If you're doing things right, there seems to come a time every year in which you absolutely love training. I will be the first to admit: it is a sickness, it is not normal, it may not even be right...but it its great. I am there now.
This past week I was fortunate to have coach John Powell (who runs the Trackspeed-1 club out of London) in town. I've started training with a couple of guys following his workouts halfway through last year. This year is my first year working with his stuff from the start and my track strength feels great. He brought out a couple Brits as well so our small training group grew and we got some great work in. Unfortunately all the tough work put a damper on the meet today at Harvard (my legs pretty much felt like mud), but I know in the long run we made a big deposite into the bank this week. Hopefully come a couple of weeks from now we can see some dividends come the US Combined Events Championships in Chapel Hill, March 7-8th.
With outdoor quickly approaching I've finally got some resemblence of a schedule:
March 7-8: USATF Combined Events Championships, Indoor Heptathlon (Chapel Hill, NC)
March 14: Aggie Open, Pole Vault, Hurdles, Discus (UC Davis, CA!!!)
March 21: TSU Relays (Houston, TX)
March 28: Bayou Classic (Houston, TX @ Rice University)
April 22: Drake Relays, Select Decathlon Events (Des Moine, Iowa)
May 7: Multistars Decathlon (Descenzano, Italy...hopefully!)
June 6-7: Texas Greatest Athlete, Select Decathlon Events (Dallas, TX)
June 25-28: USATF National Championships, Decathlon (Eugene, OR)
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Nature v. Nurture - compilation
From my little social survey I may not have taken any strides forward in the eternal battle of Nature versus Nurture, but if there are any conclusions that I can draw, it's that a very quick way to get an athlete talking is to ask him/her about their childhood in sports. The feedback I received from everyone was amazingly quick and insightful and proved fodder for an great discussion in the class.
As a recap, I was asked to guest speak in a Boston College Business School class on on Competition with the specific topic of my experiences with Nature versus Nurture and how people become experts. Although not nearly as nervous as I would have been a couple of years ago (thank you coaching and teaching), I wasn't all that sure where to begin so I reached out to all the athletes I knew who could be considered "experts" (pro or high-level collegiate) in what they did (thus if I had nothing original to talk about, I could at least regurgitate everyone else's ideas). The responses made inbox checking for that week particularly interesting and as per request, and simply because it's interesting, this is what I got out of it all:
I received email responses from 18 people and spoke in person to 1 (she's got a gold medal and multiple World Championships so she gets special treatment).
12 of these were Track in Field (mostly multi-eventers, the others field eventers)
2 Endurance Athletes (triathlon and marathon)
4 Nordic Skiiers
1 Soccer Player.
Weighing Nature v Nurture
Of these 19 people - actually, I'll include myself in order to pad my own stats - of these 20 people, only 3.5 of these people specifically put the nature versus nurture balance at a higher ratio than 50/50. 1 person (unless i'm using them for a laugh, i'll keep most names out of the discussion), one of the endurance athletes, tipped the scales towards nurture, with 2.5 believing nature to be of stronger influence. 0.5 a person? I guess I should explain. Jason Hinkin, a buddy of mine and someone to helped intoduce me to the pole vault (among other things I can't mention here) comes from parents of zero athletic background and yet of his siblings, Jason has one brother international rugby star, one brother that just missed the US National Rugby Team, a sister that competes in Dressage (horse riding stuff that I tried to understand watching the Olympics...), and another sister that won an NCAA Soccer Championship at North Carolina. As Jason put it: "I think Mark Spitz was our mailman, it's the only way to explain it." Jason believes this is proof of some sort of strong nature...but could it also be proof of just incredible nurture? Thus, he only counts as half - plus he also mentioned seeing the nurture side be as evident as the nature in so many others. The most intriguing factor among these 3 is that these were the only 3 amongst the 20 that didn't write glowing happy accounts of their youth in sports. Jason was a soccer player growing up but just kind of did it to have something to do and he only picked up pole vault in high school because he heard it was a good way to meet chicks. Of the other 2 "nature-leaners," neither remembered being at all encouraged toward sport and neither really enjoyed sport all that much growing up. It took until much later in life to really find a passion for competition (both are now professional Heptathletes).
The Early Years
On the contrary - and this is my favorite part - every single one of the others surveryed used some sort of positive exclaimation (either with punctuation or rhetoric) to explain their early stages of exposure in sport. There were no pushy dad or crazy soccer moms of mention, and in fact only one athlete, the soccer player (not shockingly), mentioned the competitive side of their sport early on. In fact, some learned their sports early - like the skiiers who learned to ski about the same time they learned to walk, some learned their sports late - like the triathlete who didn't pick it up until college, but absolutely every single one of the 20 participated in sports other than the one they are now professional in.
Personally, I think the over-specializating, hyper-competitive mentality so many young parents have now is an absolutely terrible trend. Everyone is trying to create the next Tiger Woods by making their kid play golf at 4 years old or enrolling their kids in tennis academys instead of grade school. There were 3 girls I talked to that participated in heavy gymnastics early on, you know, the 4 - 6 hours a day from the time you're 3 type stuff. Did you notice my list of sports in the introduction? Not one of these is still involved in gymnastics. All 3 of them are now heptathletes (one of them an olympian) because they got so burned out of gymnastics that around high school they got out of the gym and picked up any and all other sports they could get their hands on. One of them was 5' - 4" when she left gymnastics in high school. She's now 5' - 11".
