September 29, 2009 (Minneapolis, MN) – The USSA Nordic Coaches Conference took place this past weekend in Minneapolis, MN. The east had strong representation of college, club, Academy Programs with about 15 coaches traveling to MN for the semi annual event.

The presentations (including one by our own Sverre Caldwell-SMS) were top notch and Speed skater Dan Jansen’s motivational talk certainly was one of the highlights. Topics included mental skills training, technique and video analysis, injury prevention, APU and Stratton Mountain training theories, Coaching athletes, and sprint, DP and skate physiology. USST Head Wax Tech Randy Gibbs also gave coaches insight into how he tests wax. Pete Vordenberg closed the clinic with his thoughts about where we go from here.

Both Sverre (SMS) and APU’s Eric Flora spoke about their programs and what makes these successful. Both coaches were humble attributing their programs successes to being in the right place at the right time, or having very talented athletes to work with, etc. But the bottom line is both of these guys and others throughout the country have taken time…A lot of time and effort, to study their chosen sport. It is not luck, it is taking a methodical approach that works with progressions in all facets. The lesson learned: Keep it fun and interesting at the entry level and gradually increase the structure and load as the athletes mature.

In addition to the classroom presentations, coaches had an opportunity to preview the 2011 JO 5km and sprint courses. The event will take place at the Theodore Wirth Golf Course about 10 to 15 minutes from home base.
A unique flavor for these JO’s will be the creation of an Olympic Village. Athletes will be housed in one location and shuttles will run to the race venues, removing the need for a huge amount of vehicles.

The courses will be challenging and fun and there are a lot of places where making good transitions in gear and technique will add up. Though the climbs are not super long, it is a very rolling course and some short steep sections the athletes will ski through. More info on JO’s will follow as their details come together.

USSA is planning on making the conference presentation materials available and posted to their website (www.ussa.org) so watch for these in the coming weeks.