Olympics

I hurt today... And i don't hurt for myself, I hurt for the sport I love. Today our Olympic bid was shot down once again. As far as my skating career it really changes little, except possible sponsor opportunities. By 2016, hopefully I will still have something to do with the sport, but I will be well past my competitive prime. But I'm not gonna lie I wanted it bad.

It's possible we were fighting a losing battle from the very beginning. The 2 sports that did get in have money we can't compete with. I've always stated that you never talk down on someones passion, so I'm not gonna start talking badly about rugby or golf. Because if we would have been lucky enough to get in, I would hope for the same from people in other sports. There are things that i didn't ever want to see that the Olympics might have brought. I never would want to see our sport being controlled by people that aren't in the sport. I don't want an outside company to be able to control a lot of the sport like some sponsors would. Call skating mom and pop if you want, but that's part of the thing that makes us so great. The people involved really care. We love our sport, and if you don't love the sport you don't stay in it.

Personally I never craved being an Olympic champion, on a Wheaties box, lime light, or any of the fame that can come with the Olympics. But there are people who deserve that. People like Chad Hedrick, Jorge Botero, Theresa Cliff, Joey Mantia, Cecilia Baena, Kalon Dobbin, Jessica Smith,the Muse brothers, Gregory Duggento, and more and more that we know as common names. These same people that have worked as hard as any Olympian before them. They shed the same blood, sweat and tears that all great athletes do. They deserve that moment to show the rest of the world that they are the best at a sport they love. In a time where our sport is struggling with numbers, this could have been so huge. It would have been great to look at a 12yr old kid who doesn't know if he really wants this sport, and be able to look him in the face and say "come on kid, if you work hard you can become an Olympic champion." Our sport deserves for the whole world to see it. To give them the opportunity to fall in love with skating like we all have.

So where do we go from here. It was like a punch to the stomach to learn we didn't get it, but what do we do. We do the thing we've always done in this sport. We get up and work hard at what we love. We keep skating, b/c that's what we do. Yes we wanted the Olympics, but not getting it doesn't change the sport. If you don't love skating b/c it's not in the Olympics, you probably never did. Will speed skating die b/c we didn't get into the Olympics....No. Because in the end we don't need the Olympics, we don't need FIRS, we don't USARS, we don't need a stopwatch, we don't need anyone watching, we don't need sponsors, we just don't need much..... All we need is our skates.

indoor nats.. and other stuff

I know I'm in and out of the blog game like Brett Farve, but for right now I'm in. See what had happend was, i went to IDN and a lot of people said, "hey what happened to the blog"..... So i thought.. why not write some this summer... So i'ma do a run down of some things from indoor nationals and a few other things here and there.

First, since it's my blog I'll talk about me. I was OK. I wasn't great.. not terrible either. I know a lot of people saw me skate told me how good I looked, and I'm not fishing for compliments(a gold and a silver is very good results). But B/C of trials and living in Colorado, I skated indoor about 5 times the month before IDN. It's sorta like showing up to take a test that you didn't study for. Every time i wanted to go fast, insted of using my hip and weight to generate power and speed, I'd just try and use my legs. Basically I was just technically bad.

When I showed up at the meet, I didn't really want to be there. But the atmosphere at Nationals is always so good you can't help but get in to it once you're there. So, after the first day it was like every other year, and I started having fun. I skipped out on relays this year for a lot of personal reasons. Honestly now I get more excited watching them now than I do skating them. That being said, I'll prolly be back skating them next year, but who knows. After it was all over this year, I sat back and thought how sad it was for me the last 2 yrs not training all summer looking forward to nationals. And before I stop skating I want to have at least one more season where It all builds up for indoor nationals at the end of the year(just might not be next year). Thanks to all the kids who played around, got autographs, pictures, and things like that: it's those things that let me keep young enough to stay in the sport...

