Global Warming

Due to global warming Rochester has not received any snow yet for the month of July ! We will keep the skis crossed in hopes of a return of the polar votex but until then we have to go with what we got!

Here is a direct link to the video as well:  RNR Green Powdaaa 

www.RochesterNordicRacing.com 

Summer Session

It has been a quick start to the summer. I will keep it short and simple. The first week of practice we took a couple test runs through the Canadian Strength Test, and then completed the real deal along with our long standing run test. It was good to see what strengths and weaknesses everyone had. It was also very encouraging to see the improvement that many had made over previous test. 

(Working on Dips)

The second week of practice we worked on being comfortable on skis with lot's of agility, and specific strength work. We also got back in to our strength circuit and the end of practice. 

(NCAA Qualifier and Willams Skier Hanna C hammering out the pull-ups)

(UNH Skier Gavin H working on scoring some points in the CST)

The third week of practice we got in to a couple of workouts though the emphasis was on specific strength and technique. 

(Katie showing great body positioning on a tight turn)

(Jasper getting after it)

The third week was also the USSA Eastern Regional Elite Group Camp in Lake Placid at the Olympic Training Center. Gavin and Riley are part of this camp as well as Jason on the coaching side of things. In conjunction with the REG there is a U16 Camp as well. That included Ryan and Eric. The camp is going extremely well and we will have a recap of that forthcoming. 

(Gavin at the REG)

Next week we will all be back in the ROC getting after it before the 4th of July holiday weekend. 

2014 Summer Registration

I’m excited to announce registration for the Rochester Nordic Racing Summer Program is now open!

 The R.N.R summer program is a roller ski specific summer training program for athletes J3-U23 (8^th grade- college). We have developmentally appropriate programs for all ages and abilities.

 R.N.R has been able to be successful with the support of local athletes, high school coaches, and families. Last summer the program included high school athletes from Brighton, Fairport, HF-L, Pittsford, and Webster. Over the past 5 years we have had a lot of athletes move on to ski at the collegiate level and many of them will be back this summer.

 With the continued growth and support I’m glad to announce that we will be offering a Development Program for athletes with no prior roller skiing experience. The Devo Team will be a spring board for athletes to enter in to the Prep and Comp Teams. The Teams are always changing and as athlete’s abilities and needs change the ability to move up and down within the teams is a fluid process. The (Team) is a lose designation for the training groups athletes will be split in to for specific workouts.

 Comp Team: 

Comp Team- Designed for J2-U23 ski racers competing at the regional and junior national level. The training focus includes endurance, ski specific strength, speed, agility, power, balance, mobility and flexibility. Technique will be an emphasis and will be an on-going project throughout the summer. Video analysis will be utilized to address specific skier’s needs. This program will provide a solid platform towards continued excellence at the high school and collegiate level.

The program will meet twice a week (Monday and Wednesday) as well as either Saturday or Sunday of each week. There will also be specific weekends where we would travel as a team to Mid-Atlantic sponsored camps for those athletes that are interested.

Prep Team:

Prep Team- Designed for J3-J1 athletes competing at the local level with little or no previous roller ski experience. The program will mirror that of the Comp Team in a developmentally appropriate setting. The goal of the Prep Team is to facilitate athlete’s transition to the Comp Team.

The program will meet twice a week (Monday and Wednesday) as well as either Saturday or Sunday of each week. There will also be specific weekends where we would travel as a team to Mid-Atlantic sponsored camps for those athletes that are interested.

Devo Team:

Devo Team- Designed for J3-J1 athletes who have little to no prior roller skiing experience. The devo or development program provides a developmentally appropriate setting for beginner roller skiers to become conformable on roller skis, refine technique, and learn basic training theories and ideas, as well as providing a base of fitness to build upon in the future.  

The program will meet twice a week (Monday and Wednesday) as well as either Saturday or Sunday of each week. There will also be specific weekends where we would travel as a team to Mid-Atlantic sponsored camps for those athletes that are interested

Summer camps that will include R.N.R Head Coach Jason Hettenbaugh USSA Regional Elite Group Camp (By Invite Only) Lake Placid Olympic Training, USSA NENSA Regional Elite J2 Group Camp ( By Invite Only) Lake Placid Olympic Training Center

 *Traveling to additional summer camps is an athlete’s choice and not a requirement of the program, if you would like more information on any of the camps listed above feel free to contact me. 

What the program covers:

Ski specific training from June 9^th   – August 20^th   2014

Two sessions per week

One weekend session per week

Video tape technique analysis

Ski specific strength program

Summer training program

E-mail and phone correspondence with coach as needed.

