After a six year reprieve, the U.S. Ski Team finished its second camp of the season and second spring on-snow camp in Bend, Oregon in as many years this last week. Ten days at Mt. Bachelor Nordic Resort played host to a myriad of conditions from classic Oregon crust to transformed spring slush to fresh powder giving athletes the chance to test equipment in an assortment of snows.

Andrew Newell and Chris Grover ready to catch some tasty afternoon waves

One national team and two continental cup athletes actively tested ski brand versus ski brand, getting in one more chance to see how a change of equipment suppliers could work out.

Three national team athletes Chris Cook, Andrew Newell, Torin Koos and nine continental cup racers Lindsey Dehlin, Lindsey Williams, Liz Stephens, Morgan Arritola, Morgan Smyth, Rosie Brennan, Leif Zimmerman, Matt Gelso, Noah Hoffman attended the camp.

The West Yellowstone of the Spring?

The Bend Spring Ski Camp is the way to kick off the training year, says Lars Flora of Saab Salomon Factory Team/APU. If youre a North American skier and youre not here, youre missing out. The skiing and the scene are that good. At the mountain it was like it was mid-winter. Springtime in Bend is the ideal place for afternoon dryland training. This on-snow/off-snow mix is hard to find.

It would be something if Mt. Bachelor in June becomes the West Yellowstone of the spring. Instead of a handful of western clubs skiing, twenty or thirty clubs should all be out here. Getting together with other motivated athletes is something Ive underestimated my whole career. While on my own I think Im making gains fitness or technique or otherwise. But only in training together on-snow with national team level skiers do I really see my weaknesses coming out. I really got something out of competing with the sprinters in the skate sprint time trial and in the uphill double pole intensity session at this camp.

After this, because of this, I have a more solid idea of what my strengths are, and where my greatest improvements lie. Improving these - and catching that seventy pound Alaskan king are my July goals.

National Team Coach Justin Wadsworth was the logistics guru who got this camp together. Ken Rodman and the Tumalo Langlauf Ski Club got the Mt. Bachelor ski trails open. Elk Lake Resort provided the grooming. Elk Lakes a great place to ski in the winter and the nicest lake youll find in the Cascades, said Justin. Mr. Rodman, Elk Lake and the Mt. Bachelor management made this camp happen.

Lindsey Williams Bend a Reprieve from Surgery, Stationary Cycle

Two days after U.S. Long Distance Nationals, Lindsey Williams found surgery the only option to relieve persistent lower leg pain. In mid-April, April tenth exactly, I had my fascia surgery to release all the compartments in both legs, said Lindsey. Six six-inch scars show the surgeons work. From the surgery until Bend I couldnt train with others. I could only bike. Bend was a great, welcome change of pace. Finally I could train like a skier and be around the team again.

With the guidance of Matt Whitcomb, aided by the input of Pete Vordenberg, Ms. Williams has a sprint skier focus for the first time. Im working on speed. Im focused on getting really, really fast and specializing, said Williams. Getting the speed is the big priority this year. Im doing lots of sets of 30 second intervals, speeds during distance sessions, and have a new strength plan. Before I used to get a little carried away in the weight room I cant let this stuff take away from the skiing.

Dryland Along the Coast: Keeping the Stoke High

Andrew Newell and Chris Grover ready to catch some tasty afternoon waves

After the days at Bachelor, the U.S. Team headed to the Oregon coast for four days in Pacific City. Mountain running, rollerskiing, strength training and biking made up the training. Bocci ball tournaments, surfing and ocean-side bonfires highlighted the relaxing hours. After good, hard periods we got to reward ourselves, said Wadsworth. In the U.S. especially, we have a tendency to get too focused. Youve got to remember, its still pretty early. With a late season race calendar, the time up at Whistler, and now with this camp weve put some solid on-snow intensity and hours. Weve got to keep the stoke high. We absolutely have to. Getting in some high quality sea level workouts and getting fresh in our heads is what Pacific City provided.

I was a little sad leaving Bend, said Williams. But the atmosphere was a little more relaxed and the training great in Pacific City, for sure. Im still three weeks away from running. When the team headed to Lincoln City for the uphill running intensity, Pat Casey took me out for some classic rollerskiing. It was an epic interval day. Having a one-to-one coach-athlete ratio was perfect. You really cant ask for more than that.

After 5×5min intervals with the US Ski Team

Torin Koos is a member of the National A Team for the United States. A World Cup, World Championship and Olympic competitor, Koos brings this experience to the FasterSkier sportscasting arena for the 2007/2008 season.

BioSports NorthWest Physical Therapy (www.biosports.net)

Training in the high mountain desert snow outside Bend, Oregon

Not going to get much beechnut in the eye while riding in Bend. And thats a good thing.

Bikes in Bend are ubiquitous. A stack of fixed gear rides lead to the Bend Brewing Companys pub house doors. White walled cruisers line street beside Goodies, the corner candy shack. Road bikers wind up Skyliners at all times of day. Tri-geeks work their aerodynamic position while riding up Century Drive, the road to Mt. Bachelor. If a trail flows under the canopy of western pines ponderosa, fir, cedar a mountain bikers nearby. To get to work, to get fit, to the Quik-E Mart for a sixer or the corner seven for a Slurpee, bikes are more than a mode of transportation. Bikes in Bend are a way of life.

Choosing your own line out in a big open meadow in the Deschutes National Forest is what makes the Wests spring skiing scene so special. This year six hundred inches of snowfall, combined with the high desert climate of sub-zero Celsius nights and sunny days make for epic crust cruises. Its June 15th and rollerskiings a choice, not a necessity.

Clear, blue skies. 360 degrees of it, while en route to the volcanic peaks of Broken Top.

Running high on the trail up Cascade Head, above where saltwater and freshwater meet. Nothing defines where one starts and the other ends, but both a part of the other. The view, the beaches and coastal paintbrush sighting had to wait. Intervals and lactate testing loom ahead.

“… as the bus - a different bus, rickety and uncomfortable - began the climb from Eugene into the long range of mountains that separates the coast from the Willamette Valley and the rest of the continent, he found himself becoming more alert and excited. He watched the green stand of mountains build before him, the densening of ditch growth, the clear, silver-shrouded clouds moored to the earth by straight and thin strands of autumn smoke, like dirigibles … “

-excerpt from Oregon native Ken Keseys Sometimes A Great Notion, about Leland Stampers, return to Oregon.

