KMS MEN'S J1-J2 ALPINE TEAM

Mt. Sainte Anne, QC in Pictures

2012-01-29T23:04:00.009-05:00

Monday will be two SGs. It has been an eventful trip. unfortunately not much racing and a couple canceled days. If we can get the races off tomorrow, it will have been well worth the trip, it's a great opportunity to race some speed which is tough to come by at the FIS level.

Meanwhile, we have gotten in some great powder skiing and a trip to the go-kart track. Here are some of Josh's shots of the week.

2012-01-28T21:40:00.002-05:00

Busy racing lately. We are trying to get it all in before it all goes to &^%$. Recently we had a crew in NH for a SG on Wednesday. Kenny and Peter both had good days with a 4th and 9th in the first race respectively and Marshall, throwing down a 18th on the second day.

Up north of the border, the Ste. Anne GS and SG series. Dan made a nice move to score today and end up 28th overall, followed by Cam in 30, Dylan -33, Andrew- 37, and Ben 41. Good moves guys but let's give it some more gas on Monday!

Tomorrow, Killington and Needles hosts a VC GS, stop by and check out some action.

jb

2012-01-28T21:33:00.002-05:00

Another day of racing in the winter that Wasn't Vermont. After the rain and ice that came down yesterday you can imagine what kind of surface we had at Suicide 6 today for the VC slalom. Conditions were far from optimal but at least everyone knew it.
The boys stayed focused and fought hard but the first run did take it's toll. But in the end KMS had the first 2 J2's and 1 and 5 overall. Congratulations to Kyle and James. Spencer also had a good first run and skied out on the second.

a look at some action and some podium.

jb

2012-01-15T16:32:00.002-05:00

The boys crammed the front page at Proctor on Saturday, taking 8 of the top front page spots. Cam and Kyle went 2 and 4, James and Mike- 5th & 6th, Dan in 9th, AK in 11th, and Wyatt and Peter, scoring races and skied to 12th and 14th respectively.

Julian and Spencer were back to back in 17th and 18th with Kenny and Ben not far behind in 22nd and 23rd. Marshall moved up from the 40's to 33rd and Jeffry and Jack were 46 and 49. Tommy, catching some air over the roll, slowed himself down a bit on slide into 66 while Luke made a good move from 96 to 78.

Happy Martin Luther King day tomorrow. Some guys will head up to Sugarbush while the rest make the trek to the "Loaf"

JB

2012-01-13T15:17:00.003-05:00

A short week of training this week as we are still in the middle of our January race block. Wednesday the boys trained some challenging slalom on Lower Skylark and on Thursday GS on Skylark. We had some quality runs before the heavy snow came yesterday. Here is Dan Martin on his good side. Way to get the hip to the ground.
Look forward to seeing that this weekend.

JB

2012-01-10T13:48:00.002-05:00

Busy weekend for the KMS Men. Half the group was at Smugglers Notch Vermont, where on sunday Dylan Malone took the victory with Peter Spangler in 9th, Jeffry in 13th and new comer, Luke Gatti in 17th. Nice job, Boys.

The rest of the crew was over in NH at Waterville Valley. The Black and Blue trail smashers hosting 2 Devo FIS SL's. On day 2, older Ferri took hold of 9th place with a strong first run. Followed by Dan Martin in 17th and younger Ferri, James in 19th. Again, the move of the day goes to Wyatt Queirolo for the 110-47 move through the field.

Honorable mention goes to Cam Price, who slalom skiing is really coming into its own but again had some bad luck first run as a gate got caught between his legs and straddled. Hang in there.
And Ben Scheu, who hiked first run, run 2nd to last and was still 35th for the second run. Nice!!

And here is a picture of Kenny in training on saturday wondering if coach DJ can get him into the Dew Tour with this Front Endo Roll. stop by for the full video.

