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From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Tag: female coaches

  • On Pregnancy, Postpartum Recovery, and NCAA Ski Coaching: Eliška Albrigtsen (Part 2)

    On Pregnancy, Postpartum Recovery, and NCAA Ski Coaching: Eliška Albrigtsen (Part 2)

    The journey into motherhood, though challenging, has also been rewarding for UAF head coach Eliška Albrigtsen. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    Part 1 of this story details Eliška’s experience coaching through pregnancy and the birth of her son. Keep reading to learn about the challenges she, like many women, experienced during the postpartum recovery process, and what it took to navigate year one of life on the road with baby Viggo.

    Expectation versus reality. 

    When preparing to interview Eliška Albrigtsen about her experience pairing NCAA coaching with new motherhood, I expected the challenges she faced during her transition to primarily be focused on the balancing act of managing a demanding job with frequent travel and a new baby. Maybe a few relatable stories of airport meltdowns, sleepless nights in hotels while on the road with the team, and inopportune timing of diaper blowouts. Or any number of other ways societal systems in the US seem to be structured in opposition to new moms in the workplace.  

    But Eliška’s passion for her job and dedication to her athletes were abundantly clear throughout the conversation; coaching is where she thrived. Her grit and energy allowed her to problem solve bringing baby Viggo on the road with the team – perhaps paired with the added fortune of a husband whose skill set includes waxing and ski testing and a well placed mother-in-law eager to help care for her grandson. And the team embraced its new member without hesitation.

    In reality, the biggest challenges Eliška faced in returning to coaching postpartum were connected to the physiological impacts pregnancy and delivery had on her body. In short, it was a discussion on the shortcomings of our healthcare system and the myriad of ways the current standard of postpartum care falls short of what many women require to restore their body to full function.

    Her story highlights a few key takeaways for programs looking to support women coaches surrounding pregnancy; in particular, there’s much more to the return to coaching than navigating who will care for your child while you’re out training with athletes and traveling to races. Respecting the timeline of a slow return, and perhaps offsetting the costs of postpartum physical therapy, may be an essential component of an improved and holistic support system.  

    Eliška Albrigtsen in action at US Nationals in Soldier Hollow, UT. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    Postpartum Recovery

    A theme of Eliška’s narrative of her perinatal experience was the ways in which her “athlete mindset” served and hindered her ability to roll with the punches. 

    While women like Kikkan Randall, Marit Bjørgen, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen paved the way for women looking to begin their family before retiring from professional skiing in many ways, Eliška said that the ease with which they outwardly seemed to rebound beyond their previous levels of fitness was, in some ways, a disservice to women like herself who did not experience as smooth a return. In her mind, she had expected a comparable experience given her athleticism and good health, but quickly learned that women might be better served using caution when extrapolating from outliers. 

    “You see these professional skiers having babies and then coming back and winning gold medals at [the] Olympics,” she said. “And you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s gonna be me.’ But no one really sees the giant support team they have behind them.

    “They have professional doctors, physical therapists, and strength and conditioning [specialists] to go through their pregnancy with them, monitoring everything, having them at the birth, and then jumping right into the recovery. As a coach, you don’t get that. You probably have the same amount of on-ski hours as professional skiers – not the same quality of course, but you can’t do your job without being there. So I think that’s how most of our ski community sees pregnancy – so easy and you are an even better athlete afterwards, because all these women did it…

    “For me, it was the opposite. It was hell. I can’t wear the clothes that I wore when I was pregnant because I have extreme PTSD from that… it was such a, not just physically but painfully, impacting experience.” 

    Though expectation and reality could not have been more different, her drive to recover from the injuries sustained from pregnancy and birth, and the creativity required to adapt during the recovery process, mirrored her general approach as an athlete more broadly. 

    “I think the athlete mindset in me was, ‘Okay, I had this baby. Now I put myself through physical therapy, and I’m gonna recover’… Just like after having a shoulder dislocation or having a torn iliopsoas, all those pretty crazy injuries – I knew that eventually you get better, and you get back to yourself.”

    What Eliška identified as the biggest physical challenge she faced after the birth of her son was the repair of a condition called diastasis recti (DR), which is a separation and consequential loss of function and strength of the rectus abdominis muscles. 

    Happy baby and happy mom. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    During pregnancy, as a woman’s belly expands to accommodate the growing baby, the muscles of the abdomen are forced to stretch. The deeper muscle layers, known as the transverse abdominis, are structured like a corset wrapping around the belly, giving them a greater capacity to expand. However, the rectus abdominis muscles, better known as the “six pack” muscles, run vertically while connected by fascia, and have significantly less ability to adapt to the expansion. 

    Instead, the outward pressure and growth of the belly causes the rectus abdominis muscles to separate, thinning and weakening the fascia as it stretches, or in extreme cases, tearing it.

    “When I was the most pregnant, my six pack was under my armpits.” 

    This connective tissue cannot simply snap back to its original state after delivery. As fascia lacks the blood flow of muscle tissue, it is slow to heal, leaving many women with a gap between muscles known as a diastasis. All women experience some amount of ab separation during pregnancy, but if the gap of two or more finger widths between the muscles persists postpartum, she is diagnosed with DR. 

    Because of the combination of her stature, a short torso, and the size of her baby, Eliška found herself with an extreme separation. 

    “Basically, you could stick your whole fist into my stomach. That was the biggest problem for me because I basically lost my core. And my core was a big part of me as an athlete – not just as a skier, but as an athlete. So that was really hard.” 

    As she hopes for a second child down the road, any surgical repair options were contraindicated, and instead, Eliška dedicated herself to a physical therapy regimen. She felt lucky to have access to a Fairbanks-based Osteopathic medicine expert, Dr. Todd Capistrant, who specializes in the Fascial Distortion Model and was therefore primed to help Eliška improve her diastasis. 

    “I saw him basically on a weekly basis.”

    She also met regularly with a pelvic floor physical therapist, both to work on the diastasis, and to restore appropriate function to the muscles of her pelvic floor. Her PT identified that her pelvic floor was hypertonic, meaning the muscles carried tension chronically, rather than contracting and relaxing in functional patterns. Like holding a flexed arm hang and then being asked to knock out a set of chin-ups, this chronic low-level tension leads to fatigue in the pelvic floor muscles, preventing them from outputting the strength and tension required to support the organs sitting inside the pelvic girdle and interact appropriately with surrounding musculature when recruited during activity.

    With the guidance of the PT and a set of progressive exercises to relax and engage her muscles appropriately, Eliška saw progress, but it took time for her muscles to function in coordination subconsciously.

    “It took me probably around eight months to incorporate the mental [and neuromuscular] connections back. I was able to [engage the muscles] when I wanted to, but all the muscles of the pelvic floor, everything that’s sitting in the pelvis, they were not working with the rest of my body.”

    On the bench: Eliška Albrigtsen prepares skis for the UAF athletes. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    She expressed feeling lucky to have access to high level care in Fairbanks, including her therapist who could incorporate a variety of techniques to help her recover, including deep tissue massage, cupping, electrical muscle stimulation, and biofeedback.

    “I think biofeedback for athletes just works the best. Because we’re such strong willed people. Like, if we see it happening, we can really focus on making it happen more.” 

    An unexpected benefit of time and resources being placed into learning how to strengthen and reintegrate her deeper core musculature trickled down to her athletes. She recognized that several of her athletes, who had complained of back pain surrounding core workouts, were not sufficiently engaging their transverse abdominis muscles, instead relying too heavily on the outer rectus abdominis or other smaller core muscles. Teaching the techniques she learned through PT helped improve the form of her athletes, relieving the back pain they had experienced previously. 

    “It definitely deepened my understanding of how the core should work, and how we use it when we ski.”

    As she navigated her own challenges, she became aware through talking with friends of how common these experiences are amongst mothers. Describing herself as “someone who says everything”, she felt it was important to both be open regarding the challenges she’s faced, and the resources and options available for women to make progress toward recovery, rather than accept the conditions as permanent. 

    Most women only receive one postpartum checkup, approximately six weeks after delivery. As my own pelvic floor PT described it, these visits typically only check to see that the tissues have healed and that there are no visible pelvic organ prolapses, but most midwives and OB/GYN practitioners do not have the depth of knowledge to assess muscle function, hence the need for an evaluation from a pelvic floor PT. However, quality pelvic floor physical therapy is not universally available, and as it is not always covered by insurance, making it cost-prohibitive for many women to continue care long enough to make sufficient progress.  

    “I think the most tragic experience post-pregnancy that I had was the realization that women are left being damaged from bringing life to the world.”

    As she discussed her own experience with the women in her community, in turn, many of them shared that they continued to suffer from the impacts of ab separation or pelvic floor dysfunction from pregnancies, including friends who were more than ten years postpartum. Some of these women had given up activities they had enjoyed previously, like running, because they felt as though they were “spilling their guts” out of their bellies due to a lack of core function. 

    “How is this okay for women to live this way? That was just mind blowing to me.”

    Imparting the knowledge she gained in the process, and advocating for women to find their own ways to make it work, she offered up suggestions.

    “I was just like, ‘Hey, if you can’t go to physical therapy, this is how you tape your belly, so at least you can start hiking fast.”

    At roughly 13 months postpartum at the time of the call, Eliška recognized the improvements she’s made, while still acknowledging she has not fully recovered. 

    “It’s [been] more than a year, and I feel functional. I still have pains and I would not go and enter a race, because my brain can push much harder than my body can, so I know I would hurt myself. But I’m so much better than most of my friends that, you know, [had to] just give it up…”

    Eliška Albrigtsen lead the UAF Nanooks to an historic seventh place finish at 2022 NCAA Championships following the birth of her son in February 2021. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    As she worked with athletes through the fall and winter, Eliška found ways to adapt her ski technique to avoid putting unnecessary strain on the musculature she was working to rehab, and work instead with the muscles that already had the necessary strength. In particular, she needed to change her doublepole technique.

    By returning to the older style of doublepoling, which involved less of a crunch through the abdomen than modern technique, instead increasing the bend at the waist and relying more heavily on the arm and shoulder muscles. 

    “I don’t have the strength there anymore [to crunch]. My muscles are two three packs, they’re not connected. So I go into doublepole and I tighten my  lower belly, but then I pull my butt up kind of like into downward dog instead, and work with my arms again.”

    Multitasking: Eliška Albrigtsen feeds her son trailside while on the road for competition. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    Another lingering problem she has experienced is a result of the endocrinological changes experienced surrounding pregnancy. To allow the body to grow during pregnancy and a widening of the hips for delivery, the body releases an aptly-named hormone called relaxin, which acts on cartilage and other soft tissues to allow expansion and increased joint mobility to occur. The production of relaxin typically declines after delivery, but remains higher than normal for the duration of breastfeeding.

    While beneficial for pregnancy, it also puts perinatal women at a higher risk of joint instability and consequently injury. 

    Eliška shared that she seems to produce an above average amount of relaxin, which has continued to affect her postpartum as a nursing mom. She experienced joint pain, particularly in her pubic symphysis joint at the front of the pelvis, with unexpected movements – like slipping on ice or mud. “And it’s always slippery here. Like 10 months out of the year.”

    “On skis, I don’t have a problem. Because everything’s gliding and I already have the natural anticipation of gliding. But walking and slipping – I try to catch myself and my muscles, my joints, my tendons are just too loose.” 

    Reflecting on her journey through the first year postpartum, the lack of care available to most women remained at the forefront of her mind. The impact of these types of conditions, which linger if left untreated, affects more than just the level of activity a woman can enjoy. As those who have experienced it (waves hand) can attest, the emotional toll affects quality of life more broadly. 

    “I would absolutely fight for every woman to be able to have a year of free PT [after pregnancy]. You just need your life back.”

    Life on the Road

    There’s a commonly used phrase when it comes to raising children: “It takes a village.” This resonated as Eliška shared insights into what support was necessary to allow baby Viggo to travel with the team through the competition season.

    While children under two-years-old are typically able to fly for free on their parents’ laps, the travel of the person who would care for Viggo while Eliška was working is not. Fortunately, her husband Tobias was already incorporated as a volunteer assistant coach, and had both the skillset and the NCAA certifications to play a variety of roles during travel, which also got him on the payroll to offset travel costs.

    “I’m lucky that my husband’s quite good tester and waxer as well. And traveling with a full team this year, six [women] and six [men], I knew that we will need more than two coaches to wax.”

    And, conveniently, Tobias’ mother is based in Boulder, CO. “She was able to actually drive to all the races and babysit when we were ski waxing and racing.”

    The village: Eliška Albrigtsen has help from her mother-in-law during the RMISA Championships in Steamboat Springs, CO. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    For US Nationals, UAF collaborated with other Alaskan clubs to wax, but it was still useful to have an extra driver to bring athletes back and forth to the venue. Consequently, they paid out of pocket for the flight, but Tobias was able to get a per-diem salary as a driver. “So we got at least the food covered,” she laughed.

    For other RMISA and SuperTour races where UAF was only waxing for their own athletes, Tobias could have his travel expenses fully covered in exchange for his work. It’s perhaps a model that’s hard to replicate for other mom-coaches, but still demonstrates that with some creativity and determination, bringing the family along for the ride is possible. 

    “We call it the primary. He’s the primary on the baby when we have training days, where me and my assistant go with athletes and train. And then when we were testing and race waxing, grandma was the primary. And oh my God, bless her heart — she paid for all of her gas and her accommodation and food. She would just come to the house where we were staying when we had to leave and just babysat for us… So that’s the way that we made it work, but it’s a very, I think, exceptional situation.”

    Was traveling back and forth from Fairbanks to Colorado and Utah challenging with a toddler? Yes. But Eliška knew it was something they would need to navigate as a family regardless of her career. 

