There are nearly as many reasons for joining the Mount Bachelor Ski Education Foundation’s Masters program as there are participants – at least 140. And there is no shortage on rave reviews on the program from participants, be they entry-level or competitive skiers.

”I have never been good at skiing, and I’m new at skate skiing,” said Jennifer Swearingen of Bend, who joined the program to improve her skills and learn how to skate ski.

”My husband took the skate class from MBSEF a few years back and loved it,” Swearingen added.

The 39-year-old woman had been plagued by a knee injury for several years before she finally felt ready to strap boards back on.

”Even though I have only had three or four lessons so far, the coaches have been most helpful already,” she said. ”They give you lots of good drills to do, and because the classes are small, you get a lot of good help from them.

”Ben (Husaby) really makes you feel comfortable whether you are a competitive skier or a real beginner,” Swearingen added. ”He really makes you feel welcome there and helps you find out what to do.”

A physical therapist for Central Oregon Home Health and Hospice, Swearingen said she enjoys the friendly atmosphere in her classes and the camaraderie she feels with the other participants.

”I’d say most of the people in my classes are of similar age and backgrounds – they are professionals who live in Bend and hold down full-time jobs,” she said.

Like many Central Oregonians, Lucas Freeman moved here to drink in the region’s natural beauty, partake of the ample recreational opportunities and be part of an outdoor-minded community. Freeman, a 32-year-old Los Angeles native, is a member of the competition group for the MBSEF cross-country masters program.

He said he enjoys the outdoors and has participated in the Pole Pedal Paddle event each year since he moved to Bend seven years ago. Skiing is not something for which his Southern California background prepared him, but he and his wife, Andi, wanted to participate in a sport that enabled them to enjoy winter in Central Oregon.

”We wanted to enjoy the terrain that we use for hiking and biking in the spring, summer and fall,” he explained.

Now, Freeman said, he’s hooked, and he likes skating more than touring, even though at first, the atmosphere among the Nordic skiers seemed intimidating and less welcoming.

”The aura of the sport here – it’s not super-welcoming and it’s not beginner-friendly if you are new to Bend or new to Nordic skiing,” he noted. ”I’ve done 10-kilometer running events in town where the atmosphere is much more laid back.

”When you show up for a 10K fun run, it’s just that – a fun run, whereas the competition seems to be a little more peaked when you show up for a Nordic race,” Freeman added. ”Folks seem a little more intense, so it comes across as a little less welcoming. They’re focused on their race.”

Freeman’s hunger for faster times in the annual Pole, Pedal, Paddle event was the motivation he needed to get involved with the MBSEF program. Before the 2004 PPP, his team prepared by taking lessons from top area coaches – among them, Husaby, a former Olympic cross-country ski racer who is the Nordic director for MBSEF.

”Ben is such a passionate coach,” Freeman said. ”I think we were out there for two hours and I learned more from the guy in that time than I had learned in 2> years before.”

Freeman posted his fastest time on the Nordic leg of the PPP following Husaby’s clinic.

”Ben really taught me how to ski faster and more powerfully, and I said to myself that I want to do more of that,” Freeman said.

More than anything, Freeman feels that the unified approach of the MBSEF coaches helps athletes improve steadily.

”Ben does a great job at making sure his coaches share the same technique philosophies,” Freeman said. ”Patrick (Weaver) is a good coach. Patrick has taught us some good drills that I can go out and repeat on my own. I take those drills, and in the first half hour of my workout, that’s all I do.

”At first, it was painful, and because I never have a lot of time – with driving and all, it’s barely 90 minutes of on-snow time – to focus on technique doesn’t feel as fun, but when I do, the rest of the workout is so much more fun.”

Although the students think they are the ones getting everything out of the coaching, Weaver and Coreen Woodbury feel that their students teach them a lot, too.

Weaver, who became seriously involved in coaching after his retirement from the U.S. Ski Team following the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, finds coaching to be a win-win situation for both student and teacher.

”Coaching makes you a better skier because you have to think about the little details,” Weaver explained.

Woodbury agrees.

”I think coaching adults really makes you think about how to explain technique in words, while kids learn by playing games and simply being out there on skis,” she said.

Weaver, 35, is a Lennox, Mass., native who now lives and trains in Bend. He competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, and in the 2002 Olympics as well, and he skis for the Atomic factory team. Weaver has conducted numerous clinics and lessons around the U.S.

”The things I coach are things that I practiced myself while I was racing,” he explained. ”I tell people that the things may seem simple, but that’s what the best do.”

Woodbury, 27, of Sullivan, N.H., has represented the U.S. at World Cup events, skis on the national and international marathon ski-racing circuit, and races with the Bend-based XC Oregon elite ski team. She returned to Bend this summer after coaching the University of New Hampshire ski team while completing her masters degree.

”I feel that coaching the university team brought a lot to my coaching skills and has made me a better spokesperson for the sport,” she said. ”But coaching the masters has given me a different perspective on what it is like to learn to ski as an adult and the challenges they face, particularly balance skills and other basics that we (longtime skiers) take for granted.”

Like most coaches, Weaver and Woodbury enjoy coaching in general. And they get a real charge when their athletes pick up a new skill.

”Seeing the improvement and making people feel good about themselves is huge,” Weaver said. ”When someone ‘gets it,’ coaching is really rewarding. But it can be frustrating when you explain something and all you get is a lot of blank faces staring back at you.”

Woodbury said she believes the MBSEF masters program benefits the community at large.

”The program is good for the skiing community because it lets people take a class together – with the same people – every week as opposed to taking just one lesson on their own,” she said. ”The sport is unique because it’s something anyone – even older adults – can pick up and do all their lives. It’s really neat to see them enjoy it and for them to have a way to stay active and be outside. It’s encouraging to see so many new people who want to get into skiing.”

Inge Scheve can be reached at 541-295-9112 or at skiinge@yahoo.com.