S6 Ep1 - Team Culture - TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00] Tom Kelly: Hello everyone, and welcome back to Heartbeat Season six. Where has the time gone? And we're kicking off the season right now at Soldier Hollow, a big week with training camp and trials events. A lot is going on in beautiful fall colors out here in Utah. My guests today, Kelsey Dickinson and Chloe Levins. Welcome. Glad to have you back.

[00:00:20] Kelsey Dickinson: Thank you. Yeah, thanks for having us.

[00:00:23] Tom Kelly: Kelsey and Chloe are -- this is actually their third appearance. First time together. But, Chloe, actually, you go back, I think to like season one. I think we did an interview over at Zermatt then. And Kelsey, you were just on in the spring. We had a nice, nice chat about all of the advocacy work that you're doing. We're going to talk about a lot of things today. We're going to work our way up to team culture, which is so important for athletic success these days. But first, just to kind of get things going, we're here at the training camp. It's kicking off. The season is pretty much upon us. Chloe, why don't you kick it off? And what have you been doing over the summer to kind of get ready to come here to Soldier Hollow and prepare for the season?

[00:01:04] Chloe Levins: Yeah, I've had a great summer. I mixed it up a little bit this year. I joined the Mansfield Nordic Pro team, and so I am one of two biathletes on that team and have been training with a bunch of super-fast Nordic skiers. So I've really concentrated my energy on getting faster on the skis and maintaining the shooting progress that I've made over the last ten years or so. I feel like I'm in a great spot. It's been a little bit of a summer of minor injuries, with some bone bruises and some sprained fingers and little things here and there, but, all in all, super good. And I think I made some decent progress.

[00:01:42] Tom Kelly: Chloe, where's the Mansfield program?

[00:01:44] Chloe Levins: It's based out of the Burlington area, so we train in Jericho a couple times a week, and then just in the greater Burlington, Richmond, Williston area. And yeah, we meet, I would say, 3 to 4 times a week, and we have a strength facility and a headquarters for the team out in Jonesville, Vermont, and yeah, it's a great group to be a part of. I've really enjoyed working with Perry … Perry Thomas so far, and looking forward to repping them on the road this season.

[00:02:12] Tom Kelly: What are you calling home these days?

[00:02:14] Chloe Levins: I live in Williston, Vermont, with my partner. I have an apartment there. I've lived there for the last year and a half after moving from Lake Placid, where I lived in the training center.

[00:02:23] Tom Kelly: Kelsey, what have you been up to?

[00:02:25] Kelsey Dickinson: Oh, a lot of the same stuff. I feel like, you know, we often say a good summer is one that is consistent and maybe not that exciting because you're just showing up and putting the work in every day. I've been out in Craftsbury, Vermont most of the time. Aside from attending any, you know, USBA national team camps that come up, and I train out there with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, coached by Pepa Milusheva and Raleigh Goessling. So, it's been. Yeah, it's been a great summer. We've gotten, you know, we've seen Chloe and Deidra and had a lot of people come to Craftsbury and join us for some workouts. And it's a great group of people to train with. I've really enjoyed it. This is my eighth year now on the team there.

[00:03:05] Tom Kelly: For for those of you who are living somewhere in New England, do you tend to get together? oftentimes during the summer?

[00:03:13] Kelsey Dickinson: Yeah, I would say, you know, when schedules, when schedules work out and, you know, the Craftsbury range is it's about, what is it, an hour from Chloe and Deidra and, some of the others that are more Vermont-based. So we often host athletes. We also have groups come down from Canada, and all over the place because it's a great place to stay and train for a week or two.

[00:03:36] Tom Kelly: Cool. We're here in Soldier Hollow. Beautiful fall colors here. I know you're all getting excited for the season, but starting with you, Chloe, what are the things that you as elite athletes are looking to gain out of this camp here in Soldier Hollow?

[00:03:51] Chloe Levins: Yeah, obviously we're at altitude here, and this is a World Cup venue and a future Olympic venue. So, always great to return to a venue with that kind of significance. And I think in addition to the trials races, I'm personally really looking forward to just having a good altitude block. I didn't go to altitude this summer with the rest of the team in Europe. I decided to stay home and train with my club. So really excited to get some hours under my belt and start to kind of put our summer training into action and to get into that kind of execution mindset. With the races coming up, I think it's really an exciting time of year where the ball is getting rolling and you're finally able to apply all the hard work you've done over the summer into more of that execution, performance-based mindset.

[00:04:42] Tom Kelly: Kelsey, your thoughts here?

