Thursday, August 12, 2010

CAMP FINALE

Hi Everyone,

A few days have passed since we all left Stowe, and I want to thank you all for a wonderful conclusion to our week. The awards celebration were wonderful, emotional, and powerful, and really put a nice recap on the great time we had during the week.


Please keep me up to date with how our young skiers do this winter. I will do my best to get our staff members to return next year, and we will hopefully be seeing your smiling faces in a year's time. We do have room to grow, so if you had a great time and want to share it with a friend, you can either show them your highlight film, direct them to the blog, or simply have them get in touch.

Thanks again,
Danny

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Last Morning

Hi Everyone,

We're all up having some pancakes and eggs, ready for the wrap up of the week.

The award ceremony and slide show will begin at 11:15. Please stay outside the Round Hearth until that time, at which point you are ALL welcome to come and join us for the conclusion of a great week. It is difficult for us to maintain count and control when parents have the kids distracted all over the building or are trying to load up gear. I'm sure you all understand.

See you all soon,
Danny

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Thursday Night


Great day today. Gus was back in the field in the afternoon with counselors Justin and Ben and coaches Erin and Matt, while the three younger groups bussed over the notch to the Secret Swimming Hole with Eric, Jim, Adele, Kelsey, and myself. I know I've said it before, but it is so good for these children to be outside and active, experiencing things they normally wouldnt at home.

The night activity brought us over to the rec path on our bikes for a quick trip to a local swimming spot, along with a few games of speed ball. This game was introduced to the camp this year and just might be a new favorite (move over Capture the Fox?).

S'Mores tonight. Tasty.

As the camp nears the final activities, I want to express my pleasure and satisfaction with the effort put in by our staff. The featured coaches have lived up to expectations. Matt and Erin put out such quality in everything they do while juggling a lot of responsibilities. A counselors job is endless, and the group we have (Kelsey, Eric, Justin, Ben, Jim, Adele) has impressed me to no end. If I could write a whole blog on them, I would, and maybe I should. Huge thanks to all of them.

A fun day is planned tomorrow, last full day.

Thanks, Danny

Thursday Morning - Explosion

Welcome to Thursday's activities!

Kelsey put the kids through a fun warm-up session this morning, gearing them up for another packed day of fun. Once again today our groups are split to allow our featured coach smaller numbers to work with.

The older kids headed over the notch to the "Secret Swimming Hole" for some swimming on jumping off the rocks! The water was super cold, but jumping in always makes it a lot of fun. It is refreshing to swim in the spring feed rivers of Vermont in the summer. Also swimming in cold water is a great recovery for the athletes after the hard workouts. Check out some pictures.

The younger kids headed over to Top Notch Fields to do an explosion session with Gus MacLeod. Gus was recently named Head Alpine Coach at St. Michael's College. Prior to working with St. Mike's Gus has coach at the Academy level with Mount Mansfield Winter Academy, but more recently was a US Ski Team World Cup Technician. He was in charge of the preparation of the equipment of the likes of World Cup racers Jeremy Transue, and Olympic Bronze medalist Andrew Weibrecht. His experience at all level of ski racing including the highest, World Cup, has allowed him to learn from some of the best coaches in the world, from that he has been able to develop some cutting edge techniques for preparing athletes of all ages.

Looking to this afternoon the groups switch places and run another session! Please check back later for more updates, and enjoy your day!

Matt

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Wednesday Evening

As Matt posted earlier, the morning session had to be altered due to the condition of the skating surface. It was a bummer, as the camp was looking forward to strapping on skates, grabbing our poles, and linking up some turns in SL courses. We'll do our best to fit even a shortened session in over the next few days. The coaches and counselors were very helpful putting together a speed session in the field. My philosophy with speed and running connects to ski racing well. Even though we dont go through the running motion in our sport on the hill, we certainly do when we are preparing for our sport in the summer and fall, and even off-snow activities in the winter. If our running form is good, we will get so much more out of the exercises. Running also pushes our explosive boundaries, and nothing takes us to the limit of our physical capacities like sprinting.


