jcollingsworth
Guest
A Conversation With Amanda Furrer
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
(photo courtesy of www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com)
I want to provide the conversation that I had with Buckeye and Olympian, Amanda Furrer. This conversation took place on Tuesday May 17, 2016. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.
tBBC: Thank you for calling ….
Amanda: I’m a little early … I hope that’s okay ….
tBBC: Absolutely. I’m ready. I was just going over my notes and I’m ready. We’re going to have fun….
Amanda: Is this a recorded interview?
tBBC: Yes it is … I am recording just to assure accuracy. I don’t want to add or delete something down the road because I don’t know, or forgot … I won’t be prying or asking anything crazy…
Amanda: Oh that’s okay I’m an open book …. for the most part, almost to a fault…
tBBC: We’re going to have some fun … it’s going to be all about our love of the Buckeyes …. That’s what it’ll all come down to …
Amanda: There you go! That’s great!
tBBC: I do want to thank you for spending some time with me and pass on a little of yourself to Buckeye Nation … I must start with a little edge of honesty. I initially had four pages of questions and ideas for our conversation. But my wife, God love her, reviewed these four pages ad set them down and said “really?” reminding me that we were going to have a conversation …
Amanda: (Laughs)
tBBC: Thank God for women, right?
Amanda: (Laughs again)
tBBC: It’s about us having some fun, chatting, and talking about Amanda Furrer that’s why …
Amanda: Thank you.
tBBC: …that’s why we are here.
Amanda: I appreciate that. That’s so cool …
tBBC: Let me ask you – you’re back home … home being Washington, the State …
Amanda: Yeah, I actually grew up in Spokane, Washington. Right now I moved to Seattle …
tBBC: Oh, really? That’s a beautiful city … I’ve never been there – but certainly what I see on TV …
Amanda: Oh yeah – it’s great. It’s kind of new for me too. I’m sort of in a transition period right now. It is allowing me to get out and enjoy the outdoors, enjoying nature ..
tBBC: Hiking and trails? That’s a lot of fun…
Amanda: Yeah. There’s like hundreds and hundreds of trails here, valleys – it’s the perfect place…
tBBC: Beautiful I bet…
Amanda: It’s like the TV series Twilight – I mean the scenery. It actually looks like that over here. It’s just as beautiful. So I’m enjoying that, the scenery, and all that, right now.
tBBC: That’s great. See I’m in NYC so there isn’t much of nature here to feast on …
Amanda: Oh but New York is a great place. I have a friend who has a place there. It’s a great place.
tBBC: Yeah. I do love New York – it’s a part of me now. I’m originally from Columbus – so this is a new world for me … or it was way back when. Now it’s home. I do enjoy it.
Amanda: That’s cool.
tBBC: Let me ask you what possessed a West Coaster when searching for a College to find the cornfields of the Midwest and Columbus, Ohio?
Amanda: (Laughs) This is actually a funny story …I was going to get a shooting scholarship no matter what, that was already determined I had been shooting all through High School so I was going to be shooting through College as well. I was pretty limited from the schools I could choose from and I had my heart set on between two different schools, and then I found out about Ohio State. I actually didn’t know they had a shooting program. So I went to the other schools and about to commit – I don’t want to say which school that was …
tBBC: Oh – let me tell you I was o the verge of asking which school…
Amanda: (Laughing) Yeah! So I was about to commit and my Dad was in his office and he called me and he had been looking through websites of all the Universities that had the program I was in and he said “Did you see that Ohio State has a program? They also have one of the best Business Schools in the Country.” That’s what I was going to go into. See I was never into all the sports like football, basketball, and all those, so I was really unaware of Ohio State and their power in these sports. See to me I thought Ohio State was just in the middle of nowhere, you know just another State University. I said to my Dad, “I’m not going to Ohio State – probably nothing but a bunch of cornfields. See I’m from a city and there was no way I was going to go there. And he said “Well – just go take a visit and if afterwards if you aren’t interested then the other schools can be the decision.” So I went to Ohio State and as soon as I got there I absolutely fell in love with the place. And after my first day I called my parents and said I wanted to go to Ohio State. I was sold. I went to one of the football games and I was able to hang out with the team … it was everything I imagined a College to be…
tBBC: That’s nice. That’s a great story. See I don’t see through the eyes of those beyond. I was born and raised in Columbus. So Ohio State was ‘home-planet’ for me. I drank the Kool-Aid…
Amanda: (Laughs)
tBBC: …see I had the Kool-Aid from birth so the bottom line is that’s it – nothing else … but you are right. I have seen many campuses and The Ohio State University is beautiful, very Collegiate, I mean, The Oval, the whole area, Mirror Lake, so soothing. You do fall in love with it…
Amanda: Oh yeah – totally awesome. It’s just so funny because it turned out to be everything I did not expect. Everything I had thought of Ohio wasn’t this place. Ohio State is just a universe upon itself. I just had no idea. And now after going there I have become a huge sports fan. I follow it all…
tBBC: You are addicted now, huh?
