Characteristics of an Elite Racer - Implications for Adolescent Cross Country Skiers

Helping kids get there fast...

It takes time really to become an elite racer - certainly not something that comes to a kid at 12 or 13 years of age.  To be a top performer in cross country ski racing, an athlete needs to be ready to work at it for 10 or 12 or 20 years - a long time.  There has been lots written about the physiological and lifestyle characteristics of an elite racer.  Heikki Rusko's 'Cross Country Skiing' (Blackwell Publishing, Malden, Mass. 2003) is a good example.  Elite cross country ski racers have some things in common.

High Aerobic Power - elite athletes can take in, transport, and use Oxygen (measured in L/min) at a higher capacity than non elite athletes.  They also have lower resting heart rates and higher stroke volume than athletes who have trained less.  Top performing cross country skiers have increased activity of oxidative enzymes in their muscles and a greater volume of capillaries in their muscles to bring blood to their muscles.

Capacity to train for long periods - successful ski racers train alot - 800 hrs/year is common - 2-3 hours/day for 10 or more years.

High Muscular Power - top performers are able to move large loads at a high speed - cross country skiing is predominantly a power-endurance sport.

High Muscular Endurance - top ski racers are able to perform repeated muscular contractions - over and over again for up to a couple of hours in duration (50km race)

Good Balance and Body Awareness - elite athletes are able to stay on top of their skis under demanding conditions - they are able to control their positions during various speeds, terrain, course and climatic conditions.

Good Muscular Control - top racers have developed autonomous generalized motor programs that help them to efficiently control movement - the neural pathways from brain to muscle and back are highly developed - this takes alot of time to develop.  Well developed neural pathways decrease the time lapse between presentation of a stimulus (an icy downhill corner) and the body's response to that stimulus (maybe lower centre of gravity).  Cross country skiers who have been at it awhile also are very agile - they have an ability to change direction of the body or body parts rapidly.

Reasonable Flexibility - to maximize power generation from extension or flexion of a limb, athletes must have reasonable flexibility so as to have as large a range of motion as possible.

Lifestyle Characteristics - Training is only one half of the preparation needed to ensure good performance in a race - top performers also have outside interests that provide another avenue for the athlete to focus on and in which to feel successful.

Personal Characteristics - elite racers often have an ability to pay attention to details - e.g. losing 1cm per stride over 5km amounts to a loss of 5m.  Its important to have an ability to concentrate as well - to focus on one objective - covering the course as efficiently as possible in the shortest amount of time.  Racers who have been successful have often developed an ability to concentrate completely on factors that he can influence and disregard others that are beyond his control. Being tough minded is important - having a strong mental approach is essential for success.  Top racers are also often top learners/students - they have learned how to focus on their own learning.  These athletes are often also dedicated, disciplined, patient, and resilient - they are able to stay focused on goals and adapt to set backs.

Top athletes love the lifestyle of racing - people continue with things that they enjoy.

This is a big list - and alot of characteristics that come together to help an athlete become a top performer.  The big question for those of us coaching adolescents is what pieces of this puzzle are most important to focus on.  It is precisely a coach or a club's response to the 'what should be the priorities' question that create talent hotbeds.  

So where would I start on this list...

- I follow the recommendations of our club's head coach - in our club we focus on fun, adventure, fitness, and technique - this includes a 'not too much too soon' approach to racing, travelling, volume, etc.

- I follow the recommendations of the Sport Canada's long term athlete development model - for 12-13 year olds this includes aerobic capacity, strength development, speed development, and a big emphasis on team building and social focus.

- I work on being explicit about developing a passion for racing

Having an idea of what to do and where to go with your coaching is a huge part of transitioning adolescent athletes from skiing because their parents want them to and embracing the lifestyle of being a racer and being your best.  It all takes time - and so much of it depends on the culture that you create as a coach - what you think is important comes through - kids talk to each other about it and they talk to their parents about it - in the end, its important to be organized, to communicate well, to be enthusiastic, to be a warm and caring adult, and to create some fun.  

Summer is here!  In my club, Canmore Nordic, we are working with our young athletes a few days a week to build passion and enjoyment of a great sport - cross country skiing.

enjoy

Roy

Rethinking the value of praise...

Is 'good job' really doing the work we think it is...

 

 

 

I recently read an article called '5 reasons to stop saying good job' by Alfie Kohn (originally published in Parents magazine in May 2000).  It got me thinking about what a common staple 'good job' is in the vernacular of the typical coach working with young cross country skiers.  There are many good reasons that 'good job' seems to do the work of encouraging young skiers to do the work of learning to be a good cross country skier.  Everyone needs some encouragement - and isn't 'good job' some recognition of the effort it takes to learn something new?  After reading Kohn's article (you can google it and find it quite easily), I'm not so sure.  Here is a summary of the article and my interpretation of the content.

 

Simple praise creates dependence of the young skier on the coach.  Instead of kids developing their own sense of accomplishment, they end up relying on the coach/adult to provide them with the reinforcement.  'Good job' can work in the short term because alot of children have a huge need for the approval of the adults who spend time with them.  Further, simple praise can end up being a way to have children comply with the wishes of the adult - Kohn calls this 'sugar coated control'.  What we really should be doing is asking kids how they feel they've done instead of telling them.  It is so easy to fall into the cycle of simple praise as a coach of young athletes as it makes kids feel good (at least in the moment) and increases their interest in complying with your instructions and expectations.  You put enough energy into this type of praise and you get some immediate return on investment with kids.  The question that we should ask ourselves is - what's it doing to the kid?

 

'Good job' can create praise junkies - kids who need the ongoing stimulation and reinforcement that comes from you as a coach.  In a sport like cross country skiing, young skiers need to develop independent thinking skills.  Included in this skill set is the ability to do some self assessment - 'how did that go?' and 'what went well?' and 'what didn't go so well?' are all things young skiers need to develop some independence on if they are going to stick with being a ski racer.  Cross country racing requires us to have and use the skills of positive self talk and emotional/mental focus.  Does 'good job' end up creating kids who rely on the evaluation of their coach? instead of learning to form their own judgements?  Kohn would say that 'good job' doesn't reassure kids at all, instead, it makes kids feel less secure in themselves.  How much dependence do we want to create as coaches with the adolescent and young racers we work with?  Something to think about for sure.

 

As coaches, we should recognize the important role we play in the lives of the young athletes we work with.  The typical early adolescent athlete is so ready to listen and do whatever a coach expects of them.  There exists a trusting and nurturing relationship between a coach and children this age.  In addition parents trust us with the most precious thing in their lives - their kids.  Many parents expect that we will do the right thing to help them grow into independent, healthy, positive young people.  Kohn says that when we 'good job' a young person, we really are passing a judgement on them and that no one really likes being judged.  Maybe that is why we find that 'good job' has limited shelf life - works well in the beginning, but after awhile, doesn't pack the same punch.  Really, does 'good job' tell a child how to feel? Should we as coaches instead be encouraging young athletes to take delight themselves in their effort and accomplishment.

 

Kohn points out in the article that research shows that the more we reward people for doing something, the more they tend to lose interest.  We need to ask ourselves does praise motivate kids, or does it motivate kids to get more praise?   Sometimes what seems to happen is that kids are motivated to get more praise, but it seems that this is often at the expense of commitment to whatever they were doing that prompted the praise.  Are we overpraising kids?  a good question to ask yourself as a coach.

