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Jay Noller
Jay Noller has a NEED for SPEED

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For better, or for worse

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Jay Noller

Jay Noller has a NEED for SPEED

Spend 10 minutes with Jay Noller, and one thing will become clear: he is driven to succeed. Not only does Jay work full time in the marketing department at trucking-powerhouse C.R. England, but he also has earned a coveted spot as a driver on the USA Bobsled Team.
     It takes an enormous amount of work and discipline to balance the roles of work and being an Olympic athlete, but Jay has the right stuff to excel in both.
     Driver HEALTH recently managed to slow Jay down just long enough to chat with him about his work on and off the ice and his challenging fitness regimen:

How did you first become involved in bobsledding?

I was going to school at the University of
Texas in El Paso, and I was getting ready to walk on to the football team when I was watching the bobsledding portion of 2006 Olympic Games. My roommate came home and bet me $20 that I wouldn’t try out for the team after I mentioned that I would like to.  So, I tried out and made it! (Laughing). I actually got started in bobsledding on a bet.

What is your position on the team?

I’m a driver on a two-man and four-man team.

What does it take to be an Olympic-class bobsled driver?

Similar to being a truck driver, there are reflexes, intuitions and senses that you really can’t measure. However, proper training is the key. For the most part it is a mental process.  The ability to remain calm and cool under pressure and perform demanding tasks repetitively would be the greatest asset I’ve been able to develop. It takes both mental and physical toughness and acuity.

Are there differences in the way the two-man and four-man sleighs perform?

Absolutely. The two-man is like driving a sports car. It’s quick and agile. The four-man is more like driving a truck and trailer. It’s bigger, and with all the weight and inertia, it takes a lot to get moving. With that also comes the danger of mistakes as they are magnified due to the weight. To overcome that, as a driver and team, you have to anticipate – learned through proper training – the potential hazards that come with the bigger sled. You have to make sure you are paying attention at all times, just like when a truck driver is driving his or her big rig.

 
And the challenge is to work with other crewmembers in perfect synchronization…

It all starts with “the start.” The timing is incredibly important. Your team needs to be prepared. You need to load properly. Then being relaxed and trusting the team and the driver makes for a smooth run.

Do you ever experience fear or anxiety?

There will always be nerves – not only about the course, but about the other guys counting on you to do your job. There’s the pressure of not wanting to let your team down and the pressure of representing your country. 

Tell us about your training regimen

I work full time for C.R. England in the marketing department. In addition to that I have to make time to train three hours a day, six days a week. I know what is expected of me at work, and I can’t let my aspirations of representing our country interfere with my job. So, while I’m at work, it’s 100% work. Then, it is up to me to make the time to train outside of work to stay physically fit and manage all that accompanies the bobsled team process.

What type of diet do you maintain?

It’s just like momma says: Eat your fruits and vegetables, and make sure you finish your meal. I try to eat as healthy as possible and make it a point to plan my meals accordingly. Paying attention to what your body is telling you and listening, making sure to watch my weight, and insuring that I take in plenty of water will help ensure a healthy body.

What advice would you have for a driver struggling to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle?

It can be tough, unless you take control of your priorities. The perception is that this business of trucking and the accompanying lifestyle makes it impossible for a driver to eat healthy. That could not be further from the truth. This is why C.R. England is a big fan of Driver HEALTH. Their efforts to change that trend of unhealthy driver lifestyles are wonderful. When we learned of their goal to improve the health of drivers, C.R. England jumped on board immediately. 
     It’s all about smart choices.  A driver’s diet is controlled by one person…the driver. We all choose what we put in our mouth and generally know what the long term benefits or harm can be. While exercise is important, if you don’t take care of your diet, no amount of exercise will compensate for a bad diet.
     As for exercise, it is really quite simple to implement exercise into a trucker’s daily work schedule.  A great example is the article written in Driver HEALTH in the February edition, page 32. Using those techniques, combined with wise eating choices will result in a better life style for a driver.

It must take a lot of discipline to juggle your jobs at C. R. England and U.S Bobsled & Skeleton Federation

As I stated before it comes down to priorities and scheduling. I can’t work on my bobsledding stuff while working for C.R. England as they have hired me to do a specific job. It requires discipline to manage both, working on bobsledding before and after work hours, but if I am going to succeed, I need to make wise choices with my time. I have made a commitment to C.R. England and one to my bobsled federation. Quite simply, I can’t let either one of them down.