Amanda: (Laughs) Yeah – oh yeah – I am!
tBBC: And it doesn’t matter what sport does it? You know the Pistol Team won the National Title recently…
Amanda: Oh yeah. I follow all of Ohio State’s teams. See when you’re from Washington you root for only Washington teams. But my family and I weren’t into all those sports… Ohio though is another level and participating in it is really cool.
tBBC: That’s great. Tell us – what’s Amanda Furrer up to these days?
Amanda: Well I just retired from competitive shooting …
tBBC: So there’s no 2020?
Amanda: No not for me. I was recently living in the US Olympic Center in Colorado and then I transitioned to Washington. Right now I am working on a couple TV Shows…
tBBC: Really?
Amanda: Yeah. One is called The American Marksman for the Outdoors Channel. It’s a competitive shooting show – so I’m hoping that takes off. The other channel, well it’s not a channel, its with MTV, and it’s going to be on where The Flash is on – but a show in the works. I spent a weekend a month on those. So in the meantime I am taking some time off. I am learning a lot about firearms, training and different disciplines. I’m getting a lot more experience …
tBBC: That’s fantastic. You said the Outdoors Channel?
Amanda: Yeah the Outdoor Channel.
tBBC: Whenever that comes on let me know I would love to help in any way that I can.
Amanda: Yeah it isn’t on yet … it’s a show for amateurs who try out for the show – for anybody who feels they got it … they can try out at any local range that is involved in the program. So I hope it kicks up some interest – so they are playing that now trying to get people involved. Then once that happens then the show can go forward. I think next Monday they will be playing that same segment – I’ll have to check. So that’ll be the beginning of that show.
tBBC: Great … congratulations.
Amanda: Thank you.
tBBC: I wish you much success.
Amanda: Yeah it’s going to be a lot of fun. It won’t be what I am looking to do in the long run. I plan to use my degree in Finance. I hope to get into Business Development or contract negotiations for Government contracts especially in the Military Industry or something in the firearms or for the lack of a better word – weapons. I am a big advocate of the Military. My dad, my brother, my boyfriend were all in the Military. I have always been a big supporter. I want to get into that Industry. I want to help out as much as I can.
tBBC: That’s absolutely great. That actually answered where I was heading which was what lays in the future for Amanda Furrer…
Amanda: Yeah it looks like I’ll be traveling around to different bases. It looks like I will have an opportunity to move around to get the training I’ll need. So yeah, I am really looking into that Industry right now. So I believe it’ll be Government contracts …
tBBC: That could be a life-long thing too. That’ll keep you busy ….
Amanda: Oh yeah – for sure.
tBBC; Congratulations on that too. You are heading into a positive direction.
Amanda: Thank you.
tBBC: I also wanted to talk about – you in your rifle competition you have had astonishing accomplishments…
Amanda: (Laughing) Yeah I’ve done alright!
tBBC: Yeah you have. You have done very well for yourself. Just looking over some of your accomplishments – you were in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. The 2015 Pan-Am Games. You were in the national Championship of 2014 … I mean I can go on – I mean there’s many, many more – you have done quite well. How does that all feel – I mean, speaking for myself and for many others we can never imagine being an Olympian. Could you open that door for us?
Amanda: Well that was always the goal – The Olympics – just performing at a top level. I mean I started competing when I was ten or eleven so that is always the goal. I grew up with all that, the competing, always pushing for the next level. So a lot of those things just didn’t feel like enough. You know something like the Pan-Am Games or the National Championships – they just never seemed like enough. I know they were great accomplishments but just with the goal of being in the Olympics, trying to be the best in the world, they were just another stepping stone. So I never look at that list and go “Wow”. I just know they were great things and they were just a part of my past and they were something I had to do to be where I wanted to be – The Olympics. I am very appreciative to compete in those events and I loved every part of it. I love the entire journey. I didn’t just love being in the Olympics – I loved being in each and every competition I’ve been in and everything in between. But it just all seems like a natural part of the past.
tBBC: Yeah the learning you must have traveled through. In those competitions you’ve been to many places. You have seen places, dealt with cultures that most of us only visit in reading.
Amanda: Yeah – it’s kind of funny. I was talking to my Mom about that. The other day we were in the car with my nephew – he’s twelve. And I was thinking how old we are all getting. I mean I started traveling alone when I was fifteen. I went to Korea by myself. It was Korea or China – I don’t remember. I had just turned sixteen. And I was thinking all those airports … we were about the same age and I was so much “older” you know mature and I was traveling the world by myself (laughing) I mean I was a little older then him, it was crazy. My first trip, I mean I have been to London a few times but the first time was with my local club that I grew up with we went to London a few different times and then for my first competition that I went to outside of the USA, my first World Cup was when I turned sixteen. So that year was Australia, Korea, Germany, The Czech Republic, and the Brazil for the Pan-Am Games and that all on the first year I was on the Team. It was a world-wind and I was in High School. I was very fortunate in High School – I mean they worked with me they said the experience I was getting was invaluable and it was something they couldn’t teach so they worked with me and let me take tests and assignments on my trips and mail them back …
tBBC: Kind of like a Home School situation?
