An Evening with Olympic Champion Leah Amico

An evening with Leah Amico

On Tuesday night, Genesis had the honor of hosting Leah Amico, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, three-time NCAA national champion, and one of the most accomplished athletes in softball history.

While her achievements on the field were nothing short of extraordinary, our staff was treated to the real impact behind the performance: Leah’s mindset.

Throughout her journey, she faced unexpected changes, unfamiliar challenges, and moments where the easier choice would have been to step back. Instead, she consistently chose to lean in to what felt difficult.

The greatest opportunities sometimes come disguised as setbacks.

Leah’s softball career was already remarkable by the time she reached college, having won national championships at ages 14, 16, and 18. She was recruited to the University of Arizona as a pitcher, but her journey didn’t unfold exactly as she planned. With talent already occupying the pitching circle, Leah was put in a different role: as a designated player in the batting lineup.

To be asked to move from a starring role to less-glamorous ones often feels like a demotion, but Leah embraced these changes as opportunities. She adapted, and spent extra hours learning the outfield, improving her reads, and mastering a position that was entirely new to her. “Embrace the hard,” she said. What could have been viewed as a setback became a defining turning point.

Her development as an outfielder helped earn her a spot on the inaugural U.S. Olympic softball team in 1996. She went on to win three Olympic gold medals, becoming only one of four women to accomplish that feat.

“I wouldn’t have made the team as a pitcher,” she said. “So that extra work turned out to be valuable in ways I couldn’t have seen at the time.”

Success didn’t cause her to stop working.

One of the most memorable and striking stories she shared was the first team practice after she had won Olympic gold.

The practice was to run stadium bleachers. She ran hard throughout the grueling exercise, and beat all of her other teammates. “My coach said, ‘I see you, OB’—O’Brien was my last name then, so she called me OB—‘I thought you’d be kicking back a little after winning gold.’ And it hit me how completely absurd that idea was,” Leah told us. “Because for me, my mindset was 180-degrees the opposite! I wanted to show the other people what success means—that now that I had more influence, that I had to work even harder to inspire those around me towards greatness.”

The greatest leaders don’t reach the top and get comfortable. They reach the top and turn around to help others climb.

Life is a series of teams.

One of Leah’s most powerful perspectives she shared was her approach to life through the lens of teamwork.

Our families are teams, she told us. Our workplaces are teams. Our communities are teams. Every group we become part of creates other opportunity to contribute, encourage, and build something greater than ourselves.

At Genesis, our team spans multiple clinics, specialties and roles, all working toward a shared mission of expanding access to high-quality orthopedic care.

Leah reminded us that no single individual can accomplish that mission alone. That a great team is made up of people committed to bringing out the best in each other.

The courage to chase The Unknown

When Leah learned that softball would become an Olympic sport, she told us that she made a decision: that she was going to be on that roster.

The path was uncertain, the competition would be fierce, and nothing was guaranteed.
But she described herself as stubborn, someone who doesn’t easily accept no for an answer. She would put in the work.

“The odds against you don’t matter if you’re willing to battle,” she said.

That determination carried her through an extraordinary career, including becoming the first mother to compete in Olympic softball, with at three-year-old at home. She still holds the record for the highest batting average at the Women’s College World Series, hitting .750 in 1994.
The extra work matters.

If there was one theme and through line of Leah’s incredible story, it’s that The Extra Work Matters.

The additional reps after practice. The hours spent mastering an unfamiliar position. The willingness to push harder when nobody is watching. The decision to show up prepared, even after achieving success.

“Those efforts aren’t always immediately rewarded,” she said. “But over time, they create the foundation for excellence.”

She asked us how much more each of us knew this year than we did the last. She pointed out that the value of so much of what we do each day doesn’t immediately seem obvious, but that years and years later, they serve as the foundation for excellence.

At Genesis, the same principles apply. It’s the extra time spent making sure a patient understands their treatment plan. The teammate who steps in to help without being asked, or the willingness to learn something new and improve a process.

These small efforts shape the experience created for our patients and the culture we’re building for our organization and each other.

Chosing to rise, together.

Leah’s story is filled with remarkable achievements, but the message she shared with the Genesis team was about something much bigger than winning.

A position change doesn’t have to be a demotion, it can be an opportunity.

Success doesn’t mean the work is finished. It creates an even greater opportunity to lead. And individual accomplishments become far more meaningful when they’re used to elevate the people around us.

Genesis is grateful to Leah for sharing her experiences and reminding everyone of the importance of resilience, ownership, and teamwork.

When faced with change, choose opportunity. When faced with uncertainty, choose courage. When faced with success, choose humility. And when given the opportunity to rise, bring your team with you.

Because the greatest victories aren’t the ones achieved alone. They’re the ones achieved together.