Hey everyone, thanks for another great week.
We had our first meet. We want to reflect on that race and take from it what you can. The conditions were very tough and provided very unique challenges. We got there very late because of some bussing issues and you did not get a good warm up in. The plus side is that you all know how important a good warm up is now. :) Along with reflecting on that, we want you to try to identify 2-3 things you did well during your race and race preparation and 2-3 things you could improve on. We believe these races are all learning opportunities. We only fail in races if we do not learn from them. Please take time to reflect and grow so we are ready for new situations next time. Reflect on your decisions or reactions, not exterior factors. How did you react to the bus being late, how did you react to the race being shorter than you thought, how did you react to falling, or thick snow, etc?
Mental preparation is a key part of that and we will discuss these aspects in more detail in our race psychology meetings coming up (and they are discussed in a couple videos in the important links doc in the docs tab). Please feel free to use the videos and ask questions if you have them. Here are the reminders for this coming week:
1. We plan to classic on monday - Wednesday,
-If you have not classic skied yet, please be sure to get out there and try it this week. If you don't have your classic skis waxed yet, you can skate Monday, but need to wax them after practice on Monday so you can classic Tuesday.
2. Wednesday is a classic race. check schedule tab for more details.
3. Be sure to try to have your skis kick-waxed before practices so you can get on snow as fast as possible. That might mean doing it the night before. It will be blue tomorrow, then red Tuesday and Wednesday.
- if you have not learned how to kick wax yet, show to the park early and get help from a coach or veteran skier. We are all happy to help. There are also videos posted in the important docs link I posted in the teamfeed a long time ago.
4. For the week of break, we have different practice slots (8:00-10:00am,, 12:30-2:30pm, or 4:30-6:30pm are the Elm Creek slots). I will have that schedule later in the week. We know people are busy with different things over break, but we ask that you try your best to be at practice when possible. We will post the workouts so that if you cannot make it, you can at least get the workout in. Being at practice is important because there is accountability of having your teammates and coaches is important, but skiing on your own is the next best thing. We cannot afford to miss too many practices since our ski time has been so limited this year.

If you have questions or concerns, please let me know.
Gifford
giffordm@district279.org