Ministers of Culture

Culture is vitally important and impossible to measure. Good or bad, it’s just there, wrapped around the team like an invisible blanket. Whether that blanket is warm and cozy, or cold and wet, its effect is inescapable.

Listen Up! A Few Podcasts That Can Up Your Game

Transformative athletic experiences—the ones we all hope our kids get from sports—involve much more than mastering technique and tactics. Great coaches and programs create a positive culture, value relationships before results, set up a supportive team dynamic, and connect with athletes as people first.

Foreign Exchange

The experiences of these NCAA turned World Cup athletes offer insight on how to make the most of collegiate ski racing, a precious and uniquely American resource. We would be wise to take notes!

Redneck in Training

Robby Kelley’s custom made Redneck Racing summer schedule is heavy on hard work and creativity and extremely light on the Dijon.

All Grown Up and No Place to Go

When used as a flexible guide, performance bands are helpful tools. When applied rigidly, however, they can become tourniquets, cutting off the vital flow of talent and experience.

The $80,000 Hot Dog: A Complicated Love Story

For a moment at least, ski racing season is over. With the end of this season our family officially moves beyond children’s racing, and into the FIS zone. It’s a little bit of many things: scary, exciting, sad. It’s sad in part because this time of year—when the mad skiing scramble that consumes every bit of our spare time abruptly ends— always leaves me feeling a bit empty and, in every respect, spent. But, this … » read more

The Gary Black Effect

He believed in us when few people did, and treated us like champions despite all suggestions to the contrary. He made every one of us feel worthy when we didn’t feel it ourselves, and took personal responsibility for reminding us how to laugh.

The Long Road Parable: Go Slow to Go Fast

Reinforcing bad technique is like doubling down on a bad bet. In reality, it’s often better—though counterintuitive—to slow down, take a breath, assess the territory and proceed with deliberate steps.