Time to Register
If you are a U14 or younger, you'll need to register for the Sundown Ski Team, CYSL (www.cysl.org) and Tri-state (www.tristateskiracing.org), and USSA (www.ussa.org).  If you are U16 or older, you don't need to register for CYSL.

Season pass discounts are only available through the end of October, so get 'em now!

Goal Setting 

Goal setting is a large component of success.  Watch any successful person - athletes, actors, political leaders - and they all talk about having goals.   Goals are far more than dreams.  Goals are concrete - they have a date, they have a plan, etc.   In this short series, Zig Ziglar talks about the importance of goals and how to perform goal setting.

Exercise!!!

Are you working out? It's widely known that athletes who are in the best physical shape are the fastest.  That's why Ted, Julia, Lindsey, and all the other USST stars are busting their chops right now to prepare for next year.  You don't need the resources of One Victory Lane to become stronger, faster, and more flexible.  You can (and should) participate in another sport.  You should also commit to a formal exercise plan over the summer - maybe form a group through Facebook and support each other to work out 5 or 6 days a week.

Lazy? Watch this!!
OK - here's a video on one of our pet peeves when we watch good skiers bombing around the hill with their friends.  Remember - you'll race like you train.

Steeps

Trees!

Bode Quote

These words are even more enlightening, given his last Olympic performance.  (What role do you think attitude plays in your performance in racing, school, or life?)  This was in New Hampshire Magazine, August 2008.

Recently, when asked what he’d most want to communicate to his legions of fans, especially the young ones, Bode’s surprising response had nothing to do with enjoyment, self-reliance or success. “The most important things in life are those moments when you do something purely because it’s the right thing to do, even if no one is watching. Those fleeting, dumb moments, those little choices you make every day — someone drops something and you pick it up for them, you help someone across the road — that’s when you have the opportunity to define your character. Most of the time there’s no payback but you do it anyway. It’s a process that builds self-confidence, at school, in sports and in life.”

"Happiness isn’t an excuse to slack; it’s an opportunity to be your best, to create a life’s work, to make your mark. If this is news to you, then it’s definitely time to ...do something extraordinary. Happiness awaits.”

“Somebody said later [after Bode lost a race] that I might as well have stayed home. That’s a bad attitude to take. We’d give up at a lot of things in life if we knew in advance how difficult they’d be, or how badly they’d turn out. But then we’d never excel at anything, or even learn much; we’d be a culture of half-asses and middling wannabes. So thank goodness we can’t see into the future. March on, I say. It’s our only option.”

You can read the rest of the article here: http://nh.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080801/NHM01/528060869

Summer training with Ted Ligety

Last year at this time Ted was hard at work.  How are you doing on your summer training?

Learn More
GS Article
Take a look at this article on GS published on the USSA site:
http://athletics.ussa.org/alpine/technical_tactical_discussions

Tactics Article

Coach Bob has published an article on race tactics.  You can click here to go read it:
http://www.modernskiracing.com/road_not_taken.php

Absorbing Moguls

You perform retraction much like absorbing moguls.  So, if you want to learn how to retract and stay forward, ski moguls more.

 

Tuning School
Here's a link to videos that show you how to wax your skis!  Fast skis are made,
not purchased. From prepping new skis, to edge filing and polishing, to waxing,
overlays, and roto brushing - it's all here in video!  So, get out the files, guides,
iron, wax and fiberlene and follow along.
http://www.swixschool.com/web/index2.html

Here are some links where you can learn even more about ski racing:
Modern Technique
http://www.youcanski.com/english/co...n_technique.htm

Austrian Coaching
http://www.youcanski.com/english/co...an_coaching.htm

Inclination in GS
http://www.youcanski.com/english/co...nique_of_gs.htm

BETTER RACING THROUGH SPORTSKOOL

Want to be faster? Keep watching these videos.  Try to reproduce the movements you see here in your skiing.
We'll cover each aspect in Holiday Camp and then spend the rest of our lives trying to perfect them. (Think I'm kididng? Ask your coach or parent.) 

Phil McNichol Bio

A ski racer growing up in Washington, Connecticut, Phil McNichol turned to instruction and then coaching while a student at Northern Arizona University in the mid-1980s and quickly became one of the world's best.

Before becoming a United States Ski Team coach in 1997, McNichol led the Ski Club Vail and the Park City Ski teams. McNichol worked through all levels of the U.S. program before being named men's head coach for the 2003 season.

• Head coach of U.S. Development Team (1997-2000), men's Europa Cup slalom/giant slalom (2000-2001) and men's Europa Cup (2001-2003)
• Married to former World Cup skier Beth Madsen

Better Carving

So, you want to be a racer? Better be able to carve on anything. Here's how:

Pole Plants

Think pole plants are dead? Think again. You will see definite pole plants in Slalom races and "phantom" pole plants in GS and speed races. You will DEFINITELY need them in free skiing - steeps, trees, bumps. Here's learning the Bode way:

Dynamic Carving
Now that you have the basics, including a pole plant, you can work on advanced carved turns.

Bode Miller and SportsSkool - Skiing tougher terrain
Learn from Bode Miller and CT Native Phil McNichol how to ski the steeps.