Back in Action
In the wake of quarantine due to the pandemic, we're happy to announce that with some well thought over protocols and procedures with the guidance of the public health recommendations and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Club, we've been able to begin our summer training session in time to meet the yearly plan for the higher level JHSC athletes. A special thanks goes out to ED Brian Krill and Chief Operating Officer Julie Klomparens, and the rest of the JHSC staff for keeping the ship sailing during these times of uncertainty. Even though training has resumed, we are moving forward cautiously and consciously with the interest of everyone's heath in mind.
Prep Comp Summer Training Underway
The team completed a series of physical fitness tests last week for their first week of training. The intention of kicking off the first week of training with a test week is to give the athletes an opportunity to establish a baseline so they can monitor their progress through each training block. There are typically 4-5 test weeks running from the end of May through early October. A double pole time trial, the Canadian strength test, a 3000m running time trial on the track, and a trail running time trial round out a full week of testing. Each test serves the purpose of focusing on some specific elements that create a well rounded Nordic athlete, with the understanding the tests really just give us a snapshot of what each athlete is capable of. Current results will be updated by the end of the week; check out the JHSC result archive here. There were some impressive results, some PRs, and even some team records even though it was the first week of training. With consistent training over the years, and physical and mental maturation it's no wonder we're seeing an elevated level of performance even at the beginning of the summer training session.
We're happy to have our summer coaching staff committed to the club for our top end athlete's especially in these uncertain times. Anna Gibson will be joining the team as a coach again for the summer, Ali Sehnert will continue with the team and seasoned JHSC coach Will Wicherski will join the team along with Nordic Program Director Ben Morley
Junior Team Summer Training
By the time Junior athletes graduate to the Prep team, we try to incorporate at least 3 days of training into their yearly plan. This has proven to help build team culture and progress their foundational strength and technical skills on roller skis, all which translates to producing better skiers when the season rolls around. At this level we still highly encourage kids to be multi-sport athletes, but see the value in offering an opportunity to stay connected with Nordic skiing at some level year-round.
To help ease that transition onto the Prep team, for some of the more committed Junior team athletes we are offering two training sessions per week from June 22nd to August 26th on Monday and Wednesday evenings at 4 p.m. On Mondays the team will start at Snow King with some basic core exercises with the Prep and Comp team athletes and then break out into a game, a hike, a short run, or ski imitation exercises. On Wednesday we'd like to offer an intro to roller skiing session that will either take place at the High School or Middle School parking lot, or at May Park. The coaches will focus on basic body position, fun agility courses, games, and a little technique instruction. Coach Rob Murphy and alumni Annabel Hagen will be helping with this group.
Merit & Commitment Scholarship Recipients
At JHSC and in the Nordic program we feel that it's important to acknowledge and support outstanding achievement of athletes that go above and beyond. A handful of Nordie's athlete's that competed at Junior Nationals in Truckee, CA are recipeitnets of the Betty Woolsey Merit Scholarship. Congratulations to Bridger Stiles, Aurora Stiles, Desmond Concannon and Mac Wirth for their achievements and thanks for participating in the scholarship application process.
Four recipients qualified for the Nordic Commitment Scholarship this year. The scholarship supports athletes that hold the best year-round attendance and keep their 10 month training log up to date. Congratulations to Aurora Stiles who attended 160 training sessions, Desmond Concannon (154 sessions), Bridger Stiles, (154 sessions), and Birch Klomparens (156 sessions)!