(Photo Credit: Lindsey Dehlin)

At Oregons coast, old growth forests meet the sandy shoals of the Pacific. After ten days on-snow, a five automobile caravan wound its way over Santiam Pass and the 185 miles westward to Pacific City. Breathing in sea air, getting out in salt water, I was astonished again - at how intoxicating the coast can be. A mornings training conclusion would come with the thought, Its over? Already? Motivation for movement was not in short supply.

The coast here is a lot like the Newport, Oregon restaurant Freddie and Mos all night diner. The place now goes by the name Mos. And Mos may no longer be a favorite to just the local logger or fishermen in need of spaghetti and steaks. But with its lack of deep water ports to bring in big ships and its requisite big industry, towns here still have a little grit, a little character. They still have an old dory fisherman meets Jack Kerouac feel, a beatnik in lumberjack country quality, that adds to the breakwaters and jetties in a way factory outlets and franchised eating establishments never will.

“I say there was no permanence. Even the town was temporary. I say it. All vanity and vexation of the spirit. One generation passeth away, and another cometh: but the earth abideth forever, or as forever as the rain lets it.” - Kesey

Mikey Sinnott: OverSpeeds with OverExposure

Two and a half hours into a classic ski I ran into Mikey putting in sets of 15 second double pole accelerations. It got me thinking about what the first American female to win a World Cup asks me every time I see her:

Are you getting any faster?

At times, we forget this, we forget what its all about, what were after getting faster. At times, we can become too encumbered with lactate mobilization or what have you. At the end of the day, thats what its all about, moving faster over a set distance than everyone else. Thats it. Thats all.

You dont have to take my word for it. Heres Alisons -

In endurance sports the bottom line is, How fast are you? This is the point. I see this missing today. Skiings about balance, quickness, timing, using your strength well, however much you have. Its not how tough you are. Its not how strong you are. Its how dog gone fast you are. Speed is elusive. To get faster is a trick. You can get stronger, you can get in better shape, but the point is to go faster from point to point. Keeping speed as the bottom line cannot be missed. This is what ski training should be after. Too often, we miss this. Only working on the masculine, be-more-aggressive, use-more-power, aspects of skiing are not the answers to skiing your best. Ive always thought, and felt with my own skiing, that I skied better when really keying into the easier, lighter, softer qualities of speed.

Continental Coach Pat Casey in his best Danny Noonan imitation. First tee, Quail Run Golf Club.

Perhaps even in golf theres something to learn. In golf, you play it where it lies. You play it from there. You hit it there. Miss hits are your doing alone, not your clubs, not your caddies, not your boss. Just because you didnt count a penalty doesnt mean youre ball wasnt out-of-bounds. Unless, of course, youre playing scramble, which, if the case, pick your partners carefully.

Its all where youre headed

When its all said and done? Relax.

Torin Koos is a member of the National A Team for the United States. A World Cup, World Championship and Olympic competitor, Koos brings this experience to the FasterSkier sportscasting arena for the 2007/2008 season.

BioSports NorthWest Physical Therapy (www.biosports.net) (more…)

Pineland Farms, Maine. The United States Biathlon Association (USBA) is
pleased to announce the induction of John Morton to their national Hall of Fame. Morton
has represented the United States at 7 Olympics, dating back to the Sapporo Games in
1972, as an athlete, coach and Team Leader.

John has modeled the spirit of the Olympic movement for generations of athletes
over his 30 years of involvement with the US Biathlon Team, and set a standard for
humility, integrity and success, said Larry Pugh, Chairman of United States Biathlon.

Morton was an outstanding collegiate skier for Middlebury College, sweeping all
the Eastern Carnival races in 1966. He was named to the US Cross Country Ski Team in
1968 and the US Biathlon Team in 1969. He remained on the US Biathlon team from
1969 through the 1976 season (With the exception of a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1971,
winning the Bronze Star). In that span of time he represented the US at the Sapporo and
Innsbruck Olympics as an athlete. From 1976 through 2002 Morty served as an assistant
coach and Team Leader for the US Team, including at 5 more Olympic events.

Mortons career has also included serving as the head coach for the Dartmouth ski
team from 1978-1989 and being a co-founder of the Maine Winter Sports Center.

John has been and continues to be a great source of inspiration for the biathlon
community, said Max Cobb, Executive Director of US Biathlon. As an athlete, coach,
team leader, author, chief of course, and trail designer he has given something to all of us.
This is but a small thank you for a man who continues to do so much for biathlon.

Morton will be inducted at a formal presentation at the US National Biathlon
Championships, scheduled for March 2009 in Fort Kent, Maine.

Source: USBA

The Steamboat Pilot & Today reports that former US Nordic Combined Star Todd Lodwick is coming out of retirement. Lodwick last raced in 2006.

The Colorado native told The Pilot Its not like I woke up one morning and decided to do this. Im committed to the sport; Im committed to this comeback and whatever it takes.

Lodwick ended his stellar career after the 2006 season. He put together a string of eight consecutive seasons ranked in the top ten on the overall World Cup (1998-2005), and 12 seasons ranked in the top 16. Three times - in 1998, 2000, and 2005 - he finished 4th overall. He raced in two Olympics - Salt Lake 2002 and Torino 2006, recording top ten finishes in all four of his starts, including a 5th in Salt Lake in the sprint competition.

Lodwick, 31, is focusing on the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver where he hopes to capture the medal that eluded him over his 13 year World Cup career. He will need to earn his way back onto the US National Team - he cannot be named to the squad until next spring, and is currently training with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and is being coached by Todd Wilson.

US Nordic COmbined Head Coach Dave Jarret has welcomed Lodwick back to the sport, saying “Todd is welcome to train with us. Its really positive right now, and his return has been good for the whole team.

Read the complete article from The Steamboat Pilot & Today:
Lodwick plans comeback

Sources: The Steamboat Pilot & Today, FIS

Todd Lodwick (center) along with current NOrdic Combined star BIlly Demong (left) and Eric Camerota (right) (Photo Credit: US Ski Team)

The following is USSAs preliminary list of nominations for the 2009 U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. The nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria. USSA will announce the actual team roster this summer, naming those athletes who accept the responsibilities of being a part of the U.S. Ski Team and are planning to compete in the 2008-09 season. Team staff will now work individually with nominated athletes to provide education on Team responsibilities and program leading up to the formal Team announcement this summer.

