Zen and the Art of Speedskating

US national sprint team coach, and good guy Ryan Shimabukuro, is right now in Torino, coaching the US men’s sprint team.

Ryan occasionally reads this blog, and he commented on my past entry, that the picture I posted was probably not Eric Heiden. I sent my thanks, updated the previous entry, and asked him via email:

Ryan, if you wanted to write me a paragraph about what the Torino experience has been like for you so far, personally and professionally, I would be honored to post it.

He got right back to me, so here it is, hot off the press from Torino, US national team coach Ryan Shimabukuro:

As for a comment on my Olympic Experience here in Torino:

Personal - These Games have meant a lot to me. As I explained to my four guys one day at the rink before the start of the Olympics, it had been a dream of mine since I saw Eric Heiden in 1980 at the age of 6 to one day represent the US at the Olympics. Although I worked hard and perservered, I never earned that privilege. But now, 26 years later, my Olympic dream has become a reality and they were a big reason why. It was an honor to be their coach for this Olympic Quad. It’s also very rewarding for all my friends & family from both Hawaii and Wisconsin because they supported me through the good times and the bad. They never gave up on me!

Professional - Four years ago, I knew I was going to have to stack our odds in order to come away with at least one medal in each of the sprint distances here in Torino. That meant, I needed to develop at least four guys that could medal in the 500 & 1000. The 1500 as well. It has been a long & demanding process but coming into these Games, I felt very confident about our chances. All four of the guys in the 500m have stood on the podium at a World Cup, World Championship and/or Olympic Games. It was unfortunate that Casey & Kip both slipped on the start of the first 500m otherwise they would have been right in the hunt for the podium. Tucker struggled here in his first Games but no one can deny that this guy has the talent to take him to the top. He did learn that the guys that succeed here put in the work, so I think he learned a big lesson. What can I say about Joey? He’s been consistent for over a month and just seemed at peace with everything. He made winning look easy in the 500, but we all know that winning is never easy and all the work he put in came together when needed.

In the 1000m, I only had Joey & Casey. Both were highly motivated to skate their best and with this being Casey’s last Olympic race, he wanted to leave nothing on the table. He did everything he could, and although he finished 9th, it might give you some perspective that he was only a mere .27 from the podium. That’s how tight the competition was. Joey rocketed off the start and skated a near flawless race. He too was very pleased about his race, saying that he skated the race the way he had envisioned.

In the 1500, Joey was going to skate for himself. He deserved that. He earned that. He blasted off hard, opening in 22.89 in the 300m, and after having the fastest 1100m split at that point, fell off a bit in the last lap to hold onto 9th place. Once again, no complaints from him. He thought it was a solid race but just overextended himself a bit early. Should be noted that this was the fastest 1500m he has skated on a lowland track.

Thanks Ryan. Many people in speedskating don’t know that Ryan also is a serious wakeboard rider, and has been a judge at pro events.

I thought about posting one of the many pictures I have of him coaching. But one of my favorite all time pictures of speedskating is of Ryan, waiting for the start at US sprint nationals in Milwaukee, probably around 1997. This is what one calls start line focus!

And it’s this focus and determination you can see in his eyes here, that finally carried him onto the ice during the Olympics as a coach, congratulations Ryan!!!

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