Level Up Athlete empowers coaches, athletes and teams to perform at their best, recover from stress and build connection by leveraging their strengths.
Our Team
Katie Jones, Co-Founder
Katie has over 20 years of experience in education and was an accomplished high school and NCAA Division I student-athlete. She has served as a high school teacher, worked in higher education, recruited and trained teachers and leaders, and supported first-generation students as they transitioned from high school to college.
After earning two graduate degrees from Columbia University in Physical Education and Sports Management, Katie worked for non-profit organizations based in Georgia and Texas to recruit, certify, and coach teachers; manage high-performing teams; and build college connections for high school students. She has since founded her own consulting practice and continues to support local and national education non-profits.
Katie is a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Master Practitioner and is certified to coach using the MBTI, DISC, and Restorative Practices. She has used these tools to improve self-understanding and interpersonal dynamics for teams in athletic, educational, and organizational settings.
Brie Katz, Co-Founder
After playing NCAA Division I college volleyball and starting her professional career as a financial analyst in New York City, Brie followed her passion for empowering young leaders through athletics and began coaching volleyball at Columbia University.
During her 13 year tenure as an NCAA Division I coach, Brie recruited, mentored, and taught student-athletes from every corner of the world. She served as an associate professor of physical education at Columbia, founded Lions Volleyball Camp - a summer program for volleyball student-athletes in junior high and high school, and earned her masters degree in Health Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College.
Brie has lectured in several graduate school courses and NCAA events on topics such as recruiting, team chemistry, and leadership. In her work as a performance and leadership strategist, Brie teaches students, athletes, coaches, and teams how to reach their potential by revealing and leveraging connections between their own movement, thought, and motivation. Currently, Brie works with high-school, college, and professional athletes across the United States. Brie is certified to administer the MBTI, as well as the Strong’s Interest Inventory.
Gavin O’Neal, Performance Coach
Gavin O’Neal is a former Division I Track & Field athlete and coach with over two decades of collegiate and professional coaching and mentoring experience that includes 3 Olympians, a USA Olympic Finalist, 8 USA Indoor & Outdoor Finalists and Qualifiers, a World Junior Bronze Medalist, an NCAA Champion and Runner-Up, 22 All-Americans, 72 NCAA Qualifiers, 3 NCAA team podium finishes, and 10 NCAA Team Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championship Top 25 Finishes.
Gavin has built his reputation on developing championship caliber athletes while managing the behind-the-scenes complexities that make programs thrive, from overseeing budgets, to leading recruiting initiatives, and mentoring coaching staff. His coaching journey has taken him from the Ivy League halls of Columbia University to the competitive landscapes of the ACC and Mountain West, to the professional coaching ranks guiding elite 800m runners through Olympic cycles and national and international competitions.
What sets Gavin apart is his holistic approach to athletic development. Beyond the stopwatch and the track, he’s dedicated to understanding what makes athletes tick, currently pursuing his Certified Mental Performance Consultant credential and working as a Performance Consultant with Level Up-Athlete, where he uses personality and motivational assessments to unlock potential in coaches, athletes, and teams. With multiple USA Track & Field coaching certifications across all event groups and a master’s degree in Sports Administration, Gavin combines technical expertise with big-picture program management. He’s the coach who remembers that championship performances start with championship culture built on trust, clear communication, and a genuine commitment to helping every athlete reach their highest potential.