“John Caldwell--Renaissance Man”
(Originally appeared in Cross Country Skier magazine) “John Caldwell--Renaissance Man”
By Jon Pensak
“He has been nothing short of a trailblazer in our sport. Teaching, coaching, promoting and just loving cross country skiing. …he never stopped working to better the sport. … and has had a vision of inclusiveness that this sport was one for everyone.“
(Peter Graves on John Caldwell’s recent induction into the Vermont Ski Hall of Fame) John Caldwell has changed your life. I know that he changed mine. Growing up reading the books of the down-to-earth, yet larger-than-life Olympic skier and three-time Olympic coach engendered in me an enduring passion for skiing. The books were ski manuals, bibles, inspirational tracts, and friendly companions all rolled into one, and they brought modern cross country skiing to North America.
For those who have not read them, Caldwell’s books (including “Caldwell on Competitive Cross-Country Skiing” and “The Cross-Country Ski Book”) are still highly recommended. You will likely experience a shock of recognition, as you find the egalitarian spirit of the sport, or the friendly atmosphere of your local race, embodied in Caldwell’s distinctive voice and vision.
Putney ManOne of the delights of Caldwell’s books is that they capture the spirit and atmosphere of a distinctive sport, as well as a special place—Putney, Vermont. The books feature photos of now-famous athletes training, chopping wood, and skiing in and around Putney. On a recent visit to Caldwell’s Putney home, I couldn’t help but mark different spots that had become indelibly associated for me with hill-bounding, long-distance runs, or enjoying fresh apples after a workout.
Besides being Caldwell’s long-term home (he and his wife Hep have lived there practically since meeting as students at The Putney School), Putney has been the laboratory for Caldwell’s ideas on how the U.S. should approach cross-country skiing. His time as Putney School coach famously produced the most successful U.S. Nordic skiers ever, including Olympic medal winner Bill Koch. But Caldwell has also built an enduring local culture and organization to support the sport, of which he is just as proud. “Putney skiers have the best technique I’ve seen anywhere,” John declares.
Another of Putney’s ski coaches, Susannah Wheelwright, concurs: “The young skiers in Putney truly have flawless technique. I can only attribute that to the strong culture of skiing here in Putney that Johnny helped to establish.”
Caldwell was one of the first Americans to bring fiberglass skis into this country, and one of his first “customers” was the Grammar School in Putney. He encouraged the school to take the kids out on skis during lunch, so they could discover the sport at an early age. The Grammar School continues to have an active program, producing students who ski well and know how to have fun while doing it.
The other enduring Putney ski organization that Caldwell established is the Putney Ski Club (PSC), of which John is still an officer. The club reflects characteristics of its founder and its place by maintaining a low key atmosphere at the same time as it hosts clinics by international superstars such as Vladimir Smirnov.
The club used to take relay races very seriously and still competes in a yearly point series against other New England clubs, including arch-rival, and Southern New England powerhouse, CSU. As someone with strong local pride and a sense of friendly competition, Caldwell admits that he has from time to time tried “stacking the deck” through last minute, (compulsory) conscriptions of particularly strong skiers to the club.
The “Caldwell Model”
The Putney ski culture could be said to represent what has been referred to as the “Caldwell Model”—a prescription for U.S. Nordic skiing that involves supporting competitive skiers with strong local resources. Caldwell believes that one of the main motivators for elite skiers is loyalty to their local community and club. By taking skiers out of their local environment, you remove a source of both support and motivation and risk burning the skiers out. Caldwell blames the relative decline of the U.S. team in 1983 on this dynamic, when team members began to be trained in a central location.
To spread his principles throughout the Northeast, Caldwell created the idea for the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA). “[Caldwell] created NENSA out of almost nothing. He didn't do it himself, but corralled dozens of people into a common purpose. Amazing!” comments fellow NENSA board member Rob Bradlee.
NENSA has addressed all of the factors that Caldwell sees affecting the development of competitive skiers: strong local clubs, development of coaches, and resources for effective training at every level. NENSA skiers have won two junior Olympic team championships, and are becoming leaders at the junior, collegiate, and national levels.
Caldwell could be said to subscribe to the “it takes a village” approach to skier development. He views as short-sighted past U.S. team efforts that targeted only a few talented elites. In contrast, Caldwell promotes the ideas of cultivating a wide base of developing athletes, supported by a network of enthusiastic recreational skiers and fans.
Thus, building community always goes hand in hand with building fast skiers. To that end, Caldwell hosts a weekly sauna for all-comers in Putney and has encouraged others to contribute to a local sauna “circuit.” Within NENSA, he strongly supported the idea of adding a non-timed category to New England marathons, to encourage participation, and to simply “get people out there.”
For Caldwell, this sense of inclusiveness has played itself out at every level of the sport. When coaching the Olympic team, if Caldwell had six team members, then six skiers had Olympic starts (even to the point of dragging a skier out of a sick bed so that he would not miss the experience.)
Breadth of Vision
“I would like nothing better than to see U.S. skiers do well internationally,” Caldwell earnestly declares. Caldwell embodies the “think global, act local” ethic. He works tirelessly on local races and organization, while always having an eye on the larger picture.
