Anyone read new SkiTax? Marty Hall say anything interesting?

I don't have the latest issue of SkiTrax or even know when it came out
but I'm wondering if Marty Hall had anything 'sparky' to say this time.
??

--

Jeff Potter
****
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Jeff Potter wrote in message ...
I don't have the latest issue of SkiTrax or even know when it came out
but I'm wondering if Marty Hall had anything 'sparky' to say this time.
??


Yep he sure did. He drew Pete Vordenburg into the fray. He pointed out
a photo of Carl Swenson pointing down the trail. He made a fuss over
this because Pete says his skiers aim the upper torso in the direction
of ski travel. There is a bit of difference, depending on the v-angle.
He flat out said Pete was wrong, and he seemed peeved about it, in
that Marty Hall sorta way. Doping makes him real hot, this just makes
him a little hot.

Speaking of racing; JP are we gonna see you this weekend ? Muha missed
you last weekend. There should be striding 12k on sunday. 30k skate
tomorrow.

My take on Pete Vordenberg is that one of his objectives has been to get
some people "peeved" -- peeved enough to _think_ radically. Peeved enough
to find a new way to _win_ at the World Cup level.

Dell Todd wrote
Marty Hall flat out said Pete was wrong, and
he seemed peeved about it . . .

Pete's strategy worked for me -- got me to find new ways to ski faster --
and got me peeved along the way.

He drew Pete Vordenburg into the fray.

When was Pete ever _not_ "in the fray"?

Now that I've read his biography, I'm seeing that Pete is just being Pete --
not claiming to be anything else but a guy who really wants to race and win
and stimulate other racers to win.

He pointed out a photo of Carl Swenson

We can be sure Pete as coach is _very_ disappointed now to see how Carl
Swenson has responded to some of the proposals in Pete's technique articles
:-)

Ken

There are a lot of ways to ski fast. Among them, one is to turn it
over faster, another is to go for more glide per stride. Carl Swenson
has had the nickname; "The Glide" for many years. Even before the "new
skate", "old skate" discussion. I think Swenson and Kris Freeman, both
on the USST, skate differently. Swenson seems to glide farther and
Freeman seems to turn it over faster. On the Italian Team of old,
Maurillio DeZolt used to turn it over and an incredible rate while
Fauner had longer glide. I long suspected those with good balance tend
to glide better. Skiers with less balance turn it over faster to
compensate.

Jay Tegeder
"More ride, more glide per stride". JT


(Dell Todd) wrote in message . com...
Jeff Potter wrote in message ...
I don't have the latest issue of SkiTrax or even know when it came out
but I'm wondering if Marty Hall had anything 'sparky' to say this time.
??


Yep he sure did. He drew Pete Vordenburg into the fray. He pointed out
a photo of Carl Swenson pointing down the trail. He made a fuss over
this because Pete says his skiers aim the upper torso in the direction
of ski travel. There is a bit of difference, depending on the v-angle.
He flat out said Pete was wrong, and he seemed peeved about it, in
that Marty Hall sorta way. Doping makes him real hot, this just makes
him a little hot.

Speaking of racing; JP are we gonna see you this weekend ? Muha missed
you last weekend. There should be striding 12k on sunday. 30k skate
tomorrow.

We can be sure Pete as coach is _very_ disappointed now to see how Carl
Swenson has responded to some of the proposals in Pete's technique articles
:-)

Ken

Ya hey dere ! How IS it that a coach could be wrong, yet athletes are
turning in best-yet results ?! Thats a good point.

I totally agree with you Jay - until your last couple of sentences. It is
undoubtedly true that at some levels the length of the stride is related to
balance. But that's not the case with Carl and Kris. Both of those guys are
capable of skiing as "long" as they want.

Carl has skied like Carl since he was quite young. I think everybody on the
USST staff is happy to give Carl the reigns on his own skating technique
because he's proven to be quite effective. But that doesn't mean he's not
trying to evolve. Up in Rumford last week I talked to him after the 10K
skate which he won, but not by much, and said I thought he looked better in
the second half. He said that he'd been muscling it a bit too much in the
first lap and tried to ski lighter and up the tempo in the second lap -
which is where he pulled away from Babikov (I'm spelling that from memory,
so forgive me).

As for Kris, he's working harder than anybody out there to define himself as
a skater. As a Junior he was a really impressive glider. He went through a
couple of seasons of compartment syndrome pain and subsequent surgery at
about the same time that he was really totally redefining his upper body
use. Coming out the other side he spent time trying to emulate first
Elofsson and then Bjorndalen. Early this last summer he came over to look at
skate technique and I asked him to try skiing like he did as a junior - with
more lateral float. Well, he can float from one side of the road clear to
the other - balance is not much of an issue. At this point Kris isn't trying
to emulate anybody - he's trying to find his own balance between lateral
float and forward drive, and he's trying to become the next person that
upcoming skiers work to emulate. I believe, as I have all along, that Kris
will ultimately be known as a skater every bit as much as a classic skier.
In fact, I'd give even odds that his first World Cup victory will come
skating - just not in a mass-start quite yet.

