Kid's of All Ages!

It’s great! I get to work with kids of all ages…not just 6-10 year olds but 30-50 year olds as well! This past weekend, I had the opportunity to help with a roller-ski clinic for the Idaho Nordic Masters Ski Program. When I was informed that only a hand full of the athletes had been on roller skis this summer, I have to admit, I was a little frightened. Roller skiing is not the easiest task to pick up right away...the balance and coordination takes some getting used too.

I was pleasantly surprised by the effort and skill of these athletes on roller skis for the first time this summer! Wow, they looked better than me the first time I go out for the season. It was fun working with people who have such an eagerness to learn and improve upon their ski technique. At this particular clinic, we focused on poling, both for double-pole classic technique and V2 skate technique. More specifically we focused on getting our hands and hips up at the same time, “tucking our tails,” keeping our arms closer to our body and crunching with our stomachs. Once we practiced our upper body technique, we progressed to mastering our lower body skate technique. We worked on getting a forward lean, pushing off our feet to the side (rather than back), and pushing to each side evenly. So much to think about! While all these tid-bits seemed over-whelming to think about at once, we saw a lot of progress within the 2 hour ski session.

I really enjoy working with the Idaho Nordic Team! They are a fun group of skiers who share the same enthusiasm for skiing as I do. They are a very supportive group of people who are always interested to hear how our summer training is going and eager to hear what our ski results are.

Thank you Idaho Nordic for all your support! Keep up the good, hard work!

Joe Jensen laying it out there at the 2008 World Master Championships