BLOGGING FROM BEIJING: Track Coach Joe Walker 08.19

Ole Miss track & field head coach Joe Walker is traveling with USA Olympian and former Rebel Brittney Reese in Beijing and reported the following blog to OleMissSports.com. Reese is competing in the women's long jump finals on Friday.

August 19, 2008

We just finished the long jump qualifying round and Brittney certainly didn't let anyone down. Her performance was a combination of having properly prepared herself for this moment mentally and emotionally, as well as physically. Several of the jumpers in the men's long jump and the women's long jump had approach problems. Brittney and I talked about that the day before her competition and agreed that on several occasions she had jumped in less than favorable conditions without letting it affect her mental approach. Her job was to eliminate any worry about how fast the runway was supposed to be and just concentrate on the run and the jump. If she wouldn't allow it to get into her head and create a lack of trust in her preparation and her approach, then she and I felt like things would be fine. We also talked about the fact that being nervous can be used to your advantage. The nervousness and extra adrenaline are nature’s way of getting the body ready for the "fight or flight" syndrome. So accept it and use it to help you focus and have that extra push when the battle comes. In her case, the best way for her to fight is to have a long flight into the pit. At any rate, we left the practice the day before full of confidence.

When I went to Sydney with Savante (Stringfellow), I was unable to get a pass for the coach’s box, which greatly limited my ability to help. USA Track has since changed its policy, so I was able to be right there on the front row at the long jump area which helps a lot in situations like this. On meet day, she warmed up good and her approach was both fast and accurate. Then, on the first attempt, probably due to the adrenaline and the crowd, she pushed out of the back a little harder than normal which left her just a tiny bit over at the board which produced a foul. Often a foul makes a competitor start to worry and not trust their training and preparation. What is so great about Brittney is that she has the poise under pressure to go along with her God given leaping ability. She went back and made a slight adjustment in the length of the run, and then on her next approach she came down and hit a big jump. It turned out to be only one of three automatic qualifiers and the longest of the day when the competition was over. Once she had hit the automatic mark, she did not jump again. She is totally focused and ready to go.

She will take a day off now and probably get a massage. On Thursday, she and I will go through a very light workout just to keep her body on edge and to make sure she doesn't get sluggish. Then we go at it again on Friday. I am so proud of her, not only the great jumping, but in how she handles it and how well she represents all of us--Ole Miss, her family, her state, and the US. She has her mom here along with a couple of aunts, but as of this writing, neither Brittney nor I had actually seen and talked with them, but it helps when you have a family like hers that supports her to the fullest. Her mom, Carla, is one of the really neat people I have met and is a strong role model for her daughter. She, like Brit, knows how to take care of business.

I am excited about the possibilities that await Brittney in the finals. I told her today thanks for a great moment in what I think will be a long career of great moments. I continue to think the Bible verse from Esther, "perhaps you were made for a time like this" fits Brittney pretty well. Both of us thank all of you who have given such great support to her. As we all know, no one does these things alone. One stick is easy to break, but a bundle of sticks is almost unbreakable.

August 14, 2008

Greetings from China from Brittney and me. This is quite an experience for both of us. Brittney is in the Olympic Village where there are approximately 10,000 athletes. She is rooming with Shana Marks, the USA Triple Jump champion. They are able to eat American style meals there and interact with all the other USA athletes from various sports, but also all the athletes from around the world. Brittney was really excited to be involved in the opening ceremony although she wasn't able to see all of it since the athletes in the parade of nations had to stay in a holding area during part of it. Still, it was a moment to remember for a lifetime. Brittney got a chance to see the USA women's basketball team play a game and really enjoyed that a lot.

She has adapted well to all the travel and the time change and her workouts have been good. She is not being the tourist very much, because she is so focused on the task at hand. She had a long jump session yesterday and looked really good. Her routine has been to get up early and go to the Beijing Normal University Track, which has been rented for the USA athletes only. Her first session of Olympic qualifying is in the morning so she has worked out around 9 a.m. local time to be ready for that. She is sponsored by Nike, and she and I went by the Nike hospitality area, which is not near the BNU campus or the Village, and it was really neat. They have a lounge area and a cafe area. She got a pair of their new long jump spikes that really looked cool to both she and I--they looked like seven meter spikes to me!!! That was a place where she and I could just hang out and sit and visit a little as personal coaches do not have access to the Village.

I have seen a few of the sites such as Tiananmen Square and the Palace Museum, but much of our time has been geared around getting ready for the competition. My hotel is about an hour's taxi ride to both BNU, where she trains, and the main stadium. Beijing is a huge city and it is amazing how modern much of it is, and yet blended with the great past that China has. They have planted trees, as well as flowers, everywhere there is a spot available. The city is clean. The people are friendly, but very few of the people outside of the venues and the hotels speak English. That makes travel a little bit of an experience and an adventure. I was told before I came that I needed to have addresses printed in Chinese and that is how I get around with the taxi's, etc. The size and population here is overwhelming to some degree. It reminds me of a New York City, but much larger---it goes on and on. When I travel by taxi to workout with Brittney I am in Constant City, which has many high rise apartments and businesses.

Rain forced us to change our workout plans Thursday. We had hoped to get some approach work done on the actual surface that she will compete on, but that did not work out. She did get a chance to go through the process of going from the warm-up area into the holding room and then into the competition venue, so that was good.

I'll close by saying that Brittney is in good spirits and is looking really good in workouts. I think she will be ready when the time does come. She is a champion in both ability and in poise under pressure. I've tried to convince her that she was made for a "time like this".

Joe Walker

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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