Summer Campers,
 |
Danny leads a group through a team
building activity |
I love sports.
Not just Alpine Ski Racing, but all
sports.
In High School I was
recruited to Colby College to play football, ski, and to play baseball. Before
that, I played soccer and basketball in elementary school.
In the summers growing up, my specialties
were whiffleball, water skiing, wakeboarding, home run derby, backyard basketball, and capture the
flag.
Wherever there was a game to
be played, I was there… sometimes creating something out of nothing.
Now, entering my 11th year as the
Director of
Stowe Dryland Ski Camp, the
same stitches that created this 35 year old athlete as a youth are still at
play as the groundwork and structure of this camp. We play hard, we stay active, and we have fun.
 |
Danny talks movement through the transition during
a skate session |
In a world that is becoming more
and more specialized and focused for our young athletes, we
Dryland
training draws from different activities and movements to prepare the body for
the strains and stresses of skiing.
It utilizes instructional activities such as plyometrics, agility and
speed training, and balance and strength training.
It uses freelance activities such as hiking, mountain
biking, swimming, and running.
We
play games like speedball, capture the flag, Quebec ball, and soccer that incorporate
several of the above all at once.
We prepare young athletes to value effort, reach out of their comfort
zones, and experience success.
Dryland training engages bits and pieces of every activity to help
create a better all around athlete, for when its time to get on snow and apply
techniques and tactics to your turn, the stronger and more-prepared athlete
will be able to apply their ability quicker and more successfully and help
reinforce good habits as opposed to support bad ones.
embrace the
concepts of Dryland training as the primary out-of-season preparation for
Alpine Ski Racing.
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The Colby Women's Team celebrates
5th place at 2014 NCAA Div I Champs. |
While this camp is beneficial for
generally all children and all sports, we use our daily instructional sessions
to introduce and establish Ski Racing terminology and get our kids thinking
about the race course at the end of the tunnel.
Basic Athletic Stance, Parralel Position, Apex of the Turn, Forward
Spine Angle, Engaged Core, Movement through the Turn.
We spend a few sessions on Inline Skates to simulate the positions of
skiing in order to connect the terms with the movements.
We are regularly visited by current or
former USST members and coaches (Julia Ford, Chip Knight, Leanne Smith, Mike Day, Tom Sell, etc.) who share their
experiences with us and help put an extra degree of reality to the dreams of
our kids.
In 2014 Julia Ford joined us for a day to lead a session, and in 2015 Brian McLaughlin (former US C Team, current US University Team) joined us for the first three days of camp.
A Swix representative puts the camp
through a ski prep session, and a nutritionist joins us for a talk about eating
healthy and what an active and athletic youngster needs to fuel the body.
With great role models as counselors
(current college ski racers) and industry professionals leading our
instructional sessions (coaches from USSA, Waterville Valley, Killington, Stratton, Colby, Burke, Middlebury, GMVS, etc.),
our campers learn a great deal and take this invaluable experience with them
into the ski season.
We strongly encourage the
two-week session, as the second week builds off of the first in every
aspect. Skills learned through the
first week will be reinforced and taken to the next level during the second week,
and our night activities will be adjusted as well for new experiences.
I hope to see you this summer!
