SSL's Own Endurance Coach gets the Tap to Train the Nation's Best

Duncan Koehn, MS

11/15/25

I recently had the privilege of serving as a guest coach with the National Training Group for the U.S. Ski Team. This camp brings together the nation’s top athletes aged 16 to 22 to gain experience, refine their skills, and learn from both peers and seasoned coaches. This year’s camp coincided with the National Team Training Camp, creating a unique opportunity for collaboration and knowledge sharing among athletes and coaches at the highest levels of the sport.

Camp life offered a dynamic balance of focus and recovery. As a guest coach, my responsibilities were diverse and evolved throughout the week. With the camp emphasizing training volume, most mornings began with extended, lower-intensity sessions. Prior to each workout, I collaborated with athletes to ensure training loads were appropriate and aligned with their individual needs.

During rollerski sessions, I followed athletes to monitor heart rate intensity zones, provide real-time technique feedback, and offer mechanical support. Although these workouts were relatively low-intensity, I valued the opportunity to engage with athletes in a supportive environment conducive to technical and tactical refinement.

Throughout the week, several joint interval sessions were held with both National Training Group and U.S. Ski Team athletes. One hill-bounding session drew more than 150 participants, an inspiring sight as the nation’s best skiers led the charge while the next generation pursued closely behind.

During these sessions, I provided targeted feedback on technique and effort management. Lactate testing served as the key metric for ensuring athletes remained within prescribed training zones. It was a distinctive experience to be conducting physiological assessments, such as lactate sampling on Olympians at the summit of a ski mountain.

Following each training session, emphasis shifted toward recovery and regeneration. In addition to prioritizing adequate sleep, athletes focused on proper nutrition to optimize fueling for subsequent sessions.

Downtime was used productively for reviewing video analysis from training or studying World Cup competition footage to reinforce technical and tactical learning objectives.

The camp concluded with a series of races featuring one of the most competitive domestic fields assembled this season. In the lead-up to competition, my primary role as a coach was to support athletes’ mental preparation, helping them manage pre-race nerves, visualize performance outcomes, and refine tactical plans. Once racing began, I provided split times and on-course feedback to support athletes’ pacing and performance execution.

Overall, the week in Park City, Utah proved to be an invaluable professional experience, an opportunity to contribute to the development of emerging talent while continuing to learn from some of the most skilled and dedicated coaches and athletes in the sport.

Learn more about Duncan