Specifically, half of the surveyed used the words "fun" or "enjoyed" when speaking about early sports. Many did use the word competitive, but it was always the enjoyement that was emphasized. Trey Hardee, olympic decathlete and NCAA record holder, specifically mentioned how non-competitive his youth leagues were. Zoila Gomez, alternate for Olympic Marathon, who comes up to about my waist in height, remembers her absolute love for basketball growing up. In fact, other than the skiiers and the soccer player, most didn't even start competing in their sport until 8th grade or later - something I think to be very refreshing. Hell, Mike Hazle, Olympic Javelin thrower, didn't pick up his first jav until college - where he was on a football and baseball scholarship. Zoila, 11-time Div. II All-American and 6-time NCAA Champion didn't start running until she was 17. The academic literature loves to talk the thousands of hours of "deliberate practice" it takes to become an expert at something. Yes it takes time, it takes practice, but pushing a kid into a sport at 4 years old produces nothing without true enjoyment - just ask those gymnasts. This actually brings me to the next thing I noticed:
The Role of Parents and Coaches
For the class I was asked to speak in front of, an article was assigned* which outlined Benjamin Bloom's stages of talent development and the roles of teachers and parents in these stages. In the early years a child is introduced to a field; the parents are usually responsible for introducing this field due to their own involvement or excitement (ie, whether dad played baseball or watches it nightly, the ol' game of catch eventually comes out). Early it's the role of the teachers/coaches to emphasize the process of learning. Later in the middle years, the kid gets hooked. Here, the teachers/coaches move on to teach actual skills and technic while emphasizing discipline and work ethic. The role of the parents is of support (often emotionally and/or financially). The final stage is that of perfection in which the athlete/musician/scientist becomes devoted to their field and can eventually become an expert. It is only those that have reached this third stage that I sought out for my survey and in their responses I found Bloom to be spot on. As I mentioned before, 2 of the total didn't feel that they were particularly encouraged early on by their parents or otherwise, but absolutely everyone else made it a significant point to talk about their support system growing it. Whether or not their parents college basketball players, street racers, band members, or completely non-athletic, everyone had either parents, coaches, or both that were instrumental in their lives early on. Katie Whitcomb, 2010 Olympic Noridic Skiing hopeful, who "started skiing as soon as I was too heavy for my parents' backpack" said it was "super important" to note that it was her folks that made it all possible. Chris Helwick, decathlete, said his parents were the support and encouragement but his early coaches introduced him to his sport and put in huge time to help teach him it. In fact, almost half the athletes specifically used the words "support" when speaking of their parents, or as Julie Picker, heptathlete, expanded by saying her parents were "extremely supportive" and were responsible for introducing her to many great sports. It was then the coaches that taught her the sports themselves. Mike Hazle were "extremely instrumental" in his early success because they provided the means for excelence but were never pushy whereas his coaches taught the work ethic and character. Sarah Groff, triathlete, reflected many in that her parents were super no-pressure and that it was her enjoyment over her victories they stressed. Her parents were her emotional support as well as her taxi drivers. Those few that didn't have particularly active parents found some coach along the way to step in. My mom, discus, javelin, hurdler at ucla grew up in a time when women were far from encouraged to become athletes but it was the huge heart, knowledge, and time commitment of her high school coach and lifetime mentor that was her support system. For Zoila it was a PE teacher that discovered and encouraged her running ability, and for Stacy Dragila, many time world champion pole vaulter, it's still her dad to this day that is her emotional support after each meet. To tell you the truth, deep down I always wondered if I was the only one who had amazing parents and coaches growing up. In reading these responses I am of course psyched to see how many others shared experiences like mine developing in sport, but part of me also wonders, with the decline of two parent families (many spoke of one parent being the introducing of the sport, the other the taxi driver, etc), with the striping of physical education departments and after-school sports, what is going to happen to those that will never see the support systems we were blessed with?
Genetics (Nature)
It was interesting to see how few people actually talked about their gentic gifts. Many did have athlete parents, but also, many did not. Trey Hardee, at 6'-4" is the tallest in his family by about 5 inches, and Brian Gregg, skiier, talked about being naturally talented in just about everything he tried, but that was about all I really heard. Everybody was so excited to talk about their parents and coaches. Yes, Trey is tall, but you can't long jump 25 feet off of height alone (kid's got speed for days), and if you've seen Mike Hazle on youTube or the new [Impact!] video, you can see that Mike's got a cannon for an arm and some incredible strength. These guys actually summed it up pretty well themselves: According to Trey, the nature determines your potential, the cap on how good you can possibly be, but it's the nurture that determines how close that you become, whereas Mike related it to hardware and software. Nature deals you the hardware, but without the software, the nurture, the hardware will get you nowhere.
We opened the class at BC with a discussion one of the students brought up. She had heard that they are starting to be able to read your genetic code with the ability to tell you what you will be good at and she wanted to know what I thought about this. To me I'm curious as to how they think they can determine what makes you good at something as yes, becoming an expert may take "10,000 hours" of deliberate practice, but who determines what tools you use to get there? What if you told Bryan Clay, world's greatest athlete via his decathlon gold medal, that he was too short to be a decathlete (he's 5'-10" in a sport dominated by 6'4" monsters)? What if Labron James was given a discus rather than a basketball when growing up? Some elite athletes are freakishly fast, some freakishly large, some strong, most are their own special brew of each of these. It's terrible enough that so many parents are trying to force their kids into one sport or another in hope of Venus and Sarena Williams 2.0, I can't imagine how many more childhoods would be crushed by docters trying to impose stricker restrictions to a child's hope. If anything I took from this little experiment it is this: obviously nature has much say in where you may end up, but its really the software, the nurture that creates an expert, an elite, and it's only on their own terms, through enjoyment and support that one will find his way to the top of the mountain.
Thanks to all those that helped and to Cathy Utzschneider for the opportunity to speak with her class.
-matt
*Nurture over Nature: A New Twist to the Developement of Expertise, Bush & Salmela (it's actually very interesting if you want to look it up)
As a recap, I was asked to guest speak in a Boston College Business School class on on Competition with the specific topic of my experiences with Nature versus Nurture and how people become experts. Although not nearly as nervous as I would have been a couple of years ago (thank you coaching and teaching), I wasn't all that sure where to begin so I reached out to all the athletes I knew who could be considered "experts" (pro or high-level collegiate) in what they did (thus if I had nothing original to talk about, I could at least regurgitate everyone else's ideas). The responses made inbox checking for that week particularly interesting and as per request, and simply because it's interesting, this is what I got out of it all:
I received email responses from 18 people and spoke in person to 1 (she's got a gold medal and multiple World Championships so she gets special treatment).
12 of these were Track in Field (mostly multi-eventers, the others field eventers)
2 Endurance Athletes (triathlon and marathon)
4 Nordic Skiiers
1 Soccer Player.
Weighing Nature v Nurture
Of these 19 people - actually, I'll include myself in order to pad my own stats - of these 20 people, only 3.5 of these people specifically put the nature versus nurture balance at a higher ratio than 50/50. 1 person (unless i'm using them for a laugh, i'll keep most names out of the discussion), one of the endurance athletes, tipped the scales towards nurture, with 2.5 believing nature to be of stronger influence. 0.5 a person? I guess I should explain. Jason Hinkin, a buddy of mine and someone to helped intoduce me to the pole vault (among other things I can't mention here) comes from parents of zero athletic background and yet of his siblings, Jason has one brother international rugby star, one brother that just missed the US National Rugby Team, a sister that competes in Dressage (horse riding stuff that I tried to understand watching the Olympics...), and another sister that won an NCAA Soccer Championship at North Carolina. As Jason put it: "I think Mark Spitz was our mailman, it's the only way to explain it." Jason believes this is proof of some sort of strong nature...but could it also be proof of just incredible nurture? Thus, he only counts as half - plus he also mentioned seeing the nurture side be as evident as the nature in so many others. The most intriguing factor among these 3 is that these were the only 3 amongst the 20 that didn't write glowing happy accounts of their youth in sports. Jason was a soccer player growing up but just kind of did it to have something to do and he only picked up pole vault in high school because he heard it was a good way to meet chicks. Of the other 2 "nature-leaners," neither remembered being at all encouraged toward sport and neither really enjoyed sport all that much growing up. It took until much later in life to really find a passion for competition (both are now professional Heptathletes).
