Read More Behind the TorchBrea Armstrong
Graduate Student in Sport Management
Today was our last full day at the Colorado Spring Olympic Training Center, and it was nothing less than great.
We got to sleep a little later and then headed to the dining hall for what has become, for most of us, a daily omelet. During breakfast, Dr. Wright (UA professor leading this interim travel course) approached our fellow UA student AJ Starr and said the USA Paralympic Track and Field team had inquired of AJ’s interest in joining their team.
Once AJ expressed interest, Team USA got his contact information and sent him the initial interest email all within an hour. We were all so very excited for AJ to get this opportunity that a few of us teared up.
After this amazing news of one of our own being recruited by Team USA, we headed to tour the Sports Medicine facility. This facility is home to sports psychologists, life coaches, a kitchen and a high-altitude training room.
Right away the sports physiology caught our attention. This training is designed to help our athletes work on their concentration and block out other distractions when performing. We got to watch a shooter get hooked up to the machine while the science was explained to us, and the shooter elaborated on what the experience is from his perspective.
The high-altitude room was up next. This room is designed to change the altitude, temperature and humidity to help athletes train for other conditions. The last part of this tour was the full-sized teaching kitchen where dietitians instruct athletes how to cook healthy meals on their own.
Remarkably, there is only one National Governing Body who has their own dietitian, while the others split the five dietitians the training centers share.
Leaving sports medicine, we took a look at the strength and conditioning room. From treadmills and bikes, to free weights and yoga balls, to a 45 percent incline track and a box jump staircase, this place was up-to-date and ready for Olympic-sized athletes.
Once our tour ended, we met with Nikki who helps with the operations and transportation with National Governing Bodies and their camps at the training centers. She described her professional journey and offered advice on enjoying a sports career and your next job’s role in long-term goals.
Later, we met with Terri Moreman who facilitates meal planning and high-performance meal plans at the Olympic games. She builds kitchens in game-hosting countries and has the necessary food delivered, dealing with customs issues that may arise.
The next item on our schedule was a definite highlight. At 4:30 p.m. Aaron Williams (UA student) entered the ring with boxing gold medalist hopeful, world medalist, five-time national champion, and nine-time gold glove winner, Christina “Tina” Cruz.
We met her, along with some other athletes, and she decided to get in the ring with Aaron for the good of the sport and for a little entertainment and lifelike experience.
She may be 112 pounds and a female, but she is quick, strong and conditioned. Aaron hung in there for the two rounds they completed, but there is a reason her resume reads as it does. She was a great sport and a great athlete, and it was the cherry on top of this once-in-a-lifetime experience we’ve had.
Tomorrow, we finish up with our two project presentations and head back to Tuscaloosa. This week has gone fast, and, at times, we have been sore, exhausted and nearly overloaded with information, but it was another great day at the Olympic Training Center, getting to act as if we were training Olympians.
Fifteen prospective sport management professionals from The University of Alabama will have an opportunity to interact with the nation’s sport managers during a graduate-level, interim travel course at the United States Olympic Committee headquarters. Three of these students – 23-year-old Margaret-Anne Dyson, of Pensacola, Florida, 23-year-old Brea Armstrong, of Memphis, Tennessee, and 24-year-old Aaron Williams, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin — will blog about their learning adventures over the next seven days.