A fine balance: Juggling fall sports with ski training

The November issue of Ski Racing magazine includes an article in the Parenting department that offers opinions on how parents of young ski racers — and the racers themselves — can better balance the demands of playing a fall sport while reaping the benefits of a dryland training program. It’s a difficult balance but one that has been successfully managed by a number of high-profile U.S. Ski Team athletes, including current racer Libby Ludlow.
     Ludlow, along with Bill Knowles — the Director of iSPORT, a sports training and athlete rehabilitation clinic in Killington, Vermont — and U.S. Europa Cup men’s head coach Tom Sell offer their expert analyses in an extended Q&A below.
THE NOVEMBER issue of Ski Racing magazine includes an article in the Parenting department that offers opinions on how parents of young ski racers — and the racers themselves — can better balance the demands of playing a fall sport while reaping the benefits of a dryland training program. It’s a difficult balance but one that has been successfully managed by a number of high-profile U.S. Ski Team athletes, including current racer Libby Ludlow.
    Ludlow, along with Bill Knowles — the Director of iSPORT, a sports training and athlete rehabilitation clinic in Killington, Vermont — and U.S. Europa Cup men’s head coach Tom Sell offer their expert analyses in an extended Q&A below.

Washington native Libby Ludlow is a 10-year U.S. Ski Team veteran, Olympian and one of the top-ranked speed skiers in the world. In addition to balancing the demands of her World Cup preparation and competition, Ludlow is also working toward an undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.  

Ski Racing: What sports (independent of skiing) were you most serious about between the ages of 13 and 18?  
Libby Ludlow: Soccer and pole vaulting.

SR: Can you tell us a little about the training demands of these sports?  
LL: During high school, I played for my high school soccer team in addition to my premier [club] team, so in the fall I was playing soccer seven days a week (three games per week). During the winter, I would play in my premier team's games whenever I happened to be home, and I would squeeze in indoor pole vault practices whenever possible. After the ski season was over in the spring, I picked up pole vault full-time, vaulting five days a week.

SR: Can you list a few of your accomplishments as a soccer player and a pole vaulter?
LL: I was [named an] All-Conference player every year I played high school soccer. I also played for one of the best premier soccer teams in the state for seven years.
    I was the first female Washington State pole vault champion and I formerly held the state record for girls’ pole vault. I am proud to have been a pioneer for women’s pole vault in Washington State. My freshman year I vaulted against the boys, and I even made the conference [championship] meet. By the time I graduated, women's pole vault was finally a sanctioned event.

SR: What were your greatest challenges when juggling fall sports and ski-specific training? What were the greatest benefits?   
LL: Because I was playing so much soccer in the fall, I was in great aerobic shape, but it was really hard to build and maintain the kind of muscle mass I needed for skiing.
    During the track season, my quads would be so tight from the ski season that they would pull really easily. In general, however, both sports naturally lent really well to my skill and adaptability in ski racing. Soccer and pole vault are both explosive, whole-body sports, each with very relevant mental components.
    Ski racing is a sport that rewards adaptability, my participation in an array of sports helped me hone the ability to adapt to changing conditions. Pole vault and soccer helped be become a well-rounded athlete. Specifically, soccer demanded agility, speed, coordination, and creativity, while pole vault required speed, power, a lot of strength, and mental toughness.

SR: At what point should an athlete consider becoming a specialist (that is, stop competing in multiple sports to excel at ski racing)? How did you recognize the time had come to focus on skiing alone?
LL: Making the decision to pursue just one sport vs. multiple sports is a really tough one. On one hand, it is eventually a necessary decision. On the other hand, participating in several sports can nurture overall athleticism and mental freshness. I was lucky that my decision to pursue skiing alone happened naturally, because my soccer and pole vault careers simply came to a close when I graduated from high school. I miss the diversity of doing multiple sports since I have been skiing exclusively, but I have definitely honed my body and my skill to be much more “ski-specific.”

SR: Any tips on how younger athletes and parents can recognize when this time has come?
LL: I would encourage doing multiple sports for as long as possible. When participating in [a bunch of sports] becomes physically harmful or emotionally discouraging, then it might be time to evaluate priorities and choose just one sport or two.

Bill Knowles has worked with athletes from the NFL, Major League Baseball, the English Premiere League and a long list of world-class ski racers. Prior to founding iSPORT, Knowles was a trainer, ski racing coach and soccer coach at Burke Mountain Academy in East Burke, Vermont.

