Coaches Around the Country: Ben Arians

You work with Jan Buron and the Alaska Winter Stars program in Anchorage Alaska, which is a wildly popular and successful program. From the outside, it appears like you and Jan balance each other out and complement each other well. What's it like working with Jan and how's the experience been this whole time?

Yeah, we do seem to balance each other out pretty well. It seems like when I get panicky and excited, he’s calm, and when he gets excited, I am more calm (usually). Sometimes we’re both a mess! It’s great working with Jan, because he’s very practical and logical about what it takes to get stronger and faster, very no-nonsense and straight-forward in his approach, but he’s also got a great sense of humor and fun which the kids really respond to. There’s no BS about him, which sometimes doesn’t endear him to everyone, but you always know where he stands on something. Jan loves to argue, and usually he’s pretty right on. We have totally different backgrounds regarding skiing, he’s a graduate of the Polish sport school system and has a degree in ski coaching, whereas I’m a product of the Alaska high school and Junior Nordic training program, so I can help give some perspective on the history and culture of junior racing in the region. However, we are 95% on the same page regarding coaching and training philosophy. Interestingly enough, with Jan also being the head coach of the Service High School ski team, my alma mater, and myself having coached for other high schools, but never at Service, we also compete against each other as coaches pretty regularly. We hardly ever worked together for waxing, somehow that seemed unethical. I think we both figure the other is capable enough to handle the waxing, and when one of us gets the better of the other, then that’s incentive to do better next time. Sometimes I actually manage to out-wax him (rarely, it’s true), and it’s a good feeling, I tell you! With Winter Stars, we’ve been very lucky with the quality of our kids, but Jan also knows how to get the most out of the athletes. It’s a very strong, healthy program, with great parental support, and it’s been truly a wonderful experience. I am proud to be a part of it.

You've been on quite a few JO trips acting in various capacities coaching/organizing over the years. Have you noticed anything new/exciting/changing these past few years?

I just counted it up, and this year in Anchorage was my 7th year coaching JOs, and 10th year as a coach period, and I’m nowhere near the most-tenured (Ja, step forward). I wonder if I can buy in my 2 years as a skier on the JO team towards my retirement? I am super pleased with the club championship award that is now presented at JOs in addition to the High School trophy, especially with the recognition that AWS skiers received this year, winning the Girls, Boys, and Overall Club Team award. I guess the most exciting thing I’ve seen over the past few years is that the talent and speed of the top flight of junior racers is pretty damn good. I tell ya, I’m glad I’m not racing against these guys (or girls!). I remember when most of the top racers were coming from about the same four regions, whereas now they’re coming from all over. RMD, Far West, PNSA, High Plains, Mid Atlantic, all these regions are really stepping it up, and the bar is being raised. It made winning the Alaska Cup back this year even more satisfying! 🙂

What's your take on US Jr skiing in Alaska? Alaska has loads of jr talent, but the talent pool shrinks hugely after high school?

Well, I think that’s going to be the case in pretty much any sport that’s out there, and I don’t think that it’s just Alaska, but in all of the regions. There are only so many college programs out there, and even with the addition of alternative, non-NCAA programs, it’s going to be pretty tight. Alaska has an established high school racing program, with great participation across the state, but the majority of the kids on the high school racing teams are enjoying skiing as a participation sport, and a social endeavor, and that’s great. I think high school and club racing can coexist in Anchorage, it just requires some give and take on both sides. Part of the reason for the drop-off after Juniors in the past has been that the skiing in AK is so good, and it is treated as a major sport with quite a lot of media coverage, that it’s sometimes hard for our juniors to go off to a school where the skiing is, by AK standards, pretty marginal, and Nordic skiing as a sport gets very little attention or respect. Also, what incentive has a young skier historically had to continue ski racing full time and commit to ski racing full time? What does the US ski team have to offer? There’s no safety net, there is no infrastructure in place that can take care of an athlete. Say you’ve been on the USST for 5-6 years, didn’t do the college thing, and spent those 5 years beating your head against the wall, but never really cracked the top level. What now? It’s not like you can live off all those endorsements and that fat contract money you signed for. Most of our skiers are really smart, motivated people, who get good grades and can get good, well paying jobs right out of college that allow them to live comfortably, enjoy life, go skiing for fun, go to Costa Rica for vacation, etc. I support my skiers to the hilt, but if one of my older juniors told me that they were thinking of passing on a scholarship to a highly ranked university in order to train full time and hopefully make the US Ski Team, I’d ask them if they’d thought it through completely. Collegiate skiing might not necessarily be the way to skiing greatness, but it is the way to a lot of other things that are pretty worthwhile. I think the US Ski Team has come a long ways in that they are way less of an ambiguous presence that was the case when I was a junior, but it’s still pretty remote. Good steps are being taken, and in the right direction, (Team Today, for example) but I don’t think I’m being too cynical when I say that we’re never going to be like Norway and be consistently competitive on the world scene.

Rumor has it that you are good w/ famous people impersonations…..such as Jim Carey, etc…. What's your best impression/impersonation? Does it help with your coaching ? 🙂

Hmmmmm, Jim Carey, I really am not in his league, otherwise I’d be making millions and dating Jenny McCarthy. I can do some pretty good Monty Python stuff, and I hear I do a good version of Brad Pitt as the gypsy in Snatch, and anything Scottish: “If it’s no’ Scottish, it’s crrrrap!”. I can also do a pretty good impression of Ja Dorris, too, Actually, it does help with coaching, it gets the kids laughing, and is especially good on long hikes or runs. You’ve got to keep talking when running or hiking in AK, as it gives bears time to clear out before you come across them.

What's up with this new homegrown ski teams/clubs popping up around the country these days? 
We need more people feeling like they belong to something and having a social group to share highs and lows with after races. I get as much of a charge with coaching seniors/masters as I do juniors, sometimes even more, because when I see a master skier making some sweet classic strides that last season they couldn’t do, I know how hard it is for a many master skiers to make those changes, as old habits die hard. Usually there are some pretty good tips in the publications about technique, but sometimes there are just too many “How to ski faster” articles, and confusion frequently results. God, remember the Vordenberg/Borowski salvos in Masterskier? “Nose-knee-toe!” “No, shorter strides!” , etc. I think that Ian Harvey made the most sense in his article in which he put for the theory that there are many different ways to go fast, and there is no one perfect technique for everyone, especially comparing proper women’s technique to men’s. Anyway, a stronger senior/master field which encourages more people to get out there and be a part of something special can only help our sport.