Points aren’t the Only Criterion of Success in This Race Season of COVID

The ski racing community is now deep into what is certainly the strangest race season ever, overshadowed, of course, by the Covid-19 pandemic. The predominant emotion I have seen in my work with athletes and in conversations with many more racers on and off the hill is…frustration. For many racers, it feels like a lost season in which opportunities for advancement up the competitive ladder are being stunted by fewer races and even fewer chances to lower their points. This frustration is especially acute for 1^st-year FIS racers who are trying their hardest to establish a FIS point profile, racers who want to race in college, those trying to make criteria to be named to the U.S. Ski Team, and those near the top who are trying to grab coveted World Cup starts through Nor-Am discipline wins (note: it appears that the Nor-Am series has been cancelled for 2020-21 due to Covid travel restrictions between the two countries). Everyone in the ski racing community feels for all the committed ski racers who feel held back by the pandemic.

Here is a simple reality for most ski racers. The primary criteria that racers use to judge their season is how much they improved their point profile, either USSA or FIS. Here is a common calculus that most racers use to determine what kind of season they are having:

Big reduction in points = Successful season

Small reduction = Okay season

No change = Disappointing season

Increase = Devastating season

Let me say this upfront. If you are judging this stranger-than-strange season only on your point profile, you are potentially setting yourself up for a big disappointment.

Here’s another simple reality. Ski racing is a sport where results matter. You don’t get ahead by working hard (though great effort is certainly required) or by being a nice person. You progress up the competitive food chain by lowering your points. You qualify for more competitive race series and get named to teams almost exclusively based on your points (yes, in some cases, there are discretionary picks, but you don’t want to leave your success in the hands of others). And let’s be even more honest. Psychologically and emotionally, you may base a good part of your self-identity as a ski racer (maybe too much) on your results and points.

A problem is that, for those with big aspirations, such as college skiing, the USST, or even higher, plateaus or declines in points from year to year can mean the end, or at least a major setback, for those aspirations. And Covid-19 throws a huge wrench in that machinery as well. Your reaction can range from disappointment (which can be motivating) to devastation (which can be deflating).

During this Covid-dominated season, this singular obsession with points can blind you to other criteria of success that demonstrate real progress even if you don’t lower your USSA or FIS points this year. It can also prevent you from seeing your season in the broader context of your long-term goals. Additionally, when you focus too much on your points, you keep yourself from recognizing that ski racing is definitely not a linear sport, meaning progress isn’t always steady or consistent. It’s more like the stock market in which it can have terrible years, okay years, and outstanding years. And, again, due to Covid-19, this season can feel like the Great Recession! But, if you step back and look at the stock market with big-picture perspective over a number of years, what you notice is that it continues to climb steadily. You should look at your racing in the same way.

Even without the pandemic, the frustrating fact is that ski racing progress often occurs in fits and starts influenced by a variety of factors including your physical and psychological development, your coaching, the arc of your skill development, as well as those outside of your control such as the improvement of your competitors, injuries, and snow and weather conditions. And Covid-19 has added to the frustration factor by limiting off-season conditioning opportunities, summer and fall on-snow training, and the winter race schedule.

Also, improving your points is often outside of your control. To the contrary, opportunities to lower your points have as much to do with luck as how you’re skiing. Over the years, I’ve seen racers make huge jumps in their points for reasons as fluky as fog lifting, wind dying down, and a low-point competitor making a costly mistake. Of course, you still must ski fast, but fast skiing isn’t always enough. Conversely, I’ve seen what appear to be incredible point opportunities dissolve for the same reasons I just mentioned.

With a good two months remaining of the race season and, hopefully, many more training and race opportunities ahead, here a few things you can do:

Recommit to giving your best effort through the end of the season.
Focus on what you can control (yourself!) and ignore what you can’t control (Covid-19, the race schedule).
Identify areas you still need to work on this season.
Double down on your on-snow training, sleep, nutrition, physical maintenance, and school.
Remind yourself why you ski race: because you love it!

Also, as the race season continues, I suggest that you broaden your definition of what constitutes a good season beyond your points. What should you look at and what questions should you ask? Here are a few ideas:

Am I stronger this season than I was last season?
Am I better technically and tactically?
Am I mentally stronger: more motivated, confident, intense, and focused?
Am I more competitive against my fast teammates in timed training runs?
Am I closer to my competitors in races than last year?

Improvement in these essential contributors to fast skiing doesn’t always lead immediately to better results and lower points, especially during this Covid-infected season. Sometimes it takes time for all these necessary contributors to lower points to gel. It can sometimes take more than one season for the many pieces of the fast-skiing puzzle to all come together.

As Shakespeare once said, “One bad season doth not a career make (or break).” Actually, I just made that up, but you get the point.

Sure, you’re going to be disappointed if you don’t improve your point profile this season. But don’t let it devastate you and don’t let it cause you to give up on your dream. Be patient, stay committed, and, at some point, good things will happen, including lower points.

Want to make mental training a part of your winter training and race plan? Here are a few options: