June, 2010

We’ve wrapped up our June Camp in Marine and are now back at our respective homes.  One of the highlights of the camp was getting together with the St Croix Valley Ski Club, a Minnesota Youth Ski League club, for an afternoon of skills development and games.  This is the third summer we’ve worked with these young athletes and it’s cool to see so many familiar faces of kids that are getting older and faster.

The kids really enjoyed running the ladders, jumping the hurdles, and passing the medicine ball, which served as a baton in the relays.

Coach Gus Kaeding showing how to get big air

It was one of the only clear afternoons we had all camp.  The kids just finished their last day of school the previous day, so they had a little extra energy to burn off.

Maddy had better ups than most of the boys

Though Trigby got extra points for style

Our afternoon with the St Croix Valley club was a highlight of the camp.  Thanks to CXC Youth Director Everett Myers for getting this event organized.  It was cool to see the building blocks of a strong ski community taking shape.

Getting fast and moving small tires in Osceola. . .

We ended a productive June Camp with a trip to Battle Creek for a workout with the Sisu Skiers training group on Thursday night.  These guys were flying, literally, catching air on their rollerskis and moving fast!

Somehow we avoided the rain and tornado’s that surrounded us all evening, making  for a solid, dry training session (one of the first I’ve had all week!).

This weekend is the Summer State Championship for Special Olympics Minnesota.  As part of the event, Minnesota Olympians were invited to take part in a fundraiser and help participate in the festivities.

Special Olympics spokeswoman and global messenger Katie Timmer addresses the audience.  She’ll be representing Minnesota at Nationals in Nebraska this July.

Here, Katie poses with 2002 Olympic Speedskater Jason Hedstrand and his wife Kris.  A number of Olympic athletes were on hand including my CXC teammate Caitlin Compton.

Here, the Gold Medal winning 4 x 100m relay from up on the Range in Mesabi Country poses for a shot.

What’s the most popular sport in Minnesota Special Olympics?  “Bowling, by far,” says Pam Byrd, director of SOMN.  She even introduced me to a couple of athletes that have bowled a perfect 300.  Dang, I’m lucky if I break 100!

A week into our first full training camp of the season, things are dialed.  Fish is off at his new job in Park City and the 2011 CXC Elite Team is looking strong in Marine on St Croix.  Our new coach, Jason Cork, finally took the reins today while assistant coach Gus Kaeding cracked the whip.  Santi Ocariz put down the hammer today and taught us a lesson on how to climb hills.  Don’t know these characters?  Allow me to introduce them. . .

Cork comes prepared with a pole sharpener.  Dialed.

Santi sharpens his poles to put the smack down on the rest of the team.  Dialed.

Coach Kaeding will make you get up that hill.  Fast.

So far, the transition to our new coach has been relatively smooth.  We did, however, have to explain who Chuck Norris is to Cork.

Finally, we can no longer give Jessie a hard time about still being in high school.  She graduated on Saturday.  Congrats Diggins!

Get Your Nordic On! Clinic Recap

Rochester, MN

June 13, 2010

The 2010 rollerski season is underway!  The Rochester Nordic Club (RASC) hosted a great early summer rollerski clinic led by 2010 Olympian and CXC Elite skier Garrott Kuzzy on Sunday, June 13.

The Rochester Nordic Club made up of silent sport enthusiasts in the Rochester area.  In only a few years, they’ve developed an extensive trail network with the help of a great volunteer workforce, allowing local skiers to ski on only minimal amounts of snow.  In addition to the trail network, they’ve grown their junior program to over 100 skiers, led by about 12 volunteer coaches.  The enthusiasm for skiing in Rochester is infectious; look for the club to expand both their trail network and skier base in the coming years.

During the clinic, Kuzzy led skiers through a progression of dryland drills, both on foot and on rollerskis, to develop a strong technique base upon which to build over the summer and fall.  They also worked on new balance, strength, and agility exercises to improve their skiing.  The coaches at the clinic will be able to use many of these drills when coaching their skiers this fall and winter.  The skiers at the clinic will have skills to master throughout the summer so they are ready to fly when they get on snow this winter.  A big thanks to the Rochester Nordic Club for doing a great job getting the clinic organized and even hosting informal rollerski practices over the past couple of weeks to get newcomers comfortable on their rollerskis before the clinic.

Following the clinic for coaches and master skiers, Kuzzy also led a clinic for the junior skiers in the Rochester area.  Although their team is a club team and cannot compete at the Minnesota State meet, the Rochester juniors spend a lot of time training together in the summer and skiing in the winter.

For more information on getting a clinic for your Nordic Club this summer or fall, contact Garrott Kuzzy – garrottkuzzy@yahoo.com.

The Rochester Nordic Ski Team, a part of the Rochester Active Sports Club (RASC), will be hosting a ski clinic with US Olympic skier and CXC Team Vertical Limit member Garrott Kuzzy on Sunday June 13^th at Essex Park in Rochester.  There will be a 2 hour clinic for masters and coaches starting at 1:00pm and a junior clinic starting at 3:30pm for 1 hour. Cost is a $20 donation to the RASC for the masters/ coaches clinic, which will also satisfy the Technique Clinic requirement for USSA Level 100 Coaches Certification. The junior clinic is free and coaches are welcome to attend as well.

The clinic will include a number of strength, balance, and technique ideas and will be different from any clinic you’ve attended before!  Of course, you’ll get to hear stories first hand from the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver as well.

Bring running shoes, ski poles, ski boots, helmet, water, and rollerskis if you’ve got them.  We will try to have several extra pairs of rollerskis on hand for folks who don’t have their own to try.

For junior skiers, Garrott plans to hold a shorter clinic from 3:30 to 4:30 on the same day (Sunday June 13th). The cost for juniors is $0 – probably the best deal you will ever get for an hour’s coaching from an Olympic skier.  No roller skis will be needed for the junior clinic.

If you would like to participate, please send a note to mkoconnor@mayo.edu, walker.henry@mayo.edu, or bmwalk@aol.com by Friday, May 28.

2009 Rochester Nordic Clinic