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After a bronze in Atlanta and 5th place finish in Sydney, one might think Mark and John have their sights set on gold. However with injury affecting their performance over the last 18 months (Mark with a bad knee; John with a bad calf and shoulder), they were happy to just qualify for the final spot in their last tournament. Dr. Pawliw-Fry, who flew to Mallorca to support them in this accomplishment, stated, "We feel very fortunate to have battled back from injuries to qualify for Athens and while we are still not in great shape physically, I feel that we have a good mental state going in. We feel we have nothing to lose." Mark and John’s first game is on August 14th against Switzerland’s 5th-ranked team of Heuscher and Kobel. See below for Dr. Pawliw-Fry’s regular updates on Mark and John and the unfolding events in Athens . . . For more information on Mark Heese and John Child, click on the following links: John Child and Mark Heese beat American pair 21-16, 21-10 in beach volleyball (from canada.com) Child, Heese dig out victory (from thestar.com) Our beach boys serve up a win (from canoe.ca) Child, Heese hope to sneak in for medal (from canada.com) Sun finally sets on Canada's beach boys (from thestar.com) Vets volley into quarters (from thestar.com) Child and Heese advance in beach volleyball tournament (from cbc.ca) Medallists help make Toronto a beach volleyball mecca (PDF)
There seems to be so much that pulls nations of the world apart that an Olympics can remind us that, at base, human beings are so very similar – a simple intention to live in peace, with respect and be the best that they can be. I saw it in everyday meetings with athletes and spectators. Chatting with a group of fans from the Palestinian territories at the swimming venue who were cheering on their lone swimmer—happy that she competed, not caring that she finished a distant last. Or laughing with my daughter Brigitte as a couple of Iraqi football (soccer) fans who were over the moon about their team’s success ran by us whooping it up. Seeing the joy in these folks reminds you of what connects us versus what separates us. There is so much right about the games. I found the Athens Olympics to be very well organized with the people of Greece bending over backwards to show their best to the world. The athletes I came into contact with at the Athletes’ Village and at other venues, all gave everything they had to achieve their dream. I am obviously an Olympic convert! However, I am still left with a feeling that we have not gotten to the next level of what the Olympics can be. As with our work here at IHHP, I am interested in what is sustainable – leadership, organizations, movements. What happens now that the Olympics are over with all of the venues in Athens? Do we really need a host country to spend upwards of eight billion dollars to put on a two-week event? The challenge is that a host country wants to put on the biggest show they can to show off their country to the world. Who can blame them? But is there not a way that we can half that expenditure and still have the same feeling, spirit and opportunity that an Olympics can bring? Is this sustainable? While clearly security was a concern and cost the organizers an incredible amount of money ($ 1.5 billion), it seems to me that we can do better. At this price, there are few countries that can support and afford to host an Olympics. This is a shame. Greece did, but they were chosen as much because it was the birthplace of the Olympics … and a worthy host … but at what cost? How many other countries their size can afford to host the Olympics? Does this mean the Olympics become only an event for the big rich nations? I am still a big Olympic supporter, but I think we can do better. One final thought on the Canadian performance—I really hope that we get clear about what it is that we want in Canada for amateur and Olympic sport. As a coach of Olympians, it gets very frustrating to see athletes give all they have, yet have to live practically under the poverty line to represent their country. Have we no more respect for what they are attempting to do – compete against all the other nations of the world where the difference between competitors is infinitesimal? It is so hard for me to see the Australians so well supported by their nation, who at a population of 19 million, win somewhere around 50 medals while Canada, at 30 million, gets 12. Is this what we want? After seeing my daughter Brigitte become absolutely inspired by the Olympics and the fabulous role models on the court and on the track, and see her come home and “run track” in our backyard and play volleyball with me with exuberance, it is hard for me not to see the opportunity for providing our athletes with more support—and asking them give back for the additional support: to go into schools and communities and inspire others to be more active, to set goals and work hard to achieve them - to be the best that they can be. We have two big problems right now in Canada—obesity in children and a healthcare budget out of control. It seems to me that we do the same things over and over again for both of these challenges and expect a different result. This, according to Einstein, is the definition of insanity. Where is the vision of using our athletes to help get kids moving, to teach them how to set goals and achieve dreams AND reduce the healthcare budget through prevention? Again, as with the Olympics in general, I think we can do better and as a student of leadership, I would love to see a leader in Canada who gets the “big idea” and addresses these challenges in a different, more effective way. It has been my joy to send these updates to you. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them as much I’ve enjoyed providing them. I hope you have been inspired by these athletes to set your own goals in alignment with your dreams – and then risk to achieve them. I truly believe an Olympic gold medal is overrated – setting out and going for something you believe in is not. This is, after all, in my view what an Olympics is really all about. It is the game within the game. Go out and win yours. What are you waiting for? As Henry David Thoreau said way back in 1862: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
