Story originally posted Feb. 13, 2009
WHISTLER, B.C. – A Bremerton woman has switched sports in the hopes that she can represent the USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.
Bree Schaaf could be straight from central casting. She’s a homecoming queen, a musician, a dancer and a scholar-athlete.
Bree’s work is fast paced. 90 mph to be precise. She’s a rookie bobsled driver on the World Cup circuit. She finished sixth in her debut race on the fastest, toughest track in the world – the one built for the 2010 Games at Whistler.
“If you’re not anticipating the next turn and the next steer, it’s game over,” said Bree.
Sliding down the bobsled track is nothing new for her. Bree used to do it face first as a world-class skeleton driver. She made the switch to bobsled just this year.
Bree grew up with soccer, skiing, basketball, volleyball and ballet. She went to Portland State University on a volleyball scholarship and followed her brother onto the skeleton track.
"It went from cozy indoor sports to obscure outdoor sports,” said Bree.
Before Whistler last week, her parents, Ken and Terri, had never seen her race. They are proud, but not really that surprised.
From what I can tell, it’s not athleticism, it’s fearlessness,” said Terri.
As for Bree, she'll be spending a lot more days at the office, fighting to get back to Whistler a year from now, and thrilled to have a high speed job that teaches her about slowing down and enjoying life.
“Once you’re in the sled in the track, you have no choice but to think about each turn at a time. And then, as soon as you’re gone through that turn, it’s behind you. You can’t think about it, otherwise you’ll miss your next steer.
"So, it’s a really great lesson in living in the moment,” says Bree.
Friday morning, Bree finished fifth in the final World Cup event of the season in Park City, Utah. That nails down an entry in next week’s world championships in Lake Placid, NY.
She still has work to do. Right now, Bree is in the number three USA sled. Only the top two get to the Olympics.
