 Thank you for joining us, my name is Steve Papas, I'm the editor of the Times Argus and today our guest is Amanda Pelkey, gold medalist from this Winter Olympics. Yep. Thanks for being here. Yeah, thanks for having me. So, I gotta ask first, what's it like with all this celebrity right now? You're being pulled in 15 different directions before you came in here, you were on the phone with your agent. Yeah, well yeah, it's, I mean it's, that's expected in a sense, you kind of have a feeling of what it would be like, but you know it's tiring, but it's also, you know, tiring in a good way. It's stuff that, you know, you've always wanted to do, it's stuff that you've dreamt of celebrating, so it's definitely exciting to come back and be able to bounce around to especially businesses that help my parents, my family get over there, so be able to go over there and share it with them and say thanks, speaking at a few elementary schools. Yeah, it's been great so far. Yeah, same on because yesterday, you're your alma mater, so to speak. Yep. So, let's go back then. This has been a dream of yours for a very long time. When you were very small and you started to play hockey, did you know that this is what you wanted to do? I mean, I was inspired by it even when I was pretty little. I think there's a classic picture of me in a USA jersey when I was probably three or four in my front yard, so it's always been in my mind, you know, it probably hit me around 12 to 15 years old that I could possibly have the ability to make it a career and go to college for it and, you know, hope to play professionally, you know, and in the Olympics, so it's always been a dream of mine. I've been inspired by, you know, many 1998 Olympic team that won gold 20 years ago. That was an inspiration to me when I was pretty young, but, you know, I got to meet some of those girls and just being in their presence and, you know, I was in awe, so definitely it's been a dream of mine. I've been inspired for a long time, so it's been pretty cool to be able to actually live it. Yeah, when you were a little, what did you want to be when you grew up? What did you envision? This. Yeah, so that's, I mean, it's pretty special to be able to actually say that, you know, being have, when you're a little kid, inspiring to be something and sometimes it's shooting for the moon and, you know, it's hard to get there, but, you know, it's pretty cool to be able to actually feel what I've dreamt about since I was little. Yeah, and you've kind of been around the whole hockey community here in central Vermont starting BYSA with the boys hockey team. Right. And is there a challenge with that? Is there, is there something that, you know, I know there were other girls on the team as well, but is it, is it weird to be playing with, with boys or is it very much a community event? Exactly, a community event. It was never a challenge for me. I loved every single minute of it. A lot of them, you know, I had a couple cousins on the team, like you said, not only, not the only girl. Sometimes I was, but Kaitlin Legue was, was the goalie and, but I also played girls hockey too. So it wasn't just boys all the time. I played girls, girls hockey in the summer, and that's when I could, you know, be with all my friends. But I mean, the boys team was definitely a family. They were, they were all brotherly figures to me. So it was a huge family. BYSA is a great program. Exactly. So just being, you know, I've seen some of them recently since I've been home. I've been home sporadically, went to Spalding, dropped the puck there, saw a lot of familiar faces. That's always nice. Yeah. That was up in Burlington, wasn't it? Was it the Berlin or the Essex game? That was the Rotary game. Yeah, that was different. But I went to the Spalding high school boys game. I think it was there, I want to say semi-final, could be incorrect on that. But yeah, I just went there, went up to the BOR, hadn't been there in a while. So it was pretty special to walk in there, as always. Yeah, yeah. And apparently you were home at one point and you actually, like, had had some skate time with some of your old friends prior to the Olympics? Oh yeah, yeah, over Christmas. Yeah. Yeah. Something, I was just, a light bulb came up and I'm like, you know what, I want to get on, like, might as well get on the ice if I'm going to, you know, before I leave. It was Christmas break, so, you know, I got like a big group together and it was super fun in the morning. I'm pretty sure it was like, maybe, I forget what day, but it was a day very close to the holiday. So all the people that came, it was pretty cool that they took the time. We had so much fun. So thinking of making an annual thing might as well, right? Yeah. And you've had, you had a great career in high school and in college. What were the kind of challenges for you then? But were there, were there things that in those early years that made you develop in a way that you thought, well, maybe I'm not going to go to the Olympics or play professionally? Yeah. Or were there things where it's always been trajectory of, you know, this is the kind of thing? Yeah. It wasn't always smooth sailing, that's for sure. I think when I hit 15, like I said earlier, it was kind of a time where it started to get really competitive. That's when you're eligible to make your first national team ever. So that's, that's high pressure situation. So I was on that team for three years. And then going through college after the U18 program, you, it's kind of like a bubble