Olympic Feature: Mind Games
Patrick Chan: Recovering from injury
Patrick Chan has shown he's also spent time contemplating the worst...maybe just maybe, he's not ready or able to be at his best when it matters. It's a "face your fears" kind of therapy.
Last Updated: Thursday, January 7, 2010 | 5:18 PM ET
Nancy Wilson, CBC Sports
Patrick Chan skates his short program at the 2009 Homesense Skate Canada International in 2009. AFP/Getty Images"Mind Games" is a special series of interviews done by Nancy Wilson of CBC News Network. You can watch them every Saturday morning. She talks to past and current athletes, coaches & sports psychologists to explore the heart and head of a champion.
Patrick Chan is having a very demanding day, he's preparing for a Skate Canada competition in Kitchener, his first competition after a calf injury sidelined him for months. Plus, it's his one and only competition before the Olympics. Everyone is watching. How's that for pressure?
What makes this day particularly demanding though, is the long lineup of reporters all wanting one-on-one interviews with the young phenom and all wanting to know if he's fully recovered from his injury. I watch Chan as he works his way through the line and I'm getting tired watching the parade of reporters and the endless questions. I'm thinking, this must be as much for Chan as setting his hair on fire. Chan, though, seems engaged and cheerful in every encounter. In short, this kid is poised and gracious beyond his years. And remember, he IS only 18 years old.
But the challenge of recovering from injury in time for the Olympics is daunting, and he'll need more than talent, poise and grace to rise to the occasion. Chan talks about his injury and the recovery process. How difficult it was to first accept the extent of the injury, and then muster the patience required for recovery.
For him, the psychological recovery has focused on the positive and the negative. He thinks his forced break from competition because of his calf injury has allowed him to reassess his training and diet regimen. But he's also spent time contemplating the worst: maybe just maybe, he's not ready or able to be at his best when it matters. It's a "face your fears" kind of therapy.
He also acknowledges, even now, he feels pain when he does some of the jumps. And yet there he is, going through his punishing, gravity-defying routine. That's gutsy.
Contemplating worst-case scenarios may seem counter-intuitive to those who believe only in the power of positive thinking. But for Chan, thinking about and preparing for the worst may be liberating. What's more, Chan has already proven nice guys can finish first, and he's determined to prove it again.