Jerry Murphy of Swix/Uvex returned to camp for his 9th straight year for a tuning/base prep session after lunch. Even though most parents still prep their child's skis at this age, this year might be a good one to get your kids a little more involved. They might even be able to give you a few hints now!

The afternoon bike trip down the rec path to Lackey's might just be the highlight of the week for some campers. The older kids visited the bike park (for the 2nd time this week), and everybody got some candy at the end of the path. The rec path is a great tool for recreational use, and during this week it turns into a great training site (much to the chagrin of several locals who experience groups of 10 charging at them). With Lackey's as our destination, the path turns into a "yellow brick road" or a "rainbow" of sorts.

The water was extremely high, but we scouted out a few swimming spots until we found one safe for us to submerge ourselves in. The water was refreshing, and EVERYBODY enjoyed it on the return ride!

After a mellow night last night as far as physical exertion, I thought the camp would be restless tonight, but this wasnt so. The 10+ mile bike ride added to the speed session this morning left some tired campers ready for a quiet night of movies and popcorn. S'Mores are on the schedule for tomorrow night!

Another great day.
Thanks, Danny

Wednesday Morning - Speed!

Many of us were woke up early this morning, 4 AM to the rumbles of a passing thunderstorm. Little did we know how much rain came with the thunder! The rain cleared and the sun started to come out so we headed up to the Stowe Parking lot for a session on skates featuring Danny!

Danny, Josh, and Matt pulled into the parking lot first to get setup and were greeted with this:

Due to the conditions of the parking lot as you can see above we had to make a quick decision and headed over to the fields to do a speed session there! There are a lot of things we can control in life, but unfortunately weather is not one of them.

Danny put together a great workout. Our focus was speed and learning how to run with proper form was emphasized. With the use of hurdles, parachutes, and rubber cords all the campers worked hard to improve their form and speed. It was a job well done by Danny with such short notice.

Looking forward to this afternoon, a bike adventure and a trip to Lackeys. Check out some more photos below.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Tuesday night


Tuesday, despite the periods of rain, was a great day. The swim sessions were awesome, even with the freezing water, the quick current, and the raindrops falling on our heads (we were only caught in it for a few minutes at a time). Everyone had fun jumping and swimming, and it was a great experience to be able to do stuff that we normally wouldnt be able to do at home.

As Matt said, Brian Blank did a great job. This is his third year coming to the camp as a featured coach, and he is great with kids, has plenty of knowledge to spread, and is enthusiastic about sharing it.

We even had some time to throw in some fun games back at the Round Hearth this evening: criss-cross, blob tag, group relay race, tug of war, water balloon relay, and the ever-so-popular water balloon toss. We had a fire roaring outside ready for S'Mores... but the rain hit and we had to push those tasty treats back to Thursday night.

A little more time inside this evening has left the group with a little bit more energy than usual, but we will have a quick fix tomorrow with a packed day of movement and speed.

Sleep well,
Danny

Tuesday Morning - Agility

Good Morning!

We awoke this morning to a little bit of rain, but it cleared up just in time for morning warm-ups. Justin did a great job getting the kids moving and excited for the days activities. Again this morning the groups were split up one in the field and one on a swimming adventure.

Our campers had the opportunity to work with University of New Hampshire Head Coach Brian Blank this morning. Brian was the EISA Coach of the Year two years ago and has continually lead his team to the carnival wins while at UNH. Prior to UNH Brian coached at Stratton Mountain School in Vermont, these experiences along with the ones in his current position have allowed him to develop some great training sessions. This morning's focus is agility. The campers quickly jumped into a bunch of different activities that tested this balance and made them move either up, over, left, or right. You could see the improvement in just the short two hour session, great job Brian! We finished up the session with a game of speedball, which is a variation of soccer and handball.

