Don’t Get Happy
The real story behind those 2015 Rookie Camp grins

Last month, I gathered with some of the most successful ski racers and snowboarders in the country on the eve of the annual Rookie Camp. My advice was simple, but perhaps startling — “Don’t get happy.” It was a phrase I’d heard from legendary football coach Norm Walker. Sure, their success on the junior level and on the national level have put them on a USSA national team, but as I told them (to throw another sport into the mix), “If this were halftime of a soccer game, the score would be 0-0.”

For 10 years, the Rookie Camp has introduced new USSA athletes to the four main components of our program: athletics; health and safety; team building; and the importance of making a professional athlete development plans.

USSA CEO Tiger Shaw opened up the camp, highlighting how he worked under a dozen or more coaches during his very successful U.S. Ski Team career. “You need to learn how to work effectively with all the different coaches,” he said. “In the end, you have to be your own best coach.”

Executive VP of Athletics Luke Bodensteiner emphasized that everyone at USSA “is here to support you,” and that becoming best in the world requires focus and work on all the little details of training and sport. As he spoke these words of wisdom, I could hear @slalomtokyodrift whispering “hundredths matter.”

The best parts of Rookie Camp were during the introductions to the athletic program. Naturally, the athletes loved playing basketball in the gym and jumping on the tramps. Some had their first taste of the strength and conditioning program with fitness testing and workouts.

Sport science here at the Center of Excellence is impressive, and the athletes also got their first tastes of Chef Allen Tran’s knowledge of nutrition, not to mention his endless healthy snacks in the kitchen area.

Kyle Wilkens introduced the medical, sports psychology and wellness programs based out of the Center of Excellence. The athletes also spent one meal meeting with their sport directors and team managers to better understand the opportunities and responsibilities of the athletic program.

A key part of the program was encouraging and guiding the athletes to make their own professional athlete development plans. As rookies, many of them are looking ahead to careers of 10 years or more. The camp helps create an education and career track. On the school front, a dozen of the athletes still need to finish high school, and we push all of our older athletes to take one to three college courses per year. Preliminary research has shown that athletes who continue part-time education move up the A-B-C-D team pipeline more often than the athletes who don’t continue schooling.

On the career front, we had programs on financial management, media skills, personal branding, networking and fundraising. We teach the athletes to consider themselves a small business, and successful businesses have clear business plans. The mock interviews with Tom Kelly and the crew from Communications brought out a lot of questions and a lot of laughs.

As in any orientation, we had programs centered on health and wellness. USADA gave an informative and entertaining presentation on the current anti-doping policies. (Ask the athletes about the mock testing slides!) Finally, they heard presentations on SafeSport and substance abuse.

The rookies also engaged in team-building exercises on the ropes course at the National Ability Center and in an avalanche training session. The best moment, however, might have been the impromptu “team-building exercise” that emerged unplanned at the Peaks Hotel when different groups worked on their “tidal-wave building skills” in the hotel swimming pool one night after dinner.

The dinners were a hit. We had one formal dinner at the Goldener Hirsch, where a trustee and the Military Mentorship folks explained some of the basics of fancy fundraising functions. The Friday night BBQ with USSA staff outside of Tiger’s office brought Olympic champion Hannah Kearney on deck to talk about the importance of taking care of the small and important decisions, using routines to achieve goals, and treasuring teammates. Hannah was awesome!

In closing, Tiger said, “No matter how well they do, athletes are never happy; and that feeling is what pushes them to be better and better.”