Fasterskier.com caught up with Boulder Nordic Junior Racing Team (BNJRT) J3-J6 coach Adam St.Pierre between his daily training/coaching sessions. Adam tries to stay in top shape to keep up with the J4s and J5s from Boulder at ski practice and to be the most dominant ski/soccer player in the world.
 with BNJRT kids on a training run</font></center></p>
<p><I>1. Background</I></p>
<p>I grew up in New Hampshire and started ski racing in High School as a<br />
way to cross train for my other sports (soccer and track). I went to<br />
Colby College where I intended to play soccer and run track, but a<br />
funny thing happened one fall day when a girl on the ski team<br />
approached me and asked about my Eastern High School Championships T-<br />
shirt. She told me there were only 4 guys on a team with 6 spots. I<br />
thought this girl was pretty cute so I approached Coach Tracey Theyerl<br />
(now Cote), and she said I was welcome to train with the team this<br />
fall and for the winter too, if I showed some dedication. Needless to<br />
say I loved ski racing. I never got that fast, but I loved the<br />
training so I quit soccer and track and focused solely on skiing. I<br />
got better every year and even managed to meet a girl skiing too. My<br />
sophomore year I started dating a ski racer from a rival college, and<br />
we got married last summer!</p>
<p>I graduated from Colby in 2004 and went to grad school at UNH the next<br />
fall. I studied Exercise Science in the Kinesiology department. While<br />
at UNH I began my coaching career as an assistant to Marty Hall at<br />
Bowdoin College. I moved to Boulder almost 2 years ago with that girl<br />
so she can attend law school at CU.</p>
<p><I>2. How has the Boulder Jr program grown in the 2 years you've been<br />
working with them?</I></p>
<p>I'm not sure how, but it certainly has grown. Last year we had around<br />
50 kids, this year we were more like 65 kids strong. 40 of them are<br />
J3s, J4s, and J5s (we even have a few J6s). I think by keeping<br />
practice really fun and leaving the serious training for later years<br />
we keep kids excited about skiing while they are young. If I'm lucky I<br />
can fit some actual technique instruction into each practice before<br />
their attention spans run out. It's nice to have enough kids at<br />
practice to play games (2 on 2 ski soccer isn't nearly as chaotic, or<br />
fun, as 12 on 12). Hopefully we keep growing. It means we're doing<br />
something right.</p>
<p><I>3. Coaching the little kids takes a tremendous amount of energy and<br />
patience! How do YOU do it? 🙂 </I></p>
<p>I never thought of myself as a patient person, and in many aspects of<br />
my life I'm not. But when I'm around my kids I transform. I get this<br />
patience that I didn't think existed. There are times when this<br />
patience gets tested because I expect a lot from my kids, even the<br />
youngest ones. By mid-season I expect them to know what's going on<br />
enough so that we can proceed with the fun and learning on skis<br />
without any babysitting. My secret is to envision every kid as a<br />
future Olympian. They each have their motivations and unique learning<br />
style. I try to give each kid the opportunity to get out of skiing<br />
whatever they put in. I doubt any of my 10 or 11 year olds are<br />
thinking that far in advance, but I like to imagine myself laying the<br />
foundations for their ski careers. I hope that someday, when they are<br />
on some podium somewhere they'll think of that great coach they had<br />
when they were first learning to ski.</p>
<p>I have the pleasure of working with a great group of parents. Our club<br />
is run by a completely volunteer parent board. They take care of all<br />
of the logistics and free up myself and the other coaches to focus on<br />
what we love, coaching. This club couldn't exist without the support<br />
of the parents. I don't think I'd have the patience or the energy to<br />
coach if I didn't have them working behind the scene.</p>
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