National Sports Center Blog

Check out the NSC's new sports photos!

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

The next time you're on the NSC campus, we invite you to stop by the main NSC office area to check out our new wall decorations. Last night we installed 30 new pieces of world-class photography showing the NSC campus, programs and/or athletes.

And we want all our customers to know that you're welcome to view the photos yourself. Just stop in during normal office hours, and Mary Jane Kunza, our receptionist, will be glad to assist you. It's really fun! You'll see some aerial photos of the campus, great views of some of our buildings and of course awesome action shots of USA CUP Opening Ceremony, soccer, hockey, golf, cycling, ultimate, lacrosse, rugby.

We're proud to feature the work of some of the many talented photographers who have captured NSC events over the years, including Alex Carroll, Garry Frankel, Jenny Horn, Barclay Kruse, Taylor Kruse, Lisa Lardy, Jeremy Olson, Larry Race, Greg Savino and Mike Thill.

Below: NSC Graphic Designer Amanda Planting installs a photo of Natalie Darwitz, taken when the U.S. Women's Olympic Team trained at the Schwan Super Rink prior to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

NSC staff members Clinton Labeau, Andrew Lindgren and Dave Brown check out an aerial photo taken during Schwan's USA CUP.

Minnesota's new concussion safety law requires training for coaches

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

In September 2011 a law went into effect in the State of Minnesota that requires all coaches and officials involved with all youth sports to be trained in concussion awareness, safety and protection. Minnesota is one of 33 states that have adopted laws relating to concussion safety in youth sports. Most of these laws are brand new -- 28 new states added concussion laws in 2010 or 2011. So even if you're unfamiliar with the specifics of Minnesota's law, you may be familiar with a similar law in your own state or province. And if not, you're likely to be affected soon.

If you're interested, the safekids.org website has great information on what's happening in each state across the U.S. Every law is a little different, but they all have a common goal of 1) education and prevention 2) assessment and 3) minimizing long-term risk. The big difference between the laws is what they require in compliance. Minnesota's law requires coaches to complete an online course developed by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The youth sports programs of the National Sports Center, including our youth hockey and soccer programs, fall under the new Minnesota law. If you'd like to read the text of the law you can click on the link for Minnesota Statue 121A.37.  

All coaches will need to complete an online training course. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention has a free, online course entitled “Concussion Training for Coaches (and referees)”. Click on the link to go to the free course. It takes about 30 minutes, and it contains some great information. Once you complete the course, the certification applies for three years.

If you register for a youth program at the NSC, you'll see a box that you'll need to check verifying that the coaches for your team have completed the training. You'll need to check the box before you'll be allowed to proceed with your registration.

If you have completed a different training course in your state or country that is equivalent to the C.D.C course, you can go ahead and check the box.  

The NSC fully supports this new law as an important step to address a health issue in youth sports. Does this require a little extra effort for coaches to comply with the new law? Yes. Is the extra effort worth it? Yes again!

 

Indoor grass cycling criterium returns to NSC Sports Hall

By Scott Clasen, Director of Marketing

Tired of sitting on the indoor trainer (well, not so much this year)? Want to get out and spin your wheels? Itching to see what it feels like to ride your bike on artificial, in-fill turf? You came to the right place! Our cycilng department here is staying busy even with our velodrome in hibernation for the winter.

For the second winter season the National Sports Center is offering an indoor grass cycling criterium race series. We'll be racing from 9:00-11:00 pm on January 15, 29, February 12 and 26. Any type of bike will work, but we recommend a cyclocross bike or at least a bike with wider tires than a normal road bike. And even though you're indoors, you'll want eye protection for those little black rubber pellets that make up the artificial grass. Oh, and although the sports hall is heated, it is rather chilly in there during the winter, so we also suggest arm warmers and knee/leg warmers.

Head over to our velodrome website to get the low-down on the race format and how to register.

Moving indoors at the NSC, except for our new construction

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

Mid-November marks a season of change at the National Sports Center. It's the time when we wrap up a transition that began about two weeks ago -- from outdoor to indoor use.

Yesterday was the last day for golf at Victory Links, our PGA Tour-designed 18-hole golf course. And a nice day it was, with temperatures in the low 50's, and we had several groups on the course enjoying their last round of the season. Today, it's in the 30's with a brisk wind, not golf weather at all. So kudos to our golf staff for picking the right day to wrap it up for the season!

