April 30, 2012 (Barrie, ON) – The Southern Ontario Training Centre (SOTC) recently concluded a highly successful first season of operation. Based out of the outstanding facilities of Hardwood Ski and Bike near Barrie, Ontario, SOTC was launched in order to provide high performance coaching and race support to post-secondary school aged athletes who wish to train on a full-time basis in order to explore their potential in competitive cross country skiing.

Among SOTC’s main goals are to help bridge the gap for skiers who aspire to placement at one of Canada’s National Team Development Centres, and to support skiers who wish to compete at a high level while pursuing post-secondary education.

SOTC was formally launched in June, 2011, with the hiring of our Head Coach, Petr Jakl, who has held  coaching positions in western Canada, Quebec, and his native Czech Republic. Joining Petr were four talented and committed athletes from a number of different Ontario clubs, including: Cam Raynor  (Arrowhead Ski Club), Evan Odell (Team Hardwood), and Scott Hill and Adam Birosh (both from North Bay Nordic).

Petr and the SOTC athletes hit the ground running in June. All athletes were placed on a custom-designed annual training program, with Petr overseeing the execution of group training sessions on a daily basis. Together they quickly became fixtures on the trails and roads around Hardwood Ski and Bike, where they   logged many miles running, mountain-biking and rollerskiing. Throughout the summer and fall the team participated in a number of dryland training camps at venues that included Horseshoe Valley, Hardwood Ski and Bike, and the Craftsbury Outdoor Centre in Vermont.

The SOTC squad also participated in various local races, such as the popular and very competitive 5 Peaks Trail Running series, where they made frequent podium appearances. Finally, Petr and the athletes also engaged in a number of outreach activities with area clubs, including visits to Arrowhead Ski Club in Huntsville, Ontario and a joint training camp with Team Hardwood.

Once the snow began to fly, SOTC hit the road for a series of camps and race trips, beginning with a 10-day early-season on-snow camp in late November at Foret Montmorency, Quebec. Volume and technique work on snow were the focus of December’s training at Hardwood, in preparation for the NorAm season.

After competing in a number of local races the SOTC crew headed out west in early January to compete in the 2012 World Jr/U23 Trials in Callaghan Valley, BC. From there SOTC moved on to the Western Canadian Championships in Canmore, where Adam made two trips to the podium in Jr Boys races and Cam posted a NorAm career best 8th place in the Jr Men’s 10km classic race.

After a couple of weeks of training back at home, the SOTC crew hit the road in February for a series of races in Quebec, including the Eastern Canadian Championships at Nakkertok, the Mt Orford NorAm, and the Gatineau Loppet. Among the highlights of the team’s Quebec road trip were Cam’s 5th place finish in the Jr Men’s 20km freestyle at Mt. Orford (meeting the NDC CPL points standard in the process) and Evan’s 2nd place in the 31km classic race at the Gatineau Loppet, against a field of over 200 competitors.

March began with a stop at an Ontario Cup race at Highlands Nordic, where Evan notched his first-ever sprint victory in the Sr Men’s category, with Cam finishing 2nd in Jr Men. Day 2 nearly saw two SOTC skiers on the Jr Men’s podium, with Cam and Scott finishing 2nd and 4th, respectively, in the 10km classic race.

SOTC’s race season concluded with the Haywood Ski Nationals in Mont Ste. Anne, Quebec, where the athletes joined hundreds of the country’s top skiers for a week of racing in the sunny, spring-skiing conditions. The SOTC athletes rose to the challenge and posted solid results in the overall aggregate points standings, with Evan 29th among U23 men, and Cam (1993) and Scott (1992) placing 16th and 17th in their respective age groups. The week at Ski Nationals was the culmination of a successful season for the SOTC athletes, one in which they achieved numerous personal bests and met or exceeded their goals for the season.

Along with the athletes’ individual race results, it’s worth noting Cam Raynor’s selection to the Ontario Ski Team for 2012-13. Cam also received the Southern Ontario Division’s Outstanding Skier of the Year award in the Jr Men category. Congratulations Cam!

Reflecting back on the season spent training with SOTC, Raynor said: “The program gave me an opportunity to see how well I could do training full-time and having a full-time coach. I’ve made huge improvements in both my conditioning and my technique.  It was actually shocking how quickly the results came,  I had to completely rethink my goals when I had achieved all the ones I had set out for the season by the Western Canadian Championships in Canmore. If anyone is unsure of whether the program is right for them, I’d definitely recommend it.  It’s an incredible experience and really empowers you to achieve the goals that you may now think are beyond you.”

Echoing his teammate, Evan Odell (Team Hardwood) agreed that: “The opportunity provided by SOTC to have daily workouts and feedback with a coach, and to train with other strong athletes, allowed me to make a sizable improvement in my skiing performance. SOTC allowed me the opportunity to race and train at a much higher level then I ever had before.”

In addition to the athlete’s performance results, under the leadership coach Petr Jakl, SOTC also provided them with ample opportunity to grow and mature as athletes and individuals, and to benefit from the comraderie of a team of supportive peers. Furthermore, SOTC’s proximity to post-secondary institutions in Barrie (Laurentian University) and Orillia (Lakehead University) allowed the athletes to pursue their university studies on a part-time basis while continuing to train at a high level.

Finally, none of the achievements and success of SOTC’s athletes would have been possible without the support of our sponsors, donors, Founding Clubs, and the families of our athletes. Thanks to their generosity, and belief in the vision that inspired us to launch SOTC, what was little more than a concept  eighteen months ago has become an exciting reality. SOTC now has a home, a full-time coach, five or more  outstanding athletes, a community of supporters, and a record of success in helping athletes achieve their goals in the sport of competitive cross country skiing.

While the racing season has recently concluded, preparations are already underway for the 2012-13 season. “Skiers are made in the summer,” as they say, and coach Jakl already has an ambitious schedule of dryland training and camps on tap. Five athletes have already committed to training with SOTC in the coming year and we are accepting applications from additional athletes, although space is limited.

For more information or to apply please contact Head Coach Petr Jakl at sotc@hardwoodskiandbike.ca or Jack Sasseville at jack@hardwoodskiandbike.ca.  You can also check out the SOTC website HERE.

If you are looking to reach your full potential as a skier after high school but haven’t been named to a training centre then the SOTC is the place for you.