Few general notes... I know there was no option, but it really did water down the competition having world team trials 2weeks before indoor nat's(if you don't know USARS had to have it when it was b/c we had to get track time from USOC). There's just no way for everyone to get up for trials and then race 2 weeks later, especially not indoor. Mentally or physically it's just super hard to do. You saw lots of mistakes from top notch skaters; falls for no reason, DQ's just b/c there timing was off, you even saw 2 people ,who are going to worlds, get hit going back into the relay box. It's all just timing stuff that comes with not being able to properly prepare for the competition. I just think it's unfortunate that for the premiere US event a lot of the top athletes weren't at their best.

There was also a lot of talk about the floor.. so I'll give my 2 cents. Everyone knows Lincoln has the fastest grippiest floor. Records get smashed and you win by going out and going as fast as you can. Well the travel floor is different. That doesn't make it any worse. It just makes it different. It's slow so you can't go out and lead hard. And it's not as tight so you cant hit the corners at 100%. I guess most people love going super fast, but i don't think it's always bad to race on a slower floor.

I know i say this a lot, but man there are some talented kids out there. There really are too many to say, but i really watched the elementary and below divisions this year. It just seems like the fastest kids are actually really good at skating. Where as in past years a lot of the top kids were just out there running on skates. I really think that has a lot to do with the bigger wheels. I think it makes kids bend their knees and push a little more. But that's just my theory.

I know he'll never read this b/c he's not a computer guy. But if you want to teach someone how to act towards the people you race, watch Jeremy Anderson. I've never heard him say a bad word about anyone he races and he always tells everyone how awesome they are. I know he had surgery this year and he's getting a little older, but if you ask me he's one of the best indoor skaters that's ever done it.


Quick World Team stuff.. Made the team for the 6th yr in a row, so I'm going to China for worlds. The team is extremely young, but it's good. There's a lot of people going to worlds for their first time, so we're getting a whole new group introduced to worlds. Which is good, b/c they can go home to their clubs and tell them what they learned. When most of the spots were from NC and FL it was cool for us, but I think it hurt a lot of other clubs.

Indoor nat's 1 liners...... Way to go Julie, welcome back.. That being said Erin Jackson was a beast... Kirstyn Scales and Zach Lloyd are so cute, and really fast too.. HAHA i think i passed Joey for loudest ovation when introduced at the meet, take that homie(i know you're way ahead of me for career ovations).. Nick you won elementary, and looked nice doing it, but i still beat you... Huge congrats to Ben Carey, I know Russ is smiling... NSC got everyone buzzin, just wait til it actually pops off...Sullys(or whatever it's called), good times... Harry and Sammy, you know ya'll both my guys, but I for sure laughed after the 500m... Stephen Carter may not have quite the speed he used to, but for a spectators, he may still be the best to watch...

Wow.. too long... sorry..and i was gonna write like 10 more one lines.. I miss all you guys, see you all ASAP... Have a good off season, those going to worlds know the season is just starting...

I'll miss you Russ

When I heard about The coach of Frenchtown Russ Hoppaugh's passing I was shocked. Now to claim I had a very close personal relationship with him would be a lie. However, I have always been close with his daughters(I love you lidaw guy) and most of his skaters. I really can't remember a time when Russ wasn't around. He was always very nice and treated everyone with respect. Now while i was never close close friends with him, I can talk about him from a competitive stand point. It seemed like 4 or 5 yrs Frenchtown and High Point would always be battling for national titles in every Sr. relay. And you always new his kids would be fast. It didn't matter if you've never seen the person before, if they had on a Frenchtown uniform, they were going to be fast. And after every single race, regardless if Frenchtown or High Point won, Russ always said something nice to me after the race. One of the things about his Frenchtown team that I always admired was they were like a family. I'm sure they had fights and disagreements, but when you would see one of them, you always saw more. To me that always shows more as a coach than winning(but they won a lot too). There are things so much bigger than skating, and his skaters always were always respectful and did things the right way. Great coaches don't have to be loud or tell people how good their skaters are, everyone just knows. Russ was a great leader and a great person; rest in peace my friend.