Our indoor Kick-or-Treat soccer tournament on October 28-30 marked the official move of soccer from outside to our indoor Sports Hall. If you've driven past the NSC campus in the last couple days, you might have noticed that gates are closed to the north parking lots. That means no more outdoor sports.

The Velodrome Cyclocross race on November 5 was the last outdoor cycling event of the season. A lot of people are surprised to hear that we actually do an indoor cycling program. Our first of five scheduled indoor criteriums, on the artificial turf of the Sports Hall, will be January 16. (Track racing on grass is a tradition in Great Britain, and the local racers here report that riding on our artificial turf is a very close approximation to racing on real grass.)

And over at the Schwan Super Rink, high school hockey is underway, and this weekend is the All-American Girls and Women's Hockey Tournament, which is our first big tournament of the winter season at the Super Rink. Yes, I know that we play hockey all year around at the NSC, and that some of our summer tournaments are actually our biggest of the year. But hockey's a winter sport, so we're changing from off-season to in-season hockey!

There is one activity here that is continuing full blast outdoors. That's the construction of our new Sport Expo Center. I went outside to shoot some photos of what was happening today. The crew had the big shovel working excavating a trench and laying sewer pipe to connect to the new building. Take a look:

Below: In this photo I'm standing on the paved walkway next to the stadium, looking east toward the Schwan Center.

Below: The sewer line runs alongside field U2.

Below: The view north from the corner of the stadium grandstand.

 

PUMA Bike Night at the Velodrome

 By Tiffany Willits

The Thursday Night Lights Race at USA CUP provided the usual thrills and fun fan contests. The races still had the regular raffle consisting of the Cold Stone Warm Up, Chili’s Hot Race, Bricks Breakaway and Buca Blaster. Fans entered the raffle on the four sponsored races and whoever chose the correct winner of the sponsored race, got a ten dollar gift card to the restaurant.  The four sponsored races are always the same for Thursday Night Lights.

However, the one exception was the addition of a PUMA bike giveaway. “We gave away two bikes for the PUMA race winners along with two bikes to two lucky fans,” said Stephonie Wentz, USA CUP activities director.

“PUMA is somewhat new to the bike world and this is our second year doing the bike giveaway at USA CUP. We partnered with Biomega to give away PUMA’s fairly new line of bikes to some lucky winners,” said Evan Olesh, PUMA Associate Sports Marketing Manager. “Last year went well and this year there may have even been more fans.”

As fans entered the stands they could get their pick of PUMA wristbands, headbands, water bottles and fans.

 While there was a fair share of regular fans, there were just as many first timers. “I grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin and we had a Velodrome there. It’s part of my childhood history,” said Sue Morton. “This is my first time to the Velodrome at the National Sports Center. I now live in New Brighton with my husband so we decided to come out after seeing the sign as we drove by on Highway 65.”   

 Even a giant group of 60 people came out from Lord of the Lakes Church as part of a servant event. “We have a group of people from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Illinois and Nebraska out on a youth event. I found out about the races on the web,” said Pastor Craig Bertram. “Our group works on low income, elderly and disadvantage people who want to stay in their homes as part of a construction crew.”

Mike Rose, NSC business technology support specialist made his first time appearance despite working as a full time staff member. “I liked the races. I liked all the different strategies because some would go up high and some would stay in the back. I currently do mountain biking, but the Velodrome racing would be cool to try.”

The spectator winners of the PUMA bikes were Chloe Westland from Cottage Grove and Emily Henderson from Coon Rapids as they won the PUMA Pico bikes. The racer winners were Chris Ferris from Wayzata, winning the PUMA Nevis bike for his track stand and Matt Mantasano from Minneapolis winning the PUMA Funk bike.

For more information about Thursday Night Lights racing, visit www.nscsports.org and click on “Facilities” and then “Velodrome.”

 
Above: Matt Montesano was bike winner number one. Here he takes his victory lap on his new PUMA Funk bike.

Photo Credit: Mike Rose

 
Above: The racers line up at the start line and observe the large lively crowd in the stands for PUMA Bike Night.

Photo Credit: Tiffany Willits

 
Above: The big bin of PUMA goods consisted of sweatbands, headbands, water bottles and soccer fans. For the fans that came out to the Velodrome, they could choose their prize.

Photo Credit: Tiffany Willits

 
Above: The PUMA PIco bikes were won by spectators Chloe Westland and Emily Henderson.

