POP QUIZ: What is this tool?
After some sunny ski walking and bounding intervals at Bolton this morning I stopped in at the legendary Waterbury Flea Market. Always on the hunt for old skis, useless junk or any piece of equipment or material I could put to use in a ski setting, I was bummed this was my first trip to the flea market all year.
Laying among other tools and landscaping implements I saw an old, rusty one of these. I’d be curious to know if any of the MNC athletes know what this is! I wouldn’t know myself if I hadn’t used one a volunteer had lent out on a trail-building day at a ski area a few years ago. In a lot of ways it is a useful tool that probably sees less and less work these days…as evidenced by it rusting away in a flea market.
This antiquing anecdote has a point, and it has to do with the recent USSA Level 200 coaching clinic I recently attended in Lake Placid. There was a ton of great info shared about organizing sessions, planning training, engaging a team and more…but the topic that generated the most heated discussion among the coaches in attendance (CSU, SMS, Dartmouth, SLU, NYSEF, RNR to name a few) had to do with the changing nature of ski courses and technique within our sport.
What is the main trend on the World Cup, and the trend that is trickling down the ranks? Everyone is double poling everything. Striding is an afterthought, an aging log hook replaced by excavators and chainsaws. There is a rapid movement to make uphills longer, steeper and harder. The US Ski Team is moving around the country, meeting with directors to specify only a select few courses each year to hold the most major competitions on…bring on hills that are bigger, steeper and longer.
Single-stick and double pole relays. When the time comes, we’ll be ready!
Last season Cole Morgan and Jorgen Grav of UVM double poled an entire 10k classic college race at Sleepy Hollow. They both finished in the top 15. Last year Will was 14th in a classic sprint Eastern Cup, in which he double-poled his B-Final on skate skis. The change is happening at all levels.
After evaluating these changes, and after seeing the top Juniors on the planet in action at a national camp in Norway, the top US coaches determined that three main things need to be prioritized in our ski clubs.
- Double poling. This includes all types of terrain. One thing specified? Almost all of the xc ski courses in Norway are paved rollerski tracks in the summer. “We need to prioritize training on and developing rollerski tracks” so qouth Bryan Fish (that’s a paraphrase). Lucky for us, we train on one all summer!
- Strength, specifically gym-based. Seems like we have this one covered as well, thanks to a great connection with Dee PT this summer. All the response from athletes have been really positive, with reports of “being able to go faster and harder with less perceived energy”. The 16 PRs in the double pole test speak to this I believe!
- Ski bounding. This is coming into play more and more for us. Nothing says fall like some tough bounding!
With that in mind, it’s time to keep challenging ourselves with more tough training and adventures across the county. Here are a few photos from the past few weeks, with descriptions in the captions!
Skiing up Bolton! First time for Andre and he chose the skate option…this kid is gonna be a force this winter!
Speaking of a force to be reckoned with, the internet gaming world is no longer the only place to fear the wrath of Ben Longenbach aka -$(Beni007)$-…….the focus is all on skiing for a great year ahead
In non-skiing news, a few of got to witness this cool event in action at the Range the other day: giant chopper filling this massive water bag in flight, flying up over the range area and dumping it all over the trees. Forest fire training!
A sign of big strength progress: breaking multiple medicine balls at Dee PT with the force of our double pole slams…whoops
BKL Fall Fridays now begin with a huge group shredfest in the skate park at WCS
12 year old Matthew gettin’ sendy in the park. The US Ski Team wants to see kids age 8-12 beginning rollerski agility courses and fun slaloms…we take it to the next level with the skatepark!
In housekeeping news:
Follow along for more photos on the MNC Instagram and see all the photos on the MNC Flickr!
Get ready for fall with MNC Sweatshirts! Make sure to order by the September 20th deadline!
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