XC Clinics
Barnie Games at the American Birkebeiner (2.25.2010)
Many CXC Team Vertical Limit athletes, including Maria Stuber and Bryan Cook, volunteered at the Barnie Games on Main Street during the week of the Birkie. Over 1,300 Kids between 3 and 13 years old participate in this magnificent event. There is a race called the Barnie Birkie that finishes on Main street, followed by the Barnie Games which include: a chariot pull, a speed trap, relays, games, and an awesome obstacle course. If you have children that are interested in skiing, be sure you get to Hayward by Thursday to participate in this event next year. It’s incredible!
A full photo set from the event is available HERE.
1st Annual Women’s Only Ski Race and Wine Reception (1.30.2010-1.31.2010)
Ski and Tea Clinic # 5 (1.17.2010)
Click HERE for a great pre-Birkie article on the Ski and Tea Women!
Ski and Tea Clinic # 4 (12.19.2009)
Lapham Ladies Dryland Clinic (11.15.2009)
Bike Doc SuperFit Clinic (11.14.2009)
South of the Twin Cities Ladies Group Dryland Clinic (11.10.2009)
This was an open clinic, hosted by a brand new women’s group in the Twin Cities area that will meet in southern locations such as Hyland Hills and Cleary Lake. XCSA and CXC Team Vertical Limit athlete’s Maria Stuber and Bryan Cook were both present at the clinic. This group was inspired by the Lapham Ladies of Delafield, WI and Ski and Tea of Hayward, WI. It was started by Lynda Stuber (Maria’s mother) because she missed having friends nearby to ski with. It was fun to do an evening clinic under the lights at Hyland Park. It was also fun to be part of the development of another Ladies skiing group in the Midwest. Most people at the clinic had minimal technique instruction in the past so we saw lots of great progress.
Winona MN Dryland Clinic (11.08.2009)
XCSA and CXC Team Vertical Limit athletes, Bryan Cook and Maria Stuber made the trip over to Winona, MN for one of the biggest dryland clinics of the year. NMU Ski team alumni and Winona high school coach, Brad Skillicorn was invaluable in organizing this wonderful group of skiers. The group met at the St. Mary’s ski trails. There were people of all ages and ability levels. Most of the clinic was spent on the classic technique progression that leads into ski walking and bounding. What time was left was used to discuss skating, particularly the legs. We hope everyone learned a lot and we would like to get back in the winter to see everyone’s improvements.
Ski and Tea Dryland Clinic #2 (11.7.2009)
On November 11th, 2009, XCSA/CXC Team Vertical Limit athlete Maria Stuber, joined teammate Jojo Winters in Seeley, WI, for the second Ski and Tea clinic of the 2009-2010 ski season. Ski and Tea is a Ladies group that meets in the Hayward, WI area, but has members all over the country. They are extremely supportive of the CXC Women’s team and are working hard to develop the sport of Cross-country skiing. Please scroll down this page to read about the Ski and Tea clinic series from last year.
The focus of this clinic was skating. The first two hours were spent on the skate dryland technique progression. Some new activities were added to the progression to help people “find their core.” Then, everyone strapped on roller skis and broke into two small groups. Jojo went with the roller ski veterans to fine tune their skate technique, while Maria stayed with the roller ski virgins and worked on balance and timing of V1, V2, and open field.
Thanks again to Ski and Tea leaders Linda Cook and Juli Lynch for organizing this series of clinics. The CXC Women are proud to be associated with such an inspiring group!
Lake Placid Women’s Only Clinic with Lindsey Dehlin (10.3.2009)
On the first Saturday of the Lake Placid training camp, Atomic/NMU alumni athlete Lindsey Dehlin and XCSA/NMU alumni/CXC Team Vertical Limit athlete Maria Stuber, met a group of awesome women at the Olympic Sports Complex Biathlon Building at Mt. VanHovenberg, in Lake Placid, NY for a dryland ski clinic. This was a mixed group of experienced and novice skiers, many of which were part of a Lake Placid women’s group called the Loppet Ladies. All of the women who attended were very enthusiastic and excited to improve their skiing technique. We did all dry-land work, both classic and skate technique. Most skiers at the clinic preferred to classic ski instead of skate. Thank you very much to Elizabeth Trachte who did most of the organizing for the clinic. Elizabeth is a Lake Placid skier with several Midwestern roots. Maria and Elizabeth met through Ski and Tea connections so a big thank you goes out to them as well.
