Latest news with #Botting
The National
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The National
Misha Botting on being inside the minds of Scotland's best
34 years on from leaving his country of birth and on the verge of closing one of the most significant chapters in his life, Botting is reflecting on a journey that is as fascinating as it is unique, and is contemplating how he rose to become one of this country's preeminent sports psychologists. Having grown up in Moscow, Botting's talents lay in ballet, becoming a dancer with the renowned Bolshoi Ballet Academy. On relocating to Scotland, Botting joined Scottish Ballet, with which he danced for five years before his days as a dancer came to an end. At this point in his life, Botting knew he wanted to remain in sport, although not necessarily as a coach and so and an undergraduate and then postgraduate degree course led him into the world of sports psychology. Botting grew up in Russia (Image: Colin Mearns) Botting would ultimately spend nearly two decades inside the minds of some of Scotland's very best athletes, with the highs as high as they come in the sporting world in the shape of Olympic gold medals for his charges. And there's been the less glorious but no less significant moments of helping athletes through injuries, disappointments and crises of confidence, too. Now, Botting, who has risen to become the sportscotland Institute of Sport Psychology Manager, is just weeks away from leaving the role that was so much more to him than just a job. 'After university, I felt like sports psychology was my calling and I feel so lucky to have been paid for a job which has never felt like a job, it's something I love to do,' he says. 'To be a sports psychologist, you have to be so emotionally invested and so while I still love helping individuals find solutions, 18 years is a long time and it just feels right to try something different.' The list of sports and individual athletes with whom Botting has worked is too lengthy to mention here (and, for Botting's sins, includes myself). But his most notable partnership, in results terms anyway, is with curler Eve Muirhead and her rink, with whom Botting worked for many years. Their partnership was as successful as they come, with Team Muirhead becoming Olympic champions at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Botting is far too modest to claim any significant credit for Team Muirhead's Olympic triumph but in understanding their journey to Olympic gold, it becomes apparent that the psychological work Botting did with Muirhead and her teammates was vital in allowing them to fulfil their potential. 'Working with Eve (Muirhead) and her team for Beijing 2022 was such an interesting experience because a year before they won gold they were in a bad, bad place - they could barely win a game and they were not certain to even be at the Olympics,' Botting says. Team Muirhead with their Olympic gold medals (Image: Getty Images) 'The team hadn't forgotten how to curl, rather their bad form was to do with the psychological side. But they made the adjustments and the compromises that they needed to become Olympic champions.' There were, says Botting, countless highs during the past 18 years of working with Scotland's elite. From helping athletes perform after deaths of coaches to overcoming the mental trauma of serious injury to providing athletes with tools to perform under the most intense of pressure, Botting's successes are plentiful. And a personal highlight, he recalls, was returning to his birth country to take part in the Opening Ceremony as a member of Team GB at the 2018 Sochi Winter Olympics. (Image: Colin Mearns) There is, perhaps surprisingly, a complete absence of lows when Botting reflects on his stellar career. The sports psychology mantra is, after all, that it's all about the process rather than the result and Botting fully subscribes to this. 'I genuinely can't remember the low points because I was never disappointed in anyone's results,' he says. "I was always impressed with athletes' commitment to the process because that's what it's all about. If an athlete puts their heart and soul into the process then that's all you can ask of them.' Botting's secret in becoming such a successful, liked and respected sports psychologist with so many of this country's top athletes is two-fold. Firstly, his experience as an elite performer himself has, he believes, been extremely useful. As is his willingness to do things slightly differently. 'In high-level sport, staying present in the moment is vital but it's also very difficult. It's like an emotional yo-yo, which I understand and the fact the athletes know I went through something similar when I was on stage really helped,' he says. 'Some of my practices might not be typical sports psychology and you will not find them in a textbook but these things helped me put my creativity into practice and help athletes to see the world in a slightly broader sense. 'I was working with a runner and in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics, he was injured and it was very difficult for him to cope so we created haiku for each other and that helped him appreciate parts of his life beyond athletics and understand that it wasn't just about the next Olympic Games. 'And I worked with an athlete who was speaking about hitting the wall in the marathon and so I got my trainers and ran the Edinburgh Marathon so I could understand what it was like. ]'It's one thing reading books and understanding statistics and research, but it's another thing feeling the sport on your skin.' Botting may have just weeks remaining of his role as sports psychologist to the great and the good of Scottish sport but the impact his work has had will remain etched in the memories of every athlete he paired up with. And, for Botting himself, the past 18 years are unforgettable. 'You see the tears of frustration or hear the screams from injury or cries of joy and you know an athlete has put everything into it,' he says. 'I've really connected with those feelings and that's what I've loved about this job. 'I've been blessed to work with so many incredible athletes across so many amazing sports and I'll miss it immensely but you get to a point whereby you just have to move on. And I'm at that point now.'
