Conference Results

Congratulations to the following skiers for earning All Conference today in the Pursuit event, Aaron Casey, Josh Thoen, Ryan Powley, Lilah Gilyard and Stella Bone.  Also earning All Conference in the Sprint Relay was Albi Ludwig and Lachlan Demmer.  Gaining Honorable Mention were Peyton Martinek, Ruby Demmer and Megan Fuller.  Congrats to all these skiers for their accomplishments but all of those that raced today.  Overall meet results are at the following link.  Once we get these final results I will put a link to them on the right side of the blog: https://www.superiortiming.com/2022/01/nwsc-nordic-ski-championship-2022/

It was tough to beat the weather we had today for some fun, hard effort racing and it was a big positive, one of the most positive days we have had with our program in a number of years for the whole team.  Both teams improved on their places from their places from throughout the season as well as from a year ago, as the Boy's finished in a solid 3rd place out of 12 teams and the Girls a much improved 6th place with almost completely new team from a year ago.

This was a great day to watch and enjoy but it is also a great day to build off of, not only for this year but for the years to come.  Thanks to all of those that were able to come out and watch and also a big thank you to JV skiers that came with and helped and cheered on the team.  It was a great vibe and I feel it was a big help in how we did, as well as good for them to see what this experience is like.

Thanks,

Denny  

Conference Week

Here is some information for the week of Jan 31.  Please remember to go through the previous post for the detailed info on the NWSC Meet Monday at Hyland.

Monday - Arrive at school by 6:30 to help bring things to the bus.  Bus leaves at 6:45.  Awards are not until after 5, so not expected back until after 6:00.  For those going, there will be some food provided by the Booster Club, but please remember to bring plenty of water and food that you are comfortable with.  Also, please note that there are a few skiers that are allergic to nuts.  Also bring extra clothes and any school work that can be done on the bus.  For the skiers there will be a lot of down time.

Tuesday - Skate or Classic for JV, depending on what they are racing on Wednesday.  Varsity Skate.  Skiing at Bunker Campground.

Wednesday - JV Conference at Elm Creek.  Bus leaves at 2:00, Boys at 3:45, Girls at 4:00.

Thursday - Varsity, for those that are able to, will go to Theo Wirth and skate on the Section course.  JV will be Skating at Bunker Campground

Friday - Classic at Bunker Campground

Saturday - We would like to get one more good workout in before Sections, but we will see how everyone is doing, the snow conditions, as well as the weather conditions.

Thanks,
Denny 

Conference Meet Information

Please read through all of this.  It is a lot of information, but this is a new format for all of us, so it is important that you all go through this. Below is the time schedule and some basic notes as well as a bunch of links with all of the information for Monday's NWSC Meet at Hyland.  Please note that this is an all day event and the skiers will be absent all day.  Alternates will be cleared to go if they are able to and JV skiers are able to go along to help and support, however, a parent will need to call into school to have them excused for the day.  Also below is the starting line ups for both the pursuit and sprint relay races.

Any questions, please let me know,
Denny

Pursuit (Classic) Start List

Sprint Relay Prelims

Time Schedule 

6:30AM Arrive at School, help pack bus and trailer

6:45AM Bus will leave

8:15AM Coaches Meeting 

9:00AM Boys Classic 5K Race 1 skier every 20 seconds (wand start) Single Line 

9:45AM Girls Classic 5K Race 

10:45AM/11:10AM 

11:35AM/12:00PM Boys Team Sprint Qualifications (top 6 times overall will advance to the finals)

12:30-12:45PM Break for Workers 

12:45PM/1:10PM 

1:35PM/2:00PM Girls Team Sprint Qualifications (top 6 times overall will advance to the finals)

2:25PM Boys Team Sprint Finals 

2:50PM Girls Team Sprint Finals 

3:30PM Boys Freestyle Pursuit (3 Start Gates) 

4:10PM Girls Freestyle Pursuit (3 Start Gates) 