Iola Winter Sports Club Clinic (6.27.2009)
XC Ski Alliance and CXC Elite Team athletes, Maria Stuber and Bryan Cook, spent the whole day on Saturday working with the Iola Winter Sports Club. This clinic was a huge success. Around 35 skiers of all ability levels were present for the clinic. Participants included coaches, High School athletes, Citizen racers, Master skiers, and future NCAA skiers. People drove from all over the Stevens Point, Wausau, Iola, and Ashwaubenon areas. The morning focused on classic skiing while the afternoon focused on skating. At the end of the clinic, the group split into roller skiers and non-roller skiers. The roller ski group continued to work on their skating technique, while the non-roller skiing group talked about goal setting and strength training. It looked like rain all day, but only a couple of drizzles actually hit the ground. The clouds were somewhat of a relief after all the hot temperatures earlier in the week. A big thank you goes out to Susan Wurzer and the Iola Winter Ski Club for organizing such a big event as well as working hard to develop cross-country skiing in Wisconsin.
Lapham Peak Master’s Skate Clinic (6.25.2009)
The Lapham Peak Master’s clinic was a smaller group this year but was still very productive. All participants got some good one on one technique analysis. Most of the clinic was spent working on the V1 and hill climbing technique. Hill climbing is a critical part of skiing because small technique imperfections will have a large impact on performance. Thus, Master skiers can make big performance gains by learning to climb hills more efficiently. In the past, many skiers were taught to, “step” up the hills, which is a very difficult habit to break. All skiers left the clinic with the fundamentals they need to glide up hills with ease. With a little more practice, these skiers will float up all the hills this winter.
Peak Nordic Technique Camp (6.22.2009-6.26.2009)
XC Ski Alliance and CXC Elite team athletes, Maria Stuber and Bryan Cook, spent all of last week in Waukesha, WI, working with the Peak Nordic Ski Club. The Peak Nordic coaches were instrumental in organizing an amazing week of camp activities. Monday started out with dry-land skating technique and some no poles skate roller skiing. Tuesday consisted of more skate work on roller skis and applying what was learned the previous day. On Wednesday, dry-land classic technique and some no poles classic roller skiing was covered. Thursday was spent mostly on double pole and kick double pole. Finally, Friday was spent on ski walking, bounding, and ski-specific plyometric activities. The week was hot and humid with temperatures above 90 °F every day. All Peak Nordic camp participants were enthusiastic, focused every day, and not afraid to break a sweat.
Peak Nordic is quickly becoming a powerhouse club. They now have a youth program and a middle school team in addition to the high school squad. All of their coaches are extremely dedicated people, and it was very impressive to have coaches from all age groups showing up to expand their knowledge and absorb as much technique as possible. All of the Peak Nordic skiers have roller skis and know how to use them. It is no longer uncommon for Peak Nordic skiers to continue skiing at the NCAA level and three of last week’s camp participants will ski for a University in the Fall. It gives Maria goose bumps to see how far Peak Nordic has come since she started there in 8th grade, and to think about how good they will be in ten more years. It was a pleasure working with such a dedicated group.
CXC Youth Clinic in Marine, MN (6.17.2009)
The CXC Elite and Junior Development Team’s met at the middle school in Marine, MN, to host a clinic for youth. The clinic was a blast! Everett Meyer was leading the show and he did an excellent job of planning activities that would mimic ski specific movements and be fun. The clinic was two hours long and the weather was hot; yet, the kids were energetic, enthusiastic and paid attention the whole time. Some of the kids were skiers and some were not, but everyone left the clinic excited about cross-country skiing. CXC is currently making a video about youth skiing, and the purpose of the video is to help adults create successful youth programs on a local basis. Getting children involved in cross-country skiing is imperative for our nation’s international success in the future. We need to get kids on skis and make it so fun that they go back and get their friends on skis. Some of the photos and video from this youth clinic will be in the video when it comes out.
Minocqua/PowerBar Double Pole Clinic with Chris Cook (5.30.2009)
Alliance athletes, Bryan Cook and Maria Stuber met PowerBar athlete Chris Cook in Minocqua, WI for a double pole clinic. Participants consisted of high school athletes, master skiers, and coaches. Dr. Jim Mullen of Premier Physical Medicine volunteered his brand new, state-of-the art facility for the clinic meeting place. Several dry-land technique drills were performed to demonstrate proper double pole form. Then, skiers strapped on their roller skis to apply the drills to skiing on both flats and up hills. Thank you to the Minocqua ski community for hosting this wonderful event.
