"Too Much Hay on his Fork?"
Some time in the last season, one of my friends remarked to me that US Speedskating discriminates against young skaters who put their education as a first priority. "Nah," I replied. "Even for USS - that goes way too far!"
A few weeks ago, I heard that a very talented junior skater had been passed up for an invitation to one of the USS sprint teams. "He just had too much hay on his fork," said his current coach, musing on some of the murmurings he had picked up in the skating community.
(*NOTE:* I was later informed that this post was based on some misinformation from the coach of the kid about whom I was writing. In fact, this particular boy was not the one who was almost added to the National Team, but at the last minute, the decision was made not to add him. That was someone else.
HOWEVER, I do believe that when American speedskaters are finished with this sport, many of them retire with nothing to fall back on, because USSPEEDSKATING does not do enough to accommodate the education of their young athletes, even in terms of the scheduling of training programs.
I resent the fact that my mom thanks God that I was blackballed from speedskating at age 18, but it's true that because I was blackballed and was not able to train and compete in this sport, I had the opportunity to get a great education, which is denied to so many elite speedskaters in this country.)
Anyway...
...This kid has skated a 500 meter under 37 seconds, and has gotten his lactate up to 27 in a laboratory test. Frankly, he was no slower or less talented than a couple of guys who were chosen for this particular sprint team. But, apparently, some people thought he spent too much time on school activities. Does USS really prefer kids who don't put their education first?
The problem faced by athletes with talents in other areas of life, especially their studies, is that it seems they always have to justify continuing to skate -- both to their families and to their own ambition. Often they will try to juggle the two or more activities until they are obviously well ahead of the competition. Does this sound counter-intuitive? I was in a very similar situation a year ago; you'd be amazed how hard it was for me to lose both my source of income and half my identity as a scientist before making a major breakthrough in my skating.
Not long ago, I wrote about a Detroit Olympic sports writer who, I believe, did not take me seriously as a potential Olympian because she saw me as a sort of "Suburban jack-of-all-trades." I mean, what did people think? That I was trying to win the Olympic gold medal and the Nobel Prize in the same year? That, my friends, is what I very scientifically call "a load of bullcrap." My reasons for staying in science at the time were very clear: Source of income, and a sense of duty and responsibility to my family and to society.
I've been in the situation of loving speedskating more than anything else, but feeling a sort of responsibility towards the educational and career side of my life. For those of us who have this internal conflict, all we're looking for is a sign that we can "take some of the hay off our fork." For lack of a better example, since my comeback to the sport, I was basically trying to achieve the athletic equivalent of Smash selling about a zillion copies, before being able to justify leaving the lab.
I pushed this wall for 3 seasons before realizing it wasn't going to happen that way. Even in the end, I let the FDA make that decision for me, when they failed to pass my company's anti-melanoma drug, (despite the fact that it worked with minor side effects and was requested by several doctors and patients) and our R&D department was subsequently shut down.
In discriminating against athletes who care about their education, USS misses out because they don't understand the psychology of such an athlete, and therefore don't appreciate what an asset such a motivated, driven, and focused person can be. Look at a couple of speedskating champions from about 25 years ago: Eric Heiden and Mike Woods. Both are doctors now, and, on an interesting side note, Dr. Woods even invented a skating-specific exercise that he could easily do on study breaks while combining training with medical school. If these two great athletes were coming up through the system today, how would they be treated by USS? Probably, such a career would be treated like a weed in the garden: Spray on some Round-Up, and watch it slowly choke to death.
"But, what about the USS college scholarships?" you might argue. I see these as nothing more than a consolation prize that helps to perpetuate the compromise between education and skating. "Here you go. Let's throw you a bone."
What kind of genius does it take to select against an Eric Heiden-type, driven, self-motivated, pain-tolerant personality for speedskating? Apparently, it takes more than just one genius. It takes an entire Brain Trust!
If they'd just give an athlete like us a chance, then maybe they would see how we really stack up against all those brats whose parents buy them a condo, a car, and everything else they need so they can sit around playing video games and getting drunk any time they aren't skating. My hypothesis is what drives me this season: Just think of how we'll fly when all of the ballast is removed.