5:15PM Awards Presentation

SCORING 4 Pursuit Skiers + 1 Sprint Relay Team Scoring Rubric is similar to Section and State Meet *Only 1 Sprint Relay Will Score Team Points 

AWARDS Top 24 Pursuit Skiers in each gender will earn All Conference Honors Top 6 Sprint Relay Teams in each gender will earn All Conference Honors

Here are the courses as well as a map of the stadium (start/finish area).  Please note that these are going to be very restricted and parents will not be allowed in them.  Also note that there is very limited space for teams (buses and team camp areas).  We would like for the athletes to be able to have their room, so we ask that parents limit your time in these areas, especially right before and right after a race.  Allow the skiers the time to get ready and then decompress after their races:

Sprint Course

Pursuit Course

Stadium Area/Set Up

General Notes: 

Classic Race 

* We will be issuing chips when athletes enter the stadium and will collect at the finish line 

* We will be using a single file line and a wand start 

* One skier every 20 seconds 

* There will be a technique zone where only striding is allowed. 

* We will be using time of day for our start times 

Sprint Relay 

* Heats and lanes were determined by random draw 

* Coaches are not allowed to rewax skis or switch skis during the sprint race FIS 326.2.3 

* Top 6 times from the prelims will advance to the finals 

* Lanes for the finals will be selected based on prelim times 

* We will be using time of day for our start times 

* Once the qualifications are completed and the sprint final line up is determined, please return your bibs to the finish area if you team does not advance 

Freestyle Pursuit 

* Due to time constraints and covid constraints, we will not reissue new bibs for the pursuit 

* We will be using time of day for our start times 

* We will be collecting bibs at the finish line

Below are two short videos that we are having the skiers racing watch.  It is also helpful if a parent/spectator watches them as well to have a better understanding of how the starts in the Classic race and the sprint relays will work.  For the Freestyle pursuit race, skiers will be sent out in the place they finished the Classic race in, in the amount of time behind the leader they finished.

How to start a race with a wand: https://youtu.be/gP29Oi9nwcU

How to start the Team Sprint: https://youtu.be/MTwPa0nkegA

Thursday Meet Results

Meet results from today's meet at Elm Creek are now posted on the right side of the blog.

Today was a solid day and a day that showed a lot of improvement by the whole team.  The energy level with everyone seemed to be higher and more determined.  It's a great thing to see, especially at this time of the season.  We know that with our youth that there is still a lot that can be improved and that we need to work on, but to see what these skiers are currently doing and how much fun they seem to be having is a positive and something to really look forward to, not only for the rest of this season but for seasons to come.

Aaron and Lilah led the way for both teams with 2nd place finishes, as the Boy's took 2nd out of 6 and the Girl's took 3rd.  With the Boy's Ryan, 4th, and Josh, 7th, were able to finish in the top 10.  On the Girls side, Stella finished in a solid 18th place for an 8th grader to also help the Girl's.

Next up is the Northwest Suburban Conference Meet on Monday at Hyland Park.  I will be putting all of the info out on Friday.  For those that do not race Monday, they will be racing on Wednesday at Elm Creek in which they will get to chose what they would like to ski, skate or classic.

Thanks,
Denny

Meet Times Changed, 1/27/22

Meet times for Thursday's race at Elm Creek have been changed.  Girls will be racing at 4:00 and the Boys will be racing at 4:30.

Thanks

Denny

Week of Jan 24

Below are the basics for this upcoming week.  Our race is currently set for Thursday at Elm Creek, but there may be a change to Elk River for a more challenging course.  If that happens, than I will let everyone know.  Also, Friday is going to be Team Pictures.  Please read and use the information at the bottom of this message for being able to order pictures.

Monday, Skate at Bunker Dog Park

Tuesday, Classic at Bunker Golf Course

Wednesday, Classic at Bunker Campground

Thursday, Classic Race at Elm Creek, Girls at 3:30, Boys at 4:00

Friday, Skate at Bunker Campground, Team Pictures

Saturday, we are in discussion and will see how things are going as far as a practice is concerned.  However, we will need to wax skis for those that will be racing in the Conference Meet, which is on Monday, Jan 31 at Hyland Park.   This is an all day race, so those going will be missing the whole day of school. We will be announcing the team in the beginning of this week and then I will put out all information at that time as well.

