PSIA XC Nordic Academy
Hosted in conjunction with Northern Rocky Mountain Division and PSIA National: West Yellowstone, MT
November 26-28, 2017
*Open to non PSIA members too! Additional $25 registration fee for non members.
PSIA XC Academy 2017 features three days of formal indoor and on-snow training sharing the best of ideas, topics and technique to get you geared-up for the 2017-2018 season.
PSIA Nordic Team members David Lawrence, Greg Rhodes and Emily Lovett will lead you in classic and skate ski technique improvement, teaching drills, progressions and the latest news and projects the National Nordic team is working on.
Join NRM Ed Staff, XC instructors, trainers, school directors, and coaches from across the country in this one, two or three day Cross Country skiing specific clinic. for both classic and skate skiers.
PSIA Cross Country Academy 2017
November 26-28, 2017
West Yellowstone, MT
Deadline to Register: November 3, 2017
PLEASE NOTE - IN CASE OF INSUFFICIENT PARTICIPATION NUMBERS, THE EVENT WILL BE CANCELED AND YOU WILL BE REFUNDED.
OPEN TO ALL MEMBERS, ALL DIVISIONS! ATTENDING FROM ANOTHER DIVISION THAN NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN? NO PROBLEM!
FOR MORE INFORMATION, EMAIL DAVID LAWRENCE david@leaveboringbehind.com
Event Cost:
3 Days + Trail Passes = $255
2 Days + Trail Passes = $185
1 Day + Trail Passes = $100
Non PSIA Member +$25 registration fee
download or print event flyer here
Non PSIA Member wanting to join please call Frances Walsh, Manager of Operations and Events for PSIA at 720.963.4836 to sign-up.
Affordable Lodging & Meals
Group Rental of Large Condo Sleeps 10-18
- Interested in renting a large condo with the National Team members and other event participants? We are too! If we have enough interest, we can rent one condo and split the cost. Contact David Lawrence for details david@leaveboringbehind.com
- If we get a condo, socials and indoor sessions will take place at condo.
- Meals - if you're staying at the condo, planning group meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner may be an option. If you're not staying at the condo, let's try to all eat dinner together at the condo. We can work-out cost, menu and other details closer to the event after you register.
More Information...
One, Two or Three days?
3 days of clinics are the best we offer. Each day includes incredible coaching, individual feedback and a treasure trove of tips, tricks, drills and lessons. But attending all 3 days gives you the most value. You get to ski with more coaches, experience an array of clinic topics, but most importantly, you get to experience the multi-day breakthrough - the moment when you develop more confidence on skis, ownership of the skills and the fun of bonding with the group and coaches.
What Does Each Day Look Like?
Clinics are open to all level of skiers who want to become more efficient in both classic and skate techniques. Each day begins with check-in at the trail head warming hut. After a short group meeting on snow, we quickly move onto the trails with your clinic leader. Each day is divided into two on-snow sessions, a morning session and an afternoon session.
The focus for the clinics are usually designed around technique improvement, movement analysis, teaching strategies and/or the most cutting edge, how to, technique tips, drills and strategies.
Participants will be divided into groups based on the clinic you're most interested in.
Cross country clinic participants should be sure to bring both classic and skate skis.
Coaches – Who Are They?
The coaching staff is composed of an elite group of XC ski professionals who have been selected by the Professional Ski Instructors of America as USA's top instructors in the country. They were selected to represent USA snow sports instruction because of their skiing ability, their high caliber teaching methodologies and their deep technical knowledge of their sport and profession.
Group Sizes?
For all clinics, our goal is to have groups of 6-10 skiers per coach. We feel this allows for optimal learning experiences.
What to Bring to Each Session?
During the on-snow clinics, participants should dress in breathable layers. Temperature ranges in November can be varied with mean average temperatures ranging from -10 – 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Our goal is to keep skiers moving during clinic sessions. There will be some discussion time while coaches present ideas and give feedback. Therefore, you may want to dress in 1 extra layer so that you are comfortable. We suggest that you bring a water bottle/hydration system and an energy bar or gel so that you can keep energy levels consistent.
Snow Conditions and a Special Evening Socials!
The Rendezvous trail system has an enormous variety of trails and terrain for us to choose from. Which means snow conditions could be wildly variable. Bring your skate skis, bring your waxable classic skis and if you have a pair of non-waxable/waxless classic skis, bring those too. The coverage may be thin (depending on the year), so don't bring your good skis (race skis) if there's less than 18 inches of snow on the trails.
Agenda and Schedule
General Outline:
8:30-9:00 am - Check-in
9:00-11:30 pm - On snow clinics
11:30-1:30 pm - Lunch/break
1:30-4:00 pm - On snow clinics
5:30-7:30 pm - Dinner and social meet up, group presentation
Clinic Topics
Beginner Skiers & Coaches/Instructors (classic and skate) - This clinic is designed for new-ish skiers who have a season or two on their skate and/or classic skis. New to coaching and teaching? Great, this clinic is for you. We’ll cover technique to get you skiing more efficiently and confidently, and we’ll help you with more drills and teaching progressions to help you have a great season with your students and athletes this winter!