    “I know living in Alaska, he’s gonna fly anywhere he goes. That’s just what it is. So that was just like one thing that we were like, ‘Yeah, there’s no way around it.’ We did have to travel with more things. Because you have to have the car seat, we have to have the crib, we had to have a bunch of diapers with us.”

    The system worked for the first year, but it will need to be modified for next season. The full RMISA calendar has not yet been set, however, the regional championships will be held in Anchorage, which will make at least one competition easier to travel to. 

    From there, it will be running the calculus on what makes sense financially. She laughed that Viggo is already a squirmy baby to keep on their laps on the plane and will need his own seat next year, but she is also not sure whether he will still be nursing, which may make it easier for her to leave him behind with Tobias.

    Just another member of the team: the UAF skiers pose with coach Eliška Albrigtsen and baby Viggo at the RMISA Championships in Steamboat Springs, CO. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    In terms of the impact to the team, better worded as the lack thereof, Eliška felt Viggo’s presence on the road improved the atmosphere. Rather than lamenting their littlest teammate, they found humor and joy in his presence. 

    “When you’re stressed before the race, and you’re having breakfast and you’re barely putting the oatmeal into your mouth [because of nerves], and the baby in front of you is just like throwing the food and laughing… I think that it helped with the team atmosphere, for sure.”

    In addition to helping distribute the weight of ski, wax, and baby gear when navigating through the airport, the athletes also served as an extra set of eyes in the team house. 

    “The team, in general, was super helpful as well. When we would be waxing in the garage, they were playing with Viggo, and he believes they’re all his brothers and sisters, I’m pretty sure.”

    A relatable image: the al fresco diaper change during a competition weekend. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    Reflections on the Experience Thus Far

    Praising the community in Fairbanks, Eliška was grateful for the help and support she received through her perinatal journey, which allowed her to not only continue as head coach, but help the team to new heights this season. Rather than holding her back, becoming a mother enhanced her ability to lead the Nanooks program. 

    “I also feel like my season was so much more successful this year because I really wanted to go home to my baby. So I was really trying to work smarter and more efficiently, and I think the athletes probably had that push too.”

    While some might fault a woman who shares that her priorities have shifted since having a child, Eliška explained the number of ways this desire to optimize practice time served her team. 

    “I was always driven for success – I love being successful. But now it’s more like, ‘Yes, I will be successful so then I can spend more time with my child.’”  

    University of Alaska Fairbanks head coach Eliška Albrigtsen shares her experience with pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and life on the road with baby Viggo in tow. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    As to whether there was anything she would have done differently, Eliška’s answer was more focused on reducing barriers to mom-coaches as a group surrounding pregnancy. 

    “I think the side that no one ever talks about is: how fit coaches should actually be able to do their job well.”

    Because her insurance cycle was aligned with the school calendar, her deductible reset in July. Having maximized her out of pocket expenses with prenatal care and delivery, this meant the physical therapy treatments she needed were essentially free for the first four months. However, after the plan turned over for the new year, each pelvic floor PT visit cost $60–70, and she was looking to go twice per week to continue to make steady progress. This adds up quickly, particularly for a family relying on one salary, which happens to be a ski coaching salary. 

    While nationwide free postpartum PT for all women would be the ideal, Eliška proposed that these costs should, at minimum, be offset by the school or program.

    “That is something I would definitely fight for women coaches. Talk to your boss, or whoever, and tell them, ‘If you want me to come back to the same level of coaching, you need to pay for occupational therapy for me to recover.”

  • On Pregnancy, Postpartum Recovery, and NCAA Ski Coaching: Eliška Albrigtsen (Part 1)

    On Pregnancy, Postpartum Recovery, and NCAA Ski Coaching: Eliška Albrigtsen (Part 1)

    University of Alaska Fairbanks head coach Eliška Albrigtsen shares her experience with pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and life on the road with baby in tow. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    While skimming through the extensive photo albums shared by Tobias Albrigtsen during the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships in Soldier Hollow this past January, one head coach caught my attention. University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) head coach Eliška Albrigtsen (Tobias’ wife) had an extra member of the team in tow: her then 11-month-old son, Viggo. 

    As most ski coaches know all too well, the demands of the job are multifactorial, and can make it challenging for women coaches who are looking to start a family. It’s a physically demanding job with frequent travel butting up against a physically demanding biological process that results in a tiny being that is, at least in the short term, still very dependent on its mother. 

    Yes, some women have a fairly smooth perinatal experience and (somehow?) enjoy the experience of pregnancy. And yes, a woman’s ability to grow a new life inside her body is a wonderful and sometimes mind-blowing feat, but the experience of pregnancy and childbirth can also undeniably leave behind a lasting impact. A woman’s uterus grows to be the size of a watermelon over the course of roughly 40 weeks, forcing supporting musculature to stretch well beyond its normal capacity, while other internal organs are forced to relocate elsewhere. And that’s just a small subset of what’s happening throughout the body.

    The process of repairing this damage after birth is often nonlinear, leaving those who rely on their bodies for work, recreation, or both, in need of extensive postpartum physical therapy while making a careful progression back to activity. 

    And everyone’s experience is unique. 

    It’s the miracle of life, but it’s also a little bit like donating your body to science for at least 15 months. I can attest; as I write this, the daughter I’ve been growing for the last 30 weeks feels like she’s trying to claw her way out of my belly button, which remains herniated from growing her sister.

    And, if you live in Fairbanks and spend weeks at a time traveling to races 3000 miles away (or more), it creates a logistical challenge. How do you bring the baby, who you continue to nurse, along with you while coaching your athletes to an historic seventh place at the NCAA Championships? In addition to benches, wax boxes, and heavy ski bags, you’ll need, at minimum, a cumbersome car seat, and plenty of spare clothes and diapers. And you’ll need someone to care for the child while you’re on the wax bench, testing skis, and otherwise supporting your athletes. 

    It turns out that the experience has been as challenging and rewarding as it sounds. Let’s start at the beginning. 

    Eliška Albrigtsen and her husband, Tobias, on a trail run in the North Cascades. (Photo: Instagram @untraceableg)
    Preparing for Baby

    Though baby Albrigsten was conceived in the spring of 2020, he was not simply a “COVID baby”. The urge to begin a family came out of feelings of being “stupidly comfortable”. 

    “Our life started to be kind of plain, so we thought, ‘Okay, this is the time to do it’ – to go into another hardship, I guess,” Eliška said with a laugh.  

    With a few years under her belt, she felt efficient and dialed in her role with the UAF team, and she knew she could leave the program in good hands in her absence given the capability and coaching talents of her assistant coach, Jennie Bender. After her own NCAA racing career at the University of Vermont, where she became an All-American, Bender trained and raced professionally through 2017 in cross country, earning four national championship sprints, and standing on over 25 SuperTour podiums. 

    (Bender has since moved to Whitefish, MT where she is the executive director and head comp coach for the Glacier Nordic Club.)  

    While women coaches in the NCAA are already a minority, there are even fewer examples of women who have started families while in the head coaching role. However, Eliška was not without footsteps to follow. She explained that her friend, former UAF coach Christina Turman, had given birth to her first child while actively coaching, so she knew it was “somewhat possible”, and while racing at University of Colorado Boulder (CU) during her own collegiate career, then assistant coach Jana Weinberger had begun her family. 

    University of Alaska Fairbanks head coach Eliška Albrigtsen leads the Nanooks to an historic seventh place finish at the NCAA Championships with baby Viggo in tow. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    Looking to be informed and prepared, Eliška applauded the time and energy she and Tobias put into learning about the process in terms of what would be available to her for maternity leave, the amount of perinatal care her insurance would cover, and more. As her job included benefits and had flexible hours, she and Tobias agreed in advance that it made more sense for him to leave his job and become the full-time caregiver for their child, keeping her in a coaching role she loved. And then, they began trying to conceive. 

    Nailing the timing, Eliška knew that her baby’s predicted arrival in February would allow her to take three months of maternity leave, with an additional month of leave per her usual 11-month contract. This would bring her to June, when athletes are typically away for summer, allowing her to ease back in while writing summer training plans and handling the many other non-coaching aspects of leading an NCAA program. 

    Coaching Through Pregnancy

    As winter approached and the 2020-2021 race season loomed, Eliška began to step back from her usual involvement with team training, “which for me, is not standing on the side of the trail and watching the athletes. It’s to be there with them when they’re struggling, to see where they can improve in the highest point of their performance.” 

    Her knowledge and expertise as a coach are rooted in both her academic studies in physiology and her own accomplishments as an athlete. Growing up in the Czech Republic, she was named to the national team at 14. During her junior career, she earned a silver medal at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Switzerland in 2005, then went on to place in the top ten at three World Junior ski championships, and helped her relay team to a bronze medal. 

    Heading to CU for college with World Cup starts under her belt, she went on to become one of the most accomplished skiers in the school’s history, if not the NCAA more broadly. Of the 48 races she entered, she missed the top-10 only three times, and stood on 33 podiums. Eliška (then Hájková) was NCAA champion in classic in 2011, and contributed to two NCAA team titles for the Buffaloes. 

    In short, she is an incredible athlete and skier. And yet, perhaps both in spite of and because of that strength and athleticism, she was significantly challenged by the toll pregnancy took on her body. 

    Eliška identified that she has a very short torso relative to her height at roughly 5’5”. In the context of growing a human, this means that there is nowhere for the baby to go but out. 

    At 40 weeks, Eliška Albrigtsen snaps a shot of her large pregnant belly and swollen face. (Courtesy photo)

    “It literally looked like I swallowed basketball,” she laughed as she described her body toward the end of pregnancy.

    Even earlier in the process, she found herself regularly adjusting to her rapidly growing belly, and she had to be creative in ways to remain active for the sake of her health and maintaining her usual active lifestyle. She abandoned running early, and had to stop biking halfway through pregnancy “because my belly was just so big.” Because of the risk to the baby of a crash, she did not feel comfortable rollerskiing. “I did an insane amount of hiking with poles.” And, she enjoyed prenatal yoga throughout pregnancy.  

    ***

    Returning to the impacts on coaching, as she entered into the third trimester, the physical demands of pregnancy began to significantly impede her ability to work with athletes as she was accustomed. 

    “I was at the practices, but not really skiing. I skied until the end of the year, and then, my feet were so swollen, I couldn’t fit into my boots. But I was still walking to the practices, and [timed] some time trials until halfway through January. And then I was just too pregnant to move.”

    Outgrowing her ski clothes long before winter, she also had to be creative to stay warm for practices. She began wearing spare team jackets in a men’s extra-large to accommodate her belly, and could be sometimes found sporting a large fleecy Chewbacca onesie. 

    Having outgrown her clothes, Eliška Albrigtsen sports a Chewbacca onesie to stay warm at practice. (Courtesy photo)

    As the competition season began, team leadership responsibilities began shifting to Bender, who would assume the role of interim head coach, giving her the authority to call the shots on the road while Eliška remained in Fairbanks. 

    Still shrouded in COVID precautions, the 2021 RMISA calendar was contained to Utah and Colorado, with most races happening in Soldier Hollow. This worked out well for Bender, who was able to rely on contacts from her racing career to fill in for wax support, primarily Josh Korn, who is the events coordinator in SoHo. 

    Had Bender not been available and able to fill in so seamlessly as head coach, the program might have been compromised during the season. While the skillset of a high level coach already narrows the pool able to cover a maternity leave, Eliška explained that the clearance process to become an NCAA coach adds another barrier. 

    “With all the college or university regulations, it’s quite hard to just hire a coach as an independent contractor… it’s so much easier to actually hire someone as a wax tech because they don’t have to [go through the whole process].”

    Ever problem solving and adapting, with Bender at the helm, the race season rolled by. And on February 25th, midway through the RMISA championships, Eliška gave birth to her son. 

    Delivery Day: The Baby is Born

    With her aforementioned background as an athlete, combined with participating in training with her athletes and fueling her own passion for outdoor recreation, Eliška explained that she came into pregnancy “quite fit”, which she believes was helpful as she adapted to the load of a growing and changing body. “Honestly, sometimes I was thinking ‘how do women who are not in [good] physical shape do this?’ Because when I was eight, nine months [along], I could barely walk and I was quite strong.”

    However, it proved to be a double-edged sword that she felt complicated her delivery. “I had a lot of tightness in muscles, which we want for sport, but not for giving birth.” In particular, this applied to the muscles of her pelvic floor.

    Like an extension of the core that line the pelvis, these muscles have a myriad of important roles. They’re responsible for the support and stability of the joints and organs surrounding the pelvis, including regulating the function of the bladder, bowels, and reproductive organs, and they interact with larger muscle groups of the hips, legs, and abdomen used for movement. 

    For Eliška, her pelvic floor was so strong and rigid that they were unable to sufficiently relax and stretch to allow the baby to pass through her birth canal. 

    Her due date had come and gone, and time began to run out for her to deliver at the local hospital.

    “I was 41 weeks already. And in Fairbanks, they don’t have the NICU specialty, so they don’t let you go over 41 weeks because if something happens, they have to fly you to Anchorage.”

    Eliška Albrigtsen provides trailside support for the UAF skiers. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    With no signs of the onset of labor happening naturally, she awaited an induction, but Alaska was experiencing a surge in COVID cases in February 2021 and beds in the hospital were at a premium.

    “I was just sitting at home with my cup on my belly just waiting for them to call me that they have a space, because the hospital was overwhelmed. They had so many emergency cases coming in that week.”

    When she was finally called to come in, she and Tobias headed to the hospital, but her body was reluctant to respond to the Pitocin used to kickstart labor. 

    “For three days, they kept inducing. The second day, my water broke, and then suddenly, it was happening. Then I was in contractions for like 18 hours, every two and a half minutes a contraction, and it was just so painful that I started to throw up.”

