Engelberg_Magazin_No_15

Wer auf die Karte Skiath- let setzt, trainiert im Som- mer wie im Winter hart. Those who want to be elite skiers train hard throughout the winter and summer.

Der Skiclub Engelberg leistet dank eines hervorragenden Trainerteams wertvolle Nach- wuchsförderung im Skisport. Mit acht, neun Jahren steigen die Kinder ein, wer besonderes Talent hat, wird auch schon früher in die JO (Jugendorganisation) des Skiclubs aufgenommen.

Thanks to its outstanding team of coaches, Skiclub Engelberg provides valuable support for young skiers. Children join the club when they are eight or nine; especially gifted kids are allowed to join the club’s youth organisation at a younger age.

Walter Windlin has been offering support and advice to promising young skiers in Engelberg for 16 years now. The athletes he has fostered and who are now enjoying success on the international stage remain grateful to the dedicated head instructor at Skiclub Engelberg. Walter and his team of coaches go to enor- mous efforts. Talented and ambitious individu- als who want to make it in the world of alpine skiing follow a diverse four-day-a-week summer training plan that includes sessions to improve fitness, strength and speed. Last year they also

coach at a ski club!’ ” But for Walter it’s all or nothing; there’s no half measures for him! His wife, who was a top Swiss cross-country skier for many years, knows all too well what intensive training is. She also worked as an assistant coach to her husband for years. What’s more, she is to thank for bringing the Windlin family to Engelberg 16 years ago. It was Mother’s Day and the Windlins were skiing on Titlis with their six- and eleven-year-old sons when Heidi said, “We’ ll move to Engelberg in the autumn. Is that okay?” Although Walter’s

began doing intensive work on their skiing technique on the indoor “rolling carpet” in Interlaken. During the three- week autumn holiday, ath- letes work on their technique on various glaciers. When ski

reply was “Certainly not!”, the decision had already been made, as their oldest boy Lars wanted to attend the Sportmittelschule. Walter began coach- ing with Beat Gisin and

“Whether an athlete attains in- ternational elite status or not depends entirely on him or her.”

season opens in Engelberg, they continue train- ing four times a week on closed-off ski runs and do two training sessions dedicated to fitness. Particularly talented skiers have the privilege of joining the sports scholarship programme that was launched ten years ago. Thanks to coopera- tion with schools, athletes in the programme are afforded an extra half day of training. But, as passionate coach Walter points out, “Whether an athlete attains international elite status or not depends entirely on him or her.” He adds that it is nonetheless essential to buckle down at club level because “it’s the only way to ensure the best progress”. Those who wish to pursue the somewhat costly route of training to be elite athletes then attend Engelberg’s Sportmit- telschule, which works with the ski club and provides young athletes with training facilities. The 58-year-old native of Obwalden grins as he adds, “Now and then when I go a bit overboard my wife Heidi brings me back down to earth by saying, ‘Hey, you’re just a

Emil Feierabend. They started out working with Dominique, Mark and Michelle Gisin, Denise Feierabend and the Windlins’ two sons. From then on, ever more young people joined. The fact that Skiclub Engelberg has five athletes who race on the international ski circuit is utterly unique and the best proof of how important the tireless commitment of Walter and his coaching team is. His assis- tants include Claudia Müller-Amstutz, who was herself an active racer, and her husband Markus (nicknamed “Tschüss”). Walter also relies on the support of Sportmittelschule alumni who have ended their racing careers. Walter has recently taken a step back, yet he still puts his heart and soul into ensuring that Engelberg continues to have world-class international athletes as well as elite skiers who will themselves become coaches and ski instructors. All skiers dream of winning an international race – and although many never manage that, quite a few from Engelberg do.

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