Magic Moments of Spring
It hurts because it means the end is near. I love spring but hate that the ski season ends so abruptly and, for some, so harshly.
Long Live Banzai Downhill
It is an unsanctioned top to bottom event on any mountain, with no rules. I take that back. The one hard and fast rule is that there are no rules, which of course is why it must be unsanctioned.
Maintenance Matters
I recently wrote this Racer Next column for Ski Racing, on the importance of adhering to some kind of in-season maintenance program. I did not, however, provide any specific program. This is in part because my own personal maintenance program—though darned good for middle-aged women with past-prime joints and cartilage in search of sanity during a New England winter—has zero relevance to young ski racers. And in part because to my own kids, a maintenance … » read more
Hermannator 1, Part Deux
I recently wrote this Racer Next Column for Ski Racing on Hermann Göllner. Before embarking on it I knew I’d feel incomplete trying to capture the Gestalt of Hermann in one piece. Two pieces is barely better, but at least this fills in some details, namely the two things I had always wondered about: what brought Hermann to the States from the Alps that seem to reside in his bones; and how does anyone get … » read more
Parent Whispering
Every high level coach in the country is lamenting the echo chamber that is our development “pipeline” of technical skiers….And yet, this rush to speed, this Faustian bargain to pursue the quickest path to the podium at the expense of developing solid technical skills, continues.
The Ski-ence of Happiness
Last spring I signed up to take an online course called The Science of Happiness. The course started in September and ran through November—timely for a native Californian with a propensity towards Seasonal Affective Disorder heading into a New England winter. Not surprisingly the course comes out of U.C. Berkeley, where contemplating the neurobiological and evolutionary roots of happiness over steaming cups of chai is, like, totally legit. What really hooked me on taking the … » read more
The Wide World of Good Sports
The time is ripe to take the notion of being a “good sport” out of the realm of loserhood (i.e. the conciliatory pat on the head, and the “there now Jimmy, be a good sport,” with the subtext being, “get used to losing and be quiet about it.”) and into the realm of greatness.
Training Wheels
Goooooooooooooal! Oh yeah. We’re into World Cup soccer now, and as long as everyone is yelling, screaming and vuvuzela-ing about goals, it’s a good time to talk about them. I know…YAWN. So let’s ease in to this by talking about summer camps. My kids’ favorite camp of all time is Eliteam, put on by Doug and Kelley Lewis. As a parent it’s been my favorite camp too, because it has put my kids through Basic … » read more
Pole Plants don’t take summer vacations
This just in…pole plants are back. If you didn’t believe me in Once Upon a Pole Plant then just look at What Sasha Rearick had to say from the USST men’s training camp in Mt. Hood: “The pole plant was something that was emphasized a couple years ago, and we are going better with that. More kids know how to pole plant. Not everybody, but we’re making progress there,” noted Rearick. “But we need … » read more
The Price is Right? Not really, but you can make it better.
Trying to manage the cost of ski racing? Try these for starters….Attend public school. Live at home. Buy equipment at fall ski swaps. Be a member of your closest local ski club. Make your own lunch. Car pool. Read on for more ways to keep the dream alive while keeping it real.