Nordic skier Andy Shields says he’s got a long way to go to reach the same level as Olympian Stefan Kuhn.
The 20-year-old couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t ski. He decided to make it a career two years ago and dedicated every day to make himself a better athlete. Shields qualified to represent Canada at the Ski Nations Junior 2011 competition but said there’s still a long road ahead before he’s ready for the Olympic Games.
Shields joined more than 60 other skiers at the annual Lake Superior Ski District Cross Country Ski Dryland training camp. The five-day camp, which started on Friday, had participants do various training exercises from roller skiing to jogging.
To help motivate the skiers, 2010 Olympian Stefan Kuhn, who recently retired, joined the camp to coach and give some pointers. He went against a couple participants for a friendly roller skiing race on 20th Side Road near Kamview Nordic Centre.
Shields said he felt excited to train along side Kuhn.
"Stefan is a real role model," Shields said on Monday. "The determination he had to come back after leaving the sport for a few years to mix it up with the best in the world is something I can really use to motivate myself. I’m no where near Kuhn’s level. It will take me a few more years. It’s going to take a lot of training, time and effort."
Kuhn said the biggest challenge skiers face is keeping the excitement and passion in the sport. Kuhn said he had a big advantage being from Canmore, Alta. He was able to keep excited about the sport by skiing with his friends.
Without that drive, skiers won’t be able to achieve that next level, he said.
"I’m super excited to be part of this camp," Kuhn said. "I`ll go head-to-head with anyone in a race if they want to do a sprint. I’m trying to make it fun because that’s the big thing that I always brought to the team. I think a lot of my team mates respected that I always wanted to have fun. Be serious about the work but you also need to have a smile on your face."
