NENSA Gaining Ground Clinic: Dec 3-5, 2004

Notes and Ideas

INDEX:

Dorcas Wonsavage: Age Appropriate Development:

Coaching Multi-Level, Multi-Age Teams and Clubs by Fred Griffin

Do’s and Don’ts for Anyone Working with Children

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Pat Cote: The Next Years, a Development Philosophy

Notes

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Teaching Technique

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Speed Notes from Eli Brown

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Physiology Notes from Nick Mahood

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Wax Manuals

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Friday Evening:

Dorcas Wonsavage: Age-Appropriate Development

Coaching Multi-Level, Multi-Age Teams and Clubs by Fred Griffin

I hear it from both sides.

I hear it from coaches frustrated working with athletes of varying ages in middle school/high school programs, or from BKL Leaders in despair over dealing with the even wider BKL age group, 4 – 13.

“Some want to race. Others just want to socialize. What do I do?”

“I can deal with the committed ones, but it’s so hard to motivate the others…” I hear it from parents and kids alarmed by coaches who don’t run a program that meets their needs or their children’s needs.

“Suzy doesn’t want to race! She joined BKL because she loves to be outdoors with her friends and ski. She hates this…”

“I want to be the best skier I can be. I want to race in college. Coach is making us all do the same thing. It’s too easy. I need more! But he says it’s for the good of the team”

What is sad is that everyone wants the same thing: kids to have fun in a rewarding sport they love. So how do we get there? How do we please Mom, Dad, coach, athlete? For many years I’ve been coaching clubs and schools with kids ranging in ages from 10 -19 in the sports of tennis, running, and cross-country skiing. Quite honestly, we don’t have this problem. Below is my philosophy.

1. One Size Does Not Fit All.

A team is an aggregate of individuals. Each athlete has his or her needs. Maybe it is my years of teaching handicapped kids, or maybe a lifetime of being an unrepentant misfit—but it is very clear to me that when it comes to sports, each athlete deserves to be on his/her own IEP: Individual Exercise Program. Shift your thinking and stop fitting the kids to the program-- fit the program to the kids! I know this goes against “old school”, ball-sports theory, but do anything less and you are diminishing the chance for every child to succeed.
On our middle school/high school team we have kids who are loose-limbed bundles of tender growing plates, not ready for hard training physically or mentally. We have kids who show up tentative, who can’t look past just wanting to be more fit. Competition and hard workouts are a terrifying prospect unless and until they slowly transition into new bodies. We have kids who are highly motivated but who don’t report in shape. They have to be let off the leash gradually or they will injure themselves in their zeal. And of course, we have kids who know the drill, who come in fit, hungry, ready to eat raw meat.

In BKL groups this translates into first year skiers tentatively checking out a new sport on borrowed fishscales, fit kids who have no interest in racing but can live n the woods, and children of current or former racers who arrive on top end gear looking for high-powered action

If every child is run through the same program it is either too hard or too easy for those on the other sides a relatively narrow cross-section. The fit and motivated kids become bored and frustrated and act accordingly. The less fit are unable to keep up, and feel shame or dislike for themselves. They tend to be scorned or patronized on some level by their more fit teammates—that is, if they don’t quit after two weeks. Meanwhile a coach goes crazy trying to see some kids don’t slough off and trying to keep other kids in line. Clearly, one size fits all thinking creates unhealthy dynamics up and down the roster. The good news is that there is a way out of this mess. Read on.

2. Have the Kids Set Goals.

Goal-setting is at the heart of the coach/athlete relationship. The expectations the process creates in both parties constitute an informal contract. The terms of that contract take form in athlete’s training program and in the coach’s part in implementing it. We make this a formal process on teams I coach. An interview follows. For BKL kids it is most often only an interview. I give older kids a deadline for return of the goal sheets. After that, no sheet, no practice. I make them focus on what they want to learn or to change—not on where they think they should finish, or who they should beat. We race with our teammates, not against them.
When I know what they want from the sport, the season, I know how to coach them. Where to push, where to pat. Practice time is too precious to spend forcing square pegs into round holes. It’s also painful for the pegs. After all, I’m there for them—they aren’t there for me. Right? And a team is an aggregate of individuals, right?
I find the Success Chart we offer to BKL Club Leaders is an excellent goal-setting template for BKL kids. It also provides a seasonal lesson plan with multiple tracks offered each day. It binds a club program with a sense of purpose as well.

