Kids Running - Adirondack Sports & Fitness

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12 Adirondack Sports & Fitness ATHLETE PROFILE by Shannon Brescher Frederica Anderson smiles, closely watching a line of young skiers snaking back and forth down the bunny hill. She turns her own skis down the slope, and follows the students with the grace one can only have after 82 years spent on skis. Known as “Freddie” to her instructors and students, Frederica is best known as the founder of the Schenectady Ski School. However, her love for the snow began at the age of three, when her parents first took her skiing on the Mohawk Golf Course in Schenectady. Her father and mother were always involved in winter sports, and hoped to share that passion with their daughter. “My parents were skiers back in the early 1900s,” she said. “They were my example.” Her childhood love for the sport blossomed into a professional desire when she took a required athletic course at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. When the instructor discovered Frederica was the best skier in the group, she recruited her as an assistant. After Frederica realized how much she enjoyed teaching, gaining the white pin worn by Certified Ski Instructors became her career goal. In 1948, she reached that goal, becoming an instructor with the New York State Professional Ski Instructors Association. Currently, Frederica’s jacket bears a gold version of the pin that attests she is a Lifetime Certified Ski Instructor. Frederica Anderson Age: 85 Occupation: Co-Director of Schenectady Ski School Residence: Niskayuna Family: Children, Christina, Karen, Carla Primary Sport: Downhill Skiing Other Sports: Tennis Between attending Smith College and earning her “white pin,” Frederica met her co-conspirator in skiing adventures, Henry Anderson. The two met at a Schenectady Wintersports Club meeting in 1942. Because of the gas rationing, the group walked over a mile on Saturday mornings to catch a 6 am bus in Schenectady. Then, they boarded a 7 am train in Troy that brought them to the newly opened Bromley Mountain in Manchester, Vt. “These trips back and forth that winter blossomed into a romance with Henry Anderson,” she said. “My marriage was a skiing romance.” That winter, Henry made a promotional film for the North Creek Ski Bowl, the area where Gore Mountain currently operates. Called “Adirondack Hickories,” the film featured Frederica and demonstrated the couple’s willingness to be quite silly for the sake of skiing. One among a variety of humorous sketches involved instructors sliding down a mountain on a chamber pot. Later on, Frederica’s skiing continued to showcase her quirkiness, like when she became known by the Mount Mansfield Ski Patrol at Stowe as the woman who wore a kilt for spring skiing. That spring, Frederica’s family invited Henry on their family vacation to Mont Tremblant in Quebec. The couple married about a year later. However, Frederica did not forget her dream of becoming an instructor. She founded the Schenectady Ski School in 1950, teaching her friends’ children at the Schenectady Municipal Golf Course on Saturday mornings. The next year, Frederica started training her skiing friends as instructors, expanding the school beyond herself. In 1967, the ski school moved to the Maple Ski Ridge ski area in Schenectady and has kept the area as its home base ever since. “It’s an ideal learning environment,” she said, explaining why the arrangement has lasted so long. Despite her long history of teaching, Frederica’s excitement over watching students improve remains undiminished. “The pleasure that teaching skiing gives me is paramount in my life. I wouldn’t be happy to be going out skiing every day for my own pleasure. It would get boring,” she said. She especially loves working with beginners, because of their rapid improvement. Watching them advance from gliding on flat ground to controlling their speed, making turns, and changing direction never ceases to bring her joy. “My favorite part in teaching skiing is seeing the progress of a student who has never been on skis,” she says. “Whether it’s a child or adult, the excitement is always the same for me.” All of Frederica’s instructors have embraced her zeal for teaching. Alice Moon, a junior at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School and an instructor at the Schenectady Ski School, said the most important thing she has learned from Frederica is to “be enthusiastic.” She said that she has also learned, “If you’re having fun, they’ll have fun. Don’t force them to do anything. Earn their trust.” Likewise, Anthony Lucier, a supervisor and snowboard instructor at the school said that Frederica’s goal is “to see the kids having fun.” He continued, “Kids or adults … she wants to make sure the class is having fun � CHRISTINA AND FREDERICA ANDERSON AT MAPLE SKI RIDGE. PHOTO BY PAUL KNAPICK and learning at the same time.” He said that she wants to inspire students to continue skiing and learning long after they finish their lessons. Frederica’s fervor for teaching and skiing has extended in influence far beyond the ski school. “Because of her, there are literally thousands of people who enjoy winter sports,” said Christina Anderson, Frederica’s daughter, and co-director of the school. “She has provided inspiration for people ranging from a 14-year-old