Assuming all athletes accept the nominations, there will bo no changes to the A Team and no subtractions from either team. Garrott Kuzzy and Noah Hoffman are the two new nominees - both for the Men's B Team.

Overall there are four nominees for the men's A team, one for the women's A Team, four for the men's B Team, and nine for the women's B Team.

Athletes nominated to the 2009 U.S. Cross Country Ski Team are:

U. S. Cross Country A Team

Men

Chris Cook (Rhinelander, WI; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation)

Kris Freeman (Andover, NH; Andover Outing Club)

Torin Koos (Leavenworth, WA; Leavenworth Winter Sports Club)

Andy Newell (Shaftsburry, VT; Stratton Mountain School)

Women

Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center)

U. S. Cross Country B Team Nominations

Men

Matt Gelso (Truckee, CA; Auburn Ski Club)

Noah Hoffman (Ketchum, ID; Sun Valley SEF)

Garrott Kuzzy (Hayward, WI; Team CXC)

Leif Zimmermann (Bozeman, MT; Bridger Nordic)

Women

Morgan Arritola (Ketchum, ID; Sun Valley SEF)

Rosie Brennan (Park City, UT; National Sports Foundation, Park City Nordic Ski Team)

Lindsey Dehlin (Mahtomedi, MN; Mahtomedi Ski Club/Minneapolis Ski Club/Northern Michigan University)

Tazlina Mannix (Talkeetna, AK; Denali Nordic Ski Club, Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center)

Morgan Smyth (Vernon, VT; Northern Michigan University)

Liz Stephen (East Montpelier, VT; Burke Mountain Academy)

Alexa Turzian (Sun Valley, ID; Sun Valley SEF)

Laura Valaas (Wenatchee, WA; Alaska Pacific University Nordic/Leavenworth Winter Ski Club)

Lindsay Williams (Hastings, MN; Northern Michigan University)

New B-Team nominee Garrott Kuzzy on his way to 9th in the Canmore World Cups

The other new B Team nominee, Noah Hoffman (Photo Credit: Madshus)

Flash interview with Lukas Bauer

30-year-old Lukas Bauer from the Czech Republic was the dominator of the Cross-Country season 2007/2008. He won the Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski performance by Craft Sportswear, the overall FIS World Cup as well as the distance World Cup title. The FIS Cross-Country News had the chance to interview the Czech ski star after his most successful season so far.

CCN: Lukas, after such an outstanding season that included the overall World Cup victory for the first Czech skier and the Tour de Ski title, what have you done in the last month or so to recover and recharge your body?

Lukas Bauer: I had just 3 training sessions since the WC Final in Bormio, but the reason was much more that I was quite busy ( with TV, journalists, sponsors, etc). My feeling is that everybody wants to shake my hand, take photos with me (smile). Yeah, I was the first Czech skier with the overall WC victory and the Tour de Ski title and that is the “result” of my super season. But, the first week of May, I had time for me and my family. We were together in Tunisia with a “switched off” mobile phone. It was a real vacation and great for recovery :-).

CNN: How has the life of Lukas Bauer changed with your success?

Lukas Bauer: During the previous 2 years, I was already a quite popular sportsman in the Czech Republic, but after my great successes last winter I think that 90% of the Czech people know me. It means that I have several duties such as signing autograph cards during shopping etc. But my life is still the same: I'm living in Bozi Dar on the German boarder very close to Rene Sommerfeldt, my trainer is still Miroslav Petrasek (he is also the head coach of the Czech men's national team) and my personal serviceman is Vit Fousek as in the past.

CNN: How does your personal summer preparation look for next season and with whom do you plan to train?

Lukas Bauer: I started training during early May as always. My plan is to participate in each camp with the Czech national team. This includes also a high altitude camp in Passo Tonale (ITA) in June and skiing in the ski tunnel in Torsby (SWE) in July. When I am training at home, I want to have some training sessions together with Rene Sommerfeldt.

CCN: Next winter we will have two highlights: the third edition of the Tour de Ski with three Stages in the Czech Republic and the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Liberec. What are your main goals for next season?

Lukas Bauer: My goal for next season is to be in top shape during the WSC in Liberec and fight for a medal. I want a medal from an individual race and we (me and the rest of the Czech team) want to also fight for a medal in the relay competition. The relays are specific races, but I think that we can be strong and it has always been a big motivator for us in the last 3 years.

CCN: Last, but not least, a look into the future: What will Lukas Bauer be doing in ten years?

Lukas Bauer:….Still be on the WC scene as an active skier (big smile)….No, I'm sure not, but maybe there will be some possibilities to continue as part of top level skiing. We will see what will come, but now, I'm looking forward to next season with WSC in Liberec and also to my university studies where I want to complete my Bachelor title this summer.

Source: FIS

Lukas Bauer racing in the World Cup Finals (Photo Credit: Swix)

SALT LAKE CITY Director of Skiing Eli Brown has added two new coaches to his staff. Former U.S. Ski Team athlete Andrew Johnson has accepted the position of assistant cross country coach, while Sean McKenna will join the team as an assistant alpine coach.

Johnson spent five years on the U.S. Ski Team as a cross country skier. He competed in the 2002 and 2006 Olympics and at the Nordic World Ski Championships in 2003, 2005, and 2007. Johnsons best Olympic finish was a 22nd in the 30-km free race in 2002. He has won three U.S. Championships to his credit, with two in 2005 and a 30-km free title in 2006.

Johnson started his career racing at Middlebury College, but took leave to start the U.S. Ski Teams residential program in Park City in 1999.

“We are fortunate to have another Olympian join our Nordic staff, Brown said. Andrew is a great teacher of the sport and has a strong competitive spirit.”

“I'm really excited to be joining a program so steeped in skiing history, Johnson said. I'm looking forward to joining this talent-laden team and phasing into the next stage of my ski career. I hope I can help these kids achieve their goals, both individually and as a team.”

