Scenes from the WOP

This virgin cross country ski spectator was floored by her first glimpse at a sparkling nordic ski venue. Whistler Olympic Park --or the WOP as it's rather unfortunately called in Games shorthand --is as stunning a spot as one could find. I'm sure cross country skiers the world over cut their teeth in less attractive spots, but nothing says "you've arrived in the big time" quite like a perfectly-groomed, remotely-placed, flag-limned course presided over by snow-capped mountains and throngs of crazed fans alike.

Here are some shots from the past few days of action at the WOP.

An Aussie fan getting prepped for a big day of classic sprint action.

Fans lining the slope above the stadium where the athletes start and finish.

My fan favorites: husband David Salem and daughter Thea Salem in her Olympic debut (and her pig hat).

A partisan crowd member --and ITA insider --Lizzie Torkelson.

Middlebury graduate and US Olympian Simi Hamilton getting a few last minute words of advice from his coach before he starts the men's 15k.

And he's off!

US Olympic cross country skiers getting after it on the course of the men's 15k.

The carnage at the finish line. In all my days of sports fandom I've never seen so many people collapse at the finish line. Phew: this sport must be really hard!

The fan base for US skier Holly Brooks.

A couple of fans taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather in Whistler this month.

A Russian fan flying the flag.

A Norwegian fan complete with flag, viking helmet, leg of cured meat...and cell phone!

The Salem family with a superlatively friendly bunch of Finns.

Still smiling after a long day spectating.

Let the Games Begin

Here are some images from the Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver, a majestic city indeed. Can you tell which country is which based on the flag alone? Some are easier than others; but many are quite challenging.

Word on the street was that the athletes behaved in a manner that befit their attire. So, for instance, the Austrians in their smart three-button blazers were apparently quite proper; while the Swedes in their denim with the yellow Swedish cross emblazoned across the rear pockets were far more casual in their demeanor.

Makes one pause, doesn't it, before donning one's daily sartorial selections?

A phrase that’s been much bandied about here in Massachusetts of late is: “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” This pithy adage has been deployed in reaction to —or as cover-up of —the recent special election held to fill Ted Kennedy’s US Senate seat. As you all surely know, it was a heavily-watched and hotly-contested election with both state and national implications. But why do I invoke Massachusetts politics here? Because —to continue with the kinship analogy —a close cousin to the aforementioned phrase is: “Good news travels fast.” And here at ITA we have more good news to share (on top of the news about Scott Blackmun’s appointment to the position of USOC CEO, Emily Azevedo’s secured spot on the US Olympic Bobsled Team, and the ITA podium sweep at the Methow Valley SuperTour).



To wit: two more members of the Arena Roster have just been named to the US Olympic Team: Torin Koos (pictured above) and Caitlin Compton (pictured below) will be donning Team USA uniforms in Vancouver next month as members of the US Nordic Ski Team. This is Torin’s third Olympic team berth (wow!) and Caitlin’s first. Congratulations to them both, as well as to all of the other skiers on the roster who laid down their best efforts over the course of the rigorous Olympic selection process. Each one of you can also claim a measure of victory knowing that you helped push your competitors —and colleagues —to their best performances.

Toot! Toot!

Yes, that's the sound of me tooting ITA's horn, which is not something I do all that often, but the circumstances so merited today. Two days ago I was impressed when I learned that not one but two ITA Athletes —Torin Koos and Laura Valaas —won their respective sprint races at the recent SuperTour event in the Methow Valley, virtual hometown competitions for both Koos (pictured below) and Valaas.


But before I could bask in the reflected glow of that news for even one revolution of the earth, a second set of races happened at that same Methow Valley SuperTour. In those races —a 15k classic for the men and a 10k classic for the women —ITA Athletes not only went 1-2 in the men’s race, but they swept the podium in the women’s race. To wit: Torin Koos edged out Brian Gregg by nine-tenths of a second on the men’s side; and Caitlin Compton led an ITA 1-2-3 on the women’s side, with Laura Valaas and Nicole De Yong taking second and third, respectively. Pretty impressive results, yes?

And as it so happened, the logging of the above superlative athletic performances coincided with the publication of a fascinating editorial in yesterday’s New York Times titled “On Basic Human Pleasures: Food, Sex and Giving”. (FYI: there’s really very little sex in the piece; I think that’s just a hook to get you to read the column.)

It was penned by Nicholas Kristof (one half of the duo expected to speak at Middlebury College's commencement ceremony this spring; the other —and better? —half is his wife Sheryl Wu Dunn, with whom he co-authored the bestseller “Half the Sky”), who uses his 750 word allotment to link “doing good” to “feeling good.” To the extent that happiness drives athletic performance —and I would argue it does —one might be able to make the case that all of the Arena Athletes who do good on a regular basis are putting money in their emotional banks, as well as in the vault of their athletic potential. Just my two cents.