[00:04:43] Kelsey Dickinson: Just the end of summer training is in sight. I think, you know, you get into the doldrums of August and September, and it feels like the start of the season so far away. And now that we're here, and this being really a key, key touchstone of every season. It really makes it feel like the season is right around the corner, and we're looking forward to it.

[00:05:04] Tom Kelly: It is right around the corner, too. We're going to talk about a number of things today. Both of you have been very active as advocates for your fellow athletes. And I know everyone really appreciates the work that you put in Kelsey. We talked a lot about that this, this past spring here on Heartbeat. But both of you are involved right now, both with the US Biathlon. You're both representatives to the board. You both are working with USOPC as well. Kelsey, can you start out and talk about your role, and then Chloe will go over to you?

[00:05:34] Kelsey Dickinson: Yeah. So this is actually my first year in my current role as a US Biathlon athlete rep to the board and USOPC Team USA. Oh my gosh, I'm gonna get it all wrong. Team USA Athletes Commission primary rep for biathlon. So, I was in a different role as an athlete rep on the board, I was representing the two-year athlete body. And then when Jake and Kelly, both timed out of their roles this last year, that's when Chloe and I ran for those spots.

[00:06:04] Chloe Levins: Yeah. So I, too am an athlete rep on the board of directors for U.S. biathlon and the alternate rep for the USOPC Athletes Commission. And yeah, I think that our general responsibilities are we meet Kelsey and I as, as well as Russell and Anna. We meet about a month on a monthly basis, I would say, to work on kind of ongoing projects. But Kelsey and I attend these board meetings. and in addition to being in the board meetings themselves, we're also on subcommittees. I think she's on the finance committee. I'm on the compensation committee. We have other responsibilities as well as, you know, obviously as a US Biathlon rep, we want to make sure that we're prioritizing athletes' interests and that their voice is actively kind of recruited and heard, amongst the board. And I think that, we are that kind of liaison for effective communication between the athletes and the USBA organization as a whole.

[00:07:07] Tom Kelly: More to add to that, Kelsey?

[00:07:08] Kelsey Dickinson: No, I think Chloe summed it up really well. I think our role is really to represent the athlete voice in any decisions being made by US Biathlon. And and we also have a lot of athlete reps, kind of serving in different roles. We have, you know, the board of directors, athlete representatives. And then we also have two athlete representatives on the international criteria committee or the selection committee that makes all of the criteria, decisions, and selection decisions throughout the year. And Russell is also on the board of directors as well. But Maddie Phaneuf is just serving in that role as an athlete rep. Yeah. And then we have the internal arc that's Chloe, me, Russell, and Anna French. And then, other athlete reps include Rachel Steer, who's the vice chair of the board, and Max Durkee.

[00:07:58] Tom Kelly: I want to explore a little bit on how you interact with the athletes, to kind of develop thoughts that you want to advocate for, build consensus, and so forth. Kelsey has started out, do you have a process of engaging with your teammates to kind of solicit some direction and advice to take to the boards?

[00:08:18] Kelsey Dickinson: Yeah, I mean, I think anytime, you know, so we have multiple ways of gathering feedback from the athletes in the spring. We always have two surveys that we send out to everyone, and we get a pretty good response rate on that. One is feedback on, criteria and selection from the year. And then the other one is what we call the athlete career sustainability survey. And that one is a little bit longer. I think we're at like around 30 questions, and it really assesses sort of how sustainable is it to have a career in biathlon. And so we look at information around like how much need-based aid athletes are getting, how much are they having to work and how they feel, you know, about how sustainable it is, like are they getting the support they need? And also what sort of support would they like going forward. So between those two surveys, we get kind of a picture of how the athletes are doing. And then throughout the rest of the year, we're trying to solicit more feedback. We have, we have different ways of getting feedback.

[00:09:18] Kelsey Dickinson: We have an anonymous, forum that athletes can fill out. Athletes often approach us, you know, on their own. And then we do our best to, you know, represent that information anonymously to the right people or just connect that athlete with the help that they might need. and then, yeah, I think, am I missing anything, Chloe, in terms of kind of how we get feedback, it's also, I think, a very active process at times because I think, you know, a lot of athletes, you just have to focus on what you're doing. And it's not always intuitive to be thinking about, like how this could be better. And when you're kind of in the grind every day. And so we often try to have athlete representatives that represent different groups in biathlon, whether it's different clubs, different geographical locations. And so really what we're trying to do is reach out to those athletes and be like, hey, this is happening. What do you think about it? And really soliciting that really direct feedback from them.