    Worn out from the previous 18 hours of labor, her body began to tighten in response to the pain, rather than relax to allow the baby to make progress. Her doctors recommended an epidural in hopes that pain relief would improve her ability to relax and allow her pelvic floor muscles to release. 

    “After the epidural, I was like, ‘Oh, this is hilarious. I don’t feel anything.’ But then the baby’s oxygen started to drop with every contraction. They put me on oxygen, and that helped, but when they took me off, [his oxygen] was dropping. And the heartbeats were dropping as well.”

    The doctors felt it was no longer safe for her to continue trying for a vaginal birth, and instead prepared her for an emergency C-section. 

    “That was like 11:30 p.m. on the 25th. And he was born at 11:57. It was just so cool.”

    Returning to the concept of “donating your body to science”, Eliška recounted a strange experience resulting from the inability to eat during the induction process. Most hospitals do not allow women to eat in case they need to be put under anesthesia for an emergency procedure.

    “At that point, I was three days without food… they were giving me sugars through IV, but I was shaking like this,” she said as she demonstrated full body tremors. “They had to have extra nurses to hold me down during the C-section because my body was just trying to shake all the glycogen from my muscles out into the bloodstream… physiologically, I literally shook all the sugar that I had in my whole body out into the bloodstream to make this baby happen.”

    Despite the complications, both Eliška and baby Viggo were fully healthy, and the remainder of their hospital stay went by without a hitch. She fondly remembered his perfectly round head, a mark of a baby delivered via C-section, and proudly showed a picture of her sweet newborn. 

    The journey into motherhood, though challenging, has also been rewarding for UAF head coach Eliška Albrigtsen. (Photo: Tobias Albrigtsen / @untraceableg)

    Reflecting on the unexpected hurdles she faced, she voiced the opinion that, like her athletic body had been “detrimental to the birth” process, her athlete mindset stood in her way of entering the labor and delivery room with open-minded acceptance. 

    “I had a ‘perfect’ birth plan. I knew that I’m going to go there and I’m not going to push until I’m [dilated to] 10. And then I’m going to have the baby. But it does not work that way. No one told me that.”

    As skiers, we’re accustomed to the notion that diligently following a training plan and putting in the work during the build up to a key race will lead to a somewhat predictable outcome: ideally, an optimal performance, or at minimum, an improvement from previous cycles. But for Eliška, this expectation proved to be crippling as she was faced with the realities of her birth experience, which differed greatly from her “plan”.

    “That’s how I raced. I trained hard and I did a lot of technique, and then I was the best skier out there because I prepared… If I went there without any plan, I would be so much happier. When they came and said, ‘You have to get the epidural’, I cried. But at that point, I was throwing up every two and a half minutes with pain. When they came and said, ‘He has to come out, we have to do a C-section,’ I totally lost it.

    “So that’s kind of what I would do differently next time. Now knowing that, you know, birth really messes people up. It’s not this perfect thing that just happens.”

    Stay tuned for part 2, discussing Eliška’s postpartum recovery, return to coaching, and year one on the road to competitions with baby in tow. 

  • World Cup Development Opportunities: an Interview with Rising Coach and Tech, Kristen Bourne

    World Cup Development Opportunities: an Interview with Rising Coach and Tech, Kristen Bourne

    Kristen Bourne (center) joined the U.S. tech team to learn and support the American squad in Davos, SUI. (Courtesy photo)

    In November, FasterSkier interviewed Kristen Bourne, assistant coach at the College of St. Scholastica (CSS) in Duluth, MN, after she was selected as a Women’s Sports Foundation Van DerVeer Fellow, which came with a grant totalling $17,500. The objective of the fellowship is to improve representation of women in elite level coaching by supporting the development of rising coaches at the college level. 

    The majority of the funds from the VanDerveer Fellowship went directly to CSS, allowing the university to support Bourne’s position. However, $2,500 of the grant was allocated toward independent professional development opportunities of the fellows choosing. With additional support from U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Bourne recently had the chance to shadow, support, and learn from the American squad of athletes, coaches, techs, and support staff who were traveling the World Cup circuit. 

    Joining the team in Davos, Switzerland in early December, Bourne was immediately welcomed into the fold and handed responsibilities as both a coach and wax tech, which she described as an “intensive course” on all things World Cup. While this might seem like a high-stakes, intimidating experience for a developing coach, Bourne explained that she was well-supported as she stepped into the role.

    “Coming in, the idea was that I was going to get a taste of doing everything,” Bourne explained in a call from Dresden, Germany. “I came in pretty early on in the week before [the races in] Davos, and was able to get a bit of a tutorial and orientation on the wax truck and how everything worked on a day to day basis. It actually turned out that that first weekend in Davos, I was going to be teching for Caitlin Patterson, so I needed to get an idea of what I was walking into, how everything worked, and how to make it as efficient as possible. So those first couple of days, the techs really took me under their wing and showed me the ropes. [They] taught me a bunch of new waxing techniques, and I got to pick their brains a whole bunch — just being in the wax cabin with them and asking any kind of question that I had, and they would take time to answer it.”

    On the coaching side, Bourne sat in on pre-race team captains meetings, helped out during intensity sessions, recorded video to discuss technique and course strategy, and supported logistical planning as the team moved from Davos to Dresden and back. Throughout her time with the team, she explained that she shadowed Matt Whitcomb and Chris Grover, listening in and engaging with their discussions regarding what would be important for the team, and each athlete individually week-to-week. 

    She also took her turn behind the wheel. While not a glamorous part of the job, most coaches would agree it is a significant, and sometimes quite stressful, component.

    “I drove a van of athletes from Switzerland to [Dresden],” she said with a laugh. “That was my first European road trip, so that was an experience that ended up being okay… I’ve had an opportunity to at least try everything once if not way more than that, so it’s been super awesome.”

    At 25, Bourne is just beginning her career in ski coaching, and though she had done some post-collegiate training and racing in Norway, she was newly minted to the World Cup scene. It’s natural that with such an opportunity would come some self-doubt. Would your 25-year-old self feel comfortable talking World Cup tactics with Jessie Diggins? Yet, Bourne spoke highly of the culture developed on the U.S. Ski Team, and how both athletes and coaches made her feel valued as she stepped into each of her roles.

    “Of course, that thought comes into your head. I’m working with people that are several years older than me, who have much more experience being in this environment than I do. But it’s been way easier than I thought it would be primarily because everyone has been really welcoming. When you have athletes who are older than you that then ask for your feedback or your opinion or your help, then all of a sudden it’s like, ‘Oh, they want to hear what I have to say here. They are appreciative of any feedback that they get. Age doesn’t matter so much.’ So it hasn’t been difficult at all, and I think that’s primarily due to the people and the environment that this team has created.”

    Kristen Bourne logs k’s on the stunning tracks of Davos, SUI while teching for the U.S. team. (Courtesy photo)

    Though there were not established times for her to debrief or ask questions of coaches or techs, Bourne described the communication between herself and the coaches and techs as open. The crew would regularly ask how she was doing, and she felt comfortable asking questions whenever they cropped up.  

    “We have had this natural agreement where – they know I’m here to learn. And I also know I’m here to learn, but I’m also here to help them. And so, it’s been quite open that way. We have a plan for once this trip kind of wraps up and I get back that we’ll chat again and talk about that whole experience. But I’m hoping that this is something that [the U.S. program] will continue to do with other female coaches in the future, and I’m hoping this at least set the tone for a good experience on their end. It definitely has on my end.”

    According to Grover, Bourne immediately demonstrated her capability and potential as she stepped into her roles, and what started as a stand-alone opportunity may just be the beginning.

    “Having Kristen on this trip to Davos and Dresden was incredibly helpful, and we are so grateful to the Women’s Sport Foundation and to Maria Stuber and the College of St. Scholastica for making this trip possible,” wrote Grover in an email. “We have a U.S. Ski & Snowboard program-wide goal, and a cross-country-specific goal, to drastically improve gender equity in our coaching and technician staffs, so this opportunity was perfectly aligned with this mission. 

    “Kristen was an amazing asset to the World Cup group right away, almost seamlessly integrating into both our coaching and service teams, having never met many of the team members. We were really impressed by her skiing ability, her stamina in the test track, her knowledge of the sport and exercise physiology, and her ability to relate so well with each athlete and staff member. She was quick to embrace the team culture, including being thrown into one of the most intimidating team rituals of all – Secret Santa – almost immediately upon arrival, and brought fresh perspective and energy to the Team.” 

    On all accounts, the U.S. Team had highly successful weekends in both Davos and Dresden. Highlights include: Jessie Diggins taking second in the 10k skate in Davos, with Rosie Brennan close behind in 4th and Hailey Swirbul in 6th, plus Sophia Laukli in 19th and Novie McCabe 28th. The previous day, Brennan had been 4th in the freestyle sprint, while Ben Ogden skied through the semis to finish 12th. Dresden saw another American podium finish with Diggins and Julia Kern finishing second in the team sprint, while JC Schoonmaker made his third World Cup semifinal in the individual sprint. Grover applauded Bourne’s contributions to the team’s success throughout these events.

    “She skied an amazing amount of kilometers in the test track in Davos, and was instrumental in identifying the products that we raced on in the 10/15 km F there,” Grover continued. “In Dresden, where we had a smaller staff, I would have really struggled without her support. We all really enjoyed getting to know Kristen and cherish making this professional connection and friendship with her. I know we’ll be looking to get her on another trip as soon as possible.” 

    The team behind the podium in Dresden. From left to right, physical therapist Ana Robinson, rising tech and coach Kristen Bourne, Jessie Diggins, and Julia Kern. (Courtesy photo)

    After the World Cup experience, Bourne would return to CSS, bringing back a host of new insights into the highest levels of racing. As she leaves the whirlwind adventure behind, what would stand out as key takeaways from her time in Europe? In particular, Bourne added tools to her belt on the technical side of sport performance.

    “The waxing, for sure, [stands out],” she said conclusively. Different techniques, different ideas of what to focus on. It gets really easy to focus on certain aspects of picking skis, but their perspective is so much different. And they focus on things that [I wouldn’t have before], but when they explain it, it makes a lot more sense.”

    A specific example that came to mind was a conversation she had with one of the techs, Bjorn Heimdall, regarding ski selection for Luke Jager. 

    “The skis that he had picked had a colder grind on them, however, It was also a pretty stiff ski. And so I asked, ‘Why would you put a cold grind on such a stiff ski?’ And he explained that, from his perspective, it has to do with the firmness of the snow, not necessarily how cold the snow is. It’s just how firm the track is that makes the difference. The grind does have some effect, but to him, it had more to do with the flex of the ski, and how high the ski was that made the bigger difference overall [in those conditions].”

    Bourne contrasted this concept with her experience waxing for collegiate athletes, where she felt there was more focus on the ski’s grind.  

    Another factor that stood out from her time in the wax truck was the strategy and robust processes used to select the products used on race day and the skis to which they’d be applied. With massive fleets of skis, and an equally massive chemistry kit, finding a winning combination seems like a special brand of magic.

    “I also realize that their ability to do that is much different than at the college level where you have only two coaches, instead of five to six wax techs who are able to test all of these powders, structures, topping… That’s pretty intense. But I think that the way they do it with various measurements, I find that to be really interesting. They can do all of these tests and not eliminate a specific ski in the first round. When you do single testing, [comparing pairs of skis] one to one, they have a method for that. I think that’s really cool.” 

    Bourne also explained how impacted she was by the depth of the relationship between an athlete and their tech. 

    “[The techs] are just as much coaches in this process as the actual named coaches of the team. They have really close relationships with their athletes. There’s a lot of trust there. And I really admire it. I’ve seen and heard from multiple techs that say, “I want to bring my athlete skis to her or to him.’ Because it’s like this special moment that they get to have before every race and that I just admire a lot.” 

    Lastly, Bourne revisited the culture within the U.S. program, remarking on how cohesive the group was as a whole.

    “It shows that when you have people that you work with that you really enjoy, you can work in a hard environment or a tough environment, you can have long hours. But if you’re around people you enjoy working with, it makes the whole group become successful. It’s just very cohesive. And I’ve been very impressed by that… You hear all the time that this team is really great, and then when you’re in it, you’re like, ‘Wow, this is actually really cool.’ So I’m just really grateful. It’s been awesome.”

    Kristen Bourne (left) snaps a picture with Vale Vuerich, head of service on Slovenian tech team and one of the only women teching at the World Cup level. (Courtesy photo)

    As the conversation concluded, Bourne spoke to the impact this opportunity has had on her career development, opening the door to a level of racing many coaches never truly see up close. Continuing to build on this model, Bourne feels that developing coaches of all genders can gain the skills to continue the elevation of American cross country skiing at all levels. 

    “I hope that this is something that can be continued. It has been super valuable. And I know that [U.S. Team members and staff] also feel pretty on board with continuing something like this. It’s an interesting conversation that I’ve been having where – when you’re new to something, you don’t know what you don’t know. But with this experience, I’m starting to realize that I do know what I don’t know now. And so it’s very easy to pick out the specific things that I have questions about, and I get those answered really, really quickly. I’m learning from some of the best. So I hope that other people also get to have this experience because it’s incredibly valuable, and there’s a lot that you can take back. If more people have had an experience like this and could learn these types of [skills], it just would progress the development of not only coaches and techs but also the athletes going forward.”

     

  • Nordic Nation: Challenges of the Pro-Athlete Journey with Hannah Halvorsen, Hailey Swirbul, and Kate Barton

    Nordic Nation: Challenges of the Pro-Athlete Journey with Hannah Halvorsen, Hailey Swirbul, and Kate Barton

    In this episode, we have U.S. Ski Team members Hannah Halvorsen and Hailey Swirbul along with development team coach Kate Barton. The original idea behind the conversation was to discuss a variety of challenges female athletes of all levels experience during their careers based on an infographic posted by the organization Voice in Sport, shown below. 

