R.E.G. Camp Recap

Hello, everyone! This is Zak Ketterson checking in after a jam-packed week of fun at the Regional Elite Group camp in Marquette, Michigan. For those that don’t know, REG camps are an initiative by the U.S. Ski Team that seek to gather the top junior skiers (U20) together from each region of the United States. Skiers qualify for these camps based on their results from the previous winter. It’s a camp that I attended numerous times as an athlete, so to return as a “mentor” with Team Birkie was an awesome experience.

On top of the nostalgia of being back at a camp I attended when I was younger, I also got to live in the dorms at Northern Michigan University! This year’s camp was in Marquette, MI and we leaned on NMU’s facilities to make the camp possible. I graduated from NMU back in May 2021 and this was actually my first time back there since then. It was pretty funny to live in the same dorm for this camp that I lived in when I was a student back in 2017. I felt really fortunate to be able to share my love for Marquette and NMU with all of the young skiers at the camp and I felt a real sense of pride being back on campus as an alumni.

Marquette, Michigan is a city located directly adjacent to Lake Superior. The camp took advantage of this by jumping in the lake on more than one occasion.

One of the main goals of REG camp is to allow the skiers to compete against one another in different head-to-head races. Since these are the top skiers in the Midwest region, it is really valuable for them to race one another so that they can identify potential areas of weakness versus their peers.

We did three different test races: an uphill running race, an uphill double poling race, and a rollerski agility race. These three races are carefully designed to test specific qualities in a skier that the U.S. Ski Team feels are vital for success in the winter.

Me and the other Team Birkie athletes joined along with the juniors in each of these tests and it turns out they are just as hard as I remember from my younger days! It was really fun to put on a bib again and practice being in a race-like environment again.

Suffering through the uphill run test. We ran the test up “Mount Marquette,” a hill I know VERY well from my time as a skier at NMU.

Discussing strategy with junior phenom Adrik Kraftson after one of my three attempts through the skate agility course.

In addition to taking part in the three races, the camp also had a ton of super valuable training sessions where I had an opportunity to share my knowledge with the younger athletes. We did lots of work on skate and classic skiing technique and it was super fun to try to teach the skiers some tips and tricks on how to ski more efficiently. I was super impressed with the level of the athletes at the camp and I definitely learned a thing or two from them as well.

Last but not least, we also got to do some good-old-fashioned easy training in some really beautiful settings. One of the highlights of the camp for me was a 3.5 hour run we did on the legendary “Four Peaks” route in Marquette. It’s a route that takes you past some of the most scenic views of the city. It was a lot of fun to get to talk to so many of the juniors and talk to them about all sorts of stuff.

Selfie with some of the athletes during our Four Peaks run. This was taken at the top of Hogsback.

Nothing better than the beach after a 3.5 hour long run.

One of the biggest unexpected highlights for me from this camp was when I was given the opportunity to give a presentation to the skiers and coaches about my journey from a junior skier to now being on the U.S. Ski Team and racing on the World Cup. It was an honor that I took super seriously because I remembered exactly what it was like to be a junior skier at one of these camps. I wanted to share with the skiers the type of advice I would have loved to hear when I was their age. I definitely don’t have much experience speaking to such large groups, but it was a really great feeling to be able to share my story with such a curious group. They are some truly awesome kids and they have some incredibly bright futures.

Practicing my public speaking skills.

Overall, I think that these camps are a super valuable initiative by the U.S. Ski Team and Central XC Skiing (CXC). You could see how inspired the kids got from training with one another and among the Team Birkie athletes. I’m so happy we got the opportunity to join along on this camp and I know for sure that my fellow Team Birkie teammates feel the same way. I can confidently say that the Midwest region has never been stronger!