Amanda: I was probably missing about a half-a-day a year from sixteen on through Senior Year. I mean I was hardly there. I was always away or at the range…
tBBC: I mean you weren’t a normal sixteen year old. You had major goals insight ….
Amanda: Yeah, that’s the thing. I didn’t have a normal childhood. I mean my parents tried to give me as normal of a childhood that they could. But the fact that I was one of the youngest on the Team … everyone was mid-twenties, thirties, even younger twenties. I was sixteen and was competing with them and was still trying to be a kid. So I missed a lot of things at School, sleepovers, things like that. I didn’t like it at the time, but looking back I don’t regret it. You know because of everything I accomplished.
tBBC: That’s true. When we are young we don’t have the vision to see ahead. When you’re at that age there is so much that you think you are missing, or that you have it all figured. Only when you are older you recognize that there were just other things and that you didn’t necessarily have it all figured.
Amanda: Yeah. Right… You know I had a pretty close group of friends through High School that I hung out with, the ones from home, and those I got to know through the country from competitions. I had a really tight knit group of friends. They were really supportive of what I was doing and never took me away from it.
tBBC: You were lucky…
Amanda: Yes I was.
tBBC: You have done well…
Amanda: Thank you.
tBBC: I have to ask about training. We all figure a lot of time on the range, but in other sources of training but is there anything like weights, running, things like that?
Amanda: It all depends on the individual. What I was doing – it all based on the cycle, when the next competition was coming up. I would train between somewhere of two-to-six hours a day. I know that’s a big gap, but again, it depended on the cycle. Normally it would be around three-to-four hours a day. I would spend time at the range, take a break at lunch, lift in the afternoon. I would work five or six days a week. I would do three lifts and at least two days a week of cardio, sometimes three. I do free weights and that’s for where you have to hold position for a very long time and cardio helps out on that too. Yeah I lifted really actively. I would be involved in outdoor activities as well. On the Team we would have psychologists and they would test our blood to see where, this wasn’t like a daily thing, but every few months, or six months to get your blood tested to see what level everything was at to make sure you weren’t missing anything in your diet, or something that might be useful for you and make sure you were capable of this level of competition. So they were constantly testing what was up with you to see what supplements you should or should not be taking. See shooting is very internal sport so it’s all about feeling. It’s about how your body is reacting to certain things. You could be sitting still for two hours trying to focus on a target and wanting to be perfect and anything off with your body and mind can effect everything. So they want to constantly test you to assure you give your best performance.
tBBC: So the sport of Rifle – I don’t know if people fully understand just how competitive it is. How many would you estimate goes out competitively nationwide for the level, or dreams of the level that you have reached?
Amanda: Well, if you think about it – it all starts at the local clubs then it advances people regionally then people go to the national level. To get to those levels you must have met certain things. Then you can move on. So the elimination grows. It’s a big sport. It’s everywhere. I mean it isn’t as big as football or basketball but it is big in its own right…
tBBC: When you look around there’s a lot of clubs around, more in certain places then in others. But it is a big sport…. If you were to pop into any of those clubs you would actually see a bigger number of faces than you would have guessed…
Amanda: Exactly. A lot of people don’t really know they are around. They don’t know how to get their kids involved. They really don’t even know where to begin to look. Clubs are everywhere.
tBBC: So do you think your passion and love for the sport will still be burning when you are sixty plus and gray?
Amanda: Oh yeah! You know you miss a lot when you stop competing – I miss all the friends I have made in the sport. As someone who is older I will look back and know I want to contribute to the opportunity of someone else seeing their dream. I don’t know if that will be a local club, a mentor. I know my passion for the sport will always be there. It has done so much for me. I would absolutely do whatever I can to see someone else get the opportunity that I got.
tBBC: We did mention that the Pistol team won the National Title. The Men’s Volleyball Team did too. And the Women’s Tennis Team is advancing nicely in the NCAA Tournament – in the Round of 16 for the first time ever….
Amanda: Wow – that’s cool!
tBBC: Yeah whenever they are on find a TV and root them on…
Amanda: Yeah!
tBBC: Tell me though how does it feel to be an actual part of such a powerful and successful organization such as The Ohio State University’s Athletic Program?
Amanda: It’s crazy to me. I initially had no idea about it before going there. But learning about it and experiencing it is amazing. Knowing the people while I was there and the people before me is so cool knowing you are growing up I an organization with so much success and they continually breed success … I mean one person and one team at a time, they are always good ad always will be…. They offer so much, academically, competitively, just everything they can to make you better
tBBC: I know Ohio State is just one of those schools that is always good. If they aren’t on any such year, it won’t be long, they’ll be back. Ohio State isn’t one of those schools that someone likes. It is either love or hate. If someone loves it – it’s a religion….
