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Recovery week shenanigans

In a week with less overall training, I like to take some practice time with the Juniors and devote it to some other activities. We’ve written down and shared goals, discussed past timetrials and races, and re-arranged gear and supplies at the Range.

This week, we fit in more unique events during our typical practice times!

On Tuesday coach Sara and I came up with some questions to help drive a “Junior Team Mission” for the season. We asked questions like:

-Why do you ski with MNC?

-What kind of relationships do you want to see within this group?

-What can MNC do for you? OR, what does MNC do well that you like?

Athletes used some notecards to write down their responses, and one of the first things I did was create a word cloud. Now, this is not a statistically-significant method of analysis, but for a group setting with so many different faces I think it is a great visual tool. There are a few odd words included, of course (the word “England” shows up as a result of “New England”, and the word “High” is awkwardly large due to the phrase “High School”), but here is the cloud that the responses produced!

MNC word cloud. The bigger the word, the more prevalent it was in the responses

MNC word cloud. The bigger the word, the more prevalent it was in the responses

I won’t get philosophical (yet) on an interpretation, and will instead let the reader take time to look and review what some of these words are. As a team we will also do the same…what do the sizes of respective words show about our group? Good or bad? How can we reach new levels and what should we retain as it is?

On Thursday, we did a fun activity that was a little less intellectually-stimulating…it was inaugural Toko day, when our new Toko waterbelts were distributed! Of course, that meant a group photo shoot to show off the new gear:

The Toko "Blue Steel" look (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09nTwccQTUA)

The Toko “Blue Steel” look (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09nTwccQTUA)

The Toko Pyramid

The Toko Pyramid

Thanks Toko!

We were also up to more of our usual business…rollerskiing, lifting weights and running around in the mountains. Here are some more assorted pictures and videos from our week!

Aidan testing out the triple-medball pushups (with Eliza providing support)

Aidan testing out the triple-medball pushups at Dee PT (with Eliza providing support)…yes, that last medball is really a basketball…we’re so strong we’ve broken all the other ones!

Greg and Will battling it out...one on rollerskis and one on real skis!

Greg and Will battling it out…one on rollerskis and one on real skis!

Some nice smooth skiing footage…going for butter-smooth style!

 

Frigid and windy atop Mt Mansfield for #NENSAPeakWeekend

Frigid and windy atop Mt Mansfield for #NENSAPeakWeekend

More hiking action at Butler Lodge!

More hiking action at Butler Lodge! The MNC flag has covered a lot of ground this week!

Jim Fredericks gave us some stretchy bands that we use for rollerski towing, but today Greg, Aidan and I killed some time in the parking lot after the hike by hitching one up to some trees and making a slingshot…with frequently painful results! The MNC Youtube Channel has lots of interesting content from this crew!

Congrats to all the runners (both middle school and high school) who raced so well in the State Championships this past weekend! Results can be found here:

Middle School States

High School States

 

 

MNC Athletes at VT XC States

Hat’s off to may of our MNC athletes who posted some impressive results at this weekend’s XC State Meets!

Camille Bolduc, Quincy Massey-Bierman, Magda Lelito, Sammie Nolan
Gavin Schaaf &  Charlie Martell
Baxter Bishop, Elliot Eastman, Jared Leonard, Conor Munns, Tim Cobb
Marika Massey-Bierman, Eliza Thomas, Olivia Cuneo, Kira Nolan

Introducing Friday Foxes!

This season, we are excited to announce that the former Mt. Mansfield BKL group will merge into MNC, broadening the BKL offerings of the club and simplifying the Nordic options in our area.

As a result, a “Friday Foxes” program, which will primarily take place at Underhill Central School, will be added to our program menu in addition to the current Penguin, Jackrabbit and BK Race groups offered on by MNC on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Range.

The Friday Fox program is an introductory program for elementary- and middle school-aged skiers looking to learn the sport, have fun in an amazing setting and engage in the fundamentals of skiing. Many of the same leaders and volunteers that have been a part of the long-standing Friday tradition in Underhill will continue to be a part of the Friday Foxes group.

As a part of MNC, the Friday Foxes program registration will run through Mansfield Nordic’s online, PayPal-enabled sign-up system. All Friday Foxes participants will pay the same price as previous years for this program and will benefit from being part of the larger MNC club infrastructure.

Additional program details:

We are going to be skiing at Underhill Central School Fridays from 3:30-4:45 (later as the days grow longer).  As you know, our long time hosts, Donna and Bob Hamill, are moving toward retirement and as such need to reduce their commitments.  Our Friday ski program required a great deal of Donna’s time.  We wish Bob and Donna lots of fun with their kids and grand children!!

Below are a few important points to be aware of:

  • We will ski primarily on UCS property and some immediately adjoining land
  • We hope to offer a couple of “off-site” days that will include sites like The Range, Mills River Side Park and Casey’s Hill
  • We will NOT be renting equipment this year.  The Hammil Training Center Committee will be selling the current stock of rental skis Oct 26 3:00-5:00 and Oct 30 4:00-5:00 if stock remains.  You may also seek-out rentals through NENSA www.nensa.net or The Alpine Shop.   Check for used equipment on our ‘Gear Swap’ page (tab on top of home page) at www.mansfieldnordic.org  . You can purchase at The Ski Rack, The Alpine Shop or at ski swaps.  
  • Roy Dunphey will be coordinating Friday volunteers.  He will e-mail all of you at a later date. Volunteers will be needed for:
    • Leading children to their appropriate ski “groups”
    • Helping kids, especially our youngest skiers, if they need to get inside to warm-up
    • Hot Cocoa preparation and clean-up
    • Management of the indoor space at UCS.  The room location is TBD, but we will have access to a warm classroom to use in the fashion that we used the Hammil’s back porch.
    • Clean-up of that room at the end of skiing
    • Tidying of boy’s and girl’s bathrooms
  • This is going to be a GREAT year, but we cannot succeed without volunteers – please help out!!
  •  Sign up will be online through the  MNC website and will very closely resemble the program we have run at the Hamill’s for many years.

 

Ski swappin’

It is ski swap season…in fact, a few have already passed us by! Finding some real gems at a local ski swap is one of the joys of the sport…

prized boards from the Colchester ski swap of 2006

prized hot pink and neon boards from the Colchester ski swap of 2006

If you were not aware, MNC has it’s own “Gear Swap” page…check it out HERE! You can find this page at the very top of the MNC homeage.

The club is happy to work with individuals who have gear they are looking to sell, and equally happy to help set up skiers with the right used equipment. If you are interested in donating or selling gear, please contact Karen at kalence@comcast.net.

As the weather turns cold, also be sure to check out local ski swaps, many of which are fundraisers for schools or local ski clubs and programs just like MNC! A listing can be found on the Ski Maven website by clicking HERE.

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