"If you only read the books that others are reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking."
Haruki Murakami
He's known mostly for his physical prowess. And that goofy, little-kid grin, of course. But it all works. A loose-limbed athlete with deceptive agility and a huge heart, Rob Boyd at 44 is still one of Whistler's most recognizable jocks.
Amazing, isn't it? Nearly a quarter century after his first World Cup victory in Val Gardena and his public star has barely faded. But time has been kind to Boyd. Whether on a mountain bike or a pair of skis - a windsurfer, a snowboard or even a pair of trail runners - the former downhill champ can still hold his own with some of the best in the valley.
And his popularity with locals hasn't waned one bit. Heck, a couple of valley dudes have even written a musical about the guy...okay, so that's a bit weird.
Still, for all his athletic achievements, what impresses me most about this Boyd character is his intellectual (and practical) curiosity. Seriously. A voracious reader - and a surprisingly progressive thinker - Boyd displays the very traits that I believe are mandatory for people who want to work with kids.
He's a lifelong learner. More importantly, he's one of those rare people who like to learn with a smile.
Know what I mean? This is a man who loves puzzles. And he doesn't often get flustered while trying to solve them. Whether it's dismantling an ailing outboard engine in a 30-knot gale or figuring out unconventional ways to engage teenagers at a Christmas training camp, Boyd enjoys nothing so much as finding new solutions to old challenges. "It's all about confidence," he says. "You have to be confident in your preparation. You have to be confident in your abilities. After that, it's just a matter of getting the job done."
Which makes his long-anticipated return to the Whistler Mountain Ski Club such welcome news. Talk about good timing. After six years as assistant coach with the women's national team - "I learned so much during that time," he says. "It was definitely the school of hard knocks," - Boyd recently penned an agreement with the WMSC that will see him overseeing all sorts of new and exciting on-mountain projects over the next few years.
"I'm so excited to be home," continues the club's new sport development manager. "So excited to be back with Sherry and the boys."
Clearly the World Cup grind got to him - the incessant travel, the performance pressure, the isolation. "Contrary to popular belief," he says, "it's not a very glamorous life. There's a lot of work and not all that much play."
He smiles. "But I'm also excited to be back at Whistler and engaged in athlete development again." He stops speaking for a beat. "You know, there's so much potential here. But a lot of challenges too. For example, I'd like to see more local kids involved in the program for longer. But how do we do that?" Another pause. He sighs. "That's the million-dollar question, isn't it..."
Let's face it. Ski racing isn't what it used to be. Overshadowed at the recent Olympics by its X Games cousins - snowboarding, skicross, halfpipe - alpine skiing is struggling to redefine itself in a modern context.
And it's not getting any easier for local families to stay involved. Ridiculously expensive, and highly demanding time-wise for young students, the sport has a shockingly high attrition rate - particularly at the crucial 14- to 15-year old level. So what do you do? Especially given the diminishing support out there.
Ironic, isn't it? For all of Own The Podium's recent braying about heightened government funding, local clubs like the WMSC are facing significant shortfalls in public monies. It wasn't that long ago that the club could expect as much as $45,000 from provincial gaming grants. Last year, they only got $9,000.
Which begs a whole new approach to athlete development at the local level.
"That's why I'd like to change things up a bit," Boyd tells me. "I'd like to see some new events developed, for example. You know, the kind of race format that might allow us to identify different kinds of talents."
Fortunately for Boyd that's also part of his working portfolio. As the newly- appointed manager of the alpine training centre on Whistler Mountain (the second "half" of his WMSC duties), Boyd's responsibilities also include the marketing and management of the mountain's new on-hill training facility. "My mandate will include stuff like organizing speed camps for the club with prepared features and safety nets and stuff, and then trying to attract the participation of other customers, whether that means the B.C. Team or other clubs, so that we can maximize our returns on our investment." Another smile. "There's a lot of expertise here," he says, "I could see that paying off, big time."
But back to his original idea. What kind of new format was he thinking of to engage those mid-teens, I want to know. What exactly does he think these kids will respond to?
"It's pretty simple really," he answers. "Imagine a weekend race at Whistler Mountain where we set up a regular FIS giant slalom for the first day - only with some terrain features thrown in, you know a few banked turns, maybe a small jump or two." The next day, he says, would feature a classic skicross event - with the seeding based on the GS results of the previous day. "Can you imagine how much fun the kids could have on something like that?" There's a catch of course. "If we really wanted to engage the local kids, we'd have to convince the FIS to issue two-day racing licences." He laughs. "Heck, how hard could that be...?"
As I already mentioned, Boyd isn't afraid to forge ahead where others fear to tread. "I have to be careful," he admits. "There's so much to be done right now that I could burn myself out trying to do everything all at once. I've got to look out for the club and for the training centre. I have to take a deep breath and figure out where I can best be effective."
And he has to respect the club's mandate. "I'm certainly going to stay focused on elite ski racing development," he says. "After all, that's still the club's primary product." He stops speaking again. Sighs. "But to do that you need a broad base of participants. You need lots of 15- and 16- and 17-year- olds. You know, kids get bored so easily now. So how do we keep their attention?"
He laughs. "Like for this summer. We were talking about it just the other day. We want to change up the whole 'dryland camp' stereotype. I mean, what a boring image. Instead, why not talk about a 'rock-climbing camp' or a 'mountain-bike camp' or even an 'acrobatics/jumping camp?' We want the kids to know they'll be learning specific skills each time we get together to train." Another ear-to-ear grin. "That way, they can't tell us they're playing soccer two days a week so they're covering the dryland stuff."
Indeed. But Boyd has shown his program creativity before. As a K2 coach with the club prior to his national team stint, he decided during one Christmas training session that things were getting far too staid. "It was during my second year with the club," he remembers. "I just got this brainstorm. We were in the middle of Christmas Camp and there were no races scheduled. I could see the motivation flagging a little. So I decided to organize a competition of our own. I think we called it the Skills Challenge..."
The concept was simple. Set up a handful of different skill stations on the hill - a speed track, a skating section, a start station, a standing speiss section etc. - and set the kids loose on the circuit. "Everybody did each station," explains Boyd. And he lets a beat skip by. "We concluded the event with a synchronized-skiing run. It was pretty funny."
More importantly though, it was something fun and different for the athletes -and still provided the coaches with good data. "Everyone was evaluated and ranked," adds coach Boyd. And laughs. "The results were fascinating. Turns out it was a surprisingly good test of strengths and weaknesses. It was a really worthwhile thing to do."
Still, I'm curious about his recent past. What was the biggest lesson he learned during his six years with the national team?
"Be confident in what you're doing," he says with very little hesitation. "Don't let yourself get turned around by other people's agendas." Then a long pause. "And never stop pushing the envelope," he says finally, and shakes his head. "You can never get complacent, even when you're winning. Know why?" He lets another beat go by. "Because what was good enough to win last week won't be good enough next week."
He looks at me to make sure I'm still following. "Maybe that's the biggest lesson right there. It's pretty simple really. If you want to win you've got to lead..."
