Good news and inspiration!

America's Jessie Diggins recently won the Tour de Ski, a race never before won by an American. Click HERE for a recap.

And if her results alone aren't inspiring enough, Jessie's blog re: this year's Tour is well worth reading. Jessie is obviously super talented, but her team mentality and appreciation of all the people behind the scenes that helped her and the other athletes get where they are today and race the way they do is a prime example of how to be the best teammate. Read Jessie's Tour blog HERE.

Still Yellow

On Friday, January 15, the DOE recolored Maine counties and sadly, Cumberland County remains yellow, which means no in-person team practice/gatherings. The next scheduled recoloring is Friday, January 29. In the meantime, skiers should continue to get outside and remain active in any capacity. If anything changes re: team gatherings, we will inform families asap.

We may have a team zoom meeting this week, so keep an eye out for info about that.

Think snow!

January 8 Update

The DOE did not recolor Maine counties today, so Cumberland County remains yellow, which mean no high school sports yet. The next opportunity for a change is next Friday, January 15, so fingers crossed for a change at that time.

In the meantime, skiers are encouraged to get out and ski on their own if possible. The local golf courses are good options, as are other nordic venues if you're willing to do a little driving - Quarry Road in Waterville, Jackson Nordic in NH, and Rangeley Nordic all have snow and groomed trails. And on the days you can't ski, get outside for a run, walk, snowshoe, or roller ski. Pretty much anything outside in Maine in the winter is a great thing!

Note from Coach John

Hi All,
After a great start to the ski team 2020/2021 campaign, it is disappointing to have the season pause due to Cumberland County being designated YELLOW. It is important to keep up the momentum we are building by skiing when possible and staying active if unable to be on snow. As of this writing, the local skiing is quite good with trails at Pineland, Riverside and Twin Brook all being groomed. We can expect a wet Christmas so try to get out now and be looking to get back skiing as the temperature drops next week.

It is important to stay positive and find a routine that gets you doing a daily activity focused on skiing. Ideally this is skiing (if you can), but could also be running, strength, hiking balance, stretching, etc. When you are skiing, keep focused on a skill to work on. This could be a strong double pole, V1 using both sides, V2 up hill, V2 Alt, etc. and do build in a period for no pole skate, speed pick ups, slow technique level 1 (easy) skiing.

Wishing everyone a happy holiday and looking forward to getting back together as a team soon. Please feel free to contact myself or Keith with any questions.

Best,

John

NO PRACTICE TODAY

 So sorry for the late notice.

I have just been informed that Cumberland County has gone to Yellow Status, therefore we are not allowed to have practice.

Again, apologies for the late notice as this news just developed.

Remember to do ParentSquare health screening

 Remember to do the ParentSquare health screening before coming to practice.

Welcome to the 2020-2021 Nordic Ski Season!

Congratulations on making your way to the Maine Coast Ski Team blog. This blog will be updated in the coming days/weeks as the season develops. A few key things to note:

• Since skiing is so critically tied to weather/snow conditions, everyone should check the blog every day and note changes to practice locations and plans, race changes, etc. For instance, it is possible that the snow is good on a local golf course, so practice may move from Pineland to Val Halla in Cumberland or Freeport Golf Course. Make sure you check the Practice Info tab every day.
• Much info will also be shared on this Home tab, so when you are checking the blog, be sure to scroll down on the Home tab and read all posts that may have appeared since you last checked.
• Critical time-sensitive information will be sent via email (e.g. a race is cancelled a few hours before race time). Other than extreme situations, regular team information and schedules will only be shared here on the blog, so do make sure you check in here.

Remember to do the health screening on parentsquare every day you will be gathering as a team!