    An infographic from Voice in Sport showing some of the top challenges female athletes face. (Photo: Instagram @voiceinsport)

    As the conversation evolved, it became clear that this conversation will resonate with athletes of all genders, ages, and level of competition. Yes — being one of the fittest women in the world and getting to travel the world is a wonderful privilege that many of us might fantasize about, however, we often only see the highlight reel. From social media to pressure, and “balance” to competition between teammates, these women shared powerful insights into their lives as athletes and coaches at the highest level of our sport. Hopefully, this perspective helps listeners recognize and support the whole person inside the lycra, on days where the pieces come together on the World Cup, the days they fall short of the goal, and all the days in between.

    Some related reading that is discussed:

    Hannah Halvorsen With a New Plan (details her story of being struck by a car and early recovery; find a follow up story here)

    I Don’t Have a Six Pack, But a Car Hit Me and I Survived by Hannah Halvorsen

    Hailey Swirbul’s Instagram Post on Mental Health and Letter to Her Younger Self

    Brave Enough by Jessie Diggins (Reviewed on FS here, with more on her recovery and advocacy here.)

    Hailey Swirbul and Hannah Halvorsen, along with D-Team coach Kate Barton, discuss the challenges of the pro-athlete journey in today’s episode of Nordic Nation. (Photo: Instagram @hannah.g.halvorsen)

     

  • CSS Assistant Coach Kristen Bourne Recognized with Women’s Sport Foundation VanDerveer Fellowship

    CSS Assistant Coach Kristen Bourne Recognized with Women’s Sport Foundation VanDerveer Fellowship

    CSS assistant coach Kristen Bourne was awarded the Women’s Sports Foundation VanDerveer Fellowship for the advancement of women in coaching. (Photo: Maria Stuber)

    Kicking off her second year as assistant coach at the College of St. Scholastica (CSS) in Duluth, MN, Kristen Bourne was recently named one of ten recipients of the Women’s Sports Foundation VanDerveer Fellowship. The program, named for revered Stanford University Basketball coach, Tara VanDerveer, aims to increase representation of women in coaching at the collegiate level through the development of the rising generation. This is the first time that the award has been granted to a cross country ski program. 

    According to the WSF, “this pioneering program provides grants, paid fellowships and mentorships for aspiring female coaches. Emphasizing hands-on training for female coaches in all collegiate sports, from basketball and volleyball to water polo and fencing, it is a salute to the extraordinary compassion, optimism and leadership that its namesake has shown over the years.”

    Along with opportunities to collaborate with coaches across a variety of sports nationwide, the program offers institutions $15,000 to use in support of their fellow, along with $2,500 that goes directly to fellow to put toward additional professional development opportunities. FasterSkier connected with Bourne to learn more about the fellowship, her path to coaching, and how this opportunity will support her growth and long term goals in cross country ski coaching. 

    Originally from Lake Elmo, MN, on the eastern side of Minneapolis, Bourne attended Northern Michigan University (NMU), where she graduated with a degree in Sport Science in May, 2018. While racing for NMU, Bourne raced on four NCAA championship teams, and was a member of the 2015 U.S. World Junior Championships team and the 2016 U23 World Championships team. Post-college, she headed to Norway to train with Lyn Ski and Team Obos in Oslo, while competing in numerous FIS races throughout the country. 

    CSS assistant coach Kristen Bourne spent time in Norway after college training with Lyn Ski / Team Obos. Bourne is pictured here racing in a Norwegian Cup race in Gålå. (Photo: Martin Riseth)

    Bourne returned to the US in December, 2019 to finish her racing career at the 2020 U.S. National Championships in Houghton, MI. It was there that she met Maria Stuber, head coach at CSS and the founder of the Women Ski Coaches Association (WSCA), who recognized Bourne’s potential as a coach and recruited her to the CSS program.

    “I was just deciding that my ski career was about done and trying to figure out what to do next,” Bourne explained in a call. “I was at U.S. Nationals, I was leaving a parking lot, and Maria drove up and essentially slammed on the brakes, and yelled out the window, ‘Hey! My name is Maria. I heard that you’re interested in potentially coaching. You’re gonna get an email from me sometime soon.’” 

    Bourne went on to explain that Stuber emailed her the next week asking if she would be interested in joining her as the assistant coach at CSS. Tying the fellowship opportunity into the offer, Stuber knew about the VanDerveer grant and would help oversee the school’s application on Bourne’s behalf. CSS was not chosen after the first year of application, but they were selected this year on the second attempt. 

    Bourne explained how receiving the VanDerveer fellowship allows her to pursue a number of development opportunities beyond her role at CSS. 

    “Right now I have a few things in mind that I’m going to put that money towards. I would really like to go to the NCAA Women Coaches Academy, which happens every May. They have a bunch of super awesome female speakers and head coaches that all talk, and it seems really valuable. I think Maria did it a few years ago. Then the other professional development opportunity would be: I’m currently working on a trip over to the World Cup this winter.”

    Though her education and  wealth of experience lends itself well to coaching, Bourne did not always see this as a path she would choose. 

    “People were always telling me that I would probably end up being a coach, and I didn’t want to do what everyone thought,” she laughed. “And then, you come to this realization: I love the sport, and I want to learn more about it, and I’m really passionate about it. I can take my personal experiences from being in Norway and seeing how they work over there, I can apply what I learned there, and through college, my own [time as an athlete]… Right now I’m also working on my master’s in exercise physiology. So being able to take all of that experience and knowledge and be able to apply it as a coach, I think it’s kind of a no brainer.”

    Though improvement is trending, women remain underrepresented in leadership roles in the ski community. According to the 2020-2021 Women in College Coaching Report Card issued by the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, only two of nine NCAA Division 1 cross country ski coaches are women. 

    A few of the female coaches represented at the 2021 NCAA championships. From left to right, Maria Stuber, Kristen Bourne, Kristen Monahan-Smith of Michigan Tech, and Tracy Cote of Colby College. (Courtesy photo)

    Stepping into this realm without significant experience in coaching, Bourne spoke to the importance of having a strong mentor and role model in Stuber, who has helped her realize her potential in the role. 

    “The other [factor influencing my transition into coaching] has been working for Maria. She has just taken me on and put me under her wing, and really gets me to do things that I wouldn’t normally do. It has boosted my confidence in myself knowing that I can do this and that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. That was a huge piece of it, too.”

    Expanding on Stuber’s formal role as a mentor for the VanDerveer Fellowship, Bourne explained that both she and Stuber will have the opportunity to connect with the other fellows and mentors involved in the program, which spans a variety of sports from basketball to water polo to track & field. This collaboration allows the women to discuss their successes and challenges in their respective sports, and learn from each other’s experiences. 

    In a 2019 presentation at the U.S. Ski & Snowboard annual meeting on the importance of women in coaching, Dr. Nicole LaVoi of the previously mentioned Tucker Center explained the importance of women in leadership roles to inspire the next generation of coaches and improve the experience of developing female coaches. 

    “When you see women being successful, it inspires people,” LaVoi said. “‘Oh, I could do that. That seems cool, she seems cool, I want to do that.’ And in they come. It’s the same thing with women in positions of leadership.”

    Bourne emphasized that this concept rings true for her in working with Stuber, who has stoked her fire to become an example for future women in the sport. 

    “She said so many times that the Women’s Ski Coaches Association and empowering women — this is her passion. I just feel so honored that I get to be right alongside her.  She’s so powerful, and she has such a strong impact, and she’s doing this incredible thing that I think quite a few people are scared to do. She just says, ‘No, I’m doing it. We’re gonna change some things here.’ And I think that’s just — it’s pretty dang cool.”

    Looking to the future and the role she hopes to play, Bourne aspires to be a head coach at or above the college level. She enjoys the environment of collegiate programs, but remains open-minded. Reflecting on the dearth of female coaches in her own athletic experience, she concluded with her intention to be part of the solution in the slow progression toward gender equity in sport leadership.

    “When coming to the decision of becoming a coach, there is this thought of, ‘Well, I’ve never really experienced anyone like me in that position before. Can I do that? Can I have the same impact on a team as a man would? But really it’s [lack of] representation. There’s also the concept that women are proven to improve work environments — having more women is better. And being able to support female athletes — and being able to support male athletes — with a different perspective is super important. There’s a lot of pieces — it’s a huge question. I just hope I can be a role model for more women coming up who want to get into coaching and stay in the sport.”

    The CSS Assistant Coaches: Kristen Bourne (left) and Joshua Tesch (right). Stuber explained that Tesch has bee coaching at CSS for 15 years and has been a mentor for both herself and Bourne. (Photo: Maria Stuber)
  • Nordic Nation: Caitlin Gregg — Athlete, Mother, and Team Birkie Head Coach

    Nordic Nation: Caitlin Gregg — Athlete, Mother, and Team Birkie Head Coach

    In early July, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation announced the launch of the Team Birkie professional racing team. The elite post-graduate training group would pull from the three primary midwestern clubs, the Loppet Foundation, Central Cross Country Skiing (or CXC), and the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation. While the midwest has a strong culture of cross country skiing with a breadth of strong youth and masters racing teams, it has been nearly a decade since the area has had a consistent robust training group that could support athletes at the elite level. In their words, this program fills this gap to allow “the next Jessie Diggins [to] stay home to train, inspire future generations, and win Olympic medals.”

    Team Birkie elite and collegiate athletes enjoys the hazy summit of Hyalite Peak during a training camp in Bozeman, MT. (Courtesy photo)

    Team Birkie will be based from the Trailhead at Wirth Park in Minneapolis, headquarters of The Loppet Foundation, and led by Head Coach Caitlin Gregg, who will coach alongside co-coaches Leo Hipp and Jeremy Hecker.

    Team Birkie Coaching Squad: from left to right, Leo Hipp, Caitlin Gregg, and Jeremy Hecker. (Courtesy photo)

    Gregg has spent her own career training in the area alongside her husband and fellow professional ski racer Brian Gregg. The duo — known as Team Gregg — forged their own path to the upper echelon of the domestic and international cross country race scene, gaining experience in writing their own training and supporting their careers along the way. [Find Team Gregg on a 2017 episode of Nordic Nation here.]

    For those unfamiliar with Caitlin, her resume spans more than a decade of elite level ski racing; Caitlin earned her first World Cup starts in Vancouver in 2009 and was slated to start at the Minneapolis World Cup and Canmore World Cup finals in March 2020 before they were cancelled because of the impending pandemic. Those recent starts would have been just over a year after the birth of her daughter, Heidi, who is now two and a half years old and can regularly be found tagging along for her parents training. 

    Team Birkie mini-coach Heidi Gregg writes the prescription during a strength session. (Courtesy photo)

    Caitlin is a 2015 World Championship Bronze Medalist, a 2010 Olympian, and a 5 time winner of the American Birkie. She was also a member of five World Championship teams and won eight National Championship titles, with several more podium finishes. Gregg is also no stranger to disappointment; there have also been near misses for team selection, as was the case for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and when the 2016 US Ski team nominations rolled out.

    While she does not yet consider herself retired as an athlete, this transition to leading the charge and growing Team Birkie does mark a shift in the focus of her overall ski career, as we discuss in this conversation. Caitlin also speaks to the evolution of the concept behind Team Birkie and the structure of the training group for the upcoming season. She is now one of only two female coaches at her level in the US — alongside Pepa Miloucheva of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project — and the only mother. Caitlin discusses the support this requires, and how her career as a whole has provided ample insights that allow her to be a role model for her athletes. 


    You can find Caitlin on Instagram @Caitlincgregg (with two G’s) and follow along with Team Birkie at @teambirkie. Thanks for listening.

    Team Birkie athletes Zak Ketterson (R) and Xavier Mansfield (L) share the rollerski treadmill, while coaches Leo Hipp and Jeremy Hecker provide feedback. (Courtesy photo)
  • Opening Doors: Biathlon Canada’s All-Female Coaching Staff at Youth/Junior Worlds

    Opening Doors: Biathlon Canada’s All-Female Coaching Staff at Youth/Junior Worlds

    Biathlon Canada’s all-female coaching staff at 2018 IBU Youth/Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. From left to right: Kathy Davies, Jessica Blenkarn and Jacqueline Akerman. (Photo: Emily Dickson)

    Think about all of the exceptional female biathletes out there. Too many to count, right?

    Now, if you watch biathlon at the World Cup level, think about how many women you’ve seen coaching there. None? One?

    There are at least a couple, according to Biathlon Canada’s High Performance Director Roddy Ward, who’s been coaching biathlon internationally since 2011. The Slovakian women’s coach is one and the Austrian team also has a female coach, he wrote in an email to FasterSkier.

    When it comes to wax techs, Ward wasn’t aware of any at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup level. The number of female race officials in that arena is similarly low.

    Biathlon Canada is trying to change that. Not by consciously developing female wax techs or officials, but by presenting women with career opportunities after they retire as an athlete or if they show promise as a budding coach.

    That emphasis on female leadership and coaching development is taking place in sports across Canada, Ward explained. Biathlon Canada is fully onboard with that movement and sent a clear message at this year’s IBU Youth/Junior World Championships — which took place last week from Feb. 26-March 4 — sending three female coaches to head up its team in Otepää, Estonia.

    Last fall, Ward and Jacqueline Akerman, Biathlon Canada’s athlete and coach development manager, decided on their coaching staff for Otepää Youth/Junior World Championships. Akerman would be the head coach and trip leader, as she had for the previous two years, and joined by Kathy Davies, head coach of the Biathlon Alberta Training Center, and Jessica Blenkarn, who coaches at Sea to Sky Nordics.

