a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SpQhVxihFhI/AAAAAAAAA1M/Yc1zQwIxhK4/s1600-h/100_4264.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SpQhVxihFhI/AAAAAAAAA1M/Yc1zQwIxhK4/s400/100_4264.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373956913318925842″ //abr /Ryan Foster got married last weekend. It was a great wedding and Kate, his bride, was radiant and beautiful (sorry, I don’t have a picture of her).br /A marriage is not something out of the ordinary, but the group in the wedding party was very special to this old coach, so I am going to brag about them.br /Ryan chose his wedding party to be his high school teammates: Dave Smutok, Andy Newell, Gus Kaeding and his brother Ethan ( Ryan’s sister Mae was also a bridesmaid). br /I have been very lucky to be able to coach a lot of great, dedicated kids. This group of boys was a “dream team”. As a high school team, they were better then any college team in the East. Andy, Ryan and Dave finished 1,2,3 in the combined J1/OJ race at JO’s. Andy, Ryan and Ethan all collected prizes at World Junior Championships (prizes are awarded to top 6 finishes). When Andy and Ryan graduated, they had gone 4 straight years of winning every Eastern Cup for their age group. br /Gus and Andy are still racing, the others skied in college and have moved on with their lives, but they remain great friends.br /It was fun seeing them all together and it got me thinking. What makes a really good team into a great team? Everyone wants to do well, most people work really hard, coaches don’t often change their approach. What is the secret that allows a group to excel?br /I think with this group it was their deep rooted friendship. We always train well and get good exposure (at races and with alumni training with us). We always discuss training, tweak plans, work on technique and try to get adequate rest and nutrition. br /This group just seemed to have that special bond. They had a common goal, they trusted each other and they were totally happy in their pursuit of excellence. Collectively, they took the next step. Everyone who skis wants to be a skier, they WERE skiers. br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SpQJw7wxpZI/AAAAAAAAA1E/LACzvaEL3z0/s1600-h/100_4263.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SpQJw7wxpZI/AAAAAAAAA1E/LACzvaEL3z0/s400/100_4263.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373930991640487314″ //aSverre, Dave, Andy, Ryan, Mae, Ethan and Gus.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-1915708423698774399?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’//div
