Chris, as you embark on your new journey as the US Team’s new Head Coach, how are your feeling about all of this?
Chris Grover: I have mixed emotions about the position. It’s not a job I actively sought, and it’s a hard job. But it’s a position where I feel that I have something to offer. I have worked for the US Ski Team under the leadership of three different head coaches over the past 11 years, and I have learned a few things from each of these coaches. After 17 years of coaching cross-country, I feel I am ready to take on this role.
It must be a little bit daunting as well, isn’t it?
CG: It is daunting. The amount of varied tasks which need to be accomplished and the decisions that need to be made make the job very daunting. With any leadership position there comes hard decisions, and this role is no exception. We’ve made some very hard decisions this spring and disappointed some people. Since we’re such a close community of athletes, coaches, officials, and parents, the decisions inevitably disappoint friends and that can be especially hard.
At the same time, I think we are poised to make a breakthrough as a Nation in our sport. Our community is passionate about athlete development. There are so many encouraging things going on in the clubs, the colleges, and the regions. Although there’s a daunting aspect of the job, I get excited when I think of where we are as a country.
Past Head Coach Pete [Vordenberg] went a long way to uniting the xc skiing community, how do you plan to continue this outreach?
CG: Pete really opened my eyes in terms of how to reach out to our stakeholders. More than any coach I had worked under, he has worked to build strong partnerships. I want to expand upon these partnerships. We have many talented coaches working at many different levels in this country. I want to find ways to utilize this talent better. Most of us want the same thing at the end of the day: US athletes on the podium. I want to figure out how to get there using the many resources we already have surrounding us.
Is being the Head Coach something you ever dreamed or thought about?
CG: I had not really given it much thought. When I worked as the Development Coach, I was passionate about development and loved the particular role. As the Sprint Coach over the past four years, I felt the same way. I really enjoyed immersing myself in sprinting. I feel confident I can bring the same passion to the Head Coach position.
The team has made real progress – what would you say are your two greatest priorities right out of the gate?
CG: Number one: we have to organize our athlete development structure. We are not a centralized national program. We have a regional and club-driven development program. We have key partner coaches and programs in each region. We need to find ways to assist and utilize these partners better. We have pulled out of all domestic race service so that we don’t compete with these partners. Instead, we want to offer them a service by providing an infrastructure at the next level of competition (Europa Cup). We are looking to collaborate rather than compete. It seems like a simple idea, but it has taken us a while to get to a place where we could do this.
Number two: we need to prepare for Sochi in 2014. At the end of the day, what our cross-country community needs is a medal. A medal will serve as a catalyst on the road to making our program world-class. Young athletes in our country need to understand just what is possible in our sport. After many years, we are once again in a position to deliver on this potential. We simply need to seize this opportunity. Although we have some athletes who are very close to this standard already, we need to work with our partners to propel many more athletes to a place where they can contribute to this goal as well.
Tell us how your new staff members will figure into the overall mix.
CG: I am excited about our staff. We have a group of professionals that bring a lot of experience and work ethic to their positions. Pete Vordenberg will now operate as the Head Development Coach. Bryan Fish is the Continental Team Coach and will work closely with Pete. Matt Whitcomb will still run our Coaches’ Education program and will now be our World Cup Coach. What I like about this team is that I can confidently say that I know I could work for any of these three guys. I have immense respect for all three and learn new things from each of them regularly.
Funding is vital to decisions in athletic programs. Do you feel confident you’ll have enough resources to accomplish your goals and those of the team?
CG: We do have what we need. I am always impressed by how hard the management team at USSA works to get us what we need. They are invested in our success and are pushing us to reach our potential.
Do you foresee many structural changes to come in the make up of the teams?
CG: I want to preserve the structure of our teams. This season our team sizes have shrunk, but they will grow again in the near future as more athletes distinguish themselves and commit to discovering their potential in the sport. It is important that we preserve this structure so that developing athletes understand the steps they can take along the way to reaching their goals. We have added a National Training Group (NTG) to our structure this spring. This group is comprised of approximately 25 of the best junior and U23 aged men and women in the country. We added the NTG to our Athlete Development Pipeline so that these steps were smaller and more manageable.
Tell us how Vancouver 2010 effected you?
CG: In Vancouver I was reminded of the very nature of sport. The highs are often accompanied by lows. Often the best-laid plans fall short, and it is easy to forget that everyone else in the world is attempting to win a medal as well. As disappointed as we were on certain days during the Games, we were equally elated by Andy’s [Newell] and Kikkan’s [Randall] World Cup podiums in the weeks that followed. This was a great reminder of the power of persistent optimism and hard work. If we can simply keep our heads up and keep pushing, the results will come.
There’s more interest, media coverage and now blogging as well. It’s easy to accept the good stuff, but how do you feel about the inevitable negative comments?
CG: It is never a good feeling to read something negative about oneself. However, I have found that our true stakeholders (those that share the same goals as the program and are actively working towards those goals) have found a different method for disagreement: they call me. We work together to find a solution and then move forward. When it comes to blogging, it’s easy to use a pseudonym and be critical. It’s much more challenging to use your real name and offer well-conceived solutions.
All eyes are on Oslo this coming winter for the Nordic World Championships – what are you hoping for?
CG: It’s no secret that some of the events in Oslo play to the strengths of some of our key athletes. We’ll be disappointed if we don’t leave Norway with at least one medal.
We wish you and the staff the best in your mission and much success, thanks for taking the time.
CG: Thanks, any time.