Ski Racing: What are the fundamental challenges for young racers trying to juggle fall sports and ski-specific training?  What are possible benefits?
Bill Knowles: First of all, before you get too stressed out about balancing all of these things, success still comes down to quality coaching and on-snow training opportunities. If you play a fall sport and you’re not perfectly prepared [in terms of ski-specific workouts] and you go on to great coaching and training in the winter, the bottom line is that you’re likely going to develop great skills… You don’t need to specialize when you’re so young; you need general fitness, athleticism, and quality on-snow training when winter comes around.
    Also, the answers are different from case to case. Not every athlete has a really good [dryland training] program in front of him; and club programs and junior programs are usually in a much different place than ski academies, for example. Age is a big factor, too.
    I’ll focus on ages from J3 to JI — so ages 13 to 18. The fall sports that we’re dealing with are typically soccer, field hockey and football. I’m sure in certain parts of the country there are different sports going on in different seasons, but this should speak to a lot of athletes.
    Skiing is obviously an individual sport, so getting kids involved with any team sport for at least one season provides wonderful balance. Team sports are fantastic for most athletes —learning how to be a team member and being part of a team environment, win or lose.  Psychologically, these are things that developing athletes should absolutely hold on to.
    From a physiological perspecti
ve, the question is, “What do fall sports do for us?”  Take soccer. Soccer is, and can cover cardiovascular training, anaerobic and aerobic; it can cover agility and quickness training; it can cover plyometric training. Those are important elements of dryland training that all ski racers should be looking at in the fall build-up toward ski season. Field hockey is a lot like soccer in these ways, and so is football — except that football is more anaerobic. Soccer and field hockey do not demand, or help build to the same extent, some of the ski-specific strength that a racer needs. Football can [help build this strength], and most football programs include at least one weightlifting session per week. Of course, it also depends on what position you’re playing.  Running backs are probably playing the ideal position [for ski-specific training] — a big lineman is not.
    No matter what your sport, it’s important to try and find a way to get in one ski-specific workout each week. Call it an ‘in-season plan.’ Strike a balance. Soccer players may need to find time to get into the weight room, for example; football players may need to find a way to do an extra aerobic workout, such as a run.
    Another important thing to consider is the amount of playing time kids are getting. If you’re not yet at a level where you on the field a lot, the physiological benefits, et cetera, are probably not as great as if you’re playing a ton.
Less fit athletes, especially younger athletes like J3’s, may benefit from being in a team environment even more than they might from having a personal trainer, or simply doing a ski racing club’s dryland session once a week. The pushing, the intensity of the team environment can make a world of difference for these athletes. Whatever they might miss in ski-specific training, they’ll more than make up for in building general fitness and athleticism.   

SR: What are the most important components of heading into winter with the fall preparation period under your belt?
BK: For the majority of kids between the ages of 13 and 18, and I think most coaches would agree, the most important thing is to have improved your athleticism — not ski-specific athleticism, general athleticism. A coach can work with a good athlete, but a kid who’s as strong as an ox and can’t tie his shoes won’t go any where. … Andy Walshe, the former U.S. Ski Team fitness coach and trainer, was a big proponent of this.
    Take [U.S. Ski Teamers] Jimmy Cochran and Bode Miller as examples. When they were teenagers, those guys played a lot of other sports at the expense of ski-specific training — but they developed great athleticism, and look where they are now.
    If you’re already an incredible ski racer and you’re 18, then focusing on building ski-specific strength is a no-brainer. In most other instances, just advancing your athleticism is paramount.  Strength training is part of that … but above all, advance your athleticism.  

SR: At what point should an athlete consider becoming a ski racing specialist (that is, give up competing at a high level in other sports to pursue skiing)?  How can athletes and parents recognize when this time has come?
BK: Again, it depends. Ski racers don’t have to specialize as early as gymnasts and tennis players and swimmers. Between ages 12 and 17, I think any spring, summer, or fall sport can nicely complement skiing. Pick one and stick with it. Obviously, you can’t effectively be on California’s U-16 soccer team and compete as a top-tier ski racer at the same time: at those levels, they’re both basically year-round sports. But you can still play on the lower flight [soccer] teams and continue to build general athleticism playing a game you love.
    If you’re at a top-tier ski academy, or part of a top-tier club program like Park City, you’re probably already specializing to some degree. [Such] programs have mostly figured out good plans to help athletes juggle these things. You’re not specializing in the sense that ski racing is the only thing you ever do, but you’re likely participating in other sports in a capacity that’s already designed as part of your preparation for skiing.
    In general, specializing should only be something that the very best athletes consider.  Making that commitment and leap should be justified by feedback from the most knowledgeable folks in ski racing.

SR: Can you succinctly explain the idea of “periodization” for our audience? Any suggestions on how multi-sport athletes can handle the periodization demands of ski-specific training?
BK: Scrap the term “periodization.” Think of it more like careful planning. Call it “athletic development planning” if you want. What we’re doing is planning for athletic development to correspond with a competitive season. You block out when you’re going to be racing, you block out other on snow training periods, et cetera, and the rest of the time is your preparation period.  Your plan has to include rest and building different components of fitness during different months of the year. Can you play other sports?  Yes. If you’re playing soccer in the fall, though, you better make sure you’re building strength in the summer.
    Do you have coaches that support the multi-sport approach?  Do you have a strong, sensible dryland program in place? You need to figure that stuff out first.  If you’re one of the best young ski racers in the United States, your plan should include time on snow during the fall.     

