Two-time Canadian Olympic aerialist Kyle Nissen has traded in his skis for a summer desk job; and found that the skills he picked up on the trampoline, the water ramps and the ski hill transfer quite nicely to the work world.
After ten years on the National Freestyle Ski Team, 12 FIS World Cup medals, participating in four World Championship events and two Olympic Games – not to mention the fact that he regularly performs quadruple-twisting, triple back flips from 60 feet in the air – it’s hard to believe that Nissen could be intimidated by anything, let alone school or a nine-to-five job. Kyle completed in all three World Cup events in Fernie from 2003 to 2005 and participated in all apexes of community involvement including the dine around and high School speaking tour.
Like many athletes who spend their formative years competing in high-level sport, he admits that the prospect of a summer job in accounts payable and an acceptance to the University of Calgary in September initially left him out of his comfort zone.
But he became more confident about his game plan for the future after attending the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Post Olympic Excellence Series event in Lake Louise this June.
The summit was designed by the COC to help Games athletes who were contemplating retirement, prepare for the next phase of their lives. It included mentoring from retired Olympians as well as numerous seminars on topics from public speaking to financial management.
For a decade, Nissen has been singularly focused on his athletic goals. According to his long-time coach, Dennis Capicik, this focus and his work ethic made him a great athlete and a dream to work with. However, it didn’t leave Nissen with much time to build up a résumé – a fact that was top-of-mind when, at 30 years of age, he was considering leaving the freestyle world for the corporate one having never had what he considered a “proper job.”
Nissen credits the COC summit with helping him recognize that the gold medal skills he learned as an athlete: like stress management, teamwork and perseverance, are actually totally transferable into any profession he chooses to pursue. And, he didn’t hesitate to put them into action, a pursuit that has lead to accolades from his current employer.
He also plans to take advantage of the Sport Canada program that covers up to four years of post-secondary tuition for national team athletes. “I’m so fortunate to have it paid for, it would be foolish not to take advantage of it,” said Nissen who will work towards a degree in computer science.
Before the Vancouver Games, Nissen thought he would probably ski one more season in 2010-11, but a disappointing Olympic finish left him in no hurry to get back to the gym, or the snow. At the Games, he was well positioned to make the podium when the score on the first of his two jumps landed him in top spot of the finalists. Unfortunately, he came up short on his second jump and finished in 5th spot – matching his 2006 Torino finish.
Since then, he said, “I haven’t been missing the jumping at all, the Games left a valley in my desire to ski. I wanted to see if once the pain of the Games wore off my desire would come back, it hasn’t.”
That’s not to say he doesn’t miss other aspects of the sport, “I already miss the travelling and the people,” he said.
Of course, the team misses him too. Capicik said that he has been extremely proud of Nissen’s athletic achievements over the years and that his departure leaves big shoes to fill. But he’s confident that the legacy of athletes like Nissen and his also-retiring teammate Steve Omischl has set up the next generation for great success.
For his part, Nissen is using his newfound freedom to explore interests he never had time for. He’s taking drum lessons, playing slo-pitch and, for the first time in a long time, the native Calgarian enjoyed the Stampede this summer.
But Nissen said he will never turn his back on aerials and hopes to get involved with the sport again once he’s had a chance to develop some of his other interests and skills.
