National Team 2015-16

So the big news in my life right now is I MADE THE 2015-16 USA BOBSLED NATIONAL TEAM!!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited? I've had several people ask me how our federation goes about selecting the national team each season. Here's a quick run down of how this works and my reactions to being named to the team.

Every September and October our team gathers once again from the far reaches of the globe for testing and team trials. All summer we are scattered back to our homes or multiple training centers across the country, but we all convene in Lake Placid for combines, push championships and team trials. Some years we have team trials races in multiple locations, but this year we had 2 selection races in Lake Placid.

Beatiful fall colors on Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, NY

Good Ol' Lake Placid OTC.

We started training on ice Monday, Nov 10. Due to warm, rainy weather we missed a few days of sliding throughout the week. Friday's practice run was not what I had in mind for my first pre-race day of the season. Thank goodness I had Shelby in the sled with me. She's one of the few veteran brakeman we have this year. I was having a great run and made a mental error coming through Curve 17. I came off the curve too early and when you come off early with lots of corner left...there's no where to go but back on the curve. The pressure sucked us back over onto the exit of the curve and put my top 2 runners up on the wall. We were on 2 runners coming off the corner, and I couldn't save it. We gently rolled onto our left side, head first into curve 18. We were then thrown back onto our runners into curve 19. By the time I realized we were upright, I was looking straight up at the roof of Curve 19. We were vertical instead of the typical horizontal, so my thought was, "I need to get the nose down so we can come out of here parallel. We could finish upright!" Overall, the proper thought process. What I didn't take into account in that split second after being tossed, shaken, smashed and rattled over the last few seconds was that gravity was already taking care of this for me. The nose of my sled had already started to come around, and I just helped gravity along. 

There are no cameras inside curve 19, just the entrance and exit. We came falling out of the sky about 2 meters too soon and t-boned the short wall with the left, front bunk of the sled right in front of the camera. This somehow launched the sled in the air and barrel rolled us onto the right side of the sled. We slid through curve 20, across the finish line and up the braking stretch, where the track workers caught us before we slid backwards. God bless them for that! Going all the way back down to low point is the worst! I had a bloody nose and we had a few bruises, but we were both alright. My angels were working hard to keep me safe. The medic and track workers were all staring at us with amazement. They all kept saying, "I've never seen a sled barrel roll mid-air like that." Always comforting to hear after a crash. My mom was watching the live feed of practice and saw it. The feed got cut off right after that and she was praying hard until I texted her awhile later. One of our coaches was filming the live feed and caught the whole thing on video. I haven't watched it, but he showed it to several other coaches while I was sitting next to them. They're faces were shocked and terrified, so it must have looked pretty brutal. They repeatedly asked if we were okay, our helmets were cracked or the sled was broken. To which I kept telling them that all of the above came out unscathed. With all that craziness, we still finished in a decent time and even beat a few people. Imagine that. I decided not to take a second practice run and we packed the sled up and went home. Thanks for being a rock star Shelbs!

Team trials race #1 was held on Saturday, October 17. This is a typical 2 heat race. First heat draw was based on last years FIBT world rank, and the second heat was in reverse order of finishes from heat 1 (aka slowest to fastest). I finished in 4th place with rookie brakeman Malaikah Love. I was ready to go right up until we walked up to the line. That's when the nerves hit me about crashing the day before. Our mechanic was helping us flip the sled down at the line and had to remind me to put my push bar up. Not a great sign. We blasted it off the line, and I loaded about 5 steps too early. Malaikah jumped in right after me, as all rookie brakeman are taught to do. As soon as I was mid-air jumping into the sled, I knew I'd loaded too soon, but there's nothing you can do about it now. We were pretty far behind from the start time, but I had a decent run and wound up in 4th place. The second push was much better and we shaved almost a tenth off the start time and maintained our 4th place standing. I had never pushed under 6 seconds in a race, and we set my new PR's with a 5.96 and 5.86. Overall, a great day of racing, and I was happy with our results.

