Latest / The Standard / Best Comeback of the Year — What Team USA's Nordic Combined Skier Learned About Discipline, Resilience, and the Standard That Never Ends | Ep. 71 Erik Lynch

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Best Comeback of the Year — What Team USA's Nordic Combined Skier Learned About Discipline, Resilience, and the Standard That Never Ends | Ep. 71 Erik Lynch · The Standard

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what is happening, team?
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the standard podcast where we raise the bar, rebuild the culture, and call out the lies or misconceptions that nobody else will.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't motivation.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: This is the movement.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Thomas Perowe, alongside my co-host and co-founder, Aaron Charles of Blueprint to Blue Chip, and today we're super excited.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: This is our Olympian edition.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: We're sitting down with Eric Lynch, a team USA Nordic combined skier and an elite endurance athlete, known for a resilience, discipline, perseverance, perseverance at the highest levels in international competition.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Eric is a member of the U.S.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: ski team.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: He has earned multiple junior national titles, represented the United States on multiple junior world teams, finished third in the U.S.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: national championships, and made the world championship team in Tornheim, Toronto.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna butcher that one.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: He's in Norway.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: He has made multiple FIS World Cup Nordic combined starts, earned a bronze medal at the FIS Cross Country Skiing Summer Grand Prix, and is currently ranked second in the nation in Nordic combined.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Eric, this is badass.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Can't wait to get into this.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: But what sets Eric apart isn't just the results, it's the story behind them.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Eric was honored with the U.S.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Ski Team Best Comeback of the Year Award, recognized him for one of the best comeback stories in the program's history, and we're going to get into that.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: And most important part, the story is still being written.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Known for his work ethic, character, and integrity, Eric Lynch is just the kind of athlete the standard podcast was built for.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: We're diving into the truth behind what it really takes to build identity, discipline, and legacy in sports and in life.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get into it, Eric.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron and I are super excited to have you here today.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for carving time out of your day.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: Because you're not here in the United States.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: Where are you right now?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Tell our audience.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm up in Lillehammer, Norway.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: And where the they hosted the 94, 1994 Olympic, Winter Olympic Games.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I am here for some summer training, summer training camp.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm actually doing skiing here in June in the summer where the sun pretty much never sets.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Well, team, what we found out just before we got on camera is the 94 Olympics was Eric's birth year.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: He's got a birthday in two days.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Eric, happy birthday.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: We're super excited to be celebrating it with you.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: But let's get it, let's get into it right now.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Nordic combined ski jump, cross-country skiing combined is one of the most demanding disciplines in winter sports.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: Most people don't even know it exists.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: What drew you to it and what how is it demanded?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what is it demanded of you and what do you expect?
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, well said.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it is it's extremely demanding as an athlete because it combines very different things physiologically, really.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: The ski jumping aspect is that's where we do the long-distance Olympic ski jumping.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So you're going down that huge ramp, 60 miles an hour about being it's very timing, is very important, explosiveness and technicality is very important.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then finesse and flight in the air and having courage, uh flying on your skis, landing over a hundred meters or so uh down the hill or further, depending on the size of hill.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And we do that typically in the morning, then based off of who gets first place in that and who gets last place in that determines your start order for the racing.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: So the racing, then you switch over to cross-country skis, which are the skinny skis in our discipline, is usually we're doing the skate ski freestyle technique, it's called.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And and that requires you to have an extremely high VO2 max, a lot of endurance, it's some different muscle fiber types than the quick explosiveness that you get on the ski jump.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so to train both of these at an extremely high level is a really hard balance to hit.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: And every athlete has to find their unique recipe to make that work.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: And each sport alone is feels very all-encompassing and worthy of obsessing over.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I love them both, and I couldn't choose, so that's why I do this.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: And find that mix is really difficult.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when we first met, you were here in Steamboat, Colorado, where I'm, you know, in the same state, I'm up in Morrison.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: How long have you been doing this?
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: And when did you when did you have that aha moment where you're like, you know what?
