The leaves still falling to the ground will soon be replaced by snowflakes. Until then, local Nordic clubs at both Arrowhead and Huntsville High School are doing some dryland training in preparation for the coming season.
Arrowhead Nordic Ski Club (ANSC) and the HHS Nordic Ski Team (HHS-NST) invited Victor Wiltman of Cross Country Ski Ontario to Huntsville for two skills training sessions on October 17 and 18 at Conroy Park. Wiltman is currently touring the province, reaching out to clubs to help develop skill, coaching and programming, as well as promoting interest to heighten the energy around Nordic skiing in Ontario. The skiers were given tips on how to keep their balance, proper weight transfer and proper ski stance.
“Sport-specific training will be the best type of training for athletes to reach their full potential in any sport,” notes coach Steve Jones. For cross-country skiing, rollerskiing is the most sport-specific dryland activity, with hill-bounding, ski-striding, and other variations meant to emulate Nordic skiing activity being similarly beneficial.
All sports, including Cross Country Canada (CCC), have year-round Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) guidelines and programs that detail the various kinds and amounts of training for various levels from “FUNdamentals” though to National/Olympic level competitors, notes Jones. Coaches, including all of the Arrowhead Nordic coaches, are trained to follow these guidelines through the National Coaching Certification Program.
Both the Arrowhead Nordic and HHS-HST coaches encourage everyone to be active and involved for all the related health benefits, both physical and mental.
“For the HHS team, our goal is to provide an inclusive opportunity for kids to be active,” says Jones. “There are no tryouts, and no ‘cuts’. No one ‘sits on the bench’. Everyone is given the same amount of instruction, at their own level, and encouraged to improve to reach their own potential.”
Many of the students are involved in other sports, too, which is encouraged by their coaches.
Huntsville High School’s Nordic Ski Team has an enviable record provincially at OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) championships, winning a record number of team medals in just one year (seven gold and one silver of eight possible team medals) – the best ever for any Nordic team at OFSAA.
There’s still time for students to sign up for the high school program – see John Cowan at HHS. Students must attend a minimum number of practices, starting in November, in order to attend events, notes Jones.
There’s also still time to register for Arrowhead Nordic Ski Club, and it, too, has had great success for a small club. Team members have represented our small town on a national level. Dan Roycroft from Port Sydney has been part of the National XC team. Cam Raynor, Ben Osorio, and Trevor Kiers are National Development Team members. And there are many University XC skiers from ANSC all across Canada. The club’s coaches have trained more than 150 coaches throughout Canada as well.
The club earned two Cross Country Canada awards last year. Arrowhead Nordic was the Most Improved Club Overall from the previous year in the medium-sized club category as a result of standings at the 2017 Nationals from skiers Graham Shearing, Fiona Shearing, Sophia Marshall, and Trevor Kiers. The club also ranked second for Growth in Athlete Participation with the second-highest percent increase in points for the number of licensed skiers in a medium-sized club.
Locally, ANSC is well-known for the annual Jackrabbit Program which provides instruction for more than 200 skiers between the ages of 5 to 14. ANSC also hosts the annual Muskoka Loppet (this season on January 28, 2018), one of the most popular Loppet races in Canada with almost 400 participants, and will also host two elementary ski races with more than 800 participants from grade 1-8.
If you or a family member are interested in joining Arrowhead Nordic Ski Club, visit arrowheadnordic.ca to register online. Send questions or comments about the club to [email protected].
Don’t miss out on Doppler! Sign up for our free newsletter here.
0 Comments