My name is Paul Fitzgerald and I'm an intern with the High Performance department in US Fencing. I've been at the Olympic Training Center for a month now. It's hard not to get caught up in the Olympic movement. You walk around the OTC and you see plastered everywhere inspirational quotes and statues of former Olympians. You run into former, current and future Olympians going through their everyday routines. It's easy to feel inspired to be the best at what you do when there are so many reminders of those people that are giving their all to be the best at what they do. However, as an intern, it can be hard to balance the demands of work, the challenges of being away from home, and the opportunity to learn from those in this environment. That is why we have started an Intern Olympics. Our purpose is to better experience the OTC environment through the very sports that our country's athletes compete in. Our Intern Experience has become a true Olympic Experience. Our first event was wheelchair basketball. Our very forgiving instructor was Josh George. He taught us the rules and techniques to be successful during a game. We ran through drills and played 5 on 5. His experience with the sport helped us get used to a game that we would never otherwise have played. We all had a great time and some of us were even a little black and blue from competing so hard. The point was, we all got to experience a new sport and better know a Paralympic athlete. It doesn't get any better than that!
Living and working at the OTC has helped me learn a lot about the athletes and those behind the scenes that support their Olympic dream. Away from the glory of the games are everyday people who are sacrificing school, work, money, relationships, time, unhealthy food, the luxury of being lazy and an otherwise normal life for that ultimate sporting achievement. The athletes are all at the OTC because they are the best at what they do. I'm here to say that so are the employees that make those Olympic dreams possible. There are those in the cafeteria that work tirelessly to feed hoards of hungry athletes. The good news about the dining hall is that all the food is good for you. I don't care how good it tastes, it's still good for you. There are those that clean the facilities that we all use to live and train on a daily basis. This is a mission for which there can never be enough credit given. There are people who administer all the programs and sports governing bodies that make the training of the athletes and the functioning of the entire Olympic Training Center possible. Even though all the aforementioned people aren't who you think of when you take a tour of the OTC, they certainly play a huge part in our athlete's achieving medals. I have found it to be true that you don't have to be an athlete to be elite. Everyone here works hard and performs at the highest level no matter what their job is. I know it doesn't take an inside perspective to know that it takes years of dedication away from the spotlight for those precious few moments in it. But I hope that this inside perspective does give you some insight into those behind the scenes as well. So when you hear the stories from the Beijing Summer Olympics and the upcoming stories about the Vancouver Winter Olympics, I hope you remember that becoming the person in that story also takes hundreds of people at the US Olympic Committee, National Governing Bodies, Olympic training center and yes Interns to help make it all come true.
Keep a lookout for more thoughts and stories from my fellow interns throughout the Fall.
Paul Fitzgerald
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