3. Set up different programs, or “pathways” for each practice.

From the goal sheets I learn how the team settles out and I correlate this to what I have seen of the kids fitness-wise. For this year’s group of thirty kids ages 11 – 18, I started with five 5 groups. I posted a list of who was in what group and hung it on the wall. If anyone was unhappy we would have gone back to goals sheets and talked it out. No one was. Each day while the kids were dressing I posted the day’s schedule on the blackboard thusly:

Everyone: warm-up, stretch, double pole lessons; afterwards by group
Wolverines: ski through the woods trail and double pole the two small hills of on backside; total ski 30 minutes then you are on your time.
Jaguars: 15 minutes dble pole only; ski 30 minutes more. Finish with 6 x 40 second dble pole repeats superfast, on soccer field
Civet Cats: dble pole 30 minutes; ski 30 more; 6 x 20 second dble pole repeats on the hill beside the soccer field
Bobcats: 30 minute dble pole, 10 min single stick,, 35 minute ski afterwards; 10 x 20 second power pole on soccer field hill
Everyone: British Bulldog at 4:45 on soccer field

For a BKL practice I prefer not to place kids in groups but instead to offer elective activities.
Everyone: warm-up, stretch, game; lesson on dble pole
Activity #1 ski tour looking for animal tracks; remember to dble pole on flats
Activity #2 dble pole relay followed by free ski with lots of double-poling
Everyone: finish with game

I add in specific activities from the Success Chart. I expand on Success Chart offerings

4. Provide Freedom to Change Workout Groups

This is the beauty of the program. Recovering from a cold? Drop down one group or two. Feeling frisky? Go up one and try it on for size. The only rule is you need the coach’s approval. If a person is not performing to a chosen group level, I take the athlete aside and ask if his/her goals have changed. They move to an easier workout if they desire. This almost never happens. Movement is upward, just in the direction you as a coach want it to be. Wolverine Suzy will ask to be a Jaguar for a day, then another. Pretty soon Suzy is a Jaguar. Most years if I start with five groups, I end with three.

Granted, this is an athlete-centered as opposed to a team-centered model, but year after year it produces a community, a tight-knit caring team, second to none. Because each athlete is judged by his/her own criteria, every child has respect for every other child who makes an honest effort. The program is performance-based, and not outcome-based. It’s not what we do but how we do what we do that is the focus. As a coach of a performance-based team you are making it possible for each of your athletes to pursue personal excellence. You are creating a nutrient environment in which kids can grow. Team excellence follows organically. This may translate into one child losing ten pounds and skiing 5k without stopping, or it may result in another being state champion or making the Junior Olympic Team. It may mean a BKL Club that succeeds as a group because its skiers succeed as individuals. You have made room for both children and both visions—and the point is that there must be room for both.

You might just end up a satisfied coach of a thriving program with excited kids who have pleased parents.

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Do’s and Don’ts for Anyone Working with Children
(from the New England BKL Parent/Leader Manual)

Do:
• be flexible, patient, enthusiastic, supportive
• create a “safe” environment for children where their efforts are praised and where their failures are never ridiculed
• let children ski as much as possible every practice
• keep variety/creativity at the heart of every practice
• explore new terrain and skiing sites
• make adjustments to plans during practice relative to weather and children’s interest
• provide only brief verbal instruction
• look in the children’s eyes. Their eyes will tell you when you are talking too long
• give positive feedback from first moment to last
• watch each child for signs of fatigue, chill, or injured feelings
• encourage skiers to focus on their development and not on the progress of others.
• encourage respect for the environment
• insist that good sportsmanship, respectful conduct, and appropriate language are necessary to be part of your group
• teach that effort is the measure of success
• encourage each child to say something positive about his or herself before, during, but especially after a practice or a race

Don’t
• be sarcastic for any reason; there’s always a more effective approach
• create a “stage” where one skier is on display
• give long explanations
• let the children get cold.
• force an unwilling child to participate
• allow children to treat each other in verbally, psychologically, or physically abusive ways

The Responsibilities and Roles Of Parents
It is difficult to think of a sport that lends itself to family involvement more easily and thoroughly than cross-country skiing. Parental participation is a cornerstone of the NEBKL. It is not a coincidence that the children who stick with cross-country skiing are those whose parents come to ski with them, or come to watch them ski or watch them race. Without the cooperation and involvement of parents on all levels a BKL Club is hard-pressed to succeed.

Responsibilities of Parents
• to transport children to and from club activities-- be part of a car-pooling team if possible
• to be sure children have the proper equipment and clothes, snacks and water
• to be supportive and encouraging
• to participate in club activities as much as possible
• to encourage the efforts and progress of all skiers-- not just their children
• to assist the club leader/coach in encouraging safe, responsible behavior
• to assist the club leader/coach in encouraging respect for others
• to assist the club leader/coach in encouraging respect for the environment

Parent’s Role in Club Activities
• to never force a child to race
• to remember that children ski for their enjoyment-- not for their parent’s
• to encourage their children to measure their own progress and not to compare themselves against other children
• to teach their children that success is measured by effort, not victory
• to congratulate and encourage all children
• to never publicly question a club leader’s or race official’s judgment

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Pat Cote: Athlete Development Philosophy beyond the BKL Years

Environment

• The New England Nordic Ski Association believes that all skiers should belong to an active club.
1) Development of athletes is accelerated when skiers can train together on a daily basis.
2) Development of athletes is accelerated when skiers are surrounded by the best tools, including: age-appropriate coaching, training partners, excellent training facilities, financial support, education/career opportunities, ski service, experts in physiology, strength, nutrition, psychology, medicine, etc. Each club should strive to bring these resources to their skiers.

