The purpose of my sending the below essay from one of my athletes is to display an athletes passion, competitiveness, drive, determination and an athlete that plays fair and reaches to stay within the outline of the Olympic Ideals of Vision, Focus, Commitment, Persistence and Discipline.

Once again today I look in the newspaper headlines and it speaks of drug use and doping for yet another athlete in yet another sport. The whole key to sport “For the Love of the Game” or for the “thrill to take part” has been brushed to the side and is rarely heard of any longer. Our media and many coaches focus on the “win at all cost” or “refusal for failure” methodology. These approaches are failing our youth and eventual adults when they push on to the corporate world trying to make families and financial ends meet. Regardless of where that athlete leads, an athlete that followed a positive coaching model stays in the sport and lessens the likelihood of attrition in sport. They will then create opportunities to share this passion and work ethic with others as they grow.

We need more positive models in every and all programs in all of sport. As coaches and program directors at all levels, whether it is base development to Olympic level coaching, we owe it to our athletes to provide them with a fair, healthy positive approach to reach their highest of dreams. By teaching them or encouraging our youth athletes and/or senior level athletes a will to win at any and all costs, we have failed in doing our jobs as coaches.

In my fairly young life I have been blessed to have coached many Olympic level or those trying to reach that level in many sports, primarily in endurance and power sport. My goals and approach to coaching these athletes have been the same whether coaching at day 1 or the approach to Olympic Trials. How can more opportunities for success as a coach be seen by many others, looking beyond the X’s and O’s in sport and looking at the overall character development.

I have many essays similar to below and am very proud to see how these athletes grow in a short time in not only becoming a top athlete but continue to want to increase their mentoring and collaboration opportunities by spreading that passion and compassion to others. By becoming the best possible overall person in life, these athletes learn to be the best possible athlete that they can aspire to be. By teaching these athletes a true healthy progression of goal achievement and new goal standards once achieving baseline goals they figure out how to best reach the highest goals in a healthy manner by overcoming adversity. These athletes the path to success is only achieved by overcoming adversity and learning from mistakes in that path to goal achievement. Without the path through adversity, an athlete can not fully appreciate what being the top is nor will they be able to maintain drive once beaten in a healthy manner. The process of being he top and maintaining the top should be very little difference. When our athletes reflect on being at the bottom of the results or scoreboard or standing on the podium, the mental reasoning should be similar whereas the emotions of passion and the thrill to take part are the driver.

In my sport over the last few years I am starting to work with hundreds and approaching thousands of athletes all over the globe. I will continue to reach in becoming a positive coach offering a hand to all athletes to reach these dreams understanding that failure is part of the path to winning. These athletes will learn that accountability is also a must have in the path to success.

I am not asking everyone to follow my path or saying that my path is the best way, but rather I have found a path that works well for me and in turn works well for the athletes. I ask everyone who coaches or creates an opportunity for athletes in any way to constantly reflect on their careers and see if they can take in new ideas or different ones to help create the positive coaching model that is out there.

Always remember that if we fail our own coaching goals, we fail our athletes and that there is not one right way to do something, but there are many ways to create a positive result. So join me in my efforts to help create a new path in coaching in making the sporting world a happier and more positive place to compete and train. In the end, we actually have a chance to change the world in some way politically and socially.

The below essay comes from an application to attend one of my training camps in China for whitewater slalom. We are a Denver based Organization that has focused globally, which creates the highest potential locally within Colorado and the Front Range.   See the China Camp Info and and our home site for details of our work if you are unfamiliar. For those in whitewater sport, read Nic’s words and think that if this were your young athlete, how proud would you be that you have helped create/support a person with this passion, drive, compassion and understanding of a positive approach to sport and life.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I would encourage any thought or support that you may have to share. If we do not share... We can not grow.

Application Sample