How did you get into skiing and coaching?
I got into skiing when my dad took my brother and I on a family ski trip, and beforehand we visited the local dry slope. Little did we know that we would end up making careers out of it!
Why do you love about coaching?
That it doesn’t feel like a job, and that every day you are making a difference. I get to wake up motivated to go to work, head into the mountains and have an impact on helping someone achieve their goals.
What does your usual day look like?
6.30 breakfast, 7.15 leave, 7.45 on the mountains, training until 12.00, make lunch with the athletes, admin and ski prep in the afternoon, video analysis in the evening and then try to get an early night. Than repeat seven days a week!
How are your days looking with the current Stay At Home (or similar in Austria) directive?
It has completely changed the schedule of the day and the season. We’ve lost the last 6 weeks of the winter, so have had to adjust how we are coaching and what we can do for the final months, and on top of that we can’t have any interaction with the athletes, so we’ve switched to interactive coaching, utilising technology to work online. We are still setting physical programmes, but now our athletes are viewing the sessions through online portals. We’re reviewing winter technical training videos over Skype and discussing technical input. Most importantly we are trying to stay on our toes, so when we get the all-clear to head back to the mountains we’re ready to go.
What is your proudest moment from your coaching career?
In terms of results, we’ve had a few highlights. Performances at major events like WJC and Youth Olympics always stand out, Max Baggio winning the Overall National Championships at 18 years old, but (cliched) I’m probably proudest when someone comes through the programme and leaves for their next set of challenges, and we can be proud to know we’ve helped them become a better person. It’s always good having a trainee come in as a 12-year-old and leave as an 18-year-old with a life full of options ahead of them.
What injuries have you had and how did/do they affect you?
Nothing major when I was younger, but recently I’ve started to get a little stiffness in my ankles and tightness in my hamstrings (which I am sure is from too much admin and not enough sport!)
How does NuroKor help you manage your team's recovery?
The guys use it as an additional tool, that can be easily used whenever possible, to assist with recovery. They can use it traveling between events or relaxing in the evening and it's portable and simple enough that it can be used whenever an opportunity arises to manage injuries.
What's next for Team Evolution and your athletes’ goals in the near future?
Next year we will have athletes aiming to compete on the EuropaCup tour and with an eye on progressing to the World Cup teams, all whilst completing their education.
