Hips High

This article was first posted on SkiPost.com on October 27, 2011.
We have heard "hips high" a thousand times, but it is always interesting to hear it again.

I'm curious on how these two technique aspects can coexist?     "Keep the hips high in classical skiing - through the whole stride" and "Initiate the skate or classical kick by dropping your weight onto the ski......"     Coaches should absolutely teach their athletes to ski with high and forward hips.  But because words can be misleading:    I think of especially Virpi Kuitunen, Petter Northug, Bente Skari, Alex Harvey, Jacobsen, Longa, Majdic, Axel, Goering, Filbrich, Angerer, Russian 1 and 2 at the Olympics and basically any clip of Andy Newell... the more I think about it the easier it is to think of the very few top skiers who are more back like Emil in that shuffle sprint style acceleration, Kowalczyc slap-running up the hills.    The hips should begin literally high in order to be in a position where the center of mass is forward and up, which is a position that it can be dropped down onto the ski.  You can't drop something from the level of the floor - to over state the point.  And to turn the question around, how can you drop your hips if they aren't high?  And in terms kids understand - you have to get up, to get down.  The same is true for double pole and V2 and V2 alternate at higher speeds where the application of force is both lateral and up and down as well as applied more quickly like a classical kick.  It is less true in V1 where the motion is much more lateral and much less or not at all up and down as well as (except in the case of jump skating) applied over a longer period of time.    Anyway back to classical, to experiment, try putting force down from a low crouch.  Measure your force with an old-style bathroom scale.  Then try from a high position.  No question what the result will be.  Try to apply force down with your weight back and low.  What force you can apply cannot be applied quickly.  Try to apply force down quickly from anything but a high and forward position and it is slow and laborious.  To apply force down quickly, maximally and efficiently in any sport the hips should begin high and forward.  If your skiers are walking around on straight legs they are closer to good technique than if they are walking around in a low crouch.  And they are less fatigued.  But in neither case are they skiing.  Through the motions of skiing in different terrain and conditions and the differences you see in body type there is a range of high and forward. Stride length is follow through.      What is (obviously) the important outcome of position, motion and application of power is the speed they ski.  This is accomplished through power / effectiveness of the kick not stride length.  Stride length can result from a powerful kick and in a lot of terrain should but does not contribute to it.  Similarly and more importantly the length of the glide should result from speed but does not directly contribute to speed.  If anything skiers are trying too hard to have a long stride and this decreases the power they can put into the kick which decreases their speed.  This mostly results from trying to ski big and long, which puts them in a back and low position.  The number one fault of most skiers is over-striding.  It is also the technical fault of most runners.  Trying to ski with a long glide generally just leads to bogging down and most skiers should shorten their stride earlier in transitions to maintain momentum rather than try to milk a long glide.

Frost Mountain Nordic is the 2011 NENSA Club of the Year

This article was first posted on October 18, 2011 on NENSA.net.

Summary:

NENSA is pleased as punch to announce that Frost Mountain Nordic is the 2011 Club of the Year!

NENSA is pleased to announce that Frost Mountain Nordic is the 2011 NENSA Club of the Year! Frost Mountain is the club that serves Nordic skiers in the greater Middlebury, VT region.  Dia Jenks, one of the club’s major organizers, says “Frost Mountain is at a juncture, where we are building on our momentum of the last few years and looking to the future development of our club.” That’s a great place to be in!  

You will remember them from the spectacular TD Bank BKL Festival that they put on last year at Rikert Touring Center in Ripton, VT.  Many thanks go out to the amazing BKL crew led by Chris & Barney Hodges and Bruce & Sarah Ingersoll, who hosted the biggest Festival yet with over 500 skiers and their families. Careful planning, attention to detail, and good humor were the key components in pulling off this complex and overwhelming event. The club was able to draw on the energy of their highly successful (and fun!) BKL program to provide this opportunity for the skiers of New England.

Frost Mountain Nordic promotes cross-country skiing for all ages and abilities in the mountains once home to Robert Frost in central Vermont. The club is a community-based, umbrella organization for the Bill Koch League (ages 7-13), middle and high school teams, masters’ team, and recreational skiers. They organize a weekly race series, group skis, back-country skis, camps, training groups, race teams, clinics, and occasional social events.  Basically they do it all!

The club has been in existence now for 4 snow seasons and has grown exponentially to now have over 160 members. There is a tremendous amount of energy in this Vermont region and the club has an infectious spirit that draws in participants and helpers readily. Frosties typically ski at either Blueberry Hill in Goshen, VT or at the Rikert Touring Center in Ripton, VT. This club is situated in an outdoor-lover’s paradise: mountains, groomed trails, and back-country adventures galore!