time area where you're more on the younger side, you know, there's nothing between, at that time, between the U18 team and the women's team. So it's a huge jump, as you can imagine, when you're an 18 year old. We have a couple girls on our team that are 18, 20 years old, but it's very rare when you're that young to make that big jump. And I think that was, you know, that was tough for me in that gray area at UVM, kind of trying to figure out what I'm, you know, I had a feeling I was going to go to Boston after UVM, trained there, because a lot of the national team girls at the time live there. And that's where we trained most of the time. So I knew that that's what I was going to do to work towards the school making the Olympic team. And I think that was my best decision in helping me grow as a player and a person is going to Boston and training the way I did with the group of girls that I did. And got me, you know, that's, I think a huge reason as to why I continued to, to better my game a lot. How much of its mental, how much of its physical? A lot. Our team, I know it's all in sports. They talk about, you know, the mental side of the game. Our team really, really bought into that. The past four years, it's been a huge stepping stone in, in figuring out advancing our skills to the next level. And one, one way to do that is in your mind. So it was, you know, it's a really powerful thing that our team took, you know, every advantage we could from that side of the game. So the mental side of the game is probably a lot more physical than the physical side of it. So So talk a little bit about what the training is like. It can't be, obviously, can't be easy. You're top, you're top of your sport, so to speak. And also talk a little bit about how it transitioned from say college to, to the women's team. Yeah. So talk about training leading up to this last year. So we were training a ton. When you're, when you're trying to at the time, you know, get quicker, get stronger for tryouts, right? So you can, you know, show what you got basically. So the year before moving to Tampa, we trained a ton in Boston. We were training four times a week, Monday to Thursday, usually three to five hours a day, three hours in the gym mostly, and then maybe skate in the evening and do like skill work and technical stuff. So that took up a lot of our time. That was pretty, pretty intense. And then when we got to Florida, we were there for six months as a team. We do a lot of plyometric speed work because we're a team that wants to be really fast. So that was a huge focus for us. But then on the flip side of things, leading up to the Olympics, it's not as intense when you're about to go because you want to stay healthy. So a lot of the stuff that we did leading up to it was to maintain our health and make sure that, you know, we were as healthy as can be going into the Olympics. And because at the end of the day, you're playing a hockey game. So being able to not have any injuries or anything like that and being able to perform your best during the game was the most important thing. Diet? Did you have to adjust your diet? I mean, all of us eat pretty well. We're all, aside from hockey, just as people, we like being healthy. So, you know, they, we have nutritionists that give us guides, you know, if you need any help, you need to talk to her about it. But for the most part, our teams, you know, pretty healthy in that category aside from, you know, they don't, they don't tell us exactly what to eat. But if you are having problems, you know, you can always reach out to them. Yeah. So you talked, you talked about plyometrics, you're talking, you're talking cardio though, a lot of cardio and weight training. Yeah, tons of sprints. Yeah. You won't find us on a machine for 30, 60 minutes doing cardio. But a lot of the stuff that, you know, the way we train, you're getting cardio within strength training, right? So you're doing, you're doing stuff with weights that at the same time is getting your heart rate up. So it's, it's the same thing. So talk a little bit about this team. Everyone says that this is, like you said, it's a lot like the 98 team, which was a very special team. Yeah. And that the, the chemistry of this particular team, that everybody got along, that it was, that it felt like a team from the beginning. Yeah. It was. I mean, it's, it's been four years plus in the making of making this team. And I think, you know, what we also need to recognize is that there's many players aside from the 23 player roster that were a part of this process, right? There's probably 40. Yeah. So probably at 25 other girls that were a huge, you know, that were fighting for that roster spot too. So they're a part of this whole process of the past four to eight years. And, you know, to make a team that gels together in the chemistry. And I think that's the biggest thing in sport. That's one of the most important things. And we were a team that were also very powerful off the ice as well. Like the boycott that we went through last year, we boycotted our world championships in Michigan. And that was, that was a very unified time for us. And that, I think that was a building block to make us stronger off the ice and on the ice to have the motivation and the confidence and, and every single player on the team. So I meant to ask you this before, what was it like when you got the call that said you're on the team? Yeah. So how it worked, we, we didn't get a call. We were in, we were in Tampa. Yeah. So we had tryouts in