August 22, 2004
Well the breaks went against us! Or, we just didn't find a way to close Spain out. We won the first set 24-22, and showed great mental focus as we stayed patient to win this tough opening set. In the second set, we started to tire and lost 19-21. The game started lateabout 11:30 p.m. Athens time. It was difficult to wait all day and the temperature was up around 37°C (99°F). I sensed that John, especially, was starting to tire in the second set and I was afraid that if we lost this one, we would get beaten up badly in the third, given our lack of endurance because of the injuries. John had a particular challenge in that he was doing most of the blocking, which means that after he served, he'd run to the net and block while Mark stayed in the back. This was a lot of running and movement for John. In the third set, Mark and John played so tough, battled back, and were actually up 13 - 10 (third and deciding sets go to 15). We were oh so close!—but the Spaniards found a way to come back and beat us 18-16 in a heartbreaker. We've come so far in the last month—we barely qualified for the Olympics, we were barely physically able enough to really compete, we barely got out of our Olympics pool to compete at the next level . . . It seemed as if it was all coming together for us because if we had held on and beaten Spain, we'd have played Australia—a team we have a winning record against and feel confident taking on. And that could have led us to the gold medal game. So close ... ! On the day after it feels a little empty, as we knew we had it in the palm of our hand. This is why we compete in the Olympics—because we want to challenge ourselves against the very best. We make a deal and that deal includes the possibility that we won't achieve our dream of a gold medal. The work that I have done with Mark and John, however, means that there is a game within the game that we are playing and that is to stretch ourselves emotionally, mentally and physically—to grow, and be better. We have absolutely achieved that and have much to be proud of. While it's going to take some time to grieve the loss (a process that does take time) there is a bigger purpose and it is clear to me that we are more than we were, coming into this experience. The Canadian women's Beach Volleyball team (Annie Martin and Guylaine Dumont) also lost, unfortunately. They placed fifth, losing to the Number 1-ranked USA. If ever there was a group of athletes that Canadians can be proud of, these classy, hardworking men's and women's teams are it. By the way, my dear seven-year-old daughter, Brigitte, has a new heroine. Guylaine and Annie have been her favorites during the Beach Volleyball competition. Guylaine added the cherry to the top of this particular sundae when she gave Brigitte her uniform top—Briggie has not taken it off since!
August 21, 2004 Success against Argentina! The Argentineans went after Mark Heese in this game. For those not familiar with beach volleyball, what I mean is that because there are only two players per team, a team can strategically focus on one player and try to break him by serving him exclusively. Argentina did this against Mark, and he responded. After so many months of frustration with his knee and not getting enough reps in high quality matches, Mark has found his flow, his game ... and his confidence. Both he and John played fabulously. Although I, in the stands, saw it as a close match, people who have observed it from home and even from here called it a dominating performance. I was too nervous to notice. (Yes, the mental trainer gets nervous like anyone else!) This was a huge upset to everyone in the tournament, but not to us. We expected that we would win this. And that is what is different about this Olympics versus others. While physically we are not nearly at the same level due to injuries as we were in the other two Olympics, mentally I feel that we are at our best. The guys feel as if it's a wide-open tournament, that anything can happen and that a single break can be the difference. Obviously, this can be good or bad depending on which side of the break we fall. So it's on to play Spain. This undefeated team beat Sweden to make it to the quarter finals. They won the Chinese Open this year and we expect a very tough match. They are in great shape and at the top of their game playing with a lot of confidence. We'll see how it plays out . . .
August 20, 2004 The draw is favorable for us. We face a very tough Argentina team who are past world champions and currently ranked third in the world. We think this is a good draw because we measure up well against the Argentineans—they play a game that's similar to us. As a team, we feel like the Olympics are wide open and we think we have a good shot to exploit weaknesses as we are building strength and confidence in our game. We don't want to look beyond the first game, but if we get past Argentina, we feel as if there are some teams we can beat. As always, we had a mental-training session before this game. We focused on to staying in the moment, grabbing the opportunity when it presents itself, and recommitting to the goals and purpose that we set so long ago. We are ready.
