click to enlarge Our short loop has as much terrain as you could ask for in a short loop.

We’ve been in Canada since Monday rocking out on the hamster wheel of man made snow. Our routine is pretty simple by now: ski a couple hours in the morning, dryland or another ski in the afternoon. It gets dull to hear about training but here’s what’s true. We’re skiing technically well as a team. The changes we’ve made on rollerskis are solidified and we’re heading into the competition season ready to rock. It stings a bit to be left without good skiing in the east, when there’s ample stuff in West Yellowstone, but the truth is there’s a lot of time before the season kicks in, in earnest and the focus is solid training, getting in the hours and focusing on the goals for the year. Thanksgiving tonight and we have huge parental support with the Levins, Rich & Marston clans delving out some fine dining. Photos as they arrive. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

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click to enlarge Simi Hamilton '09 racing for SVSEF.

Simi Hamilton finished just behind Garrott Kuzzy in the opening sprint of the season. More below at fasterskier.com

Garrott Kuzzy '06 skiing for the USST. (fasterskier photos)

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1. Four bowls of cereal (from dining hall)
2. Bag of Beef Jerky
3. Nestle King Cone
4. Cracker Jacks (for a little patriotism)
5. Some upholstery from the van
6. Gas station hot dog bun (forgot to put the dog in)
7. Ross Pizza (to go)
8. Giant Sized Muskateer bar

click to enlarge This is pretty much how we play.

With temps hovering in the low-50s, we've had some incredible weather for training...a bit too incredible to be sure. Winter's delay has allowed us to tune up a few final times. We soldiered up Brandon Gap last week for potentially the last time in 2009. Tim Reynolds (you may remember him from previous blog posts) joined us from his new digs in Craftsbury. It was warm enough for Corinne to rock a sleeveless shirt.

The rest of the week has been solid, but a bit of a routine week. Another bounding session at the snowbowl. (No shortage of L4 this year.) An still more days in the gym with the fad that is basketball on our team.

I'd hoped to have photos by now but since the trusty D70 is at the repair center and the team hasn't come through, I'll have to rely on a thousand words to describe the men's team's new Basketball jerseys. Hilarious might be the first one. Imagine some fairly legit looking jerseys with "Ski Team" on the front. The back is as delicate as Graham Egan ever is so I'll leave that for when the camera is back in full swing. Patty recounted a tale of seeing a recruit and their parents walking through the halls of the athletic facility and the father stopping and seeing the team playing aggressive, if not talented basketball. "Is that the basketball team?" The dad asked. "No." The touring coach replied, "That's the ski team." "Good," The dad added, "They're really bad." Indeed.

We're officially in training camp today. I loaded up the cap gun for some starts, complete with a few misfires so folks will be ready when those EISA starts happen....a...bit........late.

We're nailing down a 3+ hour tour from Whiting to Brandon Gap tomorrow.

More to come and more often. Even without the camera. It's been a great season so far, the most cohesive I've seen this team- looking forward to what's to come.

Brandon Gap Video from last weekend:

Untitled

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Been loving these workouts....

Links and Resources

Head Nordic Coach

Andrew Gardner

Gardner enters his fourth season at the helm of the men's and women's nordic ski teams. He came to Middlebury from Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) in Carbondale, Colo where he was Nordic Program Director. Since coming to New England, he acted as the wax tech for the 2008 Junior National Team, a coach at regional development camps and serves on the U23 NENSA board. Gardner is the coordinator for sustainability in athletics, serving on the college's environmental council. In the summer he enjoys road racing for the MetLife cycling team.

agardner@middlebury.edu

o: 802.443.5963

Assistant Nordic Coach

Patty Ross

Now entering her 23rd year as a full-time coach of Middlebury nordic skiing, Patty came to the College after four years of world-class competition. She was one of five American women nordic skiers to compete in the Sarajevo Olympics in 1984; she also competed internationally with the U.S. national team from 1983 to 1986. Patty graduated from the University of New Hampshire, where she was an All-East collegiate skier and captain of the Wildcat team. While at UNH, Patty competed in the World University Games in Sofia, Bulgaria. As a coach for the International Special Olympic Games, Patty received a Distinguished Service Award in 1984. She acted as a coach for the U23/ World Junior Championships in Italy in 2008.

o: 802.443.5006

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