USSA Sport Education Coaches Tip of the Week

Each week the USSA Sport Education Department will post a Coaches Tip.  The information will rotate through the ski and snowboard disciplines so check back each week to see the newest tip!

Fundamental Athletic Body Position for Classical Skiing
{This is an excerpt taken from the USSA Level 100 Cross Country Manual}

It is good to understand the body position a skier should be in joint by joint. However, it is more important to recognize that each joint affects one another. It's most important to know that athletes learn through movements. Movements are made up of linking multiple joints together in a systematic way.

The kinetic chain of the lower body is extremely critical to cross country skiers, for the glide phase happens on one leg (except in the double pole or in a downhill tuck). Athletes don't learn to move joint by joint. They learn by mastering general movements and adapt them to sport-specific situations. The alignment of the lower body is critical. The hip should be directly over the knee; the knee should be directly over the ankle and the ankle directly over the foot. This aligned position of the hip, knee, ankle and foot places the athlete in a position to apply power from the center of mass (hips) down the kinetic chain and utilize ground reaction forces (from the foot upward). The lower body works together to systematically synchronize the movements down and back up the chain. The most common flaw in classic skiing is a failure to maintain body position through the full cycle.

Technique can be over-taught. As coaches, we need to understand efficient posture and joint angle, but we need to recognize that teaching should be done in a format that looks at the whole movement. The body has an amazing capacity to self-organize and learn efficient rhythm and timing. Start by teaching full movements and coach subtle tweaks with subtle cues. Analogies to other popular sports can "click" in the heads of athletes. Be cautious about continually separating and dissecting the movements into pieces, for the end result may be an athlete that has lost all sense of athletic rhythm and flow.

PDF handout: Fundamental Body Position for Classical Skiing