I'm Going 2 Grad School!

I just got word that I’ve been accepted into the sports administration graduate program at Northwestern University! I’m really excited to start this new chapter in my life and look forward to the experience of a new city, new friends and hitting the books again. I’m moving to Chicago in just a few short weeks. Classes start on March 26th. It’s tough trying to find a place to stay for only two months, especially because I’m not familiar with the city. If anyone has any advise… please send it along!

The first response I get from people is…that’s great but what about Skeleton?! Don’t think that for one second I’m going to give all that up at the drop of a book! Haha Northwestern has the perfect schedule for me. They work on a quarter system that will allow me to take classes in the summer and take the winter completely off so I can focus on Skeleton. It doesn’t get much better than that! After the 2010 Olympics, I’ll attend school full time and should be able to complete my Master’s in less than a year.

I have always seen Skeleton as an amazing opportunity to work hard and dedicate myself to being the best I can be but I’ve definitely sacrificed a lot to be a full time athlete. After nearly 4 years of sliding, I can tell you pretty much anything you want to know about G force, ice conditions, runner cuts, sled maintenance, track technicalities, focus, race prep, yada yada yada…after a while your brain gets tunnel vision and I feel like I live inside of the “skeleton bubble”. Not only do I think Grad School will open my eyes to the “real world” more but I’m excited to bring back to skeleton a positive and refreshing outlook on life. I think change is great!

Something To Talk About...

Hi! Sorry I haven’t written in a while. Sometimes it feels like “Groundhog’s Day” up here in New York… eat, sleep, slide, workout, wake up and do it all again the next day. Although, I must say, we’ve done a great job keeping our monotonous days interesting with fun bets at the track, testing equipment and training hard. I recently gave my sled an extreme makeover, which was pretty fun.

Finally, today I really have something exciting to share… I had my first TV interview! PBS is putting together a 2hr documentary on the Adirondack Region. They’re including the Olympic Spirit of Lake Placid and wanted to have some National Team athletes share their story and perspective on the area. I was chosen to represent Skeleton, which was a really great experience. They interviewed me for about 45min and then filmed me sliding. Seeing as it was my first on camera interview, I hope I don’t look as nervous as I felt! Haha I was happy with my responses but in hindsight, there are so many more things I wish I had mentioned. Oh well, I guess that comes with experience. I had a lot of fun! Just imagine… it’s my first time on TV and I’m sporting a speed suit! Yikes! That takes guts! haha The production crew plans on shooting footage throughout the year to capture all four seasons so the show won’t air until sometime in 2008. I can’t wait to see it!

PS: I forgot to update everyone on the results of the bet I talked about in my last blurb... My team lost only by way of the "crash clause" Because the two bobsledders had never been down the track on a skeleton sled, we added a crash statement... if someone crashes and completely looses their sled, that team automatically wins. My team was winning by an enormous stretch of four seconds and the other team crashed! Booo Hooo. Don't worry, it was all fun and games because no one got hurt! haha