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: I want to be an Olympian.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: I actually had that moment when I was five years old.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: And and that's I think I think that's something that bonds the Olympian community quite often is you know, a lot of people maybe kind of laugh at a little bit like how can uh such a young child know, know that this is what they want to do.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I I really can't explain that how uh I've known that since I was young, and it's only just become more real and more strong as I've gotten older.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: And the closer and closer I've gotten, yeah, it just only becomes more real and more strong.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so that moment really, really that moment that I can remember vividly is I've been I was aware, I must have been aware, I don't really have much memory, but I must have been aware of the sport before five years old.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: But I remember seeing the sport for the first time in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and and there's a place in Howlison Hill, right in the middle of Steamboat Springs.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's a smaller ski area than our main resort, and there's a ski lift that goes right up the middle of Howlison Hill.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: And as you go up the lift on your left-hand side, there's the ski area, your normal alpine skiing hill, you have freestyle moguls, slalom skiing, all that's happening to your left.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: And as you go up the lift on the right, you have ski jumping, and you have these athletes that are not too far.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's probably 30 feet over, and then they're like 15 feet in the air, you know, flying over your shoulder.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: So you're you're looking up at these athletes flying over, flying higher than you, and flying on their skis, and and you know, they look like they're just they're look like a base jumper tracking away from a cliff on their skis.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Flying over you, and at a young age, I looked this way and looked this way and I was like, that's it right there.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so I knew I wanted to do that, that's for sure.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I knew I wanted to learn how to do that.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: I I wanted to do it all, of course, but I remember having a conversation with my dad, who at the time was a coach for the US ski team for Nordic Combine, which is why I was in Steamboat at all.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember having a conversation with my dad about what is that?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: How do you do that?
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: What are these athletes?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I I got told that they were Olympic athletes and kind of an overview of what that meant, and that sounded amazing to me.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I asked, has an American ever won Nordic combined Olympics?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: And and he said no.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Oh, well, then all that's me.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna do that.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, awesome.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so that I I remember having that moment very young, and then I have to say that in 2010, Bill DeMong uh was the first American to win, and and and so he beat me to it.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's all right.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: There's plenty of room on the podium for this sport.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: You've earned you've earned multiple junior national titles, made multiple junior world teams, finished third at nationals, and made the World Cup championship team to Turnheim, and made multiple FIS World Cup starts.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's a career most uh athletes dream about.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: What does it actually feel like to live it?
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: And what does competing at that level cost?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh I am I'm just I'm extremely, extremely thankful to have had this career.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I mean, this was the dream since being young, and it is still my dream.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's still my dream to live this, and definitely the overarching feeling is gratitude.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And and yeah, what has it taken?
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I think it takes probably an incomprehensible amount of hard work for number one, and then and then and then for me specifically, I didn't achieve the third at US Nationals, the World Cup starts, the world championship team.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't achieve that until I was eight, about eight years away from the sport due to some illness and injury, and and I came back from all that to then have the career that I have always wanted and dreamt of.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm, you know, still still starting, and I feel almost junior in in certain aspects in my career.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so to come back from that to achieve those things and to keep progressing, hard to put into words what that takes, but quite a lot.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: And quite a lot of it's very demanding on you and everyone who supports you, and and so it's all been a lot on myself and asking my family and all that.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no doubt.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when I asked what does it cost, I wasn't even talking about the finances because we know, you know, being an Olympian or being an athlete or pro athlete, it's gonna cost you a lot financially, but just the time, the sacrifice, the commitment.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and then I want to get into your comeback, but on that one, I'm gonna turn it over to Erin.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: She's gonna get into the comeback segment.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: Erin, it's all yours.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: Take it away.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: We're so excited to have you, Eric.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I think this is such an incredible opportunity for our audience to engage with an athlete that's currently competing.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_02: You're you're in this still, you know, and how can you share with us?
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: I'd love for you to talk about the comeback because you obviously were recognized by the US skis team with the best comeback of the year award.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_02: So I guess what happened?
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: What were you coming back from?
