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Alice Robinson is something.
- Thread starter Tricia
- Start date
She's got a TON of potential by all accounts, according to people who have seen her ski. Particularly this summer. Great video.
Another recent article, wondering if she might be the next MS. Sounds like she and her family might have a lot of choices to make {a good problem to have!} in the coming months.
Best of luck to her! It's a long haul.
https://www.skiracing.com/premium/is-the-next-world-cup-wunderkind-from-new-zealand
That's a link to the premium section of skiracing.com. Hope it works.
Another recent article, wondering if she might be the next MS. Sounds like she and her family might have a lot of choices to make {a good problem to have!} in the coming months.
Best of luck to her! It's a long haul.
https://www.skiracing.com/premium/is-the-next-world-cup-wunderkind-from-new-zealand
That's a link to the premium section of skiracing.com. Hope it works.
Thread Starter
TS
Nice article on Erik Guay there too.
She's great and a fabolous talent. But it's a huge step to the WC from international U16 racing and New Zeeland Nationals/FIS. Mikaela won her first WC race at 18. In Åre I believe it was.
EDIT, She was 17!
EDIT, She was 17!
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Yes, Mikaela was 17 when she first won at Are, and then she won twice more in the next month. FIS age rules were such that it was her third FIS season, and she had very carefully been brought along. She spent most of her last J3 season {which would be like a first U16 season now} prepping for the transition to FIS. Training with Burke's older, very skilled girls, very few race starts, etc. Then she began to compete in the FIS Eastern Cup circuit, and in the NorAm's as well. Many alpine coaches, world-wide feel that the highest level FIS races in North America, and in particular the NorAm series is great training ground for an eventual World Cup skier. It has proven to work well for many. So when Mikaela reached the WC on a pretty much "permanent basis" she was ready. She had started a couple of WC's in her first year, and reached the podium in a few starts the next year, then came the victories. However.......from all that I heard through this process it was pretty well acknowledged that the USST and her Burke coaches knew exactly what they had. They were very deliberate with training, rest, and race starts.
I believe that @Swede has a daughter who was a U16 last season, and as such he knows the "Mikaela factor" first hand. Virtually every high level U16 coach, with kids who are doing exceptionally well at that age vis-a-vis their age peers has had at least one conversation with each parent to explain that MS is a once a generation talent, maybe once a lifetime. And yes, she was on the WC a couple of weeks after she turned 16. And yes, she won the US Nationals pretty quickly, etc. But guess what? Mikaela does not live in your house! Don't even discuss this stuff with your daughter, or question a coach as you why you think your daughter is "behind" because of where MS was at the same age. Insanity.
There are a few things that I think {and hear} are interesting about Alice, and which I assume are driving just how her ski racing development will be managed moving forward. She has a great ski racing birthday, January. She has had the benefit of very, very good coaching. I am told that her family is really supportive, but absolutely not over the top end "drivers." She has had the benefit of true skiing year round, at home in the NZ winter, and here in the USA {and the second half of last season in Europe} during ours. She has a lot of time on snow. She also is rumored to have a great work ethic, a great temperament, and a very nice nature. Evidently she is fearless, and takes it down the hill. That may be reflective in her recent five DNF's. There is a big learning curve to this jump, let alone the one to the WC that @Swede mentions. I suspect that a leap to the WC is too much, but may be on the table.
So......how does one advise, coach, manage and develop this kid? Everybody who has seen her ski this summer says that she is absolutely the real deal. I think that many of us have heard that her soon to be FIS point profile at 16-17 GS points is probably pretty reflective of her skiing. People who saw her ski this past winter, on big stages have said that she sure looked to be the top of the heap in the U16 world, at least in her GS and SG. And darn close in her SL. However, the next steps are big ones, and they require building experience and the mental game. You are not racing against 15-16 teens. These are the best women in the sport. Alice has been skiing against some very, very good WC skiers. But she has not been skiing on WC surfaces, WC hills, and long WC sets. And the field that she has been ski against is not deep. Wait until she actually does get into a field with the full compliment of the WC. The discussion of tactics takes on much, much more importance. Everybody has talent and speed at this level. And most have experience and stamina.
The Italians can all beat her, the entire French team as well. In addition to them, there are just dozens of women who can beat her. Throwing her on the WC will be like throwing her to the wolves. The time to ski on the WC is when you have a legitimate chance to qualify for a second run, and score points. Virtually nobody improves their points on the WC until they have a 6 pt. profile, and show even more speed. Even then it is hard. The Europa Cup is no bargain either. With her point profile, she will be starting a WC very deep in the field. The EC is often similar. She needs to get her world ranking down, and that takes a plan. Otherwise she is going to be beaten up, IMO.
