Creating a Quality Training Environment for Developing Athletes

By Roddy Ward

You don’t need to be from a major Nordic hub to make it as a cross country skier or biathlete

Over the past decade I have heard this phase numerous times from developing athletes, their parents and/or coaches “Well, we are not from Canmore so we really can’t expect to be competitive”.

While I would certainly agree that world class facilities make quality training easier, I truly believe a motivated athlete and/or coach can overcome their local limitations to produce good quality training. They just need to be equipped with the proper mindset.

A typical international example you hear is from Jamaican sprinting. World class sprinters coming out of facilities that don’t have a proper track (i.e., Usain Bolt). Decades of Olympic medals have been won by Jamaican sprinters coming from clubs that train their developing sprinters on grass fields. The lucky ones might have a dirt track at best.

In Nordic sport, talent appears all over the country and there are numerous examples of athletes making national teams from locations without high level facilities. What these athletes and /or their coaches had was the mindset to not give up and dwell on what they did not have, but instead to create what they needed for their development.

In Nordic sport this could mean:

·        Hours spent rollerskiing on quiet roads vs a dedicated rollerski track. Good quality work can even be done in a parking lot.

·        Road vs mountain biking. Utilize what is available in your area.

·        No early snow access? Travel to snow for a weekend or rollerski longer into the fall. The athlete with the better focus on technique development will have the potential to improve more, whether its on snow or pavement.

·        Mostly running or biking while at home but selecting camp locations to maximize time spent on skis or rollerskis.

·        Utilize a basic gym near your home or create a home gym set-up

·        No range in your town? Contact a local gun club, dryfire daily, use SCATT or another remote training tool and utilize proper ranges on weekends or during camps.

·        Train mostly alone? Take advantage of camps with athletes who are stronger

There are a ton of ways to adjust the training to ensure we facilitate good quality development. Nobody has the “perfect” training environment and the best apply the right mindset to work with what they have, to create what they believe is needed.

What is essential is for developing athletes to be building their volume of training, and this can be done through a variety of training modalities (e,g, running, hiking, skiing, rollerskiing, ski walk/stride/bound, road or mountain biking, swimming, strength training). This training should be directed and monitored by a certified and experienced coach, to ensure the athlete is following the principles of the long-term athlete development model and developing sport specific physical & mental assets and technical & tactical skills.

Feel free to reach out via social media with questions or comments.