Texas Tech Teachable Moments

Anyone who has spent a modicum of time in a classroom --on the teacher's side of the desk, that is --is familiar with the term "teachable moment." It is precisely as it sounds: a spot in time when the teacher spies a ripe opportunity to reach out to the student and to offer that mentee a pearl of wisdom, a diamond in life's educational rough, a gem of a lesson. Any adult tagged with the responsibility of educating writ large must be in the business of searching for, identifying and leveraging these teachable moments for the betterment of the kids under his or her purview.

And it is precisely the failure of the now jobless Mike Leach to recognize and capitalize upon a series of teachable moments that underscores his unsuitability for his former position as head football coach at Texas Tech University, a position that asked of him not to teach his charges how to win, but rather to teach the young men under his supervision how to be better men.

That Leach lost sight of the mission and got caught up in the marching orders is unfortunate. That he seems to have developed what some might call a "God Complex" and what I would call a "Warden's Complex" is also regrettable. But that the well being --both physical and mental --and most importantly the character of one of the young men he recruited and was hired to educate became collateral damage in Leach's mad scientist approach to his coaching craft and subsequent rush to his own defense...well, that's where the axe falls for me. Cut him loose. He's not fit to be coaching. He's not fit to be mentoring. And he sure ain't fit to be teaching.

If he were, he would have come up with a more creative, less Alcatraz-like solution to the Adam James problem. Have a player who you think needs motivating? Want to teach him --and his teammates --a valuable lesson? Bust out any of John Wooden's books on mentoring and have yourself a read. Call up the Tebow family and talk leadership development. Take notes on some Pat Summit game tape. Or, hey, here's a new one: sit down with your coaching staff and brainstorm the most innovative and uplifting way to spin hay into gold. Because this is the teacher's mandate: to perform alchemy.

But put a concussed kid in a dark shed? Twice? Really? Is that the best you can do, Mike Leach? Was it a bad day? Get up on the wrong side of the bed? Forget your coffee? Because that's the least impressive, most banal solution to a teachable moment I can recall. Leave aside the isolation of a single player in a team sport; forget for a moment the cruel and unusual punishment foisted on James; and temporarily suspend your disbelief at the subsequent character assassination unleashed upon said 20-year old, a 20-year old Leach was supposed to be educating. (All failures in my book.) And focus instead on the missed moment to work with a player and a whole team in a meaningful manner. If one of Leach's players had committed a similar offense on the football field, had failed to capitalize on a wide open opportunity to score a point or three or six by, say, dropping a pass or botching a hold, he'd be benched. Which is precisely what has happened to Mike Leach.

Have a seat, Mike. Preferably off the field and outside the stadium. Take a time out, kindergarten-style. And think about what you should have done differently. Just be glad you're not sitting in a shed.

Italy, Qatar and...Berlin!

Although the work we do here at In the Arena is domestic (ie: our programs run in the 50 United States and address the under-served children therein), our athletes travel more frequently than Lewis and Clark. To wit: this past week saw two Arena Athletes journey overseas for competitions in Italy and Qatar.

Matt Chisam (pictured below at the 2008 US Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR) traveled to Milan to compete in a Multistars event. Although Matt had to bring all of his charm to bear on the airline personnel to get his poles to and from Italy in an affordable manner (barely), the trip was a great success and you can read about it on his blog.


Mike Hazle also ventured quite a ways from home for the thrill of a top-notch athletic competition. He traveled to Doha, Qatar for the second time in as many years to contest an IAAF Grand Prix meet --and one chocked full of talent at that. Mike threw his best season opener ever in the javelin and finished sixth in a field he says was worthy of an Olympic final. He, too, has blogged about his experience in typical Mike fashion: full of candor, humor and interesting nativist tidbits. As you can see from the photo below, Mike is all about getting a feel for the culture of the loci he visits.


And finally, it's with great pleasure that I can announce the appointment of Arena Athlete Zoila Gomez to the US World Championships Team in the marathon. She and a few of her compatriots, including Kara Goucher, will travel to Berlin in the fall to test their mettle against the world's best at that grueling distance. This will be the second time Zoila --the alternate for the 2008 US Olympic Marathon Team --dons the USA uniform. To read an interview with Zoila and her US teammates, click here.


Meanwhile, as the above athletes and their colleagues on the Arena Roster continue to pursue excellence in the civic and athletic arenas, the little one below is working out daily in the hopes of some day being able to join their ranks. While she's not yet running --or even walking --she's really good at leg lifts and arm circles. Onwards and upwards, folks.

Who is in the arena? Where? And to what end?

