Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Evening Activity - Bike, Super Speedball, and Swim

For our alternative session tonight, we jumped back on our bikes and headed to the fields behind Stowe Motel. We introduced a new version of Speedball where each team has two goals to defend, as well as a game called Quebec Ball. Team Sweden in particular played long into the evening. There's no question that they could have played until it was completely dark, but we had to cut them short.

It was a beautiful evening on the rec path, with Mt. Mansfield in the background as the sun was beginning to dip over the horizon. After working up a sweat in Speedball, we all made our way to a swimming hole along the rec path where kids can jump off a series of rocks into the river. Even though we had swam earlier at the Waterbury Reservoir, we all were itching to get back in the water and cool off. Overall, today was a hot one, and the more we could refresh in cold river water the better!


Tomorrow we look forward to Micaela Holland's agility session in the morning, and then we head to the Johnson Skate Park in the afternoon!











Waterbury Reservoir

For our afternoon activity we suited up and hit the Waterbury Reservoir! The reservoir is only a short fifteen minute bus ride from the Round Hearth and is always a favorite because SDSC campers love to play in the water. A multi-ball game of keep away, hand stand contests, shark, sand castles... what more could you want! We played around in the water for about an hour and our session culminated with an all-camp 'egg contest.' In their perspective teams, each camper rolled up into an egg at the same time to see how long they could float for. The top two contestants from each group were chosen compete in the final round. Brady from team USA was our winner!


After the
 reservoir we returned to the Round Hearth and made a slip n' slide in the Vigneau's backyard! While we owe so many thanks to the Vigneau's as the owners and operators of the Round Hearth, they really went out of their way to create a fun and safe environment for the slip n' slide. It was also only possible with the help of Johnson's baby shampoo, a lot of tarps, duct tape, a hose and plenty of water buckets. SDSC campers all tried their hardest to make it down as far as they could go - but it as sooo loooong that only a few could make it to the very end. Everyone had a blast!










We hope the fun continues tonight in our evening activity for Super Speedball and a swim in the river!

Instructional Session on Skates - Balance

This morning SDSC campers took to the parking lot of Mt. Mansfield to work on the first pillar of BASE: Balance! Before skating up Danny took campers though a warm up in their sneakers to get heart rates up and introduce them to the fundamentals of balance and its importance in ski racing. Next, campers participated in a jumping progression to reinforce basic athletic stance and how to jump over bamboo gates, small hurdles and large hurdles. Learning proper technique with sneakers on helps campers develop proper habits for when we are on skates, and helps them feel the stabilizing muscles we use while skating.



We then geared up and began the skate portion of Danny's session. Campers had the chance to familiarize themselves with skating and stopping before we broke into groups and practiced our basic athletic stance through the parking lot in lanes. Once everyone was comfortable we began a progression which challenged campers to practice knee and ankle flexion, hands and chest forward, eyes forward, feet and knee's shoulder width apart. We progressed through the same bamboo, small hurdles then large hurdles on skates, and then finished off the day by applying those balance skills to both SL and GS courses. Danny talked a lot about how linked the tactics and technique in skiing are related to rollerblading and therefore how all of the skills we tested on skates will translate directly to our skiing. Through tactical discussion about line and elevation followed by a chance to test their knowledge, campers could understand what body movements really work for them. We will follow up with some video analysis later in the week. Thanks Danny for a great session and for making us balance pros!




Night Swim at THE SWIMMING HOLE!

Tonight we took our campers to The Swimming Hole, an indoor pool that is equipped with a diving board, basketball hoop, kiddie pool, and water slide.  The kids had a blast on all and even after 1.5 hours we heard a lot of "awwwww'" when it was time to leave. 
 
 

 



What a great cap to a Monday!

Afternoon Adventure - Mountain Biking!

On our first full day at SDSC, the camp traveled to Cady Hill for an afternoon adventure through a fun network of single track mountain bike trails.





