SSCV begins construction on Human Performance Center

Flexing Their Muscles: Ski and Snowboard Club Vail begins construction on Human Performance Center, secures funds for Golden Peak expansion

When it comes to strength and conditioning for competitive skiers and snowboarders, there hasn’t been enough study on developing athletes age 16 and younger. That’s something that John Cole, the director of human performance at Ski and Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV), is hoping to change in the near future.

In August, SSCV and its academic partner, Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy (VSSA), broke ground on the Human Performance Center adjacent to the school building in Minturn, Colo., just outside Vail. The 8,500-square-foot facility will represent the latest and greatest in strength and fitness training for club-level athletes.

But that’s not to say it’s going to be all bells and whistles with no nuts and bolts.

“I hesitate to use the term ‘state of the art,'” said Cole. “At the end of the day, I’m very much a traditionalist as far as how we performance train our athletes…. That being said, what we have recognized is there are certain trends in the industry that definitely assist and mirror our type of programming.”

One of those trends, which will be a distinctive feature of SSVC’s fitness center, comes courtesy of NASA — or, more accurately, the California-based company Kaiser Pneumatics, which years ago was contracted by NASA to develop lightweight strength training equipment that could be transported into space.

Continue reading the rest of this story, which also includes plans to expand the Golden Peak race arena, in Issue 1 of our digital magazine here.