The race season is finally over for most racers (for others, a few more weeks to go). After a long and demanding winter, you\u2019re probably tired of skiing (regardless of whether the season was a triumph or a disappointment). It\u2019s time to hang up your skis, pack away your gear, kick back, relax, and forget about ski racing for a few months, right? WRONG!!!<\/p>\n
Being the best ski racer you can be is not a part-time activity. It requires a year-round commitment and consistent effort in your physical, technical, tactical, and, yes, mental training. If you\u2019re a ski racer serious about achieving your competitive goals, the end of the race season simply means it\u2019s time to start your preparations for next season. After a short period of rest and relaxation, say, a week or two, you need to begin your planning and your training that will get you ready to continue your progress toward your goals next winter.<\/p>\n
Post-season Evaluation<\/strong><\/p>\n The first thing you want to do is to look back on your race season and evaluate how you did. See below a post-season assessment you can take (and your coaches can take for you):<\/p>\n With this assessment completed, you can, in collaboration with your coaches, decide what in your training worked and what did not. You can then use this information to create a prep-period training program to build on your strengths and alleviate your weaknesses, so you will ski that much faster next season.<\/p>\n Law of Insanity<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019re probably aware of Albert Einstein\u2019s now-famous Law of Insanity: \u201c\u2026Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.\u201d If you are violating his law in your ski racing, it\u2019s time to stop and do something different. Whether physically, technically, tactically, or mentally, if what you\u2019ve been doing isn’t working, you should change it. Take a look at your past season and all the things you did in the various aspects of your training, racing, and life, and determine what worked and what didn\u2019t. In the latter case, stop doing anything that isn\u2019t helping you achieve your goals.<\/p>\n Law of Stupidity<\/strong><\/p>\n You are probably not aware of the far-less-famous law of stupidity, \u201cIf it\u2019s working, change it; that\u2019s just plain stupid,\u201d because the guy who coined it isn\u2019t famous (that would be me!). Despite the fact that this law hasn\u2019t become a memorable one-liner (at least not yet), it has real relevance to your ski racing prep period. Just as you should adhere to the Law of Insanity and discard anything you\u2019ve been doing that is clearly not working, you should also adhere to the law of stupidity and determine what has been unequivocally working and ensure that you continue to do them during your prep period and into your next winter of racing.<\/p>\n It\u2019s About Preparation<\/strong><\/p>\n An awareness and appreciation of these two laws should be in the forefront of your mind as you plan your prep period. How you ski next season depends on what you do this spring, summer, and fall. The physical conditioning gains you make and the technical, tactical, and mental skills you develop in the off-season will determine how much you improve and whether you reach your competitive goals next winter. There are three areas in which you must focus to maximize your preparation.<\/p>\n First, Commit to an intensive physical conditioning program. Ski racing has become a sport of \u201cbeef,\u201d meaning you need muscle, strength, and power (plus, of course, agility and quickness). The only way to develop these areas is with an organized fitness program that may involve weight training, plyometrics, speed work, and mobility.<\/p>\n Second, most highly committed ski racers spend at least part of the summer and fall on-snow. Summer and fall skiing is essential for your technical and tactical development because you\u2019re able to focus exclusively on improvements in your skiing fundamentals without the pressures of getting ready for races. It also enables you to test and adapt to new equipment. However, my motto related to equipment is: \u201cIf it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it,\u201d meaning if your equipment works for you, don\u2019t mess with it. Testing distracts you from training and can cause you to question which equipment is best for you. And it also violates the Law of Stupidity.<\/p>\n Finally, and just as importantly, the off-season is the best time to engage in mental training. Just like physical conditioning and technical skills, mental aspects of ski racing (e.g., confidence, intensity, and focus) take time and effort to develop. An organized program of mental training can have huge benefits when you enter the new race season.<\/p>\n Get Going<\/strong><\/p>\n Getting going for next season starts with that first step of deciding how important ski racing is to you. Here are some questions to ask yourself:<\/p>\n The key to achieving your goals next winter is to start now! Talk is cheap. It\u2019s easy to say you want to be a great ski racer; it\u2019s an entirely different thing to actually do the work necessary. If your goals are at all high, the only chance you will have is to commit to intensive off-season physical, on-snow, and mental training programs. Your goal when you get in the starting gate of your first race next season is to be able to say: \u201cI\u2019m as prepared as I can be to ski my fastest.\u201d And, with all of that hard work in the off-season that you \u201cdeposited in the bank,\u201d the chances are you will be successful and reach your goals.<\/p>\n Note #1: This will be my last article of the 2018-19 season. I will resume writing in early May when I will focus on what racers can do during the prep period to fully prepare themselves mentally for success next winter. Enjoy your brief downtime before you recommit to striving toward your ski racing goals.<\/p>\n Note #2: I began writing for Ski Racing<\/em> during my graduate days when it was an actual hard-copy newspaper (I\u2019m not admitting how long ago that was!).And I have been writing for skiracing.com for nine years now. I want to thank Ski Racing Media for again giving me the opportunity to share my ideas with the international ski racing community. It has been an honor, a privilege, and just great fun sharing my perspectives with each generation of new racers, coaches, and parents and reconnecting with those I knew \u201cback in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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