Recently I had the opportunity to attend a presentation by Dr. Robert Reid of the Norwegian Alpine Ski Team. Dr. Reid had previously worked with the US Ski Team and presented 'A Day Without Training is a Day Without Meaning'.If you followed the Olympics this year you'll have noticed the success Norway had with skiing in North Korea. And a big part of this has to do with Norway's Long Term Athlete Development model. While Canada is considered a leader in this area there are still lessons to be learned by countries such as Norway. Below are some of my takeaways from this presentation.Isolation Leads To Stagnation - Dr. Reid emphasized the need for integration of different teams and practitioners. There is a synergy that comes from training as a team. Personally I know my own training, and competition, was  better with others than alone. When someone is a specialist this is at the expense of being the best at lots of things. For example, the best dietitian in the world probably doesn't have a lot of tips to share with a sprinter on their mechanics. We need to work in groups, share, learn and get better together.Numbers Are Less Important Than Principles - In skiing you can measure how many gates someone did, how many ski days they had or even how many pairs of skis they own. What is more important is the big picture principles that last forever. Do no harm. Eat quality nutrition. Get enough sleep. Give your best effort. When you focus too much on the numbers you narrow it down too much and may exclude those that could become something great but haven't put up the numbers at a young age yet.Don't Shut Down Or Exclude Wild Ideas - Sometimes we know who geniuses are...