The Early Years
On the contrary - and this is my favorite part - every single one of the others surveryed used some sort of positive exclaimation (either with punctuation or rhetoric) to explain their early stages of exposure in sport. There were no pushy dad or crazy soccer moms of mention, and in fact only one athlete, the soccer player (not shockingly), mentioned the competitive side of their sport early on. In fact, some learned their sports early - like the skiiers who learned to ski about the same time they learned to walk, some learned their sports late - like the triathlete who didn't pick it up until college, but absolutely every single one of the 20 participated in sports other than the one they are now professional in.
Personally, I think the over-specializating, hyper-competitive mentality so many young parents have now is an absolutely terrible trend. Everyone is trying to create the next Tiger Woods by making their kid play golf at 4 years old or enrolling their kids in tennis academys instead of grade school. There were 3 girls I talked to that participated in heavy gymnastics early on, you know, the 4 - 6 hours a day from the time you're 3 type stuff. Did you notice my list of sports in the introduction? Not one of these is still involved in gymnastics. All 3 of them are now heptathletes (one of them an olympian) because they got so burned out of gymnastics that around high school they got out of the gym and picked up any and all other sports they could get their hands on. One of them was 5' - 4" when she left gymnastics in high school. She's now 5' - 11".
Specifically, half of the surveyed used the words "fun" or "enjoyed" when speaking about early sports. Many did use the word competitive, but it was always the enjoyement that was emphasized. Trey Hardee, olympic decathlete and NCAA record holder, specifically mentioned how non-competitive his youth leagues were. Zoila Gomez, alternate for Olympic Marathon, who comes up to about my waist in height, remembers her absolute love for basketball growing up. In fact, other than the skiiers and the soccer player, most didn't even start competing in their sport until 8th grade or later - something I think to be very refreshing. Hell, Mike Hazle, Olympic Javelin thrower, didn't pick up his first jav until college - where he was on a football and baseball scholarship. Zoila, 11-time Div. II All-American and 6-time NCAA Champion didn't start running until she was 17. The academic literature loves to talk the thousands of hours of "deliberate practice" it takes to become an expert at something. Yes it takes time, it takes practice, but pushing a kid into a sport at 4 years old produces nothing without true enjoyment - just ask those gymnasts. This actually brings me to the next thing I noticed:
The Role of Parents and Coaches
For the class I was asked to speak in front of, an article was assigned* which outlined Benjamin Bloom's stages of talent development and the roles of teachers and parents in these stages. In the early years a child is introduced to a field; the parents are usually responsible for introducing this field due to their own involvement or excitement (ie, whether dad played baseball or watches it nightly, the ol' game of catch eventually comes out). Early it's the role of the teachers/coaches to emphasize the process of learning. Later in the middle years, the kid gets hooked. Here, the teachers/coaches move on to teach actual skills and technic while emphasizing discipline and work ethic. The role of the parents is of support (often emotionally and/or financially). The final stage is that of perfection in which the athlete/musician/scientist becomes devoted to their field and can eventually become an expert. It is only those that have reached this third stage that I sought out for my survey and in their responses I found Bloom to be spot on. As I mentioned before, 2 of the total didn't feel that they were particularly encouraged early on by their parents or otherwise, but absolutely everyone else made it a significant point to talk about their support system growing it. Whether or not their parents college basketball players, street racers, band members, or completely non-athletic, everyone had either parents, coaches, or both that were instrumental in their lives early on. Katie Whitcomb, 2010 Olympic Noridic Skiing hopeful, who "started skiing as soon as I was too heavy for my parents' backpack" said it was "super important" to note that it was her folks that made it all possible. Chris Helwick, decathlete, said his parents were the support and encouragement but his early coaches introduced him to his sport and put in huge time to help teach him it. In fact, almost half the athletes specifically used the words "support" when speaking of their parents, or as Julie Picker, heptathlete, expanded by saying her parents were "extremely supportive" and were responsible for introducing her to many great sports. It was then the coaches that taught her the sports themselves. Mike Hazle were "extremely instrumental" in his early success because they provided the means for excelence but were never pushy whereas his coaches taught the work ethic and character. Sarah Groff, triathlete, reflected many in that her parents were super no-pressure and that it was her enjoyment over her victories they stressed. Her parents were her emotional support as well as her taxi drivers. Those few that didn't have particularly active parents found some coach along the way to step in. My mom, discus, javelin, hurdler at ucla grew up in a time when women were far from encouraged to become athletes but it was the huge heart, knowledge, and time commitment of her high school coach and lifetime mentor that was her support system. For Zoila it was a PE teacher that discovered and encouraged her running ability, and for Stacy Dragila, many time world champion pole vaulter, it's still her dad to this day that is her emotional support after each meet. To tell you the truth, deep down I always wondered if I was the only one who had amazing parents and coaches growing up. In reading these responses I am of course psyched to see how many others shared experiences like mine developing in sport, but part of me also wonders, with the decline of two parent families (many spoke of one parent being the introducing of the sport, the other the taxi driver, etc), with the striping of physical education departments and after-school sports, what is going to happen to those that will never see the support systems we were blessed with?
Genetics (Nature)
It was interesting to see how few people actually talked about their gentic gifts. Many did have athlete parents, but also, many did not. Trey Hardee, at 6'-4" is the tallest in his family by about 5 inches, and Brian Gregg, skiier, talked about being naturally talented in just about everything he tried, but that was about all I really heard. Everybody was so excited to talk about their parents and coaches. Yes, Trey is tall, but you can't long jump 25 feet off of height alone (kid's got speed for days), and if you've seen Mike Hazle on youTube or the new [Impact!] video, you can see that Mike's got a cannon for an arm and some incredible strength. These guys actually summed it up pretty well themselves: According to Trey, the nature determines your potential, the cap on how good you can possibly be, but it's the nurture that determines how close that you become, whereas Mike related it to hardware and software. Nature deals you the hardware, but without the software, the nurture, the hardware will get you nowhere.
