Ben and Ashley Azevedo

Try try try again...

In rugby when a player scores it is called a ‘try.’  It seems a very fitting name as it usually takes multiple attempts to put points on the board.  The team has to work together, passing the ball, creating holes and gaps in the defense, so that a player can hopefully sneak through and score.  Many times players will be knocked off their feet and get a mouth full of grass as the team works towards a try.  When this happens it is important you can trust you have teammates to protect you and the ball.  If you do not have ‘friends’ with you the ball could be turned over and the other team has major scoring potential. 

Many times you have to attempt different options in life and mark different ideas off your list before you are able to reach the back of the try zone and ‘score.’  I am finding it more difficult than I had expected to narrow down the many career options life has handed me.  As a friend told me you have to turn over ever puzzle piece before starting to connect and put the puzzle together.  I can truly identify with that.  I work diligently towards turning over my pieces one by one so that I can find what fits together. 

As in Rugby it is important to have a team with you for support and protection when life knocks you down.  Treading murky waters alone can be difficult and will not have the end result desired.  It is a lot less difficult when support is swimming alongside of you and encouraging you at each stop.   I may not know what exactly I want to do next, but for now I am enjoying seeing the try zone and running as fast as I can to get there.  Sometimes I reach it, but the times I don’t I know I can trust that my team will be there to back me.

Congratulations to the National Champion Lady Cavaliers!

 

How We Bean

#HowWeBean

In 2010 I was fortunate enough to join the likes of Amory Rowe and In The Arena.  It has been exciting to watch to the nonprofit grow and to now be partnered with L.L.  Bean.  The values the of the company fit nicely with the core of what In The Arena and all the athlete mentors stand for.

After receiving my new L.L. Bean tote I started to think about how my life has drastically changed over the last few months and how the items I carry have shifted.  I have ditched my helmet and traded my bobsled spikes for cleats.  The transition from bobsled brakeman to rugby rookie has been difficult, but enlightening.  Instead of heading to the Boys and Girls club, I now put my rugby ball in my L.L Bean tote and head to my new ITA project working with the high school rugby National Champions.  I try to be an example to them and hope they understand it is important to make the best out of every situation. 

I have also added school books into my L.L. Bean tote.  Along with all the changes in my life I am working towards narrowing down the career choices that interest me and taking a few classes seems to be the perfect way to do that. I keep a notebook with me to write down progress and contacts that I have made each day.    

In addition to the physical items in my L.L Bean tote bag I also have the things that I stand for and who I am.  My tote is sewn and stitched with my core values of integrity, honesty and courage.  No matter how the contents may change in the upcoming weeks, months and years these values will forever be ingrained in the fabric of my bag.

From Veteran to Rookie

I couldn’t help but laugh as I jogged out on the field to bring water bottles to my new teammates.  Here I was coming off what could have been considered my best bobsled season and instead of being at the Olympic Games I was running water out onto a Rugby pitch.  I was three days into my new found rugby experience and was already learning to put my ego aside and be patient with myself.   I have been considered a veteran in the sport of bobsled after an eight year career, but now here I am starting back at ground zero and being called a rookie, a word that I have not been called for close to a decade.  A rookie in rugby and what feels like a rookie in my new life.

I have beat myself up literally and figuratively over the past few months.  I now work on taking each day as an opportunity to find out what I want to do next.  And I try to take each practice as a learning experience.  I often find myself getting wrapped up in the idea of how I ‘should’ be doing instead of slowly enjoying the experience.  It is interesting how much sports can parallel life.  I can become overwhelmed with the idea of what I want to do with my life rather than being patient with the process and taking things one step at a time.  It is 100 percent the same in rugby.  This is a brand new sport that I have never been involved in, so regardless of anything I have accomplished in track and field or in bobsled I am a rookie.  I can, however, transfer over the athletic skills I have learned from 28 years of sports to help me progress just as I can use the contacts I have created to jumpstart my next life plan.

For now I am going to enjoy performing my rookie skits, completing my rookie ‘duties’ and you better believe if I am asked to run water out on the field I will be sure to get it there the fastest!

OC Tanner Inspiriation Nomination by Curt Tomasevicz

 

I met Emily Azevedo in 2006. She had joined the women’s bobsled team and was competing on the World Cup circuit in her first year. I had taken the first half of the season off after the 2006 Olympics to finish my graduate degree. So when I met up with the team, Emily had already proven that she had the potential to make the 2010 Olympic team. But she was going to need to gain a lot of strength and learn better push technique to become an Olympic brakeman.