Any questions, please let me know,
Thanks

Denny

For those that would like to order pictures, please use the code and information below:

CUSTOM CODE:  PGJC27875

TEXT CODE TO: 90738

PLEASE SEND YOUR TEXT IN PRIOR TO PICTURE DAY.  

ONCE YOU HAVE OPTED-IN, YOU WILL RECEIVE ANOTHER TEXT WHEN THE IMAGES ARE READY TO VIEW AND ORDER.

Hyland 5K Skate

Temps were cold, the wind was blowing pretty good, and the course the most challenging that most had to ski on this year, but both teams had their highest placings on the season, with the Boy's in 2nd out of 6 and the Girl's taking 3rd.  Other teams were missing a few of their skiers, but we have had to deal with that a lot lately as well, and we are starting to come back together and forming into shape to have a good last couple of weeks on the season.

Lilah continues her solid season with her second victory in a row, this time with one of her best skate races in her career.  Aaron had another solid top performance finishing in 2nd, 11 seconds off the leader, and getting back into shape after being out for a week.  And as these two continue to push for top performances every meet, the rest of the team is moving up and this is the biggest reason the team placings are moving up.  The Girl's team is so young and still learning so much in their skiing lives that the possibilities of improvement are always there.  The depth of the Boy's team is also fairly young and inexperienced with four 2nd year skiers fighting for top 6 and top 10 spots on our team.  The hope is that we can bring it all together in the next couple of weeks for the Conference, Section and State meets, as well as a JV meet or two to end the season on positive notes.

Next up is a classic race at Elm Creek on Thursday, Jan 27.

Thanks,
Denny

Weather Today

We are paying attention to the weather for today's race at Hyland Park and based on what is being predicted on many sites, the temps and windchills will be legal.  For your info, and there is a detailed chart in the parent handbook, the State High School League has set legal temps of being -4 F or warmer and -15 F windchills or warmer to be legal.  As of 12:00 noon Thursday, the temp for race time is to be about 1 F above with a windchill of around -7 F.

If anything changes we will let you know,

Thanks

Denny

Heggies Pizza

Below is a message from Kami about the Heggies Pizza orders:

Tomorrow is Heggies Pizza Day!! Pizzas are being delivered tomorrow. You can pick up your pizzas starting tomorrow evening after the meet. Pickup location: Thoen house (12229 Lily St. NW). Pickup times:

Thursday, Jan. 20: 7-9 pm

Friday, Jan. 21: Anytime before 6 pm

Saturday, Jan. 22: 10-12 am

Text me at 651-335-1144 if there are any questions.

Week of Jan 17

Here are the basics for the week ahead.

Monday, bus leaves at 8:00am, classic skiing, going to Rum River Central.  The hope is to have the bus leave RRC at 10:00am, so back to school around 10:20.

Tuesday, Skate Ski at Bunker

Wednesday, Skate Ski at Bunker, lifting after school

Thursday, Skate race at Hyland Park, Bus leaves at 2:00, Girls at 3:45, Boys at 4:15

Friday, Classic Ski at Bunker

At the moment we probably will not be having a practice on Saturday since some of the skiers have been 6 days a week the last two weeks.  If anything changes, we will let you know.

Thanks

Denny

ABC Relay Recap

Today was just a fun overall experience and something we have gotten the chance to experience in a couple of years.  Decent and sunny weather, good snow, good competition, and a lot of solid efforts put in by our skiers!  It's a great thing to be a part of this race and to know that our skiers put forth the work to represent themselves and the school in such a positive way makes it all that more better!  The  veteran skiers led by example and pushed themselves and the young and first year skiers didn't seem overly nervous and held their own against some of the top teams they have faced this year.  This is a fun group to coach!