Zach


"Jay Tegeder" wrote in message
om...
There are a lot of ways to ski fast. Among them, one is to turn it
over faster, another is to go for more glide per stride. Carl Swenson
has had the nickname; "The Glide" for many years. Even before the "new
skate", "old skate" discussion. I think Swenson and Kris Freeman, both
on the USST, skate differently. Swenson seems to glide farther and
Freeman seems to turn it over faster. On the Italian Team of old,
Maurillio DeZolt used to turn it over and an incredible rate while
Fauner had longer glide. I long suspected those with good balance tend
to glide better. Skiers with less balance turn it over faster to
compensate.

Jay Tegeder
"More ride, more glide per stride". JT


(Dell Todd) wrote in message
. com...
Jeff Potter wrote in message
...
I don't have the latest issue of SkiTrax or even know when it came out
but I'm wondering if Marty Hall had anything 'sparky' to say this
time.
??


Yep he sure did. He drew Pete Vordenburg into the fray. He pointed out
a photo of Carl Swenson pointing down the trail. He made a fuss over
this because Pete says his skiers aim the upper torso in the direction
of ski travel. There is a bit of difference, depending on the v-angle.
He flat out said Pete was wrong, and he seemed peeved about it, in
that Marty Hall sorta way. Doping makes him real hot, this just makes
him a little hot.

Speaking of racing; JP are we gonna see you this weekend ? Muha missed
you last weekend. There should be striding 12k on sunday. 30k skate
tomorrow.

To quote XCSkiWorld.com: "Marty Hall is controversial... never afraid
to pick an issue and beat someone over the head with his UNIQUE
perspective. Marty is a personality rarely seen in the pristine XC
landscape. Someone who stands up and will go toe to toe with anyone,
anytime, anywhere. Right or wrong. Marty says what's on his mind and
means it."

Everyone can agree when Marty is right (like the use of drugs in
sport.) Unfortunately, he is just as often very wrong.

The last article in skitrax shows what happens when a coach's ego gets
ahead of his personal skiing ability and there is little editorial
control.

Marty essentially says he is absolutely right and everybody else is
wrong. He uses his column to slag pretty much all the heavy hitters:
Pete Vordenberg(read USSA), Lee Borowowski, Cross-Country Canada,
XCZONE, Biathlon Canada and by inference the Swix Fischer Factory
Team, Justin & Beckie and all the National Team and Olympic athletes
used in the videos and articles.

Now I have read, watched and listened to many of these authorities and
I think Marty as deliberately (or otherwise) mis-interpreted their
teaching, and in doing so, done them and the reader a disservice.

If Marty contends that only he understands the truth about skiing, why
is it that Pete is an Olympian and Marty is just an average skate
skier.

Marty uses a photo of Carl Swenson skiing around a tight corner to
illustrate a point he makes that we should all ski twisted completely
over in the direction of the ski or the other and never facing down
the trail in any technique any time. However, after careful
examination with some real measurements the photo actually disproves
Marty's observations. I am not even sure whether Carl has endorsed
Marty's opinion, and from things I have heard they do not necessarly
see eye to eye on all things.

Has Marty run out of real important issues that he has to start up a
technical Jihad?

I thought that coaches where over this sillyness and could work
together, sort it out in a side bar, before they publish to all of us,
interested in learning more about our sport.

- Ken Taylor


(Dell Todd) wrote in message . com...
Jeff Potter wrote in message ...
I don't have the latest issue of SkiTrax or even know when it came out
but I'm wondering if Marty Hall had anything 'sparky' to say this time.
??


Yep he sure did. He drew Pete Vordenburg into the fray. He pointed out
a photo of Carl Swenson pointing down the trail. He made a fuss over
this because Pete says his skiers aim the upper torso in the direction
of ski travel. There is a bit of difference, depending on the v-angle.
He flat out said Pete was wrong, and he seemed peeved about it, in
that Marty Hall sorta way. Doping makes him real hot, this just makes
him a little hot.

Speaking of racing; JP are we gonna see you this weekend ? Muha missed
you last weekend. There should be striding 12k on sunday. 30k skate
tomorrow.

Picture--Schmicture

Another perspective (literally):

The picture may buttress Marty Hall's point.

Or maybe not. It is not obvious that the direction of travel is out of the
page as the arrow indicates. Based on the fence in the background, Swenson has
clearly been turning and may still be or may be just taking his first real V2
stroke as he finishes the turn.

The ad picture on page 88 is more of the same.

Ski Exuberantly,

Hank Garretson

Mammoth Lakes, Calif.