Sheppard & Young (2006) define agility as “rapid movement of the whole body with change in speed or direction in response to a stimulus”.
Agility is defined as “the ability to move and live gracefully, easily and quickly” (Merriam-Webster), and it is a very important element in the preparation and execution of movements in sport, cross-country skiing races. inclusive. In cross-country skiing competitions, agility (also known as balance and coordination) is crucial.
Cross-country ski riders should try to perform powerful and fast movements on their skis in order to achieve momentum and forward movement and to be able to do so in a dynamic, unstable and slippery environment (snow). This environment where activity takes place requires balance, the ability to shift weight completely from one ski to another, and the ability to perform movements in extreme metabolic situations.
The importance of being able to master both skills simultaneously (strength and balance) can easily be seen when top endurance athletes (athletes, cyclists, triathletes, etc.) who lack a background in cross-country skiing attempt to compete in this sport and they experience the limitations that this sporting modality entails and they have to be able to manifest their qualities as they do in their sport.
Ironically, many of our most talented young cross country athletes lack a well-developed general skill base. Although some athletes bring a wide range of athletic experiences with them when they begin to ski, many reach a high level with a great capacity for endurance rather than a great capacity for skill.
This wealth of experience in endurance-building activities often focuses on activities that the parents of these young people enjoy such as: running, biking, cross-country skiing; climbing, all of which are important for building grassroots endurance but a poor contribution to skill development. These endurance-related sports activities do not cover the full range of skill development, as is the case with other sports such as gymnastics, alpine skiing, soccer, and other team sports.
This is the reason why most coaches suggest that the development of a wide range of athletic and sports experiences is so decisive in the development of young athletes to achieve high performance in any sport and also that sports specialization must wait until the athlete has reached adolescence.
Importance of agility in cross-country skiing
Over the years, we have found that skiers with extensive athletic backgrounds are able to perform technical adaptations much easier than those with only a long track record in endurance sports. In short, they can quickly “feel” and change technical aspects that the coach is asking them to do. On the other hand, we as coaches who deal with athletes who struggle to make a change, and when they do, they do it in an almost imperceptible way, we must know that this happens, sometimes, because they lack the awareness of the body to be capable. to feel the difference between the change and what they were doing wrong. These are the athletes who are so often frustrated by our technical proposals and this is sometimes a mistake made by the coach in the planning of their activities and not by the athlete.
Agility training is also important for the development of neurological pathways as these allow skiers to stabilize their body mass while performing their sport (allowing them to relax and slide) and to react to sudden changes in their environment (being pushed by another skier, uneven track conditions, jumping over an obstacle, etc.). To see a good example of how agility training can benefit an athlete for success in long cross-country ski races, it is very convenient to observe how they perform in sprint races, in changing snow conditions and very difficult terrain.
What should a cross country athlete do well? Apply maximum power and transfer your body weight onto a ski so that you can slide as fast as possible. Once the weight has been transferred, it is also very important to relax and let the skis slide so that we take advantage of the inertia generated. This powerful application of force and weight shift allows skiers to reach the proper speed.
Lactate production depends a lot on how we use all our muscles to perform a movement, mastery of the body scheme and high agility can give us less lactate values that limit our performance.
Conclution
With this idea we can affirm that we agree that agility training is important in the development of cross-country skiers, so our challenge now is to insert this type of work in programs that are already full of long-term activities. duration and oriented only to resistance work.
How Athletic Should a Cross Country Athlete Be? Most of the athletes who practice this sport come with a great knowledge and experience in sports such as athletics, cycling or mountain biking to name a few, they grow up in familiar environments in which this kind of sports is practiced and they are passionate about it.
A training program with great work based on the development of speed and strength training (general and specific) in most sessions can greatly enhance the motor skills of these athletes.
The development of the skill allows to get the most out of the speed of each athlete, and in this way a substantial improvement in technique is achieved, helping young people to make the most of their strength and resistance for movement and not waste their time trying to keep my balance. Learning to apply force in the movement and shift the weight completely from one ski to another is essential to achieve maximum performance in this discipline.
Bibliographic references:
- Sheppard JM, Young WB, (2010). Agility literature review: classifications, training and testing. Cross Country Skier; Nov2010, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p27
- Mikkola, Jussi S .; Rusko, Heikki K .; Nummela, Ari T .; Paavolainen, Leena M .; Häkkinen, Keijo. Concurrent endurance and explosive type strength training increases activation and fast force production of leg extensor muscles in endurance athletes. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (Allen Press Publish; May2007, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p613.
- Backcountry skiing. conn, bevin // country journal; jan / feb98, vol.25 issue 1, p56.
