Check out these Slalom masters from the Adelboden World Cup. Herbst won. U.S. didn't do too well. Watch Herbst's run compared to Bode. Herbst is so solid and technically perfect. I always say Bode is a bad example to show for technique, but watch his line and where he puts the most amount of pressure on his skis (you should say, "in the fall line"). If he were to ski without a mistake, he would win by seconds. This kind of skiing is good to a point. If you're too conservative, you'll never win, but if your past the edge, you'll blow up. We need to ski more on the edge and let our skis run more. You'll hear me say to 'get off your skis quicker', or 'let 'em run', or 'be more active' a lot. This is all a part of being aggressive: putting yourself in a situation where you're past your comfort zone and are just barely hanging on. Try it out at training, especially in the gates but freeskiing as well. Try to look at a course and see exactly where you need to be and where you can cut off time. Shorter the distance your skis travel = faster time. Faster you ski down a powder run = more powder you get :) Plus it's fun to see how fast you can go without blowing up.
Mama Mia!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Like a Video Game
The Wengen Downhill went down last weekend. This course looks crazy, almost like a video game. Didier Defago took it, which means he is now a super star in Europe.
Bode Miller finished 4th. This camera angle from the heli really shows just how intense this course is. And how there is no snow in Europe this year. Lame.
Bode Miller finished 4th. This camera angle from the heli really shows just how intense this course is. And how there is no snow in Europe this year. Lame.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Racetastic
I hope everyone had a great time at the races last weekend. I think it turned out to be a great weekend even with the weather we had. I love skiing in rain! That global warming is awesome. Check out the results here (for Park City)
Sundance represented with some solid results from the Flinders Brothers, both in the top 20. Amanda held it down for the girls with our best result at 12th place (sorry Hunter, you got girled ;) Our first time racers had a blast and learned a lot about racing and will be ready to charge at the next race. Look for footage soon!
The super G at Snowbasin truly was a good time. No sarcasm there. Even though it was a bit soggy, it turned out to be a great weekend. We only got off one race run, but we kicked some trash and learned a lot about speed events. My belief that it always snows at speed races was confirmed. After raining Friday and Saturday morning, it finally turned to snow around 1pm and never stopped. So we skied powder all day Sunday after the race was canceled. It was muy bueno.
Thank you all for your help and let me know how things went for each of you. If you have any comments or suggestions, I wold love to hear them.
Sundance represented with some solid results from the Flinders Brothers, both in the top 20. Amanda held it down for the girls with our best result at 12th place (sorry Hunter, you got girled ;) Our first time racers had a blast and learned a lot about racing and will be ready to charge at the next race. Look for footage soon!
The super G at Snowbasin truly was a good time. No sarcasm there. Even though it was a bit soggy, it turned out to be a great weekend. We only got off one race run, but we kicked some trash and learned a lot about speed events. My belief that it always snows at speed races was confirmed. After raining Friday and Saturday morning, it finally turned to snow around 1pm and never stopped. So we skied powder all day Sunday after the race was canceled. It was muy bueno.
Thank you all for your help and let me know how things went for each of you. If you have any comments or suggestions, I wold love to hear them.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Alta Badia GS
Daniel Albrecht takes first. Watch his legs. Notice how they do all the work? Like windshield wipers, back and forth, back and forth. Both knees doing the same thing at the same time. Driving forward and into the hill to set those edges. Notice his hips? They are forward the entire time. Upper body? Solid like a rock.
Sorry, they won't let me embed it on here. So check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P1651meNqw
That course looks like a blast.
Sorry, they won't let me embed it on here. So check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P1651meNqw
That course looks like a blast.
Christmas Camp Training
Check out your video of some gates during Christmas Camp. After that, watch the one above of a World Cup skier. What do you notice? Can you see what your doing that I've told you to work on?
Dillon: Notice your shoulders leaning into the turn? Notice what that does to your skis? Make them level.
