If I wasn't a champion figure skater, I would....

(Sasha Cohen and Brian Boitano perform in "Smucker's presents Hot Ice, Cool Sounds" in Youngstown, OH)

If I could do it all over again, I'd be a professional salsa dancer. There's something about the passion, precision, rhythm and heat of it that makes my heart beat a little faster and my body want to move. While I will be starting lessons soon, it's just a fact of life that I missed the window to be a professional... and that's okay.

But what would you be if you could do it all over again? It's a rhetorical question, and this weekend in Youngstown, Ohio for the "Smucker's presents Hot Ice, Cool Sounds," I found myself debating it after overhearing Olympic Silver Medalist Sasha Cohen talking about what she feels she is missing out on by choosing to figure skate. It was very ironic hearing an Olympic medalist ponder on the things she wants in her life... which just happen to be things that I have and tend to take for granted.

"As athletes, we fine-tune our bodies to reach our greatest potential. But what about our minds? What do we do for our minds?" Sasha threw question after to question on the table for Todd Eldredge, Jennifer Robinson, Shae-Lynn Bourne and other skaters on their way home from a delicious dinner with Youngstown locals and Congressman Tim Ryan.

Sasha mentioned that she wishes she could be in the university atmosphere among peers and thought-provoking professors. She said she wants to be involved in debates. She talked about stocks often throughout the weekend, and when she wasn't rehearsing on the ice, it was likely she was in the production office checking her portfolio and the market. As the youngest skater on the cast list for the show - she's 23 years old - she embodied youth and idealism, and seemed to yearn for many of the things I find my friends, classmates and co-workers immersed in. Politics, the economy, debate, beliefs, insightful discussion and more.

On a lighter note - and perhaps as an outlet to balance all of the serious competition and self-discipline in her life, she talked about cooking. Sasha loves to cook and I believe I heard it mentioned that if she wasn't a skater, she might like to open her own bakery.

Here are some recipes I found online that are credited to Sasha:

Sasha Cohen's Warm Chicken Salad Delight Recipe

SASHA'S FAMILY OATMEAL COOKIE RECIPE
(from Sasha's journal - Dec. 18, 2006 entry)

A few of Sasha's favorite ice cream recipes

Enough food - back to the real reason we're here - figure skating! It's no easy feat to be a champion figure skater. Most of the skaters - if not all - began when they were teeny-tiny kids, and found themselves practicing for hours on end. Being a champion can mean 4-8 hrs of rehearsal each day. It can mean sacrificing friendships and relationships to move around the country to train with the best coaches in the world. It can mean gory injuries (someone once landed a jump in Sasha's leg with their skate - hear about it in an interview here). It can mean missing out on pursuing other interests like higher education or other occupations.

But in return for the sacrifice, there is glory. There is the satisfaction of knowing you are one of the greatest contenders in the world in your field. There is the fulfillment of dedicating yourself to something you love and getting to spend your life pursuing it. You get to inspire thousands - if not millions - of people around the world through your craft. You get to travel and meet people, perform for adoring fans, and use your success to help raise awareness for important causes around the world.

And when the day is done, you can crawl into bed at night, physically exhausted from your sport and hopefully, excited to wake up tomorrow and get back out on the ice to do it all again.