My Olympic Experience

_____________
"I no longer chuckle at the less than perfect performances of these athletes - I hold them in the highest regard of all"
______________


It is typical in human nature I suppose that after the excitement of a moment in time, that excitement quickly passes and we move back to our mundane, routine lives. As I think is the case of the Sochi Olympics. It was only mere days ago that offices shut down, bars opened at ungodly morning hours and Liquor laws were even changed.. It was a proud time to be a Canadian to watch our hockey teams march to gold.

These Olympics were different for me. I did feel an unusual pride in being Canadian, and I am not generally a a flag waver, but I think it is because I watched as many of the events in a much different light.

My son, had a budding career, that was cut far too short, as an Alpine Ski Racer. I brag far too often on his successes and accomplishments, and in retrospect, probably had a bit of Hockey Dad syndrome. Financially I was unable to allow him the training, the travelling, the coaching that was required to continue on past the already very high level he was competing at. A regret that I will carry to my grave. But, even with his career cut short, I was witness to a great deal about elite sporting commitments that are required to be in the game, and I also was witness to pure love of the sport by him and his comparators at all levels,

We watch sporting events, and watch the leaders as the approach the finish line to win one of the 3 medals, listening to snippets of commentary of the background of the athletes, and even on a rarer occasion hear mention of the training regime that gets these athletes to the pinnacle of sporting events. But often these comments are just the necessary background chatter of commentators, and we never pause to really consider what it takes just to make it to the Olympics. We even (or I have before my enlightened realization) would chuckle at that poor bastard that came in last place.. "man he sucks and how did he ever get in this event."

I watched my son, EVERY night, immediately after school, without prompting and more frequently secretly, disappear down to the basement to do stretching, and muscle building. A backpack stuffed with books and a camping water carrier filled to the brim stuffed  in a backpack for weight as he did endless push-ups. An exercise bike jammed in a corner beside his ski tuning bench in a cramped unfinished basement space to work on endurance. Home made weight sets to tone his muscles. A daily routine, hours in the basement, then back upstairs to finish the night doing homework. Home made starting gates were built in the back yard to work on saving thousands of a second on his starts - back and forth, back and forth. Weekends spent training on the ski hill. Finding that balance of social enjoyment and unyielding focus often times working on something at the same time he was fulfilling the requests from the coaching from the group.

High School was simply an effort of catching up on missed work and then leaving school for another week for another trip - always in a state of catching up or preparing to be away. Often up to 8 weeks was spent away from the classrooms of his Junior and High School Education. Weeks on the road travelling, racing, were even more strenuous, Filling a day with morning warm ups, competition, hours tuning and waxing his skis and then head in his school work, and one final work out for the day. Then to start all over again at 5:30am the next morning.

Was my son special - no, he was a committed athlete that made tremendous sacrifices to his sport. Like EVERY athlete in the Olympics. From the gold medallist, to the sorry dude who comes in dead last. Each and every athlete ever seen on TV has made this commitment (and much more I assure you to be present at the Olympics).

But, I watched these Olympics with something more significant than the above preamble in mind. Being a spectator of a sport such as Alpine Ski Racing from when the kids were less than 10 years old, to competition that had no age limits, I often shared the sidelines with parents of children that will never feel the reward of stating atop of the podium. These competitors also had the commitment, braved the ridiculously cold windy days wearing nothing but a helmet, and a one piece nylon racing suit. These competitors shared the work ethic and desire of podium dwellers, but knew deep in their hearts that winning will never be in the cards. One may even suggest that these are the true champions. Just imagine for a second, giving your whole life (socially, financially, physically etc) to a sport, knowing as you are pushing your self to the brink of exhaustion in a training workout, that you will never win.

What emotional and mental strength these athletes must have. No TV interviews, no press - just alone as they tear the safety fencing down knowing that they had an incredible performance of their own, and that alone providing enough motivation to start training the next morning at 5:30am in the freezing cold.