While all campers had the option of staying on the rec path and get ice cream in town, an unprecedented 70% of camp chose to go in the woods! It was so impressive to see how many campers were itching to push themselves even if they had never biked on trails before. Members of all teams (Switzerland, Sweden, and USA) climbed up Cady Hill Connector to Florence, then back up Snake to finish on Charlie's. Florence in particular is a camp favorite, as it takes riders down a very smooth and flowy series of switchbacks, rolls, and even a few jumps. As different as mountain biking and skiing may seem, the basic athletic stance we focused on during this morning plays a huge role in both. We also talked a lot about the many parallels in how we look ahead in mountain biking, just like we need to when on skis.


Campers at Green Chair
The campers who felt more comfortable on the rec path traveled into town to get ice cream at Stowe Ice Cream and see a really cool beaver dam at the end of the path. The rec path from Round Hearth to Stowe is 4.5 miles, so even that group rode at least 9 miles...wow!


After spending two hours on the trail or rec path, we had some hungry mouths to feed for dinner! Tonight we get to swim at the Swimming Hole for some much deserved time in the water. 

Monday, July 30, 2018

LET'S BEGIN

Week two is upon us and we couldn't be more stoked about it! After our closing ceremonies campers that were staying enjoyed some well deserved downtime which included lots of sleep, a pizza party, mini golf, laundry and swimming. Today we welcomed 14 new campers to the SDSC family. We spent the afternoon getting to know each other and going over the weeks schedule. Next we enjoyed a dinner of grilled chicken, peas, salad and rice with boston creme and apple pie's for dessert. 

After dinner we loaded the bus down to the fields for our evening activities. We split the camp into half, one group went to Foster's swimming hole to jump in the water while the other group played some field games, then both groups switched. At the field we played speedball and Tank. Speedball is a mixture of soccer and handball and campers love to play when they're here. Tank is a super fun game where two groups have to communicate with a blindfolded teammate, directing them towards flags. The blindfolded teammate must listen, find one of the flags then throw it to tag their opponent out. It sure is a fun game to watch! 















Tomorrow morning we will start the day with a field session led by Coach Eric Barthold. Eric was a division I skier at Colby College and the leading scorer on the Colby Soccer team as a senior.  After he graduated, he coached at Killington Mountain School before returning to Colby where he worked as the assistant coach for a number of years. Eric is going to introduce basic athletic stance and we can't wait!

Sunday, July 29, 2018

END of Week 1, and Middle Weekend


Week 1 ended on a high note with a great round robin of mixed team speedball.  Its nice to get the campers active one more time (and tired) before sending them home with their parents.  The Closing Ceremonies were concluded at noon on Saturday and a special thank you to our sponsors Marker/Volkl/Dalbello, Swix, and POC for sending product for the campers.  We even had several COLBY SKIING tees to hand out.

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The afternoon and evening on Saturday and the morning on Sunday were many hours spent relaxing and recovering from an overloaded week of activity.  A trip to the river to jump in (Foster's), pizza from Piecasso (18 campers polished off 7 pizzas and salad), quiet time with a movie, and a short bike to mini golf led to a group ready to roll into Week 2.  A special thanks to camper Alexandra Bouchard's mother Sarah for delivering a special SDSC cake for desert!


We are ready to hit Week 2!

Friday, July 27, 2018

Final Evening - Cookout and Inflatables


Tonight we enjoyed one of camp's highlights, the last night cookout, inflatables, and dance party! Although campers were exhausted from a tough yet fun-filled last day, we still mustered up the energy to dance and bounce around on the inflatables. The Round Hearth Staff treated us to a cookout followed by an ice cream social. With full bellies and happy faces campers danced the night away to some pop hits, classic rock and inevitably the cupid shuffle and cha-cha slide. There was a camp limbo contest, some inflatable jousting and multiple games of tag, soccer and football. The night was filled with fun, treats and some last moments of memory making. Rooms have been packed and campers are feeling bittersweet about saying goodbye tomorrow. We will certainly miss those who are leaving us and looking forward to another week with those that are staying! 


