Rowing, skiing are similar, coach says

PALMER - Where Valley ski coaches had problems getting their athletes off on the right ski this season, Palmer coach Zack Brown has no problem dealing with dry-land training. And though he has barely skied before, let alone competitively, his athletes appreciate his ability to prepare them for competition.

"He's really organized," senior Moose skier Lee Bolling said of his new coach. "It's a strength sport and if you know that much, you can train specially for the skiers."

What Brown lacks in winter experience, he makes up for in conditioning and mental preparation. Skiing uses a lot of upper-body strength, endurance and repetitive motions, and that is what the skiers work on, he said.

"I feel like a generic coach," Brown said. "Definitely dry-land training is a lot more my forte."

At the age of 22, Brown is fresh out of college. He majored in Latin American studies at Seattle Pacific University and now teaches Spanish full time at Palmer High School. As a varsity rower who has twice competed in the college national championships, his success in a one-motion sport has benefited Moose athletes while they wait for more snow to train in.

"You'd be surprised at how similar the two sports are," Brown said. "Stopping with each foot and exploding in again … it's a kind of mind set."

Bolling knows a good coach when he sees one. Bolling is one of the state's top 10 skiers as well as one of the Valley's best. And now that Colony's state champion skier, Eric Strabel, has graduated, Bolling figures this is the year to shine, so he will rely on Brown to make sure he is prepared for the state's formidable competition.

"He makes us do a lot of bounding up hills with our ski poles and roller-blading around the inside track," Bolling said. "We also do a lot of running and lifting weights. It's a relief to know [Strabel] is gone. I want to make the junior national team again. At state, I hope to get in the top seven."

Initially, Brown was going to help with the Palmer basketball teams, but former Moose ski coach Francine Povelite asked Brown to help out. She was unable to coach Palmer this year because she couldn't commit to the ski season for personal reasons.

"Now we get to learn how to ski too," Brown said. "I was a temporary fill-in that became permanent."