Maine Boy Scores Big

Lauren has certainly come a long way in the past month. Before the Hanover Eastern Cup, he was riding in the fourties on the points list, a far cry from even qualifying for JO's. Today, he and the other members of the FIRST New England JI relay team skied into a medal-winning fifth place. Despite coming into this event in New England's last spot, he never skied lower than 26th in the entire field, and his blistering 12th in the skate earned him a coveted spot on the top relay team. He came through big today, holding his team a mere 15 seconds off the lead going into the anchor leg. With strong skiing from teammates Sam Tarling (another Maine boy) and Chase Marsten, they secured the final medal spot for New England. A great end to a great week. Congratulations Lauren, and all the athletes of Team New England; its been an unbelievable trip.

Junior Olympics

Here we are in the awesome state of Alaska, throwing down for the Junior National championships. This is Lauren's first trip to event, and my first since going as an athlete ten years ago in McCall Idaho. The trip has certainly been up and down for me; I'm currently laid up in the hotel with a nasty flu while everyone else is out at Kincaid park racing the 15k classic. But its been a great time and this is an awesome bunch of kids. For Lauren, the news is all positive, to put it mildly. He threw down big in the sprint, racing to a mean 26th place, just 2 spots out of the heats. Even that didn't prepare me for his unbelievable skate race on wednesday. With his 15th qualifying position, he was seeded pretty close to last on the start list, so we stood there in the stadium watching pretty much the whole race before he was sent out on course. I timed his race on my watch to compare to the live-scoring being put up on the giant scoreboard, and the splits were strong the entire race. Each time he came through the stadium he was tight on the leaders, and he never flagged or lost his rhythm. When he finished, I literally grabbed him out of the corral and pointed him at the scoreboard, saying "watch". When the scores flashed up, I compared his time to the leaderboard, and informed him that he had just skied himself in twelfth place. Twelfth! He got his warm-ups on and came back, and sure enough, within five minutes he was on the board in twelfth, where he stayed for the final results. Only one JI from New England got in front of him, Sam Tarling from Burke Mt. Academy. Did I mention it was a good day?

Today he's going into the 15k classic mass start, while I am stuck in my hotel room trying to keep the fever down enough to tolerate life at the moment. A major bummer for me, but Lauren is skiing like mad and I couldn't be happier. Here are some pics from the event, I'll post again after the relay tomorrow, which I'll be present for if I need a stretcher to take me out there.

Skating Clinic- part 4

part 4 of the skate clinic

Skating Clinic- part 3

part 3 of the skating clinic:

Skating Clinic- part 2

part 2 of the skating clinic

Skating Clinic- part 1

About 2 weeks ago, I went down to pineland to do a clinic for the Freeport and Falmouth high school teams on skating technique. It was an excellent day; the athletes were very enthusiatic and inquisitive and I had a ton of fun. We videotaped the entire session, but I've had to edit it down a bit for the blog. I'm posting the instructions that I gave in four different chunks of about 10 minutes each. I tried to include questions as well, since there were a lot of great ones, but the videos of kids actually doing the drills was edited out for time. In places the wind makes it hard to hear, but this should give a good gist of what we worked on. I'll be sending the full video on DVD to the two teams to watch, but in the meantime everyone who visits here is welcome to watch and comment.

Last Eastern Cups

So the race for the Junior Olympic team has concluded, with bittersweet results for CVA nordic. Justin and Lauren were our two skiers chasing spots on this team, and both were skiing fast enough to qualify this year. Unfortunately, neither was able to attend the Vermont Eastern Cups due to conflicts with high school racing. So we had to sit by and grit our teeth as they proved to be excellent points races. Both Justin and Lauren had to watch themselves drop more than 10 places on the rankings list simply by not having attended, an unbelievably frustrating situation when you are trying to juggle team commitments with Junior Olympic aspirations. Undeterred, they both entered this final weekend determined to throw down and give all they had in pursuit of their goal. After two high school state meets (which they each won in turn), their batteries were a little low, but young as they are, they have figured out that drive and heart matter more than physiology, and they chose to prove it in dramatic fashion. Lauren set the stage on Saturday, ripping out a blistering 8th place in the skate and perching several college coaches on my shoulder for a buzz of inquiries (yes, he's only a junior). Justin had a disappointing day, failing to garner the points needed to move up the list. At this point, both boys had their backs up against the wall. Justin NEEDED a strong finish to make up the gap he lost by missing Vermont, and Lauren still had some very high points from the early season that were holding him back. Sunday had suddenly become a do or die race.

This is the point where athletes have to prove themselves capable of achieving, when the stakes are high and second chances all used up. I had a very pointed conversation with Justin about what this race meant and the view I wanted him to take to the starting line. My confidence is his abilities was complete, but I asked him to accept the possibility that he may not qualify this year. Instead of competing from a position of fear over not winning a spot on the team, I wanted him to forget about outcomes and simply compete, without reservation, whole-heartedly. With nothing to lose, I thought he would be free to reach for something great, and satisfy that most basic of motivations; simply to be excellent for its own sake.

However he processed the jumble of mine and other's expectations, his own motivations and anxieties, and the pressures that come every time we pull on a bib, Justin affirmed all of my faith in him in dramatic fashion. Starting in the mid 20s in a tightly packed mass start, he skied with poise and confidence, gradually picking off skiers and moving towards the front of the field. Each pass showed him a little higher, skiing stronger and truer and closer to his now very distant goal. When the dust settled, he crossed the line in 11th place, a season and career best at a time when it was desperately needed. Unbelievable.

Not to be outdone, Lauren skied a masterful race from much further back in the pack. He managed to pick off more than 20 skiers to finish a strong 20th, with a fast enough time to snag some excellent points as well. I can't imagine a better day, and the boys were justifiably proud of such a fine example of grace under pressure. To say that I was as well is a massive understatement.

The final points tally put Lauren onto the last spot on the team, with Justin just behind as the second alternate. I'm very happy to be taking Lauren to Alaska next week, and just as frustrated by Justin's near miss, especially considering the circumstances. But mostly I'm just awed by the display of sportsmanship, determination, and, most of all, warrior's spirit that these two young men so magnificently displayed. Achievements are great, and an important part of the process, but at the end of the day, its really just about suiting up and reaching for something great. When that reach yields fruit, nothing is more gratifying. Congratulations to Justin and Lauren for their brilliant runs.

Next weekend Lindsey will chase the Maine Eastern High School Team. Also, stay tuned for video from a recent clinic with the Freeport and Falmouth High School teams.