We have some more fun planned tomorrow morning so we kindly ask parents to wait until 11:00 before arriving for the awards ceremony. That way campers can soak up every last moment of camp and we can make sure dorm security stays intact. Looking forward to seeing you all!

Explosion with Micaela Holland


This afternoon Micaela Holland led camp through our final instructional session of the week, focusing on explosion. Micaela is the head alpine ski coach at Bates College in Lewiston, ME. This year is Micaela's fourth year as an SDSC director, and we are always very lucky to have her with us.

Micaela structured her session around a series of explosive movements, emphasizing how explosion is so central to how we finish our turns in skiing. The session included box jumps, single leg bounding, and sprinting with parachutes among many other exercises. The session culminated with a camp favorite activity, in which teams work to complete a series of exercises that correspond to suits in a deck of cards. If one team randomly picks a 10 of diamonds or 7 of clubs for example, they do 10 jumping jacks or 7 tuck jumps, respectively. Even though we all were clearly feeling the end of the week, the competitive spirit of the group picked up big time!




It's hard to believe that we are now at our last night of camp, but we look forward to our cookout tonight with ice cream and inflatables. It's been a great week with a great group of kids, and now it's time to celebrate!


See you all tomorrow for our closing ceremonies at 11:00am!

Mountain Bike Adventure



The trails finally dried out and the SDSC crew hit Cady Hill this morning, a mountain bike trail network located right here in Stowe. To get to Cady Hill campers must first trek down the Stowe bike path to get to the base of the park. The initial climb into Cady Hill is steep and grueling but once you get to the top - it is so worth it! There are many different trail options including Zogs, Snake, and an all time camp favorite, Florence! Through the winding bank turns, rollers and even some small jumps, our staff teach campers how to safely challenge themselves and push their limits. While the downhill portions are always the most fun, climbing back up always gives you an appreciation for hard work!

Some of our smaller campers had their own adventure on the Stowe Recreation Path and adventured to the end where they ran around on a playground in town, had a special treat and went swimming! Lots of tired faces on our way home, but after some lunch everyone was pumped for an afternoon session on explosion. 

Thursday, July 26, 2018

MOVIE NIGHT!

Mixed in with the busy schedule and tons of activity, we like to take a chance to have a calmer setting for our weekly Movie Night.  The SDSC theater has two screens running simultaneously, and campers tonight made their choice between Sherlock Gnomes and Jumanji.  After grabbing their blankets and pillows, the shows were only interrupted for a quick BR break and to grab their snacks.

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We'll need the energy tomorrow for our trip to Cady Hill on the bikes in the morning and for explosion with Bates College coach Micaela Holland in the afternoon.

Instructional Session: Speed with Danny Noyes


The sun came out and SDSC campers were able to enjoy a fun and productive skate session led by Danny. Danny has been the Head Alpine Ski Coach at Colby for the last 11 years and has coached over 15 All-American Skiers in his tenure. He was also named the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association (EISA) Coach of the Year in 2010. We are incredibly lucky to have him as  our featured coach for the day as well as SDSC director. 

The session started off with a dynamic warm-up where campers learned the fundamental progressions of skipping and running, exercises that will teach athletes how to generate speed. After everyone was all warmed-up we suited up and began our skate session. The second skate field session is always my favorite because as coaches we can see how each athlete is learning, growing and able to apply the concepts we talk about in their previous skate session. Through video analysis, Danny was able to help campers identify their own strengths and weaknesses so they had tangible goals for this afternoon. Danny uses his experience coaching the most elite collegiate athletes to help explain skiing fundamentals such as turn shape, outside ski pressure, ankle/hip flexion, hand position, etc. to campers. We wrapped up the afternoon skate session with giant slalom and slalom roller blade course racing- thanks for a great session Danny!




Quick Morning Swim Adventure

Although it wasn't dry enough to run our skate session this morning, the rain did disappear for long enough to make a quick trip down the Rec Path to go swimming. The kids were up for the adventure and almost the entire camp jumped in, despite small intermittent showers. Fun in the rain!





