Sample Group Progression For The First Few Weeks On Snow
By XC Oregon Coach J.D. Downing
This progression was originally developed in the late 80s for beginner to low intermediate junior or high school age (12-18) skiers. More advanced skiers would require a slightly more accelerated progression (but most likely not a whole lot more accelerated). The same basic model can easily be modified for college skiers and adults up to super masters.
This plan need not (should not) be applied on consecutive days. The numbering of the days simply refers to the order in terms of actual on snow practice days. It is anticipated that coaches will also include at least one rest day each week and at least one dryland training (strength/running/specific foot drills) day per week. It is also probable that many novice skiers will not live in areas that skiing multiple days each week is practical. Thus, this progression could be spread over several weeks with many dryland distance, intensity, and strength sessions in between the sessions suggested below.
CL = classic technique
FS = skating technique
Day 1 -- CL
Beginner Skiers
* Basic classic skills clinic/lesson (45 min - 1 hour)
* Short (10-25min) easy touring on own
Example of A More Advanced Group The Same Day
* "Burn off some energy" ski...no stop-and-talk allowed(30 min)
* Classic drills on flat terrain...no pole striding, scooter drill. (10 min)
* Easy skiing (10-20 min)
* Drills...double pole, double pole with kick (10 min)
* Easy skiing (5-15 min)
Day 2 -- CL
* 20 min Basic skills review from day one material (20min)
* 20 min No poles in flat or very easy terrain
* 10 min Drills/coordination in a group
* 20 min Easy skiing on own
Day 3 -- CL
* 30 min on-own easy distance
* 15-20 min drills
* 20-30 min distance (including no poles for 10 min)
Day 4 -- CL
* 20-30 min distance (including no poles for 15 min)
* 15-25 min drills
* 20-30 min distance
Day 5 -- FS
* Basic skating skills clinic/lesson (45min)
* 15 - 30 min touring on easy terrain
Day 6 -- FS
* Basic skating review (20min)
* 20-30 min dist on easy terrain entire time without poles
* 10-20 min drills
Day 7 -- CL
* 10-15 warm-up
* 10 min drills
* 20-30 min distance entire time without poles
* Ski Games as a group
Day 8 -- CL
* 20-30 min distance
* 20 min drills
* 20-30 min distance (no poles--15 min) (include 5 x 15 sec random speed bursts)
Day 9 -- FS
* 10-15 min warm-up
* 20 min drills
* 40 min distance (no poles--15 min)
Day 10 -- CL
* 5 min warm-up
* 15 min drills
* 35 min distance (no poles--10 min)
* 10 min specific strength exercises (single arms, double pole, etc.)
Day 11 -- CL
* 5-10 min warm-up
* 5-10 min drills
* 10-20 min easy distance
* Light quality session: 2 x 5 min @ intensity 2-3, 3 min rest (gentle rolling terrain)
* 20-30 min easy distance
Day 12 -- FS
* 5-10 min warm-up
* 20 min drills
* 20-40 min distance (no poles--15 min)
* Ski Games as a group
Day 13 -- CL
* 10min drills
* 40min easy distance (15 min without poles)
* 10min specific strength
Day 14 -- CL
* 5-10 easy warm-up
* 10min drills
* 20min easy distance (no poles--10min)
* Time Trial: 3 km done at 85-90% in gentle to moderate rolling terrain
* 20-30min easy distance
Day 15 -- FS
* 5 min warm-up
* 10 min drills
* 1-1:30 long easy distance (include 5 x 15 sec random speed bursts)
General Suggestions for the Early Season (Nov.-Dec.)
Note: These suggestions are geared for a High School/College-aged program but many of the basic concepts if not the entire plan could easily be adapted for youth programs and adult groups. “More advanced” is used to reflect the upper one-third of any group...not just the very elite members. “Beginner” incorporates beginning skiers as well as the lower two-thirds of any group in terms of fitness and ability levels.
1.) Plan out individual race calendars with all skiers at the beginning of year. Take into consideration individual goals/objectives as well as academic requirements (Example: you don’t want to race 3 times during mid-term or finals week), family vacations away from snow, etc.. An old Scandinavian standard is to try to match the overall number of race starts for any year to the athlete’s age (example: a 16 year-old races 15-17 times).
2.) Aim for a plan with 60-70% classic, 30-40% skating until New Years Day both in terms of number of sessions and overall training volume.
3.) Aim for as many sessions on snow as possible before introducing “quality” (intervals, time trials, etc.). Ideally you would like 4-7 sessions on snow before introducing intensity. Gradually increase the intensity and/or duration of these sessions over many weeks. Once racing starts, be more conservative with adding additional interval sessions.
4.) A good rule of thumb is 10 to 20 minutes of skiing without poles in easy terrain during every distance session until New Years Day. Both classic and freestyle sessions.
5.) Include 2-3 x week dryland circuit strength (10-30minutes) either as a group or on own. This is very important to skier development...particularly in the early season! These workouts can be added to shorter on-snow sessions or combined with short runs and/or specific foot exercises.
6.) Include 10-20 min of specific strength (for skiers 14 and older) at least 1-2 x per week. Be more conservative with younger skiers.
7.) Emphasize steady moderate length distance 50min-1:30 hr. for first two weeks, then move into a greater variety of distances and workouts. Some advanced skiers can handle up to 2.5 hour distance sessions in November-December while others will struggle with one hour. In addition, some teams face very limited snow time and the short days in the fall make long sessions almost impossible except on weekends. Above all, be practical in scheduling sessions. It would be better to have fewer, highly efficient, workouts on snow (supplemented with dryland training) than to get in more snow time, but get less accomplished.
8.) Always emphasize the importance of continuous movement during distance sessions. Distance does not mean skiing 1 km. as hard as you can and then stopping and talking for 10 minutes! If possible, teams should make use of “out and back” trail workouts and tours...particularly in the early season. Plan out a route that will take the alloted amount of time. You can do these sessions as separate advanced and beginner groups or you can go as a full team with the advanced skiers doubling back or skiing extra loops.
9.) Encourage every skier to ski on the weekends. If you can, make one mid-week day an “off” day and schedule a team practice for Saturday or Sunday. H.S. age skiers should normally take 1-2 days off per week. Most adults also need at least one day off per week, but this can vary more as schedules dictate.
10. Get together as a full team often for such activities as ski games, strength sessions and on-snow drills. If you have some mature and technically accomplished skiers, have them “buddy” with a younger beginner skier for 5-10 minutes every workout to act as an additional assistant coach. Always look for ways to encourage and increase team unity and a sense of “family”. The surest way to build not only excellence, but also depth in participation, is to make the specific needs of every member of your team a priority--top skiers, average skiers, beginner skiers.
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