Congrats to the Boys A team of Ryan, Peyton, Josh, and Aaron for placing 4th overall.  Ryan, Josh and Aaron also finished in the top in their discipline to receive medal honors.  Also congrats to Lilah for being the fastest girl on the day in Classic to help lead the Girls A team to a 10th place finish.

Thank you to everyone that helped make today's ABC Relay's a positive and fun experience!! The number of parents that helped in one way or another was a great thing to see and to know that things went smoothly lets us know their dedication to our sport and our program!!

Also, I huge Thank you to Coach Nelson, Jerlie and Ricky for all the work they did in helping our skiers be ready and get through a fun day!! It makes the day so much easier when you can trust them to do their job and go above and beyond to do what they can for this team!!

Thanks for everything!!
Denny

ABC Relay's

Below is information on the ABC Relay's this Saturday at the Mora Vasaloppet Nordic Center, just north of downtown Mora.  Also the team roster for who will be racing on which team and what technique.

The most direct way to the Vasaloppet Nordic Center is to take Hwy 65 north to Mora. Continue north around a lake and then take a left onto 9th Ave and then a right into the Nordic Center.  There are signs to help as well.

The Boy's race will start at 10:00am with all teams starting their first skier in a mass start.  All other skiers will go out in order, with the first two skiers doing Classical and the second two doing Skate.  The Girl's will then follow the same process and will start at 11:30.  If all works well, we hope to have awards at 1:00.

Please use the map below to know where the course is in relations to the Vasaloppet Nordic Center.  All Parking will need to be at the Vasaloppet Nordic Center. There is a parking at an elementary school near by, but will not be available due to a wrestling tournament.  If you can car pool, and feel safe doing so, it will help with parking.  Also, if you are going to watch and you are a skier, you can always park north of the course (nearest to #4 on the map) and then ski down to the course.  There is a parking lot up there, and for those that were on the team last year, this is where we raced when we were up there last year.  The road for that parking lot is County Road 70 in which you will take a left off of Hwy 65, and then the parking lot is on the left.

Course Map and Parking

 

There will be restrooms in the Vasa Center as well as a maintenance garage, but there will be portable toilets outside as well.

Lastly, we will be selling ABC Relay t-shirts, with this years being for $10 and older years for $5.

Any questions, please let me know,
Thanks

Denny

Boys		Girls
A		A
Ryan	Classic	Lilah	Classic
Peyton	Classic	Ava	Classic
Josh	Skate	Ruby	Skate
Aaron	Skate	Stella	Skate
B		B
JOey	Classic	Liz	Classic
Orion	Classic	Julia	Classic
Eli	Skate	Akala	Skate
Albi	Skate	Megan	Skate
C		C1
Anthony	Classic	Ella	Classic
Justin	Classic	Addie	Classic
Jacob	Skate	Kendall	Skate
Nate	Skate	Anna	Skate
D		C2
Tristan	Classic	Tessa	Classic
Kevin	Classic	Grace	Classic
Tythe	Skate	Trina	Skate
	Skate	Hannah	Skate
E		C3
Marco	Classic	Casey	Classic
Jackson	Classic	Regina	Classic
Michael	Skate	Emmy	Skate
Gavin	Skate	Tennyson	Skate

Hyland Classic Sprints Results

Congratulations to Josh as you took the classic sprint today at Hyland Park as we had 2 boys in the finals, with Ryan going down after the hairpin turn and finishing in 8th!  Congrats to Lilah as well as she had a solid day to take 2nd overall.  

After the Prelims, team scores gave the Boys 2nd place out of 6 teams and the girls were 4th out of 6, as we were able to get 3 boys into the semi finals as well as Lilah.  Aaron had made the semi's but pulled out and due to that Albi was able to move up to make the semi's as well.

Overall it was a solid day.  It was the first time that most of our skiers had done a sprint race before and with the warmer temps it made the snow fast, and they held their own, and in many ways it was possibly the best thing for us to have as a race after the past week and trying to bring everyone back up to health. It also is going to help us as coaches to see who does well in sprints so we can start making decisions on who will be in the sprint relays at the Conference and Section Meets. 