JB

2012-01-08T17:48:00.002-05:00

Devo FIS boys @ WV. Nice job today by the young guns! James ended up 7th and Wyatt moved from 114 to 32, very strong move!
Dan found himself in 13 with sharper skis, thanks Josh!!
Kyle, very solid skiing on the top for both runs, two mistakes cost him on the bottom but the aggressiveness was an improvement. Spencer, after a long break came into 45th and Kenny with a strong second run with no hiking came in 80th. Two of those and he can easily move up 20 spots.

Cam, with another 40 bib jump on the first run, found himself in good position for run 2 but tried to straighten out a flush that caught him on the exit. Tomorrow, tomorrow!

Jack, Julian and Ben had trouble first run and were unable to finish. Mike, just out of the flip first run had some issues on the bottom of run two. And Andrew, who will bring his skiing in training to tomorrows race had a straddle in run two.

We are working hard on bringing that training confidence to race day, a hard task but must be done!!

JB

2012-01-03T19:09:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year! Back at it today at Ktown. The new year greeted us to some very cold temps today and a naturally injected surface. Just what we like. We ran slalom on Highline which has seen better days as far as snow depth however the surface was world class. The boys skied; not bad, had some fresh legs and maybe the need to revisit some tuning skills if this weather holds on.

The whole crew is looking forward to the upcoming slalom races this weekend.

JB

2011-12-24T09:52:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays to all. Thanks for the Blog support.

As we wrapped up December racing in NH the guys made some good jumps in the final day GS. Kyle, punched onto the podium with a 3rd place, following by Cam in 13th and Spencer in 19th from the 42nd bib. Dan in 25th, and Mike, Julian and Kenny 51, 52 and 58 respectively.
Ben had some trouble second run and had to take a DNF.

Get well rested over the break and see you after Christmas! AND PRAY for SNOW!

Best
Jack

2011-12-18T17:42:00.001-05:00

Not bad for fast food...

2011-12-18T17:13:00.001-05:00

Alaska Update

2011-12-18T17:08:00.001-05:00

Race canceled today. Rain, snow wind, you name it, we got it today.

We made it into Anchorage and are enjoying some fine Mexican cuisine.

Flight leaves at six a.m.

GS 1: Making Good Progress

2011-12-17T23:45:00.003-05:00

Today was a better day for the guys in soft, bumpy conditions. James skied well and moved from bib 40 to 13th.

Kimbell was right behind in 14th.

Peter struggled with his control today, he had some really great turns followed by costly mistakes.

Wyatt went out on the steep pitch first run but hiked like a champ and finished. So at least he scored some points, which will help his start position once we get the racing going back east.

Jack skied well first run and threw a shoe in a hole second run. Bummer.

Dylan got spun out and missed a gate at the bottom of the pitch.

Well, tomorrow is our last day. One more GS, one more opportunity to execute. Then home for Christmas! Same schedule as today. Hopefully will be able to get a post up tomorrow, but maybe not as we are busy headed to Anchorage, taking them out to a good meal, then waking up at 3:30 a.m. to catch a flight. Wish us luck tomorrow!

2011-12-17T09:40:00.002-05:00

Tough day at the office. We all went out here and the Val Gardena DH got cancelled due to wind with Bode in the gate. And my first blog post just got deleted as the internet shut down.

Rough hill conditions here after 20-25cm of new snow over night. The crew at Kreuzbergpass did a great job but it took good athletic skiing in a very dished out course to post a good run. "Ski athletically", we have used that term more than once and it was very necessary today.

All in all, great trip though. The boys eyes got opened a little and deep down they know that they were actually quite competitive in most runs, some races and made some strong moves through the fields here in Austria and Italy.

We all look forward to being back stateside in a few days.

see you soon.

jb

SL Under Alaskan Sunrise

2011-12-16T23:40:00.002-05:00

Rough day but with a nice view.

All except Peter made it down without some sort of detour today. Pete skied within himself but clean and lowered his points. Solid skiing.

