From Capitals to Olympics

For many, landing a job as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Stanley Cup-winning Washington Capitals would count as a career high. Where do you go after working for the National Hockey League? If you’re Simon Roberts ’95, you head to the Olympics—to help coach a bobsled team. For Australia.

How does that even happen?

Born in Australia, Roberts moved to Boston in the late 1980s as a child with his family. Then he attended Messiah, majoring in sport and exercise science. He still remembers a question on his College application: Which is better—to give or to receive?

“My answer to the question I still remember today was, ‘It’s better to give. If I’m giving and someone else is giving, then everyone is receiving,’” he said.

He returned to Boston after graduation and worked as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for Boston University and then Harvard. After playing for the Australian national ice hockey team in 1997, he moved to Virginia and began working with the Capitals in 2000.

Fast-forward to 2016 when Roberts and his wife, Mary, visited Whistler, Canada. While at a bobsled course, he ran into Lucas Mata, the pilot for the Australian bobsled team. (Mata had spent time in Whistler training with his team after competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.) After realizing they were both from Australia—and after a ride down the bobsled course—Roberts came on board as the high performance coach for the Australian bobsled team for the 2017-2018 season.

“I make it about the athlete, not me,” said Roberts. “If I made it about me, then the team—the community dynamic, the oneness and the culture of the team—would dissipate.”

In February, he arrived with the team in PyeongChang, South Korea, for the Winter Olympics.

“‘Surreal’ definitely doesn’t do it justice, but it was surreal,” said Roberts. “Seeing all the countries competing, the different athletes of all shapes, sizes and disciplines. The amazing talent pool of people there was pretty mind-blowing.”

Roberts says all Olympic coaches and athletes bring something unique to the table.

The spirit of the Olympics is this: No matter what country you’re from, no matter what affiliation you ascribe to, whether that be political, religious or socio-economic, everyone comes together for a common goal: to enjoy the sport,” he said.

Roberts did, however, miss the closing ceremonies—for a very good reason. He and his wife had been in the process of adopting a baby. While in South Korea, he got the call: the baby had been born. He rushed home to meet his newborn son, Colin, who he says is his “real gold medal.”

After all of the career accomplishments and personal milestones, what’s next for Roberts?

He’ll continue to work with the Capitals. The flexibility of his job allows him to travel with the bobsled team as they train and compete for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, China.

 “It’s a fast-paced sport, a fast-paced job and a fast-paced life,” said Roberts.

— Jake Miaczynski ’20