V-CLUB TRAINING CORNER
We’ve teamed up with Marilyn Trout, certified USA Cycling Elite Coach to answer V-Club members’ training questions. You can view her coach profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mountainpedalscoaching80903
Send your cycling inquiries to Marilyn, and for a limited time, if yours is selected to be answered in our V-Club column, VeloWear will send you a $20 gift certificate that can be used towards any purchase on VeloWear.com. To submit your inquiry, e-mail her at trout_mic@msn.com, and type “V-Club Training Question” in the subject line of the e-mail.
Sport At Its Best
There's more to be gained than victory.
Don’t believe it. Just because the media has medal tallies up to the ying yang, it isn’t what motivates the athletes to reach beyond their grasp sending them to utter exhaustion. Remember the German speedskater who fell down in the final metres with arms and legs sprawled across the finish line or Canadian figure skater, Joannie Rochette, who persevered through unimaginable grief to nail her program. Don’t be fooled, it’s not for the glory of the media or for another notch in their countries medal count. It comes from an internal, fiery passion deep within to go after the very limits of your ability.
I came across this commentary by Duff Gibson who hosts Sport At Its Best on the web, http://www.sportatitsbest.com/. On the heels of the Olympics, I thought I’d share some of his insight from those at the top of their game…
“Sport at the highest level, at least on the surface, appears to be about winning. Sport organizations have multi-million dollar budgets for coaching, sports medicine, exercise physiology, research into the technical aspects and so on. In most countries, at least a portion of that budget is based on the success of the team. In other words if they win, they are better funded. Certainly a great deal of effort and focus goes into winning but there’s so much more to be gained from sport than just a victory. Among other things, sport can teach leadership, respect, sportsmanship, the value of hard work, the reward in facing a great challenge, the lessons learned in the failures along the way, the importance of enjoying the process and so on.
And here’s a key point – it would be easy to assume that at the highest level, sportsmanship and fair play take a back seat to winning but this is clearly not the case. In fact, a great number of the most successful athletes in the world are also the ones who demonstrate the strongest sense of sportsmanship. In other words, although being completely dedicated to winning, they have an awareness of a bigger picture and have a value system that dictates exactly what is and what is not acceptable in terms of making it happen. These athletes have not only succeeded at the highest level but have a greater sense of fulfillment in achieving their success and are more likely to enjoy the process as well.”
It refreshed me to read more on this subject with many entries from the world’s best athletes. Head over to the website for some inspiration. Here’s a link to start you in the right direction: http://sportatitsbest.com/2010/02/03/clara-hughes-part-2/
Marilyn
Gibson lives with his wife and two boys in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and has a master’s degree in Kinesiology from the University of Calgary. As an athlete, Duff competed in many sports including wrestling, rowing, speed skating and bobsleigh before finding skeleton. Career highlights include a World Championship gold medal in 2004, a World Championship bronze medal in 2005 and an Olympic gold medal in 2006 in Torino, Italy. In 2006, Duff was also named Canadian male athlete of the year. As of 2008, Duff has been a National Program Coach with Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton and provided commentary for CTV at the Vancouver Olympics.
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