PJ: For that day, you fixed your upper body, but you still need work on it. Now it will be moving your hip down the hill and being more 'active' in your skiing. Active means finishing the turn earlier and starting it sooner. See 'Hip Movement'
Hunter: Solid skiing, upper body is good, and both legs are doing the same thing. Notice how your tips are flopping around a bunch? Those are there for a reason. Get forward! Ask me how at training. This is now your main goal.
Kyle: Until I work on your boots, your new goal is to carve all the way through the turn. You do a lot of ankle skiing, as in smearing your turns with your ankles. See it? You need more knee skiing. Push both your knees towards your tips, and down into the turn. Your skis will hold, I promise.
Spencer: Good skiing. You have improved a lot last month. Your next step is to keep a strong upper body the entire run. Notice how your hips go back like your sitting down, and then you can't make the next turn a clean carve? We'll work on it.
Adam: This was your best run of the day. Still not the same Adam from last year, but it's coming back. See what I mean by both skis doing the same thing? Notice how one ski is always wandering off to Mars? Pause it right as you pass the camera. What do you notice? Your hips need to be over your boots. Right now, your just using your tails, that's why they wander.
Zach: Oh ya, you were sleeping that day :)
Again, sorry for the poor quality. And sorry for not getting everyone that did Christmas Camp.
Dillon: Notice your shoulders leaning into the turn? Notice what that does to your skis? Make them level.
PJ: For that day, you fixed your upper body, but you still need work on it. Now it will be moving your hip down the hill and being more 'active' in your skiing. Active means finishing the turn earlier and starting it sooner. See 'Hip Movement'
Hunter: Solid skiing, upper body is good, and both legs are doing the same thing. Notice how your tips are flopping around a bunch? Those are there for a reason. Get forward! Ask me how at training. This is now your main goal.
Kyle: Until I work on your boots, your new goal is to carve all the way through the turn. You do a lot of ankle skiing, as in smearing your turns with your ankles. See it? You need more knee skiing. Push both your knees towards your tips, and down into the turn. Your skis will hold, I promise.
Spencer: Good skiing. You have improved a lot last month. Your next step is to keep a strong upper body the entire run. Notice how your hips go back like your sitting down, and then you can't make the next turn a clean carve? We'll work on it.
Adam: This was your best run of the day. Still not the same Adam from last year, but it's coming back. See what I mean by both skis doing the same thing? Notice how one ski is always wandering off to Mars? Pause it right as you pass the camera. What do you notice? Your hips need to be over your boots. Right now, your just using your tails, that's why they wander.
Zach: Oh ya, you were sleeping that day :)
Again, sorry for the poor quality. And sorry for not getting everyone that did Christmas Camp.
It comes from the Sky
So, today was pretty good...
This was from a previous powder day. PJ, Zack, and I were hitting this cat track all day. Zack threw down some three's, but then got thrown down by the landing. Nice effort, you'll get it soon. PJ shows us how to do a 3: go big, follow your head, and make it look stylee.
Sorry for the poor quality. I am buying a nice camera for myself soon, so no more point and shoots. Yay! I will also buy 1 or 2 new cameras for the ski team. We will be using them as much as possible on training days. If any parents are interested in manning a tripod for a while during training, that would help out a lot. Let me know.
This was from a previous powder day. PJ, Zack, and I were hitting this cat track all day. Zack threw down some three's, but then got thrown down by the landing. Nice effort, you'll get it soon. PJ shows us how to do a 3: go big, follow your head, and make it look stylee.
Sorry for the poor quality. I am buying a nice camera for myself soon, so no more point and shoots. Yay! I will also buy 1 or 2 new cameras for the ski team. We will be using them as much as possible on training days. If any parents are interested in manning a tripod for a while during training, that would help out a lot. Let me know.
That was dirty
The following took place between the days of no snow, and the days of Snowplenty. Dirty sickness.
Zack, PJ, and I got first chair the day after Christmas. Merry Sickness
Beautiful Sickness
My Snow Monster got buried.
I'm trying to use other words besides 'sick.'
Zack, PJ, and I got first chair the day after Christmas. Merry Sickness
Beautiful Sickness
My Snow Monster got buried.