Today's sets were challenging, with lots of rhythm changes and tight combinations. Much of the field either DNFed or took a couple detours from their chosen path.

Two more days of racing here, two Giant Slaloms. Short but sweet, it will be a drag race for sure. Women start at 11:15, men at noon.

2011-12-16T09:39:00.002-05:00

News from Sexten. Good race today, the boys were full of high hopes with a smaller field. First run Kyle, starting 32 was a bit early on a left footer at the top of the pitch. He hiked and got it but had to started DFL for second run and threw down a nice run for himself about 4 out from the 76 position. There is always tomorrow!

Michael and Cam both had very solid first runs, Mike moving from 56 to 30 and Cam from 84 to 56. Mike learned how starting bullet was for the first time and realized that he can give more when he's in that position again. Still, all said, he ended up 27 and had a nice race for himself.

Cam, had some difficulty on the pitch, missed a pole plant, got back and straddled a hairpin. That's OK, we are making moves now just put it together.

The boys learning curve is moving in the right direction. Being in another country, surrounded by good skiers all the way to the end of the field, knowing that you need to make fewer mistakes to have a good run, isn't easy. And they have done a great job. I am getting excited for tomorrow already.

JB

pics aren't happening with this internet!!

Alaskan Night SL

2011-12-16T02:13:00.003-05:00

Tonight's race was a little bitter sweet. The highlight for the guys was Kimbell, who moved from bib 22 up to 5th place. Scored the best FIS result of his career by far, a 73. Jack Salisbury put in a strong performance moving from bib 34 to 16th and scored a 122.

That was all in terms of final results. Wyatt DNFed first run, but was skiing well. His skiing has really come along this fall and he will be back shortly.

Peter skied okay first run and was really letting rip second run when he was dealt a solid 7-2 off-suit. A gate he hit ripped out of the snow and tripped him on the next turn, flipping him backwards. In ski racing, no re-runs are granted in the case of the racer knocking out his own gate. Bummer.

James had a good first run, but straddled early on in the second run. Happens sometimes.

Dylan skied his heart out and finished the first run in 3rd, just a half second off 20 point skiers. Second run he hammered out of the gate at a furious pace, got caught up in some soft snow just before a tight hairpin and couldn't pull it out...not for lack of effort though. He gladly took a gate to the face trying to stay in it. He looked a bit like an extra from Braveheart afterwards but he's fine and pumped up for tomorrow. At least he showed his speed today. It's the fast kind.

And that's basically what we saw today. Some great results, more shortcomings, but everyone showed some serious speed and that's half the battle won. Friday's SL race is a normal daytime race and starts at 12:30 (4:30 Eastern) for the men. Second run is supposed to be at 2:30. It will be on Live Timing. Send good energy again, maybe a tad more this time!

2011-12-15T15:30:00.002-05:00

Made over to Sexten- Kreuzbergpass today and even got some runs on the hill. Nice mom and pop operation amongst beautiful surroundings of the Sudtirol in the Italian Dolomiti. Should be a good race tomorrow if the snow holds off. It is a great looking hill and the guys are chomping at the bit for another slalom.

Until tomorrow...

JB

Alaska: Quick SL Tune Up, First FIS Race Thursday Night

2011-12-15T03:06:00.008-05:00

We took two SL runs in terrible snow conditions today on the training hill here. Not dangerous, but simply frustrating. It was this kind of snow you rarely see...semi-frozen wet snow. Picture ice that is peely. Basically, the edges do not dig into the solid part of the snow very well, especially the tip of the ski. The edge gets locked in, but the ski does not bend very well, thus does not turn as quickly. It makes timing of the skier's movements challenging. I would imagine it feels like one of those conveyor belt carpet skiing contraptions of the 1970's. (the pic to the left was taken around 11 a.m. under clear skies. It's pretty cool how short the days are here in December. No wonder they have lights all over the hill).

