Growing up in a family of skiers to a legendary Minnesota high school ski coach, Erin Moening has "loved Nordic skiing right from the start."
After capturing three top-5 finishes at the state meet, Moening continued her career at Northern Michigan. She worked as a wax tech at NMU at the end of her time under Sten Fjeldheim and developed a passion for coaching.
After experiences as a coach/wax tech with the U.S. Ski Team and stints at Team Birkie and elsewhere, the full-time software engineer and coach is passionate about capitalizing on the cross-country ski energy pulsing through our country right now by providing resources for coaches and opportunities for athletes.
At her website, MoeningTheTracks.com, she writes:
American Nordic skiing is experiencing an all-time high. We now boast Olympic Champions, World Champions, World Cup Medalists, and Junior World Champions. On the World Cup circuit, American coaches and wax technicians are at the top of their fields, continually improving each year. However, few in the U.S. possess this level of expertise and experience.
With actual World Cup coaching and waxing experience being rare, it’s incredibly difficult to gain elite coaching opportunities in the U.S.. Resources are limited, and finding high-quality ones is even more challenging. My goal with MoeningTheTracks (pronounced Man-ning) is to promote a culture of information sharing and knowledge transfer in the ski community, specifically in the Midwest.
On today's show, we chatted about her recent coaching conference, meeting athletes where they're at, the intersection of club/high school ski competition, trends in the sport at various competitive levels, father-daughter athlete dynamics and more. Plus, we gave Erin a chance to share some of her own World Cup hot takes for the 2025-2026 year.
Visit MoeningTheTracks.com
Bearskin Lodge coaching conference - March 20-22
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