Contact Us   Francais

National Athlete Developement Centre

Team Camaraderie in an Individual Sport

By Hannah Perry

One of the things that keeps me coming back even after skiing kicks me in the ass is the amazing people involved in the sport. I simply can't stay away from them. Maybe I am slightly biased in my opinion, but I think that a lot of folks would agree that skiers are the most supportive, fun (and also the best looking) group of people you'll find anywhere. I've seen evidence of this across the country and across the globe. This year, as a member of CVTC I was exposed to with an entirely new group of athletes and coaches from the B.C. Ski Team and Development Team. I formed new friendships, got a great ab workout from all the laughing and even learned a thing or two while I was at it. It never seizes to amaze me that where ever skiing takes me, the people I meet along the way all embody the same values of sportsmanship, kindness, and team camaraderie.

At World Juniors last winter, I had an experience that has had a lasting impact on me. For those who are unaware, I was not in race ready shape last March. It was a very long and difficult winter for me where I struggled to deal with the effects of overtraining and ongoing sickness that I couldn't seem to shake. I raced my very hardest in Tarvisio and put my entire heart and sole into it, but at that point the only thing that was going to make me fast again was months of rest. While my teammates were making history with best ever Canadian finishes at the championships, I was struggling to not to finish in last place. Still, I tried to hold back my tears while congratulating them on their performances. Anyone who knows me knows I can be a water fountain when things don't go my way, so this was a big challenge for me. And I wasn't entirely successful either.

In the pursuit race I came second last. I felt hopeless and defeated and I was sure at this point that my entire ski career was over. I needed a good cry, so I went off for a cool down run on a road where it was quieter. I sat down on a log and let the tears flow. A little while later, I felt a tap on my back. It was a girl dressed in American team wear who introduced herself as Liz Stephen. She had seen me running down the road looking visibly upset and had come to offer some support. We sat there for a while and talked a little bit. Rather, she talked and I blubbered away, letting out a couple of words between the sobs. What Liz said to me wasn't anything profound. Nor was it anything I hadn't heard before. It was the usual "Everybody has their ups and downs," "We all go through this at one time or another," and "You'll look back on this later and laugh." It wasn't what she said; it was that she said it. Here she was, a total stranger, from a different country no less, and she was going out of her way to cheer me up. After that the other races weren't any easier and my results didn't get any better. And I still hadn't renewed my faith in my ability to ski fast. But I had renewed my faith in the spirit of the sport and the reasons why I ski, which I've now come to realize is more important.

Skiing is an individual sport, and when the gun goes off it's every man for himself. But that hasn't stopped the athletes I know from being supportive teammates and just great people in general. I want to say thanks to Liz for helping change my outlook, and thanks to everyone else involved in the sport for being so much fun to be around!

The Bright Side

By Bryn Knight

I spent the last week at home in Whitehorse, Yukon. The smiles (and upside-down smiles) I saw from both athletes and coaches at Yukon Ski Team training sessions got me thinking about the part attitude can play in sport and life. I'm not sure who first taught me the importance of staying positive - it could have been any one of the enthusiastic Yukon coaches. Whichever one he or she was, the idea has stayed with me since I started racing competitively, and I think being positive is essential to reaching your goals.

I know how easy it can be to get discouraged when things don't go the way you want them to. I've had a few injuries and it is always frustrating, even if you only have to modify your training for a month. But I haven't ever found that being negative helps the situation at all. In fact, focusing on what you can do usually ends up in you coming out ahead. For example, after being on crutches for several months following surgery, I found I could do lots more dips than before. Although my calf muscle atrophied a huge amount, my upper body strength definitely increased.

You don't have to have a specific setback to change your mindset though. Some people have a tendency towards negativity and this generally doesn't help anyone, especially in a team environment. On the other hand, a teammate with an enthusiastic attitude can bring the whole group up. After a great hometown Canada Games last season, the Yukon Team was pretty pumped, not just the athletes who participated, but all the other skiers as well. There were smiles everywhere. I don't want to discredit any my teammates' hard work, but I think the positive atmosphere helped the Yukon have one of the best Nationals we have ever had. It wasn't just the medals: it was all the personal bests and the great races the whole team had. For me, it was impossible to be anything but happy for everyone that week in Quebec.

And isn't it so much nicer to be happy? I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather be glad that at least it's not raining when I'm cycling on the cold, windy Alaska Highway than focused on how hard the next two hours are going to be. Look on the bright side!


Hannah, Bryn, and Emily having fun in the rain.

Fall Training

By Emily Nishikawa

Although fall is here, it really doesn't feel like it here in Squamish. It is sunny, hot and really feels like summer. At least it's not the autumn I am used to back in the Yukon. Nevertheless we have shifted our focus in training to a more typical fall program. We have started doing more intensity, and we are doing a lot of zone 3 and 4 specific intensity. We are continuing to do more testing as well, and of course we all hope to see improvements as a result of the good quality summer training we completed this summer.

Some other activities that we have been up to include kayaking in Deep Cove in Vancouver. Amy organized for us to go for an easy paddle one day, but it happened to be at the same time as the local Tuesday night race, so naturally we decided to enter the race. It was supposed to be an all abilities race, but when people started showing up in their slim, speedy looking race boats we got a little intimidated that we were paddling around in our touring tandem kayaks, and some of us had little experience paddling. But the race was tons of fun, although we were nowhere near the top of the pack we all enjoyed our paddle. I was very surprised at how high your heart rate can get by paddling hard. Hannah had a max of 189! Special thanks to the Deep Cove Canoe and Kayak Centre for the use of their kayaks and including us in the race.


Emily roller skiing on Paradise Valley Road in Squamish


Amy and Hannah before the Kayak race

National Athlete Development Centre - The Beginning

By Chris Werrell

For the past 3 months a small group of very talented cross country skiers and a world class coach have been training together at the Callaghan Valley Training Center, a newly established NADC, located in beautiful Squamish, B.C.

Our first official team training as a group took place at the Haig glacier in early July. Some of us meeting for the first time and others catching up, needless to say it was a great camp with great weather and amazing skiing. We were fortunate enough to have 2 more opportunities to ski during the summer months up to this point, once more at the Haig and the other with the B.C. ski team in Smithers B.C. Each camp showed huge Improvements as individuals and a team.

A big component of our training is based on monitoring and testing, Knowing when our bodies are ready to push and when to rest. V02 max testing, a level 1 running test and an uphill running time trial are some of the tests we use to make sure we are headed in the right direction. With all the training we do together you would think that we would all be sick of each other, not the case, we have been known to engage in a fair share of intense Bocce ball games.

As the leafs begin changing (yes they are starting to!) we are reminded that our first set of races are only 72 days away! The team heads into a rest period, not just for the body, but for the mind. In the next 2 months we will be faced with some of the hardest training of the year, this will take 100% focus, which is why we must use the rest we have been allotted to the fullest we can.