 

Reducing achievement is the final point the Kohn makes in the article.  Praise it seems, can undermine the independence, pleasure, interest, and commitment that young athletes feel towards skiing.  Can it also interfere with how good a job they actually do in performing the skills they are being praised for doing?  Can their movitation decrease if they are over praised?  Good coaches have their own answers to these questions.  Ask a highly successful athlete who their most influential coaches were, and they likely might tell you that it was a person who didn't give them alot of praise.  Does it matter if the child is 6 years of age, or 9 years of age, or 12 years of age?  well, ya, it probably makes a huge difference in terms of the type and amount of praise given.  Kohn would probably say that praise creates some pressure to 'keep up the good work' and this ultimately reduces creativity and effort as the young learner starts thinking instead about how to keep the praise coming from the coach.

 

A big question we need to ask is 'are we praising a child because we need to say it, or because the young athlete needs to hear it?'  Is it our need more than theirs?  Are we offering praise, acknowledgement, and approval for jumping through a hoop we have set before a young skier? A good question to ask yourself.  Maybe its time we started thinking about what the alternatives are to 'good job' and other forms of simple praise.  Perhaps there is something more constructive and valuable that a young skier needs to hear from us regularly.  Maybe there is something else that would help kids to explore and develop the needed skills and good values that come along with being a successful athlete.

 

In 'Five reasons to stop saying 'good job', Kohn says that what we should be doing is offering to young skiers (learners) unconditional support, and love with no strings attached.  This Kohn says is the opposite of praise.  We need to be thinking as coaches about what we do and how we do it when it comes how we interact with the early adolescent skiers we work with.  As coaches, we can think about asking kids how that went, and validating that what they say is true to them, instead of convincing them otherwise.  Somedays it really does suck to be in a learning place - what we can be doing as coaches during this tough time is show some compassion, understanding, and validation.  We can help kids to frame their experience because really, young people have alot going for them, but one thing they often lack is perspective.   We can offer perspective you the young skiers we work with.  We can help to build a culture in our clubs that helps kids to become independent thinkers who can recognize their own good effort.  We can create positive spaces by creating expectations and reinforcing the personal growth of the young people with. 

 

This is a good conversation and one I am sure we all thought about at some point.  I encourage you continue the conversation in your own clubs or with me when I see you next.  Happy trails dude!

 

JRS

 

 

 



Building Resiliency - a key skill for early adolescents

Toughness - Tenacity - however you frame it - its important

Really - its pretty obvious - mental toughness is darn important.  But being able to shrug off results you're not happy with is something that doesn't come naturally to very many kids.  Most kids need a bit of help in learning how to process what's going on and how to deal with it.

Being a good ski racer takes more than mental and physical toughness - a key skill is resiliency.  Resiliency refers to an ability to overcome challenges and bounce back stronger, wiser, and feeling good about yourself.  Hardiness has become a real focus in education settings the last number of years - helping kids to deal with challenging situations by developing the skill set required to handle the situation positively and with their self esteem intact.  For young skiers, having the skills to deal with disappointment and setback are a huge part of continuing on.  How can we help young skiers become more resilient?

I've written some and thought alot about the importance of competition groupings and formats and the impact these have on young athletes sticking it out as a ski racer.  My thoughts are underpinned by a belief that if kids are competing with others who are similar size and age they'll have a more positive experience.  For early adolescent skiers this is important, because as we have all seen, there can be huge developmental differences in 11-14 year olds athletes.  Technique being about equal, size and development can make a huge difference in the outcome of a race - the big kids generally finish well ahead of the late developing kids during this period of growth and development referred to as Peak Height Velocity.  I've tried out lots of ways of mixing up competition groupings as part of club based events - e.g. grouping kids by height, or by body weight, or age on June 30 instead of Dec 31.  I've done these things aiming to create a more fair field of competition - getting kids together who have more in common developmentally than chronologically.  Its important to recognize that we as adults choose rather arbitrarily how competition groupings are formed - why is age on Dec 31 used for kids?  not for any developmental or scientific reasons - we use Dec 31 because that what FIS does.   There may be sound rationale for using age on Dec 31 for juniors and seniors, but for kids?

 

I met with some friends a month or so ago to discuss competition groupings - this was a group of knowledgeable, experienced leaders in the ski community in Canada.  They wanted to hear me out on some of my ideas of why our sport system might be failing some of our young skiers through our current competition structures.  I appreciated the opportunity.  I learned some important things from our conversation.  Here is what I learned:

1.  Resiliency is a key skill - regardless of how competitions are structured and how competition groupings are assembled there will still only be one winner - everyone else will not win.  The most important part of a race for a young athlete comes from the conversation he/she has with a coach or a parent.  The conversation needs to be focused on developing resiliency.  

2. Its important not to over focus on the race - if a kid sticks with becoming a ski racer, they will go in hundreds of races over their career - don't focus on one race too much - have a quick conversation, then move on.

3. Its important to put things in perspective - young skiers don't have the experience to judge what was good or not so good about a performance - they need some help with perspective

4. Validating where kids are coming from - lets face it cross country ski racing can be a tough sport - you put yourself on the line every time you step up to the start line.  Validating disappointment is important - reframing is an important skill for a coach.

For me, resiliency is a key skill for kids to develop as young racers.  However, I do think there is a place for changing how competition looks for early adolescent skiers.  There are a great many models out there to choose from.  Some sports have really got it nailed down.  Cycling in Alberta is doing some great things - having ability/age based groupings is a good start.  Biathlon in Alberta is also doing some great work with early adolescents - having discretionary performance based categories for early adolescents does a great deal to place kids with others at a similar developmental level.

The  fact is there is nothing stopping folks from organizing competitions the way they want - Cross Country Canada's competition model is what is considered recommended best practice - it is not mandated - provincial sport organization technical packages are created by volunteer leadership who sit on a technical committee - these folks are often very experienced and looking for input from the ski community.  These kind of competition format guidelines help to shape what a competitive experience looks and feels like for kids.  In the end though, being resilient is still the key skill for young skiers to be working on.

Have a great start to your season!

Roy

 

Creating opportunity...opening doors for early adolescent skiers

 

ideas on enhancing the learning environment...

 

 

 

Opportunity is something that everyone gets a shot at - show up, smile, be nice, work hard - good things start coming your way. Its a key piece of success - and something as coaches we should be doing our best to create. We can all be passionate about something - we can all work hard - but I think its opportunity that's the key mover and shaker in the crowd.  People successful at anything haven't got there on their own - they've worked hard, loved what they did, showed some talent or ability - and a big piece of the puzzle is that they've been helped along the way by others who've wanted to help.  I've recently picked up Malcolm Gladwell's Outlier. If you've read it you'll know why I'm mentioning it.  It's full of aha moments - great little stories about achievement, success,  and the mix of ingredients that build accomplishment.  It certainly has got me thinking about my role as a coach of early adolescent skiers - looking ahead to next season (starts in 2 weeks - yikes!) at what I can create to provide opportunity to the kids I'll work with.

