Sport. Identity. Love.

"If you're not enough without a gold medal, you'll never be enough with it."
-Cool Runnings

Question: How can athletes now (in today's world) be enough and have an identity without a "gold medal" and their sport?? 

In Jeffrey's previous post he reflects on the quote and the question above by writing, "The answer I think has to do with things that really matter in life–like loving God with all our heart, soul and mind as well as loving our neighbor as ourselves. And that love means doing things for others and being a part of things that matter. This is a mindset as well as physical action."

For me, I've returned to speedskating for a number of reasons, but mainly because I see a need for elite athletes to use their platforms for good reasons, beyond their present training/competing...to have something outside of their sport they are living for, an identity in something greater. I (Nancy) fully don't know what this looks like yet in my speedskating career, but I have ideas/goals/aspirations and I'm trusting in God to bring about other opportunities that only He can make happen. To start, like Jeffrey said, TeamSwiderPeltz has partnered with a couple of non-profits and excited to see the outcome of those relationships in the future. 

But for now, we are finally starting this blogging again to bring you all (our faithful supporters, friends, kindred spirits) along on this speedskating journey of ours...to include you into the lives of ours because we are not on this journey alone or we cannot do this alone. YOU inspire us, help us, motivate us to keep pressing on towards our goals (Philippians 3:14) and would not be where we are without you. 

To bring those of you, who've not seen my social media from this summer, up to date...the following few blog posts are for you...to everyone else, enjoy some repeats :)

On ice in Calgary

Rocky Mountain Inlining



Ice bathing in the Bow River

TSP back in the game and sayin Hi to the 2015-16 season from Calgary

It looks like it's going to be us three holding down the fort this year. Darren Huang's coming back from serving a mandatory year in the Taiwanese military, Nancy from graduating Wheaton College in December and me from a spring semester at Wheaton as well. 

I like this simple quote from the movie Cool Runnings a lot; "If you're not enough without a gold medal, you'll never be enough with it." In this age of sport, serious athletes around the world are demanded to endlessly train and compete to achieve and achieve and achieve and win races that people, countries, fans, coaches insist is worth the price. We so often give up everything and our future–just look into the world of American college athletics and their "athlete-students." Yet, athletes are constantly bewildered by and unprepared for their transition from their sport to a post-competitive world outside of their athletic bubble. This means that athletes are not just not enough without a gold medal, but not enough even without their sport (yes, the athlete identity crisis). Of course, we see the importance of determination, perseverance, resilience, and so on through the list of common sport-associated qualities that build character. But athletes often wonder why those who encouraged them never suggested to form a clear, tangible vision of how their life in athletics now can benefit those around them as well as how an athlete can still be a part of life outside their sport before the inevitability that age, injury, burnout or failure has ended their career. 

In the end, most athletes have to face the fact that whatever sport they competed in was everything to them–as well as whatever "gold medal" they achieved. Why do we continue to let this happen to athletes and fellow athletes? How can athletes now be enough without their "gold medal" and their sport.

The answer I think has to do with things that really matter in life–like loving God with all our heart, soul and mind as well as loving our neighbor as ourselves. And that love meaning doing things for others and being a part of things that matter. This is a mindset as well as physical action. And with this in mind, TSP is going to be working with a couple organizations this year–R33M.org and World Sport Chicago–so we'll probably post some things about that in the future.

Anyways, we're coming to the end of our 3 week training camp in Calgary, Canada, training as hard as ever and Nancy's going to be posting cool videos and photos after this I think!

Our first races begin in mid-October.

World Championships in the Netherlands

My updates this year have been awefully sporadic and I don't know if I'll be able to fill in the gaps from the last couple months :/ sorry! Anyways, I'm back in Heerenveen and so lucky to have a 5 day break from school and be able to race the with the best in the world here on Sunday :) Here's a couple pics from yesterday and today ...

In front of Thialf Stadium

Speedskaters in hotels (well the Russians at least)

Blood draw this morning

Yesterday before my flight out

World Cup, Hamar, Norway

Hey from Norway! So you can maybe catch a live feed of the speedskating Mass Start Race I'll be in beginning at 8:30am central time TODAY for everyone in the States. I think you have to be able to bypass what country your viewing the stream from tho cause it blocks streaming in the US :/ (Someone said google chrome does that well??) #USSpeedskating #schaatsen

LETS GO!

(The live stream is at this link)

http://livemanager.eurovision.edgesuite.net/isu/index.html

Some GoPro fun with former Milwaukee skater Kevin Bobb !