THANK YOU

There is really no other way for me to start day #2 of my blog other than by thanking all of you for the amazing outpouring of support that you have shown me in the last 24 hours.  So many of you have messaged me, or started following this blog, or offered to donate money, or gave me possible contacts who could help, or liked the Fb page, or told your friends about what I am doing that I am truly overwhelmed.  Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for all the support.  I could not be doing this without knowing that I have so many great friends and wonderful people behind me.

I hope that you will all keep telling your friends about what I am doing and get them to sign up too.  Everyone is welcome and all support is appreciated.  If you feel that you have anyone that may be interested in talking to me or be able to help me in any way, don't hesitate to contact me.  No idea is too crazy.  And keep signing people up for my Twitter and Blogger accounts! :-)

And now onto the sliding...

I think I would be remiss not to mention how beautiful the weather and the countryside are here in Utah.  If you guys have not been out this way you really should at some point.  It's absolutely spectacular how you are in a literal bowl of snow-capped mountains.  I have never seen anything like it and it is truly breathtaking.  It's cold and blue - perfect weather for sliding.

Last night Team Israel went to watch the USA official training for the second leg of their team trials which will happen at the end of this week.  If you follow my Twitter account @israeliskeleton then you saw some really awesome pictures from last night's session.  It was great to come out and support my friends on team USA.  What was even more awesome though was actually being able to watch people as they go down the track.

Now that may sound pretty self-evident.  What I mean by that though is I noticed this season that I am a noticeably improved slider from last season.  I understand the physics of what is actually occurring now, and so it is actually helpful to my own sliding to watch others.  Whereas before I would just watch the bobsleds go by, now I found myself engaging in discussions about what are the best "lines" down the track, how much to steer in pressure points, and what the best way to exit curves are.  And now, I actually know what I am talking about, as opposed to previous years where I would be just trying not to make myself look stupid when these types of discussions went on around me.  It's a big improvement in my Sliding and I'm really excited about it.

The most exciting ride of the name came from Jazzy, who hit the roof in curve 12 where I was standing and flipped her bobsled right over.  Jasmine (Jazzy for short) is an amazing person and overall great girl. She is team USA Bobsled and is also trying to make the Olympics in 2014 and trains in Lake Placid, so is not as familiar with the track here in Utah as I'm sure she would like to be.  In basic terms, she got pulled by gravity up the wall so fast that she hit the top and flipped over.  Ouch.  We could hear her sled on its side the whole rest of the way down the track.  But she is one tough cookie and was back up at the top for a second run right after her crash.  She came close to doing the same thing on the second run, but held it together and had a good time to the finish.  Omri (my teammate) and I always root hard for Jazzy. She is as nice and fearless as they come.

I think the most interesting thing that has been going on since I got here is noticing how comfortable I feel talking to other people about the physics of the track.  Today was day #2 of the FIBT driving school, and because it is for beginners (which I did not know when I signed up) I have found myself actually teaching Skeleton to new people.  Now, I'm not saying I'm the best (b/c I'm not) and that I don't have lightyears to improve and tons and tons to learn (because I do) but just that I know enough and feel comfortable enough now in what I'm doing that I am teaching others who don't know anything at all.  I also think I'm a decent teacher and so people understand what I am telling them and thank me for the help.  You would be amazed at how complicated a sport Skeleton is.  I know it looks like we just hop on and go, but that just could not be farther from the truth.  It is just as mentally challenging, if not more so, than it is physically challenging on so many levels.

I still did not get to go off of the top today, which bummed me out.  Adam is right though that it's never a wasted run because you can always work on form and counting curves as they go by, especially on a new track and with my new sled that I am still getting adjusted to.  We started in curve 6 again and then moved up to curve 5 for the second run.  We are going off of curve 3 tomorrow, but I'm hoping I can convince them to let me run it off the top.  It's not that they won't let me b/c I can't (which is the case for some of the new people), but because I need a truck to drive me up there when everyone else is going to curve 3.  Hopefully I can use my lawyering skills and persuade them to let me take my first real run on the track since 4 years ago when I learned here.

I'm itching to kick it off the top of this badboy and get it started for real.

Thanks everyone for following along.  Don't forget to look for me on Twitter @israeliskeleton and the Israel Bobsled and Skeleton Fb page.  And tell everyone you know to do the same!


See you at the bottom of the hill -

Bradley