McKenna was an alpine racer at Bates College from 2003-06, qualifying for the NCAA Championships three times and serving as captain his junior and senior seasons. Prior to that, he spent two years racing with Quantum Sports Club in Breckenridge, Colo., and Green Mountain Valley School in Waitsfield, Vt.

Following graduation from Bates, McKenna took a year off to work in finance before returning to ski racing, working with the Mount Hood Summer Ski Camps and most recently with the Crested Butte Academy team.

“We are excited to have Sean join us as assistant alpine coach, Brown said. He has a true love for the sport and is excited to be back working at the college level.”

I am thrilled to join the Utah ski team, McKenna said. Utah has an elite experienced team with the ability to win the NCAA championship. I am excited to work with the team and help bring another championship to Utah. (more…)

This is only a partial list of camps around the country. If you have a camp to add, please email us at info@fasterskier.com and post it on the FasterSkier Calendar.

Maine Winter Sports Center Training for Success Summer Camp

Come join the coach of Maines newest college ski program, Petr Jakl, University of Maine Presque Isle head coach, to get a jump-start on your ski season with other high school skiers from around the state.

Place: Pineland Farms, New Gloucester, ME

Date: Aug 1 3, 2008

Coaching: Petr Jakl, Head Nordic coach at University of Maine Presque Isle and MWSC Staff

Assistant Coaches: University of Maine Presque Isle Student/Athletes from the Coaching Degree Program and Maine Winter Sports Center athletes.

Who is the Camp for: Intermediate and advanced cross-country skiers between the ages 14-18.

Cost: $100 includes T-shirt, training camp and lunches. (Arrangements can be made for overnight accommodations if that is of interest. Rollerskis can also be rented for $8/day.)

Program: For young cross-country skiers who are interested in learning specific dry-land training techniques as essential preparation for a successful competition season. The dry-land activities will include running, roller skiing, strength, plyometrics, games and stretching.

Contact: For more information contact Petr Jakl at (207)768-9689 (Work), (207)764-4882 (Home) or by e-mail:petr.jakl@maine.edu

Deadline: Please return registration information (see the registration form) and the $50.00 deposit by July 5, 2008 to: Sheri Sirios, 552 Main Street, Caribou, ME 04736.

CXC Summer Training Camps

In the last several years CXC has established outstanding opportunities for skiers at all levels to participate in training camps, from introduction to high performance training. These camps are instrumental for athletic development. They provide exceptional opportunities for not only working with top level regional and national coaches but also to live, train and learn with some of the top athletes in the country. We welcome athletes and coaches to participate in our camps and look forward to providing CXC expertise and experience, commented Yuriy Gusev, CXC Executive and Athletic Director.

CXC Birkie Camp, Telemark Resort, Cable, WI
July 28 31, 2008

This is an open camp for all level athletes, from novice to advanced. The camp goal is introduction to structured training and technique improvement. All sessions are organized in small groups of similar levels. Staffing by a variety of top regional coaches provide athletes a wide range of experiences. The CXC Birkie Camp is very popular among middle school and high school athletes and brings a large group of participants together every year. This camp offers opportunities for Master Skiers and Coaches Education as well.

CXC Regional Elite Camp, Cresthill Resort, Hayward, WI
June 28 July 3, 2008

This is the top level regional camp for athletes who are training seriously and are prepared to elevate their athletic endeavors. This camp targets qualified Regional Elite Group and State Development Group and offers a few slots for petitioned athletes. US National Team coaches attend this camp to coach and observe regional talent. Coachs education is a critical aspect of this camp as well.

CXC High Performance Camp, US Olympic Training Center, Lake Placid, NY
September 26 October 5, 2008

This is the best opportunity for the athletes to experience how professional athletes live and train along with members of the US National Team and top athletes from around the country. Participants of this camp are selected from participants of the CXC Regional Elite Camp attendees by US National Team coaches based on commitments to professionalism and athletic excellence.

New England Summer Training Camps
For more information and to view a schedule of Invite Only camps held by NENSA, visit http://www.nensa.net

June 25-28, 2008, 2nd Annual GMVS Nordic Camps Green Mountain Valley School, Waitsfield, VT

Event Info: The staff of the Green Mountain Valley School will be offering two dry land camps between June 25th and July 3rd for XC skiers. Each session will last four days and three nights. Room and board will be provided on the GMVS Campus. The camps are designed to bring junior skiers together to train and have fun. Athletes will focus on conditioning, training education and refining their technique. Each camp will end with a roller ski challenge / time trial. Session 1: June 25-28 Designed for 12 to 16 year old skiers. Session 2: June 30-July 3 Designed for 14 to 18 year old skiers. Training will occur throughout the Mad River Valley. Skiers should be prepared for running, ski bounding/walking, roller skiing and strength training. Campers will also have the opportunity to play soccer and swim in the afternoons. Camps will also include slide shows from the past season and motivational presentations by accomplished athletes.

Registration: The cost of each four-day session is $275. Room and board will be provided at GMVS. Camps will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. 20 maximum. To reserve a spot, return this form with payment to: Justin Beckwith, 271 Moulton Road, Waitsfield, VT 05673 Please contact Justin Beckwith at beck@gmvs.org with any questions.

Contact:Justin Beckwith at beck@gmvs.org

July 7-11, 2008, Gunstock Nordic Dry land Camp Gunstock Nordic Center, Gilford, NH

Event Info: Geared towards ages 13-16. Training includes 9 practices with roller skiing, running,ski walking, swimming and games.

Link to flyer: http://gunstocknordic.com/gunstock_nordic_association.files/Ganstock%20camp08.pdf

Registration: Mail Deposit of $100 to: Gunstock Nordic, PO Box 7493, Gilford, NH 03247

Contact:Nina or Igor, 603-293-0379

Website:gunstocknordic@msn.com

July, 16-20, 2008, JLS Sports 7th annual Trip to Trout Lake, Trout Lake, WA

Event Info: This trip will encompass time in Bend, Oregon prior to departing for the Trout Lake Camp. Our group will fly into Portland Oregon and make our way to Bend where we will spend a few days with a host family. Camp participants will have an opportunity to train with MBSEF/PNSA skiers as well as take in the local sights such as Mt Hood's spectacular beauty, Smith Rock climbing area (and its renowned hiking trails) and the Deschutes River and its activities. On Wed July 16th our caravan of MBSEF, Methow Valley, JLS Sports and other western athletes will make its way to Trout Lake Washington for the start of camp. First session begins that afternoon. At last years camp, the presence of two former Olympians, seven junior national champions, and three world junior team members brought a level of accomplishment to the group that is certainly unique. What can campers expect? Rustic lodging or camping, the best swimming hole around, a myriad of paved logging roads for roller skiing that wind up the mountain, and the opportunity to learn from your peers and a great coaching staff. Second year J1's and OJ's will be allowed to scale Mt. Adams with a qualified group leader ( pending conditions). The training at this camp will be challenging. If you are a first year J1 or older with a goal of competing in Eastern Cups, JOQ's and Junior Nationals, time spent on roller skis prior to camp is required. There will also be appropriate groups for those new to Nordic skiing and roller skiing. Link to last years camp summary and pictures: http://www.fasterskier.com/training4412.html Contact Janice Sibilia at jansibilia@aol.com to register or for more info.