    The three women would make up the coaching staff and work with two male wax techs: head wax tech Andrew Chisholm and assistant tech David Bradley.

    While the coaches were selected because of their qualifications (“we have these three great coaches who happened to be female,” Ward wrote), he also liked that female-to-male staffing ratio. It sent a message.

    “Roddy and I went, ‘Oh, that would be cool, to be able to take an all-female staff,’ ”  Akerman recalled of their conversation last fall. “… He said, ‘This is a really good thing for people to see, that we have three strong women coaching.’ ”

    “It’s definitely important for us to have strong female leadership in our program,” Ward wrote to FasterSkier. “Truthfully, these are three great coaches who just showed up at my front door.”

    Akerman had previously worked with Davies and Blenkarn on other international racing trips; Davies has been to several Youth/Junior Worlds and Blenkarn has coached at Open European Championships, the IBU Cup and IBU Junior Cup.

    Asked if they’ve ever encountered an all-female or mostly female coaching staff in their sport, Akerman was quick to respond: “That’s an easier answer, two letters: NO.”

    Jacqueline Akerman (l) and Jessica Blenkarn on the range at 2018 IBU Youth/Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. (Photo: Emily Dickson)

    At last year’s Open European Championships, Akerman and Blenkarn experienced some reaction from their peers when they were working together on the range.

    “The amount of second glances that we got was incredible, and comments saying, ‘Oh, two female coaches! Two women coaches!’ ” Akerman said during a joint phone interview with Davies and Blenkarn in Otepää a few days before the championships began.

    “We were a bit of a spectacle,” Blenkarn added.

    “And we got lots of TV time,” Akerman continued. “The TV’s haven’t come out yet and not all the teams have arrived yet so we’re waiting to what kind of spectacle this will be with three of us.”

    FasterSkier had yet to hear how the three coaches were received throughout the championships, but they stated they were off to a good start from an internal perspective.

    “We’re all good communicators, and we’re all complimenting each other really well,” Akerman said. “For me, it seemed to just really flow nicely, maybe more so than other times.”

    “I’ve been on a number of trips similar to this and it’s the first time I’ve have even another woman on a trip, except for athletes,” Davies said. “Those trips can be very, very isolated and very hard to sometimes fit in or even feel like part of the coaching staff when you’re the only female.

    “It’s not a conscious thing on the men’s part necessarily, but it sometimes feels very isolating, so it’s just absolutely amazing to be with other women in the coaching position,” Davies continued. “What I love about it is it actually gives female athletes and idea that there’s more that they can do. It’s not just athletes, whereas most World Cup races, the women, that’s all they see is an athlete, because you see very few in the coaches’ world, you see next to none in the techs’ world and you also see a rare few in the officials’ realm as well, so it’s really nice to [show] women and athletes that there’s something else they can do as well.”

    “I think we just support each other really well,” Blenkarn noted. “We have a good understanding of what female coaches go through and what kind of unique challenges they might face at an event like this so it’s nice to have other people around you to support you.”

    Biathlon Canada’s all-female coaching staff at 2018 IBU Youth/Junior World Championships in Otepää, Estonia. From left to right: Kathy Davies, Jacqueline Akerman and Jessica Blenkarn. (Photo: Terri Dickson)

    Asked more specifically about those challenges, Akerman referred to the term Davies used: “isolating.”

    “It’s really hard to find your space in the room,” Akerman said. “It’s really easy for me right now to find my confidence with these other two that are here and sharing and supporting. Just them physically being here I feel more confident. So I can find my voice better. There’s just more space for you.

    “Your space can sometimes get beaten up in a male-dominated place, so I feel that we need to be encouraged … and open and invited,” she continued. “I met Jess about three years ago and I just saw her skill and her ability and I was like, OK, we need her to be invited into this because she’s excellent. … Someone has to be opening the doors and allowing that space to happen, otherwise it won’t happen for women. I think when we see potential and, not just potential, when we see people who are experienced and they’re very good at what they do, we have to open the door for them. For the men, it’s already open, they just walk through. We need top open it. … I think that’s partly what Roddy’s doing … some men get it and they open the doors, but I think as women we can do it even more because we can understand what it’s like.”

    At the Olympic level, biathlon dates back to 1924 when it was known in its ancient form as “military patrol”. A more modern form of biathlon debuted at the 1960 Olympics, but women’s biathlon didn’t become an Olympic sport until 1992. The sport’s military background paired with the relatively recent participation of women has led to some inherent challenges for women in the sport’s leadership roles.

    “I can find my voice better. There’s just more space…” — Jacqueline Akerman, Biathlon Canada’s head coach and trip leader for the last three Youth/Junior Worlds, on having two other women on her coaching staff in Otepää

    “2003 was the first time I worked the World Cup for biathlon and that was on the range with one of our male coaches and I was the only woman there,” Akerman recalled. “And people looked at me like I was an alien. Slowly over the years you see a few women. On the IBU Cup last year, actually, there was a fair amount of female coaches. I mean, the percentage is still ridiculously low, but you do see them now, and on the Junior IBU Cup as well…”

    So the trend is in the right direction, and Biathlon Canada is more than happy to be at the forefront of that progression.

    “It’s important for female athletes to have good role models,” Ward wrote. “I have seen firsthand what a good female coach can do for a female athlete and I see that is important for three reasons.

    “1) to help athletes navigate life/struggles to turn into healthy and successful adults.

    “2) I want our athletes to kick butt internationally and I believe strong female leadership can help us achieve this goal.

    “3) I believe female athletes are more likely to give back to the sport (coaching, waxing, officiating etc) if they had female role models through their career that had a positive impact on their life.”

    Last week in Otepää, outside of relays, Canada notched five top-10 results, five top-20’s and seven top-30’s, which were achieved by five different women and three different men.

    “We’re building, practicing, focusing, training to be a well-oiled machine as a large group and as individuals,” Akerman said before the races began. “And we’re very confident in our ability to utilize those skills and abilities to our potential.”

  • Barely 25, Bernie Nelson on Coaching Bridger’s Elite and PG Teams

    Barely 25, Bernie Nelson on Coaching Bridger’s Elite and PG Teams

    BOZEMAN, Mont. — Not many nordic skiers find themselves coaching professionally at the age of 24. An even smaller percentage of those coaches are women. Bernie Nelson, head nordic coach of Bridger Ski Foundation’s postgrad (PG) and elite teams since late last summer, belongs to the 1 percent who fits both these descriptors.

    However, neither of these factors bother Nelson.

    “I don’t think that there being a lack of [elite] female coaches has anything to do with entry into the sport,” she said in a recent in-person interview. “I think it’s more that the lifestyle is not the most glamorous.

    “Sleeping in bunk beds, sleeping on couches, sleeping in different tiny little rooms”, as she describes it, “coaches just put 150 percent into what they’re doing. And then they go home and collect themselves because next weekend, they’re doing it again.”

    The copious amounts of coffee and early mornings spent doing hot laps in the dark is not a job for the weak at heart. Still, if the profession doesn’t include fancy hotels and plush king-size beds, what keeps Nelson, and other nordic coaches like her, going? According to Nelson, one word: passion.

    “I don’t think that there is a single [nordic] coach out there — young, old, grumpy, not grumpy — who doesn’t truly love skiing,” she said. “I think that passion drives most coaches. Let’s be honest, coaches don’t start coaching for the salary. Coaches coach because they love coaching, or they love skiing, or they love teaching, or there’s something that they are passionate about in the sport.”

    “Let’s be honest, coaches don’t start coaching for the salary. Coaches coach because they love coaching, or they love skiing, or they love teaching, or there’s something that they are passionate about in the sport.” — Bernie Nelson, head coach of the BSF Elite and postgrad teams

    But what does this passion look like? For Nelson, who turns 25 on Tuesday, it’s five years of ski coaching — one year at Montana State University (MSU) as a student assistant coach, followed by two years there as an assistant coach, and a year as the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) PG and Elite Team head coach — as well as over 10 years of competitive ski racing. It’s also a lot of time.

    “I put thought into each session and I put thought into each individual at each session,” Nelson said.

    Bridger Ski Foundation athletes:

    Elite Team
    Akeo Maifeld-Carucci
    Jennie Bender
    Nicholas Michaud
    Full-time PG
    Max LaChance
    Logan Diekmann
    College PG 
    Mitch Harris
    Cameron Bobb
    Henry Trowbridge
    Erin Bolger
    Paul Everett
    Ben Grodner
    Sam Nelson
    Sarah Lyle

    With a total of 13 athletes and close to 12 sessions a week, Nelson’s passion for coaching invariably means a lot of time dedicated to people other than herself. It also means looking to others.

    “I try not to get stuck in just nordic,” she said. “I love hearing about what other people are doing in our sport, but also I love hearing what other coaches are doing in other sports because I think you can take those components, think about them and implement them when they need to be implemented. It’s more tools in your toolbox.”

    A native of Truckee, Calif., she added that a bit of time in the race bib isn’t unwarranted as a coach.

    “I think it’s so important to race every now and again, because it reminds you how much it hurts, how nervous you get, and all the different feelings that your athletes have,” Nelson said.

    Being a nordic skier, Nelson explained that “it’s fun to tie up the competitive laces” and experience “the pain that’s replaced with euphoria” every once in a while. Especially when running on four hours of sleep with a legion of race skis to wax.

    Part of the passion Nelson exhibits stems from those who coached her. “A lot of my coaching principles are rooted deeply in [Far West Nordic Head Coach] Ben Grasseschi’s approach to skiing,” she said. “Ben taught me not only how to love the sport and nordic skiing as an athletic endeavor, but also to love what you’re doing when you’re doing it.”

    Nelson’s work with coaches, such as Grasseschi and former MSU assistant Chad Anderson, gave her what she called “perspective.” The perspective of not just a coach, but an athlete and mentor.

    “Coaching is complex,” BSF Head Coach and Program Director Dragan Danevski said in a recent phone interview. “One coach needs to have different abilities: understanding physiology, understanding psychology, understanding waxing, organizational skills with athletes, races, and trips. These abilities come with experience and you need somebody willing to take on that challenge. Somebody who has enthusiasm, energy, and motivation. I believe Bernie is that person.”

    Bernie at a Glance:

    -Name:     Bernie Nelson
    -Nickname: Bern
    -Age: One day shy of a quarter century!
    -Hometown: Truckee, Calif.
    -Education: B.S. in Community Health, Montana State University
    -Current Profession: BSF Postgraduate and Elite Team Head Nordic Coach
    -Interests/Hobbies:  Skiing, skiing, skiing, mostly in the downhill direction. Running, Mountain Biking, General life training to keep up with Dak [Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess]
    -Most Bad-A** Moment: Snowshoeing in Yellowstone Park with my mom.
    -Most Embarrassing Moment: Getting arrested in Yellowstone Park while snowshoeing with my mom. It was a mix up and I still don’t like snowshoeing.
    -Self-Identified Spirit Animal: Bear
    -Favorite Music Jam: Eric Church. But the team loves the Greatest Hits of Elton John CD.

    Along with coaches, Nelson’s experience with team sports has influenced her coaching style.

    “The biggest thing I bring to skiing is the idea of team and feeling a part of something that’s bigger than yourself,” she said. “There’s something to be said about digging deep and pushing past your point of comfort and really burying yourself in the pain, but there’s also something really enlightening about doing it for yourself and doing it for the people that are right next to you, whether you are on the same team or not.”

    Nelson’s team philosophy certainly pulls her athletes in a unique way, with BSF Elite Team members Jennie Bender, Nick Michaud and Akeo Maifeld-Carucci describing her as the team “Momma Bear.” (See the video)

    During an in-person interview, Michaud — the newest BSF Elite team member who hails from Maine — said that even after one summer with Nelson, he learned “there’s always more in the tank.”

    “Working with Bernie, you learn a lot about the power of positive attitude and energy,” said Maifeld-Carucci, a recent Harvard graduate and also first-year BSF Elite Team member.

    For Nelson, having that sort of positive impact on her athletes remains the most important part of her coaching. One of her goals for the BSF program includes “helping motivated and committed BSF athletes discover their athletic potential, believe in their potential and supporting them as they develop from domestic racing to the highest level of the sport,” she explained.

    Nelson’s passion as a coach stems largely from the people she coaches.

    “What makes me love coaching, is to not only see my athletes’ athletic development, but also to see their development as a person,” she said. “My goal in and out for the last five years that I’ve been coaching is to have my athletes not only leave as better skiers, but as better people.”

    ***

    About the Author: Gabby Naranja considers herself a true Mainer, having grown up in the northernmost part of the state playing hockey and roofing houses with her five brothers. She recently graduated from Bates College where she ran cross country, track, and nordic skied and is excited to work with FasterSkier. 

  • Part of the Team, Part IV: Female Youth Development Coaches

    Part of the Team, Part IV: Female Youth Development Coaches

    The "NENSA Fox," Abby Weissman, youth programs director for the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA), at the 2012 TD Bank Bill Koch Festival. Weissman wears the fox costume at events and writes a weekly newsletter called “Fox Tales.” (Courtesy photo)
    The “NENSA Fox,” Abby Weissman (r), youth programs director for the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA), at the 2012 TD Bank Bill Koch Festival. Weissman wears the costume at events and writes a weekly newsletter called “Fox Tales.” (Photo: Kris Dobie)

    Editor’s note: This is the final piece of a four-part series called ‘Part of the Team: The Impact of Female Coaches in the U.S.’ In Part I, two-time Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team member Nancy Fiddler introduced herself, Part II took a look at several influential female collegiate coaches, and Part III explored female coaching at the junior level. Part IV discusses women who work with the little guys, the future of skiing, through youth programs across the country.