Amanda: Yeah!
tBBC: If they hate it – it’s hate!…
Amanda: Yeah everyone I talk to says that too…
tBBC: You never hear someone say “I like Ohio State.” It’s either “I love Ohio State” or “I hate Ohio State.”
Amanda: Yeah, no in-between’s like Michigan State….
tBBC: Yeah, or some other Big Ten School – other than The Team Up North. I think they fall into the same bracket as Ohio State. People love or hate them too. Like Alabama, or most SEC teams for me. I hate them all ….
Amanda: See I have no compassion for any team other than Ohio State.
tBBC: That’s the only answer….
Amanda: (Laughs) Being from Spokane though, even though I didn’t follow them when I was younger, but I do now, and that’s because they are local and are nationally good is Gonzaga….
tBBC: Any thoughts about the Team up North?
Amanda: We don’t give a damn about the whole State of Michigan….
tBBC: (Laughs) Only answer.
Amanda: Yes, the only answer.
tBBC: Pat Cherry. (Ohio State Rifle Coach) Tell us about Pat.
Amanda: I love Pat. He was like a Grandfather to me. He was someone who told me from the beginning, I mean I had already accomplished so much prior to coming to Ohio State, he told me that he didn’t know how much he could teach me as a shooter, but he said he would do all he can to do my best and accomplish everything you want to accomplish. And he absolutely did that. He was a great man and a great coach.
tBBC: The Buckeyes did well under Pat…
Amanda: Yeah. He was there for a very long time and I enjoyed being around him. He was extremely helpful. Not just as a coach but as a person he was very invested in that we all succeeded and that we had everything we needed to do our best.
tBBC: That’s what young athletes need – someone that loves ad respects the sport they are teaching…
Amanda: Absolutely. When the Coach as the passion and love for what they are doing it reflects to the athlete.
tBBC: Definitely a trickle down. It’s nothing but good.
Amanda: I agree.
tBBC: In final … some of my toughest questions to date and they are coming your way….
Amanda: Toughest questions?.
tBBC: Yeah ….Scuba diving or water slides?
Amanda: (Laughs) I was just talking to my boyfriend about scuba diving today or was it yesterday? But, anyway, one of my worst fears is drowning – so I get claustrophobic in weird situations. I’m not claustrophobic in small areas but things like wet socks o beds – I start to get claustrophobic… (laughs) … the scuba diving would be the other thing because I am absolutely afraid of the water without any air. So the answer is water slides.
tBBC: Water slides? The safe bet…
Amanda: Absolutely… water slides.
tBBC: Can you share with us any of your pet peeves?
Amanda: Ewwww! (Laughing) They’re really stupid ….
tBBC: No such thing as a stupid pet peeve. Our obsessions won’t ever accept that categorization….
Amanda: Okay … here we go … but, I don’t care about other people, but I absolutely cannot have socks on a bed. When I want to sleep I just feel like I’m drowning basically. Also listening to people chew their food…
tBBC: Oh yeah … that’s up there with me. I cannot stand that. That’s a big irritation. .
Amanda: Yes. That’s a big one….(Laughing) That’s all. I’m really easy going. I really don’t have that many things that bother me a lot.
tBBC: I had fun. This is it. Unless you want to add anything … promote your shows again…tell us more….
Amanda: I don’t have much more to add… but as far as the shows go if you’re interest you can go to Sun TV and American Marksman – people can go – if they think they have a shot, or even if they are a beginner and want to try out they ca go to a local qualifying range and try out for the show. It’s a pretty cool opportunity to try out – they just need to go to the range and shoot a couple targets and see if they qualify for the show. It’s pretty cool. They can checkout the website too. It’s www.ammarksmen.com....
tBBC: www,ammarksmen.com?
Amanda: Yeah. AM – Marksmen .com www.ammarksmen.com Anyone can follow me on social media. I will update info from there. I’m on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram …
tBBC: That’s a good idea. I’m a little slow on this Social Media explosion…
Amanda: Are you?
tBBC: I do the Twitter thing, though I’ve slacked. I follow you on twitter …
Amanda: Oh really. I haven’t put anything up on Twitter lately. Instagram is where I am posting now – is what I’ve been doing…
tBBC: That’s the new one, right?
Amanda: It’s not very new….(laughing)
tBBC: See what I meant earlier … shows you where I’m at ….
Amanda: It is one of the popular ones though. I’m @Amanda_Furrer.
tBBC: Well thank you. I appreciate for you taking the time with me and get this out for all your fans in Buckeye Nation ….
Amanda: I’m glad you wanted to talk to me ….
tBBC: Well, you know better than I that Buckeye Nation loves their athletes, which you are…. You are on that pedestal we dream of ….
Amanda: Thank you so much.
tBBC: I do appreciate your time. If you ever feel a need to rant or rave about a Buckeye win or loss in any sport, or talk Buckeye anything, including the School itself keep me in mind. I would love to be the vessel to pass it on. And when you show comes on stop by and tell us about it….
Amanda: Great. Thanks.