After that, we wanted them going into tomorrow's night SL with confidence, so we sent them for a few free ski runs down the race hill, hoping the snow was normal winter snow. We checked it with the drill bit and conditions on that hill look good! They all have been skiing very well the past few weeks and they are ready to race. Game on Thursday night. Great start numbers too, and the penalty could be in the high 20's. Very small field all the way up here. Dylan starts 1, Andrew 22, Pete 25, Jack 34, Wyatt 44, and James 50.

Not sure if this is on livetiming.com but I would not be surprised. There are 68 women and 50 men, so it will be a quick one. Women's first run starts at 4:15 (8:15 Eastern). They want to run a "continuous" race, meaning all four runs right after the other without delay. The Men's first run is set to start at 4:45. Send the guys good energy.

2011-12-14T08:54:00.002-05:00

It's goodbye to Stubai today as our last slalom training day. Who knows the way the east is looking maybe we should stay here with Claudia?

The boys are even getting a little slap-happy. They must be getting more relaxed racing the Austrians.

JB

2011-12-14T08:40:00.002-05:00

Back on line after our 2 GS starts at Jerzens. On our second day, our goal was "3 for 3", we fell just short as Cam had a early release on a tough fall away turn in the first run. He knows the deal, you cannot load that new ski when your too far inside.

Kyle and Mike made improvements on both runs from the day before. Great work. Kyle from 80 to 50 and just missed scoring with a added extra bit of powder skiing. Mike from 100 to 68 and skiing much more aggressive then on Monday.

Great learning experience from the land of Benni Raich! And some other dude getting some angles!!

jb

Alaska: Monstrous Mountains at Sea Level...I Could Get Used to This

2011-12-14T00:29:00.007-05:00

After arriving in Anchorage S
unday night and settling into our hotel there around 2 a.m. we woke up at 8 to make the one hour drive to Girdwood. The plan was to ski in the afternoon, but the power went out in the entire region for the day. We decided to drive back to Anchorage and get our grocery shopping out of the way. Long day, and the six hours of sunlight made it feel even longer. No bear sightings yet, but we could get lucky. Hopefully we are in the van if/when we do see one. Look at that hungry fella! Not to worry, that's NOT taken from a window.

Today we took two runs of GS down a steep and challenging training hill here at Alyeska Ski Area, just a couple trails over from the race hill. It was good to get on a difficult hill because the race hill has some steep and difficult sections. For the most part it is very moderate and easy. The first ten turns of the GS are what I would call "World Cup" steep. The guys are psyched to throw themselves down that face. We train 2-3 runs of SL tomorrow on the training hill.

Other than that, it's just great to be in Alaska. Beautiful land up here, and the light(when it comes out) is almost majestic this far north. The mountains here remind me of the Rockies with a little feel of the Alps. Except these mountains rise right out of the ocean. It's incredible. It's nice to catch our breath again after being down in Mammoth around 10,000 feet. Enjoy the photos, book you're heli-skiing vacations now.

Mammoth warm up Race

2011-12-13T23:51:00.007-05:00

On Saturday, the guys got in a USSA SL race before heading straight to Reno for a long trip up to Alaska. They have all been skiing anywhere from well to very fast. James Ferri is skiing fast SL right now. He finished 5th in the race and was only .3 back second run, right in the mix the Sierra Nevada College skiers. Not bad for a first year J2.

Andrew Kimbell did well also, finishing 9th. Pete Spangler finished 13th with a bum thumb and a ton of mistakes. His results will improve once he cleans up the skiing on race day. Jack Salisbury hiked first run and finished 107th. Second run was clean and he got 37th that run, pretty good for starting that far back in the pack. Dylan and Wyatt were DNFs. Now off to Alaska for some FIS races.