My guess is that there is probably a lot of "discussion" about how best to handle her. Obviously the New Zealand team wants to manage and drive it all. Who knows what the plan is that they are proposing? How they plan on spending their resources? How Alice's family might share in that cost?
She's unique. Will they build a team around her, similar to how the USST treats their stars? Or will they just put her with their top women and ski her in "the best" events that she can get into. i.e.. the WC, perhaps WAY too soon? The Olympics have been mentioned, and I think that would be a great experience and a very low pressure one at this time. Basically a fun, learning experience. Maybe they start her in a WC or two.
Does she return to North America, and ski with an academy like Sugar Bowl? Sugar Bowl, I believe, has a very strong group of girls who will be first year FIS skiers. By "very strong", I mean relative to their age group peers. Are the others as fast/strong as Alice? No. Nobody is. Is there a better program in North America for her? Certainly 3-4 would be selling hard that they do, with little to back it up. Mostly guess work and selling. A lot has to do with chemistry. Maybe she skis another season at SBA with their NorAm group? I don't think anybody knows right now. NO way does NZ want her in an American program, away form their coaching. Or so I presume.
Does her family work closely with NZ to develop a long term plan, and perhaps hire a dedicated personal coach who has the right "everything" to bring her along, with the right level of support? It would take a HC, an assistant, a trainer, and a tech. I imagine that she is going to be in high demand among ski companies, and tech/equipment will be accommodated. Perhaps we will see her in a NZ uniform, with a coaching staff with her, spending most of the winter in North America for the next year or two? When she is consistently on the podium in NorAms, and ready for the next step, then it might be ready for the WC, or more of the WC. Do they actually base her right in North America? A home, a training base, etc.
No offense to any Kiwis. I have a number of friends who have been part of the system as coaches, and athletes. Great people. Love them. The NZ team federation has not had a track record of developing people who can constantly WIN at the WC level. It's different. I keep hearing that to do this you need to be based in Europe or North America, over an over again. And that's not from anybody with a vested interest. Not based in the Southern Hemisphere. You need to train there, and spend blocks of time there, as everybody else does. You follow the winter conditions in our summer, but it's not where the sport is based.
This could be very, very interesting. She evidently has all of what it takes. She is young, and she is going to need to be managed well. People who have vested interests in being art of this are going to need to check their egos at the door and do what is best for her. I hear that her parents have their radar up on that. I also hear that they are in a position to fund this, which certainly helps. Of top of it all, the constant feedback is great kid, great person, great future. But this has happened FAST. She has just exploded on the scene, and with the recent results may be coming back to earth, which would not be a bad thing. The young lady has jets. I hear that she has skied sections as fast as anybody. She may be just realizing how fast she is, as odd as that sounds.
There is also discussion that that when her quiver of skis changes and gets dialed, she will be even faster.
I think that the talk of being the next Mikaela is premature, for sure, and probably not fair to her. MS is just a unique being. Incredible.
Then.....there is talk that she would make an incredible college skier for a year or two. I sort of doubt if we see that now, even if it made sense. But she still needs to finish the NZ equivalent of HS.
Interesting......Don't see this very often.
All guessing on my part, with some limited intel.
I believe that @Swede has a daughter who was a U16 last season, and as such he knows the "Mikaela factor" first hand. Virtually every high level U16 coach, with kids who are doing exceptionally well at that age vis-a-vis their age peers has had at least one conversation with each parent to explain that MS is a once a generation talent, maybe once a lifetime. And yes, she was on the WC a couple of weeks after she turned 16. And yes, she won the US Nationals pretty quickly, etc. But guess what? Mikaela does not live in your house! Don't even discuss this stuff with your daughter, or question a coach as you why you think your daughter is "behind" because of where MS was at the same age. Insanity.
There are a few things that I think {and hear} are interesting about Alice, and which I assume are driving just how her ski racing development will be managed moving forward. She has a great ski racing birthday, January. She has had the benefit of very, very good coaching. I am told that her family is really supportive, but absolutely not over the top end "drivers." She has had the benefit of true skiing year round, at home in the NZ winter, and here in the USA {and the second half of last season in Europe} during ours. She has a lot of time on snow. She also is rumored to have a great work ethic, a great temperament, and a very nice nature. Evidently she is fearless, and takes it down the hill. That may be reflective in her recent five DNF's. There is a big learning curve to this jump, let alone the one to the WC that @Swede mentions. I suspect that a leap to the WC is too much, but may be on the table.