Our Individual results are posted on the right side of the blog.  There will be overall results as well, but we may not see those until the morning.

Thanks
Denny

Week of Jan 9, 2022

Below are the basics for the week ahead.  We will have a Classic Sprint race on Tuesday at Hyland Park and the ABC Relays on Saturday at the Mora Vasaloppet Center in Mora, in which I will send out more info on later in the week. But, everyone will be skiing on Saturday.

Monday, Classic at Bunker

Tuesday, Bus leaves at 2:00. Schedule and info on meet is as follows: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11XyunWflTYko7NkmKEMcNHXejlF_vfXG/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111658290248301905448&rtpof=true&sd=true

Wednesday, Skate at Bunker

Thursday, Skate at Bunker

Friday, Skate or Classic at Bunker (depends on what they will be skiing on Saturday)

Saturday, Bus leaves at 7:30.  Boys race at 10:00, Girls at 11:30, Awards around 1:00.

Thanks,
Denny

Mesabi Invite Results

A fun day with wonderful weather at Giants Ridge today as the Cardinal Skiers competed with 800+ other skiers in the largest high school Nordic Ski race in the country, the Mesabi Invite!  A challenging week with illnesses and extreme weather put our skiers in a position to struggle, but the 14 skiers we took with came with a positive attitude and energy and put forth solid efforts, even though 10 of them had never raced at the Ridge before!

Despite the youth and inexperience's we arrived with we were still able to put together some higher end results.  Our top overall skier place wise on the day was Lilah, who finished in 23rd out of 129 classic skiers in the Varsity race.  On the Boy's side, Ryan finished in 36th of 126th in the Varsity Classic race with Josh 10 seconds behind in 40th.  The Boys Varsity team led the way in team placing finishing 23rd out of 51 teams. The Girls Varsity, short handed as they were and not having anyone in the skate race, finished in 41st out of 52 teams scored.  The Girls JV, also without any skate skiers and first year skiers, finished in 39th of 43 teams and the Boys JV showed a lot of improvements on the season to finish in 17th of 40 JV teams.  You can check out all of our results as well as the overall meet results on the right side of the blog.

On the overall, we as coaches saw a solid performance for the team and we are happy with how they skied! There are things that we can improve on, and we will work on those things, but for right now we are going to enjoy what we saw and the attitudes that our skiers brought with them.  Thanks to those parents that were able to make the venture north and hope you all enjoyed everything as much as we did!

Next up is a classic race on Tuesday at Hyland Park.  One note of difference is that this will be a sprint race, so races will go faster and only a few will get to race more than once in order to determine the overall winners.  More info will come out later.

Thanks

Denny

Mesabi Invite

Here are the basics for Saturday's Mesabi Invite at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, MN.  

-We are still going to go up and come back on Saturday, with the bus leaving at 6:00am.  

-The races will begin at 11:00am and there does not look like there will be any weather delays.  

-We have a conference room set aside for our skiers, parents, and families in which a lunch will be served as well.  This is a room just for Coon Rapids, so we will not have to be in there with any other teams. 

-Depending on the weather and how quick everyone is, we could be on our way home a little after 2:00, thus arriving back at the school around 5:00pm.  

-We will let everyone going tomorrow if they will need to take everything home with them Friday after practice.  

-We are also going to wax skis after a short practice Friday.

For those that are going to be racing, they are needing to fill out the information on this form: https://my.1risk.net/1waiverKioskv2/sign?a=aHR0cHM6Ly9teS4xcmlzay5uZXQvZ2lhbnRzcmlkZ2VhcGl8ZGE0NTllNDE3ZDYzNDNlZDlkYmI5YjAzOTYwMmM1ZTF8Mjk

This form is being requested by Giants Ridge.