August 19, 2004
I woke up early this morning to watch swimming with Brigitte, my daughter, who is in Athens with me. The transportation has been marvelous in Athens. People talked initially about the lack of preparation and inefficiency of the Greeks. Clearly, one of two things happened: people were wrong or less people came than expected, ensuring a smooth transportation system for the rest of us. Maybe it’s even a little of both. As we watched swimming; Brigitte commented, "Swimming is great to do, but boring to watch." I must agree with my daughter, although so far we are just watching heats. It gets more exciting when the finals arrive. My daughter, inspired by her time in Athens, has decided she wants to be an Olympic athlete. She had picked swimming as her sport. Having watched a LOT of swimming lately, she still feels good about her choice of Olympic sport, but now feels empathy for Mom and Dad, who would have to spend an inordinate amount of time watching her. Maybe she’ll change her mind . . . We went down to Canada House after swimming—a building that the Canadian Olympic Committee took over for the Games. This facility is available to all Canadians. It offers live feed from the CBC and Globe & Mail, internet access, free drinks, etc. It’s fun to come here and rub shoulders with lots of fellow Canadians! After that, I had a 1-hour session with Mark, John and John May, their coach. We found out today that we have made the round of 16, which means we were one of the final four teams in 3rd place. We’re feeling like we just pulled an Indiana Jones to get here. We did it in Mallorca, Spain in the last game and now we’ve done it again into the final round. Hmmm . . . either our luck will run out or something’s meant to happen. At this point, the guys and I feel confident that anything can happen. We believe absolutely that on the day, anything can happen; anyone can win. It’s about having the right attitude and seizing the opportunity when it presents itself. In our training, we focused on patience, recommitting to our goals, thinking back to our purpose in doing this, reviewing the bigger reasons. I gave them an exercise with two specific questions: "Why am I going to achieve my goals?" Although it’s fairly easy to get sidetracked, we continue to focus on what’s right rather than what’s wrong. Also, we all appreciate the reality that in so many Olympic finals in so many sports, the winners are not always the best athletes—they are the individuals who manage their emotions most intelligently and seize their opportunities when they arise. After the session, we watched Canada play Australia in Women’s Softball. Unfortunately, these gallant women who beat Japan yesterday lost 1 – 0, and their chance for the medal round is somewhat diminished. Interesting to me that on another field at the same time, India was losing to Australia. Australia just seems to be a dominant nation. How frustrating--Australia is half our population but they’ve chosen to invest in their sport and the results speak for themselves. I wonder if we care about sport—if not, why do we cry when we have no medals? I feel we look at it too narrowly—if we want high-achieving athletes, we need to go into schools and inspire our young people to want to achieve at this level. I speak from my heart as I watch how inspired Brigitte, and John Child’s two children—Jenna and Adam—are just from being here and soaking up the energetic atmosphere. They discuss what sport they will do when it’s their turn. They run stairs to "train." The heat continues in Athens—in more ways than one.
August 18, 2004
It’s amazing how quickly momentum can shift in an Olympic Games competition such as Beach Volley ball. In the game today against Australia, the opposing team came out flying. Mark and John, however, came out very slow and tentative, and before we knew it we were down 7 – 1. In Beach Volleyball, this is a huge number, because each action, whether a serve or receive, wins you a point. For those who haven’t followed volleyball for a while, this is a new rule. It used to be that points were only scored on a serve. If you won the point when receiving, it was known as a "side out" and no points were awarded. There are only a limited number of chances to come back from a deficit and this was a big deficit. Going into the second game, I feared the momentum would continue, but the guys played inspired volleyball and won, which set them up for game three. In this game, the back and forth play was tough—the Aussies played as well as we did. We had some tough breaks—there were times when we exerted pressure, but the opposing team squirmed out each time. We lost 15 – 12; a result that means we didn’t finish 2nd in our pool. However, because of other games, we finished 3rd in the pool. The top four 3rd-place finishers from the 6 pools move on, so we may still do so. Two games played after ours had direct impact on our moving forward. Unfortunately, both favorites lost, which meant we missed two opportunities to move on. By the end of tomorrow (Thursday), we’ll know whether we advance into the round of 16. There’s no doubt that we’d face a really tough top seed if we do move on. We’re trying to understand what didn’t work well today, and determine how to turn it around for the next game—if there is a next game. On a
positive note, the weather is a little cooler and the Canadian female
Beach Volleyball team of Annie Martin and Guylaine Dumont scored a victory
over Norway to add to their victory over Switzerland, which puts them
into the round of 16. A great result and fully deserved! We can still
find lots to cheer about after our disappointment today. As I sign off for today, we await our fate . . .
