It happens every winter. In December, January, and February, I get calls from national team athletes and parents of young racers who are struggling mentally in their ski racing and they have big races coming up. They want me to somehow fix them quickly. Though I think I’m pretty good at what I do, I’m [...]
Every sport has a competitive season that ends. For winter sports, it’s recently concluded and for spring sports, it is rapidly approaching. After a long and demanding season, you’re probably tired of your sport (regardless of whether the season was a triumph or a disappointment). It’s time to pack away your gear, kick back, relax, [...]
The race season is finally over. After a long and demanding winter, you’re probably tired of skiing (regardless of whether the season was a triumph or a disappointment). It’s time to hang up your skis, pack away your gear, kick back, relax, and forget about ski racing for a few months, right? WRONG!!! Being the [...]
With the season now over (well, almost in some parts of the world), it is, for every racer, a time of reckoning in which you look back and evaluate what kind of season you had: one to be proud of or one to reflect back on with disappointment and perhaps regret. One of the primary [...]
I just came across a very funny article titled "17 Tweets for Parents Who Both Love and Hate Kids' Sports Season." If you're the parent of a young athlete, you'll both totally relate to and get a good chuckle out of the tweets. As the parent of two young ski racers, I would like to [...]
I’ve been involved in U.S. ski racing for—Yikes!—more than 50 years. I started ski racing as a “Chipmunk” at Mad River Glen, then moved on to the Valley Junior Racing Club (at then Glen Ellen, pre-GMVS), Burke Mountain Academy, Middlebury College, the University of Colorado, and even two seasons on the old pro tour. Since [...]
In the 12th and final segment of my vlog series devoted to the psychology of sport for athletes and coaches, I explain the seven reasons that prevent athletes from making a commitment of time and energy to mental training. As I’m sure you would agree, the mind plays an essential role in athletic success. Yet, [...]
I've worked with many professional and Olympic athletes over the years and I've been a keen observer of many more. I certainly love watching the world's best athletes train and compete. But what I find equally fascinating is watching them to prepare to train and compete. One thing that I can say with absolute certainty [...]
As the author of a book on the impact of technology on young people's lives, I see tremendous value in the use of technology to enhance athletes' lives. At the same time, I also have grave concerns about its overuse, particularly with social media. In January, 2017, I wrote a blog post exploring how excessive [...]
I've only met Alice Mckennis a few times, but I've always admired her love of ski racing and the tenacity she has applied to our sport to find the success she has demonstrated recently (5th in the Olympic DH; 3rd in the World Cup DH at Are, Sweden). But my respect and appreciation for Alice [...]
