A Great Day to be Skiing at Vail!

Hello!

Today offered our athletes an opportunity that few ski racing enthusiasts ever get to experience. Riding up the chair lift this morning after being able to sleep in and enjoy a hot breakfast at 9am, one couldn't help but notice how incredibly crowded the hill was with training. Not any run of the mill training however, With the Beaver Creek world cup races starting up tomorrow morning, the Golden Peak Race Arena was overrun by worldcup athletes from all over the world. With names like Marcel Hirscher, Resi Steigler, and United States Slalom Specialist, Nolan Casper, it was hard to believe that we were able to be running our training on the very same hill. Coaches were able to capture some of these incredible athletes on film in between shooting our own athletes- clips can be found on sprongo.

Connor, Dash, David, and Trent waiting to take a training run

The focus of this mornings training session was an apex drill again involving two brushes in a vertical line about two meters apart marking where a gate would normally be located. As mentioned before, this drill is intended to show athletes where the optimal turn shape should be performed in accordance with USSA regulations. Our athletes began with slight difficulty completing the course, but by the end of our session, everyone was attacking the course with aggression.

We finished skiing for the day at 11:30 am before heading into the lodge for a hot lunch which was quickly followed up with a video analysis session. Our crew watched their video from yesterday, as well as some of the skiing that they had performed in the morning. Once we had finished video, athletes were given the rest of the day off, with instructions to tune their skis and relax as much as possible. Some of the kids went into town to do some shopping while others chose to enjoy a movie and doze off. Athletes and coaches reconvened at 5 pm to check skis for tomorrows session before heading up to dinner.

Tomorrow morning we will be participating in a mandatory study hall before heading out to ski in our designated training lane from 11:30 am to 2 pm. Because we will be sharing that space with the entire program, the exact focus of the session is not yet known, but the time will be used very productively.

Dash showing off some great angles!

Until Next Time!