 

Advantage creates advantage.  If you'd look, studies would show that kids who start life with an advantage tend to carry that advantage throughout their lives.  Having awesome parents is important.  Living in the right community makes a difference (I dont know that too many top skiers come from Florida or Bermuda).  Your parents' level of education tends to predict yours.  Their income matters in that it provides opportunites for you to access experts, access experiences, access the types of people that will help you to get ahead.  That's not to say that a person coming from a family living in poverty or coming from a family that didnt value education highly cant succeed - in fact we know they can - its the American Dream - rags to riches - the whole American culture is built on the notion that anyone, anywhere through their own hard work can become successful. But the fact is, that no one gets to the top of any ladder without having a number of different ladder holders, carpenters, safety advisors, skill builders helping them out a whole lot. Gladwell points this out in Outliers quite well.  No one gets to the top without alot of help from others. I think back to my own modest success as an athlete - my biggest success (1988 Alberta College XC Ski Champion) happened because on the day of the race, a bunch of my top competition was at national biathlon championships, and the dude who had been beating me easily all year, fell and broke his wrist during the championship race - and so I won.  Lucky really - but a win is a win and I'll take it - it felt really great - as any success does when you've worked really hard to accomplish something.   The win wouldn't have been possible had I not worked hard at my fitness (I remember Lyle Wilson had given me a copy of the Alberta team training program and encouraged me to go for it - and i did), diligently sought technical help, went to lots of races, thought positively and had coaches and team mates who made it fun to be there.  When given the opportunity, successful athletes work as hard as they can to be their best.  The point is that sometimes being successful is the result of the opportunities that are presented to us.   Its our job as coaches to be those people that help to create the opportunities.  Easily said, but really what does 'opportunity' look like that will advance a young skiers ability?

Opportunity is about timing - the stars align, the sun shines through a break in the clouds just when you really need it, you have a really really good race when it counts.  This kind of thing happens all of the time in our sport - I saw it happen at junior/youth world biathlon trials in Canmore this past January - underdogs coming out on top and taking a trip to Austria for the world junior/youth championships because the stars aligned for them and they got their plane ticket.  But even there, so many other things were in place so that when it counted it appeared as though it was as a result of just an athlete's skill and ability.  Not to take anything away from athlete performances, but the reality is that parents, coaches, prov sport organizations, team mates all played a huge role in the outcome.

When we go about to create opportunities, we go about to align the stars - to give an opportunity for athletes to work as hard as they want - to learn as much as they can learn - to be who they want to be.  As coaches we do these things by doing more than we have to do - more than the bare minimum - often because we know that someone did that for us when it counted.  We plan special trips to big events far away, training camps, exchanges, special guest coaches, access to specialized settings.  We give thoughtful feedback, build relationships, put together training plans that will appropriately challenge young athletes to be their best.  You know these kind of coaches.  If you were lucky you had one or two when you were younger.  Regardless, you can be this type of coach. 

Have a great season!

Roy  :)

Wrapping up a season - ideas for working with adolescents

Finishing off your season...setting the stage for the next one

As we know, having a good finish is a huge piece of having a good ski race.  It can make a huge difference in the outcome.  You see it all the time - somewhere from inside a skier's psyche, they say to themselves 'I am not going to let you get to the finish line before me'.  Sometimes it results in a dramatic and exciting ending, one that everyone who's there says 'wow, that was impressive'.  I just returned yesterday from cross country ski nationals in Whistler.  There were many of these kinds of moments - strong finishes made a difference to many athletes.  For these athletes, nationals represented their culminating activity of their season - what they had worked towards and set their sights on.  For our athletes from Canmore, end of nationals meant end of the season.  A wrap up - some closure - the big show.  I am sure it was this way for everyone.  As a coach, its just as important to finish up your year well - to sprint for the finish line as if it was really important - especially with adolescents, who have a lot going on.  

For my group of adolescent skiers, here is what I did to wrap up the season.  Earlier in the season, I did a goal setting session with the group of 12-13 year olds I worked with.  We did this in October.  We had just had a couple of sessions on frozen thunder...just enough to get us thinking about skiing, why we were here, and what we wanted to get out of the year.  I am not sure that the kids I was working with were dialed in to thinking about goals, but I wanted them to start thinking about it and so pulled out some sticky notes and sharpies, and a couple of pieces of flip chart paper stuck to a wall.  I asked them to write down a performance goal and a process goal.  Performance goals could be anything related to their performance in a race.  Process goals could be anything that would help them get to their performance goal.  Surprisingly, my group was really into doing this - really thought about what they wanted to do, to learn, to experience, to improve on, to accomplish.  I asked them to go out on a limb and identify something that they really wanted to accomplish, even if they had some doubts about whether they could or not.

In the middle of the season, my group took a look at their goals and updated them.  Then towards the end of the season, I created a new chart on a piece of flip chart paper I'll call 'wrapping it up'.  On it I created three sections.  One was titled 'I have definitely accomplished this', another titled 'Almost there', and the third titled 'Still working on this one'.  I asked the athletes to move their sticky notes from the 'performance goals' and 'process goals' charts to the 'wrapping it up' chart.  Here kids could self determine their level of learning and improvement.  It was pretty cool to see what happened.  We then took a few minutes to recognize each athlete in their accomplishment of their performance goals and process goals.  I was pretty happy with how the exercise turned out.  I think the kids were as well - happy to be recognized in front of their peers for things they have accomplished.  Everyone getting an equal amount of recognition.  This is important in a sport like cross country skiing.  Our sport aims to create athletes who enjoy the lifestyle of ski racing and being their best.  But in a race type event, only the fastest get regular recognition from their peers.  As coaches of adolescents its critical we are intentional about ensuring that other types of recognition are available.  Otherwise, kids move on to other places where recognition is found.

In addition to these things we did our regular year end pizza party where individual recognition awards were presented.  We also do a year end club wrap up party where other types of recognition are provided.  Recognition is important - important to each kid - particularly at early adolescence where peers become much more important, and affiliating with a team is sought by many young skiers.  For young racers, what you do to recognize their effort in a meaningful way can get them back at the beginning of the next season.

Plan on a strong finish - one that has a dramatic ending - a finish that your group will talk up through to next season.  Effort is everything...particularly when you get to the end of something you have put large amounts of energy into achieving and creating.  Have a great ending and a super beginning.

Enjoy the rest of snow season.

Roy  :)

The Big Picture...Ideas on Supports for Success

Addressing the role of Provincial Sport Organizations in building a strong racing culture

In Canada, we are privileged with the support of provincial sport organizations (PSO) whose job it is to support the growth and development of clubs and leadership in a province.  These organizations are funded mostly through government funds aimed at advancing sport in a province.  Depending on the jurisdiction, a provincial organization can have varying degrees of influence and success in advancing competitive sport in the region.  Many folks kind of know these organizations exist, but in my experience, I have found that most parents and athletes are very disconnected with the work that happens by PSOs.

This topic is of such disinterest, that you might already be yawning and ready to click away from this blog - but I am here to say that PSOs make a difference and what they do is important work in advancing our sport in each province.  The work they do is important because of the support it creates for clubs and coaches.  Provincial sport organizations, such as Cross Country Alberta or Cross Country BC, are important because they set the tone for what happens in a province. 

Through my time on the board of directors at Cross Country Alberta, I collaborated with club contacts and other volunteers to create a number of initiatives aimed at advancing competitive cross country skiing.  Near the top of the list was to help the provincial sport organization define its work more clearly around advancing competitive cross country skiing  The fact is that competitive cross country skiing needs special nurturing and support - outside of a few small pockets, we don't live in a culture where cross country ski racing dominates the news headlines or where community sport involvement by children rivals the big machine of ice hockey.   If we really want to advance the calibre of cross country skiing in Alberta or elsewhere, we really need a focused and strategic framework aimed at advancing the broad based competency of coaches.  We need strategies focused on advancing the confidence of leadership in the many small clubs that are doing the important job of working with novice skiers. 

