No Snow? No Experience? No Problem!

This high school nordic ski team has grown from one member to 44 in a mere eight seasons, despite being hours from snow.

In January, 2001, Hellder Lima, a Brazilian exchange student attending Springfield High School in Oregon, clicked into his bindings to ready himself for his first ski race. He leaned on his coaches, Janice Hatton and Charlie Wilshire, steadied himself, and immediately fell flat on his back. He finished dead last in that race, but improved rapidly throughout the season. By the end of the season, he told his family that he felt like a “real skier, ” despite the fact that he had never before seen snow. That same Eugene-Springfield nordic team now numbers 44 and has boys and girls from four area high schools. The affable Wilshire is the head coach and has collected eight assistant coaches to help with the growing team.

The Training Equipment and Facilities

For the first four years, the ski team conducted indoor conditioning in the High School hallways. Janitors mopped between the kids while they were doing crunches. Wilshire slowly collected poles to incorporate pole running or walking into their workouts. In 2005, the team moved its home base to an unused room in the neighborhood middle school. It was equipped with dusty exercise apparatus from bygone years. Jim Hill, one of the volunteer conditioning coaches, scoured the local thrift stores and Craigslist, picking up ten NordicTracks for less than 200 dollars total. Exer-genies, both new and used, were modified for two users to simulate double poling. The final piece of equipment was acquired the old-fashioned way. Terry Smith, the technical ski coach, got out his skill saw and built 10 slide boards. With the blessing of the middle school principal, the team is able to keep this equipment in the “ski room” throughout the season.

The Workouts

The team meets five days a week from early November through the end of February. Every day that the weather permits, a group roller skis with Terry Smith. Some of the roller skis are on loan from Smith's friends and some were purchased used.

The first ten athletes that show up with helmets and boots do roller skiing instead of the scheduled indoor or outdoor workout. On Mondays and Wednesdays the rest of the kids divide into four groups, rotating between slide boards, Exer-genie, and the NordicTrack machines, working up to 25 minutes on each of the three areas. Once a fitness base has been built, intervals are incorporated into the workouts on these machines. Afterwards, they participate in 30 minutes of abdominal and core exercises led by conditioning coach, Joanne Carlson.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the group heads outside, jogs to a hill with a soft surface for 30-45 minutes of pole bounding, pole running, and pole walking followed by push ups. Friday workouts are lighter and sometimes they ditch the routine for a game like dodgeball. Volunteer coaches Annie Loe and Erik McEwen join in during these weekly workouts to help manage the various groups of kids. McEwen, a former college skier and Dartmouth volunteer assistant coach, also provides technical coaching when the kids get on snow. Before the race season starts, the kids meet on Saturday mornings for roller skiing, pole walking or running. The coaches individually also offer optional on-snow training on some Sundays, holidays and no-school days. Peter Leach, a former collegiate skier is yet another assistant coach who gives technical advice during the on-snow days and race days. Finally, each year at the beginning of the winter vacation, the team participates in a “ski camp. ” The location varies, but typically the team stays in a motel, or houses in Bend for two to three days. This allows the new kids to get on snow for the first time and allows the rest to improve their skiing technique.

The Motivation

These kids are tough! Their season starts with training in early November and extends to the state meet at the end of February. These days are the darkest in the Willamette Valley—rain, fog, and drizzle. Muted greens and grays dominate the landscape. All this moisture is gold to the snow pack in the mountains, but it's sloppy wet and cold for those working out in mid-thirty degree temperatures. The sun sets long before they are through with their workout. The elation the kids feel on race days is in part due to the change in scenery they experience by making the trip to the mountains. Their world changes from gray to white, or, with luck, a blue, blue sky. On a recent race day at Diamond Lake, near Crater Lake National Park, the stunning sight of Mt. Thielsen, the sparkling snow and sunny skies inspired the kids to smile, shed their coats and race in shirt sleeves. These kids are having fun and experiencing a beautiful place only a few hours from home. Because their time on snow is limited, progress takes place over a longer period of time. The seniors tend to dominate because they've had more on-snow experience. Over the last few years, new volunteers and new training methods have helped the coaches keep up with the team's growth and advance the progress of the skiers. Interestingly, the skill level that many of the kids reach makes them competitive with their peers who get more on-snow practice.