Registration: Deadline for sign up: June 8th. Limited Spots available for this trip!

Trip Dates: Depart the East on July 13th, return on July 20th. Cost: $1300.00. Cost is based on 5 skiers and includes ground transportation while west, meals prior to and during camp, gas, camp and coaching fees, and airfare, based on current rates. Contact Janice Sibilia at jansibilia@aol.com to register or for more information.

Contact:Janice Sibilia, Jansibilia@aol.com, (914) 475-5494

August 3-10, 2008, Jerico Roller Ski Camp Ethan Allen Training Center (Army Base), Jericho, VT

Event Info: Nordic training camp with an emphasis on roller skiing. There will also be ski bounding, running, strength and games. Ages 16-24.

Link to flyer: http://gunstocknordic.com/gunstock_nordic_association.files/Jericho%20camp08.jpg

Registration: Contact Nina or Igor to register for the camp. 603-293-0379, or email gunstocknordic@msn.com

August 10-18, 2008, Burke Mtn Academy Camp, Adirondacks

Event Info: The BMA August camp (10-18 August) welcomes Jesper Johnsson, a member of the coaching team at the Jaerpen Ski Gymnasium in Sweden, as a guest coach for the camp. (Jesper joined Jaerpen when Magnar Dalen moved to take over the Finninsh National team, and often is the “voice” at major Swedish events. A good coach and a lot of fun!) Burkes August Camp is meant to evaluate and build on the summer's training. It will be geared to different levels of experience and different ages but it is focused at athletes who have followed a summer plan. Assessment, and making individual plans for getting the most out of the remaining months of the fall is the primary goal of the camp. Interval sessions, and intensity will play a significant role. This is a Burke Team camp, but we eagerly welcome skiers from other programs, or those who have primarily trained on their own and want to get an idea of where they are. Camp to be held in the Adirondacks.

Registration: Cost $450

Contact:Pete Phillips, pphillips@burkemtnacademy.org, 802-626-1516 ext 1010 or 518-524-4127

August 17-20, 2008, Stratton Mountain Junior XC Camp Stratton Mountain School, Stratton Mountain, VT

Event Info: The Junior Camp is designed for 14-18 year old skiers. The emphasis is on technique, specific training and education. Campers train with top National ranked skiers, work on skills and leave with an understanding of what they need to do to improve their fall training in order to ski faster than ever. Activities include classic and skate roller skiing, ski striding, hiking, soccer, swimming, skits and more! Cost for the 4 day camp is $260. General Camp Information: Both SMS camps are run by Sverre Caldwell and the Stratton Mountain School coaches. Additional staff includes National Champion skiers and coaches from around the region. The camp fee includes room, board, coaching and a camp t-shirt. Everyone stays at Stratton Mountain School. There is at least 1 adult for every 8 campers and there is an adult living on each floor of the dorm.

Registration: For more information or a registration form, write to Sverre Caldwell, Stratton Mtn School, Stratton Mtn., VT 05155 or e-mail Sverre at scaldwel@gosms.org. Both camps are filled on a first come, first serve basis.

Contact:Sverre Caldwell. scaldwel@gosms.org

August 21-24, 2008, Stratton Mountain BKYSL Camp Stratton Mountain School, Stratton Mountain, VT

Event Info: The BKYSL camp is designed for 10-14 year old skiers. Campers are exposed to roller skiing and core strength as well as long term training theory and technique, but the emphasis is on BEING ACTIVE, MAKING FRIENDS AND HAVING FUN! There are a wide variety of activities which include: soccer, roller skiing, hiking, camp Olympics, swimming, skit night and ultimate Frisbee. Cost for the 4 day camp is $260. General Camp Information: Both SMS camps are run by Sverre Caldwell and the Stratton Mountain School coaches. Additional staff includes National Champion skiers and coaches from around the region. The camp fee includes room, board, coaching and a camp t-shirt. Everyone stays at Stratton Mountain School. There is at least 1 adult for every 8 campers and there is an adult living on each floor of the dorm.

Registration: For more information or a registration form, write to Sverre Caldwell, Stratton Mtn School, Stratton Mtn., VT 05155 or e-mail Sverre at scaldwel@gosms.org. Both camps are filled on a first come, first serve basis.

Contact:scaldwel@gosms.org

Michigan Tech Hosts Cross Country and Mountain Bike Camp

Capitalizing on the area's beauty and variety of trail systems, Michigan Technological University will offer an endurance training camp, July 9-13, for students entering grades 8-12. Campers can choose between a cross country running camp and a mountain biking camp.

All participants will train on the trail systems in and around Houghton, Michigan, including the Michigan Tech Trails, the venue for the U.S. cross country skiing championships for the last two years. Also available to runners and cyclists are the Maasto Hiihto/Churning Rapids system in Hancock, and Chassell Recreation Trails in Chassell, as well as miles of logging roads.

These are all unpaved trails, with technical single track. Mountain bikers are required to bring their own bike (with good brakes and appropriate gearing for serious off-road riding) and a helmet.
All campers should be prepared for 1.5 to 3 hours of training per day, with instructors teaching students how to train at an appropriate pace. Campers will also swim in Lake Superior and gain information about the science of training, nutrition and hygiene.