We opened the class at BC with a discussion one of the students brought up. She had heard that they are starting to be able to read your genetic code with the ability to tell you what you will be good at and she wanted to know what I thought about this. To me I'm curious as to how they think they can determine what makes you good at something as yes, becoming an expert may take "10,000 hours" of deliberate practice, but who determines what tools you use to get there? What if you told Bryan Clay, world's greatest athlete via his decathlon gold medal, that he was too short to be a decathlete (he's 5'-10" in a sport dominated by 6'4" monsters)? What if Labron James was given a discus rather than a basketball when growing up? Some elite athletes are freakishly fast, some freakishly large, some strong, most are their own special brew of each of these. It's terrible enough that so many parents are trying to force their kids into one sport or another in hope of Venus and Sarena Williams 2.0, I can't imagine how many more childhoods would be crushed by docters trying to impose stricker restrictions to a child's hope. If anything I took from this little experiment it is this: obviously nature has much say in where you may end up, but its really the software, the nurture that creates an expert, an elite, and it's only on their own terms, through enjoyment and support that one will find his way to the top of the mountain.
Thanks to all those that helped and to Cathy Utzschneider for the opportunity to speak with her class.
-matt
*Nurture over Nature: A New Twist to the Developement of Expertise, Bush & Salmela (it's actually very interesting if you want to look it up)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Nature or Nurture...
One of my personal training clients (supporting a decathlon habit isn't cheap) teaches at the Boston University business school and has asked me this week to come in and talk to her class. Specifically they are studying the roles of Nature versus Nurture in producing experts of a field (sports, music, science, etc). If you've been around the blogs of my fellow ITA athletes you'll notice that I've reached out to them (as well as many of my other athlete friends in various sports) for their thoughts on the subject with a series of questions. It has been incredibly interesting being able to read everyones responses but in turn, I guess I should turn the questions on myself as well.
1. (Nature) What is the athletic background of your parents and family?
My parents were both athletic, and good at what they did. My dad grew up with baseball and tried to play football in high school (but loves to tell the story of his first season ending on the opening kickoff of his first game when he broke a toe). At something like 140 ilbs (I think I weight that much when I was 6), the baseball/football route wasn't exactly in the cards. He was much better suited for cross country and middle distance running on the track. A very good 800m/mile runner he excelled at Pasadena City College before moving on to run at UCLA. To put a date on it, he raced Prefontaine and has stories about running cross country courses barefoot. After graduating he went on to coach at the high school level (Arcadia High School where he helped found the Arcadia Invitational) eventually moving up to the collegiate ranks as the head coach at UCLA (winning 2 national championships) and ending up at Stanford. He now teaches middle school physical education and coaches high school track at Del Mar High School in San Jose. My mom was on the opposite side: being her current height of 5-10 since the 6th grade, she was an obvious basketball and volleyball player, but excelled at track (despite VERY limited opportunities for girls to compete in the sport). She eventually earned her way on to the team at UCLA in one of the first years they fielded a women's program where she hurdled as well as through discus and javelin. A few years later she took a coaching position at UCLA where she met my dad (her labor with me began at practice on the track at UCLA). When we moved to northern California to follow my dad at Stanford, she bowed out of collegiate coaching to teach and coach high school track and cross country at Saint Francis High School in Mt. View where she remains today. Needless to say, theres a little bit of Nature there.
2. When did you begin participating in your sport?
I began running track in middle school, I think 6th grade. There I picked up the hurdles and the high jump. I did my first decathlon after my junior year of high school.
3. What was your early experience like with sports?
I can't remember a time when I wasn't playing something. I grew up with a pool in my backyard (don't ask how dad taught me to swim) and I began soccer after I was 7 or so (which was my first love) and then played little league. At recess I was one of those kids always moving. From flat out races (despite what Josh Kruzer says, I was the fastest kid at Castlemont Elementary School) to four-square, to butts-up, to good ol' run away from the girls, to tetherball, I always had to be doing something. Once I hit middle school I participated in every sport the school offered (expect cross country - which isn't really a sport, so that doesn't count...): basketball (except for the first year when I got cut (maybe still bitter about that), wrestling, soccer, track, and even volleyball for 2 weeks (we needed 6 for a team but could only round up 5). On top of which I was heavily active in select soccer and little league. Before school we played basketball, lunch was soccer or basketball, PE was in between, after school I went from school practice for the sport of the season directly to either soccer or baseball. Whenever I had free time we played roller hockey or my brother and I made something up in the yard (or pool).
4. How instrumental were parents and coaches in the early part of your development as an athlete?
My parents were amazingly through this. Always super encouraging and supportive. They found a way to pay for the "Select" soccer team (and all its travel) that I had to be on and were my personal taxi drivers from practice to practice (sometimes 3 sports at once). Never pushy, they were the first onces to hold me out of a practice or game if my homework wasn't getting done (I hated this). In between they were our constant playmates between bike riding, basketball, home-run derby with mom or "burn-out" catch with dad. When we didn't have school we'd go to work with dad and play around the Stanford stadiums and locker rooms all day. Sports were kind of what we did.
The thing I lvoe is that our parents never pushed us into track. They wanted us to be happy any way we wanted to be happy. My parents loved track and passed on that enthusiasm (the Olympics were always big times at our house) so my brother and I eventually found our way to track but it was all completely on our own terms. Hell, it used to frustrate me to no end in college when my mom would try to suggest that I take some time off of track when my studies got hectic. They were, however, always there for us however we needed it. Pitching to us in the driveway, mom teaching us javelin at the park or taking us to school to learn how to lift properly, dad helping us build our quarter-pipe in the front yard or teaching me high jump fundamentals. Our best coaches, fans, shuttle drivers were there every night at the dinner table.
On top of which, and i've mentioned this before, I was incredibly blessed with phenomenal coaching early on. From Tommy Anderson my soccer coach for many years to a host of Little League coaches, to amazing fottball, basketball, and track coaches in high school. The level of quality and enthusiasm was awesome.
5. How were you introduced to your sport and how many other sports did you seriously participate in?
I've mentioned a bit all the sports I played above. Soccer and baseball were the big ones early. Track and Football were my focuses in high school. I debated played college football but believe it or not I was a lineman and didn't see myself having any ability to put on the weight I would need to have been real good (you could see my ribs poking out of my skinny chest until my junior year of high school).
