New U.S. D-teams train at Mt. Bachelor/Park City
PARK CITY, UT (May 27) – A slow spring is not in the U.S. Alpine Development Team vocabulary. Athletes nominated for both the men’s and women’s programs rallied in May for a 10-day on snow camp at Mt. Bachelor, OR then rocketed to the newly opened Center of Excellence in Park City for three days of physical testing.
“We try to run pretty parallel programs for men and women,” said U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association Competition Services Director Walt Evans. “The volume for each group is typically the same, but the content varies. Starting this block off at Mt. Bachelor set an incredibly positive and productive tone for the entire program.”
According to Evans, it was former Women’s U.S. Alpine Ski Team Head Coach Herwig Demschar who is personally responsible for bringing the alpine program back to Mt. Bachelor for the first time in nearly 10 years. Demschar is now COO of Park City based Powdr Corp, who owns and operates Mt. Bachelor.
And what a welcome back it was. Women’s Development Team Assistant Coach Kraig Sourbeer and men’s Development Team Assistant Coach Tommy Eckfeldt reported incredible “winter-like” conditions, perfect for maximum productivity.
“Mt. Bachelor was a super invaluable partner in providing the best possible spring snow training,” said Sourbeer. “We had several wave tracks set up which held up incredibly each day. Mt. Bachelor is also at a pretty high elevation, so it was great to train at altitude and then bring the Team down to nearby Bend for recovery sessions and video review.”
Women’s on snow participants included Greta Byrne (Vail, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail), Vanessa Berther (Sammamish, WA; TAS Alpintal Snoqualmie Ski Foundation), Rose Caston (Salt Lake City, UT; Park City Ski Team), Devin Delaney (North Conway, NH; Green Mountain Valley School), Julia Ford (Plymouth, NH; Holderness Ski Team), Anna Marno (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club), Lauren Samuels (Minneapolis, MN; Team Gilboa) and Felicia Byers (Sandy, UT; Snowbird Sports Education Foundation), who did not ski, yet continued to rehab a late season injury.
Men’s participants were Michael Ankeny (Deephaven, MN; Buck Hill Ski Team), Wiley Maple (Aspen, CO; Aspen Valley Ski Club), Ben Morse (Carrabassett Valley, ME; Carrabassett Valley Academy), Keith Moffat (Berkeley, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team) and C Team nominee Will Gregorak (Longmont, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail).
Colby Granstrom (Lake Stevens, WA; Mission Ridge Ski Education Foundation), Nick Daniels (Tahoe City, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team) and Hunter Schleper (Vail, CO, Iced Out Racing) missed the Mt. Bachelor camp due to injury recovery, but are scheduled to be in Park City for testing with the men’s C Team along with Gregorak.
“Mt. Bachelor was pretty awesome,” said Ankeny, a second-year Development Team athlete. “They were so accommodating and it was a great opportunity for all the athletes to put in a few miles before we move into a few months of straight up conditioning.”
Following the Mt. Bachelor session, both squads jumped flights directly to Utah for three packed days of physical testing at the state-of-the-art Center of Excellence where Sports Science staff Ernie Rimer and Randy Hill ran the crew through the full gamut of tests.
“Ski racing is all about explosivity both in a straight line and while moving,” said Eckfeldt. “The guys did an incredible job measuring every possible thing to ensure that we can build custom programs for each athlete in order to get them up to the highest possible level of fitness by the time we get back on snow later this summer. Now it’s all about taking all that potential energy and learning how to convert it into kinetic.”
The experience proved to be more than expected for both coaches and athletes as it was the first time breaking in their new home at the Center of Excellence.
“Everyone was pretty blown away and it was so cool to see their reactions,” added Eckfeldt. “Not only is this an incredible tool for training, it’s also a huge motivator for these athletes knowing that all this was built and designed to help them achieve.”
“I was here during construction, but had no idea that this is what the Center of Excellence would become,” said Ankeny, who will live in Park City for the month of July and part of August to take advantage of the facility along with most of the men’s Development Team. “Even after one session of testing I can already see the benefits.”
Benefits for Ankeny and Maple included skateboarding during down time on the custom built ramps adjacent to the gym.
