Write it Down- How Shani Davis Journals His Way Into Olympic History

Coverage of Olympic speedskating has been dominated by two US legends: Apollo Ohno, fighting to become the most decorated US Winter Olympian ever, and Shani Davis, the coachless wonder who not only was the first to win back-to-back Golds in long-track speedskatings marquee event (the 1000) but 4 years ago was the first African-American athlete to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Olympics.

Davis’s ‘lack’ of coaching is well documented: he doesn’t train with the US team and lists only his mother as his official manager.  However, Davis is largely considered the ultimate student of speed skating.

Instead of a dedicated coach, Davis takes insight from dozens of people:

Davis takes advice from numerous coaches — some connected to the U.S. national team, some not — and then synthesizes their guidance and sets his own course. His coaches are more like a panel of consultants

Also, like all Athleon teams, Davis isn’t afraid to utilize technology in his training:

Davis, who watches video of himself and opponents extensively, does receive some technical and staff support from U.S. sprint coach Ryan Shimabukuro on the road and short-track coach Jae Su Chun when he trains with that team. Former Olympian Kip Carpenter, now a coach, also provides logistical support, and Fenn says he has talked to Davis regularly the last two weeks in the final tuneup for Vancouver.

Finally, Davis uses old-fashioned pen and paper daily, literally journaling everything that happens to him on the ice.  From what he worked on to how he was feeling, from his mental processes to what he ate before a good training session.  He saves EVERYTHING, so he literally has an encyclopedia of his training.

Try writing a single page every day after practice this week.  Save it on Athleon.com or in a notebook.  How did practice go?  What worked?  What didn’t?  How was your attitude, energy level, and what do you think attributed to those factors?

Like Davis, once you know what works, you can replicate it and improve upon it, leading to continual improvement and perhaps the top spot on whatever podium you’re chasing.

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