Day 2 - Basic Athletic Stance on Skates

We awoke to chilly weather and a strong breeze, but hey we are ski racers right so we packed up the skates and headed to the Stowe Lot for a instructional session with Danny.

Just like all the sessions we started off with a great dynamic warmup, this is a great way to get the campers moving, warm, and engaged in the morning. Once again we went through the process of basic athletic stance: feet, ankles, knees, hips, spine angle, and hands. The campers did a great job with this, and were focused and willing to work on making this position very comfortable and familiar.

Great body position while jumping

Danny addressed the group and spoke about the importance of mastering a skill. Although we had done this many times, we still need to be better and can always improve. He spoke about his own athletic career and that of his athletes at Colby about the importance of a great routine before they get started with their on hill session. Whether it is a free-ski, training, or a race each day these young athletes should go through a progress that helps them find their balance, get comfortable on their skis, and with the conditions.

This short talk really showed in the next part of the morning. We moved through the same drills that we had done both Monday and Friday last week and the improvement was phenomenal. The campers that joined up with us for the second week, worked very hard, and were presented with numerous examples of strong body positions and they too caught on quick and found some success.

Our last segment of the morning was body position through out the turn. We slowed down the speeds and focused the campers on their body position, especially feet and upper body. We looked for a good stance width, with good ankle flex and a square upper body. We broke down the parts of the turn and explained the process to them. We were able to get across how important the position we talked about so much is in ski racing, and especially at the top of the turn. Our staff did a great job working with camper and helping them not only get in a good position but understand how it will lead to success in ski racing.

Danny coaches a camper down the lane

-M