Scott just got "in" the NORAM Finals, compliments of some inside work by our friend and Western Region coach Jeff Pickering. Scott was first alternate. We were hoping for another shot at Super G points before the US Alpine Championships, since Scott missed out on all the speed stuff at Aspen with pneumonia.
Jeff said Scott's in for everything, including the GS and Slalom. That would be the temptation... to go for everything and hope for good scores. However we learned last year that success doesn't come without training. Scott hasn't had a chance to practice the tech events since February 8th. Better to be patient and find a place to train.
I called my friend Mike Morin (formerr USST tech coach and head of Stratton Mountain Academy). He's arranged lodging, food and lift tickets with his guys for the three days between the NORAM Super Gs and Alpine Champs. Perfect! Very generous of Mike and very good for Scott.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Nerves
I'm seldom nervous about anything. Certainly I "sweat the details", but that's how you achieve perfection. However, once I have everthing in place I don't fret. No matter what, I try to hide any emotions I have from Scott on race day. He knows me too well and can pick up on them right away. I was nervous today...
Maybe it was the big win yesterday -- the fear that by winning the race that didn't matter he somehow put a hex on himself for the championship. Maybe it was the wind I heard blowing last night -- wind that could steal a victory. Maybe it was the sudden temperature drop that might render the chosen wax ineffective. Maybe it was because I acquiesced and let the head coach change his start number from 8 to 4 (I hate early starts). Who knows what it was, but I awoke at 5AM and couldn't sleep any longer. Extra coffee and computer time never hurts, I suppose.
I didn't discuss any of these things with Scott, and went about our race day routine like normal. Good breakfast, equipment check, course inspection, ski preparation, course reports, warm-up, etc. I clicked him into his bindings and skied to my vantage point with a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach. Then racer #3 (his good friend Max Axlerod) had a bad crash. "Start stop! Start stop!" Damn, maybe this was the curse I'd been fearing. "I hope he keeps his focus. I hope he's keeping his muscles warm. All the things he's been taught." Five minutes, maybe more... Finally the race resumed. Scott skied with great strength and confidence, winning the downhill by another convincing margin of one second. Yahoo! The wait was over and the world was right again.
Today Scott completed one of the best weeks ever at J2 Nationals, winning two championships, taking a bronze, becoming the first ever to repeat as a champion. It was great redemption for all those long days working together and those long weeks on the road. He just completed a huge step towards making the US Ski Team and we were both relieved.
Maybe it was the big win yesterday -- the fear that by winning the race that didn't matter he somehow put a hex on himself for the championship. Maybe it was the wind I heard blowing last night -- wind that could steal a victory. Maybe it was the sudden temperature drop that might render the chosen wax ineffective. Maybe it was because I acquiesced and let the head coach change his start number from 8 to 4 (I hate early starts). Who knows what it was, but I awoke at 5AM and couldn't sleep any longer. Extra coffee and computer time never hurts, I suppose.
I didn't discuss any of these things with Scott, and went about our race day routine like normal. Good breakfast, equipment check, course inspection, ski preparation, course reports, warm-up, etc. I clicked him into his bindings and skied to my vantage point with a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach. Then racer #3 (his good friend Max Axlerod) had a bad crash. "Start stop! Start stop!" Damn, maybe this was the curse I'd been fearing. "I hope he keeps his focus. I hope he's keeping his muscles warm. All the things he's been taught." Five minutes, maybe more... Finally the race resumed. Scott skied with great strength and confidence, winning the downhill by another convincing margin of one second. Yahoo! The wait was over and the world was right again.
Today Scott completed one of the best weeks ever at J2 Nationals, winning two championships, taking a bronze, becoming the first ever to repeat as a champion. It was great redemption for all those long days working together and those long weeks on the road. He just completed a huge step towards making the US Ski Team and we were both relieved.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Wind Blows
I hate wind on speed days. Once Bonnie was in the start at the Sun Cup Super G and a gust nearly blew her back intot he start shack -- game over! That's the problem... wind creates an uneven playing field.
The wind was pretty significant today. Some gusts at the top of the course were easily above 25 MPH. But the wind was pretty steady between the gusts so I have no idea the aggregate effect on the race. Fortunately, today's race was simply a FIS race, not the National Championship.