I'm trying to use other words besides 'sick.'
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Hip Movement
A review from last years lessons.
I told you guys about making a move with your hips to initiate (start) a turn. This is what we will be working on most of the season. All of you have a solid upper body (arms up, core flexed, shoulders level and facing down the hill, and little movement)and are doing the correct things with your legs (pushing both knees into the hill with good ankle flexion) When you combine those two things with a strong hip movement down the hill in the transition, you vill be very fhaaast. This also helps with freesking and powder skiing.
Check out the images below:
Nicole Hosp demonstrates a nice hip movement in this picture. In the first frame, she is completing her previous turn. Now she wants to start her next turn, so now she releases her edges by moving her hips over her skis and down the hill. Look at frame 2. It almost looks like she jumps off her skis and is about to fall forward. Now to start the next turn, she pushes both her knees down the hill and into the snow (like we have been doing) This sets her edges for the turn and allows her to pressure early in order to keep a high line for that turn.
This hip movement does a lot of things. First it ends the previous turn, turning is slow, the sooner you can end a turn, the faster you'll be. Next it takes most all of your body weight and puts it on the front of your boots, which transfers it to the tips of your skis, which dig into the snow and takes you for a ride. It also puts you in a more balanced position. And finally, it allows you to stay ahead of the course (or powder, or steep hill in powder, or rocks, trees, and shrubbies in powder) Which is another way to say turnshape. Remember turnshape? Get the turn done above the gate, then it's a lot less work. More on that later.
I told you guys about making a move with your hips to initiate (start) a turn. This is what we will be working on most of the season. All of you have a solid upper body (arms up, core flexed, shoulders level and facing down the hill, and little movement)and are doing the correct things with your legs (pushing both knees into the hill with good ankle flexion) When you combine those two things with a strong hip movement down the hill in the transition, you vill be very fhaaast. This also helps with freesking and powder skiing.
Check out the images below:
Nicole Hosp demonstrates a nice hip movement in this picture. In the first frame, she is completing her previous turn. Now she wants to start her next turn, so now she releases her edges by moving her hips over her skis and down the hill. Look at frame 2. It almost looks like she jumps off her skis and is about to fall forward. Now to start the next turn, she pushes both her knees down the hill and into the snow (like we have been doing) This sets her edges for the turn and allows her to pressure early in order to keep a high line for that turn.
This hip movement does a lot of things. First it ends the previous turn, turning is slow, the sooner you can end a turn, the faster you'll be. Next it takes most all of your body weight and puts it on the front of your boots, which transfers it to the tips of your skis, which dig into the snow and takes you for a ride. It also puts you in a more balanced position. And finally, it allows you to stay ahead of the course (or powder, or steep hill in powder, or rocks, trees, and shrubbies in powder) Which is another way to say turnshape. Remember turnshape? Get the turn done above the gate, then it's a lot less work. More on that later.
Chistmas Camp
This past week was awesome! We had great weather, for training, and all of our athletes that joined us had a great time and made huge improvements. Thank you all for toughing it out. I hope you are all tired from your hard work. It will pay off throughout the season.
Check back in the next few days to see some examples of world cup skiers doing what we were working on. Remember, ask questions if it doesn't make sense.
I need to add a disclaimer with this blog (and training in general): I need to ask parents to let their athletes ski for fun when they are not skiing with us, and let us do the critiquing and coaching during training. They have plenty to think about during training, and they need to freeski to let the stuff we tell them to sink in and get a feel for it. This blog is meant to support what the athletes learn in training, and provide a forum to discuss technique and answer questions. Thanks!
Check back in the next few days to see some examples of world cup skiers doing what we were working on. Remember, ask questions if it doesn't make sense.
I need to add a disclaimer with this blog (and training in general): I need to ask parents to let their athletes ski for fun when they are not skiing with us, and let us do the critiquing and coaching during training. They have plenty to think about during training, and they need to freeski to let the stuff we tell them to sink in and get a feel for it. This blog is meant to support what the athletes learn in training, and provide a forum to discuss technique and answer questions. Thanks!
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