Ashley Brzozowicz: Teamwork

I'm happy to share this post by Champlain's Scholar/Athlete in Residence

When you watch a men's or women's eight race at the Olympic Games it appears as though it is a seamless blending of eight people into one coherent entity. It looks easy, almost simple, as the bodies move through the stroke in nearly perfect harmony. 

The reality is, however, that the easier it appears to the outsider the more difficult it is to actually master. 

As rowers, we dedicate time to making our races look relaxed because it certainly does not come naturally. Years of training and practice go into each and every stroke and even still perfection is never really achieved. When a race goes well and rowers are happy with a result, there are always things that can be improved. The excitement and the joy of racing comes more from striving for perfection than from actually achieving it.

Working together is essential in rowing but competing against one another is almost as important. We only get the opportunity to race our international competitors two or three times a year. In contrast, we get to work with (and against) our teammates each and everyday at practice. We race against each other in small boats and through those battles, we gain confidence and respect not only for our own abilities but also for those others on our squad. 

Doing well in a workout is an awesome feeling but knowing that you gave it your all and still your teammate outperformed you gives you confidence in her ability to race under pressure--together. When working as part of a team, you can use the other members of your group to help you achieve excellence as an individual. It is motivating when you have others around you also striving toward a similar goal.

The real purpose of teamwork is to create an environment in which each member of the team can be at his or her best. No matter what the situation, each person has a unique contribution to make to the group. Each person has individual strengths and creating a way for each person to maximize those skills is truly what teamwork is about. When you maximize the ability of every individual in a team to work at his or her best the outcome is far greater than if a few individuals take over and dominate the group. Every person who participates in a team can be credited equally with the success of the group since each person understood his or her role and performed it best. 

Ashley Brzozowicz 

Ashley Brzozowicz: Preparation

I'm very happy to post this blog by Ashley Brzoozwicz, Champlain's Scholar/Athlete in Residence
Ashley's time at Trent has given her the opportunity to reflect on her Olympic experiences, and she'll share them here on the Champlain College blog.

Preparation.

People always ask if I was nervous before we started our race on August 2^nd, 2012. It is a fair question to be sure but my answer is always the same: Not really. There were plenty of nerves leading up to that final race day: would the traffic be bad, would some one get sick, would the weather be an issue? Those issues were mainly out of our control and by then we knew as a team that we had done everything we could to avoid the negative impact of any of those factors. After all the preparation, all the training, visualizations, the weights, the World Cup races and the heat at the Olympics there was no room left for nerves.  

I was told before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games that no matter what your coaches and teammates tell you, you cannot be fully prepared for the experience of your first Games. In many ways, that proved to be true for me. Maybe the reality is that you don't really want to be entirely prepared: you only get to have the experience as a rookie once. When that first Olympics is done and over, that is when you start to appreciate all the work and dedication that goes into achieving an Olympic medal. Some athletes are lucky enough to win a medal at their first Olympics but for most of us it takes a couple of tries (and a lot more training) to get it right.

             

            We had a plan going in to the Games that started well before we actually made it to the starting line at Eton-Dorney. Each athlete sat down with coaches and physiologists and strategized how we would get as physically prepared as possible. We looked at historical data from both our own performances and those of our competitors. Analysis of that data enabled us to set standards of performance that would ensure we were competitive. We looked at each athlete’s strengths and weaknesses and worked to improve in every area we could distinguish. We had nutritional consultations, anthropomorphic analysis and blood work drawn to ensure that our nutrition, body composition and supplement levels were on track. We had meetings with our sports psychologist and our teammates to make sure that we were mentally prepared and clarified our goals to be sure we did not shy away from voicing them. We were training and preparing to win a gold medal. It almost sounds simple but it takes a lot of work and dedication to not only be able to voice that goal but to really believe that specific goal is achievable as a team.

            Because we had outlined our journey and clearly broken it down into achievable steps we knew by the time race day came we would be ready. No amount of preparation can guarantee you Olympic Gold but knowing that you have done everything that you could have done will get you and your team into the race. And to be perfectly honest, that opportunity is as good as gold. 

Ashley Brzozowicz, Olympic Silver Medallist, is the Scholar/Athlete in Residence at Champlain College