2011-12-12T14:59:00.002-05:00

Jerzens-Hochzeiger; this small little resort about 23 km down the valley from the glacier of Pitztal,has a quality race hill on it. Home of the famous Benni Raich, and it certainly shows why/ how he has become such a perfectionist as ski technique goes.

It's probably not a mistake that each of the 40 direction changes are set on just a little bit different piece of terrain. I termed it as a cross between Whiteface and Middlebury, if there is such a thing. Falling out of the start reminded me of the first 10-12 gates at Whiteface and from there on it continues to move, roll, break, pulling you hard first on the right foot and then on the left and finally over two rollers at the bottom leading into the finish.

The boys did a fair job today. Yes, I am being critical, but I am their coach. I am always asking for more. Aggressiveness was definitely up from our last race. That I was pleased about. With that increase in intensity we became a little ragged around the edges. Which is not bad, but you still have to remember to ski. Partly due to the tough hill the crew had some technical breakdowns that maybe would have stayed hidden on any easier piste.

After first run, Kyle was in 53rd and Cam in 72nd. Mike had some bad luck on run one in the key section as the trail breaks over a sharp roll and Mike not carrying enough direction had some issues three gates later.

Second run was a rhythm changing specialty; 22-24m up top, with a few changes to 26, then back to 23 and quite across the hill. All who happened to be left from run one had issues in the same spot. Skiing clean was not in the cards today.

Cam and Kyle did what they could, Kyle making it through but not without a few mistakes that cost him and Cam actually couldn't recover from his last error, one gate before the finish.

Great learning experience though and the guys are committed to come back out tomorrow and fight again.

Some video review and dinner at the "Bear" and they are ready to go!

I am ready for bed! no pics today.

jb

2011-12-10T08:38:00.002-05:00

Much better day today! The snow surface rebounded and so did the boys GS skiing. It was a short day for us, just 4 quality runs in the course and out. Just as well, Saturday is a busy day here in Stubai as all the locals and more were out today.
Tonight, we will make a trip into Innsbruck to check out the outdoor Christmas markets, probably for the last time. Put your Christmas shopping orders in now!

Next, week starts a busy week of racing and rest. We will rest up tomorrow, prep the skis and get ready for Monday and Tuesday's GS races at Jerzens.

jb

2011-12-09T10:33:00.002-05:00

Considering we received 35 cm of new snow a day ago, today wasn't too bad. As you can imagine, still extremely soft conditions and super slow and abrasive snow. The boys got back into their GS rhythm and timing after a few runs.

Piste #9 is quite flat at the top and then rolls gently over a short pitch onto another long flat. We had 21 turns of easy rhythm just focusing on timing and pressure placement. I was the first set today so we were a little more in the softer snow then I would have liked but tomorrow there will be eight lanes of GS and I am hoping to move into the middle of #9 so we can have some different terrain.

Colds temp again tonight should make the surface even better for tomorrow.

The last photo is probably what we should have been doing!

JB

2011-12-08T10:36:00.002-05:00

Blog followers, tough day to take here in Stubai, especially with the weather back East I have been hearing about. 33cm new yesterday into last night, so as you can imagine the conditions were quite soft. We chose to do some free skiing on the longer boards and do battle tomorrow with the GS course.

Cold temps and clear skies tonight should leave us in good shape for tomorrow. The guys are exciting to get on GS skis and back in a course here on #9.

JB

2011-12-06T12:36:00.002-05:00

Damn this blogger thing anyway. I am feeling there are always pics to put up to tell the story.

Today's Neustift Slalom.

jb

2011-12-06T12:05:00.004-05:00

Well, we were finally racing in Neustift today and had a rather rough day. Three starters and one lone finisher. The piste was moved down the glacier to under the Gamsgarten Bahn on what they call #3. A tough newly made snow surface from a day ago made for some challenging conditions. A good hard surface that got more and more dished and could not be worked.

Still, the guys first run was far from what they are doing in training, but racing against young juniors with last names like Matt and Schild are bound to get you a little jumpy. And it did!