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_02: Whatever you want to share.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_02: And how did you decide to continue to push through to go, I'm not done yet?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: So when I was about, I was actually struggling with some health issues for some years when I was 19.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And well, really starting 15 years old, and I couldn't keep pushing in this for when it was when I was 19 years old, and I I didn't know what was going on health-wise, but I did finally get a diagnosis for Lyme and then a whole handful of co-infections at the time because my immune system was quite compromised.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I had an extremely severe case of pneumonia, multiple different kinds of pneumonia, and I was very antibiotic resistant itself.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: I had a very severe case of Lyme, which I had tested at the Igenics lab in California, where they're analyzing my blood directly, so not just the IgG or IgM tests, and that was quite a severe case, very antibiotic resistant as well.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I did have some injuries as well that I was managing at the time, but once I went into treatment for Lyme, and and once my symptoms got bad enough for Lyme, where I wasn't able to drive anymore, I was only able to stand for about 10 minutes at a time or so.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Other than that, I had to be laying horizontally.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't even be in a seated position.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's because I had a broken back, and and during my treatment, that was a lot of stationary time.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: I atrophied a lot, and so things like my broken back, vertebrae started to fuse, started to get severe arthritis in there, and and yeah, and so that was its own ordeal and its own adventure.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then after having huge doses of intravenous antibiotics, that takes quite a toll on your on your body, on your gut, on your ligaments, and and I was just atrophying in general anyway.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so trying to come back from that, building back into walking again and walking uphill, I tore ligaments in my feet, in my ankles, in my knees, my shoulder, and so had to rehab and come back from all that.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so those are some so those are some things that had happened, and and it was really my my goal in this sport.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: It was really the sport, and well else I should say two things.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: It was my goals in the sport and the foundation of health that this sport has given me that I even made it through any of that.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: My symptoms when these specialist doctors first saw me, they didn't tell me initially, because I was very positive and optimistic throughout, generally.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: So they didn't tell me initially, but after the fact, my parents had told me the doctors were preparing them for me to die.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then I just I survived the first brutal rounds of treatment and had some symptom improvement.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so went from like, okay, he might make it a while, so that's good.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then it went to like, well, then I kept, but I just kept getting better, kept improving, and then well, you'll never be an athlete again, but you might be able to manage this.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then it went to well, you might like be able to gain some some level range of motion again and and mobility again, but but you know, don't expect too much and just keep it easy, and then and then it, yeah.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Then kind of as I just kept moving forward, then it no one's no one's saying I can't do anything anymore.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, so it was it was my the foundation of health, it was definitely the foundation of character and and what what the sport had forged me into before having to go through such challenges that got me through for sure, and then it was my goals that got me through for sure.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: So it I I relied on my maybe delusional or psychotic uh drive to get me through.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely had to think to myself, like, either I'm going for this and I'm going for my goals and not wavering at all, or like I will die trying.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: And while that might sound extreme or crazy, that's like that was the mentality I had to get through all that.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, that's uh I think that's the simplest overview I can give there.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I didn't have a moment where I was like, where I decided, like, oh, I'm gonna keep going.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just never let go of it.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that was a key for me.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, wow.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'm speechless.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you're you're knocking on death's doorstep and you're saying no.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_02: Like, and I think any athlete that competes at your level, the Olympic level, you do have to be possessed to a certain degree beyond rational thoughts that most people would have to go, okay, this is, you know, but that obviously was your your kind of North Star, your light that was guiding you through that.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: So what does, you know, you say that your story's still being written, you know, what is the next chapter, you know, that you're working on, but you know, and how has this been a part of it?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: So the the time away from the sport, this is this sport evolves all the time, especially ski jumping.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: There's uh gear changes and due to gear changes, then there's technique innovation and and levels of coaching that just trying to come back from this was uh such a challenge and super engaging because as I'm coming back, yeah, just you know, I I learned so much of what I've been doing was incorrect.