Roanoke 2009

You ever just need something that boosts you up when you feel down? Roanoke turned into that for me(and it's not b/c i won). The crazy thing is I hadn't even realized how much I needed it. What a lot of people don't realize is how much things had started to get to me. It's like all the negative things people were saying about me and my teamates was so loud that it drowned out the positive stuff. I had started to wonder if maybe we really were "bad for the sport".

But this weekend reminded me how much I really love not only the sport, but all of the people in it. It seemed like everyone just wanted to sit and talk to us. I had so many people say how much they appreciated everything we do. It seemed like every kid wanted to just hang out with us or take pictures. I literally signed hundreds of autographs, from the minute i walked in the door till i left. It kinda makes me laugh everytime tho, b/c A) my signiture is terrible and B) i always think in 2yrs people are gonna be like why did i get him to sign his name I don't even remember who he is. I had a lot of people say "sorry to bother you, but my kid wants you to sign this", guess they don't realize I love kids. I can sit around and play with kids all day, it makes me feel like a kid myself. So to everyone who said thanks to me for talking to the kids, taking pictures, or signing stuff, thanks to you, it made my weekend.

Now lets talk about some racing really quickly. Might as well start with the 50 lap race that was filled with drama. Well... i missed it all. I saw some of the early pushing and shoving, and wondered why no one was getting dq'd. But i guess i missed all the good stuff in person. But I did catch the video online. The video really must not do it justice.. I mean i saw them fighting and stuff, but you can't see anything super bad. I mean it's bad, but it doesn't look like throw them out of the meet bad. The good thing about that video is it shows something everyone likes to talk about. The dreaded Jamming of the pack. If you watch when I attack, there's no reaction from the pack. Infact the first reaction if from chad who happens to be on my team. Then there was like one lap of effort of chasing him. If you watch when chad attacks in one lap he goes from 10 feet in front of the pack to a corner. And when joey goes to the lead he steps the whole corner. I'm just pointing out how little effort the pack put in to race. Now if you want to accuse me of anything it's waiting for Chad, which I will admit to. Unfortunatly he didn't quite have the juice to stay out there. But it makes me think that maybe... just maybe there's a little more to it than someone jams the pack while someone else laps it.(yes i know i didn't go all the way around, but there was reasons for that and it wasn't b/c i was too tired).

Hmmm Julie was a monster again. She was way impressive; it may be the first time in the history of the sport that someone who had twins falls in a pro race and gets up and wins(see i drop random facts like Sportscenter). Overall it was just sick racing from like every division. There were soo many good races. The girls were battling in like every single division. It was nuts. It honestly was one of the best meets ,as far as racing, in years.

Well that was the short short version, but i just haven't been in a writting mood lately. I have like 20 unfinished blogs written, that you may or may not see in the next little bit. But the meet was great to me, it just reminded me how much I love this sport. Now were getting into the traveling part of the season, which is always fun, but stressful at the same time. I have a bout one month at home and then it's time to hit the road for a few months. Hope to see all you guys soon, train hard......

Retirement

It seems like everytime I go around skaters I get asked one question all the time. "When are you going to stop skating." I get it people, I'ma dinasour in this sport. I get injured a lot more now than i did even 2 yrs ago. I times I even say things implying that i'm coming to the end of my racing days. But what it boils down to is this; skating is what i do. Through all the ups and the downs, it's one of thoes things that just is. When you ask why I still race, there's so many different answers. B/c when you love to do something, you can't just point out one reason why you do it. I joke with a lot of my friends that in 30yrs we're all gonna be racing the same races, only a little slower. Don't get me wrong, I don't think i'm going to be racing at the same level that I am now for much longer. I know at somepoint I have to go into the real world. But I assure you I'm prolly one of the happiest people I know, so i'm not in that much of a rush. I think when I get older I'd really like to coach some. Ofcourse if I ended up having to coach anything like myself when I was younger, I prolly wouldn't make it very long. Even now I watch kids and think how A) I'd love to coach this kid. Or B) Oh that's why I don't coach.
But I have a long way before I get there. So, the question about retirement, is no(for now). I may back down, but I plan on having something to do with this sport for as long as I can.

