Blog

Parents often wonder what their role becomes when preparation for the race season is over and the competition season begins.  New research published in the Journal of Applied Sports Psychology, investigates the athletes perspective on their parents behavior during competition.  Competitive youth (age 12-15) tennis players were studied and although different from ski racing, the information has validity due to the ever present parent/athlete relationship in all youth sports. The findings are described below in order to guide parents to better understand what they can do help their child during the competition season.

1. Parents should focus on supporting the athlete's involvement in the sport rather than the outcome of the competition.  You want to give them support not put pressure on them .  By focusing on the outcome(aka winning)  the athlete may become nervous and their performance may decrease.  In turn, this could make it even harder for them to focus on their next run or

What do most skiers say when they arrive at the Start Haus for their boot appointment?  "Hey man, where are your boots?" Oh, there are plenty of boots—they just aren't on display. The fact that there is no traditional boot wall in this race-focused bootfitting operation highlights the Start Haus philosophy that the boot-buying and bootfitting experience should be entirely athlete-based.  Everything starts with an initial assessment of both the athlete's performance needs and a close evaluation of their foot, lower leg and biomechanical range of motion that determine which boots will be considered for try-on.  According to owner/operator and board-certified pedorthist Jim Schaffner, what starts with a bit of trepidation quickly turns to full cooperation as the shoes and socks come off. "We're not about leading with specific products, instead we let the athlete's story dictate the direction we go," Schaffner said........

Read more at http://www.skinet.com/skiing/photo-gallery/15-best-bootfitters?pnid=124285

Isn’t safety the #1 concern for all of us when it comes to skiing and riding in the slackcountry, sidecountry, or backcountry?  True to NASTC standards, our avalanche instructors are of the highest quality, professionalism, and experience level. This is a 3-day education and certification class in which you earn your AIARE Level I (American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education). It’s the minimum amount of know-how if you want to travel, ski, or ride out of bounds safely. There is time spent in the classroom and on the snow daily. Each year more resorts are lifting their boundary lines, allowing us to get to fresh snow and exciting terrain even after the resort itself is “skied out.”

However, the risk has never been greater. You need to know what you’re doing if you are heading out there. A friend may say, “oh I know some avalanche safety stuff…” but really? Do you want to rely on them, or have the knowledge yourself? In this course, among other skills you learn how to plan a

By: Chris Fellows

As director of the North American Ski Training Center and father of three active kids, I don't have large chunks of time to spend in the gym.  However my skiing performance and fitness is important to me. I'm guessing that's the way you feel as a passionate skier too?

By staying healthy and fit throughout the season, I can provide my clients with solid skiing instruction and demonstrations and I can keep the wheels from coming off the cart mid-season due to overuse injuries, bad alignment, or illness due to lack of recovery time. Don't forget well-fit boots and the right skis in your quiver complete the perfect relationship: good fitness, good equipment, and good technique = lots of fun, excellent skiing and reduced risk of injury.  Thanks in advance for reading.

The following tips keep me moving athletically throughout the ski season and help prevent injury.

1. Exercise fads come and go. Make a commitment to keep fit and make exercise a part of your daily routine.

Check out this up and coming shredder from Lake Tahoe!!!

Aspen Spora 2011 Edit

Influence 115:

The Influence 115 for 2012 is a modified version of last year’s Prophet 115. The new version comes with a slightly softer flex and a bit more pronounced rise in the tip rocker section. These are important changes as the Prophet was a little too stiff to really shine in light, deep snow and it was a little too wide for the preferences of many big mountain skiers for a daily driver ski. The changes have clearly benefitted the new Influence 115 and made it a much better powder than it was last year.

I tested an Influence 115 on two different occasions during March of 2011 when Tahoe was getting heavily pounded by big storms. Both times I noted that the 115 floated well and turned readily enough when in the deeper snow but it just wasn’t as nimble or maneuverable as softer double rise skis. On the other hand, when I skied out of the deep stuff and into shallower crud or back onto the groomers, the Influence was one of the most solid feeling skis in this width category. The Influence

It is safe to say that the Rossignol S7 has taken the world of powder skis by storm over the last two years.  This is the model that has been the highest in demand and shortest in supply during that time.  It is also safe to say that the S7 started out in the market a little slowly.  There was not much marketing behind the S7 at first, Rossi didn’t have a real high “cool factor” at the time, and it also looked very different than most of the other powder skis available at the time.  The current huge demand for the S7 came about slowly at first and it was mostly word of mouth.  Later, the S7 received a #1 ranking in a magazine review.  After that, it was the ski that everyone wanted but after early December (or so) nobody could get.  So, One might wonder……what is all that about?