Practice will be from 5:30-7:30pm unless otherwise noted

The majority of our practices will take place at the Ridings of Mendon development off of Bull Saw Mill Rd in Mendon. The majority of our weekend practices will meet in the parking lot located at the base of Bristol Mountain. (Check the website for a map)

For athletes who are interested in the program please contact me via e-mail or phone no later than Monday June 2^nd  to confirm your participation. Payment and registration is due on or before Monday June 9^th You can mail your registration forms to me or bring them the first day of practice. I will have more information as we near closer to the start date for those athletes who will be involved. If you have any questions feel free to contact me as well.

For more information and registration forms please visit the website at

www.rochesternordicracing.com

and click on the registration forms link on the left side tool bar.  

What you really wanted to know!

Cost: $400 for the summer program. Train for the entire summer for the cost of many week long camps!

Discounts !!! 25% off for a 2^nd  child from the same family. 50% off for a 3^rd child from the same family.  Example 1^st child $400 2^nd child $300 3^rd child $200

 Equipment Discounts: For those of you who need rollerskis, poles, bindings and or anything else please contact me as we will be able to purchase most equipment at a significant discount.

 Preliminary order deadline will be June 9^th   for those who need roller skis or parts.  

 If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me via e-mail at Jason@rochesternordicracing.com

 Also feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone who you feel may be interested in joining us this summer friends, teammates, and fellow athletes living within the greater Rochester area.

 Thanks

Jason Hettenbaugh

All of the registration forms are on-line at www.rochesternordicracing.com a NYSSRA membership is required to participate in the program.

*If you purchased a membership last year that is good until June 30^th at which point you will need to purchase a new membership.

Our insurance rider is covered by NYSSRA, as well as USSA.

Stowe Eastern Cup Recap

This past weekend we traveled to Stowe VT for the Eastern Cup/UVM Carnival. This is one of the biggest weekends of racing in the Northeast due to the combination of events. This year an added excitement was in the air due to they fact that Trapp Family Lodge will play host to the Junior National Championships March 1st - 8th. 

Due to the large group we had with us space was at a premium! Though I don't have the newest Thule box on the market this is one of the largest and we were able to get about 30 pairs of skis in to it !

Also due to the team size we opted to rent a house for the weekend ! I believe that if possible renting a house has many advantages over hotel rooms. It provides a lot more room but also tends to bring everyone closer and makes for a fun an eventful weekend !

The highlight for me was being able to wax skis while the athletes made dinner! It's easy to forget what a great group of kids we have associated with the Rochester Nordic Racing family, but when your out waxing skis and they ask what time you want to eat its a quick reminder! I stayed behind the doors and let them work there magic in the kitchen ! 

We all know Peter has some mad skills on his skis but who knew he has mad skills when it comes to making pizza ! Peter saved us all when he busted those out and we were treated to some phenomenal pizzas on Saturday night. Thanks to head chefs Tommy, Colleen, and Madi for keeping the oven Rollin' as well. 

Saturday was the classic sprint race. All in all it was a good day but we did not move as many as we had hoped in to the heats. One guy who did make it in to the U16 heats was Eric. He made the most of the opportunity and ended up winning the B final. Here he is rocking the RNR suit. That makeshim exponentially faster! 

A couple other pictures from the qualifier. 

(Chad)

(Tommy)

(Colleen)

(Madi)

(Ryan)

Riley was leading the way on the girls side of things qualifying for the U18 heats along with Hanna who is now at Harvard , As things would have it they both made it all the way to the A-Final. It was pretty cool to see them back racing head to head. 

(Riley (HF-L) and Hanna (Harvard))

Gavin also made the U 18 heats and had a good showing representing UNH!

(Gavin UNH)

Hanna Cole (Williams) continued her break out season making the open heats and making all the way to the B-Final. A great day for RNR !

On Sunday everyone raced in the interval start freestyle race. Everyone was looking forward to the freestyle race. Unfortunate for Petter he was not feeling good and was unable to start the race. The rest of the crew had great races ! I don't have any pictures from the skate races due to the fact that I strapped on the boards and gave it a go as well. I figured it was the best way to gain knowledge of the course that will be used at Junior Nationals. A few highlighted included Eric and Ryan going 6th and 11th in the U-16 race, Connor and Tommy having break out performances in the U-18 field, and Colleen and Madi scoring there best USSA points of the year in the U-18 women's field. Also I wanted to congratulate Adam (Middlebury and Gavin (UNH) on the top 30's in the EISA college field on Sunday ! Big results for little freshman ! 

(RNR, Mid-A, TOKO) 

(Team Dinner) 

(Madshus as always ! ) 

(Someone thought we had a good weekend and wanted to throw us a going away party!) 

Unfortunately on the way home Madi was not feeling well and not only gave the side of the pathfinder a new color scheme but also had to endure the 8 hour trip home ! We did get to listen to the Super Bowl and I have to say I was not as disappointed as I thought I would be by missing it on TV ! 

