coaching coup

I went for a ski on the Oak Hill loop at Pineland this morning with Morgan Laidlaw, coach extraordinaire of both Bill Koch kids and Maine Coast Nordic junior development kids, who generously helped me with my skating technique. Thinking that my V1 was solid, I was expecting more work on weight shift and poling during my V2, but we spent most of the time trying to reprogram my neuromuscular circuits coordinating (or uncoordinating) my V1, which is what is used to climb steep hills (or not so steep if the snow is soft). Wow. Lots of great help there. After our ski together, I continued working on technique, especially my V1 while climbing, but having wierd timing issues with my non-power side arm as it swung up. After climbing a hill, an older gentleman asked if he could give me a tip, which I gladly accepted. Turns out the guy was Dick Taylor, former captain of the Dartmouth ski team, captain of the 1964 US Olympic Team, and at Pineland coaching Adele Espy, a local Maine Coast Nordic skier just back from representing the USA in the *World* juniors. Adele was striding up the hill that I had been working on my V1. Wow, she's strong. New England skiing is a very small world and it's really wonderful to have so many generous skiers helping to keep the community active and fun.