July 25, 2011 (Sun Valley, ID) – The 2nd annual National J2 Talent ID camp is set to take place August 1-8th in Sun Valley, ID.  The top 22 J2 boys and top 22 J2 girls in the country (14-15 year olds) have qualified to attend this camp through selection from their best two races from the 2011 USSA Junior Olympics last March.

This camp is the first national step up the U.S.S.A. development pipeline and is designated a Level 1 Project within the NCCSEF’s funded/fundraising Pillar Projects.  Originally the brainchild of Rick Kapala, SVSEF, the collaboration from regional coaches and continued support from NCCSEF (National Cross Country Ski Education Foundation) and USSA (United States Ski and Snowboard Association),  have enabled this camp to continue on after a very successful inaugural camp in 2010 hosted by Michigan Tech. This year’s site at Sun Valley offers a spectacular setting for athletes with great roller skiing, hiking, training facilities, lodging and other fun adventures nearby!

Participating athletes will be provided with an excellent week of dryland training alongside their J2 peers.  The camp will have 2 to 3 athletic training sessions per day and will also provide participants with up-to-date information on nutrition and health management, current international ski technique, goal setting, and training planning and execution.  All sessions have 3 goals: 1) Help athletes understand various physical and technical skills need to succeed in the sport 2) Provide the athletes with appropriate training stimuli 3) Afford the staff an opportunity to assess the abilities of the athletes.

The camp is staffed by an array of Coaches including Bryan Fish-USST, Rick Kapala – Camp Director and Head Coach of the SVSEF Program, Janice Sibilia – NENSA Director of Competition Programming,  Ali Deines- Head Coach Jackson Hole Ski, Josh Smullin & Eric Pepper-Head Club Coaches from RMD, Nancy Fiddler – 2 Time Olympian, Multiple US National Champion and now Mammoth Team Coach, Dan Simoneau – 2 Time Olympian, Multiple US National Champion and Nordic Director of MBSEF. This staff is supplemented with 5 collegiate coaching interns from across the U.S.

NCCSEF will invest $3,000 in funding this year to help offset the camp costs, while USSA is donating coaching staff time, all of which help to ensure some of the top coaches in the country will be guiding these young athletes.  The NCCSEF exists to raise money to support key Pillar Projects in the Nordic skiing disciplines of Cross-Country and Nordic Combined. These Pillar Projects, such as the National J2 Talent ID camp, are specifically chosen to facilitate consistent long term athlete progression up the USSA Development Pipeline from local to international stardom.

The biggest developmental hurdle facing young American Nordic racers is gaining consistent access to quality coaching, training, and racing experiences.  Unlike their European counterparts, America’s top athletes are spread throughout our vast country and live an ocean away from the center of Nordic racing in Europe.  Providing the next generations of U.S. Nordic athletes affordable and straightforward access to a progression of international quality experiences, such as this National J2 Talent ID camp, represents our nation’s greatest development opportunity and funding need.

Follow all the National J2 Talent ID Camp action HERE or at NCCSEF on Facebook.

Starting August 1st join the National J2 Camp Facebook contest by liking your local J2 Camp participants to help them podium and win USSA/USST Swag.

For more information on NCCSEF, and to make your charitable contribution to the Pillar Projects click HERE.