The Trials and Triumphs of a PG Year
For every serious ski racer who has aspirations to ski in college or get named to a national team, a PG, or gap, year is almost an inevitable these days. PG years have been around for decades; they were common even back in my day when I took two PG years between graduating from Burke […]
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Six Attitudes Parents Should Instill in Their Ski Racers
When most people in our ski racing community think of sport psychology, they think of mental training, that is, helping racers prepare mentally to ski their fastest when it matters most. Mental muscles that help racers strengthen include motivation, confidence, intensity, and focus. And mental tools I help racers to put in their mental toolboxes […]
Read MoreWhat’s Right about U.S. Ski Racing
I’ve been involved in U.S. ski racing for—Yikes!—more than 50 years. I started 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 then, I’ve […]
Read MoreThe Norwegians Say Ski Racing is a Team Sport (and What the U.S. Can Learn from Them)
Who would’ve thunk it, ski racing a team sport! I always thought it was an individual sport and, on occasion, an individual sport crammed into a team sport’s body (e.g., college skiing). It certainly doesn’t fit into the usual mold of a team sport. Think about what defines a team sport. It involves a group […]
Read MoreHey Ski Coaches, Continue Being Part of the Solution
My last post, Ski Racing Parents, We Have a Problem, clearly touched a nerve in our parent community with more than 12,000 views on Facebook alone, generating dozens of comments and my receiving many emails and messages in respond. The responses were 99.9% supportive of my perspective (one fellow spoke out quite vociferously against it). […]
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Ski Racing Parents, We Have a Problem
Like I said, ski racing parents, we have a problem. Want to know the problem? Well, look in the mirror. I don’t mean to insult you by indicting you as being the problem as an individual parent. I don’t know you or how you are with your children in their ski racing lives. I’m talking […]
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Are You a REALLY Committed Ski Racer?
I was talking recently with Darcy Norman, the new Director of Athlete Performance at Sugar Bowl Ski Team & Academy about what it takes to be the ski racer you can be. Darcy has been involved high-level sports for his entire life including as a ski racer and ski coach back in the day. Most […]
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Tuning Skis Can Actually be Fun!
Winter’s coming. You can feel it and smell it in the air. I’m not talking about the crispness of a cold and clear winter morning. I’m the talking about the feel of files digging into edges, scrapers scraping bases, and the smell of hot wax dripping onto skis. Yep, for parents of young ski racers […]
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Parents Should Do Their Job So Their Young Racers Can Do Theirs
My last blog post about over-invested ski racing parents caught fire with more than 14,000 views. With the race season just around the corner, I get the feeling that parents are hungry for helpful tips on how best to support their young ski racers this winter. So, to keep that mo’ going, this week’s post […]
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Red Flags for Over-invested Ski Racing Parents
One of your most essential goals in your children’s lives as ski racers is to have them gain ownership of their participation. They need to feel that ski racing is their thing. But ownership isn’t just something that they can gain on their own. Rather, it is a gift you give them that offers so […]
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