Our Head Coach this year is Dana Manhard 

As the head coach for the Overlander Ski Team I would like to provide a little background for all of the members of OVSC and to all of the groups in our programs of what we have been up to as a group for the summer and fall and what is planned for the very soon to come ski season.  

 

It has been a pleasure working with the older youth and parents through this summer and I know people are curious of what we do for summer activities.  For this year we met once a week as a group for what I would call adventure runs or hikes.  Each week we met at a different trail location and did a hike or walk up hill and a very easy run on the flats and downhill.  We have made most of the practices inclusive for the parents with these outings to give the families one planned low intensity longer fitness oriented outing per week that builds on overall strength, coordination, endurance, skill development and most importantly team building.  We also had several days of camping at North Barrier Lake where we hiked up Green Mountain, enjoyed swimming, paddling, biking and running activities along with a fabulous potluck.  The group that took part in this ranged in age from 8 to the oldest parent of which I probably shouldn’t divulge their name or age.   Thanks to the Kamloops Canoe and Kayak club we also had an introduction to competitive paddling as a good crossover summer activity.   Teens over the age of 12 have been given the option to have a training plan created that meets their personal goals.  These goals range from being fit for Loppet races through to high level competitive goals.  In September additional Thursday sessions were added to work on rollerski technique and ski in a group environment. Rollerskiing is the closest simulated activity to on snow skiing for the ever improving speedsters in the group.  The good news to this is it doesn’t matter how big the goal, everyone must practice at a low intensity for a large percentage of training and this works out well for keeping the group inclusive of all levels and goals.

 

In September we officially began the Ski League practices.  This has been a significant change for the program to coincide closer with the cross country Canada sport development model .  This year everyone over the age of 7-8 is included in a week night practice and dryland practices as well the Saturday practice.  To best explain what is involved in the dryland portion of this we have included an hour and a quarter of warm up running, games, some technical skills that transfer directly to on snow skiing, ski equipment testing, and special invited guests (including an introduction to yoga stretches by Charlie Bruce).  Shared coaching and shared planning of the sessions has been enjoyed by both the coaches and the athletes this year as well.  The group has included a good number of younger kids 7 and up including adults with the masters group and is still open to everyone still wanting to join the program.  Adults are encouraged to join the Masters group and all youth are encouraged to join the ski team. 

 

Going Forward we will continue with the dryland practices with special guests and activities until snow flies at Stake Lake where we will move onto snow (very soon now I hope).  We will also add in a Saturday practice at this time.  This year weekday practice will be skating and Saturday will be classic to allow waxing time and waxing practice.  Thursday night practices will be open to all, but there is an expectation that the youth is either independently capable of keeping with the group (~10yrs old) or accompanied by an adult.  Thursday nights will be more open group skiing with a few more specific technique tips thrown in on an individual basis.

 

 

Please remember to keep your receipts from Natures Fare as they provide a percentage donation to the youth ski team (Receipts collected at the drop off envelope in the lodge or the Vermey ‘s)

 

Hope to see everyone on the trails soon.