Photo Credit: Angie Bertrand

Surviving week one: Internship

 By Tiffany Willits, NSC Media Intern

Today, Friday May 20, marks the day that I as well as the other six interns have successfully completed our first week as interns at the National Sports Center. It’s been a busy and interesting week. Monday morning all the interns had an introductory meeting and we played a “Famous People IQ” game where we as interns had to see how many famous people we knew that have visited the NSC. I was amazed at the list of celebrities that have visited the NSC!--- Mia Hamm, Mike Tice, George W. Bush, Randy Moss, Hakeem Olajuwon and Natalie Darwitz were just a few. Of course, there were names on the list that I as well as some of the other interns couldn’t quite guess, but we quickly were able to learn. 

Monday we were also able to go for a spin in golf carts as we toured the facility. We were able to see the Schwan’s Super Rink, the soccer fields, the Sports Hall, Velodrome, and the Victory Links Golf Course. After our tour, we were provided with a delicious catered Jimmy Johns meal at Victory Links Golf Course where we were able to bond a little more over lunch outside at the picnic tables. The week concluded by a staff BBQ on Wednesday followed by the Stars soccer game and then a Thursday Night Lights bike race event that all the interns worked at.

Below: The racers set up their bikes on Opening Night, Thursday, May 19 at the Velodrome.

 

Photo Credit: Kara Mirsberger

 

Below: The men prepare to take off in the races as they line up by the bar rail. There were a wide variety of races held including chariot races and match sprint races. The weather was great for Opening Night.

 

Photo Credit: Tiffany Willits 

Below: Let the Races begin! 

 
Photo Credit: Kara Mirsberger 
 

If you haven't had the chance to experience a gravity-defining bike race yet at the NSC, I encourage you to do so. It's a wonderful Thursday night activity and the races always start at 7PM. The Track Shack Concession Stand allows for dinner with sandwhiches, hot dogs, and even Cold Stone ice cream. Visit the Velodrome site to get a schedule and to find out more information. You don't want to miss out!

Cyclocross racing at the NSC

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

Every year the NSC hosts a cyclocross race at our Velodrome. Well, to be accurate, the race goes around the Velodrome, across the Velodrome, into the infield of the Velodrome, but not on the Velodrome. Check out this photo of today's racing and you'll get an idea:

 

Cyclocross racing is a fall sport that combines road cycling with a bit of running. Barriers are placed on the course to force riders to dismount and run. Most courses, and the NSC's course is no exception, place a premium on bike handling skills. Today's racing was organized by the Little Guy Racing Team and sponsored by Behind Bars Bicycle Shop.

As you can see, it was a beautiful day for a race, with temperatures in the 50's.

Check out a few more pics of this very photogenic sport:

 

 

 

 

Wrapping the velodrome

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

In preparation for the opening of Schwan's USA CUP on July 10, PUMA is wrapping the NSC Velodrome. The installation will take two days. Here are some photos of the work going on today. Pretty cool, huh?

"Skate with the Olympic Team" skating party

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

We had well over a hundred people attending the "Skate with the Olympic Team" skating party at the Schwan Super Rink on January 17. This was an official event of the U.S. National Team NSC Fan Club.

 
Forward Monique Lamoureux (7), goalie Jessie Vetter (31) and defenseman Angela Ruggiero at the Skating Party.

The team will depart from their training base at the NSC on January 23,  so this was one of the last chances for all our great Minnesota fans to show the team our support.

 

Smile! 
 

Track racing hasn't stopped for all of us here in the tundra!

By James Tainter, NSC Systems Programmer/Master's Track Cyclist

The fall colors have started to sneak into the trees here in Minnesota, and for most of us who ride the track at the National Sports Center in Blaine, now is a time to swap out the fixed gear for a mountain or cross bike and get out on some of the great trails we have in and around the city of Minneapolis (yes, there are some GREAT off road trails in and around Minneapolis, some of the best just a 5 minute ride from downtown!).  But for one of our master's riders, the season isn't quite over yet. 

Pat Whalen stuck both feet into the fire this year.  In August he traveled out to Colorado Springs to his first Master's Nationals (earning a 4th place in the points race) and if that weren't enough, he figured he would go down to Sydney Australia to race the Master's World Championships for his first time.  Pat will be contesting the 60+ age group races all week long down under in the land of 'Oz' .  He's doing a good job of sharing his adventure on his blog.  You can check out his updates and photos at:  http://2008downunder.blogspot.com/

Good luck Pat!