The World Championship selections are done and the ink has settled on the team lists for Canada's upcoming events. How did our western national training center fair in the storm? Quite well indeed. Four skaters will be attending the final set of world cups #5 & #6: Jessica Gregg (5 only), Jessica Hewitt & Marie-Eve Drolet (5&6) and Michael Gilday (6 only). Jessica Gregg will be skating in the individual distances at the World Championships and Jessica Hewitt will be at the Championships for her first time. Three of our skaters will also be attending the FISU games in China. Richard Shoebridge, Tyler Derraugh and Liam McFarlane will be experiencing the wonders of multi-sport games at a short track meet that has proven in the past to attract some of the best from around the world.
To get to this point, the most recent competition had the usual ups and downs for a team of individual athletes. Each skater performing, or not, and then dealing with the results. Their ability being dictated by their physical and mental preparation. An ever changing and challenging dynamic for a coach to try and understand. Probably one of the reasons I love my job so much but also one of the reasons that our national competitions are three stressful days of roller-coaster-like emotions. I can't help but love it.
It was a competition like any other short track meet, which is to say it was like no other. There is always something that sets it apart for each skater and likewise for our team. Marie-Eve Drolet returned to the national scene for the first time since 2002. Marie-Eve was racing with an over-sized glove on her right hand that had the 4th and 5th fingers sewed together. During an innocent looking fall in training, Marie-Eve broke her 5th metacarpal and needed to wear a small brace to protect her hand. It didn't seem to bother her at all and clearly didn't affect her ability to compete. She handled the stress like a pro and showed that not only can she compete with the top women in Canada, but that she has more to prove.
Jessica Gregg was a force to be reckoned with in all three distances, especially surprising some people in the 1500m. Jessica Hewitt needed to rebound from a slow start on the first day and came through strong to ensure her spot on the World Championship team. Michael Gilday skated incredibly well considering the amount of missed training due to injury. He showed that he is still National team caliber even when not operating at full capacity.
For others on the team it might have been a less glorious battle with victories and defeats, but many lessons are learned in the trenches. Liam McFarlane made his return to the racing scene after missing almost the entire Fall Selections due to a concussion. His return was not headline making but it proved that he is a more refined skater. Tyler Derraugh battled in the trenches and showed moments of greatness. His potential masked in this latest performance and looking for the next opportunity to show itself. Dustin Miller, showing one of his highest competition rankings in his career can also look in the rear-view and see the potential for more. Cory Rasmussen, one of the fastest in the sport, kept a low profile especially in the 500m, his trademark event. Gabrielle Waddell showed her ability to mix it up with the best, despite not having the ranking and the points to demonstrate her real ability.
Herein lies the wonders of short track speed skating. There is more talent in the pool and more unknown before the gun then in any sport I know. You have to be fast, smart, agile, adaptable and unpredictable. At moments however it's best to be slow, lucky, true to course, uncompromising and even predictable. It's a mix of events that plays out in one of the most exciting displays of athleticism. Most of the time anyway.
I can say that I am very proud of my team. Every member. They've grown and become better skaters and as the season works its way to the end, it's time to put everything on the line. It's crunch time. It's time to put all of their learning's, tricks, skills and assets to the test. We have 6-7 weeks until the season is wrapped up for the entire team and hardly any of them (in a group of 10) are on the same travel schedule. They will be forced to deal with skaters coming and going from the group each week. The training dynamic changing almost constantly. They will be forced to be even more productive in an environment that demands both independence and team support.
Europe - Calgary - Asia - Calgary - Europe - Montreal.
We'll be everywhere. No matter where, it's crunch time.
JC
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