August 17, 2004 Greetings from Athens!
Going into the game against the US, John and Mark were facing the gold medal player Dain Blanton and his 6’8" partner, Jeff Nygaard. This team beat us recently in Puerto Rico. We had a pre-game mental training session which was short and sweet. We focused on staying in the bubble (see Aug. 15th entry below). By this point, I was confident that the guys knew what they had to do—we were there just to keep things clear and simple. I reiterated the critical message that they had the unique combination of mental, physical and technical skills required to be successful. Mark and John have everything they need to achieve their dreams—this was the central message in the session. Game time: John and Mark came out on fire, winning their 1st game in a tough set (click on the "John Child and Mark Heese beat American pair link above for the scores). John came up big with 11 blocks—amazing in any competition, but in the Olympics it’s out of this world! Mark played like he can (!) and in game two, they dominated the US team. The guys touched flow over an extended period of time and it was as if we saw the old Mark and John (pre-injury) play the way they are capable of playing. I was so very proud of them and the crowd was fully behind them. I hope this type of high quality repetition makes them believe anything’s possible. They need to feel it inside in order for the belief to come through and change their play on the court. So now we’ve lost one and won one, but we don’t want to get too excited. It’s just one game—lots to build on—but only one game. More than anything, what’s required is to take the energy, focus and confidence and fully utilize that in game three against Australia’s team of Prosser and Williams. It’s now almost midnight on Tuesday night in Athens. John and Mark play at 2:30 p.m. Athens time tomorrow. We’ll have another pre-game training session, focusing again on same issues and reminding them of what they know is possible. They must let it flow, let it happen. Their bodies know what to do—they must get their minds out of way and let it happen. The winner of this game goes on to the round of 16—the loser’s out. At this stage, it’s nice to be in control of our destiny. In the end I know only that the coaching staff of John May and myself, the training staff of Manny Frantzis, and several other Canadian Olympic Committee auxiliary staff have done all we can. Now comes the hard part as a coach—letting them go, letting go of the performance. We know they have proven to themselves they can do it. Anything can happen—it’s the ultimate reality TV show and I’m excited to be a part of it!
August 16, 2004 Greetings from Athens!
John and Mark’s first game was against Switzerland—one of the top-ranked teams in the world--on Saturday. The Swiss team was participating in their 1st Olympics, but is expected to get through to the semi-finals. After our two-day training camp, focus and attitude was great and Mark and John had a feeling that anyone was possible. Physically they were still not 100%, but they went into their match knowing it wouldn’t get in the way of their feelings for what was possible. The one area of concern I had is that the guys had not touched "flow" in a long time. At this level, all athletes are supremely conditioned, but what can make the difference is the momentum you have in your game going into the competition. Specifically, (and this is something we should all think about), when we get enough repetition of flow—things in our lives we love to do and are good at—and we touch that place of timelessness when we’re working, what happens is that we build psychological capital. This is similar to building economic capital—when you make a certain amount of money, then you take some of what you’ve made and put it aside and it compounds in interest. Psychological capital is built at that place of flow—a place where we are quiet and practically emotionless. What we do at this point is put emotion aside, building it up as psychological capital, so we can use it when we’re low and need it—perhaps when we aren’t having a banner day. My biggest worry is that Mark and John would not have touched flow for the last 18 months because physically they were incapable of reaching the flow level. Without that, it’s hard to build the momentum and confidence that would allow them to stretch and play on the edge, which is required at the Olympic Games. The best of 3 games wins each match. We came out against the Swiss team (a great team) playing tough, leading in the first game. Mark and John played well but just couldn’t finish off this team—they were taller and stronger—and with the temp approaching 45?C (113? F) to 47?C (117? F) degrees courtside, they started to wear down and lost the 2nd game. I was pleased to see, however, that the guys touched flow a little bit—enough to feel that the game was coming around. They couldn’t play at a physical level that equaled that of the Swiss, but they played at an exceptional mental level. The tournament at the Olympics is set up as a six groups of four. Each team plays the other three teams in their pool, then the top two teams from each group go into the top 16 with the four 3rd-place finishers going into the round of 16 as well. Therefore, you need to be two and one. After the game against Switzerland, we’re in the tough position of needing to win our remaining games against the US and Australia to get out of our pool. More than anything, what is required, as an Olympic athlete, is the ability to deal with setback effectively and build psychological capital as you go. This is one of the main tenets we teach in our High Performance Sales program (check out our site at http://www.ihhp.com/training.htm). I have worked with John and Mark for 9 years on their mental game. Will it be enough to see them through? I believe it will.
