How to Survive (and Thrive in) Your 1st Year of FIS
The transition from U16s to U19s is an important and challenging rite of passage for every young ski racer. The year of FIS racing is also a crucible that tests racers physical, technically, tactically, and, especially, psychologically and emotionally. To continue to pursue your ski racing goals, you must “survive” and, in fact, find ways […]
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Tune in to Razor-Tune, So You Can Tune Out of Ski Tuning Sooner
It’s that time of year again. Winter is approaching (or already started) and if you’re the parent of one more ski racers, or a ski racer yourself, you can expect to spend many hours over the coming months in a tuning room or garage filing, waxing and scraping ski after ski after ski after ski […]
Read MoreLindsey Vonn Embraces Her Humanity
A wonderful article about Lindsey Vonn that describes the physical, psychological, and emotional challenges she faced as one of history’s greatest ski racers and following her retirement. A nice reminder that those whom we revere from afar are as human as we are (to paraphrase a well-known saying, Lindsey “puts her speed suit on one […]
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Hey Parents, Set Healthy Expectations for Your Young Athletes
November has arrived and race season is just around the corner (or already started if you’re a World Cupper). So, now is the time when parents start to communicate (usually unconsciously) expectations for their young racers and, in turn, when those young racers can start to feel the weight of expectations that are placed on […]
Read MoreMake Every Day a Good Day of Training
One of the most frequent comments I hear from the racers I work with is: “I had a lousy day of training.” This statement was almost always accompanied by a variety of emotions that are neither pleasant nor helpful including frustration, anger, worry, doubt, and disappointment, and, occasionally, despair. Moreover, I saw that this assertion […]
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Build a Positive and High-performing Ski Team Culture
Because ski racing isn’t a team sport in the usual sense of the word, little is attention is given to the influence that individual athletes can have on a ski team, whether healthy or toxic. Nor do we often think about how a team in ski racing can have a significant effect on the performances […]
Read MoreWhen Coaches and Parents Work Together, Kids Win
Being a ski coach is a tough job. There is everything you need to know about conditioning, technique, tactics, equipment, and, of course, the mind. There are the logistics of organizing training, travel, and races for a group of athletes, and adapting to the ever-changing conditions inherent in ski racing. There are also the not-very-fun […]
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Sugar Bowl Ski Team & Academy Seeks Permanent Executive Director
I rarely post anything on my blog and social media that isn’t related to my professional life. But, given that many of my social media followers are from the world of ski racing, I’m posting a job announcement for the new Executive Director of SBSTA (I’m a member of its Board of Trustees, co-chair of […]
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“Money in the Bank, Baby!”: Make Your Final Deposits to Your Confidence Bank
It’s hard to believe that we are only weeks away from the start of another ski season. The snow guns are blasting in Colorado and I will be on snow with athletes soon. For some of you, I’m sure you’re excited to be able to snap into your skis again after being off snow for […]
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How NOT to be a Bad Ski Racing Parent
In my last ski racing post, I shared with you my list of Dos for Ski Racing Parents. In general, I much prefer to focus on the positives of behavior and, in that article, emphasized what you can do to help your ski-racing children have a great experience in our sport, ski their fastest, and achieve […]
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