The post A Conversation With Amanda Furrer appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
(photo courtesy of www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com)
I want to provide the conversation that I had with Buckeye and Olympian, Amanda Furrer. This conversation took place on Tuesday May 17, 2016. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.
tBBC: Thank you for calling ….
Amanda: I’m a little early … I hope that’s okay ….
tBBC: Absolutely. I’m ready. I was just going over my notes and I’m ready. We’re going to have fun….
Amanda: Is this a recorded interview?
tBBC: Yes it is … I am recording just to assure accuracy. I don’t want to add or delete something down the road because I don’t know, or forgot … I won’t be prying or asking anything crazy…
Amanda: Oh that’s okay I’m an open book …. for the most part, almost to a fault…
tBBC: We’re going to have some fun … it’s going to be all about our love of the Buckeyes …. That’s what it’ll all come down to …
Amanda: There you go! That’s great!
tBBC: I do want to thank you for spending some time with me and pass on a little of yourself to Buckeye Nation … I must start with a little edge of honesty. I initially had four pages of questions and ideas for our conversation. But my wife, God love her, reviewed these four pages ad set them down and said “really?” reminding me that we were going to have a conversation …
Amanda: (Laughs)
tBBC: Thank God for women, right?
Amanda: (Laughs again)
tBBC: It’s about us having some fun, chatting, and talking about Amanda Furrer that’s why …
Amanda: Thank you.
tBBC: …that’s why we are here.
Amanda: I appreciate that. That’s so cool …
tBBC: Let me ask you – you’re back home … home being Washington, the State …
Amanda: Yeah, I actually grew up in Spokane, Washington. Right now I moved to Seattle …
tBBC: Oh, really? That’s a beautiful city … I’ve never been there – but certainly what I see on TV …
Amanda: Oh yeah – it’s great. It’s kind of new for me too. I’m sort of in a transition period right now. It is allowing me to get out and enjoy the outdoors, enjoying nature ..
tBBC: Hiking and trails? That’s a lot of fun…
Amanda: Yeah. There’s like hundreds and hundreds of trails here, valleys – it’s the perfect place…
tBBC: Beautiful I bet…
Amanda: It’s like the TV series Twilight – I mean the scenery. It actually looks like that over here. It’s just as beautiful. So I’m enjoying that, the scenery, and all that, right now.
tBBC: That’s great. See I’m in NYC so there isn’t much of nature here to feast on …
Amanda: Oh but New York is a great place. I have a friend who has a place there. It’s a great place.
tBBC: Yeah. I do love New York – it’s a part of me now. I’m originally from Columbus – so this is a new world for me … or it was way back when. Now it’s home. I do enjoy it.
Amanda: That’s cool.
tBBC: Let me ask you what possessed a West Coaster when searching for a College to find the cornfields of the Midwest and Columbus, Ohio?
Amanda: (Laughs) This is actually a funny story …I was going to get a shooting scholarship no matter what, that was already determined I had been shooting all through High School so I was going to be shooting through College as well. I was pretty limited from the schools I could choose from and I had my heart set on between two different schools, and then I found out about Ohio State. I actually didn’t know they had a shooting program. So I went to the other schools and about to commit – I don’t want to say which school that was …
tBBC: Oh – let me tell you I was o the verge of asking which school…
Amanda: (Laughing) Yeah! So I was about to commit and my Dad was in his office and he called me and he had been looking through websites of all the Universities that had the program I was in and he said “Did you see that Ohio State has a program? They also have one of the best Business Schools in the Country.” That’s what I was going to go into. See I was never into all the sports like football, basketball, and all those, so I was really unaware of Ohio State and their power in these sports. See to me I thought Ohio State was just in the middle of nowhere, you know just another State University. I said to my Dad, “I’m not going to Ohio State – probably nothing but a bunch of cornfields. See I’m from a city and there was no way I was going to go there. And he said “Well – just go take a visit and if afterwards if you aren’t interested then the other schools can be the decision.” So I went to Ohio State and as soon as I got there I absolutely fell in love with the place. And after my first day I called my parents and said I wanted to go to Ohio State. I was sold. I went to one of the football games and I was able to hang out with the team … it was everything I imagined a College to be…
tBBC: That’s nice. That’s a great story. See I don’t see through the eyes of those beyond. I was born and raised in Columbus. So Ohio State was ‘home-planet’ for me. I drank the Kool-Aid…
Amanda: (Laughs)
tBBC: …see I had the Kool-Aid from birth so the bottom line is that’s it – nothing else … but you are right. I have seen many campuses and The Ohio State University is beautiful, very Collegiate, I mean, The Oval, the whole area, Mirror Lake, so soothing. You do fall in love with it…
Amanda: Oh yeah – totally awesome. It’s just so funny because it turned out to be everything I did not expect. Everything I had thought of Ohio wasn’t this place. Ohio State is just a universe upon itself. I just had no idea. And now after going there I have become a huge sports fan. I follow it all…
tBBC: You are addicted now, huh?