Tampa. And that was kind of like the last step of making what they called a, you know, the centralization roster. That's what they called the roster where they take a group of players, whether they wanted to take the exact roster or they wanted to take extra players. But it's the first step in making the Olympic roster. So we went to Tampa, we had tryouts, and then you had one-on-one meeting with the coaching staff. They say yes or no, sorry. And then you walk out in the tryouts over. So when they said congratulations, you made it, I was pretty speechless at first as I think everyone on my team could probably say the same thing. They had similar reactions. But it was just an overjoyed feeling. You know, I didn't really know how to feel right after. I kind of had to take a moment to myself before I called anyone breathe for a second. It's right on the bathroom going. Yeah, I walked out and I had that type of moment. Yeah, it's the best feeling in the world. Aside from winning the medal, I think that was just to be told that I'm getting the opportunity was amazing in itself. Yeah. So talk a little bit about the coaching staff. As you mentioned, you've got different people kind of monitoring everything you do. It's like any sport. You have people who are working with you on offense, on defense, on head coach, whatever it is. But the coaching staff as well was really renowned and interviewed a lot about how this was kind of the creme de la creme of coaching as well. Yeah. So like the players, like I said earlier with the player pool, there's been many coaches the past eight years kind of filtering out, giving us their expertise, whether it be at camps, you know, focusing on one skill like this guy is really good at this. So we're going to pull him in help, you know, like, gel things up a little bit. And so there's so many people that helped us in many ways as staff and coaches. And you know, to find a coaching staff that so there was three of them that gel together and they all have kind of a certain different, you know, taste and they all have the same goal and the same like visual way they wanted us to play. But at the same time, they're all, you know, they're all good at defense or they're all, you know, one of our head coach was our goalie coach for a while before becoming our head coach. But yeah, they found very creative ways to keep us motivated and inspired to win the gold medal. Do you have a moment in your whole career that you look back on and you say, this is a piece of advice that a coach gave me that I'll never forget? It's okay if you don't. Or I'll really put pressure on you and say, what's the best advice you ever got from a coach? Well, it's a great question. A lot of different. I bet. Well, and again, as you point out, you've had a lot of coaches from BYSA all the way up through. Yeah. So those formative years are probably different than the more professional years now. Yeah. For that answer, I would really have to dig deep for that one to make sure I. Well, you can ponder it for a little bit. Right. There's so many. Well, so let's talk a little bit about Seoul, because that is a big change in culture, a big change in time. What was that like? How early did you have to go over and you know, what are the logistics of going from the States to Seoul? Yeah. So Seoul is where we flew into. We flew, let's see, we flew there about, well roughly, yeah, 22 days before we even, about two weeks before we started competition. So we were there for a couple weeks to get used to everything, kind of used to the village, used to, you know, everything around us. Definitely the time change that hit us hard for like six days or so. I bet. Flew into Seoul and then Pyeongchang was about three hours from there. So we did our team processing there, which is a really cool experience where you go in, you go to Nike, you get fitted for all your stuff, Ralph Oren, your opening closing ceremonies, you know, kind of is like the, hey, you made it. Here's all, you know, like, cool stuff. Right. Here's cool stuff. So that's the very first thing that we do. That was in Seoul. And then we took a three hour bus, got to the village, did our practicing and our training for a couple of weeks, got used to everything, and then started competition a couple of weeks after we arrived. Do you scrimmage at all beforehand? Nope. No, we were just practicing. Yeah, just practice. We scrimmage. We play a lot of games in Tampa against boys teams. Division three and junior teams. So that was kind of our preparation to when we got to Pyeongchang. And then so just briefly walk through each one of the games. I mean, they were pretty exciting and you got a fair amount of ice time. A lot of ice time. Yeah. We're a team that he, I say he, the whole coaching staff and the whole team in itself of every, every line, you make it a threat, right? So we're, I think that was really awesome is to have the type of depth that we did and to be able to really throw out anyone, any of the players that we had. And there was 100% 100% belief in every single player in their work ethic and their drive. And, you know, there's their mental side being able to focus and everything. So I think the 100% belief in our whole team was, was huge. I think that's why we won the gold medal. But all the games were incredible. I think the very first game was pretty, it was pretty awesome because it's your first Olympic game. But one of our teammates, Hillary Knight, it was kind of a pass down saying that Angela Jaro said to her, it's like you're not an