Goals of Experience
My Daughter and I just returned from a JNQ weekend at Bogus Basin, Idaho. Classic on Saturday and skate on Sunday. Saturday was a full-on blizzard - Winter at it's finest. Sunday was calm and beautiful. Sunday ended on a disappointing note for Mara. Her results disappointed her. This is where focusing on "goals of experience" becomes critical to the mind of the youth skier and the development of their career. Let me explain ...
Nordic skiing can be a fickle sport with respect to results. Even if a skier has put all the work in you simply cant control slow skis, new snow, unfortunate start time, etc. Focusing on the placement result will lead to discouragement. Instead, I like to focus on an experience that will fit into a portfolio of experiences that will lead to more and more confidence in the skier. Mara had two experiences this weekend. On Saturday, she raced in a blizzard. How do you warm up, stay warm, contend with fogged glasses, how do you classic with a filled in track, etc? This was a great "storm experience". On Sunday, there was a big ski snafu. In an unexplainable series of events, Mara raced on someone else's Fischers that were too short and not raced waxed. This experience will teach Mara the importance of having a process to check on her skis after race prep. Dissappointing? Very, but not the end of the world. In later years when it counts, she will have a process for selecting her skis.
I recommend that before each race, you introduce the idea of experience to each skier. "Today's race is simply another skiing experience in your young career. Nothing that happens here will make or break you. This one race will say nothing about your future success. What will you learn today? After the race, it will be critical to ask your skier "What went well?" and "What was difficult?".. From their answers the "experience" will come and that is what you focus on no matter whether the race result was podium or back of the pack.
In another post, we will talk about another critical question to ask your athlete before he or she starts the race.
Nordic skiing can be a fickle sport with respect to results. Even if a skier has put all the work in you simply cant control slow skis, new snow, unfortunate start time, etc. Focusing on the placement result will lead to discouragement. Instead, I like to focus on an experience that will fit into a portfolio of experiences that will lead to more and more confidence in the skier. Mara had two experiences this weekend. On Saturday, she raced in a blizzard. How do you warm up, stay warm, contend with fogged glasses, how do you classic with a filled in track, etc? This was a great "storm experience". On Sunday, there was a big ski snafu. In an unexplainable series of events, Mara raced on someone else's Fischers that were too short and not raced waxed. This experience will teach Mara the importance of having a process to check on her skis after race prep. Dissappointing? Very, but not the end of the world. In later years when it counts, she will have a process for selecting her skis.
I recommend that before each race, you introduce the idea of experience to each skier. "Today's race is simply another skiing experience in your young career. Nothing that happens here will make or break you. This one race will say nothing about your future success. What will you learn today? After the race, it will be critical to ask your skier "What went well?" and "What was difficult?".. From their answers the "experience" will come and that is what you focus on no matter whether the race result was podium or back of the pack.
In another post, we will talk about another critical question to ask your athlete before he or she starts the race.
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