We had a little chat between runs on sticking their nose in there a little more. And they did. Run 2 was much better. However, Mike straddled on the pitch, Kyle hooked and Cam remained the only one to get through.

We take the day tomorrow to recharge our batteries for a couple days of training and then two GS starts.

Chow!
JB

2011-12-05T06:33:00.003-05:00

Bummer, we awoke to a pretty solid rainstorm this morning in Patsch, as we headed for the mountain. That could only mean one thing above 2300m..... yup, snow. The forecast was for less but we got about 8 inches of the white fluffy stuff. All was still going as planned even with the new snow.
At about 830 Stubai decided to bring 5 cats on the racing piste for one last groom. An amazing sight you definitely would not see in the US, let alone for a NJR race! Just goes to show they mean business over here.

The boys were ready to go and enjoyed seeing Austrian Power doing their warmup before taking each warmup run. Next, they would start off working on a drill, slow, precise then break into their free skiing warmup. Imagine that, not like they haven't heard that before.

Cam, Kyle and Mike were all about it. They jumped right in their warmup routine with confidence. Nice job guys!

Anyway, it's ski racing today. And when you're ready to race, you get snow. And we did. After 20 racers, with the last 3 not even making it off the first flat the race was held and eventually cancelled.

Well another learning experience here in Europe. We will try again tomorrow.

JB

Mammoth Race Prep Day 3: More GS Apex

2011-12-04T22:58:00.003-05:00

Today we did more GS apex on ADG. The course today was a little bit tighter and more challenging. It was a good session and the guys are continuing to progress. Tomorrow is full length GS, timed.

By the way, you cannot beat a Californian burrito.

2011-12-04T07:42:00.002-05:00

Race Prepping; first slalom is tomorrow. Today the boys slept in and took a few free ski runs to keep everything fresh. Relaxing in the apartment for the afternoon. It is very quiet and comfortable here so the boys can relax and prepare.

Here are some of our views.

JB

Mammoth Race Prep Day 2: GS Apex

2011-12-03T22:41:00.003-05:00

This morning I spent an hour with the guys doing fundamental work on GS skis. The infamous Schlopy drill, named after it's inventor, Erik, is primarily meant to promote hip movement through the second half of the turn. We also did variations of the Heisman drill for the purpose of initiating the turn with the tip of the ski.

Our gate session this afternoon was on ADG, a nice hill with a moderately difficult pitch, moving down onto a much flatter section. We did apex with full gates on pristine snow. Hard packed dry powder, or hero snow as some would call it. The guys are skiing well. There are some kinks to be worked out still, but they are in good shape to be racing in the next couple weeks. Special kudos to Kimbell and Spangler. They have made great improvements.

2011-12-03T10:50:00.002-05:00

Here are some clips from today. The boys wanted to pick their own blog picture, so here's what they came up with.

They found out its not so easy to choose clips.

jb

2011-12-03T08:12:00.002-05:00

We were back on #6 today with a tougher, tighter and more across the hill set today. Light was a little low at first but then brightened up nicely towards mid- session. It is a great turn around over there as the boys were able to get 8 runs and we took our time and maintained high quality. Mike, Cam and Kyle skied very well, talked very little and just worked on race prep for Monday and Tuesday. So well that we did not have a single DNF in 24 runs! Great work, guys!

Pictures to follow.

JB

Mammoth Race Prep Day 1: SL Apex

2011-12-02T19:16:00.002-05:00

Today the guys(Dylan, Wyatt, James, Jack, Andrew, and Peter) spent their first day on snow of this Mammoth/Alaska trip. Jack has been here since the 20th, so he has been getting some great training already.

As the picture above shows, the weather is fantastic. The temperatures are cold yet comfortable, and the snow has been great. It was not as good today, but the guys didn't show it in their skiing. We ran six runs of apex SL and an hour of GS free skiing in the afternoon. Tomorrow is GS fundamental work in the morning and GS apex in the afternoon.