[00:10:13] Tom Kelly: Yeah. Chloe, anything else to add there?

[00:10:15] Chloe Levins: Yeah. I think I would just add that we have a really diverse group of athlete reps, as you heard from Kelsey. Like there are a lot of us. And that's intentional. I think it's intentional that they are of different demographics in the sport and organization as well as geographical location, as she mentioned. I think it's always an ongoing process for feedback, whether you're just skiing a warm-up loop with someone and they have a quick complaint and, or if it's an official, you know, anonymous, survey or form filled out where, you know, we need to escalate it more formally. And I think that, you know, being adaptable and flexible and also just open to everyone's opinions and actively recruiting that voice is obviously our main intent. and I think it all culminates with that survey in the spring that goes out on career sustainability, which not only includes some of the more financial aspects of what it's like to be competing in biathlon at this time, but also the culture of excellence and our team camaraderie. So, yeah, I think that it's it's an ongoing process is kind of the moral of the story of of soliciting and collecting feedback and then escalating it to the, to the proper channel professionally.

[00:11:29] Tom Kelly: Both of you are training at the highest level of the sport. What has motivated you to take the time, energy, and dedication? Chloe, to start with you. What's really motivated you to do that on behalf of your fellow athletes?

[00:11:42] Chloe Levins: I think that, you know, it gives me a sense of, of duty and responsibility outside of the competitions that I really enjoy. I also grew up in the sport of golf. I feel like I always talk about golf, but everything seems to come back to it. And you know, golf is a game of etiquette and respect. And it's the way that I've known sport for my entire life, and being able to represent athletes and, in this way, I think is kind of the ultimate form of respect for my teammates and competitors.

[00:12:15] Tom Kelly: Kelsey?

[00:12:16] Kelsey Dickinson: Oh, that was so eloquent. Sorry. No, I mean, I think I talked about this a little bit on, the last podcast that I did because I do try to engage in a lot of different advocacy channels, within sport. But I think what motivates me is really just trying to make sport a place where everyone can feel welcome and has a chance to succeed and to chase their dreams. and so I think that plays into a lot of the team culture stuff we've done, but really just pushing to because I think sport can bring such a it can be such a positive aspect in the life of an individual, and I want it to be that and not have some of the, you know, sticky parts of maybe what might not be going smoothly, hold an athlete back from achieving their dreams.

[00:12:58] Tom Kelly: I want to just deviate for just a little bit. You said something that really struck me. And you know what sport means to individuals. And, you know, as I look at sports, it's crossing a finish line, it's winning medals. It is all that. But it really is a lot more to individuals, isn't it?

[00:13:12] Kelsey Dickinson: Yeah. Of course. I mean, I think sport is a teacher, is what I always say. It teaches you so many things about yourself, about how you act in the world, about how you can be uncomfortable and push yourself. And I think there's so much more to sport than just results. And especially biathlon, I think biathlon teaches you a level of emotional regulation that is maybe hard. I mean, maybe golf seems like would be a good.

[00:13:38] Tom Kelly: We will come back to golf, right?

[00:13:40] Kelsey Dickinson: Right. But I just think it can really help you grow as an individual and give you a platform, for that. So. Yeah.

[00:13:48] Tom Kelly: Thoughts on the same topic, Chloe?

[00:13:50] Chloe Levins: Yeah, I think that, you know, sport is a manifestation of, you know, personality in some ways too. And like, I think it obviously brings nations together. It brings communities together. It brings people together. We are all very different. But we have the shared experience in biathlon. And, I think that it's super special. I always say that I'm going to keep doing it until I, until I stop learning or having fun, and I'm continuing to do both those things. And I think that, as Kelsey said, it is a teacher. And, you know, whether you're learning more about the intricacies of shooting or ski technique or maybe just yourself in a high-performance setting, it's valuable nonetheless to continue to fight through adversity and, or even just be there for a teammate when they need you.

[00:14:37] Tom Kelly: Yeah. Sport's an amazing thing. Let's get back on track with your roles. Do you have any specific projects that you're working on right now on behalf of athletes? Chloe, you want to start it out?