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so to try and change that, it's a process I'm still going through, especially on the ski jumping side.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Technique cross-country-wise, I'm I'm unlocking proper technique abilities all the time because as I was coming back, I could only lift my arm up to about here, and your proper hand position as you're skiing is your hands are gonna be about here, so I couldn't even get my arm up very high, my knee was torn, and so I'm like limp.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: My technique is basically awful, and so as I get healthier, my technique improves a lot.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's that's the cross-country side, the jumping side, there's just always innovation every year, and so you know, coaches and athletes who have had an uninterrupted period of time while I was away, they achieved extremely, extremely high levels of athleticism and performance in the sport.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: So to learn that and try and catch up on that and make up ground from where I came from has proved to be an extremely difficult challenge, but super rewarding.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel that's where I feel very junior is you know, I have a lot of teammates on the ski team who are younger than me, but they've been on the World Cup level for four to five years or to six or eight years.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: And where last year was my first World Cup season back as I was breaking into the sport again these two years prior, I had a couple starts here and there.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: So that means I worked my way up to the US qualification system and earned some World Cup starts.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then last year was my very first full back on World Cup, and that's where the award from the ski team came from, which I'm super, super, super grateful to have received that acknowledgement.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate that from them.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, so the next chapter is I've been building this foundation, learning, learning the right concepts for how to do the technique right.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: And and now it's it's gonna be time to apply that and apply my strengths to what I can do.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a bigger, heavier athlete in the sport, which makes it a challenge to fly far.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: And again, you know, every athlete has to find their own recipe in this sport and your own body type.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the next chapter is raising my level from placing in the 30s or so on World Cup to top 10 and breaking into starting to win some things.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: That's so awesome! So it was a long road back for you.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you started this at 19.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_02: We won't get your age, and so it's been just really the last couple of years that you've kind of hit your stride again.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_02: What an incredible story of resilience and perseverance and not losing sight of what you wanted to achieve.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, just so inspiring.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_02: That's just wow.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I'm almost speechless.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: So with that, I'm gonna go ahead and shortcut no shortcutting in endurance development.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you certainly couldn't sh like shortcut any of that.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that was I mean, work you did was beyond anything else.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_02: But then there's also got to be something where you get to you're kind of don't have to retrain yourself either as the techniques evolve, either, because you're like, well, I'm kind of a newbie in some regards to this because I haven't been in it over the like trying to evolve and adjust.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_02: So it's just wow.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, like I said, I am blown away.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_02: That's just amazing.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: And with that, I'm gonna turn it to Thomas, who's gonna talk about identity, standards, and discipline.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome, Aaron.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Eric.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: You're a team USA athlete, FIS World Cup competitor, and the second ranked Nordic combined skier in the country.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: But beyond all that, who is Eric Lynch?
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: How do you define yourself when the skis come off?
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well, um I uh I definitely I definitely feel like I could call myself consistent and I definitely feel I can rely on myself.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, so when I'm yeah, and I'll I'll I'll add focused onto that.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: So when I when I know I'm pointing my focus at something, I know that the consistency will be there, and I know, I know I can rely on myself, and I can even I'll even yeah, just my my so who that is and who who I am with that, like I'll I'll I can even laugh a little bit at myself sometimes where there's definitely times where I don't want to do things or I feel a little tired or whatever, but I when I feel that I it makes me smile a little bit because I know I just I know I will do whatever is required.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: So so yeah, I would say consistent and I can rely on myself and focus.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: Two entirely or completely different skill sets, ski jumping and cross-country skiing.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: You've had to be elite at both.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: What does a kind of dual discipline teach you about identity focus and what it means to truly commit to excellence?
