ASF-2011-01
Adirondack Sports January 2011
Adirondack Sports January 2011
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www.AdkSports.com JANUARY <strong>2<strong>01</strong>1</strong> 3<br />
The cornerstone to any successful youth<br />
sports program is to instill in participating<br />
youth the enjoyment of the sport<br />
– the fun of it! Nordic skiing is no different.<br />
No one enjoys a fresh new snow more<br />
than kids. From snow angels to snow forts<br />
and sledding, they’re all popular ways to<br />
get kids out to enjoy our winter weather.<br />
Adding a pair of well-fitting ski boots and<br />
short skis is just another way of having<br />
fun on snow. Short skis provide a means<br />
of moving from one place to another with<br />
more efficiency than plodding through six<br />
or eight inches of new snow.<br />
Across New York there is a network of<br />
local ski clubs that offer a quasi-formal<br />
Bill Koch Youth Ski League Nordic ski program<br />
for youth 13 years and under. There<br />
are 17 local clubs, which vary in size<br />
from large clubs in the Rochester and<br />
Lake Placid area, to smaller family-based<br />
clubs in Potsdam, Saratoga Springs, and<br />
Southern Saratoga County. Some of these<br />
clubs are school-based programs such as<br />
highly successful Tupper Lake.<br />
This network comprises the youth<br />
program of the New York State Ski<br />
Racing Association – Nordic (NYSSRA-<br />
Nordic). Depending on facilities in the<br />
area, children may be able to try crosscountry<br />
skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined<br />
and ski orienteering – or even tennis<br />
ball, paintball or air-rifle biathlon. A<br />
complete list of local clubs and contacts<br />
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING<br />
Youth Skiing in New York<br />
= SHENENDEHOWA KIDS<br />
ENJOYING FRESH SNOW<br />
WITH FOLLOW-THE-LEADER FUN.<br />
= SOCCER ON SKIS CAN BE<br />
A WILD EXPERIENCE.<br />
PHOTOS BY ERIC HAMILTON<br />
can be found at nyssranordic.com (click<br />
on “BKYSL”).<br />
The program is named for Olympic silver<br />
medalist Bill Koch. A native of nearby<br />
Vermont, Bill began skiing in the early<br />
1970s in a local ski club, and was an active<br />
Nordic combined skier before turning his<br />
efforts toward cross-country ski racing. In<br />
1976 he shocked the ski world with a silver<br />
medal in the 30-kilometer event at<br />
Innsbruck, Austria. A few years later, he<br />
won the World Cup series. He is often credited<br />
with starting the “skating revolution,”<br />
which so dramatically changed crosscountry<br />
skiing technique in the 1980s.<br />
This season got off to a slow start with a<br />
BKYSL race in Lake Placid that was rained<br />
out. But a couple of weeks later at Osceola<br />
(near Utica) there were over 30 young skiers<br />
participating from all over the state.<br />
These fun youth races are usually tied to<br />
a more competitive event like an Empire<br />
State Games qualifier or a community,<br />
county or state park’s winter festival.<br />
The program is not all about competition,<br />
though. I have been coaching the Bill<br />
Koch Youth Ski League for 20 years now. It<br />
has been my experience that only about<br />
one in ten children will take to racing.<br />
The biggest challenge is to get kids<br />
into comfortable clothing involving layers<br />
– the colder the weather, the more layers.<br />
The second challenge for parents is to<br />
obtain a comfortable ski boot that fits, but<br />
by Eric Hamilton<br />
has room in the toe area for an extra pair of<br />
socks and a pocket of insulating air. There<br />
are at least three systems of bindings that<br />
provide a secure and flexible connection<br />
to skis. Each works equally well for youth.<br />
I encourage one type in my club so families<br />
can trade and hand down equipment<br />
as children quickly outgrow at this age.<br />
Besides getting from one place to<br />
another, kids love games on snow. Nordic<br />
skis add a new dimension to a game of<br />
soccer. Tag games like red rover, capture<br />
the flag, or Ghostbusters are popular on<br />
skis. Ski games like follow-the-leader<br />
through an obstacle course are a sure<br />
winner for any age group. Play improves<br />
balance, perfects motor skis, and builds<br />
strength without focusing on a particular<br />
skill.<br />
One of the most fun games is a trademark<br />
of fellow coach Jim Underwood, the<br />
Wooly Mammoth Hunt. He picks out a<br />
wooded area with limited undergrowth,<br />
where he will place several dozen balloons<br />
of various colors and sizes, some<br />
near trails for younger children (more<br />
difficult terrain for older kids). The object<br />
is to bring back as many “hides” (balloons<br />
popped with ski poles) as possible.<br />
The high point of this year’s youth<br />
ski season will be the Mid-Atlantic Bill<br />
Koch Ski Festival at Highland Forest (near<br />
Syracuse) on Feb. 19-20. The weekend will<br />
include two championship races for kids<br />
(classic and freestyle), paintball biathlon,<br />
ski orienteering demos, a sprint race,<br />
hodgepodge relay, club relay, a popular<br />
hot dog roast, and an awards banquet to<br />
celebrate the season.<br />
Yes, I have plenty of stories and<br />
memories accumulated during my youth<br />
coaching career. With all the children that<br />
have passed through the program, there<br />
is at least one story for each. Perhaps my<br />
most memorable moment was pursuing<br />
a group of exuberant kids as they scrambled<br />
over a knoll with a newly-acquired<br />
skill toward the rose-colored setting sun<br />
– with snow flying everywhere!<br />
Eric Hamilton (admin@mohawktowpath.<br />
org) lives in Clifton Park. He recreates<br />
along the Mohawk Towpath Byway,<br />
including biking, cross-country skiing<br />
and running.<br />
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ISSUE<br />
#<br />
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