Olympian until your first game. So all of us that hadn't been an Olympian, you know, stepping out of the ice for the first time in the jersey and everything was the coolest, you know, it was amazing. The facilities were great. So it was like the rink was beautiful. I mean, it was, the whole thing was, was wonderful. Yeah. Was the rink near where you were staying near the village? Yeah, it was about, we had a drive there, but it was, it's kind of nice. You kind of have your own time before you get to the rink. Probably about 10 minutes, five to 10 minutes. Except the road. Yeah. So did you go into that first game thinking we got this one in the back? Or is it, or is it one of those things where it's one game at a time? Exactly. Every, we're not, yeah, we weren't the type of team that we're all about. Nor cocky. Yeah. You know, like every, I mean, girls hockey, I know this has been said in probably many, many interviews with people, but girls hockey and women's sports in general is, you know, a more population and people being interested in starting to play. And it shows in the Olympics, right? All over the world that women's hockey is becoming, you know, more even, right? Like Finland and Finland is incredible. They were, you know, they were well deserved of getting a bronze medal. We were pretty excited for them. And Russia too. They're all, you know, they're all great teams. So all the teams that we played, we never thought like, this is going to be a blowout. Like at the Olympics, you have to perform at your best regardless of who you're playing. Yeah. That was kind of what I was getting at. You're kind of, you're studying their play, but you have to assume that, yeah, they're playing as hard as you're going to be playing. Right. You have to assume that they're going to play you their best game as well. So that's, that's a pretty cool thing about the Olympics. Everyone's going to want to do their absolute best. So while you're there, do you get a sense of the excitement that everybody is having in the States at all? Or are you kind of in your own little bubble? A little bit. You have a few moments of like, wow, this, you know, the amount of people that are watching at home and like the support and how excited everyone is for, you know, this whole experience for me and my family is, I definitely thought about it a couple of times, but then there's a flip side of it where I was kind of in my little bubble. You know, to really take time, you know, the veterans on our team said there's going to be a lot going on. You know, you have your tons of media all over the place. They're everywhere you go. You know, basically, just a lot of distractions that can happen at the Olympics. Like, but it's really important for you to take it all in yourself, take time for yourself and soak it all in because this is literally all you've been dreaming about is for these moments this month. So to really have that balance of, you know, talking to some people at home, but not being overwhelmed and trying to answer everyone, that type of thing. Right, not be distracted. Yeah, so just it was really important to find a balance for me there. And how about that gold medal game? I mean, you had to have known pretty early on in that one. You know, this is going to be quite a game. Yeah, I'm pretty excited to rewatch it. You haven't rewatched it yet? No. I mean, we've seen, when we were on media tour, you know, people were the clips all the time, but it was more towards like you just saw like the shootout and right over time. But to see the whole game again would be pretty cool. People have asked me, you know, were you nervous going into the game? And I actually was more nervous at like, as soon as we got there thinking, not trying to think ahead, but thinking about like what could possibly be at the end of the month. But on the actual gold medal game day, like I was like so calm, so excited, wasn't, I think that was just like pretty interesting. People like to hear that that it was just You're in the zone. Yeah, it's just another game, really, you know, it's we played them hundreds of times. So I think, you know, the difference that we needed to adjust to make sure that we got what we wanted was making sure that every single shift you try and do every little thing right. Because, you know, whether you miss a pass in the second period could depend on whether we go into a shootout or we don't, you know what I mean? So really just focusing on doing all the little things right were huge. It couldn't have been scripted much better as a game, right? So dramatic. Yeah, you know, it's especially for a US-Canada game. It's like, of course, that's right to happen. You know, we, we could play them at four nations. We win a lot to one, you know, and then here it is in the gold medal game and we go into a shootout. It's like both teams are probably thinking like, you got to be kidding me. So, yeah. And the moment it happens, you know, you've won. You rush the ice. You know, what, what, you know, what is that thought? What is the, you know, what is that we did it? Yeah, I knew deep down that Maddie, because our goalie was going to say, I knew. You're just going to make the save. I was just standing there. I'm like, she's literally going to make the save and then that's it. Like, that's just like, I couldn't, I could believe it, but I was like, oh my god, like this is, you know, this is really going to happen when she's going down. She's about to shoot. I'm like, we're about to win. Like, I could just feel it. And then