In track I was a decent hurdler and high jumper (14.80 hurdles, 6-4 high jump) who played around with other events (shot and discus) and eventually learned to pole vault at the end of my junior year (thanks to awesome coaches - see last blog post). As I often put it, I was exceptionally good at getting 2nd place. One sectional championships meet I got second in the hurdles (with the same time as the winner chosen by photo finish) and second in the pole vault (jumping the same height as the champion but losing based off of missed attempts) within 10 minutes of each other. I figured that I wasn't fast enough to become a great hurdler nor springy enough to specialize in a jump, but a lot of 2nd places added up makes a pretty good decathlon score and thus began my decathlon odyssey. Mom taught me to lift and throw, dad taught me to run and jump.
I guess I should mention that I saw Jackie Joyner-Kersee compete in a heptathlon for the first time when I was 2 days old. My mom was coaching her at the time and broke me out of the hospital to get to the meet. How's that for early introducing to the sport?
6. Is your success a product of Nature or Nurture?
Its both, but more significantly it was nurture. My dad is 6 foot tall and my mom's about an inch shorter, thus, I am tall. My dad gave me a bit of endurance, my mom gave me huge shoulders. My dad also had a perfect math SAT, my mom's entire side of the family has chicken legs, and both sides of my family have histories of drinking issues. This could add up to anything or nothing. Growing up I was super shy kid whose parents taught at his school, couldn't stay out late on school nights and always got As (yeah, I was that kid). How does this make a decathlete? More than shoulders or skinny legs, my mom taught me how to work my butt off. How to do things properly and a passion for learning. My dad gave me the fire to compete and the determination to get things done. Together they put no limit on my exposure and answered all my curiosities. I am not a decathlete because rather than a Nintendo my parents gave me a rope swing. I am a decathlete because my parents used to help each other break down film at the dinner table, because I grew up listening to my dad's recruiting calls while I was doing my homework. I am a decathlete because my coaches were great people I never wanted to let down who gave me every tool I asked for. I turned down much better scholarship offers to go to a division II college that had the decathlon program I was looking for. I have a degree in engineering and yet at 26 years old, because they refuse to let me give up on what I love, my parents are still paying my school bills and car payments. Relatively to my peers, I am not fast, I am not strong. Nature gave me a large frame and a very stubborn will, but it was nurture that allowed me to fill it all in.
7. Are you an expert in your field? (by your own definition)
They say it takes 10,000 hours to truly become and expert (around 2 hrs/day for ten years). I am just past the ten year mark and although I am very much closer than I was just couple of years ago, I now very much understand why a decathlete takes so long to mature in the event. There's a lot of ground to cover and it seems like the more I learn, the more I understand, the more I realize how much I don't actually know. By my own definition I've got a ways to go before becoming an expert in the decathlon.
1. (Nature) What is the athletic background of your parents and family?
My parents were both athletic, and good at what they did. My dad grew up with baseball and tried to play football in high school (but loves to tell the story of his first season ending on the opening kickoff of his first game when he broke a toe). At something like 140 ilbs (I think I weight that much when I was 6), the baseball/football route wasn't exactly in the cards. He was much better suited for cross country and middle distance running on the track. A very good 800m/mile runner he excelled at Pasadena City College before moving on to run at UCLA. To put a date on it, he raced Prefontaine and has stories about running cross country courses barefoot. After graduating he went on to coach at the high school level (Arcadia High School where he helped found the Arcadia Invitational) eventually moving up to the collegiate ranks as the head coach at UCLA (winning 2 national championships) and ending up at Stanford. He now teaches middle school physical education and coaches high school track at Del Mar High School in San Jose. My mom was on the opposite side: being her current height of 5-10 since the 6th grade, she was an obvious basketball and volleyball player, but excelled at track (despite VERY limited opportunities for girls to compete in the sport). She eventually earned her way on to the team at UCLA in one of the first years they fielded a women's program where she hurdled as well as through discus and javelin. A few years later she took a coaching position at UCLA where she met my dad (her labor with me began at practice on the track at UCLA). When we moved to northern California to follow my dad at Stanford, she bowed out of collegiate coaching to teach and coach high school track and cross country at Saint Francis High School in Mt. View where she remains today. Needless to say, theres a little bit of Nature there.
2. When did you begin participating in your sport?
I began running track in middle school, I think 6th grade. There I picked up the hurdles and the high jump. I did my first decathlon after my junior year of high school.
3. What was your early experience like with sports?
I can't remember a time when I wasn't playing something. I grew up with a pool in my backyard (don't ask how dad taught me to swim) and I began soccer after I was 7 or so (which was my first love) and then played little league. At recess I was one of those kids always moving. From flat out races (despite what Josh Kruzer says, I was the fastest kid at Castlemont Elementary School) to four-square, to butts-up, to good ol' run away from the girls, to tetherball, I always had to be doing something. Once I hit middle school I participated in every sport the school offered (expect cross country - which isn't really a sport, so that doesn't count...): basketball (except for the first year when I got cut (maybe still bitter about that), wrestling, soccer, track, and even volleyball for 2 weeks (we needed 6 for a team but could only round up 5). On top of which I was heavily active in select soccer and little league. Before school we played basketball, lunch was soccer or basketball, PE was in between, after school I went from school practice for the sport of the season directly to either soccer or baseball. Whenever I had free time we played roller hockey or my brother and I made something up in the yard (or pool).
4. How instrumental were parents and coaches in the early part of your development as an athlete?
My parents were amazingly through this. Always super encouraging and supportive. They found a way to pay for the "Select" soccer team (and all its travel) that I had to be on and were my personal taxi drivers from practice to practice (sometimes 3 sports at once). Never pushy, they were the first onces to hold me out of a practice or game if my homework wasn't getting done (I hated this). In between they were our constant playmates between bike riding, basketball, home-run derby with mom or "burn-out" catch with dad. When we didn't have school we'd go to work with dad and play around the Stanford stadiums and locker rooms all day. Sports were kind of what we did.
The thing I lvoe is that our parents never pushed us into track. They wanted us to be happy any way we wanted to be happy. My parents loved track and passed on that enthusiasm (the Olympics were always big times at our house) so my brother and I eventually found our way to track but it was all completely on our own terms. Hell, it used to frustrate me to no end in college when my mom would try to suggest that I take some time off of track when my studies got hectic. They were, however, always there for us however we needed it. Pitching to us in the driveway, mom teaching us javelin at the park or taking us to school to learn how to lift properly, dad helping us build our quarter-pipe in the front yard or teaching me high jump fundamentals. Our best coaches, fans, shuttle drivers were there every night at the dinner table.
On top of which, and i've mentioned this before, I was incredibly blessed with phenomenal coaching early on. From Tommy Anderson my soccer coach for many years to a host of Little League coaches, to amazing fottball, basketball, and track coaches in high school. The level of quality and enthusiasm was awesome.