Amanda: (Laughs) Yeah – oh yeah – I am!
tBBC: And it doesn’t matter what sport does it? You know the Pistol Team won the National Title recently…
Amanda: Oh yeah. I follow all of Ohio State’s teams. See when you’re from Washington you root for only Washington teams. But my family and I weren’t into all those sports… Ohio though is another level and participating in it is really cool.
tBBC: That’s great. Tell us – what’s Amanda Furrer up to these days?
Amanda: Well I just retired from competitive shooting …
tBBC: So there’s no 2020?
Amanda: No not for me. I was recently living in the US Olympic Center in Colorado and then I transitioned to Washington. Right now I am working on a couple TV Shows…
tBBC: Really?
Amanda: Yeah. One is called The American Marksman for the Outdoors Channel. It’s a competitive shooting show – so I’m hoping that takes off. The other channel, well it’s not a channel, its with MTV, and it’s going to be on where The Flash is on – but a show in the works. I spent a weekend a month on those. So in the meantime I am taking some time off. I am learning a lot about firearms, training and different disciplines. I’m getting a lot more experience …
tBBC: That’s fantastic. You said the Outdoors Channel?
Amanda: Yeah the Outdoor Channel.
tBBC: Whenever that comes on let me know I would love to help in any way that I can.
Amanda: Yeah it isn’t on yet … it’s a show for amateurs who try out for the show – for anybody who feels they got it … they can try out at any local range that is involved in the program. So I hope it kicks up some interest – so they are playing that now trying to get people involved. Then once that happens then the show can go forward. I think next Monday they will be playing that same segment – I’ll have to check. So that’ll be the beginning of that show.
tBBC: Great … congratulations.
Amanda: Thank you.
tBBC: I wish you much success.
Amanda: Yeah it’s going to be a lot of fun. It won’t be what I am looking to do in the long run. I plan to use my degree in Finance. I hope to get into Business Development or contract negotiations for Government contracts especially in the Military Industry or something in the firearms or for the lack of a better word – weapons. I am a big advocate of the Military. My dad, my brother, my boyfriend were all in the Military. I have always been a big supporter. I want to get into that Industry. I want to help out as much as I can.
tBBC: That’s absolutely great. That actually answered where I was heading which was what lays in the future for Amanda Furrer…
Amanda: Yeah it looks like I’ll be traveling around to different bases. It looks like I will have an opportunity to move around to get the training I’ll need. So yeah, I am really looking into that Industry right now. So I believe it’ll be Government contracts …
tBBC: That could be a life-long thing too. That’ll keep you busy ….
Amanda: Oh yeah – for sure.
tBBC; Congratulations on that too. You are heading into a positive direction.
Amanda: Thank you.
tBBC: I also wanted to talk about – you in your rifle competition you have had astonishing accomplishments…
Amanda: (Laughing) Yeah I’ve done alright!
tBBC: Yeah you have. You have done very well for yourself. Just looking over some of your accomplishments – you were in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. The 2015 Pan-Am Games. You were in the national Championship of 2014 … I mean I can go on – I mean there’s many, many more – you have done quite well. How does that all feel – I mean, speaking for myself and for many others we can never imagine being an Olympian. Could you open that door for us?
Amanda: Well that was always the goal – The Olympics – just performing at a top level. I mean I started competing when I was ten or eleven so that is always the goal. I grew up with all that, the competing, always pushing for the next level. So a lot of those things just didn’t feel like enough. You know something like the Pan-Am Games or the National Championships – they just never seemed like enough. I know they were great accomplishments but just with the goal of being in the Olympics, trying to be the best in the world, they were just another stepping stone. So I never look at that list and go “Wow”. I just know they were great things and they were just a part of my past and they were something I had to do to be where I wanted to be – The Olympics. I am very appreciative to compete in those events and I loved every part of it. I love the entire journey. I didn’t just love being in the Olympics – I loved being in each and every competition I’ve been in and everything in between. But it just all seems like a natural part of the past.
tBBC: Yeah the learning you must have traveled through. In those competitions you’ve been to many places. You have seen places, dealt with cultures that most of us only visit in reading.
Amanda: Yeah – it’s kind of funny. I was talking to my Mom about that. The other day we were in the car with my nephew – he’s twelve. And I was thinking how old we are all getting. I mean I started traveling alone when I was fifteen. I went to Korea by myself. It was Korea or China – I don’t remember. I had just turned sixteen. And I was thinking all those airports … we were about the same age and I was so much “older” you know mature and I was traveling the world by myself (laughing) I mean I was a little older then him, it was crazy. My first trip, I mean I have been to London a few times but the first time was with my local club that I grew up with we went to London a few different times and then for my first competition that I went to outside of the USA, my first World Cup was when I turned sixteen. So that year was Australia, Korea, Germany, The Czech Republic, and the Brazil for the Pan-Am Games and that all on the first year I was on the Team. It was a world-wind and I was in High School. I was very fortunate in High School – I mean they worked with me they said the experience I was getting was invaluable and it was something they couldn’t teach so they worked with me and let me take tests and assignments on my trips and mail them back …
tBBC: Kind of like a Home School situation?
