Five of the six athletes representing the Rocky Mountain Division at the Cross Country National U16 Camp this summer came from SSWSC’s U16/18 program: Georgia Bishop, Lylah Keller, Sawyer Landers, Conor Devin, and Bode Rhodes. The camp, held at Paul Smith’s College in Lake Placid, NY, brought together 41 of the top U16 athletes from across the country for a week of training, competition, learning, and plenty of fun.
The athletes earned their spots at the camp through their performances at Junior Nationals in Cable, WI, this past March. With invitations primarily going to athletes ranked in the top 20 nationally in their respective U16 gender divisions, simply earning a spot at this camp is a major accomplishment. The camp provides a unique opportunity for these young athletes to form lasting connections with athletes and coaches from across the country while also getting in a strong week of training.
Throughout the week, athletes took part in a wide variety of training sessions designed to challenge them while building skills and connections with athletes from across the country. Workouts included an over-distance run up nearby St. Regis Mountain, technique sessions, rollerski and bounding workouts, and a sprint simulation at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex.
The athletes also completed the Canadian Strength Test, a brutal 10-minute test in which athletes push for their maximum number of repetitions across a series of bodyweight exercises. The test was made even more memorable by the atmosphere, with athletes cheering each other on while giving their own best efforts. Each morning and afternoon session had a different purpose, from technique and training to friendly competition and simply getting to know one another away from the race course. In the evenings, athletes heard from coaches and guest speakers about different aspects of developing and growing as a cross country skier.
The week finished with a skate sprint simulation. After a timed qualifier, athletes competed in three additional heats in a “King’s Court” format, moving up or down the heats based on their results. SSWSC’s Georgia Bishop worked her way to the top of the women’s side, winning the final King’s Court heat. On the men’s side, Bode Rhodes and Conor Devin battled all the way to an unofficial photo-finish “tie” in their final heat, while Lylah Keller and Sawyer Landers also put together strong performances, battling hard and moving up through their respective heats.
The sprint simulation also featured a special guest, two-time U.S. Olympic silver medalist Ben Ogden. Ogden surprised the athletes the night before the event with an inspiring talk about his own career and experience as a young skier, and brought along his medal hardware to show the athletes. He then joined the athletes at the session the following day, cheering them on as they competed. The athletes also had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with two-time U.S. Olympian and World Cup skier Julia Kern at the Olympic Jumping Complex. Kern joined the athletes on skis for a roller ski technique session before sharing her experience attending national camps as an U16 athlete herself and explaining how those experiences helped shape her career.
Beyond the training and competition, one of the most valuable parts of the camp was simply getting to spend a week surrounded by athletes who share the same passion for cross country skiing. The athletes lived together in the dorms, trained together, ate meals together, and made new friendships with skiers from around the country. There was even time for some classic summer camp fun, including lots of swimming in Lower St. Regis Lake right on campus.
With coaching from leaders including U.S. Cross Country Ski Team Head Coach Matt Whitcomb and Cross Country Sport Development Director Bryan Fish, the camp gave these young athletes a unique opportunity to learn from some of the best in the sport while experiencing what it is like to train alongside the next generation of American cross country skiers.
For the SSWSC athletes, it was a week full of hard work, new experiences, great competition, and plenty of memories to bring home to Steamboat.
- Photo by Ivy Eski: SSWSC athletes Sawyer Landers, Lylah Keller, Conor Devin, Georgia Bishop, and Bode Rhodes with 2x silver medalist Ben Ogden at Mt. Van Hoevenberg.
- Photo by Griffin Smith / Mt Van Hoevenberg: Group photo of all 41 athletes plus coaches.
- Photo by Griffin Smith / Mt. Van Hoevenberg: SSWSC athletes Conor Devin (first) and Bode Rhodes (second) in a tuck down the roller ski track at Mt. Van Hoevenberg.
- Photo by Ivy Eski: SSWSC athletes and a few others traveling by ferry across Lake Champlain to get to Paul Smith’s College.
