Thanks go out to:
Chris Burleigh from Write Type Publishing
Rob Kalnitz who took the photos
Deanna Netti-Cahill from Brow Diva
Friday, November 10, 2006
More photos
I took some photos today for promotional material and I've posted a few here on the blog.
Thanks go out to:
Chris Burleigh from Write Type Publishing
Rob Kalnitz who took the photos
Deanna Netti-Cahill from Brow Diva
Thanks go out to:
Chris Burleigh from Write Type Publishing
Rob Kalnitz who took the photos
Deanna Netti-Cahill from Brow Diva
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Women's Foil Team
A few blog posts back I mentioned that I have big news about the women's foil team. Although I can't tell everyone yet until I get the go ahead from the head coaches, but I can say that there are big things happening. In the mean time enjoy the photos from our trip to Valencia, Venezuela!
Pictures from Venezuela
A few photos of the USA women's foil team and our coaches.
To see more photos of our trip to Venezuela please click here.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
You are more than what you eat and the separation of sport and self
Have you ever heard of that saying, “you are what you eat”? Ultimately I don’t think I’m the bagel I ate this morning but I guess you can be the judge of whether or not I’m a circular object with a hole in the middle. I shouldn’t be eating bagels but that’s all I had, so sue me USOC sports nutritionist!
So, Iris, what’s the point because I don’t really care what you had for breakfast? Defining oneself through results and winning is the predicament that most if not all top level athletes experience and have to work through. It’s much easier to be the young athlete who has nothing to lose than the older athlete who believes that they are only worth their latest result.
On Saturday one of my closest friends struggled through the Penn State Open competition and had a break down similar to the one I had in Torino just a few weeks ago. Her words were similar to mine, “I should be winning otherwise I’m a failure, I’m a fencer and if I can’t do this then I can’t do anything right, etc.” Anyone else recognize this lovely wasteland of negative self-talk?
It was interesting that no sooner did I figure out how to deal with losing and learning over again does someone else come up to me with the same problem. Struggling with fear and doubt is something pretty universal, especially when you are a top-level athlete that won’t settle for anything less than gold. Whatever happened to the learning process that we went through as youth? The false expectation becomes, you have nothing else to learn when you are the best. If that’s true, why did Michael Jordan, at the top of his game, train harder than he ever did? He didn’t have anything to prove but he knew he still had a lot to learn.
My friend has a lot of goals she wants to accomplish, making the NCAA team for Penn State, making the junior team, etc. She has placed all these very heavy things on her shoulders and in the end it has proven to weigh her down instead of inspire her to work. I think a lot of it has to do with self-identification and part of the title of this blog- the separation of sport and self.
At what point do we forget the goal as a task rather than a value judgment? When do sports cross the line from being a personal goal to just being personal? Yes, competition does bring out the character in us but at the same time it shouldn’t be the only way that we as athletes look at ourselves. We can use sports as a tool but not as an absolute opinion because we aren’t just athletes, but we are much more-a student, a girlfriend, a daughter, a friend, and multiple of other layers that are just as important as our athletic performances.
The point is, human beings are complex people (well, most of us) and we can be defined by more than just what we eat or do because in the end everything is added up as an extension of ourselves. Am I spouting existentialist theory? Perhaps partially, but it’s important for athletes to undo any type of tunnel vision they may have in order to maintain a healthy perspective while working hard towards their goals. As I say all this I admit that it’s very difficult because I put everything I have into making the Olympic team but if I have learned anything from Nat or the sports psychologist, it is that the enjoyment of the process is more important than the end result because if you can manage to enjoy what you are doing in the moment than you already are a success.
So, Iris, what’s the point because I don’t really care what you had for breakfast? Defining oneself through results and winning is the predicament that most if not all top level athletes experience and have to work through. It’s much easier to be the young athlete who has nothing to lose than the older athlete who believes that they are only worth their latest result.
On Saturday one of my closest friends struggled through the Penn State Open competition and had a break down similar to the one I had in Torino just a few weeks ago. Her words were similar to mine, “I should be winning otherwise I’m a failure, I’m a fencer and if I can’t do this then I can’t do anything right, etc.” Anyone else recognize this lovely wasteland of negative self-talk?
It was interesting that no sooner did I figure out how to deal with losing and learning over again does someone else come up to me with the same problem. Struggling with fear and doubt is something pretty universal, especially when you are a top-level athlete that won’t settle for anything less than gold. Whatever happened to the learning process that we went through as youth? The false expectation becomes, you have nothing else to learn when you are the best. If that’s true, why did Michael Jordan, at the top of his game, train harder than he ever did? He didn’t have anything to prove but he knew he still had a lot to learn.
My friend has a lot of goals she wants to accomplish, making the NCAA team for Penn State, making the junior team, etc. She has placed all these very heavy things on her shoulders and in the end it has proven to weigh her down instead of inspire her to work. I think a lot of it has to do with self-identification and part of the title of this blog- the separation of sport and self.
At what point do we forget the goal as a task rather than a value judgment? When do sports cross the line from being a personal goal to just being personal? Yes, competition does bring out the character in us but at the same time it shouldn’t be the only way that we as athletes look at ourselves. We can use sports as a tool but not as an absolute opinion because we aren’t just athletes, but we are much more-a student, a girlfriend, a daughter, a friend, and multiple of other layers that are just as important as our athletic performances.
The point is, human beings are complex people (well, most of us) and we can be defined by more than just what we eat or do because in the end everything is added up as an extension of ourselves. Am I spouting existentialist theory? Perhaps partially, but it’s important for athletes to undo any type of tunnel vision they may have in order to maintain a healthy perspective while working hard towards their goals. As I say all this I admit that it’s very difficult because I put everything I have into making the Olympic team but if I have learned anything from Nat or the sports psychologist, it is that the enjoyment of the process is more important than the end result because if you can manage to enjoy what you are doing in the moment than you already are a success.
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