Besides embracing the ideas embodied by the NENSA model, Caldwell feels that U.S. skiers need to simply think bigger, and cultivate a “healthy arrogance.” When Caldwell was coaching the U.S. ski team, he led a group featuring Mike Gallagher, Mike Elliot, and Larry Damon on a training run in Trondheim, Norway. As they skied up a narrow hill, one of the biggest (“five feet, eighteen inches tall”) and best Norwegian skiers, Harold Groenigan, started skiing down, going the wrong way on a one-way trail. The team yelled to Caldwell to get out of the way. Caldwell pretended not to hear and stayed put where he was. “I wanted to teach them a lesson: that they shouldn’t let these guys intimidate them.”
To help New England skiers think bigger, Caldwell has promoted the idea of a spring series that will include not only the traditional high school races, but also masters’ races that will attract international skiers. “Kids need to think beyond the J2s and understand there is a big world out there.”
Caldwell’s Principles
Caldwell has always been focused on the development of young skiers. One of the most striking aspects of his books is that, besides being guides on how to ski, they sometimes also read like manuals to good character. Self-reliance, independence, and perseverance are all emphasized, whether the discussion is on waxing or hill bounding.
Caldwell strikes similar themes when discussing how skiers today should be coached today. “A coach should inspire kids to want to ski and instill in their athletes a sense that they’re responsible for themselves.”
Younger skiers, in Caldwell’s view, need not be stuck on a grind of week after week two to five kilometer races. He promotes the idea of variety, encouraging racers to mix up their schedules by including longer tours and adventure races such as the Canadian Ski Marathon. The idea is to keep it fun and to begin to learn how the body reacts to various challenges.
Not surprisingly, Caldwell is somewhat skeptical as to the benefits of heart-rate monitors: “One of the worst things that happened to cross-country skiing in this country was the invention of those G-- damned things.” He decries the type of coach who pours over downloaded data and obsesses about how much level 1 versus level 3 training their skiers are doing. Skiers, in his view, should develop the ability to listen to their bodies and ultimately be in charge of their own development: “Finally, when you’re out there racing, you’re all alone.”
The same sense of realism and personal responsibility applies to equipment and waxing. Caldwell is dismayed when he sees parents smothering their kids with too much gear or sheltering them from required work: “parents are apt to take the blame for their kids by apologizing for a poor wax job. Kids should be waxing their own skis.”
John realizes and accepts the importance of the changes taking place in the sport (“these days, the most important non-skiing member of the U.S. Team is the waxer”), but he maintains a healthy suspicion of unnecessary complexity. “For an important race, you need to worry about this stuff [perfect base structure, perfect wax], but for the average high school or college skier, it’s silly.” He adopts a practical attitude to technology that is reflected in a comment about his new Prius: “It’s great, but if you pay attention to all the fancy displays, you’ll drive off the road.”
Renaissance Man
These days, Hep and John live a life based on their principles by trying to be as self-sufficient as possible. They grow all their own vegetables, cut their own wood, and John brews his own beer and makes his own wine. He is also an active maple syrup producer and has tried his hand at fish farming. Other interests include running a program with Blue Cross Blue Shield to promote healthy activity among members, and involvement in state and local politics: serving as the Putney Town Moderator, and launching a drive to have the state make hiking trails more attractive to a wider variety of users by installing benches at regular intervals (an idea taken from his and Hep’s experiences hiking in Switzerland).
Though recently having to endure a painful back operation, John is still physically very active. He and Hep have season passes at a local downhill resort, they ski and hike in Vermont and abroad, and John still rows a double scull in the annual Green Mountain Head (yet another Putney institution for which Caldwell provides Maple Syrup as a prize).
If Caldwell seems like a renaissance man, he is. His reputation for always trying his hand at new endeavors is so well known locally, he recently was easily able to pull a prank on an unsuspecting Putney School art teacher. Because Caldwell had problems with kingfishers eating the fish with which he was trying to stock his pond, he strung bailing wire at odd angles across the pond to try to stop them. Inviting the art teacher over to take a look, Caldwell asked for, and received, a long critique on his first “modern art installation.”
For Caldwell, self-sufficiency does not mean self-involvement. Rather, it is the basis for contributing to, and receiving support from, one’s community. This concept helps frame Caldwell’s approach to all that he does, including skiing.
After a pleasant lunch and long chat, I was sent away from the Caldwell house laden with homebrew and home grown squash. John’s parting explanation perhaps concisely sums up his overall philosophy “that’s why I do these things, so that I can give stuff away.”
Career Highlights
• Caldwell’s family moved to Putney in 1941
• Attended the Putney School where he met his wife, Hep (except for brief absences, they have lived in Putney ever since)
• Four event skier at Dartmouth
• Member of the 1952 Olympic Nordic team
• Coach of three Olympic teams
• Coached Putney School Ski Team, producing many of the finest U.S. skiers, including Ned Gillette, Mike Gallagher, Bob Gray, Bill Koch, Martha Rockwell, Larry Damon, as well as his own children
• Author of “The Cross Country Ski Book.” Written in 1964 and now in its eighth printing. Generally credited with introducing Americans to recreational cross-country skiing.
• Founded New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) in 1997
• World-class vegetable grower, wood-chopper, sugarer (maple), wine producer, sauna taker, sculler, hiker, and horse shoe thrower