CBC
26-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Sask. snowbirds selling vacation home in Arizona, say they can no longer live in Trump's America
Social Sharing Dale Botting has spent the past 45 winters travelling to sunny Arizona to escape Saskatchewan winters and enjoy the warm weather, golf and friends he's made at his desert vacation home. But this winter will be his last. Botting has listed his home in Chandler, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix, that has been in his family since his dad purchased it 45 years ago. Botting said he could have dealt with the weak Canadian dollar and has resisted the urge to cash in on his home's appreciated value over the years, but he could no longer live in Donald Trump's America. "It's this Trump regime and this cultism," Botting told The 306 host Peter Mills from his Arizona home office. Botting, a Saskatoon business leader, and former deputy minister and CEO of Enterprise Saskatchewan, said he's among the first of his friends to sell out of the snowbird dream. But he believes others will soon follow and that it's best to get out while housing prices are still stable. "As an ethical investor, I just don't like what I'm seeing. I don't like to invest in governments that are becoming more authoritarian and more imperialistic and we certainly see that." The decision comes with mixed emotions. Botting and his wife Rose still love to golf and have built a good community in Chandler, including many American friends. But Botting said he wants to fight the looming trade war from Canadian soil. That's something he's uniquely equipped to do as a former head of the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership. "I worry about folks who are watching this increasing authoritarianism kick in almost every bloody night. The last 30 days have started to feel like 30 years." He's not the only Canadian that feels that way. Arizona real estate agents say Canadians are bailing out of the American market in record numbers, partly driven by the weak Canadian dollar and the chance to cash in on their home's appreciated value. But for many, it's Trump's constant needling of Canadians through tariff threats or suggesting Canada should become the 51st state. "They've been feeling bullied and the pinch of the Canadian dollar," said Laurie Lavine, a realtor in Phoenix, Ariz. Lavine has an appreciation for the current Canadian sell off. He was born and raised in Winnipeg, holds dual citizenship and has lived in Phoenix for the past 16 years selling real estate. "The bullying is kind of the last straw that broke the camel's back, and seven out of my 10 listings are for that reason alone." Lavine said other realtors are experiencing the same surge of Canadians selling off their Arizona properties because they are fed up with Trump. "In all my 27 years as a realtor, I've never really experienced this before," said Lavine, who sold real estate in Alberta before moving to Arizona. One accountant that Lavine works with to help Canadians navigate the tax implications of selling American property is so busy he can't see new clients for two weeks, Lavine said. "Normally I can get a client in to see him within a couple of days." Lavine said most people he speaks with are puzzled by Trump's threats against Canada, and some worry the threats of tariffs or annexation are just the start of what Trump could do. "My clients are fearful that in addition to tariffs they might decide to put an extra tax on a non-resident owning a property down here so many have decided to cash out," he said. "They've just had enough."
BBC News
16-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Solihull farm helps learning disabled adults find work
"The farm showed me there was light in the world and not just darkness."Moving out and living alone for the first time is a big deal for most 24-year-olds, but it was a huge step for Anna has learning disabilities and has been working with Newlands Bishop Solihull-based holding helps young adults like her learn skills and gain employment, both on the farm and in the local community. This idyllic farm is open to the public on weekends and you can even get married there. But it's a seven-day operation changing the lives of adults who are locked out of work, according to bosses. Not only have they helped Ms Botting gain skills, they have helped her get into a supported living scheme in nearby Hampton-in-Arden. She said it allowed her to experience true independence for the first time."When I was in school I really struggled with work and friendships, so when I found the farm I felt like I belonged here," she explained. The same is true of Andrea Long, who has been attending the farm for three years. She has gained work experience at local charities and businesses like the PDSA and Hilton."Through most of my life I found it hard to find somewhere I fit in," the 23-year-old said."I feel empowered to do a lot of things I would have struggled with in the past. I feel treated like an adult." The farm is run by the Family Care Trust charity, which is celebrating its 30th year. It hires 18 adults with learning disabilities at the farm, and helps others get work at nearby businesses in the borough. Chief executive Daniel Adams said some found themselves overlooked, despite having a valuable contribution to make. "It can be easier to put in physical things in buildings like lifts for people in wheelchairs, for example," Mr Adams said. "It's more of a challenge coming up with processes to help adults with learning disabilities be engaged in the world of work and find jobs in the community. "Our goal is to give people the skills so they can move on to employment." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
