By Patrick Weaver

Hello from Houghton, Michigan, where I am attending my first US Senior National Championships as a coach and not an athlete. While I have raced at Senior Nationals at least a dozen times during my ski career I have come to realize, as a coach, how much actually goes into an event of this magnitude. Between the travel arrangements, the packing, the hotel reservations, the meals, the coaches meetings, ski testing, waxing, the team meetings, it makes showing up as an athlete seem easy. Although we are only preparing for our 2nd race I have already gained a new appreciation for all the coaches who have helped me over my skiing career.

Although I am here this week as a coach for the UVM Ski Team I am fortunate enough to still have the opportunity to hop in some races this up coming winter. Although my racing will be limited due to the hectic schedule of the Eastern Collegiate Ski Association schedule. This mix of coaching and racing has made me realize the benefits a skier can get from educating other skiers. The benefits a skier can gain, at any level, from coaching other people is tremendous and I guarantee it will improve your own performance when it comes time for you to put your bib on.

Some of my best races have come after coaching technique clinics. I have found the best way to learn to ski with good technique is to describe and demonstrate what you have learned. Skiing correctly means understanding the dynamics of the motion and there is no better way to learn then by demonstrating these motions to others.

Discussing race strategy with the athletes, which involves everything from what to eat before the race, to the logistics of the race morning, to what to think about while you are racing, are all critical in the development of becoming a better racer.
The more people you talk this through with the more refined your own pre-race routine becomes. Race morning can be one of the most stressful times. Although a little stress helps us get revved up for a race, too much stress can ruin a race. As a coach you are in a position where it is easier to recognize the differences between good and bad pre-race stress in the athletes you are working with. I’ve found before a race it is easy to get worked up over small things that ultimately don’t make a difference in how your race goes. Helping athletes work through
these stressful pre-race situations has given me a greater self awareness. This has
helped me become a better ski racer today.

Have fun out on the trails and if you have the opportunity share your knowledge. It just might make you a faster skier!
__________________________________________________
By Chad Giese

As a professional athlete, we spend most of our waking hours working to get faster.  This includes studying the sport, not just living the sport.  We all become physiologists to a certain extent, understanding the balance between lactic acid, heart rate, VO2 Max, strength and performance.  We also become technicians, understanding the finer details of ski flex, base materials, wax contents, and physics.  On top of it all we are dancers, not the one’s you’ll see on MTV or at the theatre, but ones that understand the body’s movements in great detail allowing us to move down the trail in a coordinated and effortless display of efficient power.  To learn all of this takes time and not everyone has the time to do the research or make mistakes.  So, getting your information from someone who has already figured things out becomes necessary for most people.  This is the main reason I have always tried to pass along some of the tricks-of-the-trade through coaching and helping some of the many people who have helped me over the years.  It made my ski career more enjoyable and worthwhile.

Skiing doesn’t have to be complicated, but once you get to a certain level where the details become interesting, or beneficial, things can get a little overwhelming.  Having someone to synthesize things for you becomes important.  The main question I always ask myself is:  Are the things that I do or did, while skiing full-time, beneficial to the average skier who is trying to move up a wave or two in the Birkie and training less than half the hours?  The answer is overwhelmingly yes.  I have worked with a lot of skiers and the same areas of focus that I used as a full-time cross-country skier apply.  The areas of Intensity, Speed, Strength, Distance, Over-Distance, and Rest are all recognizable to people who have even the shortest of athletic backgrounds.  Fitting these workouts into a week or a month or a year is a completely different challenge.

I think of the planning phase as piecing together a puzzle.  As a full-time athlete the puzzle consists of big pieces of training with little pieces of life mixed in.  For the average skier, training becomes the smallest pieces of the puzzle with the large pieces being work, family and other commitments.  So it becomes even more crucial that the right things are done during those small amounts of time available to devote to training.  And this, ultimately, is where experience pays off.  Find an athlete in your area and ask for a consult.  You will not be disappointed and will probably ski faster and be in better overall shape.  It also helps us out because it makes us put thought into why we do things instead of simply thinking about what we do.

There is one area that has taken me years to get across and that is the area of technique.  Every time I head out the door I am thinking about technique.  During each push I am thinking about whether it is getting me efficiently down the trail.  Technique and training go hand in hand, they are not exclusive.  There are times when drills and lectures are necessary, but 99% of the time technique is best learned while moving and training during a workout.  The hope is, when you most need to rely on your technique, such as the last 5km of the Vasaloppet or that sprint down Main Street, you’ve put in the hours working on ‘technique’ that you don’t have to think about it.  It should become natural.

There are many details and variables involved with skiing and ski racing.  This is the reason I love the sport, but is also what causes so much frustration.  I made it a part of my career to reduce the frustration for as many skiers as I could through coaching and sharing some of the things I learned along the way.

The fifteenth Seeley Hills Classic
January 12, 2008.

Start time for the 42k and 22k classic races is 10:00 AM. Registration and bib pick up are Friday, January 11, 2008 at the Sawmill Saloon from 5 to 9 PM and Saturday morning, January 12th, from 7 to 9 AM. For further information call 715 708-3571.
_______________________________________________
White Pine Nordic Center Park City Utah 435-649-6249
Skate Clinic 9:45am - 11:00am
Wednesday January 9th

Abby Larson will run a free skate clinic at White Pine Nordic Center for all age and ability levels. Come out and enjoy a morning ski and tutorial with Olympian Abby Larson.
_______________________________________________
Cross-Country Technique Fundamentals - CDROM
This CD lays the foundation for both Classic and Freestyle techniques on
which we can build a consistent technique program that will continue to
develop great cross-country skiers for years to come.