VACATION

Thanksgiving weekend came and went, and once again there was another major skating invitational. However, for me it was something completely different. For the first time since 2003 I didn't skate a major indoor invitational(well there was Philly 06 when i was a the Olympics, and ofcourse i can't be at 2 places at once if there's more than 1 going on). Actually it was really fun for me b/c i got to blend into the crowd. It reminded me how much i love every bit of skating. It was so much fun to watch all the races. I like watching kids all the way to the oldest people. Even with the decreased numbers this year, there were a lot of exciting races.

I was asked about 100 times why I wasn't skating and I mostly gave the same answer, I'm on vacation. The main reason I didn't skate was b/c of a previous engagement and i wasn't sure how much i would get to be at the rink. But beside that, I really needed a vacation. Why would you need a vacation from skating you might ask... and lots of people did. So to explain why i need a vacation you gotta flash back to Greensboro 2003. That was the last time I just decided not to skate an indoor invitational. At the time I was 23yrs old and had just gotten good enough to race with the top pro guys in skating. And more importantly than that I was hungry to succeed.

The next 5 years just sorta turned into a Blur. Indoor skating just all clicked for me. I ended up getting a major sponsor and then everything got crazy. One season I raced like 19 competitions and like 15 were indoors. And like i said I was hungry. I've never been the kind of person that can look past a meet. To me the most important meet is always the next one, regardless of who's there and where it is. In 2005 i won the Michigan Thanksgiving meet. That was important b/c after that I meadaled in division in every indoor meet I skated until nationals 2008(where i got 4th). During that time I got two 3rd places, the rest were first or 2nd. I had one season I won ever relay I skated except the dreaded 2man at nationals. During all this, I was also trying to learn how to skate outdoor. So as soon as nationals was over, it was off to worlds. And after worlds I would try and learn as much about outdoor as I could. I never missed a clinic in Colorado in 5 yrs, so basically it was just go go go. I'm not trying to brag about accomplishments(even tho it may sound like that) what I'm trying to do is let you know how hard it is on your body to be ready for every meet every year. And the last year or 2 I was getting to where I was struggling the last month or 2 of the season. So, hopefully a little vacation for me will help me out in the end of the season. Plus I have some nagging injuries that I just want to get all the way healed.

With all that said, I just wanted answer everyone that thought i was done skating. I think I'm going to write a blog about my skating plans in the next little bit, but I'm glad so many people cared enough to ask me. Thanks and hope to see you all at West Palm

2008 speed proposals

So I was looking over the new speed proposals and I thought to myself I wish I had somewhere to talk about what i feel. And then it hit me, I do have somewhere to talk.... on my blog. So here's how i feel on some of the new proposals.

08-01 & 08-02 Basically adding more races to Novice at regional and nationals... These two really don't have much effect on me. But I'm all for them. I know if I was still novice and went all the way to nationals, I'd want as many races as I could get. Hopefully the would split Novice and Standard again to cut back on hotel cost for the majority of skaters(MOST will only skate novice or standard). Two quick points on this I want to make. The first is people complaining about having "Novice National Champion". I really don't see why this frustrates people so much. I don't see anything wrong with someone being the best in the nation at the beginner level. If it bothers you so much that someone calls them self a national champion when they're novice, get a little more self confidence about your accomplishments. The second thing is people saying this person won Novice to quickly, so now they're going to quit. I wish someone could do a study of this b/c it makes no sense to me. I think there's like 20something Novice national champions a year. I'm going to assume most of them don't quit b/c they won Novice nationals. And if they do quit b/c standard is too hard or they were successful too quickly, were they really going to stick to this sport for that long??? Our sport is struggling, and I think we should do as much to boost the beginner program that we can.

