John Caldwell's Thoughts on the US Cross Country Team and the Importance of Strong Regional Programs

In the March 2008 issue of Skiing Heritage magazine, John Caldwell wrote an article entitled "U.S. Cross-Country Should Return to its Roots:  America's nordic program saw its greatest success when racers trained regionally.  It's time to return to history--and a system that worked."  This article reminds us of the importance of local clubs, such as Frost Mountain Nordic. Below is an excerpt:

"There are many hurdles for aspiring cross-country skiers.  It takes at least 10 years of training to have any chance of reaching the top levels in international competition.  The U.S. is a big country and skiers go at it from Alaska to the tip of northern Maine.  For all these competitors, travel to important qualifying meets or making the U.S. Team is not only exhausting, but expensive.  And skiers from cross-country families are not among the wealthiest in the U.S.  So the deck is already stacked.  

Pressure to live and train in Park City has been exerted on the better skiers, but there is the controversial aspect of altitude.  No countries house and train their athletes at altitude year-round. Our milieu is wrong.  And how can an aspiring athlete lead a normal life while living and training for years in Park City? Home contacts and family are missing in Park City, as well as most future job possibilities.  Absent all these, most skiers living for long periods in Park City lose inspiration.

 This country needs a program that works better for U.S. skiers, not necessarily one that apes another country, like Russia.  The U.S. Ski Team should set up regional locations around the country and support them financially with coaching, thus allowing skiers to stay in their own communities and pursue a more normal life. This would also help to promote the localities' own skiers since their contact with U.S. Team members would act as inspiration for them.  It would get regions more involved, and--in the best of all worlds--the system would have regions competing with each other for funding based on their results.  All these aspects would promote more motivation for the athletes.  It would also mean several programs standing by to take responsibility-and any heat--for the Team's record instead of only one program in Park City.

John Caldwell was a member of the '52 U.S. Olympic Nordic Combined Team and former U.S. Olympic and FIS cross-country coach (1966-1989)."