Chicago Trip For The USOC (United States Olympic Committee

by Brandi Chastain 99 Views 2 Comments
September 19, 2009 Categories: Soccer

Hello Brandi’s World,

Last week was truly AWESOME. My buddy and colleague Dr. Matty Cook who is our partner in a great strength/conditioning/injury prevention dvd, always talks about days, things, events, as “this is in my top 5 or my top 10”. Well, I am going to use his favorite saying. Last week was definitely in my top 5 weeks of the year so far.
I had a chance to take Jaden to Chicago where my brother and his family live. Jaden loves airplanes, so he was thrilled. The trip wasn’t only a fun family visit, but I had some real important work to attend to with the USOC (United States Olympic Committee). The very next early morning after we arrived and I am talking early, 5:45 am wake up call Chicago time(remember I’m from CA,which is two hours earlier) I got up and walked a couple blocks from my brother’s house and hailed a cab to downtown Chicago. I have been working with the USOC in their athlete ambassador program to share with the qualifiers as well as Olympic hopefuls what it means to be good ambassadors, as well as be able to enjoy the full extent of what the Olympics has to offer, on and off the playing field, as well as after their Olympic careers were over. This time around however, there was a bit of a twist. The USOC recognized certain leader athletes from all the sports that will be present in Vancouver 2010 and they came to Chicago to discuss the topic of Leadership and Legacy. Along with me for the three morning sessions, was recruitment expert and author James Citrin (The Dynamic Path). Together we spoke about how the qualities of being an elite athlete/business person could carry over into real life experience and impact away from your certain specialty. It was fascinating to meet so many great athletes in each of the three mornings, and these are just a few, Shannon Bahrke (ski moguls), Julie Chu (ice hockey), Casey Puckett (ski cross and going after his 5th Olympics), Evan Lysacek (figure skating), Kikkan Randall (cross country skiing), Jennifer Rodriguez (long track speed skating), Emily Cook (freestyle Aerial skiing), Katie Uhlaender (skeleton) and Stephani Victor (Paralympic alpine skiier). After Jim and I spoke, we had a chance to ask the athletes questions about performance, preparation, and actualization. They all had amazing stories to tell and interesting experiences that led them to the tables of our discussions. Morning one, Julie Chu, a true champion in women’s hockey—the GOLD medal kind—spoke about how growing her sport was as important to her as the success of her team. Catherine Raney (Long track speed skating) shared how her help in the community gives her balance what she was striving for as an individual on the ice. She loves giving back to girls near where she lives and trains in the Girls on the Run program. Evan Lysacek contributed that how after a long career in skating (he’s only 27, but in skating that can be seen as being the elder statesman) he had to adapt, change his technique and go in a new direction. Steve Holcomb shared that for the first time in 50 years his team became the first to win a world championship in bobsled. I know I was supposed to be sharing with the athletes my experience, but I believe we all came together as Team USA to share and inspire one another to go for our PERSONAL GOLD MEDALS, and not just the kind that get put around your neck. I look forward to watching these athletes, and more I will list at the end, for you to watch, support and cheer on during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games coming in just 5 short months.
If that wasn’t enough, I joined forces with a friend that I admire on and off the soccer field, Natalie Spilger. She and I played together on the Sacramento Storm soccer team and now she plays for Chicago Red Star. But what sets Natalie apart is that she recognized that the attention she received through sports could be used to make a bigger impact on her community and communities around the world. Like my BAWSI (Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative) Natalie’s vision started small, and is now taking off. During my time in Chicago, the organizing organization called Chicago 2016 had a Sport&Sustainability summit. At the Saturday night dinner for 300 guests (past presidents of countries, pulitzer prize winners, dignitaries) Natalie got Will Steger, an arctic explorer of 45 years to give a passionate and informative presentation on the reality about global warming in the arctic. I then spoke about the power of athletics to get people to mobilize. By joining the GreenLaces team, I am making a pledge to the planet to make one single change in my life to help the environment. I also wear a green lace in my shoe as an emblem (such as the yellow bracelet or pink ribbon) to say that I am apart of a population that cares to do something good to help the planet. As athletes, with the help of Chicago 2016 and the Olympics, we can certainly reach a billion people. And together we can all do things that will help the environment. You will be seeing GreenLaces joining the Brandi’s World team soon, then you can go there to make your own pledge. Since getting home from Chicago, I have been called by Chicago 2016 to be a VIP athlete ambassador for the last push to solidify the bid to host the Olympics. We will be traveling to Copenhagen, Denmark to share once again why Chicago, and the great country of USA, should host the greatest sporting and cultural event in the world. We are crossing our fingers that when the announcement is made on October 2, we will be celebrating. I will certainly be sharing all that is happening there via video, so stayed tuned on Brandi’s World. U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!