The United States and Canada headed off on a swimming adventure. They hiked into Bingham Falls for some swimming and jumping of the small rocks on the side of the giant pool at the bottom of the waterfall. The water was cold after the rain last night and this morning, never the less they had a great time and were definitely refreshed.

Check out the photos below (click to enlarge)


Monday, August 2, 2010

Monday Night


The end of another great day in Stowe.

Stever did another excellent job this afternoon in the field with teams Canada and United States, while Austria, Norway, and France took to the Skate Park in Johnson. I always consider taking the Skate Park off of the schedule to make room for something new... but after reactions like we received today we will be sure to return in future years. One of the counselors put it best when she said "whether or not the kids are using the ramps or rails or boxes or pipes, they are all trying something they normally wouldn't, and it helps them get out of their comfort zone and try something new."

After dinner we were visited by an unwanted visitor at camp... THUNDERSTORMS. I always like to get outside whenever we can, even when it means braving the rain to get in our scheduled swim or soccer games, but tonight we had to fore go the outdoor activities for some indoor ones. Counselors Ben Manter (Bates) and Kelsey Levine (Williams) spoke to the camp about what makes ski racing fun for them and what has helped them stay with it so long in their careers and succeed. Its always nice to make that connection, because who knows where your children will be in 10 years or what their interest will be, but it is important to let them know that even the best racers were once in their shoes.

After Ben and Kelsey's discussion the camp voted in favor of skit night (the dance off will have to wait), and each dorm room took 30 minutes to prepare something to share. Not a whole lot of time, but certainly enough to keep us all entertained and bring everyone a little further out of their comfort zones socially.

We look forward to another great day tomorrow, rain or shine.

Thanks, Danny

Monday Morning

Greetings from Stowe Vermont!


We awoke to another beautiful morning, following a great warm-up session lead by Ben we were served a hearty breakfast from the Round Hearth Staff. Our groups were split up this morning with Austria/Norway/France working at the Top Notch Fields, and the United States/Canada at the Johnson Skate Park.

The field session was lead by Middleburry Head Alpine Coach Stever Bartlett. For the past 4 seasons Stever has continually lead his team to some strong carnival finishes, and produced a handfull of NCAA All Americans. He joined Middlebury College after coaching for The US Ski Team, so we are lucky to have him working with our campers. The focus of this session was balance, which is very important in ski racing! The campers were introduced to a number of different activities that can help improve balance. The great part about all of these is that most of them can be done with only a soccer ball and your backyard, no special equipment needed. Check out the pictures below to see more. We are very thankful for Stever's commitment to our camps!

The skate park and I quote was "AWESOME"! Counselor Justin Sperry set the bar with some huge airs and rail slides, showing the kids how to utilize the skate park! The campers enjoyed rolling around the park testing their courage on the different elements, and continually improving their balance and skills. Having the ability to use the park adds another set of skills to skating.

This afternoon the groups switch places. Please check in later for more updates!




Over and out Matt

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Sunday Night


Hi Everyone,

Great job with this morning's session Matt, and thanks for blogging on it.

This afternoon we biked the rec path in full force (51 campers, 10 coaches) all the way to the Stowe Bike Park. It was nice to see campers trying things they havent done before year to year, as we had a few drop off the box at the park for the first time. Of course we got in the water either on the way out or the way back (different for each team). I, for one, was happy to experience about a 10 degree rise in temp from when we jumped in last evening.

Chad Couto, the Fitness Director at the Stoweflake Resort, engaged the camp with a discussion on nutrition. This marks the third time in my five years as director that Chad has joined us for an evening, and it is remarkable how he creates a classroom out of our menu here at camp. I have listened to him speak each year and I come away each time with a better knowledge about how our bodies work and what we need to keep moving and performing. The kids undoubtedly took some great info away from it as well.

