Skiing, racing and all the space in between
I’m not going to sugar coat it. If you’re living in the east, this winter so far…rhymes with ducks. It’s hard for skiers to feel the joy of the season when greeted with a palette entirely composed of mixed browns. That said, these situations always provide some upside, or at least an opportunity for growth. In times like these—as in California’s dreaded winter of 76, when our ski team went for a hike deep in … » read more
Athletic success is nice, but on it’s own it will be short-lived. With that in mind, parents and coaches need to ask ourselves what we want our kids to get out of their commitment to sports? What parts of their sport experiences will make them better, happier, more fulfilled people?
The most important thing within any program is building a culture of wanting to get things done, wanting to ski. Ski training shouldn’t be a burden.
How many studies must we see about too much of any one thing—from bacon to sunshine to training—being bad for your health before we question the edict that more is always better?
Overconfidence, egocentrism, hyper competitiveness and obsessiveness are tolerated, justified and even celebrated on the way up the ranks in the sporting world. They do not, however, make you an ideal roommate, teammate, soulmate or contributing member of society.
I still hold the keys and the all-important wallet, but once we hit the trails, the water, the path to adventure, I am quickly left in the dust, the wake, the bread-crumbless journey that is the end of the pack.
Together at Last! I have a double blog life, with racerex and my food blog Bring It! Sometimes—pretty often actually— food and skiing bump up against each other. They’re going to collide a lot more for me now that I’ve met Anna Marno. Anna is on the US C Team (read her bio here) and for the second year has earned a World Cup start position. In the old days that meant she would have … » read more
Today was one of my favorite rites of summer—Eliteam pick up at GMVS. This was my last year to be picking up an actual camper. Boo! But the beginning of counselorhood. Yay! What Doug Lewis does with these kids is pure magic. If you get a chance scroll through the photos in the camp photo gallery to get a peek at all they do in a typical day. This year I gave a little talk … » read more
If you’re a hiker in New Hampshire, you probably know that hiking all of the state’s 4,000-ft peaks is a thing. As a transplant from the west coast, I did not know this, until late one August when my son did not want to report back to middle school. I could hardly blame him, but his angst was enough to warrant a meeting … » read more
For the past few days I’ve been stalking the Ski Racing site for a piece I have coming out. (Update: It’s up. Read it here!) It’s just some common sense advice Doug Lewis and I put together about choosing a summer ski camp, or choosing not to go to a summer ski camp. It offers thoughts on things to consider, but basically advises people to do what’s best for their own kids. I’m stalking … » read more