    ***

    For many years, the height of my winter weeks came on Friday afternoons at 3:00. The snowy parking lot of the Tamarack Cross Country Ski Center in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., would fill with cars full of kids with an end-of-school-week itch. Soon, the ski center was full of snowsuit-clad youngsters jostling for space on the pine benches.

    The ski center prepares for the Gliders’ arrival ahead of time, lining up rental boots on the counter in a row from smallest to biggest. Skis and poles are fanned out across the snow out front, and the coaches are dressed and ready for action. Dashing between the tasks of helping the youngest tie, zip, and Velcro their boots and fitting tiny hands into pole straps, while also greeting and chatting with parents, I was typically in a full sweat by the time the Gliders lined up behind their team nation flags at 3:15.

    Tamarack Gliders coach Marie French with her 10-11-year-old group, the "Norwegians." (Courtesy photo)
    Gliders coach Marie French with her 10-11-year-old group, the “Norwegians” at the Tamarack Cross Country Ski Center in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (Courtesy photo)

    Fifty skiers between the ages of 6 and 10 are divided into Norwegians, Swedes, Americans, Russians, and Italians. The coaches stand at the head of the team lines. My favorite way to begin sessions was by calling first for quiet, and then for the Gliders’ Stomp. The sound of a hundred skis stomping on the packed snow begins in a disharmonious din, but grows into a unified beat of left, right, left, right, louder and louder. With the energy channeled, the coaches siphon off their groups, race through the teaching lanes and into the afternoon’s planned activities.

    Shouts, squeals, and laughter ring through the Lower Lakes Basin for the next hour and a quarter, as the kids skate through games of Sharks and Minnows, hunt for treasures, do relay races, or take off on adventures through the snowy forest. With plentiful snowfall in the Eastern Sierra, a favorite Glider activity is Powder Pigging.

    The goal of Powder Pigging is simple; climb a large hill either by means of a groomed trail or by breaking trail and then, simply, ski down through the un-groomed snow. The coaches themselves are big fans of Powder Pigging, because, after all, they are just overgrown kids who like to ski the trees. Powder Pigging is the hidden teacher of all skiing skills: balance, stance, weight shift, turning, and getting up after the occasional crash. Above all, Powder Pigging is the big motivator to ski repeatedly up the hill in pursuit of that perfect downhill run.

    Heading back to the ski center for the awaiting hot chocolate and Oreo snack after an exhilarating game or adventure, tired and happy, we smile those silly grins that almost hurt your face.

    Skiing with the youngest kids feels like the most important coaching I have ever done. When I retired from ski racing in 1993, I made it a goal to bring cross-country skiing to the kids of the Eastern Sierra. I began with high school and middle school teams, but didn’t get around to forming the Gliders program until my daughter, Laurel, was 5 and in need of an organized ski program.

    I had gone about the process in the wrong order, I realized. The youngest kids form the base of the skiing pyramid! They are the future of our sport; the life-long participants, the racers, the coaches, the officials, the instructors, and the parents of the next generation of cross-country skiers.

    Part IV of my series on the role of female coaches in U.S. skiing focuses on women who work with the youngest participants of the many cross-country ski programs around the country. I connected through email with six female youth coaches from Maine, Idaho, and California to find out more about their jobs, their programs, and their love of cross-country skiing.

    Grassroots ski programs take the form of Bill Koch Youth Ski League, local ski clubs, Ski P.E., and middle-school teams. The coaches who help foster these programs are working close to home with a large base of participants. Youth nordic ski coaches are often providing a child’s first outdoor winter experience. They are getting kids off couches and onto skis from New England to California.

    Sparking Interest

    “Our team is open to any kid who can find boots. We have no tryouts and supply two pairs of skis, two sets of poles and a uniform. We are trying to expose as many kids as we can to cross-country skiing in a community with a very strong alpine skiing leaning.” — Mary Ellen Benier, head nordic coach at Alder Creek Middle School, Truckee, Calif.

    With big ski mountains offering thousands of feet of terrain and plentiful snowfall, places like Truckee and Mammoth Lakes have a lot to offer downhillers. Kids growing up in these communities have plenty of opportunities to ski and snowboard the steep and deep, and play in the half pipes and terrain parks of giant ski areas. Attracting kids to cross-country skiing in these places can be challenging.

    Mary Ellen Benier, head coach of the Alder Creek Middle School nordic team, with Ian Smith (r) and David Dalicandro (l) last winter. (Photo: Mark Nadell/MacBeth Graphics)
    Mary Ellen Benier, head coach of the Alder Creek Middle School nordic team, with Ian Smith (r) and David Dalicandro (l) last winter. (Photo: Mark Nadell/MacBeth Graphics)

    Despite the lure of the alpine areas in the region, the Alder Creek Middle School (ACMS) team draws nearly 80 kids annually. The Tahoe-Truckee area is home to four major nordic areas with long operating seasons. The community of people who live in this area have embraced the active lifestyle, including nordic skiing. Benier and her co-coach, Mark Nadell, have worked hard to capture a large number of participants to the middle-school program.

    Benier wrote she aims to keep her program “big, fun, accessible and viable. My pay works out to probably .20/hr, so it’s a labor of love. The draw is the fun factor and the enthusiasm of the kids.”

    The ACMS team has become established in Truckee as a cool place to be, thanks to the efforts of Benier and the rest of the staff. It is affordable, the equipment has been taken care of, and it can compete with alpine and snowboarding teams with its reputation for being inclusive and fun. Kids want to be part of this energy.

    Nordic youth programs across the country are finding ways to attract the youngest skiers to the sport. Lauren Jacobs is the mid-Maine Healthy Hometowns coach for the Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC). Jacobs’ job is to support active, outdoor lifestyles in the communities she serves. The MWSC offers year-round programming to help promote healthy living, and nordic skiing is a good solution to the long Maine winters.

    According to Jacobs, “The main issue I see is less about how to retain skiers for the long-term than it is about getting them to start in the first place,” she wrote. “Money plays a big role in this. Getting started in skiing can be an expensive endeavor, one that many parents are reluctant to try if they’re not sure their kids will enjoy it. Children who grow up in active, outdoor families often get started in sports like nordic skiing ‘automatically’, but kids who don’t come from that background can have a really difficult time getting involved.”

    Lauren Jacobs (Courtesy photo)
    Lauren Jacobs (Courtesy photo)

    Jacobs cites initiatives like the MWSC and New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) ski-lease programs as being instrumental in getting families to introduce their kids to nordic.

    The MWSC has figured out a way to expose large numbers of the general youth population to cross-country skiing. Jacobs explained that the children who come from skiing families come to the sport fairly easily. The MWSC is literally bringing skiing to the places where kids actually are; school and after-school programs.

    “One of my favorite things is bringing our Healthy Hometowns ski trailer to different schools for a couple weeks at a time,” she wrote. “Getting to ski with PE and Health classes means I’m getting to ski with all kids, whether they come from an outdoorsy background or not.”

    Jacobs echoed Benier’s commentary on boosting participation. “My job is to make the introductory experiences as positive, fun, and accessible as possible,” Jacobs wrote.

    Abby Weissman is NENSA’s youth and introductory programs director. A Maine native, she’s responsible for putting on major events like the Bill Koch Festival, which draws 600 kids and their families.

    New England is home to over 40 active Bill Koch League (BKL) clubs. There are a lot of kids who are exposed to skiing in New England because of this activity. Weissman is going into her sixth year working for NENSA and has seen the organization’s youth membership grow 40 percent since she started.

    “It’s all about momentum and community,” she wrote. “The key is to have lots of excited families who are bringing their energy and flavor to local programs. That’s where the growth comes from. There’s not a cookie cutter approach that will work perfectly for each club — it has to be adapted to the energy and needs of the families and skiers in that club.”

    Weissman is clear that everything NENSA accomplishes would not be possible without tremendous community support. She sings praises of the many volunteers who consistently give back.

    “There are a lot of moving parts and my favorite part of my job is seeing how wide the community reaches and how much we can accomplish when we work together,” she wrote.

    The Skis for Kids lease program, which Weissman oversees, provides over 300 pairs of skis to New England kids. Accessible equipment, abundant Bill Koch League clubs, and volunteer support and activism are providing plenty of cross-country skiing opportunities to children in the northeastern US.

    Must Love Skiing

    “I began coaching two years ago. I’d grown up alpine skiing and came to nordic skiing as an adult. I fell in love with the sport, the local nordic community and culture and wanted to get more involved and keep learning.” — Mia James, development coach at the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF), Sun Valley, Idaho

    So how does one become a nordic youth coach? With all the kids out there running around on cross-country skis, it would take an army of leaders to provide a safe environment where the fun and learning take place. The female coaches referenced in this story have a diverse set of skills and backgrounds, but share one important passion: a special relationship with skiing.

    Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) devolopment coaches Mia James (l) and Laurie Leman at the 2013 Devo Tri. (Photo: Nancy Fiddler)
    Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) devolopment coaches Mia James (l) and Laurie Leman at the 2013 Devo Tri. (Photo: Nancy Fiddler)

    James has been coaching the Devo Team at Sun Valley for two years. She has done some local racing and knocked the American Birkebeiner off her bucket list. A self-acclaimed newbie, James is fueled by her enthusiasm and respect for skiing.

    “Like any new discovery, I want others to be as excited as I am about skiing,” she wrote.

    Being involved with 7- to 11-year-old kids on snow has been an empowering experience for James. She sees skiing as a source of lifelong fun and friendships.

    “I hope that I can build confidence by helping kids realize that with dedication and focus they can accomplish things they thought were beyond them – a lesson they will carry throughout life,” she wrote.

    It does take a village for someone like James to find a footing as a nordic ski coach. She credits the support of the SVSEF coaching staff, which she describes as outstanding examples of skiers, coaches and people.

    She acknowledges Muffy Ritz and her VAMPS (all-women masters nordic program with over 160 participants) program. “Like SVSEF, the VAMPS coaching staff is first rate — a huge source of technical knowledge, confidence, and enthusiasm. I certainly would not be the skier or coach I am without my VAMPS experience.”

    James sees herself as a contributor to the big picture of U.S. skiing. She feels she is at the foundation of the sport, helping establish future generations of skiers who will take it forward.

    At Tamarack Cross Country, Jane Lester has been teaching and coaching for 14 years. Like James, she was a latecomer, drawn to the sport because of its camaraderie. An occasional citizen racer, Lester loves the peaceful quality of skiing most of all.

    Lester heads up the Tamarack Gliders program for 5 to 11 year olds. She has used a lifetime of teaching experience to become the coach she is today. She feels that her special skill is developing personal connections with each student.

    “I am passionate about the sport so it is easy to come to work!” she wrote. “I feel like I am making a difference locally. We maintain a very high level of programming, all the way down to the 5 year olds.”

    Marie French has been coaching the Tamarack Gliders for five years – not much longer than she’s been skiing. Regardless, French is an avid participant in all the local races and attended the Masters World Cup in Italy last winter.

    “I like racing and training myself,” she explained. “It felt very natural to work with kids who have fun and passion for cross-country skiing”.

    French hopes to continue to improve as a skier and racer so that she can bring more knowledge back to the kids she works with. She is channeling her excitement about nordic skiing directly into the children and knows she is making a difference when the Gliders move up to the middle school team and then the high school team.

    Mary Ellen Benier at the 2013 U.S. Distance Nationals at Royal Gorge in Soda Springs, Calif. (Photo: Mark Nadell/MacBeth Graphics)
    Mary Ellen Benier at the 2013 U.S. Distance Nationals at Royal Gorge in Soda Springs, Calif. (Photo: Mark Nadell/MacBeth Graphics)

    Benier has been leading the ACMS team for eight years. She plunged into coaching when her son, Stefan, joined the team in sixth grade.

    “His draw to join the team was primarily social and resulted in nordic kids becoming his core group of friends through college,” she wrote.

    A skate-skiing enthusiast for 15 years before she took up coaching middle schoolers, Benier considers herself a proficient skier, but without any formal training or racing experience outside of the occasional Great Race.

    Benier’s son moved beyond middle school a long time ago, but Benier has continues to coach the team. “It is a benefit to our society to turn any kid onto exercise and a sport you can do for a lifetime,” she wrote.

    Once a mom, always a mom? Benier explained she possesses some special “kid skills” that apply to coaching. She brings something else to the mentoring table as well: “a female perspective on hurt feelings, tired bodies, bad days, silliness, total success, crushing failure, and hugs.”

    Lester and Benier share the desire to function as female role models for the girls. They’re concerned lots of girls drop out of sports in middle and high school, but Benier believes she is making a difference.

    “I can’t match the racing backgrounds of some male co-coaches, but I can offer the perspective of cross-country skiing as a lifestyle and what you can get out of it,” she wrote.

    Jacobs picked up nordic as a senior in high school at Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine. She skied her way onto the Bates team, where she competed for four years. From there, she skied for the Skibec Club in Quebec City, followed by two years with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP).

    Jacobs blended her athletic career with an interest in coaching early on. “Coaching started for me as a young gymnast coaching other young gymnasts,” she wrote. “I guess I’ve sort of always been a coach! I just enjoy sharing the sports I love. It seems natural.”

    Coaching gymnastics was a stepping-stone to coaching high-school skiing in Farmington, Maine, after college. Jacobs got into coaching the local BKL program while training with Craftsbury , and it was not long after that she started working at MWSC.

    For Jacobs, her own experience serves as her platform for coaching. “As someone who didn’t start skiing until my senior year of high school, it’s nice to be able to tell kids that they don’t have to have grown up with skis on their feet to still love the sport and go far with it,” she explained.

    While not every kid will become a ski racer, Jacobs’ message is this: “I think it’s really important that the ski community recognizes how essential to our community every member is.”