Yesterday I did a pretty detailed post-race analysis of Scott's ski bases, trying to determine how much wax was left and where. Although the snow is warm and moist, the surface is hard at the points where most pressure is exerted on the ski. I found the inside edges of the base "dryer" especially towards the tip and tail. I'm assuming those areas are under the most pressure while turning and the wax is stripped off quicker. Given it was forecast to be 4 degrees colder today, I used a different strategy. I waxed harder under the base and at the inside edges. I still used a warmer wax for the rest of the ski. At the start line I also used a harder application the first 1/2" from the inside edge, then a warmer application over the rest of the ski. Scott rarely comments about his skis, but he told me they felt "slick."
There was also a detailed post-race analysis of Scott's skiing, given his difficulties on the course yesterday. He already knew what to fix, I just had him explain it to me during inspection. All the fixes seemed to work as he won the downhill by 1.3 seconds, a huge margin in speed racing. He also posted the fastest time through the traps at 82 MPH. So it was a good day and we'll try to take this into tomorrow's championship race.
The wind was pretty significant today. Some gusts at the top of the course were easily above 25 MPH. But the wind was pretty steady between the gusts so I have no idea the aggregate effect on the race. Fortunately, today's race was simply a FIS race, not the National Championship.
Yesterday I did a pretty detailed post-race analysis of Scott's ski bases, trying to determine how much wax was left and where. Although the snow is warm and moist, the surface is hard at the points where most pressure is exerted on the ski. I found the inside edges of the base "dryer" especially towards the tip and tail. I'm assuming those areas are under the most pressure while turning and the wax is stripped off quicker. Given it was forecast to be 4 degrees colder today, I used a different strategy. I waxed harder under the base and at the inside edges. I still used a warmer wax for the rest of the ski. At the start line I also used a harder application the first 1/2" from the inside edge, then a warmer application over the rest of the ski. Scott rarely comments about his skis, but he told me they felt "slick."
There was also a detailed post-race analysis of Scott's skiing, given his difficulties on the course yesterday. He already knew what to fix, I just had him explain it to me during inspection. All the fixes seemed to work as he won the downhill by 1.3 seconds, a huge margin in speed racing. He also posted the fastest time through the traps at 82 MPH. So it was a good day and we'll try to take this into tomorrow's championship race.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
DH Training
Today was the required downhill training day. The track hardened sufficiently this week to provide a safe and fast race. Add sunshine and great visibility, and this was a great day.
From a competitive standpoint, the hill leaves something to be desired. The upper 2/3 is steep enough and has variable terrain, but the final 20 seconds of the course is flat and unchallenging. There also are no jumps whatsoever. From our perspective, this hill takes away some of the advantages that normally would accrue to an experienced downhiller.
Scott was second in the training run by .15 seconds. He did, however, post the fastest speed through the traps (81 MPH). If he had finished and told me, "I had a perfect run." I'd be worried. Instead he slipped to a hip and hand on the fourth turn, taking him off-line for that section of the course. He skied great from there down. So tomorrow is a FIS downhill, followed by the National Championship downhill the following day. Scott is confident and looking forward to the race.
From a competitive standpoint, the hill leaves something to be desired. The upper 2/3 is steep enough and has variable terrain, but the final 20 seconds of the course is flat and unchallenging. There also are no jumps whatsoever. From our perspective, this hill takes away some of the advantages that normally would accrue to an experienced downhiller.
Scott was second in the training run by .15 seconds. He did, however, post the fastest speed through the traps (81 MPH). If he had finished and told me, "I had a perfect run." I'd be worried. Instead he slipped to a hip and hand on the fourth turn, taking him off-line for that section of the course. He skied great from there down. So tomorrow is a FIS downhill, followed by the National Championship downhill the following day. Scott is confident and looking forward to the race.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Plan
Stick to the plan... that's what ourfriend Matt Kerr always says and that has been one of our menomics all season. Forgot that one today. A central part of the "plan" is always to ski the long line. That went out the window in the second run today.
It was the Giant Slalom day. Scott was the low seed going in and nobody in the field had beaten him all year. But that doesn't matter in ski racing and certainly doesn't matter in a championship race.
The first run he cut a little too close to a gate and shinned it, destroying the gate and bucking himself sideways. Notwithstanding he finished in 3rd, just .12 off the lead. He was really focused and determined the second run, but probably tried too hard. He broke the patterning he's been using this year and pinched the line all the way down. Even with that he was running fast and in good shape until five gates from the bottom when he looped low and lost all of his speed. The end result was a Bronze medal.
Perspective -- it's a Bronze medal at the National championships. Reality -- it should have been Gold. He's pretty disappointed with himself.
Tomorrow is the Downhill training day (a non-scored race on the exact DH course they'll race). After that he has two downhills, the second one being the National Championship event. Scott loves Downhill, so no matter what happens this will be a fun ending to the week.