5. How were you introduced to your sport and how many other sports did you seriously participate in?
I've mentioned a bit all the sports I played above. Soccer and baseball were the big ones early. Track and Football were my focuses in high school. I debated played college football but believe it or not I was a lineman and didn't see myself having any ability to put on the weight I would need to have been real good (you could see my ribs poking out of my skinny chest until my junior year of high school).
In track I was a decent hurdler and high jumper (14.80 hurdles, 6-4 high jump) who played around with other events (shot and discus) and eventually learned to pole vault at the end of my junior year (thanks to awesome coaches - see last blog post). As I often put it, I was exceptionally good at getting 2nd place. One sectional championships meet I got second in the hurdles (with the same time as the winner chosen by photo finish) and second in the pole vault (jumping the same height as the champion but losing based off of missed attempts) within 10 minutes of each other. I figured that I wasn't fast enough to become a great hurdler nor springy enough to specialize in a jump, but a lot of 2nd places added up makes a pretty good decathlon score and thus began my decathlon odyssey. Mom taught me to lift and throw, dad taught me to run and jump.
I guess I should mention that I saw Jackie Joyner-Kersee compete in a heptathlon for the first time when I was 2 days old. My mom was coaching her at the time and broke me out of the hospital to get to the meet. How's that for early introducing to the sport?
6. Is your success a product of Nature or Nurture?
Its both, but more significantly it was nurture. My dad is 6 foot tall and my mom's about an inch shorter, thus, I am tall. My dad gave me a bit of endurance, my mom gave me huge shoulders. My dad also had a perfect math SAT, my mom's entire side of the family has chicken legs, and both sides of my family have histories of drinking issues. This could add up to anything or nothing. Growing up I was super shy kid whose parents taught at his school, couldn't stay out late on school nights and always got As (yeah, I was that kid). How does this make a decathlete? More than shoulders or skinny legs, my mom taught me how to work my butt off. How to do things properly and a passion for learning. My dad gave me the fire to compete and the determination to get things done. Together they put no limit on my exposure and answered all my curiosities. I am not a decathlete because rather than a Nintendo my parents gave me a rope swing. I am a decathlete because my parents used to help each other break down film at the dinner table, because I grew up listening to my dad's recruiting calls while I was doing my homework. I am a decathlete because my coaches were great people I never wanted to let down who gave me every tool I asked for. I turned down much better scholarship offers to go to a division II college that had the decathlon program I was looking for. I have a degree in engineering and yet at 26 years old, because they refuse to let me give up on what I love, my parents are still paying my school bills and car payments. Relatively to my peers, I am not fast, I am not strong. Nature gave me a large frame and a very stubborn will, but it was nurture that allowed me to fill it all in.
7. Are you an expert in your field? (by your own definition)
They say it takes 10,000 hours to truly become and expert (around 2 hrs/day for ten years). I am just past the ten year mark and although I am very much closer than I was just couple of years ago, I now very much understand why a decathlete takes so long to mature in the event. There's a lot of ground to cover and it seems like the more I learn, the more I understand, the more I realize how much I don't actually know. By my own definition I've got a ways to go before becoming an expert in the decathlon.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Season's Greetings.
Im at home right now waiting to go over the the track at Harvard for the Greater Boston Track Club Invite where I plan to open up in a couple of the field events for the first time this year (PV and Shot). More importantly, next week will be my season opening multi-event with a Heptathlon at Harvard.
I can't believe as I count back, this will begin my second decade as a decathlete. Decade. Like 10 years...
Before this season starts, however, before everything gets too carried away, I have a lot of people to thank for the last ten years of my life. Between my first two years being exposed to the multi events in high school, 5 years at UC Davis, and the last 3 years post-collegiately, there is no way I could mention everyone that has influenced me, but I'd like to at least mention some of those that have enabled me to get to where I am today.
First, foremost, and above all I have been blessed with an incredible family. My first coaches, forever my fans and support crew. No matter what sport I picked up it was they that took me from wrestling practice to baseball, then to soccer or whichever the season held in store. It was they that kept me out of practice if my homework wasn't done, it was they who held me up the first time I got cut from a team (...and the last time). My dad taught me to run, to jump, to always find a way to get things done - and to enjoy it in the process. I'm not sure there are many moms out there that could take their sons to the park to learn the javelin, to throw the shot and disc, hell, my mom even taught me olympic lifting. Even moreso, my mom taught me how to stick me head down and work hard, about determination, and how to keep a level head. From wiffle ball homerun derby over the telephone wires, to hockey in the driveway, to that water-polo game in the pool, to Chisam v. Chisam throwing competitions at UCD, always my teammate, always my competitor, always my brother, Chris taught me about pride. I couldn't have asked for more in a family and everyday they seem to become more supportive...but I guess it is at least half their fault I grew up to be a track bum.
Then, of course, there's those other parents of mine: My coaches. In high school there was our head coach, Dave Frank who helped teach me the joy of Track and Field, my hurdle coaches, Dan Quinn who was as much an inspiration in the classroom as out, and Carl Florant who would come to the track after a full day of work to teach us the finer points of hurdling. Then of course when you have the opportunity to learn from Tom Tuite, on the of finest pole vault gurus you will find anywhere, and Jason Hinkin, one of the biggest and yet brightest nuts you will ever meet, I got a hell of an inclusive experience. To round it out, Jeff Myers coached my first love, the high jump. It wasn't until I started taking recruiting trips and competing on a collegiate level did I realize how incredibly gifted my high school coaches were on a technical level, but it was well before this that I realized how amazing my high school coaches were as people. Sure Carl taught me the importance of being relaxed while I run and coach Myers taught me how to arch over a bar, but so much more than the technical lessons it was the lessons in between the intervals, in between the jumps, and outside of practice from each of these great coaches, great teachers, that I truly learned to become the athlete and person I am today. And those were just my track coaches. Mr. Kemp, Coach Filios, Mr. Smith, Coach Adams, Coach Ivers and so many more. I bring a small part of everyone of these people with me every day I get out of bed. Thank you.
Then at Davis and continuing after, I've met the second half of my family in those that were there with me on the track, in the hills and the weightroom day after day. From training partners like Ben Forbes and Caroline Sheldon, mentors like Tony and Grady, teammates like Josh, Kajari, Lil Matt, John-boy, Ryan, and Azzy. Furthermore the likes of Kyle Auclair and Ian (Glory-boy) Kenworthy, my jump and hurdle partners at Saint Francis High School as well as at UC Davis, and teammate turned roommate turned coach Byron Talley, helped blur the lines even greater between track and life.