Birkie Week Ski and Tea Clinic #5 (2.18.2009)
February 18th, was the last of five women’s specific ski clinics hosted by Ski and Tea to benefit the CXC Elite Women’s Team. The clinic was held from 8-12 AM, at the Birkie Trailhead on 00 Road in Seely, WI. Maria Stuber, Heather Zimmerman, JoJo Winters, and Kristina Owen all showed up to fill in for their teammate Caitlin Compton who was representing the CXC Elite women at the Nordic Ski World Championship (Liberec, Czech Republic) at the time. The clinic was broken up into four stations so that participants could focus on skate, classic, or both. Stations included: classic legs, classic arms and double pole, skating arms and downhills, and skating legs. Smaller group sizes allowed for more one-on-one attention for both beginners and advanced skiers.
XC Ski Alliance and CXC Elite athlete Maria Stuber was in charge of the skating legs group which focused mostly on the steep uphill V1. This group attracted a lot of participants, most likely due to the anticipation of the huge climbs in the Birkie and Korteloppet later in the week. Fortunately, Kine Torinus, was available to assist Maria in watching everyone’s technique. Kine is a seasoned ski instructor, Ski and Tea Woman, and fellow Lapham Lady from Maria’s old stomping grounds (Milwaukee, WI), who was unable to participate due to a broken ankle. Bunkie Miller of the Lapham Ladies was also present at the Ski and Tea clinic, and it was fun to have some mixing of these two women’s groups that have been instrumental in Maria’s development as a ski racer and a young adult.
Many of the fundamentals covered in previous clinics were reviewed at the skating legs station, including body position, ankle flexion, and knee drive. Some props were used to help participants feel the free glide associated with good body position, and to demonstrate the importance of ankle flexion and NOT stepping up the hill. Although the props worked great for technique corrections, they were not designed for comfort. Thank you to all the Ski and Tea ladies who have bruises on their knees for being such great sports. Some alterations will be made for next time.
Thank you to Juli Lynch and Linda Cook for organizing this amazing series of clinics. Thank you also to everyone who attended for helping to make the Ski and Tea clinics a huge success.
Dousman Skate Clinic (11.9.08)
After a long weekend of events in Southern Wisconsin, XC Ski Alliance and CXC Elite Athletes, Bryan Cook and Maria Stuber, conducted an open clinic in Dousman, WI. Participants met in the Bicycle Doctor Parking lot at 3:30 PM. The clinic was very small, probably due to the cold temperatures, and the Packer loss. We were able to work on skating technique fundamentals with everyone, and Bryan Cook helped the more advanced participant fine tune his V1 and apply more power to all skating techniques. It’s always nice to have more than one instructor so that we can meet everyone’s needs. Thank you to those who braved the weather and attended our final clinic before the snow falls.
Lapham Ladies Clinic (11.9.08)
The Lapham Ladies are a women’s ski group in Southern Wisconsin. The name of the group refers to the trail system they spend the most time at, Lapham Peak State Park in Dousman, WI. This group of women started a huge fundraising project that aims to raise over $5000 towards the CXC adopt-an-athlete program for Maria Stuber. Although the CXC adoption happened this summer and fall, the Lapham Ladies really adopted Maria a long time ago. Many of the women in this group were a major part of Maria’s development as a skier racer and young woman. Core Lapham Ladies, Mary Eloranta, Donna Hoelz, Anne Riendl, and Lynda Stuber donated their time to the former Waukesha West High School Ski Team, now Peak Nordic Ski Club. They carted Maria around to races as a junior, made her tough and made skiing fun.
The current fundraising effort has many parts that involve the entire skiing community. Within nine days, the Lapham Ladies raised over $2500 in donations from their group alone. They also wrote a letter inviting friends and family to get involved. Mary Eloranta challenged other local groups like the Milwaukee Nordic Ski Club to make a donation. CXC athletes and administration spent the weekend at a local ski and bike shop, the Bicycle Doctor, promoting the program and fitting people on Salomon Skis using Salomon’s high performance, digital ski flex testing mat and the store donated 10% of all sales to the adopt-an-athlete cause. In addition, a local master skier and former Silver Star ski instructor, Mike Mandli, is teaching a ski school on Saturday mornings and splitting the proceeds between Maria’s adopt-an-athlete program and the Lapham Peak snowmaking project.
The success of this fundraising effort initiated by the Lapham Ladies demonstrates the strength of the cross-country ski community in Southern Wisconsin. Hopefully, other skiing communities will take notice, get involved, and back their own local athletes. As a thank you to the Lapham Ladies for all of their support, Maria conducted a dry-land classic clinic at Lapham Peak State Park for all Lapham Ladies and she will be proudly wearing a Lapham Ladies patch on her uniform this winter.