[00:14:47] Chloe Levins: Yeah. Since I became an athlete rep in January, I have made it a mission to connect more athletes with the greater US Biathlon network. I think that through some connections, through the USOPC that I've made over the years, I have, you know, really tried to work with Jack. All of us have we've we've tried to, you know, work with Jack and in creating a mentorship program with some trustees and getting more networking events on the calendar, such as, you know, this coming week, we're going to play golf and go fly fishing and have dinner with some of the trustees who are coming to watch these trials races, which will be awesome. But in addition to that, I've, we've created this form, for the, you know, US Biathlon athlete contingent to fill out, which will help them communicate better to the trustees and the organization in, in the greater network about what their interests are, what, what their education was, was in and, you know, are they actively looking for some sort of part time work? Um. Are they looking to start a dual career like some of our counterparts in bobsled and track and field? A lot of those athletes maintain part-time or even full-time remote jobs and go to the Olympics and win medals. And I just want to see that become possible for US Biathlon, US biathletes. I think that it's really important to obviously have a good transition period post-career, but I don't see why, you know, there couldn't be a dual career aspect. although we do train for many hours in a day. It might be more difficult than we all seem. I just think that there is opportunity for growth there. And I'm really grateful to, you know, the organizing, organizational efforts from Sara and Jack to, to try to make those connections between athletes and, and some of the greater US Biathlon community.

[00:16:47] Tom Kelly: I'd love to hear this because I know on the on the trustee side of things. I've seen this over the years. They love to be engaged that way. They love to be able to share something. They can't do what you do. They can't go out and ski and shoot like you guys can do. But they have a lot to share, don't they? And they want to share it.

[00:17:02] Chloe Levins: Absolutely. I think that, it's always a joy for us, and I think it's mutual. I hope it's mutual. When we get to interact with them at some really special dinners over the winter. And, I just think that obviously they have invaluable connections, experience, and knowledge that, you know, we can we can obviously learn from immensely. And so, yeah, fostering these connections has been a priority of mine personally. And then, I just want to make it, you know, available to anyone else who wants to take advantage of the network. Yeah.

[00:17:40] Tom Kelly: Great. Kelsey, thoughts from your side?

[00:17:43] Kelsey Dickinson: I mean, I think Chloe is doing a really good job with this. I think career transition support is an area that USOPC is starting to put more resources into as well. And I think in general as a sport community, we're asking the question like, how can we support athletes better after sport after their competitive careers? And so it's really cool to see Chloe working on this. I'm happy to talk about other, other initiatives that we have going on. In our effort to always streamline communication from athletes, we've created a form for athletes to reach out to their ACC representatives, and give them a better way to kind of give feedback to the ACC for selection decisions. We also have been pushing for having more training around mental health with firearms, in our coaching education and then, wow, I'm thinking, oh, yeah, we we've been pushing for the women's coaching initiative and supporting US Biathlon in that and making sure that there is good diversity in coaching on the road and in the US, and that the US Biathlon is investing domestically and creating coaching talent. I have also, in my role as a Team USA Athletes Commission rep. I'm on the USOPC NGB AAC Success Committee. Wow. That's a lot of acronyms, but …

[00:19:07] Tom Kelly: Lot of acronyms …

[00:19:08] Kelsey Dickinson: That's helping, you know, it's a group of people that are working on, looking at, the athlete, basically a is the Athlete Advocacy Council, trying to help them be effective in representation within their ngbs and how, the USOPC can support Ngbs and having successful arcs. So, I've been working with them on that. I'm also a member of the USOPC Women's Health Task Force, and that's a big area of passion of mine and continuing to work on, especially coaches education around women's health.

[00:19:47] Tom Kelly: If there's a lot here to unpack, but I would recommend and I'll put this in the show notes. The podcast that we did last spring has a lot of detail, particularly on the women's coaching initiative and some of the other points you mentioned. We are going to take a short break, and when we come back, we're going to talk about team culture, a very, very important part of athletic success. We'll be right back with Kelsey Dickinson and Chloe Levins on Heartbeat.

[00:20:14] Tom Kelly: We're back on heartbeat with Kelsey Dickinson and Chloe Levins. We are at Soldier Hollow this week. Beautiful fall colors. The fall festival underway. Team trials, a lot of activity as the season is soon to be opening. We're going to talk about team culture, which has been an important topic within the US Biathlon Team over the last year or two. Before we get into team culture, I'm always curious about this with athletes who compete in what is essentially an individual sport. When you are up at the start line. You know you're breaking the wand with just yourself, but you're a part of a team. Kelsey, I'm going to start with you, but how does that dichotomy work? I mean, what's it like to be in an individual sport, but where the success really comes from your interaction as a whole team?

[00:21:01] Kelsey Dickinson: Yeah. I mean, I think that, there's a saying that we have among some of the women's team, it's like with a rising tide elevates all ships or something like that. I think that really is true, that, yes, maybe you're breaking the star wand on your own, but there's so much about biathlon that ends up being team-related. We have Nations Cup points, we have relays. There are a lot of things that we're striving for as a group. And I think when we can both hold space for those team goals and also individual goals, then I think we can be the most successful because we don't want to lose the individual in all of this because it is an individual sport in a lot of ways. but I do think that pursuing those goals as a team, holding each other accountable, and supporting one another can really help elevate the team as a whole. And then we all benefit from that.

