afford training, and sometimes training athletes remotely if they live too far or can’t find transportation in (we even travel out to see those in need at times). We currently sponsor 5 women’s teams in order to allow our female athletes the same opportunities many of our mens sports are getting regular access to and to help make our female athletes feel welcome, respected, and valued. I’ve quickly found that by consistently doing good by people and being intentional about doing your job well you will in turn build yourself a very respected reputation. Being sure to surround yourself with other hardworking and honest professionals, which I am fortunate to have many of in my circle & on my team, only expands that positive reach and reputation.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I actually feel I had to unlearn several things as I got into this field and began working for myself. First, working for myself meant self promotion was necessary. This meant I needed to unlearn the idea that all self promotion means you’re arrogant or cocky, and that there are ethical ways to speak up for yourself and pat yourself on the back. Being a team player my whole life made this very uncomfortable initially. Over time I learned there is a line between arrogance and confidence that is actually quite easy to stay on the right side of, and ultimately people respect someone who is confident in their skills and abilities. Learning to not feel shame when self advocating and embracing putting my work out into the world is what made me capable of making the larger impact that I hoped to make.
Second, a more obvious one, I had to unlearn a lot of what the S&C industry appears to be on the outside. The textbooks don’t stress how important soft skills are in this field. Every strength coach I ever had was rough and tough, big and bulky, somewhat scary and also happened to be a man. Unlearning the stigma of what a strength coach should look like, act like, sound like etc was a major turning point in my career. Sure you need to be educated, with all the degrees and certifications, but what’s more important is connecting with the athlete. And that means being approachable and having empathy and understanding. Each of these I tried to avoid showing at first, as a female in a male dominated industry, thinking this would get me walked over and lead to am image of being “soft”. I later learned my ability to connect with the athlete, male or female, was one of my most valuable assets, aside from my education and athletic experience. I learned to lean into building these relationships, and showing this level of care, as they often leave the most lasting impact on our athletes.
Realizing I am now in a position to reset some of these ideas athletes have coming in has given added encouragement to be the best role model I can be for every one of the athletes I get to work with. Ultimately we all wish to make the field of S&C more accessible to all; athletes and future coaches, regardless of gender, background, etc, & continue to see forward progress in this field.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ebathleticsllc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ebathleticsllc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EB-Athletics-LLC-108524790790462
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-bratcher-10350962/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/eb_llc
Image Credits
Luke Wallace, Scout Mason, Sarah Yopp