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Getting to Know ...
CURTIS BEACH
(posted April 17, 2009)
Last Saturday he shattered a 16-year-old national record in the decathlon.
A few days later Curtis Beach was named USA Track and Field’s Athlete of the Week.
Those accomplishments pale in comparison to his Safeco Insurance / Insurance Exchange Student Athlete of the Week, awarded by The Team..jpg)
That might be a stretch, but it’s certainly not reaching to suggest that Beach, a senior at Academy, might be Albuquerque’s next Olympian. In 2007 he finished fourth in the World Youth Championships octathlon.
In his record-setting performance Saturday, Beach won nine of 10 events and set five personal records. Beach scored 7,909, which was nearly 500 points better than the previous record and almost 1,500 better than the second place finisher in Arcadia, Calif.
Beach, who got his start in running by chasing horses at his family’s ranch, sat down with The Team this week.
THE TEAM: Can you be in the zone any more than you were in Arcadia?
CURTIS BEACH: Yeah, I can. I believe that my training is just going to improve as I go through the next few months. All I have to do is just keep the same mindset as I did in Arcadia, which is just do the best I can in each event and see what happens. If I do that then I believe I’ll improve the score.
THE TEAM: What performance surprised you the most?
BEACH: I wouldn’t necessarily say, “surprised me,” because all the performances I had I knew I had in me. But my best performance, I believe, was the javelin. I improved from 138 (feet) to 155. That was probably the greatest (personal record) for me. … It’s coming along. It’s not there. There’s still a lot more room for improvement.
THE TEAM: When did you know that you could break the national record?
BEACH: I actually felt that I could break it last year, I just don’t think I put a good decathlon meet together. Last year I didn’t really have a good mindset going into the meet. I kind of put a lot of expectations on myself. This year I was a lot more relaxed.
THE TEAM: How many more points can you score?
BEACH: I have no idea. That’s part of the reason I feel I scored really high because I didn’t put any numbers up. I just focused on executing each event well and just letting the numbers fall where they may. I feel if I do the same thing in following competitions, then I will score higher. … I hope it’s over 8,000 points. I hope it’s over 8,100.
THE TEAM: Who is your favorite author?
BEACH: That is probably Dr. Joseph Parent, he is the author of “Zen Golf.” Golf is like a sport that really challenges you mentally, the hardest sport to concentrate and focus on to perform well. That book is about the mind, being able to stay focused and stay collected and how to be motivated for everything. There’s a lot of stuff in that book that applies to track and field, or sports in general, and life in general too.
THE TEAM: Fill in the blank. Don’t bother me when I’m …
BEACH: Training.
THE TEAM: The phrase I overuse the most is …
BEACH: Maybe, “That’s crazy.”
THE TEAM: TV show I’d love to guest star on …
BEACH: That 70s Show.
THE TEAM: Why Duke?
BEACH: I felt it was an excellent academic fit for me. And I felt very comfortable with the coach.
THE TEAM: What will you study?
BEACH: I’ll either major in economics or political science.
THE TEAM: During the season what kind of diet restrictions do you have?
BEACH: I don’t really have a diet plan. I just try to eat healthy. Eat a good balanced meal, vegetables and all that stuff. I definitely restrict chocolates and sweets and all that stuff. But it’s not really a complicated plan, just eating healthy.
THE TEAM: Senioritis yet?
BEACH: Yeah (laughs). I really hoped that I wouldn’t have senioritis. And I really felt that OK, I’m going to finish well, I’m going to work really hard. I still am, of course. I still find it a little more difficult to complete my work, but fortunately I’m still doing pretty well.
- As told to James Staley