Amanda: I was probably missing about a half-a-day a year from sixteen on through Senior Year. I mean I was hardly there. I was always away or at the range…
tBBC: I mean you weren’t a normal sixteen year old. You had major goals insight ….
Amanda: Yeah, that’s the thing. I didn’t have a normal childhood. I mean my parents tried to give me as normal of a childhood that they could. But the fact that I was one of the youngest on the Team … everyone was mid-twenties, thirties, even younger twenties. I was sixteen and was competing with them and was still trying to be a kid. So I missed a lot of things at School, sleepovers, things like that. I didn’t like it at the time, but looking back I don’t regret it. You know because of everything I accomplished.
tBBC: That’s true. When we are young we don’t have the vision to see ahead. When you’re at that age there is so much that you think you are missing, or that you have it all figured. Only when you are older you recognize that there were just other things and that you didn’t necessarily have it all figured.
Amanda: Yeah. Right… You know I had a pretty close group of friends through High School that I hung out with, the ones from home, and those I got to know through the country from competitions. I had a really tight knit group of friends. They were really supportive of what I was doing and never took me away from it.
tBBC: You were lucky…
Amanda: Yes I was.
tBBC: You have done well…
Amanda: Thank you.
tBBC: I have to ask about training. We all figure a lot of time on the range, but in other sources of training but is there anything like weights, running, things like that?
Amanda: It all depends on the individual. What I was doing – it all based on the cycle, when the next competition was coming up. I would train between somewhere of two-to-six hours a day. I know that’s a big gap, but again, it depended on the cycle. Normally it would be around three-to-four hours a day. I would spend time at the range, take a break at lunch, lift in the afternoon. I would work five or six days a week. I would do three lifts and at least two days a week of cardio, sometimes three. I do free weights and that’s for where you have to hold position for a very long time and cardio helps out on that too. Yeah I lifted really actively. I would be involved in outdoor activities as well. On the Team we would have psychologists and they would test our blood to see where, this wasn’t like a daily thing, but every few months, or six months to get your blood tested to see what level everything was at to make sure you weren’t missing anything in your diet, or something that might be useful for you and make sure you were capable of this level of competition. So they were constantly testing what was up with you to see what supplements you should or should not be taking. See shooting is very internal sport so it’s all about feeling. It’s about how your body is reacting to certain things. You could be sitting still for two hours trying to focus on a target and wanting to be perfect and anything off with your body and mind can effect everything. So they want to constantly test you to assure you give your best performance.
tBBC: So the sport of Rifle – I don’t know if people fully understand just how competitive it is. How many would you estimate goes out competitively nationwide for the level, or dreams of the level that you have reached?
Amanda: Well, if you think about it – it all starts at the local clubs then it advances people regionally then people go to the national level. To get to those levels you must have met certain things. Then you can move on. So the elimination grows. It’s a big sport. It’s everywhere. I mean it isn’t as big as football or basketball but it is big in its own right…
tBBC: When you look around there’s a lot of clubs around, more in certain places then in others. But it is a big sport…. If you were to pop into any of those clubs you would actually see a bigger number of faces than you would have guessed…
Amanda: Exactly. A lot of people don’t really know they are around. They don’t know how to get their kids involved. They really don’t even know where to begin to look. Clubs are everywhere.
tBBC: So do you think your passion and love for the sport will still be burning when you are sixty plus and gray?
Amanda: Oh yeah! You know you miss a lot when you stop competing – I miss all the friends I have made in the sport. As someone who is older I will look back and know I want to contribute to the opportunity of someone else seeing their dream. I don’t know if that will be a local club, a mentor. I know my passion for the sport will always be there. It has done so much for me. I would absolutely do whatever I can to see someone else get the opportunity that I got.
tBBC: We did mention that the Pistol team won the National Title. The Men’s Volleyball Team did too. And the Women’s Tennis Team is advancing nicely in the NCAA Tournament – in the Round of 16 for the first time ever….
Amanda: Wow – that’s cool!
tBBC: Yeah whenever they are on find a TV and root them on…
Amanda: Yeah!
tBBC: Tell me though how does it feel to be an actual part of such a powerful and successful organization such as The Ohio State University’s Athletic Program?
Amanda: It’s crazy to me. I initially had no idea about it before going there. But learning about it and experiencing it is amazing. Knowing the people while I was there and the people before me is so cool knowing you are growing up I an organization with so much success and they continually breed success … I mean one person and one team at a time, they are always good ad always will be…. They offer so much, academically, competitively, just everything they can to make you better
tBBC: I know Ohio State is just one of those schools that is always good. If they aren’t on any such year, it won’t be long, they’ll be back. Ohio State isn’t one of those schools that someone likes. It is either love or hate. If someone loves it – it’s a religion….
