The High 5 Splinter Cell:

Just thought I'd let everyone know that Boris Leikin and I are no longer working together. Without going into detail, I felt that my input into my training program, both in terms of how I was (or wasn't) adapting to the training load, and in terms of which events I did or did not want to skate, was not being taken seriously.

I guess I was experiencing the phenomenon about which I've written on this blog before: "The faster they skated, the more the noose tightened around their necks." Thus, following last season's successful conclusion and the strength I showed during this year's early season training, I found myself being treated more and more like a pair of strong legs created by someone else, attached to a mind that he saw as a liability.

I thank Boris for last season and for the program that built my conditioning base for this year. I'd also like to thank Boris Vasilkovsky for acting as our scientific advisor. However, I have found that, for this upcoming competitive season, I really need something different from a coach than what I was getting from Boris Leikin.

I'd like to see a coach as a collaborator, rather than as a boss or a parental figure. Boris, on the other hand, has openly admitted that my place in this coach/athlete relationship was that of a subordinate. Whether or not that is an appropriate way to view a 28-year-old with three seasons on the World Cup circuit and the ability to summarize the latest research on physiology and biochemistry -- I'll leave that up to you to decide.

And for those who find that it's easier to hear some things being said by a man than by a woman, please refer to the following excerpt from the Protocol theme song:

"Leave me alone
I'm not asking a lot
I just don't want to be controlled."