I’m up at Sugar Bowl with my wife and two daughters for our pre-Christmas vacation and our week has been both incredibly enjoyable and challenging in some ways. Perhaps because of the indescribable joy I experience skiing with my family, plus it being the holiday season and the end of another year, I’ve been waxing [...]
That’s the song, with the modified lyrics, that has been playing in my head for the last few weeks. Why’s that, you ask? Let me explain. Unlike many of my ski racing peers whose children are now racing for Vail, attending ski academies, skiing in college, or even pursuing careers beyond our sport, I got [...]
Of course, I’m not talking about just any old 8th place finish in a ski race. After four previous World Cup starts in which she didn’t qualify for the second run, 16-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin broke through with an impressive top-10 finish (starting 37th) at the World Cup slalom in Aspen recently. Though Mikaela’s result was [...]
One of your most essential goals in your children's lives as ski racers is to have them gain ownership of their participation. They need to feel that ski racing is their thing. But ownership isn’t just something that they can gain on their own. Rather, it is a gift you give them that offers so [...]
It’s natural to feel some increase in your intensity before a race. You’re putting yourself to the test and want to ski your best. That increase in intensity means that your body is gearing up for the challenge. But when that rise in intensity turns to anxiety that can hurt your skiing, then you’ve got [...]
For you to send the healthiest possible messages to your young racers requires that you fully buy into my notion that children become the messages they get the most. Though it seems to be a pretty intuitive and reasonable concept, I feel the need to thoroughly convince you of the profound value of messages to your [...]
Last season I wrote two articles in which I discussed the importance of confidence and five keys to Prime Confidence. With the new season approaching and this issue no less important, I want to return to the topic of confidence and devote my next two articles directed at racers to more practical ways you can [...]
Note: This post is excerpted from my latest parenting book, Your Children are Listening: Nine Messages They Need to Hear from You. I have a Ph.D. in Psychology, am the author of two previous parenting books, have a consulting practice that involves working with young people and their parents, and regularly speak to gatherings of parents, educators, and [...]
Hopefully, you heeded my advice from my second to last column at the end of last season and spent the summer getting ready for this winter of racing. If so, you should be stronger, better technically, and more mentally prepared than ever before. You're now entering the final stage of preparations for the upcoming race [...]
Two weeks ago, I shared with you my list of Dos for Ski Racing Parents. In general, I much prefer to focus on the positives of behavior and, in that article, emphasized what parents can do to help their ski-racing children achieve their goals and have a great experience in our sport. At the same [...]