Tales and Take-Aways... EMXC Skiers at REG and NTG Camps
July 2, 2023
Over the last month, five EMXC Junior athletes attended either NENSA's Eastern Regional Camp (REG), or US Ski and Snowboard's National Training Group (NTG) camp. Our EMXC skiers had the following to report after their new training experiences! Thanks to all of the coaches and athletes who gave their time, expertise and insights to make these camps so valuable to all the attendees.
Regional Elite Group (REG) Camp
The camp, a U.S. Ski & Snowboard development project that is supported by both NENSA and Mid-Atlantic, was held at the Stratton Mountain School (thanks to great hosts!)
"At REG we had a really cool discussion with Greta Anderson and other coaches looking at US ski technique, including a comparison to how other countries ski. It was interesting to see that beyond our individual technique goals, US skiing has technique goals they want to focus on to shape how ski technique is taught to US skiers, and which is often inspired by technique from other countries. The highlight of camp was getting to talk a lot of the SMS T2 team and doing a trail run with Jessie Diggins where she told us she has 60 pairs of race skis!" - Mirra Payson
"REG opened my eyes to pathways that lead to a lot of opportunities that I have known about but never have known how to achieve. Training with an elite group of athletes and coaches was really motivating and created a great environment to focus on skiing. It also served as a great mid-summer reminder about the peripheral parts of skiing that make a great skier, such as sleep and nutrition. Overall, REG was a great experience!" - Nathan Doughty
"One main technique takeaway I got from camp is that I should focus on putting more energy into the up phase, instead of down. This applies to all techniques and I worked on it a lot in my double pole — focusing on getting my hands and hips back up faster to increase speed, instead of just slamming my poles down with more force. We also did a sprint simulation with SMS T2, which was really cool! Matt Whitcomb gave a presentation the night before that included sprint tactics, which gave us all a lot to think about and try out the next day." - Elizabeth Graziani
"I had a wonderful time at REG camp this year. There were talks on different development opportunities available to us, which showed me not just how far you could go, but what you might do to get there. One of the things that really struck me about REG was the wealth of resources that were available. Everyday you were learning something new, whether it was about technique, meeting members of the US Ski Team, fueling, or the role sponsorship can play. It was incredible to hear Greta Anderson, Matt Whitcomb, and the T2 Team speak, especially on the power of intent, belief, and the support of a team. It was so cool to get to do a skate sprint simulation with the T2 athletes and ski an easy distance with them. REG was a truly amazing experience." - Fran Tucker
National Training Group (NTG) Camp
This US Ski and Snowboard Camp brings together the top Junior and U23 athletes in the country to train together in Park City. Evie Walton qualified for the camp this year, and had the following to report!
"In mid-June, a group of U20 athletes from around the country came together for NTG camp in Park City, Utah. It was so much fun to train with and learn from other athletes and make friends with some of the people we race against in the winter. We did many fun workouts together and spent a lot of time focusing on improving technique and raw speed. Coaches Greta Anderson, Bryan Fish, and Reitler Hodgert emphasized that the ability to outsprint competitors and maintain a competitive tempo throughout a race is key to US success on the world stage. We had a couple high-speed intensity sessions during the week, did lots of technique work, and received a ton of helpful feedback from the coaches.
NTG camp was also a great learning experience in terms of taking ownership over our own training. The coaches planned awesome daily workouts and encouraged us to stay in tune with our bodies to make some of our own training decisions. The week was a great exercise in self-advocacy, as well. Just like on EMXC, coaches are there to help—I learned so much from asking questions.
Huge thanks to all the coaches for their effort, attention and incredible advice throughout the week and to NNF for helping to make these camps happen!" - Evie Walton