Busy Times

Now that I have been back at school and the Olympics are long over, maybe it is time to update everyone on what my life has been like post-Olympics. In my head I created a "spin-off" blog that focuses more on the profession of Athletic Training and things that stand out to me in my coursework, but after evaluating the amount of time I have available to blog versus study and work I realized that the idea would have to wait.
The UWM ATEP certainly keeps you busy, especially if you want to succeed and do well. I'm taking 18 credits this semester, which seems to be a lot to people, but in all honesty one course is a Ballet class which does not require much else than dancing. My athletic training courses keep me busy. I constantly need to be reading my textbooks, which I fail at more often than not, as well as practicing what I'm learning in class, which I do. I am much more interested and motivated to do the hands on side of my courses than anything else, which is not always a good thing.
Since my return from the Olympics I have done 2 more interviews for UWM and one little "blurb" for my work; the Milwaukee Ballet. The UWM interviews were for the Alumni magazine, as well as the website. For the website I did a video interview where I worked with an athlete and answered the questions of the staff who were interviewing me. I was nervous but overall I think it turned out well. If you are interested in seeing it you can follow this link:

http://www4.uwm.edu/discover/video.cfm?v=84C725BB71ABA513:JjqXug8VHTA

I had never done a video interview prior to this, that I can recall, so it was an exciting experience.

Hopefully those were the last of my interviews to do. I find myself wishing for more time throughout  the day and I also have been putting a lot of pressure on myself to excel. This is for a few reasons, one because I need to, and two because these interviews are public and I feel more pressure to do well now that this story is "in the public". So many people still don't know me, but is seems like a big deal to have a video, and I want to represent the sponsors who made if possible for me to go to the Olympics and UWM's Athletic Training Program well.

Hopefully in the near future I will have more free time to keep a better update on this blog, I wouldn't want it to go to waste just because the Olympics are finished for this year. Now my sites are set on RIO 2016!!

Withdrawal and the Future???

It's all over. London seemed very quiet and contained the last two days of my visit. What do you do when everything you prepared and hoped for has come to an end? Where do you put your energy and excitement when there's no expected event?

The past year has been filled with preparations for this trip, along with school and work, but my excitement and anticipation was building for the sole purpose of being involved in the Olympics. Now it's finished.

There isn't anything else I would have rather done with the last two weeks, and if I was asked to do it again I would not hesitate, but now it's done. The thing I look forward to every two years, Olympics (whether summer or winter), is done and to have been a part of one has been invaluable.

I met other volunteers from all over the world, I made great friends, I saw new things, I learned about sports that I had minimal experience with and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I miss the Olympics, I miss London, and I miss my friends in London. I'm going through withdrawal. Now on the plane ride home I think about life and what's ahead for me. There's no doubt in my mind that I want to have a career in athletic training, that has most definitely not changed and if anything that decision has become more concrete, even if I have to be in school for 5 more years, although unlikely, I will become an athletic trainer.

But what will I do along the way to that goal? The Olympic winter games will take placed in Sochi in 2014. Should I add winter sports to my experience? Will I take time and money to learn to speak Russian in order for this to be possible? It's a good idea and one that I entertain on a daily basis, volunteering has its rewards, but although I need experience in the winter games they do not fall at a

convenient time like the summer games do. Unless I will have graduated from UWM by that time.

I also was fortunate to make a contact who works for the Commonwealth games. These are something I didn't even now existed until I volunteered at the test event. Quite honestly I'm not confident trying to explain it, I understand it to be a mini Olympics that happens halfway through the "off" time for the summer games. But I don't know what sports and countries participate. Anyways, if I were to get the opportunity to have a paid job, through my contact, at these sporting events I would have to take time off and move to where they are taking place, which is Glasgow. I've never been there and I think that

opportunity would be invaluable but then that brings up the topic of school. I will most likely have to take time off of my courses in order to take a job there.

Which brings up another question. If I were to get a job at the Commonwealth games would it be possible for me to add/take a course in Europe that would add to my current and future degrees and allowed me to practice as a physiotherapist in the UK? The UK does not have the career of athletic training, as far as I am aware, but if I would take just one or two courses that allowed me to be a physio

in Europe then what would stop me from taking time off from my courses at Uwm, moving to Glasgow, if I got a job for the Commonwealth games, and take courses there while working? 

So many questions, so many feelings and emotions, and I'm still over water. I haven't even landed in the U.S. yet!!!

Last match photos

Last Shift

For my last shift we were scheduled to arrive at the venue at 6:30 am. Of course this was impossible for the majority if the volunteers as the first tube did not leave until 6:20. I arrived at 7:30, after previously alerting my team leader of my arrival time. 

