Author Archive | Liz Hollenbach

It’s still early season conditions out there and we have both rain and snow in the forecast for the week.

Sub-Groups and Coach Info
Parent Meeting Notes
Season Long Schedule

Tuesday, December 17 – Penguins, JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes, Racers and Devos
Location: Mills Riverside Park, Jericho
Time: 3:45pm-5:15pm
Details: Dryland practice for all – wear shoes or boots that you can run and hike in – Penguins (no poles) and everyone else bring classic length poles for some running/hiking.  Wear your headlamp.

Reminder: There is no inside space or bathrooms (go before heading over).

Thursday, December 19– JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes, Racers and Devos
Location: Mills Riverside Park, Jericho
Time: 3:45pm-5:15pm
Details: Dryland practice – wear shoes or boots that you can run and hike in. Bring classic length poles for some running/hiking.  Wear your headlamp.

Parking: 

Reminder: There is no inside space or bathrooms (go before heading over). Wear a headlamp.

Saturday, December 21 – Racers and Devos Practice at Sleepy Hollow for a Skate ski. Meet Coach Nate at 10am ready to ski on the trail outside the lodge and finish up about 11:30.  Please RSVP to bkl@mansfieldnordic.org, so we have an idea of how many are planning to come.  You can watch the Sleepy Hollow conditions and web cam here.

Vacation Week  – We will be off from December 21 – January 1. Here are some ideas on how to stay active over school vacation.

•  Yard Skiing – If you have snow at home try yard skiing. Make a little track, build a jump or ski after dinner with your headlamp.
• Tomasi Meadow skiing is  open to the community –  Tomasi Conditions and Grooming Updates
• Sleepy Hollow and Craftsbury are also great local-ish options and they both make snow.
• NENSA Ski Bingo is back this year. It’s a fun skiing challenge with prizes.
• Ice Skating – lots of local indoor community rinks and most rent skates.
  

  JackRabbits having fun playing games in the snow.

Update for Thursday- 9am Update Practice is on for this afternoon. We are going to have practice at Mills Riverside Park in Jericho at the regular time. We’ll be on foot doing dryland –  playing games, hiking and running. Bring classic poles and we will do some running with poles.

We have our eye on the weather this week. Lots of snow and good conditions now, but there is a bit of rain in the forecast for Wednesday. It’s possible we need to modify our practice plans for Thursday. Please check back here on Thursday morning about 10am for any location and practice updates. We do not anticipate needing to cancel practice.

**Individual headlamps work great for skiing at Tomasi. Please send your child with their own headlamp. You can stash it in your child’s ski jacket the night before practice. And if you don’t already have a headlamp there are lots of great options out there. More and more are rechargeable. OGE and REI are good local resources. Black Diamond is my personal favorite brand and they have several types that are rechargeable ones. And if you can’t get one for practice we have one or two to loan out.

Sub-Groups and Coach Info
Parent Meeting Notes
Season Long Schedule

Tuesday, December 10th
Location: Tomasi Meadow, Underhill Center
Time: 3:45pm-5:15pm
Details: Skate Skiing for JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes and Racers – Classic for Penguins

Parking: The Tomasi lot on Mountain Rd was expanded this summer and we should all be able to squeeze in. We’ll plan to park in the same fashion as last week and have parking helpers.

Reminder: There is no inside space at Tomasi or bathrooms (go before heading over).

Thursday, December 12 – JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes, Racers and Devos
Location:Updated- Mills Riverside Park, Jericho
Time: 3:45pm-5:15pm
Details: Dryland practice on foot. Wear sneakers/running shoes or snow boots. Bring classic poles for running with ski poles. 

Parking: Lots of parking in the Mills Riverside Lot

Reminder: There is no inside space at Mills Riverside Park or bathrooms (go before heading over).

Saturday, December 14 – Racers and Devos Practice at Sleepy Hollow.  Technique TBD. Meet Coach Liz at 10am ready to ski on the trail outside the lodge and finish up about 11:30.  You can watch the Sleepy Hollow conditions and web cam here.

Find your child’s Sub-group & coach info here:  BKL Sub-Groups

Please make note of your child’s coach’s contact info. Let coaches know if your child will be late or absent. If it is last minute, please text Coach Liz (802-922-1843).

*Remember that groups are not static and we may switch kids if we find they would benefit from being in a different group.

This week we have our virtual parents meeting and the first day of practice for everyone, except Penguins. The new snow over the past few days has allowed Coach Peter to work on grooming at Tomasi Meadow in Underhill Center. We’re going to jump at this chance to ski.

*Practice Location Update – MNC has just learned that The Range, our home base for skiing, might not be open for this ski season. We have our fingers crossed that we can work with the National Guard to make something work starting in January. We will not  be at The Range for December.  We are working on several other options. This will impact some families with children in multiple programs and those that do the Masters program in the evening. Afternoon Masters Group will be at the BKL location.  Read All the Details Here

Tuesday, December 3 at 7pm – Virtual Parents Meeting on Tuesday. Check your email for a meeting link.

Thursday, December 5 – First day of practice for JackRabbits, Arctic Foxes, Racers and Devos

Location: Tomasi Meadow, Underhill Center
Parking: The Tomasi lot on Mountain Rd was expanded this summer and we should all be able to squeeze in.
Time: 3:45pm-5:00pm (we’ll end 15 minutes earlier than usual, but bring a good head lamp!)
Details: Classic Skiing (Choose your skis depending on what you have- waxable classic skis, classic rock skis or no-wax classic skis)
Reminder: There is no inside space at Tomasi or bathrooms (go before heading over).

Saturday, December 7 – Racers and Devos Practice  at Sleepy Hollow.  Let’s skate ski. We’ll meet at 10am ready to ski on the trail outside the lodge and finish up about 11:30.  You can watch the Sleepy Hollow conditions and web cam here.

Pro tips to help you get equipment ready for ski practice:

• Practice putting on ski pole straps – Bring your poles inside, put on the gloves or mittens you plan to wear to skiing. Test that ski pole straps are secure. They should be loose enough to slide hand through easily over mittens/gloves, but snug enough so if you let go of the pole grip, it stays close to your hand.  Make sure kids know how to put on their own poles and practice putting on poles in the living room.
• Practice putting on your skis. Bring your skis into the living room.  Put on your ski boots ski boots and set skis right down on the carpet. Practice opening the bindings and putting boots into the bindings.
• Label all equipment, so kids and coaches can find the name easily (skis and poles especially). It doesn’t have to be anything fancy- masking tape and sharpie work great.