Speaking with Rachael Flatt

Your coach has a very different philosophy than some top coaches. How do his methods help you?
Tom, my coach, loves to talk about John Wooden. We all have John Wooden's pyramid of success, with competitive greatness at the top. He finds inspiration from a lot of different athletes, a bunch of different coaches and especially through the USOC. He gets a lot of information and research and just helps to get us better...and it's not necessarily just about each individual skater and his training regimens. It's a lot about pushing, really pushing each other to get better and stronger. He loves the Olympic motto, higher, faster, stronger.

Speaking of your training group in Colorado right now, do you ever train with the guys on the ice? Are you able to keep up with them?
I can almost keep up with the guys in practices. It's hard sometimes. They're just too big and too strong! But we definitely push each other to really perform our programs in practice, which is hard sometimes when we're tired. But it makes us all stronger.

We've heard that you've had to do push-ups on the ice. True or false?
Yes, I have had to do push-ups on the ice in the middle of the rink and almost get run over. Yes, I've done that, unfortunately, because, uh, let's say there's just a little bit of punishment or negative reinforcement, for [popping] a jump in a pressure situation. It's really good practice because you're like, 'Okay, I have a job to do, and I have to get it done.'

Do you ever wish you had more time to skate or more time for school?
Sometimes I wish I had a little bit more time for school just to try to get everything done. With the term student-athlete student always comes first, so school is just definitely the biggest priority. I do try to keep a fine balance between school and skating. It's hard to have late nights sometimes, to study and finish all my homework, it's exhausting. It really is. And then getting up in the morning for early sessions is very difficult. I'm like, 'Mom, can I have five more minutes of sleep?'

What do you love the most about skating? What keeps you going to the rink every day, even when you're exhausted?
My favorite part of going to the rink every day is just really working hard and trying to do things right. But it sometimes is hard to get up and have training every day. The daily grind is hard. It really is. You have to find those little moments every day where [you can say] 'Oh, you know, it was really fun that we did that.' Putting on fun music and goofing around for the first few minutes of a session every once in a while is kind of fun. You have to enjoy it a little bit to appreciate how hard you have to work.

What are some of your favorite Olympic memories?
Torino was absolutely amazing. There are always upsets during the Olympics; sometimes that's the best [reason] to watch because you never know what's going to happen. The unexpected, it's amazing. It's all of the pressures [that] sometimes get to people, which is a little disappointing because you want them to do their best. So, sometimes it's hard to watch that. But other times when you see people succeed and do the best they've ever done and see the pure joy that they have on their faces after they finish, it's like, wow. That's kind of the feeling I want when I finish.

Do you remember watching Sarah Hughes in Salt Lake?
Holy cow, that was amazing. I mean, she skated so well, it was incredible. Her enthusiasm at the end of her program and just her shock at how well she had skated, it sent chills up and down my spine. My mom and I were giving her a standing ovation. It was so cool.

I remember I was up a little too late that night watching her skate, and my teacher was like, ‘Rachel, you're too tired today.'

What was competing at your first senior Worlds like?
Competing at Worlds gave me a lot of confidence in my skating and it also gave me a lot of experience, in ways that are unbelievable. It was great. I had a great time. We had a lot of fun. I hope that showed when I was skating.

What was the biggest thing you think you took away from that competition?
I took away from Worlds basically how to compete against the best girls in the World. It was very difficult, it was very hard. I mean, all of the girls were very ready, and very ready to compete and do their best.

Based on some of the feedback you got from this past season and how you felt in competition, what did you feel like you needed to work on the most?
My components, [especially] speed and posture.

Shawn Johnson, who won an Olympic gold medal in Beijing, said that gymnastics was about falling. Do you feel that's true about skating?
The beauty of skating is trying to make it look easy, but in fact it really isn't. It takes a lot of hard work and we do fall. Like Shawn said, it's about falling. You have to fall to learn. And yes, sometimes you will fail, but it all adds up [eventually] to the total success.

You say you're a West Coast girl, but how do you balance the laid-back lifestyle with the demands of your schedule?
I love hanging out on our back deck in the sun with our dogs on the weekends, just to read...I really do like a laid-back atmosphere when it comes to just hanging out and not doing anything really important. But when it comes to skating or school, I like to put my nose to the grindstone.

What has skating tought you?
It's taught me how to be incredibly passionate about something. I feel like for some people, they've really lost a sense of passion or love for something. And I think that's very important in your life. And [your passion] has to be a huge part of your life, but it doesn't have to necessarily take up all of your time. You just have to immerse yourself in it and really enjoy it, and have a sense of happiness.