Interview: Melinda Silbernick

Melinda Silbernick started coaching at Apollo and Tech high schools in St. Cloud, in the mid-80's. She later moved into the Osseo district as the head coach at Osseo and then starting another program at Maple Grove High. Silbernick retired last spring from coaching at the scholastic level but is still teaching.

• Skinnyski: You're well known as a multi-sport athlete. How did you get started?

  Silbernick: I was teaching in St. Cloud and got started in triathlon first. Phil Rogosheske got me going with skiing as a cross-training discipline. Rogo was my inspiration. Apollo was just starting a ski team, so I went there as an assistant. I also worked with Rogo at Tech. This was in the mid 80's.

• Skinnyski: Most of us associate you with the Osseo teams.

  Silbernick: Yes, I coached the longest there, both Osseo and Maple Grove. I started the Maple Grove program with twenty skiers, and when I left last year we had about eighty kids.

• Skinnyski: So you've been through the skating-classic cycle.

  Silbernick: That's right, and I'm really glad that we have both now, even though, as a coach, waxing and equipment can get to be a pain. I started about the time classic got left out.

• Skinnyski: As coaches, we tried combi skis to try and accomodate both styles.

  Silbernick: And I don't think combi skis are the answer, especially for classic skiing.

• Skinnyski: How about the other changes in HS skiing?

  Silbernick: As I said, I like the notion that kids can do either or both of the techniques. I do wish we had shorter distances for the middle school skiers. They can get discouraged when they can't keep up at 3 or 5K paces. Shorter distances, say 1K, would be great for them to develop speed, but there are almost no races for middle schoolers.

• Skinnyski: Speaking of racing, what are your thoughts about older kids who opt for national-level competition? One of your sons went into biathlon, I recall.

  Silbernick: Jeremiah did. I told him he had to choose between HS and the next level because I thought then, and still do, that trying to do both is too much. I just think there's way too much racing with both HS and USSA. You want the kids to get to the next level but not to take on too much. When he went to Germany it became a "survival of the fittest" contest.

• Skinnyski: What attributes does a good HS coach need?

  Silbernick: PATIENCE! Along with that, it's an individual sport, and I always tried to deal with the kids that way.

• Skinnyski: What do you mean?

  Silbernick: Well, I really tried to affirm kids for individual goals and progress rather than just how the team was doing. If they could lower their times over a season, it was important to let them know that I noticed and to affirm that. I could say, "I noticed you today," and they really liked that.

• Skinnyski: What was hard about coaching?

  Silbernick: Deciding on the last spot or two for Conference and Section teams. But the hardest was explaining to parents, sometimes, why their son or daughter didn't letter. They thought that, if the skier was working really hard, that should be enough. I tried to have really clear requirements for lettering but sometimes they weren't clear enough, I guess. And coaching really is draining, sometimes to the point of affecting my teaching.

• Skinnyski: Speaking of draining, we started out mentioning your triathlon career. How is that going for you? I know you've done the Hawaii Ironman and I've seen you on the podium at Annandale several times.

  Silbernick: I qualified for Hawaii again in Florida, which is a qualifier in November for Worlds. It was a good day for me. I had the second-fastest bike split. The only woman who beat me was a German pro. I had the fastest non-pro split. My overall time broke the divisional record by one hour and eight minutes and they're checking to see if it's a Master's record.

• Skinnyski: I guess that explains why you were nominated for three different awards here. You won the "Divisional Dominance" award for multi-sport athletes this time and were nominated for Master of the Year and Performance of the Year.

  Silbernick: What that leads up to is Hawaii in October. That's the goal.

• Skinnyski: Have you had good coaching?

  Silbernick: I really haven't had much coaching. I think what's important is to have a good training partner and a clear idea of how to do your training in phases so that you peak when you need to. I trained one full year for Florida.

• Skinnyski: You aren't coaching HS now and I assume your tri training is at a maintenance level. What are you doing with your time?

  Silbernick: Gear West asked me to coach their adult group and I worked with the NW Running Club too. Adults are great. They are so motivated and so appreciative of any help we can give.

• Skinnyski: What's your motivation? I remember seeing you limp away from the finish line at Mora a few years ago. You said it was blisters.

  Silbernick: I got them at Cannon Falls and they were hurting me.

• Skinnyski: Well, that's my point. I spoke rather sternly to you that day and you sort of shrugged it off. And I know Ironman distances are absolutely grueling. What keeps you going?

  Silbernick: I really don't know. I do focus hard on the race and not on the pain. It seems like I don't feel the pain till it's over, and then I really do. Sprints hurt me worse than endurance events do. Sprints can kill me.

• Skinnyski: So you prefer longer ski races? What are your favorites?

  Silbernick: I treasure the Mora horses. I have six right up where I can see them. I used to love the MinnFinn because that was my first race, but now the Birkie is at the top. The competition is great and the course always pushes me to the limit.

• Skinnyski: Looks like we'll be seeing you staying active for a long time to come.

  Silbernick: Let's hope for more snow!

Dennis (Denny) Nelson coached at Coon Rapids High School for 18 seasons before retiring. He's still very active in the ski community, volunteering at Champlin Park and area races, and can usually be found in the Fall working out with the WAM-XC group. Denny has graciously offered to do a series of interviews for us with some of the legends in high school nordic coaching.