It was the Giant Slalom day. Scott was the low seed going in and nobody in the field had beaten him all year. But that doesn't matter in ski racing and certainly doesn't matter in a championship race.
The first run he cut a little too close to a gate and shinned it, destroying the gate and bucking himself sideways. Notwithstanding he finished in 3rd, just .12 off the lead. He was really focused and determined the second run, but probably tried too hard. He broke the patterning he's been using this year and pinched the line all the way down. Even with that he was running fast and in good shape until five gates from the bottom when he looped low and lost all of his speed. The end result was a Bronze medal.
Perspective -- it's a Bronze medal at the National championships. Reality -- it should have been Gold. He's pretty disappointed with himself.
Tomorrow is the Downhill training day (a non-scored race on the exact DH course they'll race). After that he has two downhills, the second one being the National Championship event. Scott loves Downhill, so no matter what happens this will be a fun ending to the week.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Lookin' up!
Things are looking up. In the past two days the snow has setup and is getting really hard. Add to that a forecast including five sunny days, and we're ready to rock. Today was the Men's and Women's Super G competition.
The policy here is that there is no free skiing allowed on speed skis. This policy was imposed after the death of a racer last year. This posed a real problem, given that the transition from Slalom to speed isn't that simple. This morning they allowed warm-up runs for one hour on the lower part of the race venue. Slow lifts converted that to just two practice runs. Scott and I made good use of the opportunity, testing various waxes. Scott's Super G race skis were bent at Aspen, so we've been scrambling to get his trainers up to speed. Based on our tests, we decided to use an experimental wax with a new overlay not yet in the Podium product line. While Scott inspected the course, I prepped his skis.
To get to the point, Scott won the Super G, becoming the first athlete ever to defend a national title at J2 Nationals. This was not without adventure. He charged hard from the start and was still skating after the second gate when he got hung-up on his inside edge and tipped over. He caught himself with his hand and quickly pushed himself back up, having only lost a little time. The rest of the run was great and the skis ran very well.
So now the train is back on track. Tomorrow the Men have Giant Slalom. After that its three days of downhill.
The policy here is that there is no free skiing allowed on speed skis. This policy was imposed after the death of a racer last year. This posed a real problem, given that the transition from Slalom to speed isn't that simple. This morning they allowed warm-up runs for one hour on the lower part of the race venue. Slow lifts converted that to just two practice runs. Scott and I made good use of the opportunity, testing various waxes. Scott's Super G race skis were bent at Aspen, so we've been scrambling to get his trainers up to speed. Based on our tests, we decided to use an experimental wax with a new overlay not yet in the Podium product line. While Scott inspected the course, I prepped his skis.
To get to the point, Scott won the Super G, becoming the first athlete ever to defend a national title at J2 Nationals. This was not without adventure. He charged hard from the start and was still skating after the second gate when he got hung-up on his inside edge and tipped over. He caught himself with his hand and quickly pushed himself back up, having only lost a little time. The rest of the run was great and the skis ran very well.
So now the train is back on track. Tomorrow the Men have Giant Slalom. After that its three days of downhill.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Silver Lining
Day one at J2 Nationals started great. Scott was "cookin" during warm-ups and his head was in the right place. He felt it and I truly believed a slalom win was in the cards today. Unfortunately, he straddled a gate the first run and hiked a l-o-n-g way. He was 60th going into the final run.
Scott was disappointed, but he's grown a lot mentally in the past two years. After a brief rest, he went out to warm-up for the next run. His question to me before the second run was, "Do you think I can win it?" I told him "No, but you can have fun trying. Impress me." And so he did.
The snow today was soft, and the ruts were easily knee to thigh deep by the time Scott ran. He exploded out of the start and never let off. At one point he was five feet in the air, but he landed and knifed the run top to bottom. It looked more like an Olympic bump run than a slalom. He didn't win the run, but he was in the top 15, only a little way off. The crowd rewarded him with an ovation and he ended the day on a high note. Something to take into tomorrow...
Scott was disappointed, but he's grown a lot mentally in the past two years. After a brief rest, he went out to warm-up for the next run. His question to me before the second run was, "Do you think I can win it?" I told him "No, but you can have fun trying. Impress me." And so he did.
The snow today was soft, and the ruts were easily knee to thigh deep by the time Scott ran. He exploded out of the start and never let off. At one point he was five feet in the air, but he landed and knifed the run top to bottom. It looked more like an Olympic bump run than a slalom. He didn't win the run, but he was in the top 15, only a little way off. The crowd rewarded him with an ovation and he ended the day on a high note. Something to take into tomorrow...
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