CBC-Sports

New demands, new limits

August 24, 2009 12:26 PM | Posted by   Jennifer Botterill  

As a member of the Canadian women’s hockey team, my Olympic journey is certainly underway.

It’s an exciting season, and our collective motivation is at a new level. It feels like time goes by quickly, and we’re determined to pursue excellence and make the most of each day.

Our introduction to this Olympic season consisted of a four and a half week training camp in northern British Columbia. We learned early on that a more appropriate description of this training camp would likely be boot camp. The volume and intensity of our schedule was unlike anything we had gone through before.

If the coaches had given us the tentative daily training schedule before we arrived, I think many of us wouldn’t have believed it was possible to achieve. However, after our team handled the month extremely well, we now realize that while we were faced with new demands, we have discovered we can accomplish much more than we ever dreamed.

A place to hang our skates

Week one of boot camp was in Calgary. We had a bit of time to look for places to live for the upcoming year. However along with meetings, medical appointments, physical assessments, nutritional and sleep conferences, and two days of non-stop fitness testing, we soon realized we weren’t going to have much leisure time.

The fitness tests are typically tough on players, as they require us to push our bodies until we can’t do any more. That being said, we completed them all really well. We did bench press, chin ups, bike tests, sprint tests, agility tests, power tests, and speed tests ... taking ourselves to our limits.

Despite the busy days, our group remained positive. I think one of our team’s biggest strength is the energy that every person brings. We have a great dynamic and we do a really good job of supporting everyone.

Demanding schedule ... and bonding with bears

Weeks two, three and four of boot camp took place in Dawson Creek, B.C. Our daily routine basically consisted of one workout after another from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. Honestly. Looking back, it almost seems surreal what we accomplished. I suppose it was a focus and singleness of purpose. We wanted to bring our best each day, to be the best athlete and the best teammate we could be, no matter how demanding the situation.

Morning runs at 7 a.m., power skating, on-ice skill sessions, team practices, off-ice skating simulations, speed and agility work, lifting weights, pool workouts, yoga, and kickboxing were all part of our days.

During week four we were in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., also known as bear country. We had our bear educational session, gathered our bear spray, and hit the mountains - biking, running and hiking. Our coach got some good footage of a grizzly one day (thankfully from her car). The only other scare was rather frightening for a few girls - it was later determined as the sound of a cougar. The few nights were spent at a campsite to get some rest in our wood cabins. We also had some quality bonding time by the fireplace over some s’mores and a few entertaining games of Catch Phrase.

The last two days of our boot camp consisted of a five-person decathlon. We all competed in each event - with the two top scores counting for your team. Needless to say, this was certainly pushing our limits after a month of demanding training.

Return to camp central

We had meetings with our coaches upon arrival in Calgary, where we train full time, for our ‘centralization’. This is a term that's commonly used by those associated with the Hockey Canada program, but we learned that it's not necessarily understood outside of our world.

One of the moments that stands out during our ‘boot camp’ was a 10-kilometre run where we had a fast pace. With each turn we thought we were almost at the end. However, there was always another turn ahead. We realized we had more energy to keep going even when we were not sure it was possible. This was key to discover our bodies can be pushed further than we ever thought possible.

I found that throughout our demanding boot camp, if I focused on what I could control then it really helped the entire process. I very much wanted to stay positive. I knew that there were going to be days that my body would be tired, but if I maintained a positive outlook, it could really help.

I really tried to bring out the best in those around me. Throughout the process, I realized new limits could be reached. It’s exciting to think about the potential the future holds.

" Previous Post | Main
  •