actually when I was, I was standing next to Gigi Marvin and she immediately sat down and put her hands like over her head for a good 30 seconds. And I just kind of was hanging out with her. Everyone else like rushed out. And then we both took the door. I'm not sure why we didn't just hop out. But yeah, I took a couple moments on the bench and we're just like, oh my god, we did it. We did it. And then, you know, rushed out. Yeah. It's pretty awesome. I mean, I was, I actually just watched it again in preparation for this, to those final few minutes. And it, I can't even imagine it must have been tearing you guys up inside the tension. So something like that happens. Is there a in the decompression? Is there a kind of not, do you get the blues afterward? Because it's, I mean, you've won, but then it's kind of over. It comes low. Yeah. I mean, it's over. I mean, you, I mean, there's the euphoria of winning. But then you just came through a journey that, as you point out, lasted for years. Yeah. Well, I think this just popped in my head when you said that. But I think what's so special about this win is that it was so historic that that high is going to last a long time. And I think that's the beauty in all this, that a lot of my team is still doing a bunch of this type of stuff. So it's, it's like, yes, we've constantly been talking about it and people are getting tired of talking about it. It's like, well, no, not really. Because it's like, you want to keep it going as long as you can. But I think that it's so historical in the sense that we are, we're going to remember that feeling, you know, for the rest of our lives where we can watch it and get that feeling right back. So I think that's, it was definitely a high. And I think we're coming down slowly, but more in like a relaxed way, you know, in a content, relieved way. And it's worth noting, your family was over there for the whole, well, for their whole period, but they were there as well. My mom and dad were there for majority of the time. Then my brother came for the semis and finals. And my mom's uncle, I mean, my mom's my uncle, my mom's brother came. So he was over, actually worked out. He was over there for work and soul. So he left out pretty well. And he was, he was so excited. They was all incredible. It was incredible to have them there. So what happens now, you're back, you're doing this kind of media tour and, and going around and letting people fawn over the metal and fawn over you. What's next? You're going back into training pretty soon? I'd hope so. Yeah. I'm getting pretty antsy too. I think, I mean, training's all, like it's our job. So it's, you know, it's take a little bit of a break from it. But, you know, I think for the ones that want to continue playing and keep the journey going, I'm sure everyone's pretty antsy to just start again eventually, especially in the gym. You know, like over time, you're like, okay, like when can I get back in there? But I probably won't start skating for a couple months just because it's just to step away from that a little bit. But I'm definitely excited, already excited to be back in Boston and start the training again and kind of see where the professional career goes. And then yeah, hopefully continue with this type of stuff. Yeah. So how does, how has this whole experience changed you as a person? I think it's made me a lot, like I think my character has grown a lot. I think when you're around people that, you know, are older than you and have been through all these experiences and they share all that with you and you see how they interact with people, you see how they shoot themselves every day, how they train, how they, you know, how they handle the professional side of things. Like you, I'm a sponge, like I just want to soak all that in and better myself. Like aside from hockey player, I think that's the smallest thing that I want to better. But I think just, you know, making all this experience into, you know, a career and a future for myself as a person is, is huge. And I've, I've just learned from everyone around me. So I'm very fortunate that I've been around my team for this long. And these, these girls for the past eight years is, you know, they're all amazing. They're the most powerful women I think in sports. So yeah, it's pretty special. Ever considered coaching yourself? Yeah, I'm not coaching yourself, but I've coached many years. I love it. I think any time that you can be around an athletic population is inspiring to be able to inspire them and help them out and get back in that way. Yeah. Do you feel like a role model? Um, I don't want to say yeah, but you know, like it's, like I said earlier that when I was looking at these girls, you know, Cameron Gannotto, I'm like looking up at her and like in awe. And then you see like a three year old looking at you the same way. It's that mirroring perspective I think was, it's pretty cool. Like I look at her and I'm like, I'm still that young, I swear, you know, like I remember it all pretty good memory of all that stuff. And um, I mean, that's, it's really what it's all about is showing a little girl or a little boy a medal and having them to light bulb. And then it's, they go for it. So that's just a, those are special moments that really shape the future of a lot of people's lives. Yeah. Well, you are a role model. Thanks. And we're glad to have you home for a little while. And thank you for taking the time and talking about the experience. Yeah, my pleasure. So Amanda Pelkey and thank you for joining us.