2011-12-02T08:37:00.003-05:00

Well, I am a bit further east now, Stubai Glacier, Austria, snow is rock hard and what we like. The boys and I traveled Thursday had a good night sleep last night and got some slalom training in this on piste #6 today. Good news today, the races will be right here in Stubai on Lane 9. The guys are psyched since they trained on that hill in October.

JB

2011-11-28T21:24:00.000-05:00

2011-11-28T21:23:00.000-05:00

2011-11-28T21:12:00.004-05:00

We ended a great camp today with one more day of GS on ADG. A tighter set up top and slightly more swing on the bottom into the flats posed some difficultly for the crew. DMN was fast today, as well as Kiersten just nipping Kristi by a 100th. The candy bar winners!

thanks for a great camp! I hope some colder temps come East so these guys can keep it going.

I head another 6 hours east on Wednesday for a six start European swing in Austria and Italy. Watch for posts!

JB

2011-11-27T21:01:00.003-05:00

Today we went back to GS on ADG, a relatively rhythmical GS about 25 -26 meter set with 22 turns and one delay. Andy's Dbl. Gold, is fairly steep out of the start then rolls to a moderate but consistent pitch and then about 8 turns on the flats. Tom and I were pleased with the gs session as we are started to see some good adaptations going on in the athletes movement patterns. After our 6 runs we took another 3 directed free runs on Broadway.

Tomorrow is our last day of GS on ADG once again. Mammoth has been great giving us what we need with limited terrain available for them this time of year. The snow surface has been great and the weather clear and sunny. The other KMS groups coming in should have some great training. Snow is in the forecast for Thursday.

Tomorrow afternoon we travel back to Reno and fly the following day.

thanks for following.

JB

2011-11-26T19:31:00.000-05:00

Nice Satin Jacket!

2011-11-26T19:28:00.002-05:00

Slalom clips from Friday, November 25.

2011-11-26T09:35:00.002-05:00

Excellent day of slalom yesterday. A extremely difficult set on ADG with distances and rhythms consistently changes and moving across the hill. The group did a outstanding job across the board for where we are in the progression. The snow has been outstanding, with warmer days and still cold nights, the surface is getting to the firm, packed, grippy surface that the ski reacts quite predictable based on the input you give it. This is when the learning curve is huge.

Saturday is another regeneration day; am study hall, ski tuning, and a little relaxing before we finish up with our last 2 days of GS.

I'll have some pictures in the next blog.

JB

2011-11-25T11:30:00.002-05:00

Black Friday! Get your shopping done, but keep the pepper spray at home! We'll be out training slalom in the afternoon block today. So the crew has extra long to digest and do a little SH this morning.

Here are some more pics from yesterday!

JB

2011-11-24T18:47:00.004-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Mammoth. Yes, another delightful day, as am training went off without a hitch, great snow conditions and increased volume for the crew. We set 2 courses on Andy's Dbl. Gold, one from the top and one halfway down the pitch. That way those that needed a good feeling before tackling the top down could do so.
Then it was inside to get the turkey's in the oven and prep for the big dinner. Heather H. has been cranking out great meals and keeping the kids square in the studyhall dept. Thanks HH!

No SH today as the staff has some feelings once in awhile. The crew got to relax, do some recovery, watch football and EAT-Dan Martin!

I'll have some slalom pictures up later as we're having slight internet issues at the moment.

Best Thanksgiving to you and your family, celebrate Love, Peace and Family!

JB

2011-11-23T21:57:00.002-05:00

11/23/11 Slalom,

2011-11-23T21:54:00.002-05:00

We started off our slalom block today on Ralphie's. A short course with easy to moderate terrain, yet a consistent pitch. The guys and gals did a really good job. Our fundamental work; one ski skiing, which today was spent without poles, and consistent ankle tension throughout the turn is paying off. We are going to need some upper body and pole plant work tomorrow as we move over to Andy's Dbl. Gold for the morning session before the turkey feast.

