Alaska Winter Stars 2001-02 Season Overview
This
last ski season got off to a great start when the Anchorage area received
a big dump of snow in mid-October, setting the tone for what was to
be another successful season for the Alaska Winter Stars. After the
challenging conditions of last year, the winter of 2001-02 seemed
like a gift from the snow gods. We were able to train on snow from
October 15th, and as of this writing both Kincaid and Hillside are
still in great shape. This means some ideal springtime conditions
to work on technique, build the endurance base, and play in the sun
and snow! This is an important time of the year to let the bodies
actively recover, recharge the batteries, and start to think about
goals for next season.
AWS athletes showed that they are at the fore of Nordic skiing development
not only in the state of Alaska, but for the entire country. The AWS
roster is made up of top skiers from the entire Anchorage area, representing
all the Anchorage high school teams, and many of the junior high and
elementary schools. AWS skiers made up the bulk of the Team Alaska
that traveled to the 2002 Junior Olympics in McCall, Idaho, where
they competed with great success and helped Team Alaska defend the
Alaska Cup. AWS skiers competed and won medals in all categories in
McCall, and made up 21 of the 51 Team Alaska competitors. Congratulations
to the following Team Alaska/AWS skiers: Mandy Brassfield, Paige Brady,
Katie Ronsse, Justin Calvin, Anna Barnwell, Jenna Farleigh, Tamra
Kornfield, Caroline Livett, Emma Lohr, Amanda Vincent-Lang, Chrissy
May, Kassie Rice, Mike Hinckley, Daichi Ito, Matthew Johnson, Ryan
Holtan, Donovan Walsh, Dylan Watts, Mark Brady, Ben Crawford, and
Zach Hill. The Service High School girls team, represented almost
entirely by AWS skiers, also retained their National High School Championship
trophy.
Alaska Winter Stars athletes represented Alaska as well at the Arctic
Winter Games held in Nuuq, Greenland. Janna Widness, Katelyn Barnett,
Patrick Johnson, and Mason Hulen all made the long trip to compete
on the treeless, windswept trails above the Arctic Circle. It was
the first major competition for all four juniors, and they showed
their class, earning a number of ulus and top 10 placings.
At the
ASAA State Championships the West boys team, bolstered by a core group
of AWS athletes, won their first State title in twelve years. In what
is becoming somewhat of a tradition, the Service girls, made up entirely
of AWS skiers, took their fifth straight State title, and were led
by Paige Brady’s Skimeister performance.
In Junior
High skiing, Max Treinen, representing Romig, dominated the 8th grade
boys results, followed closely by Ian Davis and Tim Rice of Goldenview.
Janna Widness of Goldenview topped the 8th Grade girls class, with
Kelsey Coolidge (Hanshew) and Kalen Ramey (Goldenview) battling for
2nd and 3rd positions. Patrick Johnson, competing for Goldenview,
led the 7th Grade boys field, pushed along by Mason Hulen of Central.
We were
very excited by the number of AWS competitors, young and not-so-young,
who traveled around the state to compete in the Besh Cup Series. Winterstars
skiers competed in age classes ranging from J5 all the way up through
Masters, and were without question the largest single group competing
at these high level races which serve as qualifying races for both
the Junior Olympics and Arctic Winter Games. AWS was well represented
in the younger classes at Besh Cups by Stefanie Thorsness, Greg and
Ike Bombeck, Isaac Davis, Tyler Kornfield, Darrin Markvardsen, Lex
and Nick Treinen, Michael Onorato, Sasha Romanienko, GarrenVolper,
Jared and Wayne McClure, and Jessica Davis.
The AWS
Younger Junior group represents the future of our program, and while
the older skiers get the majority of the press, it is at the younger
junior level where we as coaches find many of our rewards. Our coaching
philosophy is to instill good habits regarding training and skiing
at a young age, while at the same time building on the innate sense
of fun that being active in the outdoors, working toward goals, and
simply being on skis entails. While we feel competition is still important
at this age, it is the skiers who show dogged determination while
not necessarily competing at a higher level that we enjoy working
with and watching their progress. Natural talent at this age counts
for a lot at this younger age, but determination and work ethic balance
out in later years. We feel AWS skiers make up both categories, and
our goal is to combine the two to make the complete athlete.
We are
very proud of all of you have participated in the Alaska Winter Stars
program, and we are very positive about the direction we are heading.
We had another successful year, but as you know, there is always room
for improvement, both for us the coaches, and you the athletes. One
of those areas we would like to improve on is goal-setting and maintaining
focus on these goals. We want stress the importance of tracking progress
through training logs, and always keeping the dream alive. Your dreams
are what make your future materialize, so don’t be afraid to
dream big. Our goal is to help you achieve your goals.
We are very proud of each and every one of you. We also want to thank
all the parents for their wonderful support and help, and hope that
we can continue this relationship. We also would like to thank the
many sponsors this year. Holmenkol was our main sponsor and provided
us with waxes this season. Rossignol, AMH, and Barney’s Sport
Chalet, were instrumental in supporting our top athletes. We would
like to thank the Anchorage Parks and Recreation for their support
and sponsorship this past year as well.
Spring season is here and now we start thinking ahead towards the
2002-2003 season. As the snow melts, it doesn’t mean that we
do too – we will continue to keep our bodies in shape, building
a base for the upcoming summer season. Extensive training in the summer
and fall seasons is what makes the best skiers.
During
the summer session we are planning on two overnight stays with hiking
workouts during the days. We will let you know about times and locations
later. We will be mountain biking, swimming, roller skiing, running,
and hiking. There are many fun activities planned ahead and we will
keep you posted on these events as they come up.
Remember
to dress properly for the workouts, and always have plenty of water
with you to prevent dehydration. We wish you a fun and safe spring
and summer and we’ll see you at the workouts.
Sincerely,
Jan
Buron & Ben Arians