Taking on the World

World Championships:

Vienna, Austria was the location for this season's Short Track World Championships. Jessica Gregg and Jessica Hewitt were the 2 World Championship team members from the Calgary training centre. For Gregg, this was her first time competing in the individual distances and for Hewitt, her first time at the World Championships. Kalyna Roberge and Valerie Maltais, based in Montreal joined Gregg in the individual distances. Anne Maltais, also from Montreal, was there like Hewitt, for the relay team.

This was my first World Championship coaching experience. After coaching at all 6 of the world cup events this season, this was a great opportunity for me to coach at the highest level possible. Good timing with the Olympics being just around the corner.

Vienna is a beautiful city. We were able to visit the city centre a couple of times for team meals which allowed us to appreciate the culture. I also took some time to run along the Danube and along the edge of the city centre. A great way to pass spare time in foreign land!

The competition was held in a velodrome. The ice rink was a temporary structure that was installed just for the Worlds. We were all a little skeptical at first as the ice was not freezing as fast as intended. Ultimately however, the ice turned out to be fast and safe. The races got underway without a hitch and held on right to the end.

The Jessica's also held on right to the end. For Jessica Gregg this competition proved to be the highest and most consistent performances of her career. She qualified into the semi-finals in both the 1500m and 1000m distances. She made the podium (bronze) in the 500m and lead her team onto the podium for another bronze in the relay. Three days of extremely well executed racing at the highest level possible and an overall ranking of 6th in the world.

The 500m bronze was truly Gregg's top showing of the weekend. To understand a little better, we need to take a look at how she got here. All season the top woman in the 500m was Meng Wang of China. It was clear at the beginning of the season that Wang's competitors could come close but not really challenge for the win. The tides started to change at the 5th world cup of the season when Meng Wang showed she wasn't perfect. She toed in on the start in the semi-final and Gregg proved to be the top of the field, winning gold. Now back to the Worlds in Vienna. Meng Wang stayed on her feet and did win the gold. However, she had a teammate and the Canadian Jessica Gregg right on her heals. She couldn't just skate away and win with a big gap, she was being challenged.

After her race, Gregg's comments made it clear. Her goals for 2010 are not just to be on the podium in the 500m. She wants the gold.  She knows she'll have to beat Meng Wang to do it. The important thing is - now she believes she can.

For Jessica Hewitt, the racing opportunities were much fewer, but none the less important. The Canadian women's relay team is always in contention for a medal. They've done it several times this season. One of the most memorable was at the Olympic test event in Vancouver where Hewitt anchored the team to the bronze medal. This was just one of the times when Hewitt showed she could perform under pressure.

Well, she proved it again in Vienna, holding her own against the best in the world. Her speed and her skill in the exchanges earned Hewitt a spot in both the semi-final and final relay events. The only 2 races for her during the weekend. This in itself proves a challenge for any athlete in short track. After supporting her teammates during the day she needed to be prepared to race at her best. And so she did.

The entire women's team was a pleasure to coach. Kalyna Roberge had a tougher World Championships than in the past. This year in Vienna she finished 10th overall. In the past 2 years she was 3rd and 4th. Clearly a step down but for understandable reasons. She missed the beginning of the season due to injury and only made it back to the international scene at the 3rd and 4th world cups. She climbed her way back up and performed very well considering the rocky road she started out on. I have no doubt she can regain her top form in time for Vancouver.

Valerie Maltais was competing for the first time at the Worlds and was also entered in the individuals. Although she made some mistakes, she proved herself a worthy competitor. With refinement and some adjustments in her strategy and execution, she can perform at an even higher level. Overall, she placed 13th! I was very happy for her and I believe she was too.

To talk about the women's relay team and not mention the efforts of Anne Maltais would be a major mistake. She was solid in the semi-final, ensuring the team would have their shot at a medal. Not only that, but Anne is a team leader and strong spirit of the women's team. There is always someone that doesn't get to skate the relay and at this Worlds it was Anne. That didn't deter her from helping prepare her team for the final. She's a strong supporter of her teammates and I can honestly say that they were stronger for having her under their wings.

World Team Championships:

We moved on the next weekend to Heerenveen, Netherlands to compete at the World Team Championships. The format of the World Teams is much different than the individuals. All of the skaters can compete in a series of races to win points for the team. Strategy can be used by the coach to place certain skaters in certain races, but sometimes it comes down to luck. Several times I was forced to play my cards first and select a skater before the other countries. Other times I was able to strategize and place our top skaters against specific opponents.

The great thing about the World Teams is that it provides high level racing for the entire team. It creates the real desire to race for the win and individual losses can be absorbed by the overall performance of the team. Ultimately it comes down to being consistently good. On this occasion, Canada was tied for 3rd with the USA going into the relay final. It came down to this last race to determine who would make the podium. Unfortunately for our team, a crash about halfway through the relay took us out of the running. The team recovered but couldn't catch up in time to finish better than fourth. A somewhat disappointing finish to the weekend but all was not lost.

Desire was created in defeat. Sometimes you have to lose to find the internal drive again to win. I saw the disappointment in the eyes of my skaters after not stepping on the podium in Heerenveen. I know however that the fire inside has only been turned up several degrees. I believe that the experiences on the road to 2010 will always present us with the lessons we need to learn in order to be successful. With that in mind, be it in victory or defeat, we must learn how to win and keep winning.

JC