PARK CITY, UT (May 27) – A slow spring is not in the U.S. Alpine Development Team vocabulary. Athletes nominated for both the men’s and women’s programs rallied in May for a 10-day on snow camp at Mt. Bachelor, OR then rocketed to the newly opened Center of Excellence in Park City for three days of physical testing.“We try to run pretty parallel programs for men and women,” said U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association Competition Services Director Walt Evans. “The volume for each group is typically the same, but the content varies. Starting this block off at Mt. Bachelor set an incredibly positive and productive tone for the entire program.”
According to Evans, it was former Women’s U.S. Alpine Ski Team Head Coach Herwig Demschar who is personally responsible for bringing the alpine program back to Mt. Bachelor for the first time in nearly 10 years. Demschar is now COO of Park City based Powdr Corp, who owns and operates Mt. Bachelor.
And what a welcome back it was. Women’s Development Team Assistant Coach Kraig Sourbeer and men’s Development Team Assistant Coach Tommy Eckfeldt reported incredible “winter-like” conditions, perfect for maximum productivity.
“Mt. Bachelor was a super invaluable partner in providing the best possible spring snow training,” said Sourbeer. “We had several wave tracks set up which held up incredibly each day. Mt. Bachelor is also at a pretty high elevation, so it was great to train at altitude and then bring the Team down to nearby Bend for recovery sessions and video review.”
Women’s on snow participants included Greta Byrne (Vail, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail), Vanessa Berther (Sammamish, WA; TAS Alpintal Snoqualmie Ski Foundation), Rose Caston (Salt Lake City, UT; Park City Ski Team), Devin Delaney (North Conway, NH; Green Mountain Valley School), Julia Ford (Plymouth, NH; Holderness Ski Team), Anna Marno (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club), Lauren Samuels (Minneapolis, MN; Team Gilboa) and Felicia Byers (Sandy, UT; Snowbird Sports Education Foundation), who did not ski, yet continued to rehab a late season injury.
Men’s participants were Michael Ankeny (Deephaven, MN; Buck Hill Ski Team), Wiley Maple (Aspen, CO; Aspen Valley Ski Club), Ben Morse (Carrabassett Valley, ME; Carrabassett Valley Academy), Keith Moffat (Berkeley, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team) and C Team nominee Will Gregorak (Longmont, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail).
Colby Granstrom (Lake Stevens, WA; Mission Ridge Ski Education Foundation), Nick Daniels (Tahoe City, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team) and Hunter Schleper (Vail, CO, Iced Out Racing) missed the Mt. Bachelor camp due to injury recovery, but are scheduled to be in Park City for testing with the men’s C Team along with Gregorak.
“Mt. Bachelor was pretty awesome,” said Ankeny, a second-year Development Team athlete. “They were so accommodating and it was a great opportunity for all the athletes to put in a few miles before we move into a few months of straight up conditioning.”
Following the Mt. Bachelor session, both squads jumped flights directly to Utah for three packed days of physical testing at the state-of-the-art Center of Excellence where Sports Science staff Ernie Rimer and Randy Hill ran the crew through the full gamut of tests.
“Ski racing is all about explosivity both in a straight line and while moving,” said Eckfeldt. “The guys did an incredible job measuring every possible thing to ensure that we can build custom programs for each athlete in order to get them up to the highest possible level of fitness by the time we get back on snow later this summer. Now it’s all about taking all that potential energy and learning how to convert it into kinetic.”
The experience proved to be more than expected for both coaches and athletes as it was the first time breaking in their new home at the Center of Excellence.
“Everyone was pretty blown away and it was so cool to see their reactions,” added Eckfeldt. “Not only is this an incredible tool for training, it’s also a huge motivator for these athletes knowing that all this was built and designed to help them achieve.”
“I was here during construction, but had no idea that this is what the Center of Excellence would become,” said Ankeny, who will live in Park City for the month of July and part of August to take advantage of the facility along with most of the men’s Development Team. “Even after one session of testing I can already see the benefits.”
Benefits for Ankeny and Maple included skateboarding during down time on the custom built ramps adjacent to the gym.
About the Author: Pete Rugh
