SKATE TIP OF THE WEEK
Inline secrets from the world's top skaters and coaches

This week's tip:

Juggling It All
How to be a great athlete, parent and bread winner ... all at the same time

By Tony Muse
 

The question I'm asked most often is "how do you fit it all in: racing, career and family?"

The truth is it's a balancing act. As much as I love racing, I love my wife and five kids even more. And then there's my real estate career that keeps me hopping.

The trick is to:

1. Schedule everything — but be flexible.

I put everything in a scheduler as soon as I hear about it. That includes business appointments, races and times for dropping off and picking up my kids from their sports practices.

I have found that it's even important to schedule my weekly practice sessions in my planner. If I don't, something else is likely to grab their time slots.

If something comes up and makes me late for practice, I still make an effort to go. One hour of a two hour practice is still better than nothing. .... Glass half full.

2. Train with purpose.

By listening to your body, you can learn to get the most from limited training time. Watch how your body reacts to different kinds of workouts. What's easy? What makes you hurt? Become a student of performance. Find out what is slowing you down.

By doing this, I have been able to do in one and a half hours what used to take me three ... and to do it with more intensity and technical clarity.

Coaches are essential in this process. They are your second set of eyes, and their megaphone forces you to push harder.

I do not hesitate to call a friend when I run up against a technical problem. I'm fortunate to have Derek Parra to advise me. A master of technique, he can usually recommend a simple adjustment that quickly corrects my problem.

3. Don't just skate.

On any given week, you can find me playing basketball, football, hockey (ice and inline), lifting weights, teaching spinning, cycling, swimming, running, and even playing soccer with my girls (when I'm willing to look like foolish).

All of these things, along with my plyometrics training and indoor skate practice, help keep me in shape.

I have to thank my very first coach, my father, for teaching me this. As a rink owner, he could have limited me to skating. But instead, he encouraged me to do multiple sports. He not only signed me up for other sports, but was there, supporting me, all the time. (Thanks, Dad!)

4. Be a responsible partner/parent

You can train your body all you want. But if your mind isn’t right, you won't perform your best. That's why I always strive for clarity of heart.

When I was young, all I had to worry about was whether my hotel room was clean and my skate bag in order. But adulthood is another matter. These days, before I set off for a race, I try to make sure everything is right at home. That way I can compete with clarity of heart.

Things can be a little more complicated when my family comes with me. Having them with me is wonderful, but it can drain me a bit emotionally.

5. Technique pays for a lot of sins.

Inline skaters can go pretty fast even without much technique. But skaters with bad form don't win; they're the ones who drop back when the pace is fast. The skaters who survive are the ones with efficient technique.

Going slow and concentrating on form is often too boring for young skaters. But mature skaters have more patience.

Even after years of skating, I still have to regularly slow down and work on my technique. I can remember many months of skating with little wheels on the front of my skates to break my habit of toe pushing and many hours of skating without picking up my feet to learn double push.

It sucks when everyone is passing you. But it's worth it in the end.

6. Keep it fun.

Traveling to different places, meeting new people, testing your limits ... the skating life is usually great fun. But sometimes it does feel like work.

That's why I train and travel with good people (like 2009 teammate Norm Kirby) and race for great companies (like Doug and Julie Glass' Luigino Racing).

I also make sure to work with great coaches who care about me and understand my other responsibilities. I've been fortunate to be coached for many years by a truly outstanding coach, my brother Mark Muse.

Whatever I do, I never stop setting goals for myself and sharing the things I learn with skaters I meet along the way.

Jan. 29, 2010

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Tony Muse is one of the winningest racers in the history of U.S. speed skating, both quad and inline. The younger brother of Dante Muse, Tony won 18 world championships in the 1980s and 1990s. He has raced professionally since 1992 and is a member of the Powerslide USA team. He also found success as a coach. Among his proteges are former world champion Solange Franklin and US indoor national champion Todd Foley. "This is my sport," he says, "and some day I would like to run our national governing body in order to get us the exposure and Olympic opportunity we deserve." Tony is a father of five and real estate broker. "My great partner, my wife, is the No. 1 reason for my continued success," he says. He lives in his hometown of West Des Moines, Iowa.

• Luigino Racing web site

Related reading:

• Skate Tip of the Week Archive
• Beginners Guide to Outdoor Racing
• Beginners Guide to Inline Skating