Last year US skiers saw big progress under the leadership of Norwegian Trond Nystad. He says there may be several reasons for this progress.
“It is likely both a bit incidental and a bit that we have altered the training philosophy and the way the team functions togetherâ€, Nystad explains.
Last year, American skiers were in the lead groups during the World Ski Championship. This has not been common in the past years’ Championships (Editor: Not since the Bill Koch era in the early 80’s). Nystad sees several reasons for his skiers’ progress.
“The most important factors are that the skiers have talents, are willing to work hard, and that they have stayed healthy and fast the whole year. In terms of training, we have done more intensity than the team was used to, in addition to doing more max strength. These are not big changes, but it has worked well for usâ€, Nystad explains.
This summer as well as last summer, the team did its very successful summer ski camp in New Zealand. In addition, Nystad thinks the good cohesiveness among all the skiers on the team may have an influence on the progress of the lead skiers such as Kris Freeman and Carl Swenson.
“We were in New Zealand skiing for 3-weeks in August. The skiing and accommodations are perfect, and we can train very efficiently and effectively. In addition, to also have the skiers together in Park City large periods of the year works very well. USA is a big country, and it becomes much simpler when we are all in one place. We have focused on creating a team that can work well together. The result is that we have a team that works incredibly well together. Everyone helps each other, both as persons and as skiersâ€, Nystad claims.
But, as we know, it is the training that makes the big difference. And regarding this, the Americans have not done anything revolutionary, neither with intensity nor volume. They do however train more at altitude than many other teams.
“Our philosophy is very close to the Norwegian model. Most of the men train about 750 — 800 hours per year. Wendy Kay Wagner trains about 650 hours per year. A normal week includes 2 —3 interval sessions, 2 —3 strength sessions, 1 — 2 spenst/explosiveness sessions — all distributed between running, rollerskiing and some biking. From mid-June until the start of the season all the team members are living in Park City. The challenge regarding Park City is the altitude. We live at about 2200 m and train between 1600m and 3000m. Being this much at altitude makes it very important to control the intensity during every session, as well as be very attentive to replacing fluids before, during and after training.
“What have you personally meant for this team?â€
“When a team is doing well, it is rarely due to one person. This is also the case here. We have a great coaching staff and a service team that work very well together. We have created a system that works here in the US for our skiers. Daily contact, a strong team cohesiveness, and a professional attitude from coaches and skiers have all been important factorsâ€, says a modest Nystad
