Survival Tips for Young Athletes, and Thanks to All My Readers:
First of all, I'd like to say "thanks" to all fans of The Protocol for all of your comments. I have to say that I don't actually read the comments on my blog, because I want my writing to be as unaffected as if I were writing in my own journal. I'm working on a post right now about successful sports writers that might explain my point of view on this a little more - it is about what can happen when sports writers become too concerned about what other people think (I just got back from Detroit; the post will be about a certain sports writer from the Detroit Free Press; and that's all I'll say about that right now.)
Anyways, the best comments usually get back to me via my coach or teammates. The other day, Boris let me know that a young lady had posted a comment that she reads my blog and wants to be like me when she grows up! You know, I think this is one of the nicest compliments anyone can get. Thanks for following The Protocol, and I hope that, if you really want to be like me when you grow up, it will be without all the bad stuff that happened in between. That is what I hope to work towards: to help make sports a better, healthier, and more fun experience for the next generation of athletes.
That is why I came up with the idea of making a post with some of my suggestions for young athletes. Though I write a lot about how messed up I think the sports system is, I'm not trying to say, "Don't be a speedskater," or, "Don't be an athlete." Just be aware of the problems so that you can make informed decisions and take control of your own sports career.
First of all, let's talk about one of the most important aspects of your career as an athlete: Your coach. Your coach should both know what he or she is doing, and also believe in your potential and ability. The coach-athlete relationship is especially important for a developing athlete, who needs to take advantage of the coach's knowledge and experience in order to improve technique and become stronger.
One thing to keep in mind when choosing a coach or training group is never to put yourself in a position where you are dependent on people who would keep you down, or otherwise don't have your best interests in mind. For example, you may qualify for free training with a particular program, but if you think another coach would help you more, then you'll want to be in a position to work with that person, even if you have to pay. From my experience, if you really want to be a great athlete, this is worth the cost.
Of course, coaches are human and make mistakes sometimes. You can return to a coach who admits his errors and promises to make changes to improve the program, but never return to a coach who has shown that he doesn't care. Sounds obvious? You'd be surprised how many people I've seen make that mistake.
Besides finding a great coach, your other main concern will be to find a way to pay for your training. When I was coming up in speedskating, I believed, as most Americans believe, that all athletes who represent this country in international competition live in Olympic Training Centers and get all their meals for free. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is, the USOC will not take care of you at the time when you need their support the most - which is when you've first qualified for international competition and are beginning to climb in the rankings.
Let's use me as an example: The only USOC benefit I'm getting, as a member of the "Theoretical Olympic Team," is elite athlete health insurance. Our stipends were completely cut out two seasons ago. In order to see a penny from the USOC, I'd have to finish Top 8 in the overall World Cup rankings, or finish in the Top 8 at the World Single Distance championships! To do this, I'd have to be consistently beating a good number of fully-funded professional or government-funded speedskaters from other countries, while I was basically participating in this sport on a "hobby" level because I had to work so many hours to support myself.
No one will tell you this straight up, but rich parents, individual wealthy benefactors, and corporate sponsorships are integral parts of the American amateur sports system. So, if your parents either can't or don't want to help you out, you should think about how you are going to market yourself to potential sponsors.
Unfortunately, one of the reasons why it is so hard to market yourself to sponsors is that most companies think that American athletes are already taken care of. Once this misconception is blown away, it should be a lot easier to convince companies that athletes need them and can be a good investment.
One last bit of advice to young athletes is to learn everything you can about different aspects of your sport, such as the biochemistry of how your body responds to different kinds of training; nutrition - what kinds of foods to eat and when to eat them in order to help you train and recover your best; and how to set up and care for your equipment. Look for this information either in books or online, or just ask someone who is an expert in one of these areas. Of course, reading about the experiences of other athletes is always helpful. By reading this blog, you are already one step ahead of the competition! I hope you can avoid some of the mistakes I have made.
