Clinics

High Peaks Cyclery Clinic and USSA Level 100 Coaches Certification

Lake Placid, New York

October 4, 2009

Join Garrott Kuzzy and US Ski Team coaches for a Nordic Technique Clinic in Lake Placid.  The clinic will be held from 3:00 – 5:00pm on Sunday, October 4 at the parking lot on Bear Cub Road, adjacent to the Olympic Training Center.  The clinic will fulfill the Technique Clinic requirement for USSA Level 100 Coaches Certification.  This fun, interactive clinic will teach both basic and advanced skills.  Bring skate roller skis, boots, poles, and helmet.  Coaches, teams, masters, and junior skiers all welcome.  Cost is $20.

Schedule

2:45 – show up early to sign-up

3:00 – fun warm-up with coordination and agility skills

3:15 – balance and technique work

3:45 – roller ski demonstrations, drills, and skills

4:15 – break into smaller groups for individual attention

4:45 – question and answer with Garrott Kuzzy and US Ski Team coaches

Contact Brian at High Peaks Cyclery to sign-up!

brian@highpeakscyclery.com or 518-523-3764

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Gear West SuperFit Rollerski Clinic

September 19, 2009

As part of the Salomon and CXC SuperFit program, we hosted a morning rollerski clinic at Gear West.  Working on techniques for several ability levels, we taught several folks simply how to stand up and feel comfortable on rollerskis, while we taught some more advanced high school racers the basics of the more advanced “V2 Hop Skate” technique.  Long Lake provided a beautiful backdrop for a great morning of skiing.  Skiers then had the opportunity to get their equipment professionally tested by CXC’s ski fitting experts.

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CXC/Birkie Telemark Junior Camp

August 8, 2009

CXC Skiing just wrapped up the 10th Annual CXC / Birkie Junior Technique Camp at Telemark Resort in Cable, WI.  The camp was attended by over 25 middle- and high-school skiers from Minnesota and Wisconsin.  The technique intensive camp meant spending a lot of time on roller skis.  Despite a variety of abilities, ranging from first time roller skiers to Junior National Team members, the skiers were able to break into small groups and focus on skills relative to their ability.  Coaches for the camp included Olympian and CXC Junior Team coach Igor Badamshin, CXC Team Vertical Limit coach Bryan Fish, Bill Pierce, Scott Wilson, and CXC / US Ski Team member Garrott Kuzzy.  Each coach worked with the various groups, providing individual instruction for each athlete.

Mornings started with a jog to the top of Mt. Telemark and stretch overlooking beautiful Northwestern Wisconsin.  Coach Fish led skiers through a series of coordination and agility drills, while Badamshin worked on ski specific strength and balance using Russian bungee cords.  “The agility course taught me some great drills to improve my power on skis,” commented Paul Schommer of Kimberly, WI.

After breakfast, skiers broke into groups to hone their ski technique through a variety of drills.  While some skiers learned to balance on skis at high speeds doing the V2 hop skate, others focused on the perfect timing for their classic kick.  Practically everyone took a spill at one point during the camp, but as Sam­ Egelhoff, who took arguably the most impressive dive during the week, put it: “I’m learning my limits and how far I can push myself. . .I love to ski fast!”

Roller skis were not the only place the skiers were diving.  Each workout ended with a dip in the pool at Telemark.  The best dives, however, were at Lake Owen, where the group ended one of their workouts with a barbecue and some tubing on the lake.  Tubing around the lake led to some big air and high speed splashes.

The final day of the camp wrapped up with some informal relay races, giving everyone the chance to show off what they had learned during the week.  Coach Fish said, “It was great to see how much everyone improved this week.  Now it’s imperative that everyone continue to master these skills over the rest of the summer and fall so that these skills translate to skiing fast on snow this winter.”

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Northland Endurance Camp recap

August 5, 2009

Every once in a while, we CXC skiers step out of our position of athletes and assume the role of coach.  This week has been filled almost entirely with coaching, and I’m gaining a new respect for the hard work that coaches put in on a day-to-day basis!

I started the week with a clinic for the Northland College & St Cloud State University “Endurance Camp” in Delta, Wisconsin.  The camp has over 20 high school Nordic skiers and cross country runners training all week: running, rollerskiing, swimming, biking, & doing high ropes course adventures.  I was only able to join the group for a morning, but we had a blast running ladders, holding jumping contests, playing balance games, and rollerskiing on the perfect asphalt on the Delta-Drummond Road.  After a brief (albeit big) lunch, I bid adieu to the Northland Endurance Camp (thanks to Dave Beeksma for all his hard work organizing the camp!) & made the short trip down to Telemark for the CXC Birkie Junior Technique Camp.

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Get Your Nordic On! Clinic Recap

Minocqua, WI

July 23, 2009

On Thursday afternoon, July 23, CXC Elite Team skiers Brian Gregg and Garrott Kuzzy led an American Birkebeiner Get Your Nordic On! technique clinic at the new Premier Physical Medicine facility in Woodruff, WI.  The skate technique clinic was attended by skiers and coaches from the Lakeland and Rhinelander High School ski teams.  Premier Physical Medicine provided an ideal location for the clinic.  For the warm-up skiers were run through a series of grueling obstacles on “The Hill,” Premier’s man-made hill behind their clinic comprised of paths, stairs, tires, logs, and even a tunnel.

Brian and Garrott kept everyone on their toes, running them through the CXC Team’s new coordination and agility workout.  Lakeland High School coaches Ken & Pam Schoville commented on how challenging these drills were, but added that they were also a lot of fun and ski specific.

Warmed-up and feeling sharp, the entire group was very attentive and picked up quickly on the technique progressions, both on foot and roller skis.  Premier’s owner, Dr. Jim Mullen, was also on hand and demonstrated a number of active stretches that will help improve range of motion and prevent injury for the skiers.  Brian and Garrott would also like to thank Dr. Dave Kozeluh of Family Dentistry in Minocqua for his support as the CXC Team dentist—keeping our smiles bright.

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Get Your Nordic On!

Rochester, MN

June 7, 2009

The 2009 rollerski season is underway!  The Rochester Nordic Club hosted a great early summer rollerski clinic led by US Ski Team and CXC Elite skier Garrott Kuzzy.  By attending, clinic participants earned the technique clinic portion of the USSA Level 100 Coaches Certification.

The Rochester Nordic Club is a conglomeration 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.  The basics were taught in an easy to follow progression used to teach USSA Level 100 Coaches Certification.  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.

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

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