Provincial sport organizations make a difference and the priorities they promote reflect their vision.  Our job as members of the ski community are to voice our priorities to the elected boards of PSOs.  If  we have a concern about something that the PSO is doing, we should see it as our priority to let them know that we don't agree - because the fact is that sometimes these elected boards are well intentioned, but as could be expected with volunteers, not always very well connected with the grassroots of cross country skiing in a jurisdiction.  Sometimes, these elected boards, who are meant to make decisions about the priorities of advancing cross country skiing don't always get it right.  I try my best to provide some feedback both positive and constructive to PSOs in cross country skiing and other sports I am involved with.

I have been a board or committee member on a number club, provincial, and national sport organization boards or committees.  I know first hand that doing the work of advancing policy or committee work is hard work and often thankless.  It is often work that not many people feel a need to be involved with.  It is easy to criticize the work of these elected boards.  But the fact is that the folks who volunteer on these boards and committees are doing their best and are doing so often out of the goodness of their hearts.  It is often very under appreciated work.  That being said, the work that is done by PSOs is important and sets a tone for the priorities of that jurisdiction and its important that the focus of their work reflects the needs of its membership. 

In my role as NCCP coach training facilitator, I have had the great privilege of working with many, many novice, beginning coaches from small clubs and large clubs all over southern and central Alberta and south eastern BC.  For the last 9 years, I have probably trained more introductory coaches than any other NCCP facilitator in southern and central Alberta.  Some of these folks are entirely new to cross country skiing, others have done a bit of skiing and are parents of kids who will ski during the winter season, or sometimes, they are retired national team athletes whose skill proficiency is far higher than my own.  With all of these coaches, I endeavour to send the message 'you can do this...you can develop the skills to become a great coach...it is possible for you to develop the skills necessary to help your club become a full service club'.  I say this to these novice coaches because I believe it to be true.  If anyone works hard enough, they can advance their skill, they can become competent coaches.  That is not to say that everyone will get there, or that everyone has the capability of coaching the national team.  That is not what I mean at all.  What I mean is that every coach is capable of participating in CCC designed NCCP coach training workshops and that with time, mentorship, and support, coaches can help to create environments where high school age athletes and beyond can get what they need to perform at a high level.  My firm belief is that every club has the potential to do this. 

It is important for provincial sport organizations to be responsible in foreseeing the impacts of their choices and actions.  For example, I think it is important that no athlete should be encouraged by a provincial sport organization to leave their home club and travel to a 'high end' club located somewhere else. This would just send the message to developing clubs and coaches that the provincial sport organization doesn't have confidence in their abilities to become a high performance coach themselves.  It would also send a message to parents from these small and developing clubs that the provincial sport organization doesn't have confidence in their club's coaches and they should take their kids and register them in a club that already has a high performance coach.   I strongly believe that it is possible for small clubs located all over Canada, to develop the capacity to coach young athletes through and after high school, and it is the role of the PSO to make it so - to provide the nurturing, supportive environment where all clubs have the capacity to get young athletes from the playground to the podium.  If a PSO says otherwise, in my mind, there is a problem and a narrow agenda exists that aims to serve only an elite group of young athletes.

In my work with developing clubs of all sizes, I have come to know passionate leadership who are driving the development engine in their communities.  I have come to see that this leadership needs nurturing and support.  They need encouragement, recognition and focused celebration of the small milestones made in their communities.  I have seen entire clubs move in new directions as a result of passionate, committed leadership.  This work happens easiest when that leadership has lots of experience. But it can also happen where there is enthusiasm and a strong belief that anything is possible with hard work. There are clubs who now are among the top performing clubs in the country who 10 years ago were struggling with direction and confidence.  A PSO should focus their efforts not on encouraging athletes to leave their home clubs and travel to some 'super' club where experienced leadership exists, but instead focus their efforts on building as many high performing clubs as possible. 

I recognize I have some strong thoughts about these things and I certainly recognize that there are many perspectives around the role of PSOs in advancing competitive cross country skiing.  My perspective comes from a strong connection with where skiing is at in small towns like Okotoks, Bragg Creek, Medicine Hat, and Crowsnest Pass.  I know in these places there are passionate leaders who want very much to provide the coaching to help young skiers be their best.  These developing coaches and clubs need all the help they can get.  Its our job as experienced coaches to reach out with a helping hand.  I applaud the outreach of organizations such as the Alberta World Cup Academy who see it as their mandate to reach out to help developing clubs and athletes.  This is important work. 

I encourage you to do what you can to support small and developing clubs - many high level athletes have come out of small towns where someone (some coach) had the courage to say 'I can do it...we can create a place where the next national champion or olympic champion is developed'. 

Bravo to this spirit of confidence and vision.  I encourage provincial sport organizations to embrace this enthusiastic vision as well.

Roy



Breaking through the cult of the individual...ideas on building a ski community

More is better...especially when it comes to working together to advance competitive skiing

I'm really stoked - I've just come off of a really incredible weekend.  Almost 150 kids born 1999-2002 - all of them excited about ski racing.  Its amazing what happens when you remove some of the walls between ski clubs - when what you do is consciously think about building something bigger than your own ski club.  Its easy really to do otherwise - to put your head down and just focus on advancing your own athletes' agendas - to get wrapped up in just your own priorities.  Now and then something comes along that erases the boxes that we wrap our priorities in - something good - something that lets you celebrate the success of kids no matter where they're from or what club they affiliate with.

This past weekend was incredible - the 2013 Alberta Youth Cross Country Ski Championships - an event with growing momentum - for many good reasons.  One of these reasons, I think, is that what we have really focused on, is building a provincial ski community for adolescent athletes and their coaches - we have been intentional about building something bigger than just a couple of ski races.  We envision an event where coaches and athletes build relationships that go beyond the regular 'hi, how's it going?'  It is work that many coaches and athletes are ready for.  Something that grows over time - a feeling that you're part of something bigger and that the contribution you offer extends beyond narrow self interest - a place where you're not just interested or concerned with the performance of your own athletes.

2013 Alberta Youth Champs was full of many incredible moments - for me, having been around a while, its great to see kids who have made steady improvement year after year.  At this year's event, particularly astounding to me was the performance of a group of 5 or 6 boys from St. Albert.  Astounding because I remember 3 or 4 years ago when they first showed up at some provincial level events - they did as almost every novice racer does - did their best, but finished in the middle to the back of the pack.  Each year, as they've grown, these boys have improved - this past weekend 5 or 6 of them were in the top 10 in their age group - amazing.

I had a great conversation with a friend the other morning at the camp we stayed at during youth champs - she was a high level racer in her day skiing at the Univ of New Mexico, and is doing the amazing and important work of coaching novice adolescents in a start up club in a small community that is just beginning to build a tradition and program of athlete development.  Her athletes were kids who have made huge improvements from last year to this year's youth champs - she brought the 3rd largest team to the event - we talked about the challenges of working with kids who really want to do well, but are just getting started, and dealing with the disappointment of not making the top 10 in their age group (Alberta Youth Championships present medals to the top 10 in each single year age group).  We shared ideas around the important conversations with kids to help them process their experience.  Her club's athletes won 1 medal out of the 160 that were awarded for performance.  This was a breakthrough for her club - in fact it was only the second medal ever won by an athlete from her club at a provincial level race.  Amazing, and something to be celebrated.