Here are those racing on Saturday at their start times.  There will be two individuals go out at time every 15 seconds starting at 11:00 for the Classic races and then 1:00 for the Skate races:

Classic:
Josh Thoen - 11:02:15

Ryan Powley - 11:08:00

Peyton Martinek - 11:13:15

Lilah Gilyard - 11:20:00

Elizabeth Hoggarth - 11:25:15

*Ella LaGree - 11:30:15

Nate Bornes - 11:35:00

Orion Carter - 11:42:30

*Addie Erickson - 11:45:30

*Tennyson Smith - 11:51:15

Skate:

Lachlan Demmer - 1:07:00

Albi Ludwig - 1:14:30

Eli Christiansen - 1:38:15

*We are still waiting to hear from the District if these 3 will be eligible since they are Middle School, but also make sure they are able to go.

If there are any questions, please let me know.  Directions to Giants Ridge can be found at the end of the Parent Handbook on the right side of the blog.
Thanks

Denny

A Message from Ava

Below is a message from Ava in regards to apparel:

Hey guys, I just wanted to remind everyone that apparel forms are due this Friday! If you are sick and unable to bring in your forms please fill out the google form on the blog. Ava will not be in school this week, so turn in forms to the coaches. Since a decent bit of the team is sick we will accept later payments if you can’t get them to the school by Friday, but all order forms are still due Friday.

No Practice Today, Thursday

Due to the weather, we are going to cancel practice today, Thursday Jan 6.  Temps and Wind chills are going to be borderline, and with our current state of athletes being out, it is best to just go home and get or stay healthy.  If someone is feeling good and their family is comfortable with it, then a 30 to 45 min easy classic ski is all that it is needed.

Thanks
Denny

Tuesday Results

Individual and Overall Results from today's skate race at Elm Creek are now posted on the right side of the blog.

The Boy's team was in a very tight race finishing in 4th out of 6 teams but only 12 points out of first as a team.  The Girl's were shorthanded today and finished in 5th out of 6 teams, but were not that far out of 4th place.  

Both teams showed a lot more grit today coming off of camp and a long weekend.  We know that it wasn't going to be a perfect day missing may of our top skiers, especially on the Girl's side, but they all worked and fought to the finish, with many of the first years doing more than their last skate race.  There are still a few things that we want to work on with their techniques, as well as strategies, but they are improving and we just need to stay positive as we get through this next couple of weeks.  Hopefully the weather will allow us to get out on snow more than not, but whatever we are given, we will keep working and get to where we can give everyone their best opportunity for reaching goals.

Information on the Mesabi Invite will come out on Wednesday or Thursday morning.  We are shuffling things up a little with who is able to ski, so some may get added or shifted to a different race.  Also, hopefully start lists will be available by then.

Thanks

Denny

Information

Wanting to bring to everyone's attention that over the past 24 hours we have had a handful of skiers test positive for Covid.  Some of you are aware of this and some have tested negative, but please be taking precautions, staying home if you are not feeling the best as well as testing if you aren't either.  If you do take a test and it comes back positive, please let the CRHS Activities Director know and he will guide you through the school district policy.

Thanks

Denny

Week Ahead/Mesabi Line Up and Info

This is the plan for the week of Jan 3.  

Monday we are going to be meeting at 2:30pm in the weight room and then we will head out to Bunker with the bus leaving at 3:15 for a skate ski.  We will also be waxing skis when we get back, but should not take long.

Tuesday is a skate race at Elm Creek.  Bus will leave at 2:00, Girls will be racing at 3:45, Boys at 4:20.  Teams that will be there are Park Center, Maple Grove, Champlin Park, Andover and Osseo.

Wednesday will be practice as usual, weight training for the high school skiers after school and then the bus leaving at 3:15 for a classic ski workout.

Thursday will be a regular practice, however we will be watching the temps and wind chills.  Right now it could be very cold and even pushing the cut off lines to be outside to practice.  Please be ready to workout inside as well as out.  Once we get closer a decision will be made.  

Friday will be similar to Thursday, so we will wait to see what happens with the weather before we decide what to do.

