23 Top Junior Skiers Will Come Together for the 2016 REG Camp

21 of the top junior skiers in the Central Region will come together in Marquette, MI at the NMU U.S. Olympic Training Site, July 5th through the 11th, for one week of rigorous training and testing at the Central (CXC) Regional Elite Group (REG) Camp.

“The Cable/Hayward area has played host to the REG camp for the last 10 years,” said CXC Team Coach, Andy Keller. “The location has treated us very well, but we felt we needed to mix things up a bit and change the scenery to engage new communities and locations.”

“Our hope is to rotate this event around the Midwest to get as many different ski organizations and coaches involved in this camp as possible.”

U.S. Ski Team Development Coach, Bryan Fish, will attend the REG Camp to assist with coaching and testing during the week. REG camps are just one stage of the overall U.S Cross Country Development Program Fish has throughout the year.

2015 REG Athletes are introduced to the agility course by U.S. Ski Team Development Coach, Bryan Fish.

Athletes at REG conduct time trials and testing to qualify for the National Elite Group Camp, which will be held October 15th through the 23rd in Park City, UT. in conjunction with the U.S Ski Team dryland camp. These athletes will live and train alongside the national team.

The goal of the camp is to bring together top juniors to train and receive feedback, educational materials, and a glimpse at the bigger picture of Nordic ski racing. These collaborative camps provide a motivating environment for the athletes, to positively push and improve together.

The women prepare for a double pole time trial at the 2015 REG Camp.

Athletes must qualify to attend the REG Camp. The qualification criteria includes: World Junior or U18 Nationals Cup Qualifier, NCAA Championship Qualifier, 1 X Top 10 at Junior Nationals, returning as a junior in 2016, Top 10 on year-end USSA junior ranking list, or top age group qualifier for Midwest or Great Lakes Team.

2015 REG Athlete completing a strength test.

2016 Athletes

“I’m excited for this summers REG camp as this years group is definitely one of the strongest groups we have ever had,” said Keller. “One of the main objectives of the camp is to get the best athletes together to train and learn from one another.”

Kelly Koch – U16 / LNR

Abby Jarzin – U16 / ANST

Siri Bohacek – U16 / LNR

Anabel Needham – U16 / Copper Country Ski Tigers

Renae Anderson – U18 / LNR

Anja Maijala – U18 / Cloquet-Esko-Carlton HS

Margie Freed – U20 / LNR

Michaeala Keller-Miller – U20 / LNR

Kristine Keller-Miller – U20 / LNR

Sarah Bezdiczek – U20 / NMU

Vivan Hett – U20 / NMU

Nicole Schneider – U20 / NMU

Xavier Mansfield – U18 / LNR

Mitchell Delong – U18 / Copper Country Ski Tigers

Matt Chard – U18 / Copper Country Ski Tigers

Russell O’Brian – U18 / MadNorSki

Torsten Brinkema – U18 / LNR

Foss Kerker – U18 / LNR

Michael Jarzin – U18 / ANST

Anders Sonnesyn – U18 / Wayzata Nordic Ski Club

Leo Hipp – U20 / NMU 

Zak Ketterson – U20 / LNR

Mack FitzPatrick – U20 / Lakeland High School

WATCH 2015 REG AGILITY VIDEO

2015 REG Athlete completing the agility course.

Testing, Technique & Tenacity at the 2015 Central REG Camp

Sixteen of the top junior skiers in the Central Region, came together for one week of rigorous training and testing from July 5-11 for the Central (CXC) Regional Elite Group (REG) Camp in Cable, WI at the Telemark Condos. The excellent hilly paved roads of Cable, make it the perfect training location for the REG Camp.

U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish also attended the REG Camp to assist with coaching and testing during the week. REG camps are just one stage of the overall U.S Cross Country Development Program Fish has throughout the year.

U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish Assisting CXC Team Member Kyle Bratrud With Technique

The Central (CXC) Regional Elite Group Camp (REG) brings together top juniors in the Central Region which is a region make up of 12 states including South and North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Eastern Pennsylvania.

Athletes must qualify to attend the REG Camp. The qualification criteria includes, World Junior or U18 Nationals Cup Qualifier, NCAA Championship Qualifier, Top 10 at Junior Nationals, Returning as a Junior in 2013, Top 10 on year-end USSA junior ranking list, or Top age group qualifier for Midwest or Great Lakes Team.

Three athletes who attended the camp, Zak Ketterson, Leo Hipp and Mack Fitzpatrik, claimed the National Champion Title in the men’s relay event at the 2015 Junior Nationals in Truckee, California.

CXC Executive Director Yuriy Gusev said, “The goal of the camp is to bring together top juniors to train and receive feedback, educational materials, and a glimpse at the bigger picture of Nordic ski racing. These collaborative camps provide a motivating environment for the athletes to positively push and improve together.”

2015 REG Strength Test

The junior skiers also trained along side CXC Team members including 2015 U.S. National Champion Kyle Bratrud, Alice Flanders, 2014 NCAA All-American and 3-time All-Region First Team skier and Nichole Bathe, silver medalist at the 2014 U.S. Nationals in Soldier Hollow, Utah.

Athletes at REG conducted time trials and testing to qualify for the National Elite Group Camp, which will be held in September in Lake Placid, NY in conjunction with the U.S Ski Team September dryland camp. These athletes will live and train along side the national team at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY.

Time trials and testing included: 5K running time trial, double pole time trial, agility time trial and a strength test.

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Andy Keller, CXC Head Coach

For further information or details about the REG Camp contact Andy Keller by email at andy.keller@cxcskiing.org