These are the sorts of coaches and clubs who leaders from successful clubs need to reach out to - to support their work - not with the intention of creating a relationship where the fastest/most successful athletes from these small clubs move on over to the bigger, already successful clubs - but rather to support a hard working coach who is trying her best to create something amazing for kids.  The cult of the individual is often what can get in the way of offering this kind of support.  Some folks are just too busy or focused on their own athletes' progress to notice - in fact, there are likely clubs out there that could care less about the health of any other club except their own, who could care less about athlete development except for what is best for their own athletes.  The self interest of focusing on 'what's best for me' can take over - the emphasis on elitism serves the narrow interest of a family trying to advance their own child's career or serves the narrow interest of a coach needing to secure enough elite athletes to work with, but does nothing to build a broader, successful ski community.

I think we have an obligation to help others who aren't in as fortunate a situation as we might be - when we have built something successful, we should be sharing the secret to that success with others, not hoarding it secretly to ourselves.  The fact is that the ski community knows in a broad sense, who is always there to help them, who's always there ready to share knowledge and experience - they know who the builders are.  I know a bunch of them myself.

In the end, you do need to be able to focus on your own athletes - its our job as a coach - we can't be taking care of everyone else's athletes in addition to ours.  But, that's not really what I`m getting at here - what I am saying is that supporting developing clubs and coaches is the responsibility of the ski community and serves the broader interest of high level skiing.  Provincial sport organizations are set up to do this work - yet, as with everything, relationship is a key component of collaboration.  This weekend I was so proud of the good work of our large and somewhat successful club in Canmore working side by side with a small, yet ambitious start up club in Bragg Creek - helping each other out - working together to the host the Alberta Youth Champs - with no agenda other than to create an experience for children that has enduring impact - an experience aimed at building a strong ski community.  This is important work - the building of friendships and relationships - between coaches and kids from clubs all over Alberta, Saskatchewan, and NWT.  It was an incredible weekend!  One where kids start to dream of what it might be like to be a ski racer - for coaches to realize there are friends out there - it was a weekend where we collaborated on advancing competitive cross country skiing in Canada.  Bravo!

Roy



 

Hey, I'm an athlete - how did that happen?

Transitioning – ideas on becoming an adolescent athlete

 

Somewhere between 11 and 13, kids, their parents, or coaches get the idea that maybe trying a race would be good.  For some adolescents this comes easily – maybe they have had broad experience with competitive situations as a younger child and think nothing of it.  For others it takes a fair bit of encouraging, reassuring, and framing to get them to the start line.  Really, it shouldn’t be surprising that hesitation sometimes happens with some kids as it takes some confidence to try something new, to take a risk, to put yourself out there, especially when you`re unsure of your abilities.  In our world today, there are a lot of families that protect their child from every possible risk.  It seems especially so when it comes to sport if parents weren’t athletes themselves as younger people.  It leads me to thinking about a question that comes up lots when chatting with other coaches – how do you transition kids successfully from introductory instructional focused ski programs to engaging these same kids in trying competitive cross country skiing.  If you’ve got the answer to that question nailed, you’ve got something good cooking and I would love to hear from you – lots of good sized brains have thought about that one for I’m sure a number of years and are still struggling with it.

So much happens for early adolescents – rapid skeletal, muscular, hormonal development -  increased importance of peers and independence -  every sport they are involved with is seeking increased commitment and time – the need for ever higher quality of equipment, coaching, training and racing opportunities.  Kids this age have a lot going on – and so, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that some of them just check out, and decide becoming a racer isn’t really for them.  Despite this reality, I have seen many, many young athletes stick it out and grow to become excellent high level athletes at a later age.  What gets them there?  What pivotal experience occurred to get them to say ‘this is for me’?

If we really want to bridge kids from instructional to competitive skiing, we really need to reach out to their parents.  It is parents who decide the parameters of a child’s existence – parents decide ‘we’ll spend this amount on equipment’, ‘we’ll travel this weekend to that event’, or ‘we’ll pay the club fees for this program or that one’.   And so, it’s parents who we need to reach out to if we want to increase the percentage of kids engaged as adolescents in competitive cross country skiing.  So many parents, even in a ski town like Canmore, have never had the experience of being a racer.  Thinking about their child as an ‘athlete’ is a pretty foreign concept to some parents.  These folks need to be brought along, to see the next steps.  They need some experiences that show them where it goes and why their child should be a part of it all.  These parents need to see that it isn’t about elitism – that it’s not just for children of parents who were high level racers. Parents need opportunities to learn from experienced mentors, to become engaged in events and conversations about what it looks like and the benefits of having their child involved in ski racing as an adolescent.   I recently attended a session by a social activist from Toronto, Dave Meslin – Dave shared his beliefs that he doesn’t really think apathy exists, but rather alienation exists.  Maybe this offers an explanation as to why so many parents don’t move their kids on to racing programs at 12 or 13 years old – its not because people don’t care that there would be some benefit to their child to become an athlete, but rather the disengagement occurs because people haven’t been invited in, in a way that is meaningful to them.  At our ski club in Canmore, we work at being intentional about the invitation, by engaging parents and kids to try out the next level a couple of times during the season.  It takes hard work to transition kids from introductory instructional ski experiences to ‘train to train’ programs.  Its hard work everywhere.  Its hard work at a small club where there is no tradition of racing, and it is hard work at a club that has large and successful racing programs.  I hear folks saying ‘oh, you guys have it easy in Canmore, you have a great facility and lots of high level athletes around’ – and the fact is we do have access to a great facility and there are many high level athletes in town.  But the work of transitioning kids from ' you need to be there'  to adolescents that see themselves as a ski racer is hard work and no easier in Canmore than anywhere else.  It is the deliberate work of creating a positive space, and providing experiences where that transition to ‘athlete’ occurs.

One of the important pieces I have always felt that would help that transition is to embed ‘competition’ in regular practice sessions.  Other sports do this all the time – can you imagine enrolling in hockey and never playing a game? Or enrolling in golf but always staying on the putting greens and driving range.  Other sports do a great job of normalizing competition, of making it a part of each practice or at least once per week.  Practice to competition ratio is something that has had quite a bit of discussion the last number of years.  Sports such as hockey have been criticized for having too many games in relation to the number of practices.  The problem with so many introductory cross country ski experiences is that there is so little competition relative to the number of practice sessions.  This is understandable because so few leaders of children’s cross country skiing have ever participated in a ski race – so why would they organize one, when it is a foreign concept to them.  We need to find ways to involve young skiers in regular competition.  Wouldn’t it be great if every club in a region hosted a club championship event aimed at their club, but open to every club in the region. Wouldn’t it be great if coaches found ways to embed some competition regularly in club practices?  Wouldn’t it be great if competition for young skiers didn’t mirror adult competition formats?

What we really need to help young skiers transition to racing in Canada is not a one size fits all approach to adolescent competitive ski experiences.  Maybe its time to look at a tiered regional race series – one for adolescents who have been at it awhile and another for kids just getting going.  If we are interested in serving the diverse needs of kids, we really need to rethink how we are organizing things.  I’d really love to see a southern Alberta development race series aimed at novice skiers, and then a different series for kids to graduate to which involved adolescents who have a bit more experience.   These are all projects I’d love to put some time into and will.  There are 10-12 ski clubs who work with children in southern Alberta of which two are regular participants at regional and provincial races.  I think we could be doing something differently to advance competitive cross country skiing in southern Alberta.