I can't believe as I count back, this will begin my second decade as a decathlete. Decade. Like 10 years...
Before this season starts, however, before everything gets too carried away, I have a lot of people to thank for the last ten years of my life. Between my first two years being exposed to the multi events in high school, 5 years at UC Davis, and the last 3 years post-collegiately, there is no way I could mention everyone that has influenced me, but I'd like to at least mention some of those that have enabled me to get to where I am today.
First, foremost, and above all I have been blessed with an incredible family. My first coaches, forever my fans and support crew. No matter what sport I picked up it was they that took me from wrestling practice to baseball, then to soccer or whichever the season held in store. It was they that kept me out of practice if my homework wasn't done, it was they who held me up the first time I got cut from a team (...and the last time). My dad taught me to run, to jump, to always find a way to get things done - and to enjoy it in the process. I'm not sure there are many moms out there that could take their sons to the park to learn the javelin, to throw the shot and disc, hell, my mom even taught me olympic lifting. Even moreso, my mom taught me how to stick me head down and work hard, about determination, and how to keep a level head. From wiffle ball homerun derby over the telephone wires, to hockey in the driveway, to that water-polo game in the pool, to Chisam v. Chisam throwing competitions at UCD, always my teammate, always my competitor, always my brother, Chris taught me about pride. I couldn't have asked for more in a family and everyday they seem to become more supportive...but I guess it is at least half their fault I grew up to be a track bum.
Then, of course, there's those other parents of mine: My coaches. In high school there was our head coach, Dave Frank who helped teach me the joy of Track and Field, my hurdle coaches, Dan Quinn who was as much an inspiration in the classroom as out, and Carl Florant who would come to the track after a full day of work to teach us the finer points of hurdling. Then of course when you have the opportunity to learn from Tom Tuite, on the of finest pole vault gurus you will find anywhere, and Jason Hinkin, one of the biggest and yet brightest nuts you will ever meet, I got a hell of an inclusive experience. To round it out, Jeff Myers coached my first love, the high jump. It wasn't until I started taking recruiting trips and competing on a collegiate level did I realize how incredibly gifted my high school coaches were on a technical level, but it was well before this that I realized how amazing my high school coaches were as people. Sure Carl taught me the importance of being relaxed while I run and coach Myers taught me how to arch over a bar, but so much more than the technical lessons it was the lessons in between the intervals, in between the jumps, and outside of practice from each of these great coaches, great teachers, that I truly learned to become the athlete and person I am today. And those were just my track coaches. Mr. Kemp, Coach Filios, Mr. Smith, Coach Adams, Coach Ivers and so many more. I bring a small part of everyone of these people with me every day I get out of bed. Thank you.
Then at Davis and continuing after, I've met the second half of my family in those that were there with me on the track, in the hills and the weightroom day after day. From training partners like Ben Forbes and Caroline Sheldon, mentors like Tony and Grady, teammates like Josh, Kajari, Lil Matt, John-boy, Ryan, and Azzy. Furthermore the likes of Kyle Auclair and Ian (Glory-boy) Kenworthy, my jump and hurdle partners at Saint Francis High School as well as at UC Davis, and teammate turned roommate turned coach Byron Talley, helped blur the lines even greater between track and life.
Of course, post-collegiately, track becomes a very different monster. Even more so the reason you go the bed at night at the reason you wake in the morning takes on greater focus, the line between coach and friend, training partner and family becomes much less distinct as I began to see more of them than my roommates, parents, or brother. Chris Huffins, Ed Miller, and very much Phil McMullen, and training partners Bruce and Mark at UC Berkeley introduced me to this world and it was there that track turned from simply something I was good at to something I needed, something I loved.
Leaving the familiarity and comfort of all that I knew in California was a huge decision for me, but with the support of Will Thomas and his now wife Francoise, I knew that at least I was doing so with great friends and another new part of my family. Since here in Boston the Team Chisam roster has only strengthened in size of incredible people willing to give up significant chunks of their lives to help me pursue my goals. I can't thank my coach, Brenner Abbott, enough. One day I just kind of showed up in Will's backseat and he has been so much more than incredibly giving of his time an energies in putting up with my high maintenance attempts at figuring out this whole Decathlon thing. Hell, his couch was my home the first two weeks here and even still I probably take a lot more room on that couch (and the dinner table) than he and Kyra bargained for.
Even further, the coaches here at Harvard have done nothing but give of their time and their minds to me and I am eternally grateful. Coach P (Dan Perlmutter), the weight room mastermind continues to push me (and put up with me) with incredible workouts (see: "The Beast"), Jason Saretsky, has been incredibly accepting of my crazy hours and competition schedule, and Karen Tolzcyk's words as well as her hands strengthen me each month. Coach Gee (also one of my bosses who even more directly has to put up with the burden of my training schedule) is the finest long jump coach I have even seen and someday may even crack the age-old code of my long jump disfunctions, and Coach Erickson who has opened up to me her throws practices and has even passed along some of her super-secret javelin workouts.
Of course, there is no way I can give thanks without mentioning Amory Rowe, David Salem, and In The Arena. Without them there is no way I could have made it this far.
It was through my time with these people - be it long out and back runs with Ben, early morning lifts with Caroline, taking a ride on the Pain Train with Josh, laughing with Bruce and Huff as Will dry heaves at the bottom at Campanile Hill, buses, vans, planes, Chico Multis where I learned to be a decathlete, Dallas multis where I learned to be a professional, and Eugene with both my blood family and track family both in the stands and in the blocks next to me that I learned who I am as an athlete, who I am as a person.
It was through my time with these people - be it long out and back runs with Ben, early morning lifts with Caroline, taking a ride on the Pain Train with Josh, laughing with Bruce and Huff as Will dry heaves at the bottom at Campanile Hill, buses, vans, planes, Chico Multis where I learned to be a decathlete, Dallas multis where I learned to be a professional, and Eugene with both my blood family and track family both in the stands and in the blocks next to me that I learned who I am as an athlete, who I am as a person.
Notice a theme here? As a decathlete you have a chance to learn many things - yes this includes silly things like how to throw a javelin or huck yourself over a bar using a fiberglass pole, but more importantly, in pursuing these ten events you learn a hell of a lot about yourself thanks only to the people around you.
In the decathlon only one athlete competes throughout the ten events, but there's 1,000 people that helped him get there.
I'm sorry for the long post, but it was important to me before this season starts to give thanks to all of you (and the many many more I didn't mention) before yet another season starts.
Thank you all,
matt
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Can't Run Here...
