9th Season Eve - by Curt Tomasevicz

It’s hard to believe that this weekend will be the start of the World Cup team trials marking the beginning of my 9th season of bobsledding.

When I began this adventure in September of 2004, my plan was to compete for sixteen months until the 2006 Olympics and then move on to another life adventure. I thought that I would push a sled for a couple bobsled seasons and then put my electrical engineering degree to use by working for an electric power company. Well, I guess that I forgot to move on. It sounds crazy, but I've become addicted to the daily beating that I put on my body during the violent and chaotic bobsled trips as a brakeman as well as the daily strain on my back and legs during the off-season weight lifting sessions. I can’t think of another way I would have liked to have spent the last eight years. I wake up sore and achy, but I love the competition and challenge of getting better every day.

Some people would think that because I've been doing this for nearly a decade that I wouldn't get as excited for the upcoming season. That’s simply not true. This past summer while training in Colorado Springs, I knew that this World Cup season would be a test. This is the pre-Olympic season. Many people see this year as having more importance than even the Olympic season because, frankly, if you’re not in position to make the Olympics this year, you won’t be in position to make the team next year and the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Sometimes, it’s not easy to find ways to stay motivated for so long, but deep down, the drive is still there. It’s just a matter of putting that drive into performance. During the past few weeks during our pre-season testing, I've been able to lift (squat and clean) more than I ever have in addition to pushing as fast as I ever have.

A friend of mine, Cheryl Haworth, an Olympic bronze medalist in weight lifting said that it is rare that a person finds what they are truly meant to do. I think I've found that thing in my life. No one in their right mind would have guessed that a Nebraska kid from a small town would be meant to push a bobsled in the Alps and the Rockies every winter. But I was lucky to find it.

Single push at the recent 2012-2013 National Push Championships. I finished in 3^rd place.

So now, with another season about to begin, I’m finding that in addition to the typical motivation that I feel to represent my country, I’m also feeling a selfish motivation knowing that my seasons may be numbered. I know that I have an amazing support team from the corn fields of Nebraska and they’ll be in the back of my mind as this season begins. Someday, I will miss the competition and the challenge, but not before the eve of season number TEN!