[00:21:51] Chloe Levins: It is certainly a dichotomy. I have been one to play individual sports for most of my life, but in a way in which I've matured, I think in the sport of biathlon is it came from some mentors of mine who have since retired, Clare Egan and Susan Dunklee, who were a great example of how, you know, when one of them won a medal or when one of them had success, the other one, you know, was a part of it, too. And I think that when one person has success, I think it's an understanding amongst our team that each person has, you know, a piece of that success as well, because we've fought together in intervals. We've shot side by side. We have, you know, been through adversity, picked each other up, and, you know, dusted each other off. And we couldn't do it on our own. And, and for that I think that, you know, striving for something outside yourself, or at least I'll speak for myself, outside of myself, has, has really allowed me to to mature in this sport and see it as, you know, much more team oriented and that, that just yeah again lifts the tide, brings everyone up.

[00:23:02] Tom Kelly: We're hearing the term culture more and more across many different sports, and I know this is something that US Biathlon has been tackling over the last year and a half to two years. Kelsey, can you give us an introduction to the the culture process that the team has been going through? And we'll work our way up to the definitions of the values that you've determined. But talk about how this process went and the role that athletes had in this process.

[00:23:28] Kelsey Dickinson: Yeah. So, it's actually funny, the athlete reps have been advocating for focusing on team culture for a while now. And so it's really cool to see that support from the staff and the organization and making that a reality. We started having conversations, like you said, about a year and a half ago, sort of in the wake of the vestry late report, which really, like really pushed forward the idea that we needed to work on team culture. And there were gaps that we had to improve on in that area. And so, Jack and the leadership really made it a priority to address that. And that started with a meeting that we had as a team in Vuokatti, where Jack helped facilitate some discussions about, like, who do we want to be as a group, what values do we want to have? And really looking at this from the perspective of becoming a values, I mean, not that USBA wasn't before, but really emphasizing that we are a values led organization and creating those values that we can come together around, and use to have discussions and support each other and also hold each other accountable. And so that started in Vuokatti with the World Cup and IBU Cup teams, as well as a lot of the US Biathlon staff.

[00:24:36] Kelsey Dickinson: And then we've had follow-up meetings, most recently being in Lake Placid. we had a professional come in. His name was Brian. Dorval. Dorval. Yeah. Thanks, Chloe. And, we had some really, really awesome, engaging conversations. And Brian really pushed us to, like, brainstorm, to think outside the box, to really come up with crazy ideas that we could implement in some form or another to really increase the team culture among both the team, but also the greater biathlon community, because we as athlete reps, feel that it's really important to sort of bridge the gap between, like the national team and the biathlon community so that we all feel like we're a part of this mission and vision and and that we all, you know, like Chloe said, that like, the success of US Biathlon at the world stage is, is everyone can feel like they have a part in that, all the way down to, like, the kids, you know, shooting laser rifles, or trying it for the first time.

[00:25:29] Tom Kelly: Chloe, you were a part of this process along the way as an athlete. how did you feel about this? And was this something that was natural to you to kind of be forthcoming and contribute to this discussion?

[00:25:40] Chloe Levins: Yeah, I mean, I actually came into the process after it was already underway, as I was not in Vuokatti last year, and I was not an athlete rep until this past January. So, yeah, coming into the process kind of, kind of in the midst of it all was a fascinating perspective, too. But yeah, I think that the ways in which both Brian Dorval, and Jack have engaged with the athletes and really called upon, you know, our input has given us great ownership over the process. And obviously we want to include as many voices as possible. And, but I think that the consensus that we came to with our core values as an organization are, you know, I think irrefutable they're they're essential. And they really even though what the TV captures and what the media captures are the outcomes, this is, you know, the culture that makes those outcomes possible. And it's it's equally … actually more important than the outcomes themselves.

[00:26:44] Kelsey Dickinson: The process …

[00:26:46] Tom Kelly: Just to know, we've referred to Jack a lot. Jack Gierhart is the president and CEO of US Biathlon. He's been in that role for about three years right now. I imagine, as with anything, that you have some athletes who are more engaged than others. But in general, did you guys find that there was pretty broad participation across the team? Chloe.

