From Gymnast to Advocate: DU Alumna Helps Athletes Build Strength From the Inside Out

The hardships and obstacles Jorie Hall (BA ’14) faced as a collegiate gymnast and throughout her 20-year gymnastics career are the lessons she uses today to guide young athletes.

A walk-on at the University of Denver, Hall earned a scholarship after winning the beam competition at regionals during her freshman year. Her time as a Division I student-athlete came with its share of highs and lows, but the resilience and confidence she built along the way now fuel her work supporting young athletes facing similar challenges. 

“At the time, you may not know that your challenges are going to be beneficial later down the line … but now I’m able to help and be a positive light for others,” Hall says.

Her path to mental performance coaching has also had its twists and turns. She majored in anthropology, partly because she was interested in learning more about people. After college, she coached gymnastics while exploring other career paths, including roles in  real estate and the mortgage business. During that time, she found herself gravitating toward mental performance coaching.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Hall decided to get a life coaching certificate. She had also landed her first client: a seven-year-old gymnast. That experience confirmed her desire to work with kids, even as she juggled multiple other jobs, sometimes putting in 12-hour days.

In the summer of 2022, Hall was let go from her corporate job, and she took a leap of faith, launching her mental performance coaching business, Spotless Mynd, in August that year. 

Hall describes her sessions as individualized and discussion-based, as well as solution driven. 

“It’s fun to be able to let athletes know that someone’s listening to them and that I can help them through all these things because I’ve been through it, too,” Hall says.

For nearly three years, she has dedicated herself to helping young athletes build resilience and confidence, sharing her own hard-earned lessons.

“It gives me a chance to be an expert and to teach them about a different part of gymnastics that can help them progress and flourish,” she says.

Her No. 1 goal as a mental performance coach is to help the athlete succeed to the best of their abilities, while also building confidence both as an athlete and an individual.

“I want to be an advocate for the athletes as best as I can, help them through their lives and be there throughout their journey, wherever it might take them,” she says.