WAKE UP! IT'S TIME TO TRAIN - DVD
70 minutes of exclusive interviews with US National Team coaches, drills and
technique, fitness testing, sports physiology, core strength, training
volume, intensity levels, race footage, and much more.

X-COUNTRY - DVD
The inside story on one of the toughest sports around by top World Cup
racers.

Visit the CXC Store
http://cxcskiing.org/CXC%20Store/education.htm
_______________________________________________
Women Teaching Women
Friday,  January 11,  2008
Women’s Skate Ski Clinic – Sponsored by The Nordic Group
Exclusively for Intermediate & Advanced Women Skiers

This special Clinic will be limited in size and is focused on women who already ski at an intermediate + or better level.   Please join us for a fun day of learning and camaraderie.

Clinic Details
9:30 am    Arrive & Check In -  Coffee, Tea, Juice & Power Snack
10:00      Introductions & Stretching
10:30  – 12:30    Instruction in 3 Groups
12:30    Catered Lunch
1:15      Video Analysis
2:30      Break
2:45      More Skiing with Instructors
4:00      End of Day

Clinic Size will be limited. Please Register Right Away
contact: Kay Hummel kayhum@velocitus.net
Send your Check by January 8, 2008
$90 payable to

The Nordic Group
c/o  Kay Hummel
420 E. Crestline Drive
Boise, ID  83702
_______________________________________________
Cayuga Nordic ESG - Classic
Saturday Jan 5, 2008
Sponsored by Salmon Hills Outdoor Adventure Center, Redfield, NY

ESGQ/NYSSRA Series Qualifier. Classic, Wave Start, 10:30 am.
5 km Scholastic, 10 km all others, BKYSL to follow.
Registration closes 10 am, $20 by 1/2 - $25 after,
Payable to Cayuga Nordic Ski Club, Race Entry Form
http://www.nyssranordic.com/raceorg/entryfor.pdf with NYSSRA Nordic
Contact: Dan Karig, 71 German Cross Rd., Ithca, NY 14850
607-277-3380 or dek9@cornell.edu
_______________________________________________
Blue Hills Ascent 08
Blue Hills Ascent Cross Country Race
Saturday Jan. 5th 2008

Adult & high school cross country skiers from the upper Midwest will be competing for prizes & awards in multiple categories
Blue Hills Trail in Rusk County 10 miles Northwest of Bruce on Cty Hwy O

Registration: 8:00 to 11:00 at the Trail Head
Fees: Vary Depending on Race
Pre registration: Details on our Website
Website: http://home.centurytel.net/bluehills
Phone Contact: Bjorn Hanson 715.236.3417 or bhascent@yahoo.com
As of Today Dec. 24th The Blue Hills is in Excellent Condition!
_______________________________________________
Saturday January 12
Saturday January 19
Waterville Valley in New Hampshire
1:00pm - 2:30pm
Justin Freeman will be holding two on snow clinics this month. The first
focuses on classic technique and the second on skating, but participants (age 16+)
of all abilities are welcome to come and ask questions about technique, training,
competition, equipment, the Olympics, or computational atomic physics.
_______________________________________________
Salmon Hills ESG - Freestyle
Sunday Jan 6, 2008
Sponsored by Salmon Hills Outdoor Adventure Center, Redfield, NY

ESGQ/NYSSRA Series Qualifier/NYSSRA Club Series. Freestyle, Start 10:30
am.
5 km Scholastic, 10 km all others, BKYSL to follow.
Registration closes 10 am, $20 by 1/2 - $25 after,
Payable to Salmon Hills, Race Entry Form
http://www.nyssranordic.com/raceorg/entryfor.pdf with NYSSRA Nordic
Contact: Thomas Griffith, 100 Noble Shores Dr., Redfield, NY 13437
315-599-7008 or info@salmonhills.com or dek9@cornell.edu
www.salmonhills.com
_______________________________________________
Boulder Lake Ski Race
Sunday January 13, 2008
Duluth, MN
Renowned for it fast and fun rolling course through the north woods, this 5th annual celebration is also known for having snow and being the premier early season race. 2008 will mark the first year this race is part of the Minnesota Skinny Ski Series, and is excited to be kicking it off for this winter!

Register at www.active.com
_______________________________________________
38th Annual Salomon “Frisco Gold Rush”
Featuring the SALOMON Nordic races and TUBBS Snowshoe 7K
February 3, 2008
Click Here For More Details

Join us at Colorado's oldest XC Ski & Snowshoe event - the Frisco Gold Rush hosted by the Town of Frisco and the Frisco Nordic Center.

To Benefit the Summit Nordic Ski Club
_______________________________________________
January 13, 2008 (Sunday)
Keep Winter White Nordic Tour Series

Tour the Summit
A recreational ski or snowshoe tour from Gold Run Nordic Center to the Frisco Nordic Center along the Summit Country Recreation Path. A fun event with a great cause. Raise awareness about the affect of climate change on winter recreation and learn what you can do to make a difference! Sample cookies, hot drinks and chocolate along the route. Finish with hot soup, bread and beer at the finish! The event is hosted by the Gold Run and Frisco Nordic Centers, the Towns of Breckenridge and Frisco and Benefits High Country Conservation Center and the Summit Nordic Ski Club. Register at active.com
more information at www.coloradocrosscountry.com

NOTE: If you have an event you would like to have in SkiPost please send emails to weanswer@skipost.com

Do you love the sport of cross-country skiing?
Do you look forward to each edition of SkiPost?
Do you wish to support some of America's best Nordic athletes?
Do you wish to associate your company with health, fitness and winter performance?
Would you like your brand to receive over 150 million media impressions
annually?

Become a sponsor of the Factory Team www.EnjoyWinter.com North America's
Premier Cross-Country Ski Team.
For more information on Factory Team sponsorship opportunities contact
endure@endurance-enterprises.com