With the off-season prep period for ski racers now underway, I will begin my series of articles about how to incorporate mental training in your summer training later this week. My approach to off-season mental training is the same as with physical conditioning and on-snow training: Your mental training must be comprehensive, structured, and consistent. [...]
It’s one thing to say that you want to be the best ski racer you can be. It’s an entirely different thing to actually do the things necessary to achieve that goal. In other words, talk is cheap! You have to want it and you have to want it bad! Why? Because the chances are [...]
The race season is finally over for most racers (for others, a few more weeks to go). After a long and demanding winter, you’re probably tired of skiing (regardless of whether the season was a triumph or a disappointment). It’s time to hang up your skis, pack away your gear, kick back, relax, and forget [...]
I was speaking to a World Cup athlete after his country’s national championship recently and he told me that all he could think about in the start was how much he didn’t want to be there. He was burned out and just wanted the season to be over. Yet, this athlete also said that he [...]
The conclusion of a race season can be a time of excitement, relief, and suffering for parents. The excitement comes when your young ski racers have just concluded a season that exceeded their expectations. The sense of pride and satisfaction can be palatable and reinforces why you have your children in our oh-so-demanding sport. The [...]
The 2018-19 race season is approaching its conclusion. The Nor-Ams, Regional Championships, and other big races are now in our rearview mirror. Many racers are heading into the final stretch of races hoping to continue a successful season of high results and improved points and rankings. This group looks back on the race season with [...]
It’s that time of the race season when results REALLY start to matter, the championship season. For many racers in the U.S., the REALLY important races of the year—Divisionals, Regionals, and Nationals—are upon us and it’s REALLY important that they ski their best. Yet, this is also the time of year when many racers aren’t [...]
The race season is somewhere between one-half and two-thirds over for racers, depending on their age and level of development. Racers are deep into qualifying season as the end-of-year championships are approaching rapidly. Now is the time that you have to ski your fastest. The tough question, though, is how to achieve that goal at [...]
I’ve been working with a world-ranked junior athlete over the last few months and, in exploring why she doesn’t take more chances when she competes, she told me that a big goal of hers recently has been to “risk it for the biscuit.” I had never heard this expression and I laughed hysterically for almost [...]
Hard to believe that we’re about half way through the race season. For some, you’re having a great season and want it to continue. For others, you’re having an okay season and want to improve on it. And for still others, it has been a disappointing season so far and want to turn it around. [...]