[00:27:05] Chloe Levins: Yeah, I remember actually in a meeting in Lake Placid during training camp, a couple of us were aware that every single person spoke. So every single person spoke who was there. And that wasn't just a training camp for the national team. Juniors were there, you know, the national training group was there. And I don't know what that maybe 40 people or in the room altogether. I don't know what, contingent, you know, how many people that exactly was. But, me and one other counted that, you know, every single person participated at least once. So a lot of voices has have contributed to, you know, what we kind of have defined as our core values. And, that's all because, you know, the leadership and the athlete reps have made this a clear priority for the organization and a point of, you know, a point with which we need to truly invest to continue to perpetuate the success that we've already had.

[00:28:06] Tom Kelly: Kelsey, going back to that first meeting in Vuokatti, which I think was just just over a year ago, wasn't it? Was it 24 or 23?

[00:28:19] Kelsey Dickinson: It was just last year.

[00:28:20] Tom Kelly: It was just last year. That's what I thought. So, going back to that Vuokatti meeting a year ago, was there an initial objective to identify these values? We're going to talk about them in a minute. But was that an initial objective or is it something that just evolved out of the process?

[00:28:35] Kelsey Dickinson: No, I think that was the objective, but I think that it no one thought that it was going to be something that we came up with right away. There was a process to kind of like distill those values. I mean, at one point we had maybe like 20 words on the board that we were talking about and going through. And, you know, everyone had the opportunity to give their input, to suggest new words, to go put. We had little stickers where you could vote for which ones, you know, which your top three were. And so we really had like a well-spirited debate around all of that. And, you know, I was reflecting on what Chloe was saying about everyone participating in some of those meetings that we had in Lake Placid. I remember being like, Holy cow, it's so loud in here. You know, like everyone was talking and laughing, and just like there was so much energy in the room. And I think that's a really unique thing with groups in general just to get that much engagement. especially with a group of athletes, it's like, you know, maybe in between or in the evening after they've done two workouts. So I could tell that everyone really had a lot of passion and energy around it. but yeah. So we were working on coming up with these, these three things that you see now, you know, on the US Biathlon website.

[00:29:41] Tom Kelly: So tell us what the values are. What was the. And I'd like to say on one hand, it's the outcome. But it's really just kind of the beginning. Chloe, you want to.

[00:29:48] Chloe Levins: Yeah. I just want to mention that although I recognize a lot of athletes that were involved in the process, staff was also involved in there, like all the coaching staff and high performance staff was present and contributing as well. To these three values, which are respect, grit and growth mindset. And so these values were, you know, the three that we ultimately agreed upon as a group over, I don't know, seven months, I guess. So, yeah, I think that we kind of decided that we could all stand by these. They represent who we want to be, how we want to show up as Team USA, as the staff wants to show up for the athletes, as the athletes want to show up for the staff, and the greater, you know, organization as a whole in their country. and yeah, it's just it's a really it was a really special thing to, to be a part of. And now it's time to, you know, continue to reap the benefits and make sure that it stays alive and has a pulse.

[00:30:45] Tom Kelly: Let's talk about each of them. And, Kelsey, if you could start it out and just talk about in your definition, what does respect mean.

[00:30:53] Kelsey Dickinson: Yeah. Well, you know, respect is about honoring the team, the process and the person. And yeah, that's what it says. You know, in the, in the, press release that just came out. But I really agree with those words. And I think respect is sort of recognizing that we're all coming from different places and we're different people, and we're coming to this sport together and making space for our individual differences, but also supporting one another and supporting this team value. And, you know, we talk a lot about respect being like, how do you show up at training camp? How do you show up as a member of the biathlon community and conduct yourself? and I think, you know, that really it's it's sort of your demeanor and how you treat other people, is how that kind of comes through.

[00:31:36] Tom Kelly: I'm going to go to you, Chloe, for grit. And grit is just my favorite. back in my former life with U.S. Ski & Snowboard, grit was one of our values. And I just love it. So tell us about grit. What does that mean to you in biathlon?

[00:31:50] Chloe Levins: I love grit, too. I think that, we're we show grit in a lot of different ways. I think we show grit, obviously, when we are, you know, in the pain cave on the final loop on race day. But we also show grit through all of the kind of individual adversities that we all have throughout this, journey in biathlon and, and maybe some team adversity too. And so I think that, you know, remaining courageous through those times is a representation of grit. being there for each other through some gritty moments is also, you know, a manifestation of how to, you know, help, help each other during, during the more difficult times and, and also just embracing Bracing grit as a part of the process of being a professional athlete. On the macro level and also the individual competitions themselves on the micro level. So, you know, I think that we have a teammate who spends a lot of time thinking about how he's going to embrace pain and being mentally ready to embrace that pain. And it's a clear point of focus for him. And I think, you know, that a lot of people are examples of what grit truly is. And that's just one, obviously. And I think that you never know what kind of hard things people might be going through. Sometimes it's more difficult to tell depending on the person, but we're all exemplifying grit in various ways every single day. And so I think it makes sense that it's a core value because without it you're not going to progress.

