In 1981, Schwartz had no idea where life after college would take him. However, when he was offered the assistant coaching job at the University of New Hampshire, it started an over three-decade journey as head coach of the Wildcat team.
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Interviews
Interviews with racers, coaches and other relevant individuals within the Nordic ski world.
At 22, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt hasn't taken the most conventional road as an up-and-coming Canadian skier, but she's developed training smarts through experience and is now working toward U23 World Championships, Canada's 2016 World Cups and the 2018 Olympics with Rocky Mountain Racers in Canmore.
A former top World Junior Championships competitor from Vermont, Kevin Cutts now coaches a ski gymnasium in Sweden. He chatted with FasterSkier about how he sees U.S. skiing, now that he's living abroad - and concludes that North America isn't as far behind as we think we are.
A new study assessed the exposure to airborne particles by 45 different World Cup wax techs across three disciplines - cross country, biathlon, and nordic combined. The results are scary, but the team also demonstrated that a custom-built ventilation system can reduce exposure by 95%.
After Two-Year Apprenticeship, Lemieux Takes Reins from Fisher at Williams
Chelsea LittleSeptember 23, 2014
Jason Lemieux was happy living in Oregon. But he took what he considered the opportunity of a lifetime and came East to coach his alma mater, Williams College. Traditions remain in place but Lemieux has added variety to the Williams program, which he hopes will help the Ephs rise to new heights.
Heads turned when the first American across the line in the women’s 5-kilometer classic race at the 2014 NCAA Championships in March was an 18-year-old freshmen from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This year, Nichole Bathe has her sights set on even better results at NCAAs and qualifying for another Junior World Championships.
Bryntesson’s Söckertoppen Camp Takes ‘Best from the Athletic World and Puts That in the Diabetic World’
Chelsea LittleSeptember 19, 2014
Despite being diagnosed as a diabetic when he was a kid, Robin Bryntesson is still one of the top skiers in the world. And one of the busiest: in the summer he runs a camp for children with diabetes, he's constantly producing funny videos, and his downloadable technique app just went live.
With Tour Win Under Belt, Hamilton Looks to Improve in 2015
Lander KarathSeptember 18, 2014
FasterSkier caught up with Simi Hamilton during the USST Lake Placid Training Camp to talk with him about his summer training and the winter season ahead. While Hamilton doesn't plan to change much in his routine, several "gear changes" might allow him to achieve even higher results in the coming months.
“If you are always getting what you set out to achieve it’s way too easy. [Last season] has motivated me and the team is definitely motivated to go out and kick some butt,” Liz Stephen told FasterSkier. After her team failed to realize its Olympic-year goals, Stephen says that she's ready to reach for the next level, and it certainly looks like she's headed in that direction.
U.S. Biathlon's Max Cobb also chaired the IBU Technical Committee for the past several years - and he just passed rule changes at the IBU Congress that include a system-wide qualification points system and added Wild Card entries to major events. "People voted in favor of a more fair, open, and sporting system – I was really gratified," Cobb said.
From Learning to Shoot to Making the Team, Egan Reflects on Her Biathlon Rise
Alex KochonSeptember 15, 2014
In her second year of biathlon, Clare Egan is a member of U.S. Biathlon's development group and already seeing strides this season. In August, she placed third at North American Rollerski Championships for her best-ever biathlon result. "My skiing’s just going to keep getting better ... and with the shooting, I have to just put in the time," she says.
After Coaching Para-Nordic to Three Medals in Sochi, Upham Joins Bates Staff
Chelsea LittleSeptember 10, 2014
James Upham had a good run in Sochi: his Paralympic skiers won three medals - the first by U.S. women in 20 years - and before that at the Olympics Susan Dunklee, a college skier he had recruited to be a biathlete, turned in the best performance ever by a U.S. woman. Now he's returning to his home of Maine as an assistant coach at Bates College.
What a Little Success Can Do: Lunder Boosted by World Cup Debut in Push for 2015
Chelsea LittleSeptember 9, 2014
Emma Lunder placed 30th in her World Cup debut last season. The Canadian biathlete has since gained funding, training partners, and motivation: "Anytime I'm doing a really brutal workout, I just think to myself, if you can get through this, you're one step closer to racing in Pokljuka again!"
FasterSkier examines what it means to be LGBT in the junior and college nordic skiing community by following five unique experiences of athletes who have come out as gay.
Max Durtschi left cross-country ski racing in 2009 for a professional career in cycling. Now that he's retired, Durtschi has his sights set on a new frontier: Biathlon.
Kristin Størmer Steira's in the game for another season, but she's not so sure what the next four years hold -- definitely some school and not another Olympics. "I learned from my earlier mistakes saying this is my last year, but I don’t think longer than Falun ... we’ll see," she says in an exclusive interview.
Pros of Tomorrow: Two-Time NCAA Champion Gruber Aims to ‘Blow Them Away’
Lander KarathAugust 19, 2014
Anja Gruber thought she was done with skiing after finishing high school in her native Germany. However, she received a call from Partrick Weaver of UVM that changed everything. Now, Gruber is a two-time NCAA Champion with eyes on the World Cup.
In the 2013 World Junior Championships sprint, half of the male competitors in the final were born in the last five months of the eligibility window. Is this a case of a relative age effect - and what are the implications for elite sports on the whole, or retaining youngsters to be recreational athletes for life?
Devon Kershaw's friends said he'd never make it to the summit of Mera Peak -- not without popping the question to his girlfriend Kristin Størmer-Steira first. But he didn't crack in Kathmandu, like they predicted, before their three-week climbing trek in April.
Norwegian skiing star Anette Bø discusses her introduction to skiing, being the first woman to skate ski on the international racing circuit, her mountain bike World Cup podium, her two national championships in hockey, and a possible move to the U.S.