While I've occasionally used this space to offer a Keith Olbermann-esque "Special Comment" --albeit minus the caustic wit and inevitable toppling of some political giant --I'm becoming increasingly enamored of using it as a locus to update readers on the competitive goings-on of the Arena Athletes. While it's entirely possible to surf around to each and every Arena Athlete blog, that can be a cumbersome task; so I'll endeavor to post a one-stop shopping update every week so that those who prefer can keep tabs on the athletes' performances (in addition to their mentoring work, which is superlatively important and also detailed on their blogs and in ITA's collateral).

But wait! Before I provide an update on the Arena Athletes who have competed since my last post, I have a quick introduction to make. ITA is pleased to welcome a new member to the fold. Nope: not a new athlete. More of a peanut, actually. But she is a budding sports fan as she has already spectated the Boston Marathon (although she didn't much like the helicopter and police escorts accompanying the lead female and male packs) and has shown great interest in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. (Yes, she was up at 1:40am this morning to see Jonathan Papelbon strike out Robinson Cano with a bases-loaded fastball to elevate the Sox to 4-0 against the Evil Empire this season, but I digress.)

Who is she? Thea Rowe Salem (as in TR), born March 27th and weighing in at a whopping 7lbs and 2oz. She's now nearly 9lbs and, we've been told, has gained more weight in three weeks than most babies gain in two months. Folks, we may have a shot-putter on our hands. Wouldn't that be great?


Without further ado: an update on those members of the roster who have been "in the arena" of late.

Gabriel Jennings (at left) ran 14:38 for 5000m at the ASU Invitational on March 28th and, having returned to Eugene with the Oregon Track Club, has turned his sights on the inaugural USA Road Mile Championships to be contested in Minneapolis, MN on May 7th. With a rich prize purse and a stacked field (one usually follows the other), perennial "big race competitor" Jennings is sure to bring his best stuff.

Karl Erickson has put in a serious winter of training and his first competition of the year showed it. At a small meet in Mesa, AZ, Karl threw the discus farther than he ever had in a season opener --and farther than he ever has period: a PR of 62.77m. Not bad for the first meet of the year. We all look forward to seeing what else is in store for Karl in 2009.

Matt Chisam has also had a banner start to his year, highlighted by a 110m hurdles win at the Penn Relays. Matt leaves for Italy later this week for an international multi-sport competition called the Multistars, upon which I'll be sure to report in my next post.

Mike Hazle is currently in Doha, Qatar for a track and field meet. This is where he had a monster throw last year, so hold good thoughts for him as he prepares for his competition later this week. If you want to read an amusing tale of an athlete abroad (and see some great pics of Doha), check out Mike's most recent blog post.

Sara Hall has had a phenomenal start to her '09 season, culimating in a PR in the 1500m this past weekend at her alma mater's Payton Jordan Invitational. Sara ran 4:09.69 for third place. Prior to that she ran for second place in the 5000m (15:34.68) at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational. On a more personal (ie: less competition-oriented) note, Active.com posted a wonderful profile on Sara a few weeks ago; and even more impressive: Sara's husband, Ryan, threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park on April 18th (oh yeah, he finished third in the Boston Marathon a couple of days later, too).

Sarah Groff (at right) has had a sterling --as in silver --start to her season. To wit, she's notched two impressive second-place finishes in both of her big races: one at Ironman California, in which the reigning 70.3 World Champ had to set a run course record in order to best SG; and one at the hotly-contested Olympic distance St. Anthony's Triathlon. These are both non-drafting events and admittedly outside of the comfort zone of our proven ITU star. Given these early successes, just think what the World Cup circuit has in store for Sarah this season!

In a not-too-surprising turn of events, Torin Koos (at left) picked up his umpteenth national title at the US Distance National Championships. He and US Ski Teammate Chris Cook dominated the field, winning the US National Title in the Team Sprint, prompting TK's hometown paper to run the following headline (and accompanying article): Next Goal, the Winter Olympics.

Fellow Native Pacific Northwesterner Laura Valaas finished up her season in style with a dominating set of performances at the Canadian Nationals, earning herself a mention in the same "Next Goal, Winter Olympics" article as Torin. Let's hear it for the Wenatchee World's sports coverage!

Speaking of Torin's victory in the Team Sprint event at US Distance Nationals, Caitlin Compton also had a great race on the women's side. She and CXC teammate Maria Stuber came in second to a US Ski Team duo, rounding out an impressive season for the Minneapolis native.

Zack Simons has traded his skis for a cycle...a bicycle, that is. He's currently tearing up the macadam in and around his native Park City in his quest to cat up to a 1 or a 2 by the end of the year. Given Zack's ability to suffer and his raw athletic talent we think the likes of Armstrong, Leipheimer and Horner should consider themselves forewarned.

Focusing on the shorter distances this spring (in preparation for another marathon in the fall), Zoila Gomez has posted two strong results this past month: a third-place US female at the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in Washington, D.C.; and a fourth-place finish in the 10,000m --in a time of 33:50 --at the prestigious Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University this past weekend.

That is, as they say: all --or most, at least --the news that's fit to print.