Just back from the World Junior/U23 Championships in Italy, US Ski Team Development Coach Matt Whitcomb took the time to talk with FasterSkier about the trip.
FasterSkier: The World Junior/U23 Championships concluded last week. What is your overall evaluation of the success of the US Team?
Matt Whitcomb: We had an awesome trip. The food was over-board classic Italian, the venue was hilly and spectator / service-friendly, the snow was deep and the days were sunny and warm. My evaluation of this team is that it is the strongest team that we have brought to World Junior / U23 Championships in a long time, but overall, our results fell just shy of the strength of the team. There is not a trace of disappointment in this comment. The US no longer participates at this event just for experience. The team can now win medals from multiple individuals in both sprint and distance, and when we fall short of this it can be mistaken for a failure. The success of the trip lies not just in results, but in the athlete’s realization of where they are internationally, and where they need to go.
</font></center></p><p><b>FS:</b> <i>Did the week go smoothly for the US Team from an organizational standpoint? </i> </p><p><b>MW:</b> Yes. Two things allowed this: The athletes were incredibly professional, and when it comes to international racing in an unfamiliar county, this involves being adaptive to sudden changes. To add to this, coaches Ben Husaby (MBSEF), Patty Ross (Middlebury), Kristina Casey (Utah), Jason Cork (Durango Nordic), Karyn Thull (USST PT), Randy Gibbs (USST CC Team), and Pat Casey (USST CC Team) were unbeatable. Everyone on this staff could and was willing to do it all.</p><p><b>FS:</b> <i>The highlight of the week was Liz Stephen’s 3rd place finish in the U23 15km mass start. What were the goals heading into the week? Were podium finishes considered to be realistic? </i> </p><p><b>MW:</b> The goal heading into the week was to nail the process of adjusting to Europe. That is, eat well, train well, rest well, and keep the energy of the team healthy. Check. Only two minor illnesses developed in Noah and Alexa.</p><p>Liz’ race was very good, but what you couldn’t decipher from the results was Taz and Morgan on Liz’ heels with a kilometer to go. Heading into the final descent, they were involved in a crash on a corner with a French skier and salvaged 8th and 11th respectively. The silver lining to the crash is of course that they were mixing it up as medal contenders on the final descent, and skied together as teammates. It was a fun race to watch as a US fan.</p></div><div class=)
Medals are no longer unattainable at the World Junior/U23 level. Freeman, Valaas, and Stephen, among others with strong results, have disassembled that barrier in the past five years. Quickly, this 2008 team had five athletes for whom a medal would not have been shocking.
FS: In addition to Liz’s finish there were a number of strong performances. What other results stood out in your mind?
MW:
-Sophie Caldwell’s 6th fastest qualifying time.
-Kevin Cutt’s 9th fastest qualifying time.
-Ida’s 12th place sprint in her first time at Worlds.
-Ben waxing with a broken leg.
-Noah’s 12th in the 10k classic.
-Noah’s comeback from a broken binding in the 20k freestyle to finish 23rd.
-Simi’s qualifying round, and crash. He was still just 8.5 seconds back.
-Mikey mixing it up in a very competitive quarterfinal heat.
-Taz’ 8th place after coming off a long stretch of flatness (15K mass mentioned above)
-Morgan 11th (15K mass mentioned above)
-The junior boy’s 7th place relay finish.
FS: You (or Pat) reported on Team Today that lack of experience may have been a factor for some skiers in the sprint race heats. How important is it for these athletes to be getting this type of race under their belts? Could the athletes have been better prepared, or is it just a matter of getting out there and racing in major international events?
MW: The US had too many crashes to simply be chalked up as bad luck. This extended into the mass start races as well. Experience has everything to do with it. It takes crashes and skiing in big races to learn how to stay on your feet, and these athletes are already better prepared simply by mixing it up on the international scene. Confidence. The J1 trip is a great way to prepare for Junior Worlds is a great way to prepare for U23s to prepare for World Cups to prepare for the Olympics. Three years ago, Newell was crashing more frequently in World Cups than he is now. It is an element of the game, but it is one that must be minimized without being overly cautious. Learning to ski intervals in a pack is a good place to start, and certainly getting in more mass start and sprint starts. The international racing jitters might’ve been involved in some instances, too. These guys were laying it on the line, and you can’t hold that against them. They’ll be back.