August 15, 2004 Greetings from Athens! We finished our training camp on August 12th. It went very well. I feel the guys are mentally as ready I’ve ever seen them. Physically, they are still struggling. However, I believe we’ll win the mental battles and that is what makes the difference at the Olympics. In training camp, we focused on three things:
In the Olympic setting, if you can perform well in all three areas listed above, you gain the opportunity to grab the opening when it presents itself. John and Mark are definitely focused—they feel eager and sharp. Their final physical preparation occurred on Thursday evening—they received good care and treatment for their various injuries. Friday was a relatively light day for the guys. We are ready. And the games begin . . .
Greetings from Athens! Wednesday night I attended the Canadian Team reception; an evening put on by the Canadian Olympic Committee. There were several speakers—Paul Martin spoke via teleconference and Nia Vardolos, the female lead from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, was there in person (a nice touch with her Greek heritage). Nia’s message to the athletes was that they should enjoy each moment of their experience and it was warmly received. It was an extraordinary evening: all the athletes marching in together were a sight to see. Tears streamed down my face as I watched some hopeful (and awed) 19-year old synchronized swimmers enter the room for the first time. Steve Podborski was an MC and did a great job. I had the opportunity to meet with various members of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), including Chris Rudge, the Chief Executive of the COC. I also had the chance to chat with Daniel Igali, a gold-medal-winning wrestler at the Sydney Olympics, and Daniel Nestor, another gold-medal winner (doubles tennis) in Sydney. This reception was a great kick-off to the events to come. There’s a feeling of anticipation at this time. My hope is that one of our athletes will come in early with a break-through performance that will encourage the others when their turn comes. John May (head coach) and John and Mark started training camp today. Mark’s knee is not 100% and John’s shoulder isn’t great either—it appears that what we have is a little guy who can’t jump and a big guy who can’t hit! While both can do a bit of each, we need to do a lot of each and be mentally strong to get results here. Overall, though, we are positive and feel as if we have nothing to lose. Even at 12 midnight, Athens is a very hot place! With that, I’ll say goodnight. Talk to you again soon.
August 11, 2004 Greetings from Athens! I arrived on Tuesday, August 10th, after a long overnight flight, tired but excited. I’ve discovered that Athens is anxious to show off of to the world that they’re ready. They’re still doing some last minute cleaning and putting up facades to improve the city. The hot temperature will figure into the competition for all athletes. Many are not used to, or ready for, 35°C (95°F) heat. Friday, Opening Day, is forecast to be even hotter. We have chosen, as a team, not to walk in the opening ceremonies—our first tournament is the next day and a fair bit of time is required to be part of the ceremony. There’s a considerable amount of waiting around, then the march into the stadium and the following activities would ensure our guys don’t get to bed till 2 a.m. This is not good when they are already dealing with injury and need to be extra-careful about energy management! Throughout these updates
I’ll cover topics such as: Wednesday night, August 11th, a Canadian Team Reception is being held at Nisis Estate, on the outside of Athens near Kisisia Junction. This is a time for all the teams and coaches to spend time together. It’s a great way for the teams to build team spirit and energy. This bigger team energy is not to be underestimated--when one athlete performs well, it affects all other team members. For example, when Simon Whitfield won a gold in Sydney for the men’s triathlon, it was unquestionably a positive experience for all his fellow Canadians! This is an intimidating place to be—thousands of athletes, hundreds of thousands of spectators and masses of media. These can all become major distractions for the athletes. Tension and complexity go up and those that are not mentally/emotionally strong will not get to the next level, which is what is required at the Olympics. One final point: one of my mentors, Olympic coach Hernan Humana, described the Olympics as the great equalizer: anything that has happened before is great but because of the intensity and experience, all are at a disadvantage and it’s the athlete best able to deal with that disadvantage who will come out on top. I hope you all enjoy my updates. Go Canada go! 
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Five Olympics later and I’m still inspired by the Olympics. I love opening and closing ceremonies, I love the emotion and drama of the events, I love the sportsmanship of the athletes–it was certainly no different for me this year. 
Greetings
from Athens!
