If you're lucky enough, a couple times in life you will get a glimpse into a new world.  I got a glimpse. 

My glimpse came in the form of an invitation to spend a week in Colorado Springs at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) for water polo development camp.  The camp consisted of players from all over the country and proved to be quite intense.  From the moment I stepped onto the grounds, I was in a new world.  This world was made up of the best of the best in a vast array of athletic disciplines.  The one thing that everyone had in common was the love of competition.  Whether you were an athlete training to become the next gold medal hopeful in figure skating or the next Michael Phelps, competition was the common bond that everyone shared.

Each day was extremely regimented and was pretty much a carbon copy of the previous one.  Get up early….eat a ton….train until you about threw up….eat a ton…train harder….eat a ton….sleep.  One of the factors that I totally discounted - being young and naive - was altitude.  First thing on the agenda - I mean within minutes of checking in - was a time trial to gauge the skill level of each player and rank us accordingly.  Just four simple laps of the pool, something any competitive swimmer has done thousands of times...or so I thought.  Coming off of the third wall, I was quite sure I was going to die somewhere in the remaining twenty meters of water.  Needless to say, the human body is an astounding machine but it takes a bit longer than a couple hours to adjust from sea level to over 6,000 feet.

Every athlete gave it their all everyday, which came across as dedication to the sport we were there to pursue.  But to me, the underlying reason was that everyone was trying to outperform everyone else.  And I guess that is what sports is in a nutshell; elevating one's performance to constantly raising the bar of expectations.  And the Olympics proves to be the nutshell of all nutshells.

That was pretty much the beginning and end of my Olympic career but it was my glimpse into an incredible and exciting world nonetheless.  I can’t say that I would have chosen the long and arduous journey that it takes to be an Olympic competitor.  The amazing thing about watching someone do what they do best, whether it's pole vaulting or trading stocks, is that they make it look easy.  But don't be fooled…the amount of work, sacrifice and dedication that goes into developing and maintaining these skill sets is astonishing.

As we watch the competition unfold in Vancouver, I hope everyone realizes that the years of intense training Olympic athletes endure, that living and breathing their sport each and every day, comes down to just one showing. And perhaps one tenth of one second can separate immortal glory from a good bar story.  Every athlete understands that there's no guarantee for success…but the driving passion for competition that compels them all forward is truly admirable.

Enjoy the sights, sounds, and excitement from Vancouver….it's what all athletes live for.