instructor to people who grew up to be PSIA examiners … and nationally known skiers.” Beyond those Frederica has personally taught, she has also trained numerous instructors who have gone on to affect others. Christina herself has helped keep that dream alive. From Henry and Frederica’s marriage until Henry’s passing in 2000, the couple were partners in the business as well as in marriage. Christina moved back to the Capital District from Texas in the fall of 2000 to help run the school. “When he passed away, it was obvious the business was too big for one person to run by herself,” she said. “If Mom wasn’t able to teach and ski, she’d fall apart … I wanted to make sure her passion stays alive.” Despite the deep love Frederica has for teaching, she has not forgotten her own skiing. She continues to take great delight in the act of moving her skis nimbly across the snow. “The pleasure I get out of skiing is … the physical pleasure I get out of making a well-executed turn,” she said. “I can no longer ski the steep and the deep … because of my lack of muscular power, but the fact I am out there every day is the goal of my life.” Shannon Brescher of Clifton Park is currently working as a substitute teacher and freelance writer.In the fall,she will be attending the University of Oxford for her master’s degree. She enjoys hiking, rock climbing, biking and skiing. We Do Taxes So You Don’t Have To Minimize your taxes and maximize your refund Let a CPA at Accounting For All prepare your return to find every legal deduction you are entitled to. What is your time worth? You have better things to do than waste a weekend struggling with tax forms. No job too big or small, our accounting professionals are available to answer any of your tax filing questions. Serving the needs of individuals and small businesses for over 18 years from our Clifton Park office. Founded by Jean Paduano-Teal, CPA, Accounting For All provides personal service and quality advice at a reasonable cost. Having a CPA at Accounting For All prepare your taxes doesn’t cost as much as you might think. Why don’t you visit our website today at AccountingForAll.com to learn more or call us at (518) 383-2406. Certified Public Accountants Professional tax, accounting and QuickBooks consulting services
www.AdkSportsFitness.com March 2006 13 BICYCLING Battenkill-Roubaix Upstate New York’s “Hell of the North” by Carter Yepsen If you’re a cycling nut like me and my riding buddies, the winter months find you vacillating between running, various forms of skiing and monotonous hours on the trainer. You may have been following the news of Lance and Sheryl, Tyler Hamilton’s trial or maybe the pro tour team rosters. If this sounds at all like you, I want to let you all in on a little secret. The second annual Battenkill- Roubaix is right around the corner and it is garnering the reputation one of the best bike races of the season. Be sure to mark Saturday, April 15 on your calendar for racing, riding, watching or volunteering at this year’s event. Voted one of the ten best new races by The Ride magazine last year, the 55-milelong Battenkill-Roubaix is the only European style race in the area. The route winds through hilly Washington County, crisscrossing the Battenkill River and intersecting the picturesque towns of Salem, Cambridge and Greenwich. One of the most unique aspects of the route is that 25-percent of the course is on dirt roads, replete with potholes, mud, dust and ruts. NAMED BEST IN THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION NAMED BEST XC RESORT FOR FAMILIES 2006 Great Road Bike Showcase Cannondale • Specalized • Trek • Giant Test Ride Indoors on Trainer or Outdoors (weather permitting) Receive a free gift, coupons and cool swag with every test ride Free Cyclops trainer and spin membership with every road bike purchased at this event One-year free service with unlimited tune-ups! Professional Bike Fitters on Hand • Lowest Prices in the Nation Performance Fit Guarantee • Layaway Available Top Prices Paid for Your Trade-In • Bike Appraisers on Duty 1816 STATE STREET, SCHENECTADY • (518) 346-1433 Mon-Fri: 10-8, Sat: 10-6, Sun: 12-5 • www.plaineandson.com So what’s different about a European style race? For starters, the American style of a bicycle road race tends to be based on multiple laps around a circuit. Whether it’s a tight-cornered criterium or a 100mile road race, we tend to follow the efficient example set by automobile races. The brainchild of local cycling phenom Dieter Drake of Cambridge, Battenkill- Roubaix is inspired by the “Spring Classics” of Belgium. Often run from city to city, these races follow traditional roads which reflect the historical character of the area, with some famous stretches unimproved over the centuries. They have names like Leige-Baston-Leige, Gent- � CATEGORY PRO/1/2 RIDERS EXITING EAGLEVILLE COVERED BRIDGE. (LEFT) � CATEGORY 5 RIDERS ON MEETING HOUSE ROAD NEAR EASTON. (RIGHT) PHOTOS BY BARRY KOBLENZ Wevelgem, Milan-San Remo, or Paris- Roubaix. Known as the “Queen of the Classics,” the Paris-Roubaix takes place for the 104th time this April. These oneday classics are for the “tough men” of the sport as they follow often narrow roads while traversing slippery cobblestones, ditches and plenty of mud. SEE BATTENKILL-ROUBAIX, 23 �
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