First of all, I'd like to say "thanks" to all fans of The Protocol for all of your comments. I have to say that I don't actually read the comments on my blog, because I want my writing to be as unaffected as if I were writing in my own journal. I'm working on a post right now about successful sports writers that might explain my point of view on this a little more - it is about what can happen when sports writers become too concerned about what other people think (I just got back from Detroit; the post will be about a certain sports writer from the Detroit Free Press; and that's all I'll say about that right now.)
Anyways, the best comments usually get back to me via my coach or teammates. The other day, Boris let me know that a young lady had posted a comment that she reads my blog and wants to be like me when she grows up! You know, I think this is one of the nicest compliments anyone can get. Thanks for following The Protocol, and I hope that, if you really want to be like me when you grow up, it will be without all the bad stuff that happened in between. That is what I hope to work towards: to help make sports a better, healthier, and more fun experience for the next generation of athletes.
That is why I came up with the idea of making a post with some of my suggestions for young athletes. Though I write a lot about how messed up I think the sports system is, I'm not trying to say, "Don't be a speedskater," or, "Don't be an athlete." Just be aware of the problems so that you can make informed decisions and take control of your own sports career.
First of all, let's talk about one of the most important aspects of your career as an athlete: Your coach. Your coach should both know what he or she is doing, and also believe in your potential and ability. The coach-athlete relationship is especially important for a developing athlete, who needs to take advantage of the coach's knowledge and experience in order to improve technique and become stronger.
One thing to keep in mind when choosing a coach or training group is never to put yourself in a position where you are dependent on people who would keep you down, or otherwise don't have your best interests in mind. For example, you may qualify for free training with a particular program, but if you think another coach would help you more, then you'll want to be in a position to work with that person, even if you have to pay. From my experience, if you really want to be a great athlete, this is worth the cost.
Of course, coaches are human and make mistakes sometimes. You can return to a coach who admits his errors and promises to make changes to improve the program, but never return to a coach who has shown that he doesn't care. Sounds obvious? You'd be surprised how many people I've seen make that mistake.
Besides finding a great coach, your other main concern will be to find a way to pay for your training. When I was coming up in speedskating, I believed, as most Americans believe, that all athletes who represent this country in international competition live in Olympic Training Centers and get all their meals for free. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is, the USOC will not take care of you at the time when you need their support the most - which is when you've first qualified for international competition and are beginning to climb in the rankings.
Let's use me as an example: The only USOC benefit I'm getting, as a member of the "Theoretical Olympic Team," is elite athlete health insurance. Our stipends were completely cut out two seasons ago. In order to see a penny from the USOC, I'd have to finish Top 8 in the overall World Cup rankings, or finish in the Top 8 at the World Single Distance championships! To do this, I'd have to be consistently beating a good number of fully-funded professional or government-funded speedskaters from other countries, while I was basically participating in this sport on a "hobby" level because I had to work so many hours to support myself.
No one will tell you this straight up, but rich parents, individual wealthy benefactors, and corporate sponsorships are integral parts of the American amateur sports system. So, if your parents either can't or don't want to help you out, you should think about how you are going to market yourself to potential sponsors.
Unfortunately, one of the reasons why it is so hard to market yourself to sponsors is that most companies think that American athletes are already taken care of. Once this misconception is blown away, it should be a lot easier to convince companies that athletes need them and can be a good investment.
One last bit of advice to young athletes is to learn everything you can about different aspects of your sport, such as the biochemistry of how your body responds to different kinds of training; nutrition - what kinds of foods to eat and when to eat them in order to help you train and recover your best; and how to set up and care for your equipment. Look for this information either in books or online, or just ask someone who is an expert in one of these areas. Of course, reading about the experiences of other athletes is always helpful. By reading this blog, you are already one step ahead of the competition! I hope you can avoid some of the mistakes I have made.
posted by Eva at 2:52 PM
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