Here goes

SG: Hydrocarbon Gliders - Everyday recreational & training gliders and suitable racing glider in extra dry conditions RH< 40%. Use Graphite under-layer if snow is less than 24 hours old.

FG: Fluorinated Gliders - Everyday training gliders and suitable racing glider in dry conditions RH < 50% With ~ 5% Fluor it has more Fluor than many Low Fluors.

LF: Low Fluor Gliders - Medium humidity conditions apt racing glider. 40%<RH<60%  With ~10% Fluor it has so much Fluor they should be called Mid Fluor.

HF: High Fluor Gliders - Most race day conditions glider. 55%>RH<75% With ~ 20% Fluor some call it Extra High Fluor. Use Graphite under-layer if snow is less than 24 hours old.

BM: Black Magic Glider - Old dirty, coarse and artificial snow glider. 55%<RH< 75%  Have >20% Fluor + Molybdenum.

N: Nano Glider- Highest tech glider for wettest, dirtiest, old snow conditions. RH>75%  With >20% Spherical Nano Fluor, water and dirt bead off.  Often use over BM line.

For details on the 3 SFR, Nano, and BM Pure Fluor visit here.

Your First Days On Snow 

In most areas of the country we are approaching the time for the first on snow training of the year. The needs of master skiers and those who are not so lucky to ski every month during the summer are very different than high level racers who, as I write this, have just competed in the first international races of the year.

I believe it is important for all of us to have a general plan that would include how much training you want to do during this early season period, what the objectives and focus of the training should be, and what you want to accomplish through the period. In future articles we will discuss the next steps following the initial on-snow training period.

Many people get excited when they first get on snow or go to a training camp like the West Yellowstone Ski Festival and tend to over-do it on both volume and intensity. It is probable that by the time they recover/adapt from that heavy load they have lost the benefits of all that training. It is optimal for masters to have more recovery so that within 3-5 days you have reaped the benefits and are performing at a higher level (adaptation). Simply, if you are able to train a lot, perhaps more than 750 hours a year the recovery/adaptation time can be longer but with lower volumes our adaptation period has to be shorter so we don't lose fitness during recovery.

The first step in planning should be to decide how many hours of training you are prepared to handle. My recommendation would be not to increase your monthly volume more than 15-20% over the previous two to three months of training. Training more than this will probably not result in additional improvement for the time spent training.

The training effects sought for master skiers during the first snow period is different from an elite skier who has skied a lot during the summer months, who has hundreds of hours of endurance training in the bank and has important races starting during the latter half of November. Currently there is a great deal of debate on the value of so called "Base Training" and how best to accomplish it. I believe that the foundation laid in the first couple of weeks to a month or two on snow are critical for best results later in the winter. Also, 85-90% of our performance potential is derived from the correct implementation of basic endurance training. The remaining 10-15% is achieved through harder intervals, speed training and technical refinements.

My key recommendation for master or recreational skiers is to spend the first 30-50 hours of skiing primarily in a distance training mode with some occasional technique speeds. The distance training should consist of 1-2 long, 1:30-2:00 +, over-distance sessions per week done at Level 1 ~60-70% of maximum heart rate. The goal of the session is to let the duration tire you not the pace. The balance of the endurance work during the week should be 3-5 short endurance sessions done at a medium pace, Level 2 Intensity, or about 70-80% of maximum heart rate.

Many coaches and writers suggest that L2 training zone is considered "no- mans" training. However, I disagree and I believe most top endurance athletes do a large percentage of their training in this zone. We have to be careful that this training does not drift to the higher intensity levels - well controlled heart rates on the flat easier terrain in the lower reaches of this zone and on uphills does not exceed the prescribed range. These sessions should only be done when you are feeling pretty good, otherwise you should ski at a Level 1 recovery pace. From a training perspective this training should be done at a pace where good technical movements can be developed, greater muscle mass is utilized, and a higher level of endurance is developed.

The final component of endurance training I recommend is technique speeds. I encourage athletes to do 8-10-12 x 30-45 seconds within a distance session 1-2 times per week. These are not full out speeds, they are controlled accelerations focused on good technical movements and the speed only increases up to the point where good movements can be maintained or slightly faster than 5-10 Km race pace whichever comes first.  Over time, these technique speeds improve nuero-muscular adaptations, speed and economy!

Of course, during this first period don't forget to maintain your regular strength training routine.  Take it easy, ease into the season, and come out skiing fast!

By: Jim Galanes

Galanes Sports Lab

jimgalanes.com

 PSIA Nordic Instructor Tips

 Professional Ski Instructors of America

Creating a more successful Feedback environment for our clients and students.

Have you ever been in a situation when giving feedback to your students or clients where you encounter 'push back' or some sort of negative response? Are there some folks you just have a hard time giving feed back to, because they either become defensive or 'switch off'? I wanted to share with you my thoughts on creating an environment for our clients and students that will produce positive results. I call it the 5 Ps to personal feedback and if we touch on or cover all 5 of these headings we will more likely create a non-threatening, positive environment in which our students can learn in. 

1 PERSONAL CONTACT

I think it is important to first connect with your students. Get to know them so they feel comfortable with you and the situation they are in. There is no way feedback can begin until this is taken into consideration. This may be different depending on the student. Some people open up right away, while others take their time. Don't rush it and you may need to take quite a long time in order to establish their respect.