So......how does one advise, coach, manage and develop this kid? Everybody who has seen her ski this summer says that she is absolutely the real deal. I think that many of us have heard that her soon to be FIS point profile at 16-17 GS points is probably pretty reflective of her skiing. People who saw her ski this past winter, on big stages have said that she sure looked to be the top of the heap in the U16 world, at least in her GS and SG. And darn close in her SL. However, the next steps are big ones, and they require building experience and the mental game. You are not racing against 15-16 teens. These are the best women in the sport. Alice has been skiing against some very, very good WC skiers. But she has not been skiing on WC surfaces, WC hills, and long WC sets. And the field that she has been ski against is not deep. Wait until she actually does get into a field with the full compliment of the WC. The discussion of tactics takes on much, much more importance. Everybody has talent and speed at this level. And most have experience and stamina.
The Italians can all beat her, the entire French team as well. In addition to them, there are just dozens of women who can beat her. Throwing her on the WC will be like throwing her to the wolves. The time to ski on the WC is when you have a legitimate chance to qualify for a second run, and score points. Virtually nobody improves their points on the WC until they have a 6 pt. profile, and show even more speed. Even then it is hard. The Europa Cup is no bargain either. With her point profile, she will be starting a WC very deep in the field. The EC is often similar. She needs to get her world ranking down, and that takes a plan. Otherwise she is going to be beaten up, IMO.
My guess is that there is probably a lot of "discussion" about how best to handle her. Obviously the New Zealand team wants to manage and drive it all. Who knows what the plan is that they are proposing? How they plan on spending their resources? How Alice's family might share in that cost?
She's unique. Will they build a team around her, similar to how the USST treats their stars? Or will they just put her with their top women and ski her in "the best" events that she can get into. i.e.. the WC, perhaps WAY too soon? The Olympics have been mentioned, and I think that would be a great experience and a very low pressure one at this time. Basically a fun, learning experience. Maybe they start her in a WC or two.
Does she return to North America, and ski with an academy like Sugar Bowl? Sugar Bowl, I believe, has a very strong group of girls who will be first year FIS skiers. By "very strong", I mean relative to their age group peers. Are the others as fast/strong as Alice? No. Nobody is. Is there a better program in North America for her? Certainly 3-4 would be selling hard that they do, with little to back it up. Mostly guess work and selling. A lot has to do with chemistry. Maybe she skis another season at SBA with their NorAm group? I don't think anybody knows right now. NO way does NZ want her in an American program, away form their coaching. Or so I presume.
Does her family work closely with NZ to develop a long term plan, and perhaps hire a dedicated personal coach who has the right "everything" to bring her along, with the right level of support? It would take a HC, an assistant, a trainer, and a tech. I imagine that she is going to be in high demand among ski companies, and tech/equipment will be accommodated. Perhaps we will see her in a NZ uniform, with a coaching staff with her, spending most of the winter in North America for the next year or two? When she is consistently on the podium in NorAms, and ready for the next step, then it might be ready for the WC, or more of the WC. Do they actually base her right in North America? A home, a training base, etc.
No offense to any Kiwis. I have a number of friends who have been part of the system as coaches, and athletes. Great people. Love them. The NZ team federation has not had a track record of developing people who can constantly WIN at the WC level. It's different. I keep hearing that to do this you need to be based in Europe or North America, over an over again. And that's not from anybody with a vested interest. Not based in the Southern Hemisphere. You need to train there, and spend blocks of time there, as everybody else does. You follow the winter conditions in our summer, but it's not where the sport is based.
This could be very, very interesting. She evidently has all of what it takes. She is young, and she is going to need to be managed well. People who have vested interests in being art of this are going to need to check their egos at the door and do what is best for her. I hear that her parents have their radar up on that. I also hear that they are in a position to fund this, which certainly helps. Of top of it all, the constant feedback is great kid, great person, great future. But this has happened FAST. She has just exploded on the scene, and with the recent results may be coming back to earth, which would not be a bad thing. The young lady has jets. I hear that she has skied sections as fast as anybody. She may be just realizing how fast she is, as odd as that sounds.
There is also discussion that that when her quiver of skis changes and gets dialed, she will be even faster.
I think that the talk of being the next Mikaela is premature, for sure, and probably not fair to her. MS is just a unique being. Incredible.
Then.....there is talk that she would make an incredible college skier for a year or two. I sort of doubt if we see that now, even if it made sense. But she still needs to finish the NZ equivalent of HS.
Interesting......Don't see this very often.
All guessing on my part, with some limited intel.
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Yes, my daughter skied on U16-regional Stocholm (which is basicallay national) level in Sweden. She don't want to move away from Stockholm, so an academy, which would have been the next step, is not going to happen. And then she didn't have the results to get in to the good ones, like Järpen, anyway.
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I didn't know if it would work, and I hope that I'm not doing anything "wrong." If I find out that I am, I guess I won't be doing it again. As skiracingmedia changes their model, I'll probably think about whether it's worth the new fees to me. I've been a Ski Racing subscriber, one way or another, since it was first printed. Big thrill when it arrived in the mail as a kid.
