Chapter Four
Excerpt from Testimony of Dawn Sumner
Ada Olson: Ms. Sumner, you’ve compared your methods for eliminating fear in your athletes to military training. You said, and I’m quoting here, “When a person’s identity becomes solely dependent on the institution, that is when they subordinate their own self-interest to that of the collective.”
Dawn Sumner: That’s correct.
Ada Olson: And what is the collective in the context of an athletic program?
Dawn Sumner: The collective represents the end goal—winning. In the short term, that means overcoming fear and committing to the demands of the training.
Ada Olson: And the institution? That would be you, in this scenario, correct?
Dawn Sumner: Yes, and the other coaches under my supervision.
Ada Olson: And do you ever worry that this kind of conditioning might have repercussions off the ice? In other aspects of these young girls’ lives? If you become their only source of self-identity?
Dawn Sumner: I train them to skate and to win. That’s my only concern, Ms. Olson. If they aren’t equipped to handle that, they shouldn’t be here.
Ada Olson: One more question about your methods, Ms. Sumner. Did you ever hold the back end of a blade to a skater’s head as a way of summoning fear?
Dawn Sumner: No. Those girls are all liars.