• As athletes, coaches, and parents we are committed to the production and maintenance of a positive and harmonious team environment that will allow all of us to achieve our potential.

• Athletes and coaches must be patient.

• We understand that group cohesion, in combination with a strong work ethic is a powerful mechanism for enhanced performance.

• Athletes and coaches are encouraged to commit to the sport of cross-country skiing. It takes courage to commit to reaching your full potential. “If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong. “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”

• Innovation (taking calculated risks) is key to the development of individual skiers.

• Every athlete and coach must work together to find a pathway to success that is individual to each skier.

•Competitions must be challenging and appropriate (i.e. success must be possible)

• Educational and career opportunities must be readily available to athletes. Athletes of all ages should value education.

• Clubs should foster the development of well-rounded individuals who are valuable members of their community.

Training

• New England clubs focus on long-term rather than short-term success. The average age of World Cup winner is 30 +/- years old!

• The primary focus of a NENSA club is building a community of support for cross-country skiers. At the appropriate age, the primary focus becomes training. With a secondary focus on results. We focus on accomplishment of daily, monthly, and yearly training markers. Results accompany the completion of these markers.

• Consistency in training from year to year is critical.

• Focus on the fundamentals:
1) Technique
2) Aerobic endurance and general strength
3) Anaerobic capacity and specific strength

• Technique must be addressed early in a skier’s development so that muscle memory reinforces good technique.

• Technique is a daily commitment.

• Technique should be addressed in the direction of general to the specific in the order of:
1) Body Position
2) Basic Motions
3) Energy Application

• The fundamentals of good technique don’t change as the sport evolves. Only the advanced principles of technique (timing, energy application) change.

• Strength must be developed in the direction of general to specific, in the order of:
1) General Strength
2) Core Strength
3) Specific Strength

• Strength and technique are interdependent. An athlete with only 90% technical efficiency can only use 90% of his strength and vice versa.

• Strength training is a year round activity.

• Focusing on endurance, strength, and intensity during different training blocks reduces overall stress on athletes.

• Periodization maximizes long-term training adaptations.

• Recovery is as important as training in the adaptation process.

• Concentrating on volume during the late spring, summer and early fall allows for more recovery close to the competition season and more consistent results.

• Endurance training is a year round activity.

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Saturday:

Teaching Technique

All technique teaching should follow this progressions:

1. Body Position

2. Fundamental Motion / Basic Movements

3. Application of Power

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Nick Mahood Physiology Notes

What are we doing when we train?
1. Training places a stress upon the body
2. Because of this stress, your body is initially fatigued and temporarily weaker
3. With appropriate recovery your body rebuilds damaged tissues.
4. When rebuilding it overcompensates so that it is now stronger resulting in a higher fitness level.

Training principles -How to manipulate the training stimulus
1. Frequency –How often
2. Intensity –How hard
3. Duration –How long
4. Progressive overload –gradually increasing training stimulus over time

Prescribing training intensity

To effectively train workouts need to be performed at the correct intensity. Why? Because physiological adaptations vary depending on the intensity you are training at. The simplest way to monitor your training intensity is through the use of a POLAR Heart rate monitor.

Why use Heart Rate (HR) to prescribe training intensity?There is a linear relationship between HR and intensity. Therefore, if you know your HR you will know how hard you are training.

HR is used to prescribe training intensity by establishing target HR training zones. The simplest and most effective way to set up these zones is to use a percentage of your maximum HR.Team Rossignol recommends using the following HR training zones

% HR max Comments
<60% Recovery workouts
60-70% Base training
70-80% Garbage zone
80-90% Threshold
90-100% High Intensity

Using a POLAR HR monitor will ensure that you stay in the correct HR training zone!

Recovery workouts
1. Performed after hard workouts or races
2. This is not training, but preparation for the next training session.
3. No stress on the body, an easy session to speed recovery
EXAMPLE: 30min jog the day after a marathon

Base Training
1. Measure duration in time not distance
2. Increases ability to transport and use oxygen
3. Increase muscular efficiency
4. Prepares your body for high intensity workouts
5. Prepares your body for the physical stress of long races
EXAMPLE: 3hr skiing skate technique to prepare for Birkie

Garbage Zone
Training too hard on easy days = training to easy on hard days

Threshold Training

1. Allows you to use a greater % of your VO2max
2. Causes shift from aerobic to anaerobic energy production to occur at a higher intensity
3. Increases ability to clear lactate produced
EXAMPLE: 2x20min skiing w/ 5min rest between

High Intensity Training

1. Races and Time-trials

2. High Intensity Intervals
a. Increase VO2max
EXAMPLE: 4x4min w/ 2min rest between

3. Speed Work
a. Performed above race speed
b. Increase power
c. Improves technique at high speed
EXAMPLE: 4x50m during 2hr rollerski

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Speed Notes from Eli Brown