I was pretty lame growing up so never got kicked out of anywhere for skateboarding or anything cool like that, but I never imagined I'd ever get kicked off a track and threatened with trespassing for doing some flying 40's.
I had to be in Phoenix all last week for a conference and was stoked when my google maps fly-over found a dirt track nearby to workout on. Unfortunately Capt. Golf Cart discovered my unlawful intervalling half-way through my workout and made sure to escort me off the premises despite my pleas (I only had 10 minutes to go before my last interval). I was able to get my final run on the local jogging path (much to the confusion of some power-walkers), but it was definitely the first time I've been kicked off a track for running.
On the update front, this will probably be my last post of 2008 but that means 2009 and the track season is just around the corner. The Jets have their first meets coming up in January and I competed in my first meet last week. Also, in Pole-A-Thon news things have gotten off the ground surprisingly well. Huge, HUGE, thanks go out to my good buddy Ian Kenworthy, a hurdle teammate both at Saint Francis High School (he broke the school record I couldn't get) and UC Davis, and Team Awesome (Tyler Smith, Joe Huffsmith, and Dave Preston) for donating my first two poles - dubbed Glory Pole and Peppermint Taco respectively. Guys, I can't thank you enough.
For now, I get a couple of days in California to rest up and enjoy the family before getting back to Boston and buckling down for the season. Until then, have great holidays everybody.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Pole-A-Thon...I need your help.
As some of you close to me know, the week before the Olympic Trials was actually extremely stressful. The week before I had come to find out that the shipping company I 
Seriously, Short of a laser-pistol fight amongst guerillas I have no way to explain how 8 poles could be not only smashed, but burnt as well. They weren't even flown, they were ground shipped. Anyways, I lucked out and was able to borrow poles during the Trials (thank you Ryan Harlan) but with the size of poles that I need (big) being so rare, they only way I'm going to be able to find poles for this year is to buy them and unfortunately at over $500 and $600 a piece for most of them, they're far from cheap. I lost a few grand of poles (as well as a couple that were lent to me by Northeastern and Harvard University so that fellow competitors in Dallas could borrow poles to jump on) so I'm going to need a lot of support.
The great guys at M-F Athletic have pledged to give me 20% off each of my poles (which is HUGE!!! Thanks Guys!) so we've got a good start but if you or anyone you know is willing to support your favorite decathlete (me...), then please take a moment to visit my site at mchisam.com. Every little bit helps so even if you can't help out monetarily, please take a moment to show your support with a comment. Plus, if you're able to help out by donating a whole pole (Thanks You!!!) then not only will you get to name the pole, but you'll also be kept up to date with how your pole's season is coming along all year. We started to get some great places last year, help me get even higher (literally) this year.
Thanks all,
Matt
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Superstitions
Whereas I've ever really been the superstitious type it's definitely something you will always find around you in sport and the topic was recently sparked by one of my athletes asking about any superstitions I adhere to. I actually remember in Little League I was jealous that the pro guys were superstitious so I thought that i should be too and thus took a Winchester Mystery House coin and put it in my shoe during a game "for good luck." Most painful game ever.
Being a huge over-thinker, rather than having superstitions I just get incredibly OCD about my preparations. I have to have the right breakfast, I have to do the right thorough warm-up (and spend way too much time doing it), my shoes always have to be tight enough, but never too tight and if one must be re-tied I can never not re-tie the other because it will then feel too loose in comparison to the newly tied shoe. I always have to put on a fresh jersey before my first event so I can never warm-up with it on. When vaulting (a whole 'nother story when it comes to superstitions and OCD behavior) I have to ensure that my entire hands are completely covered in chalk right before I step on the runway. If there is then an interruption in my pre-approach routine or if I have to wait too long to jump, I almost always have to re-chalk my hands.
But I guess there are a few things that might qualify:
1. If possible I always pack a box of honey wheat Wheatables crackers for every decathlon. This goes back to college when a teammate and I always brought these to meets. I don't even eat them half the time, but I always like to have them - it reminds me of the good ol' days with my UC Davis team and our multi-event trips. My coach usually ate more of them then we did (and then tried to get us to go to Carl's Jr every day because his wife (our other coach) wouldn't let him eat it at home).
2. I always down a Boost shake after the final days event in a decathlon - this if for recovery tho, so chalk it up to OCD.
3. If possible, I always shower right before the 1500 meters. This I got from Phil McMullen (friend, training partner, hero to all man) and I have PR'd in the 1500m every time I've been able to find a shower since.
4. In one of my first college decathlons, American Record Holder Dan O'Brien was competing with us and he was the first one to approach me after the 1500m - which is a big deal to a decathlete. I had my hands on my knees and was debating falling over when he came up to me and said: "Stand up. Americans never lay down after the 1500." I can hear him say that the moment I cross the line every time I finish a 15 and thus I don't lay down.
Being a huge over-thinker, rather than having superstitions I just get incredibly OCD about my preparations. I have to have the right breakfast, I have to do the right thorough warm-up (and spend way too much time doing it), my shoes always have to be tight enough, but never too tight and if one must be re-tied I can never not re-tie the other because it will then feel too loose in comparison to the newly tied shoe. I always have to put on a fresh jersey before my first event so I can never warm-up with it on. When vaulting (a whole 'nother story when it comes to superstitions and OCD behavior) I have to ensure that my entire hands are completely covered in chalk right before I step on the runway. If there is then an interruption in my pre-approach routine or if I have to wait too long to jump, I almost always have to re-chalk my hands.
But I guess there are a few things that might qualify:
1. If possible I always pack a box of honey wheat Wheatables crackers for every decathlon. This goes back to college when a teammate and I always brought these to meets. I don't even eat them half the time, but I always like to have them - it reminds me of the good ol' days with my UC Davis team and our multi-event trips. My coach usually ate more of them then we did (and then tried to get us to go to Carl's Jr every day because his wife (our other coach) wouldn't let him eat it at home).
2. I always down a Boost shake after the final days event in a decathlon - this if for recovery tho, so chalk it up to OCD.
3. If possible, I always shower right before the 1500 meters. This I got from Phil McMullen (friend, training partner, hero to all man) and I have PR'd in the 1500m every time I've been able to find a shower since.
4. In one of my first college decathlons, American Record Holder Dan O'Brien was competing with us and he was the first one to approach me after the 1500m - which is a big deal to a decathlete. I had my hands on my knees and was debating falling over when he came up to me and said: "Stand up. Americans never lay down after the 1500." I can hear him say that the moment I cross the line every time I finish a 15 and thus I don't lay down.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