Amanda: Yeah!
tBBC: If they hate it – it’s hate!…
Amanda: Yeah everyone I talk to says that too…
tBBC: You never hear someone say “I like Ohio State.” It’s either “I love Ohio State” or “I hate Ohio State.”
Amanda: Yeah, no in-between’s like Michigan State….
tBBC: Yeah, or some other Big Ten School – other than The Team Up North. I think they fall into the same bracket as Ohio State. People love or hate them too. Like Alabama, or most SEC teams for me. I hate them all ….
Amanda: See I have no compassion for any team other than Ohio State.
tBBC: That’s the only answer….
Amanda: (Laughs) Being from Spokane though, even though I didn’t follow them when I was younger, but I do now, and that’s because they are local and are nationally good is Gonzaga….
tBBC: Any thoughts about the Team up North?
Amanda: We don’t give a damn about the whole State of Michigan….
tBBC: (Laughs) Only answer.
Amanda: Yes, the only answer.
tBBC: Pat Cherry. (Ohio State Rifle Coach) Tell us about Pat.
Amanda: I love Pat. He was like a Grandfather to me. He was someone who told me from the beginning, I mean I had already accomplished so much prior to coming to Ohio State, he told me that he didn’t know how much he could teach me as a shooter, but he said he would do all he can to do my best and accomplish everything you want to accomplish. And he absolutely did that. He was a great man and a great coach.
tBBC: The Buckeyes did well under Pat…
Amanda: Yeah. He was there for a very long time and I enjoyed being around him. He was extremely helpful. Not just as a coach but as a person he was very invested in that we all succeeded and that we had everything we needed to do our best.
tBBC: That’s what young athletes need – someone that loves ad respects the sport they are teaching…
Amanda: Absolutely. When the Coach as the passion and love for what they are doing it reflects to the athlete.
tBBC: Definitely a trickle down. It’s nothing but good.
Amanda: I agree.
tBBC: In final … some of my toughest questions to date and they are coming your way….
Amanda: Toughest questions?.
tBBC: Yeah ….Scuba diving or water slides?
Amanda: (Laughs) I was just talking to my boyfriend about scuba diving today or was it yesterday? But, anyway, one of my worst fears is drowning – so I get claustrophobic in weird situations. I’m not claustrophobic in small areas but things like wet socks o beds – I start to get claustrophobic… (laughs) … the scuba diving would be the other thing because I am absolutely afraid of the water without any air. So the answer is water slides.
tBBC: Water slides? The safe bet…
Amanda: Absolutely… water slides.
tBBC: Can you share with us any of your pet peeves?
Amanda: Ewwww! (Laughing) They’re really stupid ….
tBBC: No such thing as a stupid pet peeve. Our obsessions won’t ever accept that categorization….
Amanda: Okay … here we go … but, I don’t care about other people, but I absolutely cannot have socks on a bed. When I want to sleep I just feel like I’m drowning basically. Also listening to people chew their food…
tBBC: Oh yeah … that’s up there with me. I cannot stand that. That’s a big irritation. .
Amanda: Yes. That’s a big one….(Laughing) That’s all. I’m really easy going. I really don’t have that many things that bother me a lot.
tBBC: I had fun. This is it. Unless you want to add anything … promote your shows again…tell us more….
Amanda: I don’t have much more to add… but as far as the shows go if you’re interest you can go to Sun TV and American Marksman – people can go – if they think they have a shot, or even if they are a beginner and want to try out they ca go to a local qualifying range and try out for the show. It’s a pretty cool opportunity to try out – they just need to go to the range and shoot a couple targets and see if they qualify for the show. It’s pretty cool. They can checkout the website too. It’s www.ammarksmen.com....
tBBC: www,ammarksmen.com?
Amanda: Yeah. AM – Marksmen .com www.ammarksmen.com Anyone can follow me on social media. I will update info from there. I’m on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram …
tBBC: That’s a good idea. I’m a little slow on this Social Media explosion…
Amanda: Are you?
tBBC: I do the Twitter thing, though I’ve slacked. I follow you on twitter …
Amanda: Oh really. I haven’t put anything up on Twitter lately. Instagram is where I am posting now – is what I’ve been doing…
tBBC: That’s the new one, right?
Amanda: It’s not very new….(laughing)
tBBC: See what I meant earlier … shows you where I’m at ….
Amanda: It is one of the popular ones though. I’m @Amanda_Furrer.
tBBC: Well thank you. I appreciate for you taking the time with me and get this out for all your fans in Buckeye Nation ….
Amanda: I’m glad you wanted to talk to me ….
tBBC: Well, you know better than I that Buckeye Nation loves their athletes, which you are…. You are on that pedestal we dream of ….
Amanda: Thank you so much.
tBBC: I do appreciate your time. If you ever feel a need to rant or rave about a Buckeye win or loss in any sport, or talk Buckeye anything, including the School itself keep me in mind. I would love to be the vessel to pass it on. And when you show comes on stop by and tell us about it….
Amanda: Great. Thanks.
The post A Conversation With Amanda Furrer appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...