Wax Day

I found a little paradise below zero on the skinnies this weekend and hope you did too. However, with the forecast showing temps in the upper 20's for our race Tuesday, Monday will be a wax day. 

BRING YOUR PARTICULATE MASK!!

Race #2 Apollo Invite

Nice work on the wax front today. Everyone has now dabbled in the craft of ski preparation. The work and time you put into your skis pays direct dividends to you. I know everyone wants to go when finished waxing their own skis but this is a team activity. When you leave early your fellow peers are forced to clean up your mess. Make an effort to do your part during clean up.

Race Notes:

You will be released from class at 12:20.

Bus departs Tech at 12:35. South pick-up 12:40.

Parents can plan on picking students up at 4:30.

For many of you this will be your first 5km race. Have a goal in mind for yourself. Concentrate on your technique, best line, tucking on the down hills, chasing down the skier in front of you etc...I've seen great improvements in everyone this last week. Have confidence in your ability and have a great race!

Apollo Nordic Invitational

Thursday December 12th

Location:        Riverside Park

                     1725  Killian Blvd SE

                     St.  Cloud

Invited Schools: Alexandria, Tech, Brainerd, Buffalo, Cathedral, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, Mora, St. John’s Prep, Willmar

 

Rookie Race- 2 laps flat on top

Junior High – 1 loop regular course

Varsity/ JV- 2 loops Wave Start (waves depart on 30 sec intervals, each skier is individually timed)

Schedule:

1:45 Rookie Race

2:00 Junior High Race 1 loop, Girls Mass Start, then Boys

2:30 Girls Varsity, Wave start, 1 skier per school per wave. Maximum of 6 skiers per school

2:40 Boys Varsity, Wave start, 1 skier per school per wave. Maximum of 6 skiers per school

3:15 Girls JV, Wave start, 1 skier per school per wave.

3:25 Boys JV, Wave start, 1 skier per school per wave.

Awards will be after the last race.

First, business:
-To avoid the extreme cold, our meet this week will take place on Thursday, December 12 instead of Tuesday December 10. It will still take place at Riverside Park.
-The bus schedule will remain unchanged for Monday and Tuesday
-We'll be waxing on Wednesday

Second, thoughts:

The good news is that everyone seemed to think skiing was at least sort of fun, and I'm really impressed with what I saw on the snow. Some of the veterans thought it was a funny prank to tell me it was their first or second time skiing, but I'm no fool.

For anyone who didn't have fun in their first week: don't be discouraged. Usually, the first step to being really good at something is being really bad at it. No one should feel self-conscious about how good they are at something the first time they do it. I've put a small amount of thought into it and have found that the second most important skill you can have is not caring what other people think about you (but instead caring what you think about you).

Keep asking questions and keep working on technique

Thanks for the great first week on snow!

sirskow@gmail.com

Race #1

I want to thank everyone for doing such a great job with waxing today!!! It was great seeing everyone help each other out, true teamwork. I know I was a little distracted with getting uniforms out but from what I saw skis were looking fast. 

RACE DAY

This is really just a race in name. We are going to concentrate on a positive skiing experience tomorrow and use it as a measuring stick for setting goals for the remainder of the month.

Positive experience#1 will start by STAYING WARM! I want to stress layers tomorrow, temps will be around 5! You will want a base layer under your race uniform, then your uniform. You will have warm bulky layers over the top for warm up and cool down post race. Vaseline on the cheeks wouldn't be a bad option tomorrow. 

RACE DETAILS

Released from class at 12:24. Bus departs door 6 12:40. All Jr. High and rookie racers should try to get dressed prior to departure with the early races.

Souths students will be picked up at 12:45 by the doors nearest the tennis courts. See me immediately upon arrival for uniforms.

Arrive at Riverside by 1:00.

Parents can expect to pick students up between 4:15 & 4:30.

I don't expect everyone to race. I'll leave this up to your judgement. If you want to just practice ski between races and experience the first race as a fan of Tech I completely understand. We have only had two days on the snow.

CATHEDRAL Dec 5^th SKI RACE   2013

DATE:  Thursday December 5th, 2013

TIME:   1:30 PM 1^st race

LOCATION: Riverside Park, St Cloud

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS: Alexandria, Apollo/Sauk Rapids, Brainerd, Buffalo, Cathedral/Sartell, Little Falls ,Mora, Tech, St Johns Prep, Willmar,

                                               

RACES: Skate- mass start

SCHEDULE:        1:00 Coach’s meeting in Riverside shelter

                        1:30 Junior High Girl’s 7-9^th-  and rookies skate mass start (2.5k) 1 loops

                       2:00 Junior High Boy’s 7-9^th and rookies skate-mass start   (2.5k) 1 loops

                       2:30 Girls  Varsity skate-mass start   (5K) 2 loops

                       2:33 Boy’s JV skate-mass start   (5K) 2 loops

                        3:00 Boy’s Varsity skate -mass start (5K) 2 loops

                       3:03  Girls JV skate -mass start (5K) 2 loops

                       3:45 Awards

Wax Day

Wednesday will be a wax day!
We will meet in the small engines room just outside door 8, down the hall from door 6.

I want to thank everyone for being so positive while out skiing on this make shift snow loop the past two days. I just want to reiterate this doesn't represent what skiing is truly like! It does provide us with a beginning experience though, a small place to work out the kinks and get a feel for the skis under your feet. This transition actually helps ease the muscles and tendons involved in the skating motion. You don't have a chance to over cook yourself the first few days.

Cross your fingers for snow tonight!

  

Bus

The bus to Riverside will depart from door 6 at 3:40. The same door we go out everyday for practice that faces Lake George Park. Make sure and get dressed so you will be ready to go as soon as we arrive at Riverside.

Back At It

I hope everyone had a great holiday break!

The snow making efforts fell short of expectations, but enough snow was made to allow us the opportunity to get the rust off and learn basic ski technique. BRING your skis Monday. South students can leave their skis in the office during the day and will bus over to Tech. Then everyone who isn't driving will take a bus to Riverside from Tech for the remainder of practice. The school hasn't informed me of the bus number yet or the location of pick-up at Tech so make sure to listen to the announcements and check this blog again tomorrow if possible before 8:30am to get an update.

Parents you will be picking your students up at Riverside Park after all practices from now on.

As of now the scheduled race for Thursday December 5th is going to happen. We will be racing at Powder Ridge. Students will likely be missing the second half of the day, so I urge you now to check in with your teachers for upcoming assignments that may be missed. Progress reports need to be handed in by Wednesday! If you didn't grab a sheet last week they can be found in the Athletics office across from the Shack.

This is an exciting week for the team.  We have snow to ski on and our first meet of the year!  Let's practice hard this week and have a blast on the skis!