She and I started working with Jon Carlock, a strength and conditioning coach with the USOC. Because we had similar workouts and the same schedules, we started working together in the weight room as well as on the running track. We found that we pushed each other and cheered one another on despite not exactly lifting the same amount of weights or having the same sprint times. I would see her strain and stretch her limits every day and I would have no choice but to do the same. I had been on the National Bobsled Team for three years, but I made my biggest gains during that first off-season training with Emily.

Naturally, because we spent up to 6 hours a day training together, we became great friends, too. Living at the Olympic Training Center, we shared a schedule of meals, sports medicine, and training times. We became—as much as an independent guy like me hates to admit—inseparable.
That next bobsled season was a big year for both of us. It was the second year of the 4 year Olympic cycle and it was important to establish a good position on our respective teams in order to be named to the 2010 Team. That year I was promoted to USA 1 and Emily raced consistently throughout the season and definitely earned the respect of the other girls already on the team. Both accomplishments were considered successful for each of us.

The next three summers in Colorado Springs were some of my best memories while training for bobsled. There were days that I could barely walk back to my dorm room because she and I pushed each other so hard doing squats and sprints. Looking back, those were the days that made the difference for both of us.

On January 17, 2010, the Vancouver Olympic team was announced. I have to admit I was more thrilled when they announced Emily’s name, than when they said my own. I had been to the 2006 Olympics already and I was more secure with my spot on the 2010 team. But Emily had to battle every day that season with three other girls for the final spot on the team. She had zero down time and was always being tested. She burst into tears immediately and I was sure to video record her as she called her parents and family after the announcement.

I walked into the Opening ceremonies next to her and my teammates, one of the happiest days of my life. I was able to win a gold medal at those Olympics and she and her teammate Bree Schaaf surprised the bobsled world by almost winning a medal, finishing 5th.

I have continued to train with Emily for the past Olympic quad as well. We both felt we could prove more in the 2014 Olympics in Russia. Again, every day for the past 4 years, we trained side by side. Some days were good and we would both put up some impressive numbers. But some days weren’t so optimistic and we felt that we wouldn’t reach our goals. Those were the days that we needed each other the most.  I would see her fight and strain to last through workouts. And that would give me the strength to do the same. We encouraged each other through injuries, even surgeries. And we are both stronger and faster now because of it.

So as thrilled as I was when I saw her reaction to making the 2010 team, I was twice as mortified when they didn’t call her name for the 2014 Olympics. As much as I disagree with the decision, the selection committee decided to go with another female athlete. There were tears again this time, but for a different reason. I would be going to Sochi without my training partner and best friend.
It will take time to understand that, despite the end goal not being reached, I don’t regret one day of training with Emily. The sweat, pain, and daily soreness were no match for the fun, laughter, and friendship that we have now. She has pushed me to not only to be the athlete I am (a 3x Olympian) but I have enjoyed each day along the way.

Everyone who has worked with us throughout our careers including teammates, sports med staff, coaches, dining hall staff, and especially Jon will tell you that they probably couldn’t picture one of us without the other. We’ve been compared to a more recent Dan Jansen and Bonnie Blair. When I retire from the sport, I’ll miss those training days with Emily more than anything.

She has truly inspired me daily to be the best I can be at the 2014 Olympics.

 

It Takes Courage

What is courage?  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines courage as ‘the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous.’  There is a large variance of what different people think to be difficult on a daily basis.  For some it takes courage to just get out of the bed in the morning and for others it can be as brave as walking away from one life to start new.   Throughout the past few weeks I have worked hard to be as courageous as possible each and every day. 

For me some tasks have been simple and some have been grand.  I signed up for a social media sight for business professionals despite being a bit social media phobic.  I dusted off my high school soccer cleats, met new teammates and headed out to my first rugby game while still being fairly clueless about the game.  I have picked up the phone and called strangers to get advice to help make decisions on my future career.  All these things have forced me out of my comfort zone and to me that is courage.  

 Literally everything in my life is changing and often time’s simple tasks seem overwhelming and daunting.   I have lived in a Training Center for the last eight and with that I have been fortunate to have prepared meals, cleaned bathroom, and many other amenities that have made my life as easy as possible.  As much as I have enjoyed everything that was offered to me at the Training Center I am now left needing to learn simple task like grocery shopping over again.   I am gradually learning to find excitement in each days new adventure and am working hard to take everything step by step. 

Being courageous can be life changing and I believe will ultimately lead to true happiness and success.  I know that each day I am able to leave my comfort zone will help me to find where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to do.  I challenge you to find your own courage today and do something that is difficult for you and see how it may change your life.