February 07, 2014 – MY God, Another Caldwell – Patrick it would be, and what a splash in the cross-country ski racing  pool he has made, especially exciting since it was his first Skiathlon ever. He finished in 10th place and only 58 secs out – very, very credible effort and in his interviews he sounded like he knew exactly what he was about and confident in his strategy. Also, his 4th leg effort in the relay was the 5th fastest time – only 15 sec. off the fastest time.

This had to be one of the most successful U-23 and World Junior teams efforts in producing top 30 results ever – with all kinds of people from both Canada and the US breaking through, this helps to make the future look bright for both countries. When I was working in Canada, the coaching staff felt that top-25 efforts at these competitions were a sign of being potential WC point scorers in the future – of course with continued effort towards training and racing up to international standards.

Erik Bjornsen – Way to go man – you’ve got to be the first US skier to ever capture three strong results in four days – an 18th in the sprint and a 17th in the 15km classic at the U-23s and then top that off with an 18th place in the Toblach World Cup. What a triple-play that was. Remember those feelings – other than the scare factor the Olympics are easier – each country can only start four skiers…onward man!!

“Started too Fast” – A coach’s comment about one of his skiers efforts in one of the WJ races – but, I’ve never heard a coach say…”started too slow” – and there are way more of those than the too fast type. I can tell you from studies we did with the Canadian Team back in the 80s, that 90% of the field is in or very close to their final placements at the 2km point. Yes, the 2km-point in the race! So, you better figure out how to get yourself there or forget about ever being successful internationally. If you plan to do this international racing for a while, then for sure take some chances.

A good example of this is Noah Hoffman’s last 2-3 years of racing internationally – you’ll have a chance of racing with him this spring – talk to him about it. He’s made it work for him and it is the only way to go if you ever want to make it. Have your coach give you a 1-km split that gets you on pace and also with all the mass start races you have a chance to go to the front – you’ll never know until you try it.

At the Ruka triple this January, Noah started in 38th place over a minute behind. It was a pursuit start, and he ended up in 9th place overall – 12 secs. out of 1st place. But he was the winner of the day’s race – as FIS puts it – and was with the lead group by the half-way point of the 15-km race. It was a slow pace for them, but not for him – HE TOOK A CHANCE.

Chink in The Armor – One area of preparation that scares me as Olympic racing will be on the front burner over the next few days is strategy and tactics. With all the mass starts that are now part of the racing format I have always worried about our NA skiers not being aggressive enough in fending off the Euros. It has always been them winning the tactical battles and it (tactics) was a topic of some discussion after the Toblach sprint this past Sunday. Racing requires 100% concentration because of all the variables in this sport – especially in taking care of the space around you during the race – you must fight and protect your space. There is no recovering in a sprint race after losing one of these battles. Don’t let it happen to you!

Euros to the US – Message to Nordic Dave and his foundation, NNF. I would like to see his development focus include a top Euro Junior Team every year to the Junior National Championships and top senior Euro skiers to the Spring Tour (2-3 skiers each sex). These would be great competitions that have excellent fields in quality, size, and international flavor and would help lift the FIS points and would draw lot of media hype and attention. The lift factor would be great for the huge numbers of USs skiers at these events than the few skiers that do Euro tours during the winter.

I have one other question, as I would like to know if any effort will be made as the longevity/legacy of the trips grow…where are these skiers in our system now.

I’m ready – Let The Games Begin – and don’t worry too much about sleep pattern’s these next 3 weeks.   
 
Talk to You Soon!