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well to be a lead at both, yeah, it is it is quite a challenge.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so you definitely learn a lot.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: about trade-offs and and how much how much energy you do have in a day and so I really think one of the best things that teaches you is focus and prioritization and and how to make the best improvements at both.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think every year you're gonna have to be very aware internally what you need, be aware of your perceived effort and all this type of thing so you can make the proper adjustments so you know how to make the best progress in both within the given year.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that's gonna require tweaks all the time.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so yeah I think that really teaches that discipline so you're so you're really you're really organized and you're really you have all your notes and you're always learning what works and what won't work and you'll you can know like certain things will work at different times and keeping all that meshed together in an organized way I think is extremely beneficial because that translates that translates to real life in totally in a very direct way where in real life you have no choice but to balance so many things and that's a huge challenge because I know I've said the word focus a lot here in the last couple minutes but that's something I wish was harped on a little bit more just as I grew up because I feel like coming through school you we're we're encouraged to spread our focus a bit thin.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: We have a lot of a lot of subjects and you know your focus and your time and your energy energy is very precious.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I wish I was taught a little bit more of like okay if you had you know just 20 dedicated hours to just put on this thing give it give that your all you're gonna level that up at least for me this is how a recipe that works for me you'll you'll level up that knowledge or that skill set greatly in 20 hours if you just dedicate to this and then and then chunk to this and then chunk to that I really like that approach and rather than just like you're just spread thin every day spread thin every day I'm not nearly as effective that way.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: And and of course having trying to be skilled and excellent at two sports you just have to you have to be really aware when you are knowingly spreading your focus a little bit thin right then you just have to be extra protective of everything that goes on around that.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah so being protective of your time and energy and and how you operate best with with your focus are are things that have the sport has taught me well and I probably didn't articulate any of that that well but that trends I think really to real life very well.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: You're fine you're fine let's say the quiet part out loud what's one truth you wish every young athlete understood about perseverance identity and what it actually takes to compete at the highest level that most people aren't willing to say out loud well I'd say one of my top ones is but since I just kind of touched on that definitely was was that focus aspect your focus is extremely powerful and valuable and so if you treat that like put that on a high pedestal and really really have like a not to do list a not to a no distraction list like have those things like don't let certain things impede that I wish that was talked about more and and I hope everyone respects that within themselves because you'll get extremely far in life with that I know we already touched on that a little bit so the other one is is just the the self-talk and how how that can shape your identity because your I feel your attitude and your your mind your subconscious will always is a witness to how you're talking to yourself.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: So the same way the same way you can let fatigue and apathy talk you into inaction and stagnation the same way you can be witness to being disciplined and doing what's required talking to yourself positively about that can talk you into action and doing what's required and and that respect and focus that comes out of that I wish that was I wish these were subjects that were just foundational for everybody and every athlete.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because you can talk yourself into being a very elite person just with your internal dialogue.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: 100% let's get into if you knew then what you know now and if you could go back and sit with yourself at the hardest moment of your comeback before you knew how it was going to turn out what would you tell that younger version of Eric I would I'm very proud to say that I could tell that I could tell myself that it would be okay and I don't know I don't know if that would have been helpful to you at the time um because the not knowing and the uncertainty was a very driving thing so I'm proud I could say that now but more tactically I would have a whole list of day-to-day things to list out of of how to design a very optimized day for sleep for nutrition for health for recovery for lifestyle for yeah diet for being mindful of of anything externally and internally that's gonna be toxic or detrimental or unhealthy and I would so I'd have I would have a big list of things that I learned over the years and I would have a big big tactical list of course for rehabilitation protocols and all that type of thing.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah I guess it would be stay extremely curious stay extremely humble which all that humbled me extremely and I had no choice then respect your parents which I hope they feel I have and be grateful for your parents and stay humble curious so that way the right information will find you totally totally awesome with that I'm gonna turn it back over to Aaron it's her favorite round the rapid fire round erin take it away sounds great super excited this is fun this is a real fun little segment so I just start a sentence and you're gonna finish it okay Eric okay discipline equals uh well I have to say freedom because that's one of my favorite books is discipline equals freedom by Jocko Willink so that's that's the first word that always comes to my mind when related to discipline and but also for my own word I would just say discipline equals success and really true success.