Let me preface my comments with an apology to the owners of Live-Timing. I in no way intend to demonize them for having created Live-Timing. I’m sure they developed Live-Timing in good faith as a means of helping the ski-racing community to share race information. Unfortunately, as with many types of technology and social media, [...]
I’m a big believer in creating a mental toolbox that is filled with tools you can use in training and on race day to fix the inevitable “flat tires” you will experience as a ski racer. Usually when I talk about mental tools, I mean tools such as imagery, routines, breathing, and self-talk. But there’s [...]
The transition from U16s to U19s is an important and challenging rite of passage for every young ski racer. The year of FIS racing is also a crucible that tests racers physical, technically, tactically, and, especially, psychologically and emotionally. To continue to pursue your ski racing goals, you must “survive” and, in fact, find ways [...]
It’s that time of year again. Winter is approaching (or already started) and if you’re the parent of one more ski racers, or a ski racer yourself, you can expect to spend many hours over the coming months in a tuning room or garage filing, waxing and scraping ski after ski after ski after ski [...]
A wonderful article about Lindsey Vonn that describes the physical, psychological, and emotional challenges she faced as one of history's greatest ski racers and following her retirement. A nice reminder that those whom we revere from afar are as human as we are (to paraphrase a well-known saying, Lindsey "puts her speed suit on one [...]
November has arrived and race season is just around the corner (or already started if you’re a World Cupper). So, now is the time when parents start to communicate (usually unconsciously) expectations for their young racers and, in turn, when those young racers can start to feel the weight of expectations that are placed on [...]
One of the most frequent comments I hear from the racers I work with is: “I had a lousy day of training.” This statement was almost always accompanied by a variety of emotions that are neither pleasant nor helpful including frustration, anger, worry, doubt, and disappointment, and, occasionally, despair. Moreover, I saw that this assertion [...]
Because ski racing isn’t a team sport in the usual sense of the word, little is attention is given to the influence that individual athletes can have on a ski team, whether healthy or toxic. Nor do we often think about how a team in ski racing can have a significant effect on the performances [...]
Being a ski coach is a tough job. There is everything you need to know about conditioning, technique, tactics, equipment, and, of course, the mind. There are the logistics of organizing training, travel, and races for a group of athletes, and adapting to the ever-changing conditions inherent in ski racing. There are also the not-very-fun [...]
I rarely post anything on my blog and social media that isn't related to my professional life. But, given that many of my social media followers are from the world of ski racing, I'm posting a job announcement for the new Executive Director of SBSTA (I'm a member of its Board of Trustees, co-chair of [...]