Some time in the last season, one of my friends remarked to me that US Speedskating discriminates against young skaters who put their education as a first priority. "Nah," I replied. "Even for USS - that goes way too far!"
A few weeks ago, I heard that a very talented junior skater had been passed up for an invitation to one of the USS sprint teams. "He just had too much hay on his fork," said his current coach, musing on some of the murmurings he had picked up in the skating community.
(*NOTE:* I was later informed that this post was based on some misinformation from the coach of the kid about whom I was writing. In fact, this particular boy was not the one who was almost added to the National Team, but at the last minute, the decision was made not to add him. That was someone else.
HOWEVER, I do believe that when American speedskaters are finished with this sport, many of them retire with nothing to fall back on, because USSPEEDSKATING does not do enough to accommodate the education of their young athletes, even in terms of the scheduling of training programs.
I resent the fact that my mom thanks God that I was blackballed from speedskating at age 18, but it's true that because I was blackballed and was not able to train and compete in this sport, I had the opportunity to get a great education, which is denied to so many elite speedskaters in this country.)
Anyway...
...This kid has skated a 500 meter under 37 seconds, and has gotten his lactate up to 27 in a laboratory test. Frankly, he was no slower or less talented than a couple of guys who were chosen for this particular sprint team. But, apparently, some people thought he spent too much time on school activities. Does USS really prefer kids who don't put their education first?
The problem faced by athletes with talents in other areas of life, especially their studies, is that it seems they always have to justify continuing to skate -- both to their families and to their own ambition. Often they will try to juggle the two or more activities until they are obviously well ahead of the competition. Does this sound counter-intuitive? I was in a very similar situation a year ago; you'd be amazed how hard it was for me to lose both my source of income and half my identity as a scientist before making a major breakthrough in my skating.
Not long ago, I wrote about a Detroit Olympic sports writer who, I believe, did not take me seriously as a potential Olympian because she saw me as a sort of "Suburban jack-of-all-trades." I mean, what did people think? That I was trying to win the Olympic gold medal and the Nobel Prize in the same year? That, my friends, is what I very scientifically call "a load of bullcrap." My reasons for staying in science at the time were very clear: Source of income, and a sense of duty and responsibility to my family and to society.
I've been in the situation of loving speedskating more than anything else, but feeling a sort of responsibility towards the educational and career side of my life. For those of us who have this internal conflict, all we're looking for is a sign that we can "take some of the hay off our fork." For lack of a better example, since my comeback to the sport, I was basically trying to achieve the athletic equivalent of Smash selling about a zillion copies, before being able to justify leaving the lab.
I pushed this wall for 3 seasons before realizing it wasn't going to happen that way. Even in the end, I let the FDA make that decision for me, when they failed to pass my company's anti-melanoma drug, (despite the fact that it worked with minor side effects and was requested by several doctors and patients) and our R&D department was subsequently shut down.
In discriminating against athletes who care about their education, USS misses out because they don't understand the psychology of such an athlete, and therefore don't appreciate what an asset such a motivated, driven, and focused person can be. Look at a couple of speedskating champions from about 25 years ago: Eric Heiden and Mike Woods. Both are doctors now, and, on an interesting side note, Dr. Woods even invented a skating-specific exercise that he could easily do on study breaks while combining training with medical school. If these two great athletes were coming up through the system today, how would they be treated by USS? Probably, such a career would be treated like a weed in the garden: Spray on some Round-Up, and watch it slowly choke to death.
"But, what about the USS college scholarships?" you might argue. I see these as nothing more than a consolation prize that helps to perpetuate the compromise between education and skating. "Here you go. Let's throw you a bone."
What kind of genius does it take to select against an Eric Heiden-type, driven, self-motivated, pain-tolerant personality for speedskating? Apparently, it takes more than just one genius. It takes an entire Brain Trust!
If they'd just give an athlete like us a chance, then maybe they would see how we really stack up against all those brats whose parents buy them a condo, a car, and everything else they need so they can sit around playing video games and getting drunk any time they aren't skating. My hypothesis is what drives me this season: Just think of how we'll fly when all of the ballast is removed.
posted by Eva at 3:39 PM
<< Home