Muleski, thanks for all the info. I tried the other day to get a subscription to Ski Racing newspaper/magazine and don't even know if they still have a print copy vs. just web. If you know could you tell me and maybe how/where I go to subscribe. Old fashioned i GUESS old for sure and still like reading something I can hold. Thanks Pete
It's all digital these days. No print. They have rebranded the business as skiracingmedia.com
Guess you'll have to hold the iPad or phone!
I sort of miss folding it! Old school.
Cheers!
Ski Racing is still about the only source for up-to-date ski racing news and results at least in the USA. The new model subscription plan is very short term, so if you go to the site and sign up you can get out quickly if it isn't meeting your needs. I much prefer reading newsprint but that's long gone now and I've had to adjust (mumbling and cursing as I go). Ski Racing even kept having news articles all summer and is now covering FIS races in the Southern Hemisphere. For quick racing results the FIS site is excellent. It covers Alpine, Nordic in all forms, and even whatever that new fangled stuff is.
Yes. Very accurate, they pretty much are THE source. They have a good staff, well versed and experienced in the sport, and well connected to what is going on these days. Pretty much up to the minute, world wide. I am of the opinion that they do as good a job a possible. In the past some have been critical of whether they have been too easy {or not hard enough} on the USST, due to relationships there. I think that's pretty harsh.
Good point on the subscription model. You can buy it for a month and drop it if you wish. There is some grumbling going on as it's no longer a throw in with a USSA race or coaching license. Like most media outlets, I think they are trying to do the best they can with quality content and access, while paying the bills. Nobody is getting rich on this one.
I'm glad to see them evolving with the times, to survive. I do miss the OLD paper print version. Nostalgia on my part.
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Thanks, was just sort of hoping (in vain) that there was still a paper one. I will adapt-sort of.
Keep up your posts I read them all. Raced for 25 yrs (low level stuff) and I don't think it ever totally leaves your blood stream.
Keep up your posts I read them all. Raced for 25 yrs (low level stuff) and I don't think it ever totally leaves your blood stream.
She is. She's 16. A mature 16. Exceptional hard worker at everything, and evidently a very nice kid. This is the very start of her "real" race years. Going to be very interesting to see how and where she skis, how she is managed, etc.
I hear that her goals are very lofty, and that she is in no rush. Where things get interesting is when you have a national federation like NZ, who are no doubt ALL OVER her and her family. I would love to know how they propose to develop her into an eventual World Cup winner. Not a competitor, a winner. That takes a plan, and takes time. And please correct me if I am wrong, but I'm not sure how much experience resides in that federation to do this the right way. A lot exists elsewhere in the world.
My understanding is that her parents are very supportive, not high control "bulldozers" by any means, but smart. It could be that they do not need the NZ federation to fund this for some time. Dunno.
There is some chatter that the NZ folks, or some think she should be in the WC starting gate this winter, racing a full slate of Europa Cups, too. And there are others who think that would be a disaster. I think that there is agreement that having her ski in Korea at the games would be a great experience. A fun one. If she is as good as some say, it might be her first of four or five.
Will be interesting to follow her.
I hear that her goals are very lofty, and that she is in no rush. Where things get interesting is when you have a national federation like NZ, who are no doubt ALL OVER her and her family. I would love to know how they propose to develop her into an eventual World Cup winner. Not a competitor, a winner. That takes a plan, and takes time. And please correct me if I am wrong, but I'm not sure how much experience resides in that federation to do this the right way. A lot exists elsewhere in the world.
My understanding is that her parents are very supportive, not high control "bulldozers" by any means, but smart. It could be that they do not need the NZ federation to fund this for some time. Dunno.
There is some chatter that the NZ folks, or some think she should be in the WC starting gate this winter, racing a full slate of Europa Cups, too. And there are others who think that would be a disaster. I think that there is agreement that having her ski in Korea at the games would be a great experience. A fun one. If she is as good as some say, it might be her first of four or five.
Will be interesting to follow her.
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She did post on Facebook today that she is excited to be going to North America in 5 weeks and being able to race again. Of course not sure what that means, but I think it would be best to stay here and race Nor-Am's this year ( plus maybe a quick stop in Korea to race the GS).
A couple of the Swedish WC-team women did a few (6-8) races in NZ (AUS/NZ-cup), as well as a few B- and C-team skiers, SL and GS, in their pre-season this fall/summer. Alice did one GS race podium about 1,5 seconds slower than Sarah Hector who is an established WC GS-skier. That is very impressive. Unfortunatelly a massive amount of DNF:s from Alice. Which is also a good sign from a young skier that "gives it all" and doesn't shy from skiing at her very limit. She is exceptionally talanted, no doubt. But the WC is still a step away inmo. Sounds wise to do a year in the USA and one more season of buidling strength before heading to Europe. She's only 16.
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