SR: Any suggestions on how young athletes might be able to empower themselves and make judicious decisions in balancing fall sports and ski racing?
BK: Every athlete should develop a set of goals for him or herself, then stick to pursuing those goals by developing an understanding of the best way to achieve them. Is playing a fall sport really getting in the way of progress on the slopes? For the best ski racers, the answer might be yes. But my recommendation is that most junior athletes should play a fall sport. Obviously, some kids will run into coaches and teams that are very demanding. Communicate. Ask your coach if you can, maybe, miss one practice a week to focus on your preparation for skiing. … Athletes who grow up in mountain towns like Park City or Stowe, for example, often have an easier time of doing this because they come from communities that are very supportive of ski racing. A kid in Pennsylvania who plays on a top-tier soccer team will have a harder time with this.  
    In the case that you’re 15 or younger, and you’re given an ultimatum by a coach who says “It’s all or nothing,” stay with the soccer team’s program — chances are good that it’s got everything you need. If you try and do a ski program on your own time when something like this happens, you’ll probably get burned out, too fatigued.
    If you’re older than 15, you’ve got really good general fitness, and your at a point where you’re competing at the highest levels of alpine racing — it might be time to make a hobby out of your fall sport, and focus on the skiing. My hope would be, though, that until you’re 18, you’re allowed both a chance to play a fall sport and have a solid skiing dryland program in front of you.

Tom Sell coached the Stratton Mountain School and Killington
Mountain School in Vermont before joining the U.S. Ski Team as the World Cup men’s fitness and conditioning coach. He is currently the U.S. men’s head Europa Cup coach.

Ski Racing: In your experiences at Stratton Mountain School (a full-time academy) and Killington Mountain School (a winter-term academy), how did junior athletes balanced fall sports with ski-specific preparation?
Tom Sell: Well there’s a big difference between a nine-month academy and a five-month academy. … It’s technically two separate questions in terms of how they handled it.  
The nine-month program was primarily focused around ski-specific preparation, and then we added in a dose of sports like soccer and lacrosse so we could have kids learn teamwork and get a break [from ski-specific dryland training] and have fun doing it.
    In a five-month academy, most of the athletes used their fall sports as the primary training focus then supplemented in their [skiing workouts] from their coaches. The nine-month program, in terms of ski preparation, was obviously much more hands on.

SR: Do you remember any athletes who played fall sports at a super-high level, and then arrived on the slopes and were able to compete in skiing at a similarly high level?
TS: There are numerous examples of that. A good athlete is a good athlete. Sometimes, kids would succeed in spite of any [ski-specific training they may have missed]. … I think the biggest trick is keeping kids happy and motivated. If they understand how their [dryland] program is designed, and they get into it, then they’ll have success. Most athletes seem motivated, and train as much as they can — all they need is a little guidance.
    I haven’t seen too many kids who just want to play their fall sport, do no dryland training, and then expect to have success on the hill. Most of the athletes that are working hard in a fall sport also try and do as much ski preparation as they can, and the trick there is really to try and get them to tone it down [to avoid over training and burnout].
… Often the kids that are succeeding, you’re trying to get them to tone it down. The kids who haven’t had as much success, you’re usually trying to light a fire under them. … Really it comes down to working with mindset and motivation.

SR: Is there a magic place, or line, where it’s time for athletes to specialize in ski racing?
TS: No. Not really. I think — no matter who you are — everyone needs a little break [from skiing and skiing workouts]… Even U.S. Ski Team athletes, you know, need to get the heck out of Park City and go do or play whatever it is that can recharge them. The benefits of taking a break far outweigh the negatives of missing three or four days of training. This [kind of leads to a greater theme], and it’s that Americans are a lot different than Europeans. Europeans seem to do best when they’re getting pushed, and we seem to do our best when we’re happy.
    Of course, national team athletes have to commit to skiing, and they have to work their other sports into their preparation for skiing. … But they should continue to play.

SR: Can you elaborate on that? Are you saying that only national team athletes should stop playing other sports at a high level?
TS: I think you should continue to play other competitive sports until it’s absolutely clear that doing so is impeding your progress as a ski racer. And, yeah, that usually means you’re at — or almost to — the national team level. Also, if you’re a fully sponsored athlete racing at a very high level, you have to remember that a company is investing in you, and to some extent, you owe them a commitment to skiing.

SR: What sports are best for cross-training?
TS: We play a lot of soccer — it’s a great sport. I also think lacrosse and basketball are excellent; you get a lot of [plyometric] work in basketball. I just love the aspect of team sports. Ski racing is such an individual sport, but you also need teammates to help you get through the winter when things aren’t going well — so it’s nice to get people thinking in terms of team.

SR: Do you have any other thoughts, in general, about diversifying training?
TS: Well the main thing is to have a balanced program, and to make sure you understand it. I think that’s the biggest challenge for coaches — to make sure they’ve got [a balanced program] and that everyone understands why they’re doing what they’re doing. Again, if you help athletes understand this, I think most of them step up and motivate.