Editors note: This is a weekly column highlighting our ski coaches from around the country including elite coaches, college coaches, high school coaches, volunteer coaches, and learn-to-ski coaches. This is an effort to sample a diverse group of coaches and recognize the people who are the backbone of today’s skiers. If you would like to nominate a coach for an interview, please email robertwhitney99@hotmail.com. Please give coach’s name, email, phone, and a fewl paragraphs describing the nominee. The more diverse, the better.
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<p>Dave Johnson, 47, is in his second season as head nordic skiing coach at The Marshall School in Duluth, Minnesota. Dave was also head coach at Duluth East from 1990-1992 and then from 1994-2002.</p>
<p><b>1. Why coaching?</b></p>
<p>I love working with students and I love cross country skiing. Coaching is a blend of two of my favorite activities. Coaching can be very rewarding on every level; from watching a new skier tackle his first downhill to seeing your best athletes cross the finish line at state level competition. I also enjoy building up a program; striving to take it to the next level is really a wonderful challenge and is very rewarding.</p>
<p><b>2. Skiing background? </b></p>
<p>I raced on the U.S. Air Force downhill team when I was stationed in Europe. I fell in love with nordic skiing when we were “forced†to participate in a nordic ski race as a part of an international competition. I really liked the challenge and the fitness level that was required. When I moved to Duluth I participated in several Birkies and other local races. I was never all that fast and I don’t claim to be a top level skier in either technique or fitness. My strengths are in organization and building up a programs that allow skiers to achieve as high of level in the sport as they desire.</p>
<p><b>3. Can you tell us about Marshall School and the Marshall Nordic Ski Team?</b></p>
<p>The Marshall School is a small (450-500 students, grades 5-12) private, college preparatory school. Over 85% of the students participate in one sport per year. We currently have 45 students out for skiing (over 10% the eligible student body)! Athletics at Marshall have made strong strides forward in the past 10 years. We are fortunate to have an athletic director who is a strong supporter of all sports and works hard to ensure that all teams have what they need to be successful. I consider it an honor and a privilege to work at Marshall School. We have a great staff. They all work very hard at ensuring that every student has what they need to be successful.</p>
<p><b>4. You've been involved with Minnesota High School skiing for awhile. What changes have you observed over your tenure in MN? </b></p>
<p>The obvious answer would be the many different formats and events that we have had at state and sectional level competition. I would most like to talk about how we as coaches have made big strides in our coaching association. We now have in place a “physical†as well as “virtual†Hall of Fame. We, along with Minnesota ski shops, sponsor the Victor C. Dunder award. This award has helped over 40 deserving skiers in the past 3 years get the equipment that they need to compete in high school competition. I am also impressed by how well we all work together. Sure we love to compete against each other, but we all work together to make the sport the better for all high school skiers in the state of Minnesota.</p>
<p><b>5. Can you tell us about the sprint course that you and your army of volunteers are building at the school? </b></p>
<p>The school is situated on 40 acres of hilly terrain right in the middle of the Duluth. Over the past 4 years we have devoted a large amount of time and effort into creating a 3-4 kilometer ski trail on campus. We have been lucky enough to be assisted in this endeavor by some very talented people with the skills necessary to create a trail system. We are one of the few teams with our own team mechanic, team logger, team hydrologist, and team electrician. We have also been fortunate to have strong community support for our efforts. We have a local construction firm that has donated thousands of yards of fill dirt and many hours of bulldozer time to shape different parts of the course. A local tree service has donated over 40 truck loads of woodchips. The whole team and almost every parent have taken a real sense of ownership in the project and have created a small but beautiful work of art. We have held 3 high school sprint races on the course. My goal is to host a national level (Super Tour) sprint race on the course in the next 3-5 years. It really is an amazing venue with a view of the whole course from terraced bleacher seating (Used by football fans in the “off seasonâ€).</p>
<p><b>6. Anything else you'd like to add?</b><br />
Check out these links
.<br />
Coach’s website:<br />
http://mshsca.org/nordicski/index.htm<br />
The Dunder Award:<br />
http://mshsca.org/nordicski/dunderaward.htm<br />
Marshal School Ski Team website:<br />
http://www.marshallschool.org/school/johnson/marshallnordichome.htm</p>
<p>Thanks Dave!</p>
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