Coaches will include Joe Haggenmiller, head coach of the Michigan Tech cross country and Nordic ski teams. He has coached national qualifiers and all-Americans and has competed at U.S. and Canadian national skiing events. Also coaching will be Margot Hutchins, head track and field coach and assistant coach for cross country and Nordic skiing. An active endurance athlete, she competed in cross country and track and field at Michigan Tech and has won the Whistlestop Marathon in Ashland, Wisconsin, four times. John Durocher is a certified personal trainer, certified health/fitness instructor and has mountain biked for 15 years.

Registration is limited to the first 60 applicants. For more information, or to register, go to www.aux.mtu.edu/syap or call (906) 487-2975 or toll-free (888) 829-9688.
Originaly from Source

Travis Jones, former Head Coach with the Bogus Basin Nordic Team has accepted an offer to become the Head Coach for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundations Cross Country Olympic Development Team. Rick Kapala, SVSEF Cross Country program Director, commented We are very excited to add Travis to our staff. He will bring a very high level of experience and enthusiasm to the SVSEF ski team and we are lucky to be able to attract a coach of his caliber to our program. Mr. Jones led the Bogus Basin Program from 2000 through 2004. Most recently, he has coached with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.

His new responsibilities will include overseeing the day to day training of the SVSEF national level cross country skiers including Mike Sinnott, Morgan Arritola, and Alexa Turzian, among others. The SVSEF XC Olympic Development Team is currently stocked with several of the best Nordic skiers in the US. Travis will be joined in Sun Valley by his wife Ivana Radlova (herself a Czech XC Olympian and Former NCAA Champion) and their two sons Sebi (5) and Mats (2).

Travis will join an already strong SVSEF Cross Country team coaching staff that includes Kapala who is entering his 22nd year as Head Coach and Program Director, Abi Holt (5 years) Assistant XC Director and former National Junior Champion, Kelley Sinnott Prep Team Head Coach and former Team Alum and Dave Bingham Head Devo Team Coach and all around local mountain hardman.

Despite being in the midst of his move to Sun Valley and preparing for the SVSEF ODT camp in Bend, Travis took some time to talk to FasterSkier about his new position.

FasterSkier: You will be taking over as Head Coach of one of the top programs in the country. What are you most excited about?

Travis Jones: I'm excited about all of it. I had the chance to spend 10 days with part of the ODT Crew, as well as SVSEF coach Abi Holt in Whistler this spring. We were skiing on the 2010 Olympic courses and meeting up with the USST for workouts. Every time I called home, I'd rave about what a fun group of people the ODT athletes are. Good cooks too… I'm excited to have the chance to work with a group of very talented, very committed athletes who are working hard to reach their goals. I'm also excited about working in Sun Valley - Rick (Kapala) and the rest of the crew have done a great job building a culture of success around their programs Im certainly excited to be a part of that.

FS: Do you feel any pressure moving into a situation where there must be high expectations for both the athletes and the coaches?

TJ: There are certainly high expectations with a group like the ODT. We need to take a thoughtful, measured approach with these athletes and to take time to understand each skier individually and design a program that works well for them. I can't say that I really feel pressure in my ODT position, more of a sense of excitement about the possibilities. As long as we, as a staff, continue to do our best to support our athletes and to keep on learning and improving as coaches, then things will fall in to place…

FS: What are your personal goals for your first season with Sun Valley?

TJ: My goals for this first season are to get to know the ODT and Post Grad athletes, both as skiers and as people. I think that individualization of training at this level is of the utmost importance. We'd like to have a strong contingent at the Canadian World Cups and hope to qualify some athletes for World Champs in the Czech Republic and for Junior World Champs in who-knows-where. Another major focus is to prep for qualification and competition at the 2010 Olympics - we are already pretty focused on this.

FS: Sun Valley has long been one of the top Junior programs in the country how do you see such programs, and now the Olympic Devo program, as part of the overall development structure of US skiing?

TJ: Programs like the ODT, as well as others like APU, CXC, MWSC and XC Oregon are all helping to fill what has been the biggest hole in the development process for US skiers. Top non-USST athletes now have the opportunity to continue to train and compete after college in a program that offers financial help, professional coaching and top-tier support. This was not the case even 5 years ago, and I believe that programs like these, that allow athletes further time to develop, will have a considerable impact on the USSTs international results.

FS: When do you start?

TJ: Im off to Bend with the ODT on June 5th. Jumping right in

FS: Thanks Travis! Good luck!

Travis Jones - going for the grab (Photo Credit: Mark Nadell)

Dick Taylor presents some some very interesting and potentially controversial ideas about skate technique, especially in relation to the current conventional wisdom. Feel free to discuss Dick's ideas using the comment form at the end of the article. Please keep comments on topic and related to the article content.

Jack Sassvilles article in Master Skier, Skating and Weight Shift(p.5), needs to be continued. His second-to-last paragraph is a good place to start. With the increased emphasis by many coaches and instructors on facing forward and not twisting, it has become harder for many skiers to skate with a complete weight shift. They are stuck between their skis and spend most of their time on two skis, one against the other. Skiing on one ski will make you as better skier.

How complete weight shift and the resulting optimal glide on each single ski fell out of fashion has totally baffled me. When I look into the history of skating I do find some reasons, but they never have represented sound thinking or biomechanical principle (even among some biomechanists, as I will point out). Too often in our sport writers have a stronger urge to be in the know than to draw conclusions from actual research and patient examination. Athletes often abet this tendency by presuming mastery before they have it. As I have noted before: athletes are flowers, coaches are gardeners.

Maybe some of the differing views originated in the usual way. It was natural that as skating began the initial theories were based on the observations and experiences of both coaches and the innovative spirits of athletes. Trial and error was ever present. It did not take long to figure out that even in marathon skating, for example, the most powerful push with the poles came by squaring the shoulders to the skating ski. We watched the top Europeans, and they were doing it that way. As V1 came along, the same squared shoulders seemed logical, except that one early prescription was to lead the shift from ski to ski with the shoulders, and that caused both excessive motion and, more critically, an inward rotation of the body during the poling. Another result was the twist that rotation caused in the push-off leg and a kinking of the knee, which caused the shoulder to drop, the hip to move in and the ski to prematurely edge. One cause of this twisting may well have been that the skiers simply were not strong enough in the legs to stay directed over the gliding ski through a complete push-off to the other side. They rotated inward from the axis of glide instinctively to escape the demands of kicking from that position with complete spring. In 1986 at races in Calgary one top USST skier admitted that generating that much power per kick was just too much for him to sustain. So he continued rotating inwards, smoothly to be sure, to avoid the too energy-expensive kick.