Personal Skier Improvement (classic and skate) - At the beginning of the season, let’s check-in with our own ski technique. Identify area of strength that we can build on. Dive into areas where there is opportunity for improvement. What goals do we have for our own skiing and how do we get there. (Emily)
Motor Learning, Agility & Skills Model (classic and skate) - The concepts of Motor Learning are well established in the fields of Kinesiology and teaching human movement. In this clinic we will explore some of the ways we can use Motor Learning concepts to help structure our lessons. We will approach this topic through the use of different on-snow agility tasks and connect these tasks with our Skills Model and Motor Learning.
Teaching Improvement (classic and skate) - We all love to improve our own technique, but what about our teaching and coaching? During this clinic, we’ll break down the key components all great teaching shares. Bring your ideas, drills and exercises. We’ll examine and explore how we can further our craft!
Uphill Technique (classic and skate) - Cross country skiing is a human powered sport and does not have the luxury of having chair lifts to get us to the top of each hill. Refining our technique of skiing uphill will allows us to be more efficient and possibly even look forward to skiing the uphills. We will address V1 technique while skating and striding and herringbone while classic skiing. This will be a combination of personal ski improvement as well as teaching strategies for instructing students on uphill skiing technique.
Skier Improvement w/ & Movement Analysis (classic and skate) - Movement Analysis is a valuable tool for skill improvement. How do we execute this process with success and build excitement for the learning process? We’ll practice Movement Analysis with each other in a safe and stimulating environment.
Ski Strength Drills for Technique Development (classic) - Cross country skiing requires both a lot of endurance as well as strength. We will share a variety of on-snow drills that focus ski specific strength development as well as help improve technique. Many times skiers inefficient skiing (less than ideal technique) might be caused by a lack of ski specific strength. These drills will provide you with tools to improve your own technique and strength as well as give you drills to utilize with your students.
Downhill Technique (skate) - What comes up must come down. Get ready for an exciting, fun and low pressure clinic about how we navigate hills and turns on our cross country skis. We’ll cover everything from the basic snowplow turn to the more advanced skate turn.
Turning thought into Action - Angela will take what you learned inside and guide you on how to apply it while actually moving the body on snow to get "unstuck" from habitual patterns such as fatigue, imbalance, limited ways of thinking of yourself, labels, and should's or shouldn't's. Every thought you have sends a signal to your body to either stay in the limitation of the known, or to expand into the limitless of the unknown, where the magic happens. Skiing and ski instructing is a perfect place to learn how to step into it.
PSIA Nordic Team Members:
David Lawrence, current PSIA National Nordic Team coach, 2 term PSIA Nordic Team Cross Country specialist. Owner and contributor to the online video blog XCSkiAcademy.com. Snow sports director at Lookout Pass, Idaho. Author of dozens articles in magazines like Master Skier, 32 Degrees, Trax and Cross Country Skier. PSIA Northwest Cross Country examiner, divisional clinic leader, apline level 3, telemark level 2, XC level 3 and children's specialist level 1. Owner of Pangaea River Rafting, Inc.
Emily Lovett lives in Steamboat Springs Colorado. PSIA-AASI National Nordic Team Cross Country Specialist. Co-director of West Yellowstone Ski Festival Camp and the Steamboat Nordic Camp. Ski school director and women’s program lead at Lake Catamount Touring Center. Head Coach, Steamboat Springs High School Ski Team (2009 – 14). PSIA Rocky Mountain Cross Country education staff, examiner, XC level 3 and rocky mountain trainer. Trip developer and guide, biking/hiking trips in North America and Europe.
Greg Rhodes is a PSIA Nordic Team Cross Country specialist and Owner of online based coaching company called Endurance Athlete (www.enduranceathlete.com). He is a PSIA Snowboard, alpine, and telemark instructor for Aspen Ski and Snowboard School, Aspen, Colorado. He holds a PhD in Kinesiology (Exercise Physiology) with research focused on sport performance and metabolic adaptations to endurance training. He is PSIA certified XC level 3, snowboarding level 3, and children’s specialist level 2.
Angela Patnode, having lived in Bozeman, MT for the last 16 years, was the Ski School Director at Bohart Nordic Ranch near Bozeman, taught telemark at Bridger Bowl after her years at Crested Butte, CO and Kirkwood, CA, was the PSIA Nordic Chair for the Rocky Mountain Division and a PSIA clinician and examiner for xc and telemark, attended the 2008 Demo Team try-outs and has taught at the West Yellowstone Ski Festival for over a decade. She is now an author, speaker, coach and lover of life in helping people heal their bodies through the power of their mind.