Monday, July 1, 2013

Recreating an Olympic Training Center


Olympic Training Centers (OTCs) in the USA are great because they provide everything an athlete needs under one roof. Our OTCs all have dorms for the athletes to live in, cafeterias where the athletes can eat, training facilities like weight rooms and gymnasiums, and sports venues such as bobsled tracks, ski jumps, soccer fields, and swimming pools. In addition each OTC is staffed with all the sports professionals that an athlete could ask for like strength and conditioning coaches, dietitians, chiropractors, physical therapist, massage therapists, etc. On top of all that, it is generally free for most athletes to live in the training centers provided that they are ranked high enough in their respective sport. For instance I qualify for free access to any of our training centers due to my position on the US National Bobsled team. So, given all that, why don't I live and train at an OTC? Sounds like the place to be right?

Well, yes and no

There are 3 OTCs in the US; one in Colorado Springs, CO, which is our main OTC and houses most of the summer sport athletes; one in Chula Vista, CA, which houses summer sports which require a playing field (soccer, baseball, softball, track, etc.); and the one that I most often go to in Lake Placid, NY, which houses most of our winter sports. So if you want to live and train at on OTC you have to move to one of those places. In case you don't know me personally yet, my entire family and family-in-law (I'm married) live in Kentucky which isn't on that list. So training at an OTC means being a full days travel from the people I care most about. While I can (and must) tolerate that for parts of the year (up to 8 months), I cannot tolerate that for the entire year, year in, and year out.

Secondly, the flip side of having all your training needs under one roof (and in Lake Placid it literally is all in one building) is that as the weeks and months roll by you can begin to get very claustrophobic and board. Life at an OTC is monotonous. You see the same people and do the same things in the same building every single day and the stress of that can hinder your training and your progress after a while. You have to be in a good place mentally to perform at your best and sometimes that requires a change of pace.

So what's the alternative?

I'm not someone who can tolerate mediocrity. I have to try to maximize everything that I do. Its why I'm an engineer and why I'm an athlete. So for me, going without a training center was out of the question. The solution as I saw it was to build a training center in Louisville, KY. Now before you start thinking I rented bulldozers and a construction crew, I don't mean bricks and mortar. What I do mean, is the only way I could see training at my best at home was to assemble all the things that make a training center great in a way that I could use them in Louisville and maximize my training. That meant I needed to find room, board, a gym, a track, coaches, and doctors all within easy driving distance.

Room and board was an easy one. We already owned a home when I began my career with USA Bobsled and thankfully we've managed to keep it that way (though there were a few times over the past years when I worried we might not). For me coming home to my wife and dog, sleeping in my own bed, and enjoying quality meals day in and day out beats living alone in a dorm room with an extra long twin bed and eating cafeteria food every time. So I feel like I come out ahead on that deal. It took a lot of faith to walk away from that good paying job with UPS and join the US team but I wouldn't have changed a thing.

 
The second thing I needed was a gym where I could train but not just any gym would do. Its true you can lift weights anywhere, but what I needed was a gym where the coaches were knowledgeable enough to coach me through my workouts and make sure I got the most out of all those training hours I put in. I found what I was looking for at Derby City Crossfit. Head coach Ryan Brown and his staff are as good as anybody I've met at strength and conditioning coaching and Derby City Crossfit has the equipment to match that expertise. They made sure I was performing my training in the correct way, using quality equipment, and getting every percent of improvement possible. I can't thank them enough for all the help they've given me.
 
 
 
I also needed a track where I could do my speed training. Finding a track in Louisville proved to be the hardest part in building my own OTC. I got told "no" by virtually every coach and athletic director in the city until I finally got in touch with some the Lacrosse Coaches at Bellarmine University. Coach Gleason and Coach Burns must love America as much as I do because they gave me access to Bellarmine's track (pictured below) just when I needed it most. The facility at Bellarmine is excellent; one of the best tracks in Louisville if not the best. I deeply appreciate the University allowing me to train at their facility (whether they knew it or not). Go Knights!
 
 
 
Lastly I needed a medical staff who could keep me going while I was training beyond the threshold of what's normally safe or healthy. After some searching a friend led me to Chiropractic Worx. Doctors Rich Lorenat and James Harding are amazing. There were times during training when I thought I would be out for days because this or that was sore and then one visit with these guys would clear it right up and put me back on the right track. They're excellent at treating every joint and muscle in the body. I know that because at one point or another they've probably treated just about every joint in my body. I owe much of my success thus far to these guys. Without them I know I wouldn't have made it this far.
 


So there it is. The Louisville, KY OTC; a network of professionals who have helped me get to where I never dreamed I would. I can't thank them enough or recommend them enough to other people to ever repay what they gave me. If you're in the area and looking for one (or all) of these services, please stop in and tell them Adam Clark sent you. They loved to meet you and I can promise they'll be able to help you, just like they helped me.

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