NTS at this year's NTG

Park City Utah

Camps and Clinics Training Planning and Execution

June 17, 2017

This year I was so excited to have the opportunity to coach at the NTG because in a lot of ways it was my first chance to be an official coach at a Junior Development camp

By Andy Newell

The NTG stands for National Training Group comprising of elite level junior skiers who achieved stand out results the previous winter. Athletes who have had great results at Junior World Championships, U18 trip, or junior nationals are now given the opportunity to start off their training year with a US Ski Team camp.

This year I was so excited to have the opportunity to coach at the NTG because in a lot of ways it was my first chance to be an official coach at a Junior Development camp. One of my goals now that I will be in the US more often is to connect with the junior skiing community more and help in their development as much as I can.

I was instantly reminded of how isolated I have been on the World Cup for so many years when the first day of camp I didn’t know a single athletes name other than Ben Ogden my local SMS teammate. Over the course of the past week that changed quickly as I was not only hired to act as an additional coach but I was out training every session with the athletes

Something about training side by side allows you to really connect and get to know one another which is why I’m so excited about pursing this coach / athlete role. It reminds us that we can learn so much from our teammates each session and especially when a coach is present throughout a whole workout the group is professional and focused. I was so surprised and motivated by the level of fitness displayed by the NTG and their willingness to take every session as an opportunity to improve.