Lapham Peak Trail Clearing (10.8.08)
Lapham Peak State Park has been working very hard to implement an underground pipe system for their third year of snowmaking. It is very exciting since skiing in Southern Wisconsin is growing fast, yet snow fall is becoming more inconsistent. Snowmaking at Lapham Peak State Park will provide beautiful skiing conditions all winter long to a huge radius of skiers. Many of the people working on the project are volunteers and most of the money for the project has been donated (become a part). The snowmaking project has also brought the Lapham Peak Nordic community together in many ways.
On Saturday, November 8th, the Lapham Peak Friends and the Nordic Ski Club of Milwaukee organized a group trail clearing at 9 AM. It rained all night long and when I arrived at around 8:45, it was very cold. The sky was dark and a rain/snow mixture was falling consistently. I thought for sure people would choose to stay in their warm beds; however, people continued to show up with rain coats, work gloves and shovels. By the time we started working, 29 people had arrived and several community skiing groups were represented, including the Friends of Lapham Peak, Nordic Ski Club of Milwaukee, the Peak Nordic Ski Club, the Lapham Ladies, and CXC Elite. Everyone embraced the mud and dove right in to pick rocks out of the new trail. Work continued from 9 AM to noon and then a warm chili lunch was provided.
It was wonderful to see skiers of all ages and ability levels coming together to reach a common goal. I was also very excited to give back to the trail system where I learned how to ski. Hopefully, the snowmaking project will provide more kids in the Southern Wisconsin area the opportunity to fall in love with cross-country skiing. For those of you who have never been to Lapham Peak, it is one of the greatest places to ski in all of Wisconsin. There are huge climbs, ripping descents and lit trails for night skiing. In addition, Lapham Peak is surrounded by a supportive ski community of people that are working hard to promote skiing development at all levels and I am proud to be a part of it.
AdvantEdge/SuperiorLand Ski Program (10.28.08)
On October 28th, XC Ski Alliance and CXC Elite Team athlete, Maria Stuber, started working with AdvantEdge Training to build a program that will help the SuperiorLand Ski Club get ready for the upcoming season. On Monday and Wednesday (and an occasional Friday) the athletes meet with Maria to roller ski and work on technique. On Tuesday and Thursday the kids do an easy distance workout and perform a ski specific strength routine with an AdvantEdge personal trainer. The program focus has been on distance training and technique so far, but will soon incorporate some harder interval training.
Marquette Classic Clinic (11.2.08)
Sunday started much like Saturday with the clinic kicking off at 9 AM. Sunday greeted us with a little warmer temperature which was a nice break from the cold. We started with a classic specific dryland progression very similar to the skate progression. This is because a lot of the fundamentals in classic and skate technique start with the same principles. We then hit the roller skis for some more specific double pole, striding, and kick double poling technique progressions. After the progressions we went for an easy ski and answered some questions. Both Marquette clinics were relatively small, but hopefully the skiers will go tell their friends and we will have a big group for next year.
Marquette Nordic Walking Clinic (11.1.08)
To finish off the Halloween weekend of clinics in Marquette we decided to hold a Nordic walking clinic. Once again we met at the Sports Rack and with the help of some demo poles from the Sports Rack, as well as our fleet of One Way poles, we had a great clinic introducing Nordic walking to both skiers and non skiers in Marquette area. Thank you to the Sports Rack for helping us advertise and host the weekend’s clinics at their store.
Marquette Skate Clinic (11.1.08)
XC Ski Alliance and CXC Elite Team athletes, Maria Stuber and Bryan Cook spent the weekend conducting clinics in Marquette. Saturday morning started bright and early with a skate roller ski clinic. Participants met at the Sports Rack ski and bike shop at 9 AM. The clinic began with a dryland skate technique progression that led into several roller skiing drills. The group contained skiers of all ability levels, including one skier who had never roller skied before who was as tough as nails. All skiers did an exceptional job with the drills and went home with many things to work on.
Ski and Tea Clinic #1 (10.11.08)
October 11, was the first of five women’s specific ski clinics hosted by Ski and Tea to benefit the CXC Elite Women’s Team. The clinic was held at the Birkie Trailhead on 00 Road in Seely, WI. The weather was perfectly sunny and the fall colors were at their best. An impressive 25 participants showed up, foreshadowing huge potential for the remaining clinics.