Sue Halpren, FMN member, raves about the friendliness of the club. “Frost Mountain Nordic is incredibly inclusive.  We’ve got high-level racers, but we’ve also older folks and little kids and people who just like to get together and be outside on skis.  Because we have so many programs aimed at the whole range of skiers, we are able to draw in lots of participants.”

Head Coach Cam MacKugler (Middlebury College Alum) is dedicated to furthering the program and supporting all the members at the highest level. He works with all ages in the club, from BKL to Masters skiers, with organized practices, summer and winter camps, Sunday distance skis, and training during the week. One of the favorite events of the summer was an Orienteering Challenge that Cam designed in New Haven, VT.

Frost Mountain Nordic is also lucky to have some changes going on at Rikert to better support them. Mike Hussey, Rikert’s Touring Center Director, has a number of projects up his sleeve: trail work & design, homologation, and improvements to the building are just some of excitement going on in Ripton. Andrew Gardner (Middlebury College Head Nordic Coach) writes in the ski team’s blog, “Tropical Storm Irene slowed the process but as of today, all the trees necessary to remove from the site are down and the ebb and flow of what will be one of the best courses in the country is beginning to take shape…The home of the Middlebury Ski team is soon to be home to an Eastern course favorite.”

In addition to enjoying groomed skiing at Blueberry Hill and Rikert, Frosties are also able to enjoy the splendors of the backcountry, with tours being led by Andy McIntosh throughout the winter. New this year, in addition to his annual, Secret Trails of Ripton tour, Andy will also be hosting an “Out with the Old, In With the New” tour to explore some of the new Catamount Trail sections.

Congratulations to Frost Mountain Nordic for all their hard work to promote Nordic skiing in New England! Make sure you check out their blog to find out more about what they’re up to.

Star-studded BKL crew showing off their true colors at the 2011 TD Bank BKL Festival.

Robert Frost's Birthday Celebration where Frosties celebrate in style!

Malia and Abby show off their tandem style at Robert Frost's Birthday!

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Cam MacKugler Named 2012 Junior Nationals Coach

Our head coach, Cam MacKugler, has been named as one of the coaches for the 2012 Junior Nationals! Also, former Middlebury College nordie, Kate Barton, has been asked to coach, too.  To learn more, read below as first posted on NENSA on October 12, 2012.

2012 New England Junior Nationals Coaching Staff named

Posted by: Janice Sibilia

Summary:

2012 USSA Junior Nationals will take place at the Soldier Hollow venue, home of the 2002 Olympics! The New England trip to JN's requires a solid staff of waxers, testers, and age group coaches and the folks who take care of the logistics for a 65 + person team.

Congratulations to the following coaches and staff who will be traveling to SoHo:

This March the team will be spending time with a diverse group of coaches- many who are multi-time veterans  and also a few coaches who are newer to the JN trip. The enthusiasm is high already and planning well in the works to make this a successful trip for the athletes.

Head coach: Matt Boobar- SMS. Matt returns for another year after an Alaska Cup 'Three-peat'!  Can the team bring it home again?

Team Leader: Janice Sibilia- NENSA. The lodging is set for the team to stay at the Zermott Hotel, vans are reserved, meals being planned and lots of other stuff that goes along with this trip!

Head Wax Coach/ classic: Justin Beckwith- GMVS. Justin returns for his third year in this role, and is well versed in getting the best kick possible for the athletes.

Glide Wax Tech: Nick Mahood, Woodstock Nordic Racing Team. Nick joins us for the first time this year, and will bring an extensive wax background with him to SoHo.

Wax testers: Tim Caldwell, Ford Sayre- Our ace tester for kick wax, Tim is already training to be able to withstand the roughly 50 km a day he will ski in Utah!  Cam MacKluger, Frost Mtn Nordic,  also joins the team for the first time as a coach and will be testing glide with Nick.

The Age Group Coaches bring a wealth of knowledge with them along with a wonderful enthusiasm and are excited about heading west to Midway, UT. The coaches are:

Rob Bradlee- CSU, Liz Kantack-SMS, Kate barton-Burke Mtn Academy, Pepa Milocheva-Craftsbury, Dennis Donahue-Ford Sayre, and Nina Gavriluk, Gunstock Nordic

A big thanks to all of the staff who without them, the trip could not happen. Also, if you are a parent who thinks you might   like to help out either from home or on the ground in Utah, please drop a note to Janice Sibilia at janice@nensa.net.