Among the questions I receive, one group stands out, looks like this:
We don’t have enough quality material in the sports section/school, they don’t distribute uniforms. There is no possibility to buy expensive skis/poles/boots. What to do, how to grow and develop?
The question is serious, complex, and there are no simple recipes. The format of the column on “” just allows me to respond with specific proposals. Some are based on their own experience, others emerged after studying someone else’s experience, “turns out it was possible too”.
From 7 to 14 years old, you can race and win local competitions safely on almost any ski and certainly in any outerwear. At this stage, it is important to enjoy training, to try not to get sick and to work on technique. Even in the main team, we constantly practice such things as sliding without poles, for balance, for sharpness – such exercises can be done in general on any ski. It is much more useful to learn how to properly set foot in boots for 2,000 rubles than to dream of boots for 80,000. Do not worry when you deserve it with your technique – they will give them to you, and they will give them to you will also bring to your home. Let this thought be your inspiration!
In the next two years (15-17 years), everything is also very simple: try to become the best in the city / district / region in your age group as soon as possible. For the best, there is always everything you need, at least for competitions. I come from a small area where there have never been national team level skiers.
My parents bought me gear twice and bought me the bare minimum of sportswear. The sports school started giving it my all as soon as I became a leader. I can’t remember a case where I raced a competition and lost because I had modest old skis and my rivals had the latest. There was nothing like it! I lost because I was less prepared or they were ahead of physical development at a certain age.
When I now see 16-17 year olds training on the same skis as me, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, cross-country skiing in our country is becoming more and more a sport of wealthy layers – something similar to what is usual in Norway. There, the main sponsors at the junior age are parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts. I read that Northug, Johaug come from modest families, but most skiers my age are the children of very rich parents. At 15-17 years old, foresight can already be significant. At this age, you cannot win on health and genetics. From this point on, you can and should begin to gradually increase training volumes. So you need quality recovery – massage, sessions with a physiotherapist, properly selected vitamins / minerals, healthy food – not caviar every day for lunch, but so that buns and cakes do not burst not.
Financial opportunities are far from being the most decisive factor. It is much more important for the whole family to decide: what is cross-country skiing for you? We need to convene a family council and decide: will relatives invest in your career? This should be done around the time you enter the top three at certain regional competitions. Money is important, but even without it there are many options to help out.
Maybe your mom will learn the basics of sports massage? Maybe your father will learn how to prepare skis for competitions and test drives? Maybe grandma will take up the study of what kind of vitamins you need at the age of 17 and when (life hack – German and Swiss – the norm, but now they do not worse and much less expensive here)? And then the grandmother will send the grandfather to build a greenhouse and grow vegetables and fruits, which are especially useful in cyclic sports. Make your skiing career a family affair – everyone needs a purpose in life.
In cross-country skiing (as, probably, in other sports), it is not the most talented potential that advances, but the one who knows how to win important competitions. Their time and place are known in advance. Maybe your family will sacrifice their summer vacation and instead find a way to support and help you during these competitions?
I had a case – I was seriously poisoned during important starts in the championship of the Federal District at the age of 16. Clearly we were unlucky, and clearly our living conditions were very spartan. But when and if my daughter/son goes to a competition like this, I will most likely go with her to make sure she eats (and sleeps) properly.
Not every coach likes that the family takes such an active part in the career of a young athlete – but it already depends on your parents to properly establish relations. I saw how someone’s parents tried to enter the training process – and had a violent argument with the coach. And I saw how the skier’s father – a dollar millionaire – was making skis at 6 a.m., and the whole team, and not just his son.
Cross-country skiing is a no-loss lottery. They became top athletes (and this is generally available to everyone) – they strengthened their health, breathed fresh air, learned to train and endure.
It seems fair to me to set a goal of becoming a master of the sport. In general, this is a brilliant invention of the USSR, which, fortunately, has been preserved. My German, Swiss, Norwegian friends were delighted to learn that there is a clear and formal line in Russia that separates a good amateur athlete from a professional athlete.
I don’t want to discuss here whether it’s true or not, but by becoming a master of the sport in cross-country skiing at the age of 17-18, you make such a serious application for the future – you will be welcome in many universities and law enforcement agencies. And not only. After the Beijing Olympics, my circle of acquaintances expanded to include a very successful businessman, as they say, “in the top hundred”. He said bluntly that he tasked his HR when hiring to give preference to “cyclicals” – skiers, biathletes, cyclists, etc. Because we know how to plow a lot, endure and, if necessary, improve at the finish line. He says extremely useful qualities in work, in which his companies are interested.
Again: I didn’t have many of the things mentioned above. Which proves that certain sporting feats can be achieved without all this. But you asked how to increase the chances of success, right?
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
