Weber State University Athletics
Emily Morgan-King to tryout for U.S. Olympic Bobsled/Skeleton team
10/13/2020 11:37:00 AM | Athletics, Women's Track & Field
OGDEN, UT - Weber State University's Emily Morgan-King is headed to the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York on Thursday, October 15th, to tryout for the U.S. Olympic Bobsled/Skeleton team. The senior, who was granted another year due to the 2019-2020 outdoor track season cancellation because of COVID-19, plans to finish out her senior year in track and field while still competing for a spot on the Olympic team.
Morgan-King first heard about the bobsled/skeleton team in high school from her brother, Andrew, and has kept it in the back of her mind ever since. "I felt like my athletic career didn't have to be over yet just because college was over, and bobsled/skeleton sounded like a fun, challenging way to continue," said Morgan-King. "After talking with my coaches, family, and teammates, I decided to come back for one more year to finish out the track season that I missed out on. I still had my goal to try out for the bobsled/skeleton team in the back of my head, though. Over the summer, I got in touch with one of the coaches of the bobsled/skeleton team, asking if I should still tryout for the team even though I am going to compete in track for one more year. She encouraged me to still try out in the combine, even if it just gets my name out to the coaches for the next year."
Though Morgan-King doesn't have prior experience in the bobsled/skeleton, her phenomenal abilities in track and field make her a perfect candidate for the Olympic team. In fact, the bobsled and skeleton coaches usually recruit athletes from power and speed sports like volleyball, softball, football, and track and field because of their abilities. Once recruited, the athletes' power and speed are adapted to push a bobsled or skeleton sled. "Elana Meyers-Taylor, a silver medalist in the bobsled in the 2018 Olympics, didn't start bobsled until she was done with college at George Washington University where she was a softball athlete. So, I hope that my sprinting speed will transfer over to bobsled and/or skeleton well," said Morgan-King.
In a non-pandemic year, the U.S. Bobsled/Skeleton team hosts a series of "combines" around the country to give anyone the opportunity to tryout for the team. These combines test a number of measures, including: full-speed, timed sprints; a measured and standing long jump; and a measured shot put throw. These events allow coaches to see which athletes earn the "highest score" to determine who they want on their team.
Morgan-King describes how the combine was altered this year due to the pandemic, "Since this year was a little different, they held a virtual combine. Any athlete could participate, and all they had to do was run a 40 yard dash, filmed and timed, and do a standing long jump, filmed and measured." After completing these tasks, athletes upload their videos and recorded times/jumps for the coaches to analyze and choose what they are looking for. The U.S. Olympic team coaches were impressed with Morgan-King's scores in the virtual combine, and invited her to the in-person tryouts in Lake Placid to see if she'd be a good fit for the team. "I admit, I was full of mixed emotions when they reached out. I was ecstatic that they thought I was a promising athlete to transition over to a sliding sport, but I was upset that I would have to leave my team to go tryout," she said. "After talking with my coaches, they said that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that I need to take it."
Though the tryouts will run at the Olympic Training Center until November 21st after a mandatory two-week quarantine at the training center, Morgan-King will continue her WSU fall track training while she isn't training with sleds specifically. She feels her time at Weber State has prepared her well to compete against and train with Olympic-level athletes. "I have been able to have some of the best coaches in the nation, so their help has been the most important thing that has prepared me," said Morgan-King. "They have taught me to compete at a high level, push my body, and set high expectations. Also, since Weber is in a competitive conference and is a Division I school, those higher levels of competition have prepared me mentally going into the tryout."
Congratulations, and good luck, Emily!
More information about the U.S. Olympic Bobsled/Skeleton team can be found here.
Morgan-King first heard about the bobsled/skeleton team in high school from her brother, Andrew, and has kept it in the back of her mind ever since. "I felt like my athletic career didn't have to be over yet just because college was over, and bobsled/skeleton sounded like a fun, challenging way to continue," said Morgan-King. "After talking with my coaches, family, and teammates, I decided to come back for one more year to finish out the track season that I missed out on. I still had my goal to try out for the bobsled/skeleton team in the back of my head, though. Over the summer, I got in touch with one of the coaches of the bobsled/skeleton team, asking if I should still tryout for the team even though I am going to compete in track for one more year. She encouraged me to still try out in the combine, even if it just gets my name out to the coaches for the next year."
Though Morgan-King doesn't have prior experience in the bobsled/skeleton, her phenomenal abilities in track and field make her a perfect candidate for the Olympic team. In fact, the bobsled and skeleton coaches usually recruit athletes from power and speed sports like volleyball, softball, football, and track and field because of their abilities. Once recruited, the athletes' power and speed are adapted to push a bobsled or skeleton sled. "Elana Meyers-Taylor, a silver medalist in the bobsled in the 2018 Olympics, didn't start bobsled until she was done with college at George Washington University where she was a softball athlete. So, I hope that my sprinting speed will transfer over to bobsled and/or skeleton well," said Morgan-King.
In a non-pandemic year, the U.S. Bobsled/Skeleton team hosts a series of "combines" around the country to give anyone the opportunity to tryout for the team. These combines test a number of measures, including: full-speed, timed sprints; a measured and standing long jump; and a measured shot put throw. These events allow coaches to see which athletes earn the "highest score" to determine who they want on their team.
Morgan-King describes how the combine was altered this year due to the pandemic, "Since this year was a little different, they held a virtual combine. Any athlete could participate, and all they had to do was run a 40 yard dash, filmed and timed, and do a standing long jump, filmed and measured." After completing these tasks, athletes upload their videos and recorded times/jumps for the coaches to analyze and choose what they are looking for. The U.S. Olympic team coaches were impressed with Morgan-King's scores in the virtual combine, and invited her to the in-person tryouts in Lake Placid to see if she'd be a good fit for the team. "I admit, I was full of mixed emotions when they reached out. I was ecstatic that they thought I was a promising athlete to transition over to a sliding sport, but I was upset that I would have to leave my team to go tryout," she said. "After talking with my coaches, they said that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that I need to take it."
Though the tryouts will run at the Olympic Training Center until November 21st after a mandatory two-week quarantine at the training center, Morgan-King will continue her WSU fall track training while she isn't training with sleds specifically. She feels her time at Weber State has prepared her well to compete against and train with Olympic-level athletes. "I have been able to have some of the best coaches in the nation, so their help has been the most important thing that has prepared me," said Morgan-King. "They have taught me to compete at a high level, push my body, and set high expectations. Also, since Weber is in a competitive conference and is a Division I school, those higher levels of competition have prepared me mentally going into the tryout."
Congratulations, and good luck, Emily!
More information about the U.S. Olympic Bobsled/Skeleton team can be found here.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
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