Because You Can – Doesn’t Always Mean That You Should

Time to Move On

The Best Time To Be Last - As the Mentor - I often corralled the team... mostly  into the Opening & Closing ceremony

The Best Time To Be Last – As the Mentor – I often corralled the team… mostly into the Opening & Closing ceremony

For the past 9 years I have been, under one title or another, a specialist in Olympic Athlete Preparation for the Canadian Olympic Committee. It’s been a great working relationship but I have a sense that it’s time to move on. It’s been fun – but I’m choosing to be done.

I’ve really enjoyed being a mentor – I have had the privilege of connecting with and helping to prepare Canadian Olympic athletes for the Turin2006, Beijing2008, Vancouver2010, London2012 and the Sochi2014 Olympic Games. The scale of the task has been incredible. Connecting with so many different athletes, learning about all their different sports, and their sport cultures has been so interesting. As is the case with all the best things that we devote our time to – I feel as if I have taken in so much more than I was able to give and I am so grateful.

Each conversation, every visit to a team meeting, training camp or competition convinced me of the common experience that driven people share in their constant pursuit of excellence. We all choose to ride a rollercoaster of emotions as we follow our ambitions, revel in the joy of being part of a group/team with a common, extraordinary goal and seek the (c)rush that envelopes us each time we push into an environment that we know will offer us a fresh heap of all-encompassing performance stress – ah! that stress truly is the spice of life!

It’s important to recognize when the ambition that you’re willing to give no longer matches the task. Continue reading