Skype Chat With Nick Krause USST

Last evening our camp had the opportunity to get to meet a member of the US Ski Team. Each year we try to introduce the campers to a different member of the team, so that they can share their story about the climb to the team, the bumps along the way, and experiences they have while traveling the world.

Nick Krause - USST C Team Member

 Nick will be starting his 3rd year on the ski team. After a great end of the season and a very strong World Junior Championships, Nick has qualified for the C Team. He will focus on winning a North American (NORAM) title this winter and locking down a spot on the World Cup the next season. He has spent the summer in Park City, UT working with his teammates on their strength and conditioning and traveling to on snow camps with the coaching staff.

Growing up in Massachusetts, Nick began skiing in a weekend program at Wachusett  Mountain. During his younger years Nick even attended Stowe Dryland Ski Camp for 3 or 4 summers! He was given the opportunity to attend Stratton Mountain School in Vermont where he then was nominated after his senior year to the USST.


Nick shared a lot with the kids: where his love for skiing comes from, how he deals with nerves and fear, his favorite places to ski, memories of his younger years, and much much more. He was awesome enough to answer 30 minutes of questions.

Follow Nick's season and his pursuit of the World Cup by keeping up with his blog at : On Tour With Nick Krause and as we all know skiing is an expensive sport, if you'd like to help Nick achieve his goals you can always donate or post words of encouragement on his blog.

Hope the kids will share with you about this experience. It was great for me to see, knowing Nick very well and coaching him at SMS and then working with him last winter with the USST, I could tell it was a great experience for him too!

-M

Day 4- Evening Activity

Tonight was one full of creativity and giggles. After another nourishing Round Hearth dinner, we all came together for an evening of improv skits. We broke into groups with one member from each country to really mix it up, and drew concepts and themes out of hats combined with a slew of random props to create a truly unique show.

 To tie it all together we discussed the importance of being able to think and act on the spot, not just in a skit but when on the ski hill. As many of us have experienced, you never know when something unexpected could happen or conditions may change, so being able to think and act on the fly is a valuable skill both on and off the hill.

To cap off the night we gathered outside for s'mores around a fire. Then, off to bed so we can be fresh for tomorrows exciting morning session with Jamie Kingsbury (Stratton Mountain School) to learn how to train and enhance SPEED.

~Chrissy

Day 4 Afternoon Session - Swimming and Biking

Howdy from over here in beautiful Stowe!

Another great lunch from the Round Hearth staff and we were off to our afternoon session. Today we flip flopped our activities as Canada and USA enjoyed a mtn bike and Austria, Italy, and Norway a trip down to Bingham Falls.

The water was cold, but it felt good to get sore muscles in the water and to have some fun jumping off the different rocks into the river. Even the counselors jumped in and Paige demonstrated her "not so perfect" front flipping skills and got a few laughs out of the kids.

Most of the group explored down river, enjoyed a yummy snack, and took in the beauty of nature as only Vermont can sometimes offer. Danny is just returning with the bikers and the dinner bell just rang. I am off to get ready for our Skype chat with US Ski Team member Nick Krause and some funny skits from the kids.

Check in for some photos and recap of talking with Nick and maybe a video from the skits.

-M

Morning Session - Agility

The Head Coach at Middlebury College, Stever Bartlett, joined us this morning as the featured coach.  He is a veteran here at camp, visiting in each of the last five years, and he brings along with him a very accomplished background in coaching high level athletes.  Just finishing up his 7th year with the Panther squad at Midd, he spent several years before as a USST Women's Coach for the tech team.  He was on course when Julia Mancuso won her Olympic Gold Medal.

Using a plethora of different exercises, Stever helped campers find new drills and new ways to improve their quickness and change of direction.  Ladders, cones, boxes, soccer balls... all of the tools at our disposal were put into play keeping our attention focused and working hard.




This afternoon we are back to the woods and the water for another great alternate session.

Danny

This afternoon was beautiful for the mountain biking at various locations.  After a delicious dinner we got pumped back up for field games with a couple rounds of 50 yard scream. What a way to get out the desire to raise your voice and yell a little. 

We played Cat and Mouse in our teams to get refocused and warmed back up before some entertaining games of Ultimate Frisbee, Speed Ball and Dead Ant. To finish off the session everyone came together to play a wild camp wide game of Capture the Fox.

After running down the rest of their energizer bunny energy, we returned to the Round Hearth for a snack before bed so we can all recharge for our AGILITY session with Coach Stever Bartlett (Middlebury College) Wednesday morning.  

~Chrissy

Alternate Session... to the woods, to the water!

This afternoon we separated the camp for the alternate session.  Canada and USA hiked into the woods to the local hot spot at Bingham Falls.  The 40 ft water fall empties into a large pool where we could jump in from all sides.  A lot of campers jumped from heights they never had before, and for me that's a WIN when someone does something for the first time.  Tons of smiles.  We got a lot of good footage on the Go-Pro, and we're sure to see some great clips in the highlight video. 

Norway, Austria, and Italy hit the bikes with several items on their "to do" list.  Stowe has a magnificent single track mountain bike trail system accessible from right down town.  Check 1.  The traditional stop at Lackey's General Store filled pockets with candy.  Check 2.  The river running down through town presents several swimming spots to cool off.  Check 3.

Dinner was great.  Check 4.  And now we are back to the field for games!

Danny
Camp Director

Day 3 - Morning Session

Good Morning,

After the campers woke up from a great nights sleep, many of which seemed to have no trouble falling asleep last night, we were welcomed with blue sky, a cool breeze, and a new featured coach.

 

Tom Barbeau - WVBBTS

Tom Barbeau (WVBBTS) joined our group this morning to lead a session with a focus on balance. It was a flawless transition from yesterdays instructional session and we have begun to build on our basic athletic stances. We are excited to have Tom and his over 40 years of coaching experience including 3 Olympic Games. His passion and excitement for the sport of ski racing and especially fitness is infectious. Through a lot of hard work and time he has developed so many different variations of his exercises.



 The campers worked through a great warmup, followed by a lot of focus on core strength and hip position to help them become aware of the parts of their body that aid in balancing. They progressed through a set of exercises that tested their focus and challenged them to try. We put a lot of emphasis on trying to do things, although you may not succeed at first, second, or even 50 nothing we share with them is impossible. The counselors did another amazing job demonstrating, coaching, and keeping the kids engaged for our session. We ended with some fun relay games, and now we are back at the lodge about to sit down for lunch and fuel up our bodies for a bike ride or swim this afternoon.

Till this afternoon, and as always thanks for allowing your kids the opportunity to be with us at camp.

-M