U.S. aerials team perfects skills in Lake Placid

The U.S. Freestyle Ski Team recently launched into action for nearly two weeks of jump training in Lake Placid, N.Y.
    The team, which wrapped up a strength and conditioning camp on the beaches near San Diego the end of May, is in Lake Placid to perfect essential jumping maneuvers before progressing onto harder air packages later this summer.
LAKE PLACID, New York — The U.S. Freestyle Ski Team recently launched into action for nearly two weeks of jump training in Lake Placid, N.Y.
    The team, which wrapped up a strength and conditioning camp on the beaches near San Diego the end of May, is in Lake Placid to perfect essential jumping maneuvers before progressing onto harder air packages later this summer.
    "We want to get our basics in so we can eventually move on to jumps with a higher degree of difficulty as the training season progresses," Aerials Head Coach Matt Christensen said. "We're doing a lot of trampoline routines and learning to slip on the right axis – just very simple things to give us a base."
    According to Christensen, fine-tuning the core maneuvers is essential in the advancement of athletes.
    "When you look at anyone who's really good, they always have the best basics," Christensen said. "So, that's what we want to do, so we can take a step back and focus on the little things so that all the issues are gone when we really get into training."
    Former World Cup Rookie of the Year Scotty Bahrke is using his time in Lake Placid to improve on his takeoff.
    "My takeoff has been a little rough the past few years so I'm just trying to get everything straight and tight off the jump and hopefully that will carry over," Bahrke said. "This is our first time getting into summer training and jumping. We only have 10 days to work on our form and work out all the little bugs so we can get over to the bigger hills."
    A few fresh faces on the team have also added to the excitement of the team's first summer jumping camp.
    "It's awesome because we've got such a new team now. There are six athletes who have never been to a camp like this." Christensen said. "It's really cool to have them together with the team. We're building them up and they're pretty psyched."
    "It's a lot of fun with the new guys this year," Bahrke added. "It's cool to see the younger guys out here working on the same stuff as me."
    The team will continue honing their basic jumping skills at Lake Placid before heading to Park City, Utah, for further training the end of June.
    "This is a good camp. It's our most focused camp of the summer. It's a lot of work but it is a really great experience and it will make us stronger for the rest of our summer training," Christensen said.