Sensing that was ineffective, one solution was to square the shoulders/pelvis more forward in order to trim up the movement. Another, and better one, was to recognize that the weight shift was initiated from the foot up, not the shoulders, and the whole body went back and forth efficiently, without the active rotation. This also preserved the optimal pushing with the poles in a plane parallel to the gliding ski all the way through the motion.

The skating studies done at Penn State documented this among the better skiers. Unfortunately, the authors went beyond their knowledge of descriptive biomechanics to prescriptive movement theory and made a fundamental conceptual mistake. That takes a little explanation.

Two studies were completed, one in 1986, another in 1989. Based upon their three-dimensional high-speed photography and the stick figures constituted from it, several mechanical implications based on observations were noted. I will use two as examples.

Since the pole angles, while planted in the snow, are good indicators of the direction of force application provided by the pole, poles angled in the direction of the ski glide may have a greater proportion of the resultant force applied in the direction of ski displacement. This direction of force application by Svan and a number of the faster skiers suggests the objective of forces applied by the poles is to accelerate the skis in the direction of the ski glide angle.(p.11, 1986)

This is simple physics, and it suggests the rationale for squaring the shoulders to the direction of the gliding ski as the most effective way to gain greater acceleration from poling. Later in the study (p.48) the upper body is more generally added to the equation: A greater flexion of the trunk can perhaps generate greater poling thrust and greater stride length.

Immediately following the observation about poling angles (p.11) the authors make the next point. Since the path of the head closely follows the path of the CM [center of mass], the head position of the skier can be used to estimate the CM location when viewing skiers in the field. Perhaps instructions to the skier suggesting less lateral deviations of the head from the line of travel may assist in keeping the CM from deviating unnecessarily from the line of travel. A later conclusion follows (p.48): The faster skiers had velocity vector angles directed more nearly up the track than did the slower skiers. Thus it is important that CM motion not be directed along the ski glide direction but rather aimed in the track dimension, as much as possible.

This suggested implication is based upon the observation that although the path of the CM was in the shape of a corkscrew throughout, the faster skier showed less lateral deviation from the line of travel, at that time, meaning straight up the trail. In other words, if you want to go faster, which is also to say more efficiently, sway back and forth as little as possible. This is the conceptual mistake: It is a confusion of cause and effect. The correct explanation for their observations should be: If you go faster, your deviation from the line of travel will naturally be smaller. Speed begets position; simply putting yourself in the speed position does not beget speed. The movement in its environment (speed, snow type, incline) determines the skier's motor options; he can no more simply set his position beforehand any more than a sailor can decide beforehand how he will set his sails. Secondly, since the path of the CM is corkscrew-like, by the very nature of the movement, it is in fact necessary to deviate from the line of travel to propel yourself at all.

This is where skating gets fishy. A fish does not propel itself with its fins working from a straight body but with the back and forth of its whole body against the flow of water. If the stream speeds up, the fish speeds up the back and forth motion and the deviation from a fictional straight line direction of travel diminishes. I have used this image with skiers for many years and found it helpful to them. Since the World Cup in Biwabik, Minnesota can be downloaded from YouTube (search Biwabik), one can study the differences. Another image comes to mind: sculling a boat with one oar through an oarlock on the transom. You have to push the oar back and forth in order to move the boat forward, and the more the whole body pushes back and forth, the more forceful the sculling motion will be, until it achieves a level of speed, at which point the sweep decreases.

From the beginning of skating I cannot remember ever finding any sense in facing straight up the trail. Since it was a form of double-poling, it made sense to me as one-legged double-poling. I could not think otherwise when I saw Ove Aunli and Oddvar Bra teaching themselves to skate on the Dachstein Glacier. I was below them, so I could not see their skis. They looked to me quite simply as if they were doing a double-pole session.

Interestingly, the 1989 study following analyses of the Calgary Olympic events contained several changes of perspective. Now Increased lateral motion of CM tended to increase CL [cycle length] while decrease CR [cycle rate].(p. 1). Thus lateral motion is part of the skier's variety of tactics, or solutions, as people in motor learning refer to them. Also, the direction of the strong side…was faced by the shoulders and trunk through much of the cycle. The skier of Figure 6A displayed a somewhat more balanced orientation than did the skier in Figure 6B. The latter's body orientation was directed primarily toward the strong side even during much of the weak side skating phase. (p.11)

Unfortunately, the straight up the trail school of thought apparently did not digest this second study, or elementary biomechanics. With a lot of intelligent young skiers coming into skating, experimentation was in the air. Recently I received an illuminating letter from a fellow coach describing that time:

I started skiing just as classic was departing. During my first few years of racing, we went from marathon skate to V1 to V2 in basically two and a half seasons. By the time we got to V2, the Koch-inspired big movements were already going away and a more static face down the trail style was arriving. I clearly remember [their coach] and the guys on the Bates Ski Team teaching me V2 and really emphasizing facing your ski tip with big, swinging movements. When I watched Pierre Harvey, Gunde Svan, Dan Simoneau, and especially a young Ian Harvey, I saw much less exaggerated movements. Within three weeks of learning V2, I was reducing the amount of twist I had been taught. Within 4 weeks, I was beating guys I'd never been close to - including all but one of the Bates Team. That pretty much hooked me on working in the direction of travel (although I didn't think that much about it at age 16).

By the time I had settled into the ski team at [college] my sophomore year (1990) and [coach] came along, we were watching the upcoming Norwegians, instead of the Italians ands Swedes. [Our coach] really did a fair amount of work on technique with slides, etc. But all of us on the team thought the stuff was antiquated. We watched video and each other - perhaps too much. One of my best teammates and I often had class schedules that conflicted with team practice, so we trained on our own, together. We were of the same build, and also felt that Torgny Mogren was the best model for us, as he was efficient and of our build. We began to work hard on deeper knee bend than we'd been taught, especially on uphills, and a more upright position on the flats. By our senior year, we both broke into the top 10 in Eastern Collegiate Carnivals - really a huge achievement for me, as I hadn't been able to make the women's team in my first year at school. I was totally sold on choosing technique that matched your build/abilities.