    She points out that aspiring female nordic coaches in New England are fortunate in that they have an amazing group of mentors to look up to in elite and collegiate coaches Cami Thompson-Graves, Becky Woods, Tracey Cote and Pepa Miloucheva.

    Abby Weissman at the Frost Mountain Nordic Grand Prix (Courtesy photo)
    Abby Weissman at the Frost Mountain Nordic Grand Prix (Photo: Matt Trueheart)

    Weissman wrote that she fell “completely and wildly in love with cross-country skiing” when she moved to Carrabassett Valley, Maine, in 2004. A competitive runner in high school and college, her exposure to skiing was limited to family outings while growing up in Maine.

    Working in the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center and then as an English teacher at Carrabassett Valley Academy, she spent many hours nordic skiing in the woods nearby.

    “I worked really hard on my technique then with the goal of being a more efficient skier,” she wrote. “I wasn’t interested in competing, just being in good enough shape to enjoy long adventures.”

    Weissman feels that her experience as a “middle-of-the-pack athlete” has fueled her interest in coaching kids. “I loved the hard work of training and the thrill of competition but my goal was never to win events,” she wrote. “I just loved the process. I got so much out of being on a team and learning how to be an endurance athlete. It was always fun to me.”

    Besides working for NENSA, Weissman puts on Fast and Female events in New England. She’s inspired by the current U.S. women’s national team, which, she wrote is a “phenomenal example of teamwork and healthy competition.” She couldn’t ask for better role models for kids in the East.

    Weissman acknowledges NENSA’s former executive director Pat Cote for his leadership and encouragement. “He would always listen to my crazy ideas and never shot them down.”

    Kids on Skis

     “It’s all about fun for the younger skiers. If we catch their interest year after year, even if it’s with a ride on the groomer or rolling around in the powder, they will love cross-country skiing and come back for more.” — French

    The departing shot of this story – and series – is of the kids (and adults) who benefit from the creative energy of the female leaders of their programs. The many clubs, leagues, programs and teams around the country are alive and well. Youth development is producing outdoor enthusiasts, healthy kids, ski racers, and lifetime nordic skiers.

    At least for kids, the secret is in the play. Lester is a firm believer in teaching skills through fun activities.

    “Treasure hunts and patrol races are always big hits. No season would be complete without some time off track,” she wrote. “Powder pigging in the deep snow is a must! I think it is so important to access the fun and freedom of cross-country skiing to retain the youngest skiers. They already know how to play, it’s the coaches’ job to play with them!”

    Jacobs is a fan of ski games because “they get kids moving, increase balance and speed, and- more importantly-help establish a really positive, fun atmosphere among a group,” she wrote. adding that she uses scavenger hunts to encourage kids to ski longer distances.

    Another way to motivate kids to ski longer is the Kilometer Odometer chart used by the Tamarack Gliders. Lester doesn’t like to overemphasize skiing kilometers just for the sake of kilometers. She wrote that the chart works because “cross-country skiing is a very challenging sport and tracking the distance covered is a way for them to ‘see’ their accomplishments daily.”

    Lester likes the skill-pin program that they adopted from Auburn Ski Club as another motivator. “The kids earn pins according to the skills they master,” she explained. “They can move up through the different colors to help them track their improvement over the years.”

    Weissman’s nickname is “NENSA Fox” for the fox costume she wears at events. In keeping with this theme, she writes a weekly newsletter called “Fox Tales.” Working tirelessly to organize Bill Koch League events and competitions, Weissman stays on track with how youth participation fits into the big picture of skiing in the U.S.

    “Youth Development is one of the most important pieces of developing a thriving ski community,” she stated. “If the goal is to have top athletes at the Olympic level, then growing the base helps to have a bigger pool to draw from and more kids to raise the level of competition. I’m less concerned with the competition and more about the fun and the lasting benefits of being involved with sports at an early age.”

     ***

  • Part of the Team, Part III: Female Coaches’ Impact on Teenage Skiers

    Part of the Team, Part III: Female Coaches’ Impact on Teenage Skiers

    Scottie Eliassen giving a pre-race pep talk to one of her athletes. (Photo: Midge Eliassen)
    Scottie Eliassen (l), coach of the Ford Sayre Nordic Club in Hanover, N.H., gives a pre-race pep talk to one of her athletes. (Photo: Midge Eliassen)

    Editor’s note: This is the third installment in a four-part series on female nordic coaches in the U.S. In Part I, two-time Olympic U.S. skier Nancy Fiddler introduced herself, Part II took a look at several influential female collegiate coaches, and Part III delves into female coaching in the junior pipeline. Part IV will explore women leading grassroots efforts across the country.

    ***

    America! Land of the free, home of many sports! As a parent, I know all about the athletic choices kids have; my daughter cross-country and alpine skied, played soccer, did ballet, Irish danced, and rode horses for many years. Life is crazy busy for most American kids and the parents who shuttle them around.

    I am going to go out on a limb here and say that most of the successful cross-country skiers in the U.S. come from a multi-sport background. I went through high school playing varsity field hockey and lacrosse and was a diver on the swim team. I never trained during the summer for any of my sports, working instead at a summer camp teaching swimming and canoeing.

    I went to college and played hockey and lacrosse, but graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and a passion for skiing. How did I end up learning to ski and race in college? At the time, there was no pool at Bates, and the nordic team was recruiting, so I gave it a try. Yes, I gained a high degree of athleticism doing other sports, and this helped me in my skiing, but this is not the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s recommended pipeline!

    The scenario is different today. Yes, kids are still involved in multiple sports at a young age, but collegiate and elite skiers ultimately picked nordic at some point out of a vast menu of fun athletic endeavors. Focusing on one sport means giving another sport a lesser role or dropping it entirely. These decisions can be agonizing.

    Successful nordic skiers typically begin to focus on skiing around age 15 or 16. By then, ski training requires a significant amount of time and energy for teenagers. The sport becomes year-round and is increasingly specific. Many good cross-country skiers also excel at other sports, but end up skiing because it is fun and their friends do it. They choose to do ridiculously hard workouts in all kinds of weather because they love the sport and the culture attached to it.

    Part III of this series takes a look at female coaches who work with U18 and U16 athletes, the kids who are in the process of choosing cross-country skiing over other sports. These coaches are involved with juniors at a critical point in their development. Much happens during this time: technique refinement, conditioning, coordination during growth spurts, more frequent racing, equipment acquisition and maintenance, and more. Skiing takes on a new level of commitment for these kids.

    It becomes part of a coach’s job to lead kids to skiing and help them love it and choose to pursue it. Ten female club level coaches weighed in via an email survey about their coaching careers. These dedicated women are part of the team who make skiing attractive, fun, and rewarding for junior skiers around the country.

    Female Coaches: Roots of Community and Family

    Go to the Olympics or to a World Cup race and take a look at the athlete-support system. Every team has a swarm of coaches and service staff to meet the athletes’ every need. With few exceptions, coaching at the international level in cross-country skiing is a male-dominated field.

    Are female coaches coaching closer to home by choice?

    “I see myself right where I am: working in a community-based program to share the sport and prepare athletes to take it to any level they choose – whether it be local, regional, national, or international,” wrote Scottie Eliasson, who coaches the Ford Sayre Nordic Club in Hanover, N.H.

    Community-based programs, whether they are clubs or school teams, are the backbone of nordic skiing in the US. Eliasson has committed 21 years to coaching at Ford Sayre, a program with more than 100 athletes and 30 coaches.

    Club programs are attractive to female coaches on many levels. For starters, it’s a foot in the door of coaching. Ashley McQueen, who skied as a junior in the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, explained that her coaches and nordic skiing in general “had a huge impact on how I grew up. I really wanted to have an influence like that. Rick [Kapala] offered me a coaching job as a way for me to get in my training and to make some money over the summers, and I really enjoyed it. When he called to offer me a position on the staff, I jumped at the opportunity.”

    Methow Valley biathlon coach Betsy Devin Smith giving some guidance at practice. (Photo: Kristen Smith/Methow Valley Photography)
    Methow Valley biathlon coach Betsy Devin Smith giving some guidance at practice. (Photo: Kristen Smith/Methow Valley Photography)

    Lots of coaches who double as moms don’t want to travel outside the U.S. while their kids are young.

    The Methow Valley Nordic Team in Winthrop, Wash., has a stronghold of female coaches. Leslie Hall, Laura McCabe and Betsy Smith have been holding down the fort in the Methow Valley for nearly two decades. All three women are moms with children who are or have been involved in the program. Being able to coach in the program her own two kids are in is important to Hall, who sees her job as Mom as top priority.

    A three-time Olympian who competed in as many Junior World Championships and five World Championships, Hall explained she never had any goals to coach at the international level.

    “I will coach locally on some level until my kids are out of high school, so probably another 7 years or so,” she wrote of her coaching plan. “I hope to coach at Junior Nationals and to do my best to inspire lots of kids to commit to skiing.”

    Susan “Poppet” Boswell has been coaching skiing for 19 years and found her dream job at Stratton Mountain School [SMS] in Vermont. After two years of working with the U16 skiers, she now holds a position as a Winter Term Coach working with U14 athletes. She likes this arrangement, as it allows her more time at home with her family. Boswell’s 14-year-old son will start his first year at SMS this fall.

    Many female coaches have careers outside of skiing. Club programs offer flexibility and the opportunity to work with kids in the outdoors, which appeals to some women who work “regular jobs.”

    Smith juggles a career as a veterinarian and sheep rancher with her biathlon coaching. Eliasson works full time at the medical school at Dartmouth.

    Margaret Maher, who heads the New York Ski Educational Foundation nordic program in Lake Placid, N.Y., works per-diem at Adirondack Medical Center as an exercise specialist and is also in nursing school. Alison Deines-Sehnert, who recently stepped down from her position as nordic director of the Jackson Hole Ski Club, worked as a bookkeeper, a caretaker, and office coordinator for a heli-ski operation. Boswell owns a company that does computer mapping.

    U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association [USSA] Nordic Program Director Joey Caterinichio has come through the entire system of nordic skiing in the US. As an athlete, she made five trips to Junior Nationals and races at three NCAA Championships. She started coaching high-school skiers and went on to form Alaska Nordic Racing in Anchorage with her husband. She coached there and through 17 Junior Nationals until moving to her present position with USSA last year. Caterinichio has three children under 10, and all the years she was coaching, she also worked in medical sales.

    Although female coaches may not be front and center on the international stage, they are in the wings, behind the curtains and working for the team in school and club programs around the country.

    Eliasson sees it like this: “I feel that I am directly making a difference locally and regionally. Indirectly, I see our club as an integral part of the strengthening club network that is helping make a difference nationally and in the US’s international results.”

    Boswell feels she is part of the big picture of skiing in the U.S. “I’m a small person, and I work with small kids, but I have a high level of experience and education that I bring to my skiers, who in turn bring it to the table and raise the bar for everyone,” she wrote.

    Club Programs: The Infrastructure of U.S. Skiing and a Good Place to Grow Up

    “Sports keep kids out of trouble, pushes them to be disciplined and healthy while tackling dreams that they only have a short time to achieve. Everybody should do sports. I don’t care which one. Skiing of course is my favorite but kids need to be involved and active.” — Caterinichio

    Joey Caterinichio, shown here at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games with Kikkan Randall, has been named nordic program manager for the USSA. Photo: USSA.
    Before taking on the position of USSA nordic program manager, Joey Caterinichio (l) poses for a photo with U.S. Ski Team veteran Kikkan Randall at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. (Photo: USSA)

    Nordic clubs are growing around the country and are staffed by legions of full and part-time male and female coaches. Most clubs offer ski programs for juniors from 7 years and up and often engage entire families.

    Coaches who work with the U16 and U18 age groups are spending quality time with athletes in the process of growing up. Coaches become role models and mentors for the teenagers they work with and thus, very important figures in their lives. Strong relationships are created on the ski trails and in the wax rooms.

    “I love the relationships with the athletes,” McQueen wrote. “I get to work with such great individuals and watch them grow from little 13/14 year old kids into strong and confident adults.”

    Deines-Sehnert enjoys working with kids and helping them achieve “not results, but their inner goals,” she wrote. “Watching kids stand up straighter because they are proud of their accomplishments – that’s what I love.”

    The role of a club coach is a fine balance of taskmaster and nurturer. Cross-country ski racing is one of the toughest sports out there. How do coaches keep kids from quitting when the pain is too much to bear, the results too disappointing, or their will to do the same drill one more time is gone?

    After five years on the SVSEF Gold Team, Nicole De Yong has been coaching Sun Valley juniors for a year. She has quickly figured out that having a good rapport with the athletes is essential to gaining their trust. “Playing, joking, having fun from a friendship standpoint is as important as having the ability to get down to business when necessary,” she said.

    Ski racing boils down to complete commitment and the ability to take risks. None of this is possible without trust; trust in your preparation, trust in your equipment, and trust in the coaches who lead you. Skiing at the highest level requires these elements and belief in oneself and their coaching system. Fostering this confidence is part of a coach’s job and far exceeds the teaching of technique and the waxing of skis.

    Skiers entering the U20 bracket are often leaving home for the first time to either go to college or to pursue their skiing goals in a new setting. This is the time when nordic athletes make the decision to continue in the sport or to follow a new life path. The time spent training and racing during their high school years has prepared them for anything.

    According to Eliasson, the foundation of success in sports or anything in life boil down to “resilience, adaptability, independence, responsibility, and the capacity to prioritize competing demands,” she wrote. “Many of our athletes continue on to college ski teams, and feedback from the athletes and from their college coaches indicates that they are well-prepared for the demands placed on student-athletes. We hear from parents and athletes many years later that experiences in Ford Sayre have a lasting positive impact.”