[00:33:28] Tom Kelly: You both have mentioned adversity a number of times here today. Adversity is a part of sport. If you're not going to be successful without having adversity. So grit will get you through.

[00:33:38] Chloe Levins: Absolutely. Yep.

[00:33:39] Tom Kelly: Cool. Kelsey. Growth mindset. Looking to the future.

[00:33:43] Kelsey Dickinson: Yeah. I mean, growth mindset. All of these three values among, you know, among others are just essential to this, to being an elite athlete and being a part of the sport process. Like, I think in order to be your best self and your, you know, perform at the highest level, you need to be able to be willing to grow, be willing to always be looking for what's how you can be better, how you can be a better athlete, a better teammate, a better member of the biathlon community. And so I think growth mindset really represents like that openness and that curiosity to really embrace this process that is often very challenging and very difficult and requires a lot of a lot of strength, a lot of courageousness and bravery. But still be looking not not then facing that and wanting to shut down, but being like, okay, How can I grow from this? How can I move on from this and use this to make myself stronger in the end? And I think that's when the sport this process really works for you is when you can use those challenges and learn from them and grow from them.

[00:34:50] Chloe Levins: I'm going to remind Kelsey of some of her own words here and that sport as a teacher, and I think that we're all students, to go along with that analogy. And like, we're all trying to master this craft individually as a team. And I think that the ultimate growth mindset is to just have the goal of mastery and whatever comes, you know, to you on that pursuit of excellence, whether it be World Championships, World Championship medals, Olympics, you know, we're all striving to be the best biathlete we can be.

[00:35:23] Tom Kelly: You were both coming into a camp now, the first time the team's really been together for some months. Do you now have these values that you, as athletes and staff, have helped to put together? What do you think you'll feel through this camp? How will these new values help you in your engagement with teammates and your personal workouts? Chloe, what are your thoughts?

[00:35:47] Chloe Levins: Yeah, obviously, it's going to be a test, I think. And I think it's really important as athlete reps to make sure that we are exemplifying these three things to the best of our ability. Although we're entering, you know, a rigorous trials process at the same time. I think that the camp so far has been great. We've had some, you know, team competitions with Canada, who's here, joining us for some sessions, and among other sessions as well that we've been together, just team USA. But the team camaraderie is definitely, you know, present and true. And I only think that it's going to allow us to have, you know, greater team success and even individual success as well, as we start this execution mode of the fall training season.

[00:36:37] Kelsey Dickinson: Yeah, I think that was really well said, Chloe. I guess I would just add, you know, that when you're with a we're about to be on the road for about five months with this group of people. So, you know, I can imagine at some points along the way, you're not going to be your best self. You know, there's going to be tough races. There's going to just be times where you're you're when you're in the thick of it. And I really think that these values that we've come up with really help give us a path to support one another and to, you know, know that on any given day someone might be struggling, someone might be having a great time. But we're really in it together, and we're here to support one another. And at the end, if we can all help each other show up and give what we have on the day of the race, then we're going to do well and we're going to have success, find success as a team. And so, think this training camp is really just getting our toes in the water, getting ready for the season. Unfortunately, we've all spent a lot of time with each other already, so we kind of know the drill. But, yeah, I think I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out through the year. And, you know, being there, being points where we come back to it and talk about it and use it to kind of reset, and hopefully, you know, build on it as we go through, see what happens.

[00:37:51] Tom Kelly: We're going to wrap it up with our On-Target section. I've got a few fun questions for you, but before we do, final thoughts, Chloe?

[00:37:58] Chloe Levins: Yeah, I think that the work that we've done thus far is great. We've obviously developed some really solid pillars for the organization to lean on and for the athletes to refer back to. And I think now what's really important is just to keep it going and to continue to make it front of mind for everyone as we enter the competition season. But I'm just really excited and really happy with where the team is at. And, yeah, just optimistic about what's to come.

[00:38:30] Tom Kelly: By the way, folks, you can see the excitement on her face, too. So it's about to begin. Kelsey.

[00:38:35] Kelsey Dickinson: Glowing?