At the time the S7 came out, there were not very many innovative designs available in the world of powder skis.  For sure, there were a few groundbreaking designs already on the mainstream market

When I first heard the phrase “atomic push-up” at the Sugar Bowl Academy Performance Training Center, I thought,

“No big deal.”

I was standing with a group of students during their first physical test day of the year.  They were likely thinking the same thing I was thinking,

“I can do a push-up, no matter what adjective bomb you drop in front of those two words.”

Then Douglas Brooks and Candice Brooks, world-renowned fitness trainers and Directors of Athlete Conditioning at SBA, slid their feet into the handles of the yellow and black apparatus’ hanging from the squat racks.  They moved into a plank-like push-up position, with their feet suspended in the air.  They dropped down, pushed up, and curled their knees into their chest.  Back to plank.

In a single, fluid movement of balance and strength, the atomic push-up wasn’t just a fancy way of saying push-up; it was a test only a handful of the kids would pass.

Arms trembling at three—whole bodies were dropping at ten.  Sweat

Milliseconds, Milliliters

Megan McJames and Chelsea Marshall aren’t just World Cup skiers, they’re world-class quantifiers.  They became Olympians by sifting seconds down to deci-seconds, down to centi-seconds, down to milli-seconds.   With their knives, they leveled off the top, and carved a recipe for success.

But this isn’t exactly a story about ski racing.

Megan McJames and Chelsea Marshall, in a perfect metric-systematized world, know that milli’s matter in more ways than just holding a tight tuck across the flats.  Measure a milliliter too much of milk, and the frosting won’t spread.  Use too many grams of flour, and the dough sticks.

Physics 101          

Newton’s third law of motion states: “For every action, there is always an equal and opposite reaction.”

Born in the mid-eighties, raised by ski instructors and taught by the mountains, US Ski Team members by their mid-teens, and first-time Olympians at Vancouver by their early twenties, these two are sisters by symmetry.

Journaling isn’t just for detectives like Nancy Drew (and diaries aren’t just for wimpy kids like the wimpy kid that kept a diary).  Writing, journaling, diary keeping—whatever you want to dub the pages soaking the ink of your thoughts—is rad.  And if you want to be numero-uno down the road, a training log is a great key to long-term success.  If you track it, you’ll always be able to go back to it.  If you end every training session with a journal entry, you’ll begin to recognize patterns, and solve the issues when you hit a plateau

Writing is also a good way to problem solve.  Ski racing is full of confusing, convoluted lingo.  Believe me, there were many times when I had no idea what my coach was asking of me.  Don’t feel ashamed to ask questions, and in your journal, work through those questions.  Technical talk is often hard to understand.  When you work through a training session in your journal, you may realize, “Hey, I didn’t even know what my coach wanted me to

Boy or girl, we’ve all got bros that ski. Pant sagging, goggle gapping, and ski rapping—your bro-ski, man. You know who I’m talking about. It’s likely they give you a hard time for your ski strapping, goggle lens-packing, gate bashing style. And it’s likely you give them a hard time for—well, bro-ing. You love them for their different style, and their argyle one-piece pile.

Truth be told, we have a lot to learn from each other. To ski racers, technique is all discipline of the body. To free riders, technique is all creativity of the mind. Oftentimes, in the world of ski racing, the athlete gets very caught up attempting to travel past a gate the “correct” way. I’ve been a victim of this mindset, and I’ve watched kids ski stagnant trying to force technique. While there are basics to master, in the end, every skier has a different style, a different strength, and travels a different line.

Consider this common scenario: Your coach instructs you to move your hips forward in the transition.

Exercise is the healthiest thing since broccoli.  With that in mind, don’t make a full plate of dryland training so hard to swallow.  A dryland training program is all about balance.  The aim isn’t to look like Hulk Hogan or strap rocks to your back like Bode Miller.  The goal is to maintain a healthy balance of strength, cardio, and power training, all while having fun in the California sun.

Since skiing is an alternative sport in this nation of football and baseball, use alternative ways to train.  Don’t think you need to jog and hit the gym every single day for a lift.  Not only will you be bored to death, you won’t be prepared for a season of ski racing.

Why not?

Skiing is unpredictable.  The elements are constantly shifting, throwing curve balls day in and day out.  When you’re carving out a pre-season fitness program, keep the inherent nature of the arc in mind.  Making a sweet turn is about strong instincts, quick thinking, and powerful moves.  The mountain is