The older teams spent a little more time with Danny for video analysis from Monday's skate so everyone has a good idea of what they need to work on this afternoon when we head back up to Stowe Mountain Resort to make up the originally scheduled morning skate session. The weather looks to be clearing so things look good!

Rainy Morning...

Morning skate session is delayed, hoping for it to clear and dry a little so the wheels roll instead of slip. 

THANK YOU Marker/Dalbello/Volkl, for the tents this week!

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Evening Activity: Swix's Jerry Murphy and Skit Night


Good evening! Well, I'm not sure how it has happened, but we have passed over our halfway point at camp. Suddenly it feels like the days are flying by!


Tonight we welcomed Jerry Murphy back to camp for a ski tuning demonstration. Jerry, who works for Swix, has been coming to camp for years and always brings his memorable enthusiasm for youth skiing. Danny also gave us a presentation about sharpening edges with a Trione, the machine that the Colby ski team uses to sharpens their skis. While we dedicate most of our focus to what we can do to prepare our bodies for the season, it is also great to get a bit of the technical side of the sport as well.

After Jerry finished we broke into the team for the 8th Annual SDSC skit night. Teams had to prepare 2 minute skits in which they picked a random setting and genre. We saw a ski racing adventure, an ocean birthday party, and mystery at the zoo. The event was full of great creativity, laughs, and ended on a high with s'mores!

We are looking forward to another skate session with Danny tomorrow, followed by some mountain biking. We missed going in the woods on Monday, so we are gearing up for some fun times in Cady Hill mountain bike trails!


Johnson Sk8 Park

We watched the weather very closely and decided to take a chance and bus over to Johnson for our afternoon at the skate park.  With rain trying to get at us all week, losing a session has been a constant concern, and if we were to lose the skate park session, the kids would leave us immediately.  The Johnson Sk8 Park has been an SDSC favorite for as far as I can remember.  I, personally, haven't had it at the top of my list of things to do... however, it has grown on me in recent years. 

So, we had to weigh risking the time to travel all the way to Johnson (45 minutes one way by bus) with the impending storm, versus not getting a chance to make the session up with only two full days left.  We decided to send it and keep our fingers crossed.  And below you'll find the outcome...







Balance with US Ski Team's Brian McLaughlin


On our second day of the BASE progression, featured coach Brian McLaughlin joined us for a fantastic session on agility. When you look at Brian's resume, it is very clear that we were lucky to have him. Brian grew up skiing at Waterville Valley and GMVS before being named to the US D team for a year. He then raced for Dartmouth for four years and capped off his senior year by racing in his first world cup at Beaver Creek, winning the NCAA GS title, and claiming the Nor-Am GS season title. He has recently been named to the US Ski Team and heads to New Zealand next week to train with Ted Ligety and the rest of his US Ski teammates.

Brian led us through a session full of activity, focusing on staying on the balls of our feet for better agility and releasing quickly into our next step or hop. There were definitely some tired legs by the end of the session. That said, we quickly forgot our aches and pains for the finale, when Brian designed a massive a full camp agility relay race!

Once again, we felt lucky to have Brian with us today to run the instructional session and answer questions about his journey from youth skiing to a place on the US world cup team. We will all be cheering for him at his first race in Soelden come October!

Evening Activity: Swimming Hole and Skate Video


This evening the whole camp headed over to The Swimming Hole, a local indoor pool complete with diving board, basketball hoop, and water slide! The kids deserved some time in the water after a hot hike and some great effort in the field. We saw some big splashes, flips, and big smiles. There's no question that it was a time worth two thumbs up!

After swimming, everyone returned to watch video from Danny's skate session on Monday. They reviewed film of their athletic stances while skating as well as hopping over hurdles. Video has become an integral part of ski racing, and it was great to add it to the program this year at SDSC. As Danny emphasized with the kids, video is not a way for them to see how cool they look but rather as a tool to evaluate what they are doing well and what areas they can improve on. We look forward to seeing how everyone incorporates what they learned when we return to skates tomorrow and Thursday!