RUMFORD — Taking a break from training, two national Nordic skiing champions used the time to inspire local students Friday.

Jessie Diggins and Jennie Bender, both members of the CXC Team Elite, spent the morning teaching techniques and drills to the Dirigo Middle School Nordic ski team.

Students Ben Buck, Catherine Buck, Kaiya Martin, Keenan Martin and Justin Cantin, along with their coach, David Buck, said they learned some new techniques, such as lunging, and drills to help with balance.

Justin Cantin said he learned a lot about balance with the drills the women showed the group.

Both Diggins and Bender said they started young with Nordic skiing and have both accomplished a lot while enjoying what they do.

Diggins was the 2010-11 U.S. National skate sprint champion, and took four wins at the Junior Nationals. She leads the U.S. women’s team with her seventh-place finish in the Junior World Championships in Otepaa, Estonia, in 2011.

Bender, originally from Vermont and now living in Minnesota, was the 2011 Under 23 World Championships team member and the 2011 Classic Birkie Winner.

Both women’s blog sites say they aspire to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia. Doing well at this week’s U.S. Cross-Country Championships at Black Mountain of Maine might help catapult them to the World Cup arena and from there to U.S. gold.

Diggins and Bender said they have been busy this winter competing in Montana and Canada, and taking a break to interact with the youths was refreshing.

“It’s fun to just get out and play games with the kids,” Diggins said. “We try to sneak in techniques along the way.”

Bender said it helped to remind her who helped her when she first started and how influential those skiers were.

Diggins agreed. “It just reminds you why you do the sport,” she said.

Both women have skied at Black Mountain in the past and said it was impressive that the mountain was able to host the championships this year.

“It’s dry all over,” Diggins said. “This is really impressive and I’m really grateful for what they’ve done because without this work we wouldn’t have been able to have Nationals this year.”

The students said getting the chance to ski and learn from national champions was something that made them feel special.

Catherine Buck, a sixth-grader at Dirigo, had never been on cross-country skis and Bender took time to teach one-on-one drills to help her gain confidence.

Kaiya Martin, who had only been on Nordic skis once before, said she enjoyed the sport because it was different and it gave her the opportunity to be outside.

Coach Buck said he was very appreciative that the two skiers took time from training to teach skills to his team. He also said it was important that his team just had fun.

“It’s the way I look at teaching,” he said. “I want them to come out of it enjoying it as much or more as when they started.”

ecox@sunjournal.com

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