My ride through the last few weeks can only be described as an emotional roller coaster. I have come to name my roller coaster “The Blizzard” as I found that best describes a bad mid-winter storm. My roller coaster starts out like most, on a long climb with the anticipation of what is going to happen ahead. It seems like this climb goes on and on, you get higher and higher, and you know in the back of your mind what goes up must come down. You reach the top of this peak and you stall, looking over the edge. Suddenly you fall. You are picking up speed and you see things flying by without recognizing what it is you are seeing. All you can do is hope that your cart is still attached, and you can regain control and stay on track. You fall about as low as you can fall and you hit a compression at the bottom. Your speed is enough to keep you going as you twist and turn, go up and down some more hit one more high speed loop that carries you into the finish. You get off my roller coaster, maybe slightly unstable, but smarter about what to expect next time you jump aboard.
My roller coaster was designed with each section having specific meanings. The first long climb is the whole start of my season. It has been filled with some great skiing, but mediocre results, and anticipation that things will break through at some point. While I was climbing this part of my coaster, I was hoping that the top would bring that breakthrough, but it brought quiet the opposite. The stall at the top of the hill with the news I got one night in Switzerland that my Grandpa had passed away. A couple thousand miles from home, and news like that was when I went over the edge of my hill, and started to pick up speed. I knew that all I could do at the time was try to focus on skiing and do my best. I went out to the race hill that weekend with an inspiration to ski for my grandpa, as that was always something he loved and was so proud of. At the finish line, my coaster reached the bottom of my hill and hit the compression. I was greeted at the finish with a time so unbelievably slow I thought at first it was a timing error. Unfortunately my time was right and there was not a whole lot of explanation for it. I thought that was going to be my time to shine, with my grandpa looking over me, but instead I got last place by a large margin. So now the coaster starts to twist and turn, cause I knew the only thing to do is pick myself up and continue on and look towards the future. It goes up with the amazing support I have from my coaches and teammates, and then down and hits a corkscrew when again and again I don’t get the results I am looking for. Then you go into the loop when finally I get news that puts a smile on my face. Even after a season of things not going my way, I was able to do just good enough to make World Cup Finals in Super-G, which is reserved, for the top 25 racers in the world. So without the weight of having to qualify for that on my shoulders I am on the final stretch to the finish still going full speed! I get off my roller coaster, maybe slightly unstable, but smarter about what to expect next time you jump aboard.
STACEY COOK is an elite member of the U.S. Ski Team’s alpine skiing program. She competed in the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy and was a member of the 2007 World Championships Team... {more»}
