Olympic features: Mind Games
Jamie Gregg: He's already there
His sister Jessica is on the Olympic short track speedskating team. His mom was an Olympic speed skater in '76 and '80, and his dad Randy, a former Edmonton Oiler, was on the Canadian hockey team in '80 and '88.
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 12, 2010 | 6:24 PM ET
Nancy Wilson, CBC Sports
"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.
Jamie Gregg says he doesn't want to think too much about the Olympics right now because he has to get there first.
But he's already close to the Olympic experience, literally. These days the 24-year-old Edmonton native is training in Richmond B.C. He can actually look outside his condo window and see the Olympic oval.
And while he's training in the arena, he can't help but imagine what the place will be like during the Olympics as the world watches and the home crowd goes wild. He talks about that visualization in considerable detail, not just about what he'd see in the arena, packed to the rafters with Canadian fans, but he can hear the crowd cheer...he can FEEL it. Yup, he's there.
When he sits down to dinner with his family though, there's not much serious Olympic talk. That is surprising because his sister Jessica has already secured her spot on the Olympic short track speedskating team.
His mom was an Olympic speed skater in '76 and '80, and his dad Randy, a former Edmonton Oiler, was on the Canadian hockey team in '80 and '88. Maybe an Olympic-free zone around the dinner table is just the kind of escape the athletes need.
What about the pressure, the expectations? Gregg has a relaxation routine that he does every day. He spends 20-30 minutes sitting still, doing visualization and breathing exercises, imagining every race, right down to every move he makes on ice.
And music helps too. Top on his Olympic playlist? "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey, a good rousing tune and for this guy, words to live by.
