Anneke Winegarden stepped into the role of head coach of the Carleton Ravens nordic skiing team in September and has since faced “one of the most challenging years” she’s ever had as a coach.
The Ravens nordic skiing team was cut off from the university’s high performance centre and had their competitive season cancelled due to the pandemic. They’ve also been forced to navigate a series of border closures between Quebec, where they regularly train, and Ontario, where the majority of their athletes live.
“It’s definitely been a challenging year from a coach’s perspective,” Winegarden said. “There’s always something stressful that you have to figure out, which anyone who’s in any leadership role and decision-making role has been experiencing pretty much non-stop for the past year.”
Winegarden moved back to Ottawa from Calgary, Alta. at the beginning of the year after finishing her master’s in exercise physiology at the University of Calgary and coaching at the Alberta World Cup Academy.
“It wasn’t a huge shift or transition in terms of what I’ve been doing. [It was] very much a lateral move, continuing to work with athletes who are also balancing skiing and school,” she said.
Soon after she returned to Ottawa, Winegarden was approached by Carleton for the position of head coach of the university’s nordic skiing team.
She said the majority of the athletes on the team already knew her through the Ottawa skiing community and were eager for her to take the job.
Kate Mason, a second-year biology student on the Ravens ski team, was coached by Winegarden in high school at her ski club Nakkertok in Gatineau, Qué.
“It’s nice to have a familiar face and somebody I’ve worked with before. I knew she was knowledgeable,” Mason said.
Overcoming obstacles
As the new head coach this year, Winegarden faced the challenge of facilitating a smooth coaching transition on top of dealing with other challenges brought on by the pandemic.
Winegarden stepped into the role of programming the team’s strength training, a job usually done by a strength specialist who works in the university’s high-performance centre.
“We were basically bumped off the bottom of the strength training roster, so we lost our gym time,” Winegarden said. “Now it’s on my plate and getting athletes to do strength training at home, and finding appropriate strength equipment for everyone has been another challenge.”
Without a competitive season due to COVID-19 restrictions, some members of the team struggled to stay motivated.
“We’re all pretty competitive people and most of us are really results oriented, so working towards a race season that’s not happening is pretty hard,” Mason said.
Despite the lack of a clear objective, Winegarden maintained a regular practice schedule, holding two to three on-snow practices a week and one virtual strength session for the duration of the season.
Winegarden’s coaching methods
Winegarden describes her coaching style as taking on the role of a teacher with athletes.
“My coaching philosophy is very much centred around empowering the athletes to make their own decisions related to training,” she said.
Colin Ward, a senior athlete on the team and engineering student, said Winegarden’s coaching style works because not everyone on the team has the same regime.
“A lot of people are involved with different clubs, not just the Carleton team,” Ward said. “I’m also a cyclist so I spend a lot of time in the fall riding my bike, [so] it’s great that Anneke is open to different forms of training.”
Mason said Winegarden’s coaching philosophy also challenged her this year.
“She’ll challenge me so that I can really think about what I’m doing and why. There’s a purpose behind everything and she makes me actually think about it instead of just saying, ‘Oh, I’m tired, I’m done for the day,’” Mason said.
Winegarden said she is hoping to return as head coach in September. She said if Carleton allows her to return, she’s most excited about working with the team in a year that they’re not transitioning between coaches.
Since publication of this story, Winnegarden has confirmed to be returning as the team’s coach for 2021.
“Transition years are really hard on athletes because they don’t know what to expect,” Winegarden said. “I didn’t know what to expect. Because of the pandemic, I didn’t get properly briefed or trained on the job.”
After a complicated year, Winegarden said just being here is a success and she is excited to work on a vision for next year with the athletes.
“I say this to my athletes and I have to say it to myself,” she said. “‘This year if you survived, and you came out the other end intact, and you’re happy and you’re alive, then you’re good.’”
