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Bryan Fish

‘With Experience Comes Stronger Performance:’ Watching Junior Progress at REGs

With the conclusion of all four Regional Elite Group training camps last week, USST development coach Bryan Fish discusses how he's watched juniors improve over the last few years in camps and competition thanks to collaboration between coaches nationwide, the support of organizations like the NNF and presence of a more clear American model for international success.

Historic U.S. Performance, Built on Teamwork and Guts, Draws Admirers in Ski World

GÄLLIVARE, Sweden – It’s always good to finish a race and be happy with the result. But the icing on the cake is when the entire sport seems to be behind your performance. And for the U.S. women after Sunday’s historic third-place relay finish, that was the case. As one team after another crossed the line behind them, they were hugged and congratulated – even by teams who surely wished the podium spot could be...

Notes and Quotes: Gallivare edition

With so much happening in Gällivare, Sweden, this weekend, we didn’t have the chance to put quite everything into our main feature stories. Here are some leftovers from the races, as well as some small pieces about the U.S. men’s and Canadian women’s relays. Women’s Relay When asked about the U.S. women’s relay podium, Development Coach Bryan Fish initially didn’t get too specific… he was just impressed. “That was exciting to watch,” he told FasterSkier...

American Juniors, U23s Face Stricter Pre-Qualifying Criteria for Liberec

For developing skiers all over the globe, the chance to compete at Junior and U23 World Championships can be the high point of an entire young career. American athletes compete for a spot on the team every year at U.S. Nationals, but before nationals even gets under way, up to two men and women in each age class can pre-qualify for the team if they meet a specific FIS-point standard at certain races. That standard...

At “Biggest Race of Their Lives,” Juniors Face Tough Lessons At Altitude

At 5,700 feet above sea level, the Kandilli Nordic Ski Center in Erzurum, Turkey has presented World Junior competitors with some of the most painful racing they’ve ever experienced. As became clear from the depth of Russia’s dominant results—a team that took a two-week altitude camp in Bulgaria prior this week’s racing—acclimation to altitude has played a major role in the outcome of World Juniors and U23s, for all levels of athletes. In more than...

Belov Claims Sixth Russian Victory in Erzurum; Hoffman Earns U23 Silver

  If there’s one takeaway from the Junior and U23 World Championships thus far, it’s that Russia is a well-oiled machine. Evgeniy Belov (RUS) won his country its sixth gold medal of the week on Thursday, ahead of Noah Hoffman (USA) in second and Hannes Dotzler (GER) in third. Based on Belov’s delight on the podium, the run of success isn’t getting old. “I cannot express how happy I am today when I defended the...

Kolb Triumphant in U23 Sprint; Bjornsen Leads North American Women in Fourteenth

ERZURUM, Turkey — After scoring points on the World Cup, a victory at U23 World Championships is still a big deal. Just ask Hanna Kolb (GER)—despite having placed 17th this weekend in Szklarska Poreba, Poland sprint, she still thought of her inaugural U23 title as an significant accomplishment. “It is one of the greatest achievements for me,” she said to FIS marketing coordinator Michal Lamplot. “Even though I have won already some World Cup points…this...

RUMFORD, Maine — On a comfortably cold day at Black Mountain, Jessie Diggins (Central Cross Country/USST) extended her winning streak to 11 this season—her second national title of the week at the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships. Dasha Gaiazova (Canadian National Ski Team/Rocky Mountain Racers) finished second, while Diggins’ teammate Caitlin Gregg (CXC) landed on the podium for the second time this week in third. Despite her dominance of the domestic circuit so far this...

U.S. Contingent Wraps Up OPA Racing in Ramsau

The OPA Cup series is supposedly to be skiing’s equivalent of baseball’s minor leagues. But last weekend’s racing in Ramsau was about as far from a dingy Southern ballpark as you can get. Surrounded by jagged, snowy peaks on a plateau in the Austrian Alps, Ramsau was the last stop on this year’s OPA circuit, which a contingent of U.S. athletes has been following for the last two weeks. Nearly a dozen Americans took part...

Bryan Fish’s jump to the U.S. Ski Team from his job running the Central Cross-Country (CXC) program was one of the most significant coaching changes of the spring. Fish, who over the last few years helped to build CXC’s elite team into one of the most powerful in the country, left some big shoes to fill. Enter Jason Cork, who was hired to replace Fish after two years as the assistant coach at Michigan Tech...

This trip marks one of the premier steps of the elite athlete and coach development pipeline in the U.S.  The U.S. Ski Team is pleased to announce the 2011 staff: Matt Whitcomb, Trip Leader, Junior Head Coach U.S. Ski Team Bryan Fish, U23 Head Coach, U.S. Ski Team Randy Gibbs, Head Service, U.S. Ski Team Andrew Johnson, Service, University of Vermont Casey Fagerquist, Service, Alaska Pacific University Justin Beckwith, Service, Green Mountain Valley School Amy...