What makes the podium dwellers and last place finishers different, I have no idea, but I suspect what keeps them going, continuing in the sport and all of the associated sacrifices is very different. I no longer chuckle at the less than perfect performances of these athletes - I hold them in the highest regard of all.

It takes gold to win gold

____________________

"...But something terrible happens with so many of our children in sports.. something almost too horrible to mention. Some of them actually become pretty good at their sport..."   

____________________

As Canadian’s, every Olympic year, we engage in water cooler discussion about our dismay of poor medal results. More of what I can relate to, winter Olympics. How can we, as a country that is covered with snow and ice for so many months of the year suffer endless embarrassments with less than mediocre results. Yes there are high points and stars that gain media attention, but frequently we are forced to endure Canadian Sports broadcasters celebrating a result that would cause other countries athletes ending their careers and becoming water boys  and team mascots.

This is a topic very near and dear to my heart and my wallet. Those who know me personally have long grown tired of conversations that involve sports.. because it will only be moments into any conversation before the topic turns to money.

As a county that embraces fitness and good health for our children, our government spends millions on marketing same. Eat well, exercise, participate, and be active. I suspect that we as Canadians do a pretty good job at that with easy access to sports in elementary school levels. Although not free, generally within the financial means to have your child active in Hockey, Soccer, Football, Basketball and so on. Kudos to Canada for the wide variety of sports available and within reach at that age.

But something terrible happens with so many of our children in sports.. something almost too horrible to mention. Some of them actually become pretty good at their sport, some show real talent and begin to excel. This is when the organizers, government, community avert their eyes and hide.

The financial bleeding seems to begin as a small paper cut, before you know it, full fledged career ending arterial bleed.

To step back, and in the simplest of terms, it is a horrible thing to see that most possibly the best, most elite and skilled athletes are halted in their athletic careers before they even enter into their  teens. A time that they should be accelerating to the top of their field, they are relegated to watch on the sidelines, and return to their couches and play Xbox.

In order to take the leap from community based athletics, to the national field of play, regardless of the sport, tens of thousands of dollars are required annually. Travel, trainers, equipment, competitions no longer can be covered by a sub one hundred dollar bill sports registration fees.

So in Canada, sadly, the top qualification to represent our country is not the talent or commitment of our athletes, it is the bank balance that they have access to. How many Olympic podiums could be populated by athletes that never had the chance to “get out of the gate”. How many top potential athletes are playing Xbox at home instead of setting world records for no other reason than their family could not finance thousands of dollars needed.

I know, and expect notes responding to this that there are exceptions.. athletes from poor background rising to the top, and well heeled athletes reaching the top... I do not dispute that in any way. But for the handful of exceptions to this financial brick wall, I expect that there of thousands of our athletes that never make it beyond city leagues that their natural ability should have them as a household name as one of Canada’s best.

As I write this, I think of a particular athlete (NO, not my son). Who showed incredible promise, natural talent that made him stand out heads and tails above his competition. I true pleasure to watch compete. And at the age of 13-14, when the cost begin that slow climb to becoming out of reach. His parents were unable to meet the financial requirements. And he was forced to quit the sport. A true waste.

Surely our government offers assistance for the less than financially able athletes.. Hypocritically they do not. They pitter away millions and millions of dollars to appear committed to our national sports. Unfortunately, none of that filters down to where it will be truly effective.. The athletes. Advertisements, committees, bureaucrats, ridicules wasted dollars spent trying to convince the world we have the best athletes would not be required, if we supported our athletes, and let them stand on the podiums... let this speak for our programs. It would get the world’s attention, quicker than bureaucratic bull sh*t.

NOTE: As I was about to post this, I felt it necessary to state clearly that there are a number of athletes that do come from financially comfortable households that deserve every right to be at the top because they have the natural talent, work ethic and commitment to the sport. This blog is not to question this whatsoever. Simply to voice my thoughts on those that do not have the ability to meet the financial reaquirements.

_____________________