My Life as a Hated Sports Reformer
Do you ever wonder how I can go on posting the things I do on my blog, with this being an Olympic season? Maybe I should think about being a little nicer. Maybe I should think about making my nose a little bit more brown. How do I really feel about turning so many people against me?
I guess I stopped caring about what people think of me back in elementary school, when I made the conscious decision not to pretend to be stupid in order to be popular with my peers. Still, maybe I should be more politically correct so I don't put my Olympic chances in jeopardy.
The thing is, I'm not making up any stories about US Speedskating. All I'm doing is holding up a mirror so that they can see what they do. With me around, nothing gets swept under the rug. I'm clarifying ideas for all those people who have a vague sense that something is wrong with this sport, but they can't quite put it into words. I hope to encourage people to think for themselves, and to ask good questions.
There are two types of athletes within US Speedskating; let's call them the Inside-Track and Outside-Track athletes. The inside-track athlete is the career USS National Team skater, while the outside-track athlete is the person who comes from an alternate training program.
If you're an outside-track athlete, you will feel it. It's "a certain I-don't-know-what;" as if the pH in the medium were a little bit off. It's a vibe you get from The Organization - like they're afraid to look you in the eye, but they wait for any chance to stab you in the back.
There are unwritten, separate protocols for dealing with inside- and outside-track athletes. Outside-trackers are the ones for (against?) whom the rules are written, because these are the people who are immediately referred to the Ice Chips in case of a close call. These are the people who always come down on the wrong end of coaches' discretion.
The insiders, you will find, always get a second chance -- despite a bad season, despite a bad race, despite a fall. Coaches' discretion is regularly used in their favor; to add anyone they want to the team, even if they're miles away from meeting the qualification criteria or didn't even skate the trials.
Being an outside-track athlete is a kind of social leprosy that never goes away once you are labeled as such; even if you try joining one of the USS teams for a season, you'll never quite assimilate. It can go far beyond your coach not believing in you or standing up for you. If you're like me, you may find yourself used up and dumped onto the trash heap, while your coach leaves for World Cups with the rest of the team without so much as a quick email asking, "How are you doing, anyway, Ray C. Rodent? Have you recovered from my little experiment yet?"
Being an outside-track athlete means knowing that nobody is going to catch you if you fall. Unlike the career National Team skaters, depending on someone's charity is not a luxury you can afford. You must count on making yourself strong enough to perform a step above your competition, in order to make your position on the team absolutely clear.
Am I afraid of being left off the 2006 Olympic Team for the things that I say? Well, if that decision ends up coming down to Coaches' Discretion, then I will have already lost! I will have failed to reach my own performance goals.
Besides, this has little or nothing to do with the things I've been writing on my blog over the past year. I know my place within USS. I've felt the outcast vibe for years, and anyone who has been following my blog knows exactly what the consequences have been.
Let's clear the air. Let's get this out into the open. I HAVE NO LOVE FOR MY FEDERATION. Now let me pay for my annual membership dues, and let me get my little card that identifies me as a duly registered member. USS and I are stuck with each other. So, let's smile and greet each other in a civilized way when we meet at the Oval, knowing all the while that this town ain't big enough for the two of us.
Game On!
Do you ever wonder how I can go on posting the things I do on my blog, with this being an Olympic season? Maybe I should think about being a little nicer. Maybe I should think about making my nose a little bit more brown. How do I really feel about turning so many people against me?
I guess I stopped caring about what people think of me back in elementary school, when I made the conscious decision not to pretend to be stupid in order to be popular with my peers. Still, maybe I should be more politically correct so I don't put my Olympic chances in jeopardy.
The thing is, I'm not making up any stories about US Speedskating. All I'm doing is holding up a mirror so that they can see what they do. With me around, nothing gets swept under the rug. I'm clarifying ideas for all those people who have a vague sense that something is wrong with this sport, but they can't quite put it into words. I hope to encourage people to think for themselves, and to ask good questions.
There are two types of athletes within US Speedskating; let's call them the Inside-Track and Outside-Track athletes. The inside-track athlete is the career USS National Team skater, while the outside-track athlete is the person who comes from an alternate training program.
If you're an outside-track athlete, you will feel it. It's "a certain I-don't-know-what;" as if the pH in the medium were a little bit off. It's a vibe you get from The Organization - like they're afraid to look you in the eye, but they wait for any chance to stab you in the back.
There are unwritten, separate protocols for dealing with inside- and outside-track athletes. Outside-trackers are the ones for (against?) whom the rules are written, because these are the people who are immediately referred to the Ice Chips in case of a close call. These are the people who always come down on the wrong end of coaches' discretion.
The insiders, you will find, always get a second chance -- despite a bad season, despite a bad race, despite a fall. Coaches' discretion is regularly used in their favor; to add anyone they want to the team, even if they're miles away from meeting the qualification criteria or didn't even skate the trials.
Being an outside-track athlete is a kind of social leprosy that never goes away once you are labeled as such; even if you try joining one of the USS teams for a season, you'll never quite assimilate. It can go far beyond your coach not believing in you or standing up for you. If you're like me, you may find yourself used up and dumped onto the trash heap, while your coach leaves for World Cups with the rest of the team without so much as a quick email asking, "How are you doing, anyway, Ray C. Rodent? Have you recovered from my little experiment yet?"
Being an outside-track athlete means knowing that nobody is going to catch you if you fall. Unlike the career National Team skaters, depending on someone's charity is not a luxury you can afford. You must count on making yourself strong enough to perform a step above your competition, in order to make your position on the team absolutely clear.
Am I afraid of being left off the 2006 Olympic Team for the things that I say? Well, if that decision ends up coming down to Coaches' Discretion, then I will have already lost! I will have failed to reach my own performance goals.
Besides, this has little or nothing to do with the things I've been writing on my blog over the past year. I know my place within USS. I've felt the outcast vibe for years, and anyone who has been following my blog knows exactly what the consequences have been.
Let's clear the air. Let's get this out into the open. I HAVE NO LOVE FOR MY FEDERATION. Now let me pay for my annual membership dues, and let me get my little card that identifies me as a duly registered member. USS and I are stuck with each other. So, let's smile and greet each other in a civilized way when we meet at the Oval, knowing all the while that this town ain't big enough for the two of us.
Game On!
posted by Eva at 3:03 PM
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