There was nothing to do. It was actually quite a normal shift despite starting early. No weigh-in's needed preparation or assistance. Only two weight classes were competing and it honestly ended up being the most exciting day to watch the wrestling matches. Fortunately help was needed in the tunnel and I managed to snag a spot doing that work. I was able to watch all the repechage and medal rounds of wrestling. It was especially exciting when the U.S. won the gold medal in the 96kg round. The spectators erupted and there was so much excitement. The atmosphere was incredible.

The day finished early so that athletes were able to go to the closing ceremonies. There was a small get together for the wrestling volunteers at the venue, but it actually ended up being very anti-climactic. Pictures were taken and goodbyes were said and then a few of us went to get dinner and find somewhere to watch the closing ceremonies.

I found out later that the volunteers who worked at the Olympic park had been invite to the opening and closing ceremonies, that was not an option for my group unfortunately. I would have liked to have watched the closing ceremonies in  the Olympic park, instead we found a screen in a park to watch the ceremony.  It was very busy at the park and I didn't stay for the whole thing. I ended up watching the final parts of the ceremonies back at my hosts house, which was great. No crowds, no shoving, and the ability to determine how cold or hot I was.

Then it was done. Two years of anticipation, application, interviews, preparations, fundraising, planning, scheduling, and in two weeks it was all over.

Now what?

Jumping around

So I am going to jump around in this blog and try to catch everyone up on my week. I have been kept very busy during my shifts, and exhausted when I'm finished so I haven't really organized my thoughts or what I should put on the blog. Although Clarissa's bronze medal win had to be put up because it was so exciting.

Let me go back to this past Sunday, this was the first day of greco-roman competition and it was fairly exciting. The USA had two athletes competing and one lost and one won in the first round. The athlete who won his first round lost his second, and the other athlete did not make it back in to the repechage.

During their matches I introduced myself to their athletic trainer and doctor. The AT is from Colorado Springs and works near to the Olympic Training Center. He was very nice and helpful to me and didn't mind talking about athletic training and working with the athletes. One of the wrestlers injured his elbow, in his second match, so the AT came in to the store room to get some ice. He told me he had a possible Ulnar collateral ligament tear in his athlete and invited me to watch him evaluate it, of course I did. The AT went through a history, observation, palpation and special tests. He explained everything that he performed after speaking with the athlete. It was great to be able to be involved in that evaluation, there was no torn ligament.

This athletic trainer does not work with athletes of the other disciplines of wrestling so I did not see him much this week. After Tuesday he was gone and we haven't had any injuries in general in wrestling which is good although I haven't been able to observe because of that. The women's team and the freestyle have not had an athletic trainer, although team USA has had the same doctor here all week.

My volunteer job has changed a little bit. I'm not sure if it's good or bad honestly, I get to do more things, but only because a different group hasn't show up to do their job really. My team has started working as security of sorts during the day. We make sure that when athletes are making their way to the media that a. They don't skip out on press time and b. the spectators aren't crowding them and blocking their path. Their path crosses the areas spectators enter to get to their seats so I guess we are more of traffic control, telling spectators to stop and directing athletes and coaches in the right direction. It is kind of a nice job as we get to watch the wrestling matches and see the different countries reacting differently to winning or losing. Other than that my job is the same. In the morning I get things ready for the field of play, at 4pm we assist with weigh in's, and at the end of the day we help with clean up.

I now have two more shifts left and I am starting to get sad. Even though I haven't done as much athletic training type things as I would like I have loved being here! It's been exciting, I've made friends, I've observed a lot about how emergency action plans and medicine works in different countries, it's been a great experience and I'm not ready for it to end.

Is that a medal? Can I have it?

Clarissa and I before

Clarissa and I after

Clarissa Chun takes Bronze!

Today was the first day of the women's freestyle wrestling competitions. Wow! Much more excitement today then the previous days. Not that Greco-Roman wrestling isn't interesting but it's much harder to follow; with freestyle wrestling I actually can understand what is happening. 

Again the competitions went by weight class, so today the U.S. had two women competing, one I each weight category. Clarissa Chun won her first match and lost her second. The other U.S. athlete lost her first match. 

In wrestling the losers get the opportunity to continue competing in what is called repechage. This allows the loser of the original match to get back in to the competition, they just need the athlete beat them to win two more matches. So the U.S. athletes had a bit of time to wait in anticipation hoping that the person they lost to would win. 

For Clarissa Chun, that's what happened. Clarissa was able to get into the repechage and compete to go on for the bronze medal. A different thing with wrestling is that they give out two bronze medals. If Clarissa were to win her first match she would move on to the bronze match, which she did. She battled inane won and had a break before competing against Ukraine for the bronze medal.during the match she flipped her opponent amazingly and scored 3 points! She had fought 3 times before the medal round and went on to win the bronze! Her first Olympic medal (she had also competed in Beijing) and the first women's wrestling medal.

I had the pleasure of meeting Clarissa during my internship in Colorado. She is a wonderful person and so king and friendly. I was very glad to be able to watch her compete and very proud to say that I know her. I couldn't be happier for her! 

That's my excitement for today!