August 12, 2010
Hello all:
Enclosed is your personalized DVD from the Chile project. I’m hopeful that after watching it and being entertained, the process will evolve into studying it and being entertained. This will help you to gain that critical personal insight into what your “next steps” should be, or at the very least should form the basis of meaningful further dialogue between you and your coaches.
When you notice yourself doing the right thing or moving the right way, try to recall the circumstances that surrounded that series of turns, that run, or that really awesome day where everything seemed to click. At some point you should absolutely expect this to be the norm in your skiing rather than the exception. Leave no stone unturned, e.g. how your body felt that morning, how much sleep you got the night before, whether your skis were tuned, your diet, the composition of the race surface, visibility, whether you were shy, scared, aggressive, etc. It’s all relevant, and remembering these things will help you to move forward in the process a lot faster. Similarly, don’t shy away from or be in “athletic denial” (as I often did back in the day, LOL) about mistakes that you may see. Observe them, confront them directly with the right questions (e.g. how did that slow me down or make me go further, what am I doing that’s causing that to happen, how can I change what I’m doing?), perhaps take a note or two, and I think you’ll be surprised how much quicker those repetitive mistakes turn instead into another step forward in the learning process.
Ultimately your job is to learn to see your skiing the way the clock sees your skiing, which is to say, “how far did I travel between the start and the finish, how fast was I going while doing it, and WHAT can I do to optimize these things?” Any and all ski technique and tactics that matter are in service of these basic principles. I submit that anyone who conceives of it differently is forgetting that our sport is one where form follows function, rather than the other way around.
Finally, log onto www.universalsports.com MORE than once in a while. Although it’s summer, the offseason gains you can make now by educating your eyes with world cup skiers “just doin’ it” are proven to be effective, efficient, and powerful learning tools. The latest science on this subject is that your body in fact does learn while you watch, and if you do it often enough you eventually won’t be able to conceive of doing it any way other than the right way. Fifteen minutes a day is all I ask. Treat it like studying (except that you actually get to enjoy this), put some music on, and allow yourself to imagine what it feels like to do what you’re seeing. Jason, Bob, Tom and myself all thank you for a great experience, and look forward to working with you this winter. This is where we live!!
Troy
J1/J2 Head Women’s coach, WVBBTS
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