Transitioning kids to competitive cross country skiing is work that is important and requires nurturing.  If we really want to be a leading ski nation, we need to think about supporting the good work of coaches in all clubs.  This begins by having a conversation with each other about how we can work together for the advancement of competitive cross country skiing.  I believe a healthy ski community where there are 20+ strong, involved and active clubs across a region is a much better thing than a reality where there are one or two clubs dominating races.  The outcome of this work is increased numbers of adolescent skiers transitioning to becoming athletes.   What do we need in place to achieve this outcome?  This is an important conversation and one I’d love to advance. 

Roy

Does Body Size Matter... addressing the developmental needs of adolescents

Revisiting how we set kids up...

If you've been around awhile and worked with adolescents, you'll know what I am talking about - adolescent skiers competing in the same category who are at vastly different places in their growth and development.  Sometimes 20-25 kilos difference in weight - a small 90 pound boy competing in the same group as a 150 lb boy-man.  This happens all the time and yet despite intuitively knowing something is going on here that really isnt going to benefit anyone, we let it happen, over and over again.  When it happens, the big boy wins, the little boy finishing somewhere after all of the big boys.  This is life at 12 or 13 for adolescent boys who race cross country skiing in Canada.

A good friend of mine has proposed we give out some special awards to early developers - the 'wonder bra' award and the 'gillette' (making reference to shaving facial hair) award.   I am not out to pick on anyone, but I do really believe that we are doing a disservice to young skiers when the best that we do is stick to chronological year of birth competition categories for kids going through peak height velocity.  We do a disservice to the early developers and we do a disservice to the late developers.  If you've been around awhile, you've seen it happen many times - early developer wins consistently at 12 or 13, late developers finally catch up at 16 or 17 (if they stick around that long) and start beating the early developer - early developers say to themselves - 'I'm not really that good at this after all' and drop out.  In the mean time, the early developer has had access to additional specialized training and coaching opportunities made available through provincial athlete development recognition strategies such as a provincial development team.  Tons of money is invested as a sport community in these early developers only to find that the ones who persist after high school as a racer are often not the athletes who had access as early developers to all of the specialized training and coaching opportunities, but instead its the late developers who persist.  It doesn't always happen this way, but I've seen this happen many times.  

Developing at your own pace is totally normal - its been happening for as long as humans have been on  the earth - some kids due to genetics, and maybe environment, develop at an earlier rate, 11, 12 or 13 years old, some grow more at a statistically average rate 14-15, while others don't really get going on their adolescent growth spurt until later, sometimes as old as 16 or 17.  This is what is normal.  In our club in Canmore, we take the time to collect growth data - arm span, standing height, sitting height - every three months with all of our developing athletes 11-17.  It is alot of work, and the information it provides is largely intuitive - 'Yup, Billy is in early peak height velocity' or 'Jenny is nearing the end of her adolescent growth spurt'.  We do the work of measuring kids anyway.  We've been at this every three months since early 2010.  The information it provides validates the fact that early developers finish well ahead of late developers in almost all races.  I haven't done the correlational calculations comparing rate of growth with race results, but you know its happening.  I'd love to share our data with someone who has the time to do this kind of analysis at a university - maybe I'll do it at some point, I do have 'PhD' on my bucket list.

We have a pretty good idea of what is going on with our young athletes - and we can show kids growth curves and provide some information to kids about why so and so is winning and why they're not, or if they are an early developer, working with them to make sure that they understand, that they need to not over focus on results, develop resiliency, and realize that the results as a 13 year old will mean nothing when they are 18.  We can give the late developers the same message - its just as important for them.  Its important to us that all of our skiers stick it out, and strive to be their best.  This work is led by our club's program director/head coach - a really incredible guy with a strong vision of what he wants our club to be and what it means to help kids be their best.

Please don't misunderstand what I am saying here - early developers who win cross country ski races deserve to do well, they often are kids who are very dedicated to physical training and technical skill development. The problem I see with our current competition model for 12-13 year olds is that we do nothing to recognize that peak height velocity has a huge impact on who wins on race day.  There is a sort of 'maintain the status quo' attitude out there at all levels when it comes to adjusting competition categories to reflect developmental considerations.  I hear it all the time when I have this conversation - 'kids need to learn how to suck it up' - 'kids need to be patient' - 'kids need to not over focus on results'.  The fact is these are hard lessons for adolescents and maybe we could be doing something better to not set kids up for hard lessons.

I think we set boys up - both the early developers and late developers when we use chronological competition groupings for kids experiencing peak height velocity.  I believe its why we have a huge drop off in athlete numbers just after the midget category.  Its too bad really, as leaders in our sport, I think we can do something to allow kids at different developmental stages in early adolescence to compete with others of similar developmental level.  Its not healthy to win too much as an early adolescent - in cross country ski racing young athletes need to develop experience of being in pursuit of someone who is faster than them - when they get to Eastern or Western Canadian Championships as a 14 or 15 year old, they are not going win every race and the athlete who does come out on top is often some of those athletes who have had to learn to struggle and fight for their success.  I believe as well, that it's not healthy to lose too much as an early adolescent - every kid needs to be able to find some success - something that gives them some motivation to hang in there, to wait patiently, to give themselves a chance to grow.

Maybe I am wrong about all of this, and the important learning for all adolescents is resiliency, determination, perseverance, hard work and not results.  These are all very important life lessons that being a racer can teach an adolescent. The problem I see is that many adolescents give up because they just can't see 5 years down the road - its too far away.  Many adolescents aren't willing to take the risk of failing over and over again.  I think we are failing many, many of our young skiers in sticking to chronological age categories for early adolescent skiers.  We can do better than this, because at 12 or 13, size does matter - how big your body is makes a difference.  When we look at who the top performers are at the highest level in Canada, many of those athletes were not the ones who were shaving at 13.  What has happened to all of these early developers - why haven't they stuck it out?  What can we do to make sure that we build a sport system that gives every kid the best chance of sticking it out for the long term.

This is a great conversation, and one I enjoy having.  What can we be doing in Canada to help create the most robust sport system for cross country skiing?  Let's grab a coffee next time we see each other and see where it goes.

Roy Strum
All Around Nice Guy
Canmore, AB

The Power of Relationship - leveraging engagement when coaching adolescents

Ideas on the importance of building relationships...

So much of what we do as coaches of adolescent skiers hinges on strong relationships.  Through my years of working with children, I've come to realize that relationships matter - how we interact with kids has an impact.  A positive connection with a coach can mean the difference between walking away and trying again.  The power of our role to frame, to process, to focus on the right thing is a huge piece of the work we do as coaches.  Finding the balance between lighthearted interaction and meaningful interest in the smaller person standing in front of us is vital - finding the right amount and time for 'serious' conversation is also important.  Remembering that we are dealing with a young person and not just an athlete is something that makes a difference.

I recently saw the work of 'relationship building' in action - a group of former, current, and aspiring national level athletes volunteering as 'super cool ski dudes' at a World Snow Day event here in Canmore that we called Boyz Got Game.  Boyz Got Game is an initiative that aims to connect aspiring 10-13 year old male skiers with role models - with men who have worked hard to be at the top of their game.  What I witnessed at this event was astounding - a group of young men sharing their passion for ski racing, making efforts to connect with individual boys, ensuring no one was left behind, giving the message that having a hero was important to them when they were younger, encouraging boys to find their own hero.  I was astounded at both the ernest effort by these high level skiers in engaging each kid in their group, and the positive reaction by the boys they were working with.  This is the work that great coaches do - to make a very personal connection with each child.