[00:38:35] Tom Kelly: Yes. Glowing.

[00:38:36] Kelsey Dickinson: I guess, you know, for any athletes that might be listening to this, reach out to your reps. We're here for you. I'm just going to plug that. We really want your feedback. We want to hear from you. We want to hear what's going well, what's not. I'll give Tom some ways that you can reach out to us, but yeah. Like, we really want to talk to you. We want to hear from you. So I hope that you know, hearing this podcast and what we've talked about has maybe made us feel more accessible. and, and you know, that you'll reach out to us in the future.

[00:39:07] Tom Kelly: Great. We'll put some links in the show notes. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this. We're just going to have a couple of fun questions here in the On-Target section. So, either one of you can start this off, but I want to know one fun thing that you each did over the summer that had nothing to do with biathlon. One fun thing you did over the summer that you can talk about that had nothing to do with biathlon.

[00:39:32] Kelsey Dickinson: I went on the zip line at the Lake Placid ski jump. Oh my God.

[00:39:37] Chloe Levins: That's awesome.

[00:39:38] Kelsey Dickinson: Margie Freed had a ticket, and so I went with her. What a wild ride.

[00:39:44] Tom Kelly: You should try this. …

[00:39:44] Kelsey Dickinson: Ski 30s long. But it was. It was fun. Yeah. The ski jump would be if it had been on the ski jump. That would have been pretty amazing.

[00:39:50] Chloe Levins: Whoa!

[00:39:51] Tom Kelly: Chloe.

[00:39:51] Chloe Levins: Fun thing. Oh my gosh. Wow. I could relate almost anything to biathlon. So I am actually struggling with this question because I could say play golf. But you know, that relates to biathlon in my own mind. But something that was brand new for me was actually going on a sailboat for the first time, which was amazing, just on Lake Champlain, local for sunset. And it was it was gorgeous. It was the highlight of the summer for me.

[00:40:15] Tom Kelly: Okay. Last question. You guys have both been here to Soldier Hollow a lot. What's a favorite fun spot or fun thing to do when you're training at Soldier Hollow?

[00:40:26] Chloe Levins: We just went to a new cinnamon bun bakery the other day. Renowned cinnamon buns. Supposedly, some of the best. What?

[00:40:34] Kelsey Dickinson: The Midway.

[00:40:35] Chloe Levins: Bakery? Yeah, I think so.

[00:40:36] Kelsey Dickinson: They came back?

[00:40:37] Chloe Levins: Yeah, they were here like.

[00:40:38] Kelsey Dickinson: A long time ago. They went out of business and.

[00:40:39] Chloe Levins: Then they came back.

[00:40:40] Tom Kelly: New location.

[00:40:41] Chloe Levins: Came back. Come back story.

[00:40:42] Tom Kelly: Yeah, it's a comeback story, actually. It's good, isn't it?

[00:40:45] Chloe Levins: So good. Good. So good. The other day.

[00:40:47] Chloe Levins: So I don't know. Highly recommend.

[00:40:49] Tom Kelly: Have to get there early though.

[00:40:50] Chloe Levins: Oh, yeah. It's popular.

[00:40:51] Tom Kelly: It's popular.

[00:40:52] Chloe Levins: We love a good.

[00:40:53] Kelsey Dickinson: Coffee shop, a.

[00:40:53] Chloe Levins: Good bakery, you know, like we're.

[00:40:55] Kelsey Dickinson: Always hunting for those spots. So when we're.

[00:40:57] Chloe Levins: Here, everything's food-related. Yeah, I know.

[00:41:00] Tom Kelly: I'm fine on that. Fill’er Up is gone now I know.

[00:41:03] Kelsey Dickinson: What a shame.

[00:41:04] Tom Kelly: That's too bad. But the bakery's good. Lots of other spots.

[00:41:07] Kelsey Dickinson: Coffee?

[00:41:07] Tom Kelly: Yeah. Ritual. Ritual?

[00:41:09] Chloe Levins: Yeah.

[00:41:09] Kelsey Dickinson: I got a pumpkin spice latte there the other day. Not afraid to admit it.

[00:41:14] Tom Kelly: Do you go down to the Ritual factory?

[00:41:16] Kelsey Dickinson: Just the one down in Heber. Yeah.

[00:41:18] Tom Kelly: Yeah, yeah, it's a good spot. Thank you so much for joining us on Heartbeat. Wish you all the best over this camp and on the season. And hopefully see you in Antholz.

[00:41:26] Chloe Levins: Thank you very much. Yeah.

[00:41:27] Kelsey Dickinson: Thanks.