When I began coaching, fresh out of college, NENSA was just starting up, and [coach] was having his way with technique development in New England. [He] is a good thinker, and he and I spent a good deal of time talking technique. His take was that you wanted to be dead square to the trail with a lot of turn out at the hips. I think I got suckered in with everyone else. The U.S. Ski Team, and most of the Eastern College coaches, began preaching the same thing. Still are. Just watch our top distance skaters-which might explain their skate results.

I didn't get away from this until I moved north and began working in relative isolation again…long-winded, I know. But the answer to your question [Where did facing up the trail come from?] is two-fold: facing up the trail came from [coach], and then from the USST. It was backed up by a technique video from the Norwegian Ski Federation that studied Daehlie, Alsgaard and others. For some reason, the consensus at the time was that Daehlie was winning with a combination of technique and engine. Alsgaard was winning purely on technique, and that Fauner and Valbusa were losing because of technique. In retrospect, it would seem that Daehlie may have been winning despite technique [he himself said he was trying to copy Alsgaard in order to improve], Alsgaard likely has a bigger engine than anyone suspected, and that Valbusa may really have been doing something right.

A history of our thinking by intelligent athletes like this is enormously useful in giving us all a clearer grasp of how we have come to think the way we do. There is genuine curiosity and critique here, which should be clearly understood as distinct from criticism. Enthusiasm, irrepressible fascination, and well-wishing have always glued our common motives together, and should keep us humble, collaborative, intellectually disciplined, and, above all, wary of the attractions to gurudom, both in ourselves and others.

I have left out names because they are not the point; it is the dynamics of the thought process which matters, and its decisive affect on our young skiers. You can hear vocabulary which has been used in the past in the words, and movements of a subsequent athlete or coach. But the coaches and instructors whom Jack mentions at the end of his article simply can no longer justify the baseless prescriptions contained in, among others presentations, the PSIA Manual, in which it states:

Advance skate skiers move their core straight down the track as much as possible while skating from one ski to the other. A beginner tends to move the core from side to side with each skate. When analyzing the core of the skate skier, try watching from behind. If the core is moving from side to side, or waving from one direction to the next, have the student concentrate on keeping the hips and torso always facing in a straight line. Thus the origin of the neutral position.

As I say, names are not the point, and the above view is not wrong because I happen to think so. It is wrong from the point of view of the best science, biomechanics, motor learning theory, and the educated analyses of Europe's best coaches, and not because they are Europeans but because their science is more thorough and thus more compelling. It also allows for variance in the expression of the operant principles of biomechanics and motor learning among individual athletes, but the principles are there, like a basic grammar of movement just like the grammar of a given language. Without knowledge of its grammar, we are ill equipped to accurately perceive what we hear in another tongue. Without extensive biomechanics we are ill equipped to accurately see and describe what we are looking at. That becomes particularly clear when we recognize that the duration of the kick in classic is from .1-.2 seconds and in skating .3-.8 seconds. How can we describe a movement which is the speed of an eye blink? Your eyes or my eyes cannot see that fast on their own and will therefore miss the swiftest critical movements.

I have spent a lot of time over the years looking for help. Some of my thinking is buttressed by years of very high-quality articles in the German Nordic Sports Magazin, ongoing study of all available materials relating to the German program, including relevant articles from IAT (Germany's Institute for Applied Training Science), Das grosse Buch vom Skilanglauf by Hottenrott & Urban (Meyer&Meyer, Aachen, 2004), a true reference manual for the German program, and a recent comprehensive study of the history and current state of skating research, Biomechanische Analysen von Skatingtechniken im Skilanglauf, by Stefan Lindinger, (Meyer&Meyer Verlag, Aachen, 2006), 300 pp.

In not a single instance have I encountered the suggestion of facing up the trail, to the contrary, the universal prescription is rechtwinklig zur Gleitrichtung, right angles to direction of glide. In a series of technique presentations in Nordic Sports Magazin Marco Selle, the coach of the Italian National Team analyses first Tor Arne Hetland's V2 and in another Virpi Kuitunen's classic and skating. About Hetland he notes, among other things, shoulders in direction of gliding ski, support the pelvis movement and stabilize the course of the movement. From the foot to the shoulder joint there is a line. Pressure always on one ski. The weight transfer from one ski to the other is always harmonious, almost dancelike. He never loads both skis at the same time, yet the movement is absolutely flowing. Hetland always brings his body weight optimally over the ski. Thus his power can unfold optimally and glide cleanly. Selle also uses the term direction of travel, but it is clear he does not mean the line of travel but rather the path the body must travel, back and forth, with greater or less lateral movement depending on speed and terrain, like the fish in faster or slower water. In other words, direction of travel is to be understood graphically as a broad arrow within the walls of which the skier goes back and forth. Obviously, we cannot change the trail, but speed and terrain variables teach us to make the trail wider or narrower as, like the fish, we go upstream.

Of Kuitunen he notes that her V1 is quite good. High position, which allows the legs to operate closely together. [USST wide stance prescription The USST talks about saddle feet in a techinique video] The shoulders are parallel [facing] to the ski set on the snow. Different than her rivals, she is in a position to shift the shoulders and pelvis to the opposite ski not until the second push phase of the arms…which brings stability and efficiency. Of Pietro Piller Cotter's V2 he says similar things: He is always compact, with the limbs in a line, very high and narrow in his execution…His shoulders are always oriented toward to ski tips. A YouTube search for Alsgaard going from V2 to V1 demonstrates the same point (made also in the 1989 Skating Study for skier B, see above).

Her V2 and V2 alternate on the flats (long glide phase) is not optimal. Even when she succeeds in having good ski directionality through her balance and good ankle work, one can see how she has problems with bringing the pelvis/hips into an axis with leg and upper body. This results in the knee rotating inward. Thus the shoulders and pelvis work parallel [facing] to the opposite ski rather than the ski on the snow. This results in several problems: it is not possible to reach a stable and relaxed position; also gliding on the inner edge of the ski. This makes the push-off less efficient.

I am hoping to receive permission to incorporate the excellent sequence photographs from these articles into an article of my own. For the moment, however, I think the case for facing the direction of glide is both compelling and urgent if we intend to serve our skiers with integrity as informed professional coaches. (more…)