The importance of doing this type of work with boys can't be understated.  Hats off to the incredible women who do the great work of connecting girls with female role models.  I think its our job as men to do something similar with boys - connecting them with some positive male role models.  All of this made me think about a book that I recently read called The Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurian.  Although not directly addressing male sport role models, Michael writes about the need for boys to have positive role models who are men, who through their interactions can provide examples to boys of what it means to be an adult male in our world- our role, our responsibilities, the need that alot of boys have to be grounded in being a strong, caring individual focused on their priorities - ready to take action, to share, and make the world a better place. By creating spaces where boys interested in ski racing can connect with some of the top male racers in Canada, we are doing great things for our next generation of men coming up through club development programs.

All of these ideas bring me to thinking about my priorities when it comes to relationship building as a coach.  There are a number of important things I have made a part of my daily interactions with the adolescents that I coach.  I'd like to share those with you here.

Take an interest in kids...

As coaches we want kids to learn to ski well, we want them to improve, we want them to work hard. I have found that this work is easier when adolescents know that they are important to you.  Nothing says 'you are important to me' more than taking an interest in who kids are, what they like, what they don't like, what the name of their dog is, what other sports they do, if they play a musical instrument, how they like to spend their down time, what board games they like, who they like to hang out with, what they want to do when they get older.  The conversations are limitless.  I have found with some kids you ask them one question about themselves and they can talk for 30 minutes, while for others they offer less, and as a coach, you have to work harder to get them to talk.  You have to be ready for the hard work of doing lots of asking.  If you were an athlete when you were younger you probably knew a coach like this - someone who saw you for more than just physical prowess - someone that made a difference in your life - someone who helped you shape yourself into who are today.  Its important to be that kind of coach when you are working with adolescents because if you're not, somebody else likely is, and kids migrate to environments where they feel valued and a part of something important. 

Relationship leverages hard work...

Cross country ski racing is not an easy sport - I would say its one of the most physically demanding sports out there.  Lots of people would agree with me.  To become a great ski racer, an athlete has to be prepared to do alot of hard work.  The reality is that not everyone who tries cross country ski racing is going to say to themselves - 'this is who I want to be'.  There will be some natural attrition when kids decide for example to take up swimming instead of skiing (we all have personal preferences).  For me though, there is a bit more to what is going on than just attributing kids moving on to attrition.  If it was as simple as 'cross country skiing is not for everyone' then why is it that in some places, often small places, unusually large numbers of exceptional athletes emerge.  The Yukon is a great example of a small place where an unusually large number of high level skiers emerge.  Clearly, its not just a numbers game - what we do in creating an environment makes a difference.  On the weekend I had the pleasure of chatting with a mom, whose two boys were participating in a regional race my T2T team attended.  She was from Norway.  Her husband was working at the Calgary Statoil office for two years.  They were enjoying themselves in Canada.  She told me that in the city she comes from in Norway there are 10 ski clubs - the population of the city was about 50,000 people.  Something is going on in Norway and why isnt it happening in Canada in the same way?  Its important to recognize that in Canada, we live in a sport culture dominated by ice hockey.  In India, it might be cricket, in Jamaica, sprinting.  Clearly, we have a bit of extra work to do.  Thinking about relationship building is a key piece of that work.

What is it about a sport that captures the imagination and passion of different places - clearly there is more going on than predisposition when it comes to engaging adolescents in a sport.  That is where I have found relationship plays a huge role.  The focus in cross country skiing needs to be on excellence, but it does need to start somewhere else.  For me, it starts with engaging each and every child with the message 'I am glad you're here...you've got potential...i notice your hard work...you've got a future as a ski racer'.  In my mind, these are things that we can't just leave to chance - there is a real need for a bit more intentionality about keeping the kids who start on the path to becoming a ski racer.  There are alot of things working against this objective - not living in a culture where cross country skiing is the first sport of choice - not having a big pool of experienced leadership who encourage kids to try racing...a culture of self interest, elitism, and individualism - all of these things underscore the importance of building relationships with adolescent skiers as a vehicle to engagement.  Try to take a few minutes to have a conversation with your athletes - everyday.

Don't be too serious...

Lets leave the 'serious' interactions for coaches of higher level athletes - athletes who might be more ready for serious messages.  At 12 or 13 years old, the average kid is just not ready for reality messages or serious discussions - boring...  that's not to say that there isnt some important things to say, and adolescents should be able to handle some more focused talk time - but if that's a coach's whole repetoire of interactions, then...yawn...'how much time till the end of practice'...  You know you've got things cooking in a practice when those reactions don't show up at all.

I have several friends who were high level athletes when they were younger.  A while ago, one of these friends told me a bit his experience as a junior age athlete - he had had a fantastic run as a ski racer, but at one point he got to a point where something he loved had turned into work - partly because of the interactions with the coaches he had worked with at that time  - how somehow his passion for becoming an excellent ski racer had somehow moved on - I guess it happens to all of us - at some point everyone decides 'this is it, this is where I switch gears onto a new path in my life'.  What is unfortunate in my eyes is when this happens to adolescent skiers - when they stop because somehow they are not getting what they need.  We can't afford to lose kids like this.  As coaches, we need to do everything we can to make sure that its not because of the personal relationships that kids move on to other things.  There are other factors as well that come into play when a young athlete decides that ski racing isn't for him or her - family priorities, competition structure, access to recognition initiatives, not having an experienced coach who can help create a pathway to excellence.  There is alot at play.

As coaches of adolescent cross country ski racers there is alot to think about.  Building personable relationships with kids is a key piece.  Its hard work.  Lets roll up our sleeves and get busy.

Roy


Breakthrough performances - ideas on a coach's role

Ideas on getting kids to hang on till it happens...

 

It is exciting to see a young athlete make huge gains in performance from one season to the next - recently I witnessed such a feat - a junior age athlete surprising almost everyone with stellar performances.   It amazed almost everyone - an athlete going from finishing in the middle to back of pack in most races over the past number of years to being one of the fastest athletes in his age and sport in Canada - on his way to the world junior championships representing his country.  'Who is this guy?' was the question alot of people were asking - how did he get so good after being so average in ability for so long?  Something is going on when a situation like this happens - something good.  Here is what I've learned...

Kids improve when they are ready...
 

Alot of adolescents go through one year or several years or for some kids many years of not really being present.  You ask them how its going - they respond with a blank stare or an 'ok' and not much more.  Its easy to give up on these kids - interpreting their brain fuzziness as a lack of commitment or interest or passion.  You put this together with a kid who is a late developer and doesn't get on the podium, and you have a kid that is easy not to pay attention to.  Inside almost every kid there is a dream, a vision of a future state where they are successful - they don't always show it, but its often there and when they are ready, they put it together.  Great coaches are patient and you'll find they aren't the ones who are surprised when 'out of no where' results happen.  Bottom line is that a big part of improving is deciding that you want to improve and accepting that you have to do the work - or it just isn't going to happen.  Adolescent athletes can take a while to get there - to have the emotional maturity to decide.  Be patient...don't give up on kids.

Having a role model that shows them it is possible is huge...
 

