Chad Salmela has a gift for pinpointing the critical characteristics of a moment and building something special from it. See “Here Comes Diggins,” the emphatically shouted announcement of an historic performance in American skiing, one that defined the careers of Olympic champions Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall, and of Salmela, himself. When it comes to Nordic skiing, Salmela knows what to say, how to put analysis into a context that audiences will understand, how to...
Kicking off her second year as assistant coach at the College of St. Scholastica (CSS) in Duluth, MN, Kristen Bourne was recently named one of ten recipients of the Women’s Sports Foundation VanDerveer Fellowship. The program, named for revered Stanford University Basketball coach, Tara VanDerveer, aims to increase representation of women in coaching at the collegiate level through the development of the rising generation. This is the first time that the award has been granted...
Two and a half years ago, Kelsey Dickinson automatically landed a spot on the U.S. World Cup squad for December. “Our goal for her this year is to make that Olympic team, for sure, but she’s really four years ahead of schedule with it,” Dickinson’s ski coach at Saint Scholastica, Maria Stuber, said. “Nothing about what’s going on right now is what I expected to happen,” Dickinson, a double-major in philosophy and natural science, said....
Press release) DULUTH, Minn. (Chad Salmela, an ex-board member of Duluth XC ski club. “In supporting the project, the college acknowledges its role as a community player and the role healthy lifestyles for a winter city plays in the lives of their students. It aligns the college with meaningful community initiatives of the city and its civic organizations. It’s a win-win.” St. Scholastica has the only varsity college ski team in the area, and this project...
The most important thing to pack on a racing trip is your positive attitude, says the U.S. Biathlon Development Team's Paul Schommer. "And when the season concludes, I always look forward to heading back to the Ski Haus for the Bjorn Bakken Ski Championships of America, the greatest backyard ski race on the planet."
It was a hard decision to leave the Roaring Fork Valley, where Maria Stuber headed the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club nordic team, but the Midwest native is taking the reins at the College of St. Scholastica, and thrilled to build on the program's young-but-strong legacy.
Getting a little bit tired of your rollerskis? Feeling bogged down by heat? Yearning for snow? The St. Scholastica team has found the answer we’ve all been waiting for. The only problem is the airfare to Sweden. Lead by coach Chad Salmela, members of the College of St. Scholastica Nordic team, based out of Duluth, Minnesota, headed out to Scandinavia on July 28th, and will spend two weeks training at a ski tunnel in Torsby,...