08-03Supplemental National Championship Entry Rule.... Ummm.. Ok i get it. More people at nationals. Ok, I'm just gonna say lets go for it, b/c I can't put up a good reason not to have more people at nationals(plus i looked at the chart they put up and it kinda gave me a headache)

08-04Regional Reps.. Each Region has an official speed comity. SWEET! Shoulda been done years ago. NEXT.

08-05Oval Track... I have a problem with this proposal(with all do respect to Mr. Cotter). Every argument you make for skating the oval track for the Elim(minus the first point), can easily be made for any other race. Simply replace Elim with 500m or 1,500m. So.. if we are to make the argument for the elim to be changed, we should make the argument for EVERY world class race to be changed. For the record I'm all for that. But then it's a slippery slope. Soon people say the Sr, Jr, and So men can go just as fast. They should skate on the oval track too. Once again I support this too. But I think more people don't support this than do. Plus to be completely honest this multiple passing lanes thing is kinda a myth. If you know what your doing you can make the only way to pass is to go outside. And that's not too easy. I love the oval track, but i always hate the "it's so easy to pass" argument for it.

08-06Individual Medals and new point system... World Class already does this, and it's kinda cool, i guess. I'm really kinda torn on the individual medal thing. Awards would take about 4hrs to do. But it is a litle more like worlds where every event gets a medal. Hmm...I really don't know on that one. As far as the point system, I love it for World Team Trials, Don't like it much for Indoor nationals. The big thing to me is two 4th place finishes shouldn't be worth more than a first place finish. I think it's good when you have 9 races at trials. Not as good when you have 3 races at indoor nat's. I'm not completely against a new point system, but 2 4ths beating a first doesn't seem right to me for some reason.

08-07Dual Club Representation... Hate it. It just seems cheesy to me. Buuuut it does open up some pretty cool trade options. I can hear it now. I'll trade 2sr guys for 1 freshman girl and a master man. Could be interesting, but seriously I hate it

08-08Nationals always in Lincoln..Floor is good. Good location. Easy to plan. Ok I'll support it.

08-09World Class sponsors limited to 2 men and 2 women..... WOOHOO!!! I'm part of the reason this rule is discussed. Being a member of one of like 2 teams in the last 3 years to have more than 2 people i'm honored. I guess this makes me biased. But i really think it's a rule that's going to hurt skaters, but won't hurt me. It's really going to hurt the up and coming skaters and not as much the established ones. This is the line that really gets me "encourage more companies to participate in the sponsoring of world class athletes."... WHAT?? This is stupid in several ways. There's only a handful of sponsors, now your limiting the number of people they can sponsor. And trust me it will make a big deal that they can only have 2 people in their uniform at the biggest meet of the year. Also, does anyone really think any company is saying.. "ehh i was gonna sponsor a skater, but there's 4 guys from another team out there, so now I won't". There are also stupid ways to get around this. If Luigino/atom wanted to get around this.. it's simple. Introducing Team Luigino and Team Atom. The moral is people want a rule against team skating, this is a rule that is going to hurt the athlete.

08-10Limiting the entry fee for Nationals... Great for the athlete, not great for the organization. Without the athlete there is no organization. I'm all for it.

08-11Talk to the right people to resurface the track in Colorado... PLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAASSSEEEEEE!!!! man this would be great for us. We have nothing in the US that feel like skating on that stuff. Plus you wouldn't have to put a brand new set of wheels on for every race. And you could finish a long race when it's hot with out tearing your wheels apart. Unfortunately until I see this happen I don't think it will. It's just one of those things that's too good to actually happen.

Ok that's just my opinion as an athlete. Talk to you guys soon