    Sharing the Dream

    “My job is a lot more than just coaching, as I deal with all the bureaucratic stuff and organizing everything. My favorite part is the one on one interaction with the skiers and helping them to find the excitement and passion of committing to a great sport.” — Leslie Hall, Methow Valley nordic program director

    The qualifications required to coach skiing might include the USSA Level 100 certification, waxing knowledge, basic physiology, and an understanding of skate and classic techniques. These identifiable skills are important, but the essential qualification is not easily measured and not always readily apparent. Every good ski coach has it. Passion does not come from a clinic or a book on ski training.

    Many nordic coaches are deeply connected to the sport by means of personal experience. That does not mean that anyone who has ski raced is automatically a great coach; technical and waxing expertise can be acquired through education and practice, but the ability to channel passion and to communicate it to others is a gift.

    Head of the NYSEF nordic program, Margaret Maher on course at the 2012 Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Courtesy photo)
    Head of the NYSEF nordic program, Margaret Maher on course at the 2012 Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Courtesy photo)

    Everyone gets involved with ski coaching in different ways. Maher grew up cross-country skiing and coaching is her way of sharing her love of the sport.

    “Since high school, I knew at some point I would want to coach,” she wrote. “My dad, mom, and grandmother were all PE/health teachers: I guess athletic teaching is in my blood. I certainly wasn’t ready to leave the sport after college … but I was not ready to be a full-time ski racer. Coaching was the next natural step.”

    An eight-time Vermont state champion and two-time Junior Nationals winner, Maher turned her experiences she as a junior and in college (she made two USSA J1 Scando Cup Teams and raced four years in college) into a successful coaching career.

    Maher started skiing with the Mountain Top Bill Koch Club in Chittenden, Vt.,, which she called “family oriented.” She feels fortunate to have been coached by Mike Gallagher at Rutland High School and also credited her college coach at the University of New Hampshire, Cory Schwartz.

    An assistant coach at Sun Valley, McQueen uses her personal experience to reach out to juniors in the program she grew up with. “I was shy as a kid, and I think that going through the process of overcoming my shyness and insecurities helps me se how fear and insecurity affects some of the athletes I work with,” she wrote.

    Another accomplished junior and world-class nordic athlete, Hall also cites her mentors as contributing to her passion for skiing and coaching. “I have been influenced my whole life by so many great coaches,” she explained. “Of course, Torbjorn Karlsen probably had the biggest role, and also Martha Rockwell. Laura McCabe encouraged me to be involved and I have drawn from [sister] Cami’s experiences at Dartmouth.”

    Some coaches have stumbled into their passion for coaching. Such is the case with Caterinichio, who was returning from college and skiing on her own when she got “the call.” She volunteered at Chugiak High School, where her younger brother Gus and sister Nina were on the team.

    “When all the coaches quit the program I was left with a team of 50 athletes. I took over the team and never stopped coaching,” she explained. Caterinichio ran with her opportunity, literally all the way to the USSA Nordic Program Director job. On the way, she doubled the size of the high school program, which eventually became Alaska Nordic Racing.

    Not all respected coaches come straight out of long ski careers beginning with the Bill Koch league or have ever raced on the World Cup circuit. A diverse background can lend itself well to coaching – case in point, Janice Sibilia, competitive programs director for New England Nordic Ski Association. Sibilia has a competitive background in several sports. She was an equestrian and national-level cyclist and didn’t get into skiing until she began cross training for cycling.

    An injury brought Sibilia to ski coaching. “During my downtime from racing a local high school asked me to help out,” she explained. “It was a big group of over 50 high school skiers and a lot of fun. I learned a lot (being an athlete is very different than coaching!) and was grateful for the opportunity. It really sparked my interest in coaching and since then I have worked really hard to improve my coaching skills and knowledge.”

    Sibilia became a student of nordic skiing by going to every clinic she could find. She shadowed other coaches at camps and training sessions and cites the USSA L100 certification as an important building block in her education. Besides drawing on her background as a cyclist, Sibilia has learned invaluable lessons about communication from a favorite equestrian clinician. She says, “I think you can learn things in places you least expect it.”

    Ford Sayre coach Scottie Eliassen debriefing with her athletes post-race. (Photo: Midge Eliassen)
    Ford Sayre coach Scottie Eliassen debriefing with her athletes post-race. (Photo: Midge Eliassen)

    Eliasson got started in her coaching career by volunteering to help with the local Bill Koch League (BKL) program “to share the sport with others.” Eliasson was a BKL participant herself, and continued racing through college. Like Sibilia, Eliasson has drawn from other sports, such as rowing, to develop her coaching style.

    “My experiences coxing girls in high school and men in college helped shape who I am as a coach today,” Eliasson wrote. “My high school crew coaches remain some of my most important coaching mentors.”

    The biathlon head coach at Methow Valley, Smith started as an alpine skier and racer, then jumped into nordic coaching.

    “When our son was 9 years old we wanted to keep him [cross-country] skiing so we started a biathlon program to complement our local nordic team and I have been coaching that now for 11 years,” she explained. “I hope to be a great junior coach. I hope to develop a biathlon program here that is a model for other Nordic programs in the US on how to incorporate biathlon into their xc teams.”

    It’s All About Balance

    “I wish there was at least one female coach on the US [Ski] Team because I think it would actually help all the coaches. Women bring a whole different set of strengths and perspectives to the table and I think that would help both the coaches and the athletes. I guess I’d say women are not on par (with men), but I think they are getting there. It will take time.” — Boswell

    Stratton Mountain School coach Poppet Boswell with her son Russell, who won 2012 Silver Fox Trot in Hanover, N.H., at age 12. (Courtesy photo)
    Stratton Mountain School coach Poppet Boswell with her son Russell, who won 2012 Silver Fox Trot in Hanover, N.H., at age 12. (Courtesy photo)

    Co-ed coaching can be especially challenging, as boys and girls bring different personalities, quirks, and styles to any ski program. Each gender has its own special needs and methods during a group workout, before a race, and just messing around after practice. Coaches see this and work to take care of everyone and to create team balance.

    In coaching, men and women generate different kinds of energy as well. “Gosh, the two male coaches I work with would be bored out of their skulls if it was just the two of them working together as guys,” Boswell wrote. “Life is so much more fun with a mix of sexes bringing different ideas and styles to the table.”

    She pointed out that balance on the coaching staff is necessary to effectively deal with both genders. For example, a female coach can be helpful when a specific “girly” question or situation comes up. Often, girls feel more comfortable confiding in a female mentor.

    There are times when male coaches can’t do what females can. For instance, a 200-pound male coach may not be the best kick-wax tester for a 100-pound female athlete. According to Hall, “it is important to have strong female role models for those young ladies out there. Also for wax testing, we often find that we can pick a kick wax more accurately for the girls than the male coaches can.”

    “It’s important for all athletes (girls and boys) to see men and women in all manner of coaching roles, and to have same- and opposite-sex role models,” wrote Eliasson.

    Times are changing!

    All the female coaches who participated in this discussion are in agreement that women are slowly making headway into the world of ski coaching.

    “In my first decade of coaching, there were certainly times/places in which I felt less valued/respected than the male coaches with similar experience – and there were JN trips on which I was the only female coach,” Eliasson wrote. “In my second decade of coaching, as more and more women have entered the regional and national coaching ranks, I haven’t felt discrimination from other coaches.”

    While women are not dropping their jobs as mothers or professionals in other fields to coach on the World Cup circuit, they are very present at the club level. They’re in the trenches, working with the adolescent skiers who might become the next generation of Olympic champions. They are working with the athletes who could become the next generation of coaches.

    Deines-Sehnert is a great example of female coaches making a difference. Male and female coaches are singing the same song, it just sounds better with the different voices and reaches more ears.

    “I am a cog in the wheel,” she wrote. “I think the most important thing that each of us can do is make our programs the best that they can, raising the bar locally will only help us grow nationally.”

    As Caterinichio sums it up, “It is extremely important to have female coaches. I look around and am excited to see more and more female faces.”

    “I am not sure we will ever have the same numbers as men,” she added. “It is hard to juggle career, motherhood, and coaching, but it is important that we try. (We must support) women in coaching roles, officiating roles, leadership roles.”

  • Part of The Team: The Impact of Female Coaches in the U.S.

    Part of The Team: The Impact of Female Coaches in the U.S.

    Former U.S. Ski Team member Nancy Fiddler racing to 15th in the 15 k classic race at 1989 World Championships in Lahti, Finland.
    Former U.S. Ski Team member Nancy Fiddler racing to 15th in the 15 k classic at 1989 World Championships in Lahti, Finland.

    Part I: My Story

    By Nancy Fiddler

    In 1993, after a seven-year stint of racing on the national and international stage, I returned home to Crowley Lake, Calif. I had picked up cross-country skiing late as a college sophomore at Bates in Maine, then quit and floundered for a few years before making a comeback at the age of 30. I was a national champion 14 times over, two-time Olympian and member of the U.S. Ski Team. Now at 37, my ski-racing career was over and my future open-ended. It was time to get on with the rest of my life.

    That spring, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) was offering a career-counseling seminar for retired Olympic athletes in Los Angeles, so I thought, “Why not?” I spent a day with basketball players, swimmers, pole vaulters and other fellow Olympians, going through the steps to finding success in the world outside of sports. We wrestled with career choices, self-evaluations and large life decisions, like moving to a new city, to turn our disciplined ways in a new direction.

    Nancy Fiddler striding out in 2011 at Auburn Ski Club in Soda Springs, Calif.
    Far West coach Nancy Fiddler striding out in 2011 at Auburn Ski Club in Soda Springs, Calif. (Photo: Mark Nadell/www.macbethgraphics.com)

    The only problem was that I was not ready to leave the sport I had grown to love so much. Move to a city? I wasn’t picturing any of it.  My husband and I had a home in a beautiful place in Crowley Lake and were hoping to start a family. When I asked about careers in our sport, the seminar leader made it clear that staying in my small mountain community and coaching cross-country skiing was not going to take me very far.

    I returned home with all of the fine skills I had acquired as an athlete and subsequently listed on the USOC forms. Discipline, motivation, time management, desire for excellence – all these marketable skills were not going to make me an investment banker, a CEO, a small-business owner, or even a real estate agent.

    Our Eastern Sierra community lies at the bottom of a large downhill ski area and has an equally large alpine and snowboarding culture. Nordic skiing occupies a small space in this environment, and at the time of my retirement 20 years ago, there was not a single youth nordic program in the area. I took a deep breath and began banging my hard head against the wall.

    I began by volunteering to teach skiing at an elementary school phys-ed class in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. I dragged one of my friends along to help me and thus began my coaching career and the nordic programs that still exist today in my community.

    My first high school team was truly a gamble; I walked into the school with some posters advertising a new nordic team; everyone welcome. Of the eight kids who showed up to practice, only one of them had ever been on cross-country skis before.  I taught them all to ski, took them to school-league races in my car and didn’t get paid a thing. On that team alone, I saved one boy from a high-school career of hallway fist fights, gave a few kids their only chance of making a high-school team, coached a roller-hockey player to a Junior Nationals (JN) exhibition sprint title, and saw a bunch of kids fall in love with my favorite sport.

    Twenty years have passed and now those elementary school programs have around 100 participants and another 40 between the middle and high schools. I organized Masters clinics and season-long programs, taught in the nordic ski school, formed a club team and made it my goal to bring nordic culture into my community.

    While I have been a JN coach for Far West many times, most of the coaching I have done has taken place close to home. I have passed up opportunities to travel on World Junior trips and more because I was dedicated to my project and my teams.

    When our daughter was born, it was even more difficult to imagine traveling much farther than the school-league races. Part of me still wonders whether I should have taken the leap right after my racing career ended and moved to a new place and a new career. At the very least, why didn’t I start shopping for a collegiate coaching job?

    Nancy Fiddler's Far West junior summer camp in July 2012.
    Nancy Fiddler’s Far West junior summer camp in July 2012.

    I reasoned there were many kids right here at home needing my skills and dedication. There were many people along the way who had taken the time to teach me the ways of cross-country skiing, and it seemed perfectly natural to turn around and give it back. It changed my life, so why not try to enlighten others?

    After reading Chelsea Little’s recent article tackling the subject of gender stereotypes in nordic skiing, I began to think hard about the situation. What stayed with me was the reference to the scarcity of female coaches on the international circuit. I couldn’t stop thinking about the many highly qualified and experienced women in the U.S. who are leading skiers of all ages and abilities in this greatest of sports. I wondered about their stories and knew it was time to shed some light on the work they do.

    I quickly drew up a list of the female ski coaches I knew. The list grew with the help of some good references, and soon I had a lengthy compilation of coaching contacts across the country, all working at various levels. Many coaches took the time to answer my questions about their careers and themselves. While each story is unique, and each coach has her own voice, there are many common threads. We are all part of The Team.

    Part II of this series will focus on women in collegiate coaching. When I raced at Bates in the late ’70s, there were no female coaches anywhere in college skiing. While men still outnumber women in this field, at least five women now hold head coaching positions on Division I college teams and have changed the traditionally all male climate of collegiate coaching forever.

    Below the collegiate level lies a vast population of junior skiers, from Bill Koch Youth Ski League and other similar programs aimed at 5 to 11 year olds, to school-league teams and rapidly growing club programs for 12 to 19 year olds. Part III will investigate the role female coaches play in the Junior National pipeline. Grassroots programs and the coaches who invest in the youngest skiers are the topic of Part IV.

    It is my hope that my story shows how far the U.S. has come in terms of skier development in the last 20 years. Faster juniors and more of them are coming up through the pipeline with an army of qualified coaches behind them.

    Women are rapidly joining the ranks with plenty to offer in terms of mentoring both boys and girls. The success of the women’s U.S. Ski Team in recent years is a testament to the work of many coaches, all the way down to the most basic level working with the youngest kids.