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: What what winning at life means to you and what winning looks like for you that's gonna look different for everybody but so that's gonna come from discipline.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_02: Resilience equals I'm gonna say that's gotta be life or power but yeah leadership equals service legacy equals I'm gonna say I hope it's okay I mean in a little bit different way but winning legacy equals winning and yeah I could expand on that but I'll just leave it at that I like it I love it what's one thing you'd never compromise on well I would say currently in my life is my goals I love it yep and what's one message if you could put it on the billboard for every athlete who's ever thought about giving up what would that message be well one of my favorite quotes of all time is determination will never betray you and it's nice and short that'll that'll fit on a billboard.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: That's good okay I can see why you're an Olympian I can we're training for team USA I mean right there just listen to that kids everybody listening there's your recipe to success thank you very much with that I'm gonna turn it back to Thomas awesome thanks and Eric before we wrap up I always like to turn over the floor to our guests is there something we didn't touch on today that you feel like athletes coaches or parents need to hear about resilience identity and what it really means to compete at the highest level I think we touched on some great things.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: The one thing else I'll I would love to add is as much as people coaches or just a perceived pathway of a sport like oh my my sport I go high school D1 pro and it has to look like that whatever the perceived pathway is for your sport usually there's more than one way to get there and if you train hard work hard and you're undeniable and sometimes that's gonna take more time than others and if you're undeniable there's usually going to be more than one way and I hope everyone appreciates that and allows that for to unfold for themselves in their life if they choose.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: Right on so you were in the rapid fire now I'm gonna put you on the hot seat Eric and I love asking these questions of athletes who are the what sports are the top three most conditioned athletes in the Olympics whether it's summer or Olympic top three yeah I mean I'm gonna go with I mean I wanna say I'm gonna say number one cross country skiers.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: Okay so gotta throw that out there very very often they have they're recording on average the highest VO2 maxes I know runners and swimmers are up there but I'm gonna go with cross country skiers the amount of endurance hours that they're putting in every year sure and what a power sport it is to how much balance and power they're putting into these carbon fiber poles on skinny skis like through tough sloppy conditions.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway I'll I could elaborate on that cross country skiers is my number one you speak from experience yeah that's right then then I'll go runners number two because I just cannot even fathom how a 12 minute what is it 24 second 5k on running I can't imagine I don't understand that.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_01: And then I guess yeah I'll go cross country skiers runners swimmers okay yeah yeah that's awesome because like I like to break it up into the winter and the the summer for the summer I always say the decathletes I mean when you just narrow down to 10 and then I would go to the triathlete and then you know it's kind of a free for all in that next one.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: But for me and I don't have nearly the experience of you for for the winner I would definitely say cross country skiers.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: Those guys are remarkable those men and women and then you also have hike hockey players I mean the list goes on and what is that sport where you have to do cross country skiing and shooting is that the athlete I mean that's biathlon yep that's correct.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_01: Biathlon I mean do you have to get your heart rate up and then you have to bring it down and do those and shoot the target that is that to me is remarkable.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: Eric where can where can our audience find you whether that's an email your social media handles or a website tell the audience where they can find you you can follow me at Eric Lynch underscore ski on Instagram and Eric Lynch on YouTube and I'm I'm going to be putting together a website shortly so I hope the domain ericlinch.com exists still I'll I'm gonna put that together to make it a lot easier.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome awesome Eric thank you for showing us what resilience actually looks like when it's lived not just performed and team if this conversation hit you do two things for us.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: One share this episode with somebody who needs to hear it an athlete in the middle of a setback a young competitor wondering if the comeback is possible Eric's a testament that it that it is and it can be a parent or coach trying to understand what the athlete is really going through and two follow Eric on Instagram at Eric Lynch underscore ski and on YouTube at Eric Lynch.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_01: The story is still being written and you want to be there for the next chapter or where the next chapter lands team if you're an athlete parent or coach ready to raise the standard look into Aaron and myself at blueprintbluechip.com.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: We help athletes build identity discipline and legacy that goes well beyond the sport.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_01: Team if you also do us a favor, do us a solid if this episode has resonated with you leave us a five star review on Apple's podcast or Spotify.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_01: It helps us reach more athletes parents and leaders who need to hear Eric's story.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: This is the podcast this is the standard podcast and this movement only grows when we raise the standard together talent fades but truth endures let's raise the bar rebuild the culture and become the standard Eric Aaron thank you so much you guys safe travels for you Eric happy birthday early and uh you guys have a great weekend team we'll see you next time