MMSC J3's do Vail, CO

Day 1 on Snow at the top of the Mountaintop Express lift...

Dear Parents, Athletes, and Followers,

I wanted to start out by apologizing for the absence of our blog while we were out in Vail. We had every intention of keeping each of you in the loop through the use of daily blog entries, but a minor computer malfunction and an ongoing battle for an internet connection made for some rather frustrating attempts to create and maintain a blog for the trip. That being said, it is my pleasure to share with you a summary of the way that your children or teammates spent their time while out in Vail, CO.

 Athletes representing the J3 program followed a relatively consistent schedule starting each morning with a light, Warm-up jog through the area known as Vail Village. We concluded each jog with some dynamic stretching and jumping progressions in a parking lot allowing each athlete to really get the blood flowing before 8 in the morning. After completing our morning warm up, athletes were able to pile mountains of food onto their plates from a hot buffet prepared by the Manor Vail Lodge kitchen staff, ensuring that no one started the day on an empty stomach. Our morning skiing sessions started each day around 9:30 as the lifts began to spin, carrying eager skiers and snowboarders to the peaks for first tracks. We generally stuck to 3 lifts (Wildwood Express, Mountaintop Express, and the Avanti Express- Each was a highspeed quad) while we were adventuring the mountain in pursuit of as many different types of terrain as possible. After skiing for several hours, the group would make its way back down the mountain to our hotel for a lunch break, which also consisted of a hot buffet and as much water as a person could stand. Athletes would get a chance to take off their equipment and let their feet dry out a little bit as the warm temperatures tended to cause some serious amounts of moisture within their boots and jackets.

Just before lunch, the altitude is definitely a factor out there!

Once each of the athletes had gotten something to eat and put their feet up for a little while, it was back to the very enjoyable grind as we would resume skiing around 1:30 PM each day with full bellies and eager feet to get back out there and "shred" some more turns. We would typically rip around the mountain until the last call for lifts at 3:30 where we often were the last people to head back up the mountain in attempt to squeeze every possible run out of the slopes before returning to street clothes and participating in a group dryland session.

It didn't take long before our athletes got tired of the same old running routine followed by stretching and core, so when the opportunity for a pool workout came into question, the vote was unanimous. Athletes participated in several treading exercises full of unique challenges developed from a background in Water Polo. After dryland, or wetland as some began to call it, athletes would have about an hour to tune their skis before another hot buffet was ready for dinner. Shortly following dinner, athletes became students again for a couple of hours during their 2 hour nightly study hall session guided by Lori Furrer, Tyler Arnot, and Taylor Michael. The students would be released from study hall and allowed a half an hour before they needed to be in their room, preparing for sleep and the following day.      

Playing catch with a water bottle while treading in the pool

On Saturday, December 3rd, the entire crew made a trip to Beaver Creek in order to watch MMSC Alum Ryan Cochran-Siegle compete in the Birds of Prey Super-G. This was Ryan's 3rd world cup start and he had yet to obtain any world cup points.(Competitors receive world cup points for finishing within the top 30 at the end of the race.) The club and its members were recognized by the announcer of the event during Ryan's run numerous times-it is always cool to get a shout out! While leaving the event, every member of the camp wore a large smile and had pockets full of swag (free stuff from event sponsors). It was no doubt a day that will be remembered by all who attended.

En route to the race!

The crowd at the World Cup

The finish of the Super-G 

Saturday evening allowed athletes a night off of their regularly scheduled study hall, so we decided to take the J3's to the Dobson ice arena located in Vail Village. For 2 hours, and less than $10, our athletes raced, and danced their way around the rink while participating in some very entertaining competitions. Upon exiting the arena, we experienced our first Colorado snowfall and the dancing continued, along with some competitive poetry.

The group outside of Dobson Ice Arena

Dash with Mr. Ted Ligety

I cannot even begin to explain how wonderful the weather was for us out there, 7 out of 9 days on snow were incredible with temps in the upper 30's and into the 40's without a cloud in the sky. The other two days  were only overcast in the morning and had temps below 20 degrees. Parents can expect to see some serious goggle tans as athletes and coaches alike were forced to apply sunscreen as often as they went out on the hill.

We took a few group shots, we just kept finding better and better  views!

Trent and his buddy

I will be posting to this blog once a week throughout the course of the season, please follow in order to stay in the loop about the exciting MMSC J3 program!

One happy camper!

One final group shot before the last run of the camp, we got on the lift at 3:35 when they were supposed to close at 3:30!