'He competed at that level...I want to compete at that level too'. Knowing that a friend has accomplished something amazing and making a plan with that friend to do it together, is huge in helping to see that something is possible,  within reach.  Daniel Coyle, in The Talent Code, talks about talent hotbeds.  We have all seen this happen at some level in your club or in someone else's - why is it that high level performers seem to emerge from someplace.  Something is going on - having an environment where young athletes create a space where their sights are set high makes a huge difference in the culture that emerges.  Support the dreams of the athletes you work with - often, the last thing they need is a reality message when what it takes to be do something amazing is believing in yourself.

Having a coach that believes you are capable makes a big difference...
 

Coaches are important people in the lives of adolescent skiers.  What we say and do makes a difference.  A small comment about doing something well goes a far way.  A coach supports athletes by giving them just enough to do it by themselves.  I have seen this happen - sometimes its just the way a coach interacts with an athlete that sends the message 'I think you're going places...'  Its a coach's job to do these things - to be the person who validates ambition, someone who recognizes effort, and someone who builds skill to ever higher levels.

Being born into the right family is a factor...

Some kids are just lucky to be born into a family that supports their desire - that lets the kids do the driving.  You can pick these families out at events - relaxed, low stress kind of people - not the kind of folks who describe their child as 'talented' even if their child really does have lots of ability.  Mostly these families support their child's interests and help them to set the stage and process what has happened and what is going on around them.


And so...

Its great to see it happen when it does - young athletes having a breakthrough.  No matter who the child is, it is exciting to see improvement.  Its even more embracing when it happens to an athlete who has been in the background for a few years.  The LTAD literature says it happens - and really for many athletes it does - wait around long enough for your body to grow, work hard enough, be in the mentorship of an experienced, knowledgeable coach, surround yourself with ambition - good things start cooking.  The challenge of course is getting kids to hang on long enough till it happens.  In my role as a T2T coach with the Canmore Nordic Ski Club, I am blessed with the great privilege of thinking about this sort of stuff and what I can do support young skiers.  I encourage you to do the same.  

Roy



Skilled Performance - ideas on the architecture of motor skill acquisition

Getting to Skilled Performance

Skilled performance can be defined as getting from point A to point B in the minimum amount of time with the least amount of energy expenditure.  This isn't my idea, nor is it a new or novel idea - but instead, as is much of my skill set as a coach, I've borrowed ideas I like and ideas that work from other coaches.  The above definition of skilled performance comes from some university course I took in motor learning a number of years ago.  It has stuck with me because it describes the goal of instruction - to help learners to ski more efficiently.

In the coach training work I do with novice and beginning coaches I work to create a picture of our role as coaches as being the architects of skilled performance.  Defining skilled performance by 'minimum amount of time' and 'minimum energy expenditure' creates an outcome that in some ways could be measured.  But in a sport like cross country skiing, is skilled performance something that is measured relative to other same age skiers?  Are the most skilled 12 or 13 year olds athletes, the ones who win races? 

When I was younger I was a track and field athlete through the spring and summer months.  My favourite event was the 1500m.  I liked it for lots of reasons - it was predictable - I felt in control of my results.  I knew what a 60 second 400m felt like.  I could feel the difference between a 62 second 400 and a 58 second 400.  I could predict my finish time based on signals that my body gave me.  I also liked it because a 400 m track was always 400m; it was always flat, most always rubberized.  Skilled performance was about getting from point A to point B in a minimum amount of time, with the least amount of energy expenditure.  If my fitness was great, I could engage with the athletes around me and really race.  I knew that I had improved because my 1500m time decreased as I increased the specificity of my training.  I could guage the level of my skilled performance compared to city, provincial, national, or world times.  In the big picture, I was never that great a 1500m runner - but a pretty good high school runner and certainly good enough to know what it feels like to be an athlete.  I came to understand that the most skilled performers were most often those people who were the fastest.

Ultimately, we set about to help young skiers become skilled performers.  The question is - how do we bring kids along to get them to skilled performance?  What steps do you take to layer levels of skill upon itself?  These are the sorts of questions that we talk about in the coaching courses that I lead.  Is it necessary to teach a 'walking step' diagonal stride before teaching a more advanced form of that skill?  Does it matter if the novice or beginner performer is 6 years old or 12 years old?   I recently read Daniel Coyle's book, The Talent Code.  In there he talks about 'whole-part-whole' learning and 'chunking' as a couple of strategies to advance motor learning. Whole-part-whole learning happens when a coach describes or shows a whole skill, then breaks it up into smaller pieces, then puts it back together again.  It might be, 'here is what a diagonal stride looks like', then breaking it up into 'diagonal striding includes gliding on one ski, then the other ski', plus 'push your foot down into the snow to connect your wax pocket with the snow'; then at the end, 'lets take a look at that skill again, this time look for those two skill components and try to notice something else going on'.  Chunking refers to being able to break a skill up into its component parts and being able to prioritize the components to lead to faster skill acquisition.  This work is pretty deliberate and intentional.  It doesn't just happen by taking kids out on the trail - or maybe it does.  Skill acqusition happens in lots of ways - if you're lucky to have some high level performers in your club, having them ski with younger skiers can really help.  Visual learners mimic what they see.  Have a guy like Gerard ski with your young athletes and pretty soon you have a bunch of kids who really know how to classic ski well.  The key piece here is having someone, like a Gerard, who is a phenomenal skier, who has really worked on the minutest of details of skilled performance.  If you don't have someone like Gerard, then I would suggest being deliberate and intentional about structuring learning.

I have never met a cross country ski coach who doesn't want kids to enjoy cross country skiing.  I mean really, why would you bother doing something if you didn't really like it.  The fact is that when you learn to do something well, you enjoy it more.  When you learn to be a skilled cross country skier you don't get fatigued as easily, you can ski on more challenging terrain, you can travel faster on your skis - in short, you can get from point A to point B in less time and feeling less tired than you did when you weren't as skilled a performer.  Sometimes folks feel a need to distinguish between recreational and competitive skiing and where they sit as a coach on that continuum.  Does skilled performance look any different if you are a recreational versus a competitive cross country skier - I would say no.  Skilled performers travel more quickly and more efficiently.  In a sport like cross country skiing efficiency is extremely important - we all have a finite amount of stored energy in our bodies - eliminating wasted movment from our ski technique is critical if we want to build positive dispositions to cross country skiing - really, why would we want young skiers to do a sport that is more work than pleasure?  In North America we already live in a culture where  'making life easy' is a dominant force in our consumption driven world.  Word on the street is that cross country skiers are some of the fittest atheltes out there - its not the easiet sport in the world.  When you've got to make your way to the top of a climb called 'the wall', it helps alot if you move your body as efficiently as possible to get yourself up the climb.  For many of us folks who love cross country skiing, it is exactly this sort of challenge that appeals to us.  Creating learning experiences that help kids to become efficient performers of skill will go a long way in helping to foster a lifelong love of moving and being active.  It is important to remember that all of this takes time - a different amount of time for each young skier.

I'll be the first one to say I don't have all of the answers.  I don't know many people who do.  Most of us who are involved as coaches have had some positive experience in our past with sport.  We don't need to know it all to get started or even to take on coaching adolescents.  It is possible I think to be a great coach without having ever competed in the world championships.  You'll know you're doing a great job if the adolescents you're working with are skilled performers - you'll know because they will be able to get from point A to point B in a minimum amount of time with the least amount of energy expenditure - you'll know because they can ski fast.  For me that is big piece of what its all about.

Roy