November 1, 2008 (Ft. Kent, ME) – After being on the road for a couple weeks you realize how good home feels, especially your own bed. Overall, the Utah camp was a success. Having such a large group to train with each day motivates and demonstrates how fun this small sport is. The MWSC Biathlon Team trained a little bit differently during this camp with each of the members training with their respective National Team groups. Training at home is good, but to have different styles of training and new faces to push you during training can be very helpful – especially during this time of year where the athletes are getting a little anxious for the upcoming season and the weather becomes as predictable as the lottery.

During our second week there were three time trials. These races acted 1) as a way to see the level of each athlete, and 2) as the trials for the final two spots on the Women’s World Cup Team. The performances were good and bad and that’s ok right now. This is how we learn and how we improve. What’s most important is that we evaluate together how each individual should move forward. Last week we saw glimmers of each athlete’s progress along with the exposure of some of their weaknesses. Again, now we evaluate how we are going to ensure that each individual’s strengths are utilized and how we can bring up their weaker points.

We’re home now through the end of November! This is a great feeling because home is a great place to be. But also we have a new rollerski loop addition in Ft. Kent and as of October 21 we were able to ski! Although the snow will be gone by the weekend this is a great motivator as we approach the season.

Gary Colliander
MWSC Biathlon Development Director