This doesn't surprise conditioning coach Jim Hill, a former distance runner at the University of Oregon and post-collegiate runner in the 1980's. Hill says, “Cross country racers must develop both skiing skills and endurance. Our goal is to work on both. Most of our kids have never skied and it's rewarding to see their improvement. The endurance component is easier for us given that most of our training is off of the snow. If they put forth the effort, we'll get them in shape. Participation is the key---these kids will develop a life-long love for skiing and that's how a sport grows. ” Hill feels strongly that these high school kids will be future advocates for preservation of the mountain environment and the development of the sport.

The Ski Equipment

Wilshire and his wife, Janice Hatton, personally invested many thousands of dollars into keeping ski team members outfitted in both classic and skating equipment. For new skiers, Hatton typically purchases the equipment, rents it to them for their first year and allows them to purchase it at season's end. Some kids continue to rent for multiple seasons and Hatton and Wilshire have loaned equipment to those who simply can't afford to buy or rent. This task takes a great deal of time and money and Hatton is hopeful that donations and parent volunteers will ultimately relieve her of this responsibility.

Waxing

On most Friday nights, there's a party going on in a certain cul de sac in the south hills of Eugene. Dave McAllister shakes his head at the chaos and quietly reminds kids to take their shoes off in the house to keep the floors from becoming a skating rink of wax. Dave is a ski parent and he and his wife Christy make the ultimate sacrifice by allowing the team to potluck in their kitchen and wax skis in their garage. The waxing frames were built by McAllister and assistant coach Terry Smith, a master skier with the can-do attitude of a former scoutmaster. With eight irons working at once, McAllister also made sure his garage was properly equipped to handle the load. The wax is purchased with the team dues and is projected to cost over $1,500 this year. Smith patiently gives waxing advice throughout the evening.

Transportation

For six years, parents and coaches provided transportation to the races. Last year, when the team roster hit 30, it was feasible to use a school district bus. In 2009, the numbers are high enough that the City of Eugene has donated a small bus to help carry athletes, parent volunteers, and coaches in addition to the school bus. Most races are a two to three hours drive from Eugene and transportation continues to be the biggest expense for the team.

Finances

The team collected $385 dollars from each participant this year. A portion of this covers the two types of insurance the team buys. The league's insurance covers the kids while they train and race, while the Boy Scouts of America provide transportation insurance. The rest goes to transportation, purchasing trail passes and league dues that cover food, port-a-potties, and grooming expenses at races. The athletes each pay for their own uniform at the start of the season. The coaches made the decision to keep the uniforms simple and conditioning coach Hill, founder of SportHill, a manufacturer of running, ski, and outdoor clothing, provides tights and a top to the racers at cost. The team expects that the state meet motel and food expenses will also be covered by the dues. Partial or full scholarships are offered to those in need.

Racing

The team is a member of the Oregon Interscholastic Racing Association (OISRA) and races in its southern league. In 1999, central Oregon residents, Bill and Jinny Martin were instrumental in starting a nordic division of the OISRA, an alpine racing league that began in Portland in the 1960's to serve high schoolers of all ability levels. The Martins' children had made a successful switch from alpine to nordic racing in college and Bill and Jinny were enthusiastically supporting the introduction of the sport to newcomers.

Jinny Martin recruited Janice Hatton, a former teammate of her sons at The College of Idaho, to start a team in Eugene. She and her husband, Charlie Wilshire, started the team with the Brazilian exchange student who lived with them in 2001. The following year Janice attended “club day” at South Eugene High School and attracted eight new skiers. They encouraged and facilitated other area high school teams to train with them. Sticking together as a community was important in the fledgling years of this group. This Eugene-Springfield area ski team has included members from eight different high schools over the years. Each of the students races under the name of their own high school.

The Martins' original goal was to have 1000 skiers participate in high school races around Oregon. In addition to the OISRA, another organization, Oregon High School Nordic Organization (OHSNO), was formed three years ago. They offer an alternative schedule for their high school members who are primarily from the central Oregon area. Mountain View High School in Bend remains in the OISRA's southern league. They have the largest team in the organization with 65 members. If the growth of Eugene-Springfield High School Nordic Ski Team is any indication, the goal of 1000 high school skiers around Oregon is attainable. Last year 110 high school skiers from many schools around Oregon came together at Tea Cup Lake at Mt. Hood for the OISRA's state meet. Both beginners and experts took their turns on the course. They considered themselves “real skiers” even though many came from non-ski towns. Smiles were the fashion of the day and their exuberance and talent bodes well for the future of the sport in all corners of the state.

For more information, call Jim Hill, SportHill:
800-622-8444 or .

Postscript: The South Eugene HS girls finished first place in the State Meet (OISRA League), while the boys were second.