Grade schools, high schools, and colleges have started the
fall semester this past week. Summer vacation is over and kids are headed back
to school for another year of education. Often times, kids ask why school is
necessary or more specifically, why certain subjects are necessary. By the time
kids are in high school, many have begun to set goals pertaining to their
eventual career. So they may wonder why a banker needs to take biology. Or why
does a future engineer need to study accounting? Is physics really going to be
a necessity for a student that wants to be a salesman?
I’m sure any farmer could explain to a would-be- farmer the
need to have adequate math skills. For example, a farmer needs to be able to
calculate the right rotational speed for an irrigation pivot in order to apply
the needed amount of water. Or he may need to use basic geometry to determine
the right size of a grain bin to build for the amount of estimated corn yield
for the harvest season. And of course there are a number of mathematical
formulas that attempt to predict the trend of grain prices in the market.
Furthermore, with the speed at which technology is improving, any farmer would
tell you that having a grasp on the computer skills and communication skills is
very important and can mean the difference in potentially thousands of dollars’
worth of corn production at the end of the year.
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| Farm Math |
I’ve learned that the same holds true with bobsledding. From
the outside, most people would assume that my job as a brakeman is pretty
simple. Any “dumb jock” could do it. It seems to be a matter of grabbing the
two handles at the back of the sled, going for an intense 5 second sprint, and
then go for a minute roller coaster ride. However, in order to become a brakeman
on the best team in the world, the job requires basic skills that I learned in
high school as well as many advanced skills that I learned in the subjects that
I took in college as I was earning my engineering degree.
Obviously, physics and math are two subjects that directly
apply to helping make a sled go faster. Calculating velocity and acceleration
as a sled goes down a hill leads to predicting a team’s downtime. All the
while, many forces are acting on the sled including drag, gravity, and friction
between the ice and runners.
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| Forces on a bobsled |
In addition to physics and math, we use a variety of foreign
languages while competing on the international circuit. Most of our competitors
use German as a first language, but there are also some teams that speak
Italian, French, Russian, and other eastern European languages. In order to
interpret rules and even to simply translate the start time of the race, we
need to communicate seamlessly.
In bobsled, we even use some accounting skills that I learned
in high school as we need to keep organized records while we test a number of
variables to find the fastest setup for the sled on a specific track. We may
need to test different combinations of runners during a practice session. So
often times, making a spread sheet that helps us keep track of down times,
start times, air temperature, ice temperature, sled weight, crew make-up, etc
will help us determine the fastest set of runners.
Heck, I even use sanding skills I learned in high school
shop class to polish our runners to an extremely smooth almost frictionless
surface. I never would have thought that I was going to spend another minute
sanding anything after I spent countless hours on an oak headboard in Mr.
Shanahan’s wood working class!
A couple years ago, I began to use a concept called “Fuzzy
Logic and Neural Networks” to try and simplify our athletic testing combine. I
learned this advanced theory while taking an Electrical Engineering class at
the University of Nebraska. But it can be applied to an infinite number of
situations. Bobsled coaches use a scored system of sprints, squats, cleans,
broad jumps, and shot-put throws to measure an athlete’s potential pushing
ability. Without going into complicated detail, my hope was to develop a new
testing method that would eliminate the unnecessary tests without overlooking
any athletic attribute that a good push athlete has.
The “dumb jock” persona rarely rings true with any sport in
today’s society. Playbooks are inches thick (if they’re even printed at all.
Some universities give out iPads with apps that contain the playbook!). Teams
use sports psychology as well as nutrition to prepare for games as much as
physical conditioning. It takes a brain that goes along with the brawn.
Just as farmers’ jobs are made easier and more profitable by
using their brains in addition to their backs, bobsledding championships are
not won by mindlessly pushing a heavy sled. A knowledge of sciences, math,
English, foreign language and even shop class help make a well-rounded and
successful bobsledder.
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