Well, this was my first season as a professional race coach (I have previously been a volunteer/assistant coach) Weather wise i couldn't have picked a much worse year! Between January 1 and middle of February i was able to set gates 3 times!! And of 26 FW Masters aces we eventually got 12 off.
So going in to the season I was a bit nervous. Going from player to player coach with your same team is not always the optimal switch. But, I got through it (and huge thanks to our head coach and our program director for their confidence in me and giving me support and space to run the program the way I wanted to) and developed my coaching skills along the way.
My highlights as a coach: My athletes scored 4 individual podiums and 3 overall podiums at Masters Nationals, plus 3 class overall podiums in FW Masters (and could have had another 2 but for injuries and changes in the calendar ) as well as multiple individual podiums. But the most rewarding aspect of all was seeing progress and growth in confidence across the board from my athletes. And that they actually responded to my inputs with no prima donnas among them, a really great bunch of athletes who supported me through a tough season of cancelled training days and races . Plus seeing 18 out of 23 athletes entered at one of our races, 25% of the field! ( a lot of masters race only occasionally and just like training!) .
And, perhaps the best vote of confidence , being asked already to return as lead Masters coach again next season.
Other surprises? I was blown away by how much
I learned standing on the side of the course! You see things you hadnt noticed before and realize, oh yeah, that is why that happens!! and then incorporate it into your coaching regime.
Of course the flip side of coaching (as a player coach) is that I got very few training runs in myself. Now for speed and GS I can just about get away with only a few training runs. But for Slalom, always my weakest event, you really need lots of gate time in Training and my results proved that!
Highs/Lows/Bittersweet moments: (all of these emotions at the same time!).
Missing the podium in DH at Masters Nationals - in a really competitive class - by .05 seconds. Making 4th combined in class at Nationals. Lying 3rd overall after the first run in one of our FW Masters GS races at season finals and being on track for an overall podium in the second run....till I threw a shoe 5 gates from the finish...
But overall a great season!. While my own results were perhaps not as good as I had hoped, I was totally stoked at, and rewarded, by the successes of my athletes!
Other highlights:
- being able to ski with several of you at Mt Rose( shout out for Mendieta and Piai)
- realizing i was able to jump onto multiple different combos of skis and boots and still able to perform as normal ( 5 different boots and 19 different skis at last count!)
Sooo, a good season - and still not over with 3 2-day spring race camps still to come in May