The topic of the clinic was, “Fundamental Movements of Cross-Country Skiing,” presented by Maria Stuber, CXC Elite and XC Ski Alliance team member. Participants gathered in the warm up building at 8 AM for refreshments and introductions. The first portion of the clinic focused on a classic skiing dry-land technique progression involving double polling, kick double poling, and striding. Next, the group moved to a similar progression for skate skiing technique. Some of the veteran skiers fine-tuned their skate technique, while others worked on the timing of open-field, V1, and V2. Finally, the group strapped on their ski boots and roller skis and hit the pavement. About half of the clinic participants tried roller skiing for the first time and no one left disappointed! Beginners spent time working on glide and weight transfer, while the experienced roller skiers did some drills to develop their V2 technique. The Hayward High School Ski Team graciously loaned out their set of roller skis for clinic participants to use.
Bloomer Masters Clinic (9.14.08)
XC Ski Alliance and CXC Elite Team athletes, Maria Stuber and Bryan Cook, conducted a very successful Master’s clinic in Bloomer, WI last weekend. For those of you who don’t know, Bloomer, Wisconsin is the “Jump Rope Capital of the World,” and the people who live there take their athletics very seriously. So that there was no chance of conflicting with the Packer victory, the roller ski clinic was scheduled late in the afternoon on Sunday. Although participation was relatively small in numbers, everyone got a ton of attention from Cook and Stuber. Clinic participants were extremely focused, even after the clouds rolled in. At about six o’clock it started to pour, but the rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. The group continued to work and even stood around for a question and answer session in the middle of the downpour. There were lots of great questions, which is always appreciated at the end of a clinic. Unfortunately the video analysis was canceled in order to preserve the camera equipment. Thank you to everyone who attended the Bloomer Clinic for being such troopers. Keep up the good work this Fall.
Waukesha Master’s clinic (7.22.08)
The format of the Waukesha Master’s clinic was very similar to the previous “Ladies Only” clinic. This clinic was mostly men; however, the women that did come did an exceptional job. Participants met at Lapham Peak State Park and the focus was on skate roller skiing. There was a technique progression for V2, V1 and open field that allowed skiers of all levels to benefit. After the clinic about half of the group stayed for a video analysis session over some pretzels and beer. This analysis session was very productive and everyone left the clinic with plenty of things to work on. Maria and Bryan will be back later this fall to see how much the group has improved. Thank you to everyone who helped with the Waukesha clinic set up and made things such a great success.
Waukesha Ladies Only Clinic (7.21.08)
The Waukesha Ladies Only clinic was a huge success. XC Ski Alliance and CXC Elite Team athletes, Maria Stuber and Bryan Cook, joined a super group of enthusiastic and athletic women at Lapham Peak State Park for a two hour evening skate roller ski clinic. The ladies started out with a dry land review of skating fundamentals, followed by a technique progression on roller skis. There was a huge range in ability levels of the participants, but everyone had plenty of things to work on. Beginners focused on timing and getting comfortable on the roller skis, while the Birkie veterans in the group spent more time fine tuning their technique. After the clinic, everyone went out to Marty’s Pizza for some slices and some beer. A few of the ladies met up again the following day for a video analysis session. Maria and Bryan are already planning on returning to Waukesha later this fall too see how much this group has improved.
Iola Clinic (7.20.08)
XC Ski Alliance and CXC Elite Team athletes, Bryan Cook and Maria Stuber made the trip to Iola, WI to conduct a clinic for the Iola Ski Team. This was a five hour clinic with only dry land activities on the schedule. There was a great turnout, including high school level skiers, coaches, beginners and master skiers. All camp activities took place in the ski jumping bowl at the Iola Winter Ski Club. The slopes were perfect for ski walking and the jumps provided a very picturesque and inspirational backdrop for the clinic. The morning focus was on classic skiing technique and ski walking. Then, we took a lunch break before we moved on to bounding and skate technique. The day concluded with a brief strength program, a question and answer session and a surprise ice cream social. Everyone at the Iola clinic was very responsive and there were some huge technique breakthroughs. By the end of the day, the Iola Ski Team looked like a real force to be reckoned with this winter.
Peak Nordic Ski Club High School Clinic (6.21.2008)
XC Ski Alliance and CXC Elite Team athlete, Maria Stuber went down to Waukesha, WI to help the Peak Nordic Ski Club kick off their 2008 summer training camp. Some very talented athletes were in attendance, including Matt Dugan, Luke Geiser and Felix Geiser who were all top 10 at the state meet last year racing for Waukesha West High School. Camp started out with some dryland technique drills, followed by skate and classic technique on rollerskis, respectively. Temperatures were extremely hot and it was difficult to be out in the sun all day. Fortunately, the camp concluded with a delicious picnic lunch followed by a technique re-cap and a goal setting discussion in the shade. Good Luck to everyone at Peak Nordic this fall.