Saturday is the Mesabi Invite.  In the past we have gone up on Friday and stayed overnight at a camp south of Eveleth.  However, that camp closed down for the winter a week ago due to other groups deciding not to go over the winter, and thus it became a cost issue for them.  I did check around for reasonably priced hotels, but there was not anything available.  So, we will be going up on Saturday morning, leaving at 6:00 to make sure we give ourselves enough time to get up there.  We will also come home on Saturday evening after the races are done.  We have done in the past, and other teams do it as well.  One start lists are made official later in the week, I will send out more information.  However, below is who will be skiing for us.  Those not racing are invited to come along to ski and cheer as well though.

Boys: Varsity Classic: Josh, Ryan, Peyton; Varsity Skate: Aaron, Lachlan, Albi; JV Classic: Joey, Orion; JV Skate: Eli, Anthony.

Girls: Varsity Classic: Lilah, Megan, Elizabeth; Varsity Skate: Stella, Ruby, Anna; JV Classic: Julia, Kendall; JV Skate: Akala, Katrina.

Thanks,
Denny

Camp Recap

A lot goes into camp and it was a bit stressful in the weeks leading up to it, wondering if we would be able to have much of a camp because of the lack of snow.  Our practice time on snow has been inconsistent this season and I was worried we wouldn't really get the full effect of a camp due to the snow conditions in NW Wisconsin and wondering if I should start looking for other areas to ski. Luckily for all of us, the snow came and the conditions were great, not just in Birkie land but at Timberland Hills as well.

It is hard to say how successful this years camp will be until we see the skiers racing and how they finish out this season, not in terms of winning or losing, but in how much more comfortable and confident they are in their skiing abilities.  But, in the idea of getting camp this year and being able to do every workout we were wanting to do, which has not happened in about 5 years, camp was a success!

The skiers got the opportunity to get more time on snow and to ski as much as they could then they would in over a weeks amount of regular practices in just 3 days, and with that, we as coaches saw a lot of good effort and quality time for all of those that could be there.  As many of you saw last night when the skiers got home, there wasn't much left and it was a pretty quiet bus ride home too!!  They worked to their abilities and beyond and it will be fun to see if they can take what they have learned and what they have gained and continue to apply it at practices and their races.

What was also fun for myself to see at camp was the fun they were having together when we weren't skiing.  It didn't matter what age or if they were on the boys team or the girls team, they were just a team, and having fun in the pool, in the lounge/lobby, and in the conference room where they ate and we got to do some games (lots of good laughs from all!).

Camp has changed over the years, not being at Telemark Lodge is one area, the increased number of warming cabins on the Birkie Trail, but also the amount of interest from the families has grown a lot.  We had more parent volunteers want to be a part of the trip than any other trip we have taken in the past, and they went above and beyond to help make the trip a positive experience for all of the skiers.  With all of the soup and additional food sent up from all of the families and the pizzas ordered by the Boosters, the skiers had plenty of food to eat.  Our traditional second day Birkie adventures have also become much easier, not only because of the cabins available, but the parents that went out to those cabins to warm them up, support the skiers as they came through, but also have extra supplies of food and hand warmers for those that needed them.  Being one that has skied the American Birkebeiner  multiple times, it is getting closer to embracing the spirit of the race, with the only thing missing being the music and the big crowds of spectators!  So Thank you to all of the parents that helped in any way and especially to those that came up to support and help at Camp this year!! It really helps give the skiers a positive experience!

Lastly, thanks to Coach Nelson, Coaches Abby and Jerlie, and Ricky for all of the extra time they put into helping the skiers get better and for helping figure out the best ways to get the skiers to improve and reach goals that they all had for camp!!  Camp cannot happen if we are all not on the same page and I knew that if there was something they wanted to do or that I would like for them to focus on with the skiers, that they would go above and beyond and make it a great learning experience for the skiers!

So, Camp is done and we are about half way through the season.  We are a long ways a way from the end of this story.  Let's go put more in and see where it takes us!!

Thanks!
Denny