The counselors put together a killer obstacle course for the evening activity, calling on all of our biking skills to conquer. A little snack of watermelon brought us to bed, and its already a quieter night than last night. We have some tired campers in their bunks.

A few pictures for you to share... and we turn the page.

Thanks, Danny


Day 2 - Skates : Basic Athletic Stance

Good Morning!

It is always pleasure to get the opportunity to work with younger athletes, learning to relay knowledge to a younger audience has a very positive effect on coaching development. That being said I was excited for this mornings session.

This morning we had one focus, basic athletic stance, which seems like it would be a difficult lesson to fill a 2.5 hour session. The point we worked hard to make with the campers is that this body position is the most important part of all sports. Learning how to take advantage of being in a strong position allows you to be athletic, balanced, agile, and explosive. I recently returned for a training block in Mt. Hood where our Stratton Mountain School athletes spent 8 days on snow focusing primarily on basic athletic stance.

To help ingrain this position our counselors did a great job skating around the parking lot, working on some drills, and making sure the campers knew the difference between a good position and one that was not as strong. I strongly believe that at this age athlete that participating in so sort of activity whether it be skating, playing soccer, baseball, or field hockey will help them develop into better athletes. That being the case we did A LOT of skating today, and it showed there was a lot of improvement in the campers confidence and abilities.

Here are a few pictures from this morning. Looking forward to a productive and FUN week!


Saturday, July 31, 2010

First Night @ Stowe

Hi Everyone,

We had a good first evening here at the Stowe Dryland Camp. After dinner we took to the Rec Path on our skates, just to shake out any kinks. With 8 days of camp (6 in the past) we are able to take our time on the front end as well as back end, while still filling the week with all of the activity and movement of years past. A little swimming in pretty frigid conditions (the water may be a little colder than usual this week), and then our first game of capture the fox took us to snack time and then bed. 11:00 now, and hopefully a few shut eyes getting the rest they need.

The full time staff (whom some of you met today during registration) has me excited and extremely pleased that the camp is in good hands. Matt Maloney joins us from Stratton Mountain School for the third year in a row (4 out of the last five). The dimension he adds will continue to take the camp in the right direction. My wife Erin is back after missing last year (Anderson was born in June last summer). Its great to be able to share this with her, because we both love working with children and this atmosphere is very healthy for your children as well as the staff. Kelsey Levine recently graduated from Williams College, where she will return this coming winter as the Assistant Coach. During her collegiate career, Kelsey competed at the NCAA Div I Championships a few times and is very familiar with what it takes to succeed at a very high level. She will act as a roaming counselor, working with each group throughout the week. Josh Underwood is our Athletic Trainer for the week, ensuring that all of our bumps and bruises will be in good hands.

Adele Priestley is going to be a first-year student at Colby College, and she is the counselor for Austria. Jim Ryan is also going to be a first-year at Colby, and he is the counselor for Norway. Eric Barthold, a junior at Colby College, is back for his second year and is the counselor for France. Ben Manter, counselor for Canada, is going into his senior year at Bates College. Ben competed at the Div I NCAA Championships last winter, earning All-American after finishing 10th in the slalom. Justin Sperry, a sophomore at Colby, is back as the counselor for United States.

Great group, and so far a great group of campers. We'll have fun tomorrow, and Matt and I will look to update the blog throughout the day.

Thanks again for sending your children to join us for a fun packed week.
Danny Noyes

Camp Starts Today

Welcome to Stowe, and another year of summer camps!

The Round Hearth Staff has done a great job getting the place ready, everything looks great. We are looking forward to all the kids arriving and jumping right into some fun activities.



Friday, June 25, 2010

Remember Dryland Camp Last Summer?





Welcome to the Stowe Dryland Ski Camp Blog!

The staff hopes to use this blog to keep both friends and family updated of "the what's going on" of our week at camp. Please bookmark this page and check regularly.

Here are a few pictures from last year to get you excited for another year of camp!