Coaches Around the Country: Adam St. Pierre

I'm not sure how, but it certainly has grown. Last year we had around
50 kids, this year we were more like 65 kids strong. 40 of them are
J3s, J4s, and J5s (we even have a few J6s). I think by keeping
practice really fun and leaving the serious training for later years
we keep kids excited about skiing while they are young. If I'm lucky I
can fit some actual technique instruction into each practice before
their attention spans run out. It's nice to have enough kids at
practice to play games (2 on 2 ski soccer isn't nearly as chaotic, or
fun, as 12 on 12). Hopefully we keep growing. It means we're doing
something right.

3. Coaching the little kids takes a tremendous amount of energy and
patience! How do YOU do it? 🙂

I never thought of myself as a patient person, and in many aspects of
my life I'm not. But when I'm around my kids I transform. I get this
patience that I didn't think existed. There are times when this
patience gets tested because I expect a lot from my kids, even the
youngest ones. By mid-season I expect them to know what's going on
enough so that we can proceed with the fun and learning on skis
without any babysitting. My secret is to envision every kid as a
future Olympian. They each have their motivations and unique learning
style. I try to give each kid the opportunity to get out of skiing
whatever they put in. I doubt any of my 10 or 11 year olds are
thinking that far in advance, but I like to imagine myself laying the
foundations for their ski careers. I hope that someday, when they are
on some podium somewhere they'll think of that great coach they had
when they were first learning to ski.

I have the pleasure of working with a great group of parents. Our club
is run by a completely volunteer parent board. They take care of all
of the logistics and free up myself and the other coaches to focus on
what we love, coaching. This club couldn't exist without the support
of the parents. I don't think I'd have the patience or the energy to
coach if I didn't have them working behind the scene.

5. Where do you foresee yourself in 10 years?

10 years from now I hope to still be a ski coach and an Exercise
Physiologist. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity here in
Boulder to be able to make a living doing exactly what I want to do
right now, at the relatively young age of 26. Ten years from now I'd like to
be coaching juniors and/or U23s who want to race at the highest levels
of competition. By then my wife and I might have a little house
somewhere and maybe even a little J6 of our very own!

6. Was studying to earn your Exercise/Kinesiology major at the
University of New Hampshire partly influenced by your sports background?

Absolutely! I've always been a science nerd. At Colby I majored in
Physics and Biochemistry because they were what I found most
interesting. I was lucky enough to have a great coach at Colby. Tracey
taught me a lot about physiology, enough to make me want to learn
more. Being an endurance athlete, a ski racer in particular, was the
primary factor motivating me to go on to graduate school at UNH in
Exercise Science. I didn't know I wanted to be a coach, but I knew I
wanted to understand human exercise physiology.