Sophie Caldwell, Andy Newell, Kevin Cutts. These three skiers have as good of a feel for the snow as anyone. Good sprinters? Pretty good it seems. This efficiency can be learned, and more easily at a younger age. It’s no secret and no accident that Sverre Caldwell’s athletes at SMS (Stratton Mountain School) ski more efficiently and with a better feel for the snow than any team, year after year. It’s a focus.
FS: According to the report on Team Today, overall the US results did not improve over last year. Do you see this as a setback? Do you see specific reasons for this?
MW: No. There is no setback. Last year we had five top-10’s from five different people, this year we had five top-12’s. Last year we had eighteen top-30’s, and this year we had nineteen. We had a podium last year and a podium this year. Our results were essentially the same, yet in a time of progress this is hard to swallow. Certainly the opportunity to exceed last year’s results was staring us in the face each day, but we didn’t close the deal. As I said, we’ll be back.
FS: Does the US Team have specific benchmarks for events like the World Junior/U23 Championships, regardless of the composition of the team in any given year?
MW: While the level of races in the US is improving, it can be difficult to determine which athletes are on track for international success just by analyzing domestic results. J1 Trip, World Juniors, U23’s, and World Cups are great events to assess development in the US. A top-10 on J1 Trip, World Juniors and U23’s, or a top-30 in a World Cup are what we’re looking for.
FS: How do World Juniors/U23’s fit into the broader development plan for the USST? Obviously it is exciting to see strong results at these events, but they are only a stepping-stone to (hopefully) future success. Is it ever difficult to balance the long-term vision with the need for performance and results in the present?
MW: This championship is a key piece to our development plan, but certainly it is only one piece. While many changes may take place with an athlete from year to year—they may enter college, begin to train full time, recover from an injury, switch coaches, etc.—World Junior / U23s remains a consistent marker to ensure the athletes are on track. However, in any given year, strong results at this event mean very little if the athletes are not supported by strong programs. The honeymoon will end eventually. I believe the health of our club system in the US is well and is on the rise, as teams like APU, SVSEF, CXC, to name a few, are regularly starting to see their athletes perform with success on the international scene.
FS: What did you learn from these events in relation to future World Junior/U23 trips, and more generally in terms of US skiing and what needs to be done to continue improving on the international scene?
MW: The elite programs in the country (partially mentioned above) have their athletes plugged into a year-round training system. Their athletes have access to coaching, great training, healthy living, competitive racing, and funding. Their athletes win races and make teams. This is the system that works. Many variations of training plans will work within this system, but they must be carried out on a year-round basis, and for many years in a row. We are having success at this championship in recent years because these mentioned programs, along with several others, are doing a better job. It is not an influx of more talented athletes, it is an influx of better prepared athletes. There is undeniably more commitment to the athletes by these teams, and it is paying off.
We have the talent. We have the coaches. We know the equation to get better, and there is much room to do so.
FS: How do coaches become involved in a trip like this, and what types of coaches are you looking for?
MW:There is an application process that is announced on the standard websites at the beginning of October each year. We are not afraid to take a relatively inexperienced coach on this trip. However, what we are looking for are coaches that are involved with USST development. Coaching this trip is an incredible learning experience. It certainly has been for me. Ways to be involved:
-Go to the Spring Congress in Park City every other year to have a say.
-Attend your region’s REG camp in the summer.
-Contact USST coaches with ideas or questions.
-Request to attend a USST camp as a guest coach / observer…with an athlete.
-Coach J1 Trip and JO’s.
FS: Anything else?
MW: Yes. Thank you to anyone that has ever supported the development of US skiing.