2 PERMISSION

Before feedback can be given we should ask for permission. We often forget this and sometimes our students may feel it's either the wrong time or they don't want it at that point. We may create permission through an activity you have set up, but the students must buy in to the activity in order to grant permission. We must find the time to ask and not just assume our students even want feedback. I think it is important to check in again later in the day if more feed back is to be given, to see if things may have changed with your student. Look for ways to ask for permission with out asking straight out. REALLY check to see if your students actually want feedback and be careful about asking in a group setting because generally everyone will agree to feedback, but may not want it.

3 PRIVATE VS PUBLIC

Do you want your feedback in a public or private setting? When we ask for permission, it can be a good follow up question. As I said above, if we ask publically whether our students want public or private feedback, we may create a pressured situation in which most everyone will agree to public feedback. I am not sure if public feedback suites all people. We can often look back and identify past students where public feedback put them in an uncomfortable situation and was possibly not the best environment for learning. It might be better to publically praise when giving feedback and privately coach. Criticism should be constructive whenever possible.

4 PREFERENCE

How do you like to receive feedback? For me, I like it straight up..... don't fluff me. Tell me what I need to do and how to do it. I don't need a positive before a negative. This might be great for me, but not for others. Try and find out how students would like to get feed back and give it accordingly. I think this becomes gender and age specific as well. If you can target a student's preference, your feedback is more likely to be well received.

5 PARAPHRASE

How do we know that our feedback has been received? If we can get your students to some how paraphrase your feedback, you are essentially checking for understanding. If the paraphrase comes back lacking understanding then you probably need to go back and check above for something you've missed or not taken notice of. This is key because after all, our goal in giving feedback is to affect change and if its not happening then there is no point in feedback. This is the 'buy in' to the feedback environment and gives you an idea whether your students have made sense of your feedback.

 In a nutshell this is it. I think these points are what good coaches do in subtle ways. They find ways to go through all 5-bullet points, often not obviously. New coaches often need to be made a where of these points and it's not something that needs to be followed in a linear or step-by-step fashion. Good luck!

Ross Matlock  PSIA Nordic Team Member

J1 Nation's Cup Trip

To: Coaches, Families, and hopeful Competitors for the J1 Nations' Cup Trip to Norway

From: J1 Trip Coordinator and Staff

1. We all recognize that the race dates at US Nationals (2-8 January 2013) are uncomfortably close to the travel dates for the J1 trip to Trondheim, Norway (13-24 January). At the moment we are working with a travel agent on the best options for anticipating that trip. We will have current information and recommendations on that out no later than 27, November.

2. The Nations Cup, as the competition is known in Scandinavia, is a FIS scored and registered series.  If you feel you have a shot at earning a spot for the trip be sure to get your FIS membership / FIS number. The trip staff will need it to register entries in the competition. FIS codes take a little longer to process so do it now. Easiest through the www.USSA.org site.

3. Staff info: We have a good and experienced staff for this trip. Co-leaders are Kate Barton and Adam St. Pierre, and the wax technician is Shane McDowell. Kate, the Head Coach at Burke Mountain Academy, ran last year's trip to Estonia, and was an assistant on the previous J1 trip to Sweden. Adam, the Head Coach for the Boulder Nordic Ski Team and an independent sport physiologist, assisted last year. Shane has been a wax tech with Boulder Nordic Sport and a regular competitor and wax support wizard for the New England race scene for several years. The three staff will be joined in Norway by visiting American athletes who will pitch in as volunteer wax testers and by a Norwegian coach who will lend a familiarity with the snow, and the routine. It should be a great trip.

Hang on in terms of making ticket buys, but do your own research as well. It may be worth getting tickets that can be changed for a later date and another trip rather than the less expensive non-refundable version. More News will be out shortly.

Do not hesitate to write with Questions.

We also have insights on your flight ticketing options.

Please email me with questions or details.

Pete Phillips

J1 NNF Trip Coordinator

gamlefisken@gmail.com

Norwegian Junior Nationals here we come.

Come with us.

Last year the Burke Mountain Academy Nordic Program hosted a trip to the Norwegian Junior Nationals at Holmenkollen in Oslo.

The invitation to Burke to participate in the "Jr.NM" or Junior Norwegian Championship was the idea of Bjorn Ilsemann, an energetic coach with the Norwegian College of Elite Sport (NTG). Burke and the NTG shared an exchange during the early part of the winter and the invitation for the Jr. NM participation grew out of that. These are the major races of the year for Norwegian kids and similar to our own JN's. Qualification is necessary, and each region of the country sends a team. Last year there were about 450 competitors.

We put the American team together with athletes from across the US and had a gang that represented US junior skiing well. Two Burke athletes were already in Norway and the final squad that went over represented Maine, Vermont, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Idaho.

The Norwegians are welcoming us back again and we are making plans to join them in Lillehammer during the week of 19 - 26 February. Among the goals for the trip is to put US juniors into a large competition in a foreign setting and to expose them to the demands of a team assembled from different regions at short notice. The experiences of foreign food, transportation, race protocols, and the necessity for increased independence and self reliance are all part of the design. Another deliberate design for the trip is to provide the chance to legitimately place oneself on a broader based speed, fitness, and ability scale; a chance to see where one "stacks up" with good skiers from one of the worlds foremost ski countries. Most of the "Scando Cup" athletes from Norway will participate for their home teams and the measure is high.

The competition takes place over 22, 23, 24 February on the Olympic trails in Lillehammer and Sjusjøen. The trip will be open by application to OJ's, J1's and J2's. A total of 8 athlete spots will be open. Ground cost is expected to be about $1700.00. Note that this competition will not interfere with US Jr. Nationals.

If you are interested contact Pete Phillips

pphillips@burkemtnacademy.org. 802-473-8100