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SUN VALLEY FREESTYLE TEAM

  PROGRESSION

GOAL-To further human development both physically and mentally through passion for, and commitment to, an athletic lifestyle and that skiing be ONE of your athletic expressions.

 

Development team - 7-11 yr old (3-4 year experience)

          The purpose of the S.V. Freestyle Development team is to share our passion for skiing through enthusiastic encouragement of skiing all types of terrain including; moguls, halfpipe, and terrain park features and allow them to experience 1-2 freestyle competitions a season while strengthening friendships in a team environment.

 

Objectives

  • Devo team trains 2 days/week (44 days/season) on snow Air Barn training sessions (40 days altogether). 
  • Create strong peer relationships/group dynamics.
  • Instill respect for people, places, and property
  • Build confidence to ski all types of terrain and to jump on skis.
  • Expose young skiers to possibilities of freestyle competitions.

 

Skiing skills/technique

  • Body position-Strong athletic stance, leaning forward vs. backseat.
  • Vision- looking ahead as well as peripheral vision- awareness of who/what is around you.
  • Establishing strong, wide, rhythmic pole plants keeping hands up.
  • Pressure on ski- Parallel turns weighting downhill ski, turn initiation beginning with pole plant.
  • Limited skills drills.  90% free skiing 10% drills.  Technique taught through demonstration and chair lift discussions.

 

Jumping skills/technique

  • Body position- take off position equals landing position.
  • Timing- Knowing when to jump, jumping off of jump
  • Trick progression- Spread eagleà twisterà180à 360
  • Landing- 4 pt landing with head up, hands up, pole baskets forward, engaging strong core muscles.
  • Safety- Knowing when it is safe to jump, spotting, checking landing, looking uphill when jumping across fall line (snow gun jumps).

 

Prep & Comp Home teams -10-14yr old (3-4yr experience)

          The purpose of the S.V. Freestyle Prep team is to provide young athletes with the opportunities to experience skiing with a more focused approach.  Summer and winter training schedules increase as well as competition schedules.  Prep team is divided into 2 groups A and B.  Group placement determined by age, ability and coach’s discretion only.  The prep team allows the athlete to consider “What could be?”  This is a transition team which prepares athletes for the comp team while still enjoying skiing recreationally with friends.

 

Objectives

  • Build upon peer relationships established on Devo team.
  • Continue to instill respect for people, places, and property.
  • Increase confidence towards skiing all types of terrain and all types of snow conditions.
  • Improve jumping skills/aerial awareness through trampoline, water ramp and on snow training.
  • Increased potential for freestyle competitions
  • Prepare athletes for the commitment and dedication of the Comp team.

 

Training format- Prep team

  • Prep team trains three days/week (Fri-Sun) 60 days/season on snow + Air Barn training sessions.
  • 2 water ramp camps possible
  • Athletes train moguls/halfpipe/terrain park features

 

Training format - Comp Home team

  • Comp Home team trains four days/week (Thur-Sun) 76 days/season on snow + Air Barn training sessions.
  • 1 week summer ski camp.
  • 2 water ramp camps possible
  • Athletes train moguls/halfpipe/terrain park features

 

Skiing skills/technique

  • Body position- Introduction to fall line skiing. Separation between upper body/lower body.  Head, shoulders, hands position vs. hips, knees, ankles position.
  • Pole plant-wide, strong, rhythmic. Wrist cocked.  Reaching to make pole plant near tip of ski. 
  • Initiating turn with tip of ski.  Explanation of ski design-Camber, sidecut, loading/rebound
  • Dynamic skiing- Moving up/downàleads to fore/aft

 

Jumping skills/technique

  • Body position- Emphasis on take off “pop”.  Lifting hips/chest.  Landing-4 pt landing body position- head up, hands up, baskets forward.  Engaging core muscles.
  • Timing- Take off before initiating trick (exercise patience)
  • Trick progression- Repetition leads to confidence.
  • Safety- Jump site conditions, light conditions, physical condition.

 

Summer/fall dryland jump training

  • Strength and fitness- Core workouts, agility drills
  • Trampoline- Balance, air awareness, vision,

Trick progression - single upright, double/triple upright, single invert, double invert

  • Landing- Relationship of strong core muscles to strong landings.

Strong leg muscles and landing with knees parallel to reduce knee injuries.                                                                 

 

Travel Team-12-18 yr old (4-7yr experience)

         

The purpose of the S.V. Freestyle Travel Team is to contribute to the individual development of adolescents through intense, high energy, year round ski training.  Our focus is on keeping skiing fun while “doing the work” to help athletes become the best they are capable of becoming.  The Comp team trains June-April with weekly workouts and summer camps ski and water ramp camps.

 

Objectives

  • Develop strong strength of team relationships.  Realization of the power of committing to, supporting, and being part of a team.
  • Stress the power of respect for one’s self and others.
  • Increase confidence towards skiing all types of terrain and snow conditions.
  • Increase confidence to jump. Train the body/mind to overcome fear through trampoline, water ramp and on snow aerial training.
  • Provide training/competition format that allows athlete to set-strategize-assess-and achieve goals.
  • Create training/competitive pipeline for athletes to whose goals are to become professional freestyle skiers.

 

Training Format-Comp Team

  • Comp team trains 6 days/week (Tue-Sun); 107 days on-snow.
  • 2 1-week summer ski camps and 1 fall ski camp possible.
  • 5 water ramp camps possible.
  • Summer dryland training consists of trampoline workouts, strength/endurance workouts, cross training workouts
  • Athletes train moguls/halfpipe/terrain park features.

 

Skiing skills/technique- Attention to details

  • Body position-  Head up, chest up.  Body should match pitch of slope.  Move chest forward while pulling feet back up the slope.  Same as saying, “hips up/tips down”.  Separation between upper body/lower body.  Shoulder, hands, hips stay facing fall line while knees, ankles, and feet turn across fall line.  Eliminate A frame stance by squeezing ankles together.

  • Wide hands, wrist cocked, push palm out. Planting pole near tip of ski.  Correlation between body position and pole plant- body moves up and forward to reach out and make pole plant near tip of ski.
  • Stress “Feel for ski”.  Pressure on downhill ski/unweighting uphill ski.  Ski to snow contact- rocking ski from tip of ski to heelpiece of binding, slight pause and rock forward to tip of ski again.  Trust tip of ski.  Discussion of camber, loading ski, rebound and float to transfer energy from turn to turn.
  • Accepting the speed given to you vs. fighting the speed.  Commit to the pitch of the slope.  Learn to ski through balance adjustments.  Requires core strength and leg strength.
  • Discussion of the “Quick Carve Turn” (QCT)

 

Jumping skills/technique

  • Body position- Relationship between take off- execution- landing.  Stress patience on take off.  Jumping off jump, lifting hips. 
  • Timing-Take off before initiating trick.
  • Vision- Head up looking past jump.  Spot landing then head up looking for line.
  • Confidence- Over coming fear.  Re-educate the brain to eliminate fear of maneuvers.  When you commit to a “fearful” maneuver your brain learns not to be afraid of it.