OCR Text |
Show Junior Nordic Ski Team hits dry land training by Randy Hanskat With the coming of fall, most of us engage in some pleasant daydreaming about the upcoming ski season. But others deal more realistically. realisti-cally. The members of the Park City Junior Nordic Ski Team fit into that latter lat-ter group as they welcome the fall with the start of their dry land training program. Al Bronston, coach of the team, plans to start training on Oct. 1. "We'll do an awful lot of bicycling," he said. "Riding a bicycle standing up is the best dry land training." There will also be some running, roller skiing, and possibly teaming with the alpine team for some combined com-bined dry land work. In the past, the training program has paid off for the Park City Nordic Ski Team. Last year both Dave VanLuven and Tony Chambers Cham-bers made it to the Junior Olympics. Chambers finish- but this year there is enough money for both Bronston and a part-time assistant to make it their occupation, not just their preoccupation. "I couldn't give it the time it needed before," Bronston explained. "Now I can." Between eight and ten kids have been involved in the program the last three years. This year the sights are set higher. "We're going to try to get a lot more kids into it," Bronston said. A step in that direction is the "farm program" which will be started this year. The idea here, according to Bronston, is to give the kids a taste of the nordic program, without their having to commit as much time as the team regulars. The "farm program" will last 20 weeks, meeting twice weekly. Lea Turner will handle the teaching. Although the participants will not compete nationally, as do the nordic team full- program" has been set at around $140 for the 20 weeks. The Park City Junior Nordic Nor-dic Ski Team is in the Inter-mountain Inter-mountain Division of the United States Ski Association. "It is one of the smallest divisions in the country, but it is one of the best per capita." Bronston said. Other teams in the division are Sun Valley, Jackson Hole, Pocatello, and Pinedale, Wyoming. During the season, ' the skiers earn points in divisional competition to qualify for the Junior Olympics, Olym-pics, to be held in Lake Placid, New York in late February of next year. Here is the schedule for the Park City Junior Nordic Ski Team: Oct. 1-2 possible dry land training camp in West Yellowstone. Dec. 30 - Jan. 1 Jackson, Wyoming Jan. 13-15 Pocatello, Idaho ed 13th in the country in the JII (14- and 15-year-old) division. Bronston hopes to upgrade the junior nordic program, now in its fourth year. In the past it has been a voluntary labor of love for Bronston, timers, they will compete locally. Bronston said the tuition for the regular nordic team members has not been set yet because it depends on the number of kids involved. The tuition for the "farm Jan. 20-22 Sun Valley, Idaho Feb. 3-4 Park City, Utah Feb. 10-12 Pinedale, Wyoming. Wyo-ming. Feb. 26 - March 3 Junior Olympics, Lake Placid, New York |