Next up for us is State Qualifiers. Each athlete will be representing his or her high school team and it should be a great fight for that top position. With any luck we will send a bunch of athletes on to the state championship and continue our streak of State Champions! 

(We finally got some snow here in the ROC) 

Full Speed Ahead !

It's been awhile ! But just because the blog has not been updated does not mean we have not been busy ! We have been ! In a concision effort to keep this post as short as possible while going over all that has happened this season I will keep it short and to the point. Hopefully I will do a better job updating from now through the rest of the season !

Craftsbury Eastern Cup

Peter, Gavin, Connor and I decided to kick the season off with a trip to good ol' Craftsbury ! As everyone knows despite Craftsbury's best efforts the distance race was cancelled and we were left with 16 hr's of driving for about 3 minutes of racing ! Gavin on break from UNH made the most of the trip. He just missed the open heats and ended up in the Junior Heats. He rolled through those and in to the final ending up 4th. Peter had a nice start to the season finishing 63rd in the qual and Connor continues to show he is a distance specialist finishing in 101st. I think Connor has some pop hiding and will bust it out when needed. I retired from sprint racing for the day so I could rest up for the distance race, we all know how that went ! ICE STORM ! Awesome

Gavin sporting his UNH duds in the heats !

Next up was the Mid-A JNQ at Old Forge. On day one the RNR crew had a great start to the Mid-A JNQ season. Riley led the way in 2nd place followed closely by Val in 3rd, and right behind her Madi in 5th. Peter was our first guy in 2nd followed by Tommy in 4th. Connor backed up his distance specialist tag and decided to ski 2 laps of the course instead of 1 so in addition to being a distance specialist he is working in a degree in AP ! At least he got some training in. Ryan was the lone U16 boy for us and finished 4th. On Day two Ryan ended up 6th in the U16 race lighting a fire under him that he better get on it for the rest of the season ! Peter and Connor went 3rd and 4th in the U18 class and Connor ! Connor was back in form and skiing the correct number of laps. All in all it was an OK start to the Mid-A season but almost everyone left Old Forge with a chip on there shoulder looking forward to the next race. 

(Ryan blasting out of the start at Old Forge) 

(Young Photography) 

( Peter and the rest of the gang ready to rock n roll) 

(Young Photography) 

Next up was the Lake Placid weekend. This is always a big weekend here in NY because Saturdays race in a NRL so some of the NE talent comes over and adds in to the mix. While just like Craftsbury mother nature was not on board! Despite ORDA and NYSEF's best attempts we were relegated to 1 day of racing and what a day it was !  The conditions had to be some of the narliest I have seen. I wish I had some pictures to show the pond skimming and other nonsense but we are in the business of skiing and thats what we were doing. On the mens side Connor led the way just a boot slide ahead of the old man, 13th, and 14th places Tommy was close behind in 19th and Peter in 22nd , Marco 27th. The girls had a little better go at it with Riley leading the way in 1st ! Boom 1st Victory of the season! Colleen had a strong race finishing in 19th with Val close behind in 21st  and Madi in 29th ! Regardless of the results it was great to see how positive everyone was despite the weather. It was also pretty sweet to get back to the tent and see that the kids had cleaned the klister of my skis while I was out running around ! That's when you know your doing something right ! I have to say the RNR gang is a pretty special group of kids and It's always a blast !

Getting up to speed this past weekend was the final Mid-A JNQ here in Rochester. I would say we did a great job representing on our home turf ! On the mens side Connor and Tommy went 1-2 ! Followed by Peter, Ryan, and Jack in 5-7. Marco was 18th, Jasper 32nd ,Tim 34th. Riley took her 2nd win of the season and was followed by Colleen in 3rd ! Val 9th, Madi 10th, Sara 16th. All in all a great weekend ! 

(Madi)

(Peter)

(Riley)

(Tommy)

(Colleen) 

Not to be forgotten our guys and girls now racing up in the EISA had some great results this past weekend as well. Hanna Cole (Williams) after her first summer with the RNR crew had the breakout result thus far with a 17th place on day 1 of the colby carnival ! Hanna Barnes (Harvard)  also had a great start to the season in 37th. They followed that up on day 2 with HC in 28th and HB in 50th ! Pretty awesome start to the season for the college Women ! Gavin ( UNH) was the lone Male representing since Adam (Midd) came down with CarniFlu Gavin started off a little rough on day 1 in 53rd but came back strong on day 2 in 29th ! Not a bad weekend for RNR and Alums! 

Now that we are all caught up the next big race for us will the the Trapp's EC on February 1st and 2nd !  This will be a big race because it is not only a College Carnival race but also a preview for Junior Nationals which will be held at Trapps this March ! 

Giddy Up !  

* The OMC (Old Man Crew) has been cleaning house on the local scene as well ! 

Who is that short guy??