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In Good Standing—Fundamental Elements of Ski Stance

“Big motor, lousy suspension.” That’s how I often describe the endurance athletes I see in physical therapy. They have the physiology to go fast but are lacking the stability and/or coordination for efficient movement. Decreased efficiency equals increased load. And excessive load has led to injury and a visit to their friendly, neighborhood PT.  I used the same description while Greta Anderson, the US Cross Country Development Coach, and I stood trackside last August watching...

Wednesday Workout: Old-School Strength with the NTG

For this week’s workout, we asked for a specific-strength workout from this year’s Junior National Training Group (NTG) Camp, which was held Aug. 2-15 near Park City, Utah. One of three coaches at the camp, Maria Stuber (head nordic coach at the College of St. Scholastica), shared the following, which she described as an “old-school endurance strength workout.” She led the camp with two U.S. Ski Team (USST) staff members, development coach Bryan Fish and...

Throwback Workout: Pace-Development Intervals with the NAWTA (Remember That?)

Everything's better with a group -- at least in terms of threshold interval workouts. In this "Throwback Workout" from three years ago, U.S. women's coach Matt Whitcomb explains why this was one of the best workouts he had seen back then. “It doesn’t need to be incredibly hard — today was roughly threshold and above during bursts of speed — but it was about the terrain that helped push the pace for us,” he said.

Injury Behind Her, Stock Ready for World Juniors

Highlighted by her fourth-place performance in the senior freestyle sprint at U.S. Nationals, 17-year-old Corey Stock (Cambridge Sports Union) earned her first trip to Europe with the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) World Junior Championship squad this coming February. It’s difficult to determine the most remarkable part of that statement. For starters, Stock’s age would normally make her a candidate for the J1 trip, and yet as the top junior finisher in the skate sprint in...

The NTG is Working: Corey Stock on the Alaska Glacier Camp

How does a high school student from Massachussetts end up skiing on a glacier with the best athletes from the United States and Canada in the middle of the summer? The answer is a program, and a promise for other young skiers. Corey Stock, a 17-year-old racer who usually represents the Cambridge Sports Union, was nominated this year to be a member of the National Training Group (NTG), a program of the U.S. Ski Team....

Inspired by Brother, Driven by Dreams

ENGERDAL, NORWAY – For as long as she can remember, Maja Solbakken wanted to do everything her older brother Martin Andersen did. Siblings of accomplished athletes often feed off the energy and determination of their brother or sister — that is true not only for those on the World Cup circuit, but also for those who are the second-tier. The youngest of three siblings, Maja, 16, grew up in the rural Norwegian community Engerdal, close...

The first annual National Training Group (NTG) camp in Park City is underway, and participants were challenged early on with the infamous Agony Hill Time Trial on the first day. Alexa Turzian (SVSEF/CU) and Caitlin Patterson (Alaska Winter Stars/UVM) tied in the women’s race, both posting a time of 18:40.  Kate Dolan (BSF/DU) finished third, 40 seconds back. Scott Patterson (Alaska Winter Stars/UVM) edged Reid Pletcher (SVSEF/CU) by two seconds in the men’s event, clocking...

NTG Training Camp Preview: New camp targets juniors and coaches

Tomorrow fifteen of the top junior nordic athletes from around the country will amass in Park City for an intensive ten days of physical and educational training with the U.S. Ski Team. 25 athletes were named to this National Training Group (NTG) by the USST based on racing results from last season’s Junior National, U.S. National, U23 and World Junior Championships. The goal of the camp, say USST Coaches Chris Grover and Matt Whitcomb, is...