I have often realized that I always seem to have a male coach. Their styles are usually pretty straight forward and recently have focused on mostly strength, power, and intensity. After last season I used a different approach in my training and technique work. I focused less on grunting through my races and tried to think about dancing through them. The result...occasionally I could be spotted doing a jig along the course but mostly I began to relax and ski with more grace and fluidity.
This past week I spent four days coaching the CXC Jr. Birkie Camp at Lakewoods Resort just outside of Cable, WI. The days were long often starting way before 7AM and ending way past 9PM. My first group of athletes were 5 girls from all over the mid-west. None of them knew each other but by the end of camp they were great friends and teammates.
The camp was filled with drills and technique concepts. The information sounded boring and technical so I decided to "spice" up the girl's experience. We began thinking of skiing as more of a dance. Each technique was a new dance move and instead of forcing the correct positions and movements we would simply find them through the groove.
The girls began talking about songs to go with the movements and soon the "technique dance" was born!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1sH662qexw Check it out!!!
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