Me and Malaikah with the obligatory post-race pic

The lovely women of USA bobsled

Race #2 was the following Saturday. I had a different rookie brakeman to race with that week. Kristen Hurley and I blasted it off the line with 5.81 and we came across the line in 3rd place after run 1. We set another PR in run 2 with a 5.78 push and came from behind to maintain our 3rd place standing. I am not the fastest pilot on the team. Even with my improved start times, I'm usually a few tenths behind at the start. Typically, a tenth at the top is about two tenths at the bottom, sometimes even more depending on the track. I have a mile of ice to chase people down and make up that deficit. I'm really glad I can't hear the announcer as I'm coming down the track, because it would be disheartening to know I'm always behind at the start. I just keep chipping away at the lead and hope for the best. It all worked out, and I held it together through the last few corners and maintained 3rd place by 0.08 seconds. Only 0.15 seconds separated 3rd through 5th place. Close racing over 2 miles of ice.

Me and Kristen on the bronze medal platform

Pilot selection for the national team is based on your finishes in the races, but several of the girls finished in different places on the second week. It was anyone's guess as to who they would name to the team since Brittney took 3rd the first week and I took 3rd the next. There's a lot more data that goes into the breakman selection. The selection committee is made up of our CEO, federation director, head coach, director of operations and two retired athletes. They look at all the results from combines, individual and pairs push championships, practice pushes, race pushes and race results. They also take input from national team pilots into account and then spend several hours choosing the members of the national team who will compete on World Cup for the season. Sometimes it's pretty clear who is qualified to be on the team, but some years it's very difficult. There were so many talented rookies and veteran athletes, and there are only so many spots to fill. The committee meets right after the races and announces the team at a meeting the next morning. 

We all gathered in a meeting room at the training center and our CEO gave us a rundown of what goes into making the decision making process for naming people to the team. He then announced the team with our names on a powerpoint slide. That's it. That's how it went down. My name popped up, and I am now officially a member of the USABS National Team. WHAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!? (Imagine saying it in a high pitched yell, cause that was my reaction every time I got in my car for the next several days.)

So I have been dreaming of this for several years, and one of those dreams just became a reality in a room full of people. Some of those people are equally surprised and excited and some have not made the team and are crushed, so I'm trying to remain calm. On the outside I was pretty cool and collected. I looked like this minus the speed suit:

But inside, I was like this: 

Bahahahaha! Makes me laugh every time. I was acting cool until I made it back to my room. I danced around like a crazy woman and couldn't stop smiling. Every time I looked at myself in the mirror, my eyes would get wide and my smile would grow and I would think, "What just happened?!?!" I called my parents and they jumped up and down in the driveway. I FaceTimed my trainers from Performance Vault in Dallas, and they were jumping around in the office cheering. I had so many people I'd met throughout the last 4 years of bobsled call or text to congratulate me. Of course, tons of family and friends shared in the excitement as well. So many of my teammates and coaches congratulated me with hugs and hi-fives. Dave and I have been on the development circuits together for a few years before he made the national team last season. We've talked often about how great it is to be able to live at the OTC, train full time, have access to treatment and enjoy the perks of being on the national team. He would always end with, "You'll enjoy it too when you make it." My response was always, "That's the goal." I was in the weight room lifting the afternoon after the announcement and Dave came in with a smile and gave me a hug. I almost started crying. It was overwhelming how much love and support flooded my way through so many avenues. I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many people who have been with me throughout my life and this crazy bobsled journey urging me on and showing their support. Thank you to you all! I wouldn't be here without you!

So that's the story of how I was selected to this years bobsled national team. I look forward to competing on World Cup for the first time as a pilot later this season in Lake Placid, Park City and Whistler. Because the USA 3 sled is completely self funded this season, I will only be competing in the North American races of the World Cup circuit. The rest of my season will be spent training and competing on the North American Cup tour across the US and Canada. I am currently in Calgary training for our first set of races starting on Monday. I look forward to another great season and am ready to learn and improve everyday. I've started a RallyMe campaign to raise money for the season. If you are able to donate, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Every dollar helps! This season will cost me $35,000. While I consider representing my country as a member of Team USA the highest honor, every day I am faced with the reality that achieving that dream requires financial support. The competition that I face is not only on the track, but also the competition of finances. Even if you can't donate, please share the link and my story with anyone and everyone you know. Thanks for the support!