Have a good one yourself and we'll check in tomorrow.

Pictures from the last day of GS and today's slalom session.

2011-11-22T11:23:00.001-05:00

having trouble with the pics, here we go again!

2011-11-22T11:15:00.004-05:00

Sleep in day here in Mammoth. Another bluebird day, so sad, Ha Ha! The guys and gays will head to town after SH.

Tomorrow we start our short ski block. Welcome Jack and Kiersten.

Here are some shots from yesterdays training session. See if you can guess the future KMS'r there?

JB

2011-11-21T23:58:00.002-05:00

Bright sunshine and about a foot of new overnight greeted us this morning here in Mammoth. We had a good split session for our last of this block. Some directed free skiing in the am and 11 am training on Andy's Dbl Gold. The snow was a bit soft for us Easterner's, but the girls and guys did a good job.
When the snows soft, its a whole different ball game. Good balance and correct pressure control are key, exactly what we have been working on the past few days. We got 6 runs under bluebird skies so the staff was happy with that.

Then we had a good 5 on 5 full court b-ball game down at Snow Creek Athletic Club, along with a nice lift and cool down spin on their super quiet and smooth spinning bikes.

Just enough time left for study hall, dinner, meeting and video. That's our day..

Off day tomorrow, as we like to call it, regeneration day for our next training block. A little study hall, trip to town, tune skis, short threshold workout is on the horizon.

I'll get some pictures up soon.

JB

2011-11-20T15:56:00.003-05:00

Well, the weather caught us by surprise with about 10" of new this morning. So that put a damper on our gs training today. But we got some good runs in this morning with a little powder and then working on our balance in the chopped up crud.

The snow should be decreasing during the afternoon and we should be good for GS tomorrow.

jb

2011-11-19T20:43:00.002-05:00

The athletes enjoyed another top 10 day here in Mammoth. Continued good progress and good volume was had by all. We are bringing a little GS to the table tomorrow morning to try and bring that progress into the gates.
Mammoth works well with our needs for space out here and the snow is super firm for out west, so there is no reason it shouldn't be another good day!

jb

2011-11-18T17:38:00.002-05:00

Back in Mammoth, it feels like my second home. The usual mammoth style snow; tight, hardpacked and hero. Can't ask for more.

The winds kicked up in the high sierra today and shut down some lift on us but not before we had a very productive day of free skiing and drill work. We stayed with our current theme from back home of; ankle flexion, a balanced stance and developing pressure to the fall line. A great job was done by all.

Kelly took the ankle turns contest, Kristie, working hard on her 1 ski skiing, Dan looking for that smooth turn release and Tyler improving his athletic skiing. Nice job by all.

Tomorrow, we try our luck on the long boards.

jb

2011-11-09T06:28:00.002-05:00

Well everyone is rolling into KMS and testing and training is resuming for all. Most of the guys got through our testing with improving numbers across the board. Very well done Guys!

It shows you are doing your homework.

jb

2011-10-23T15:43:00.001-04:00

Soelden!

2011-10-23T12:18:00.015-04:00

The race went off without a hitch under sunny skies and cold October temperatures. It was a beautiful day. Ted Ligety won the race, his first victory in Soelden. It was impressive. He won the first run, and then held off hard-charging Alexis Pinturault, the twenty year old Frenchman, in the second run. Pinturault started 20^th in the first run, began the second run in 4^th place, then finished 2^nd overall. In GS, he showed that he may be Ted’s biggest rival in the coming years. Incredible skiing on his part.

It was a big weekend for the USA. They swept. Ted won today, and Lindsey Vonn won her first GS of her career yesterday. Vonn’s win marks the first time a US woman has won a World Cup Giant Slalom since 1991, and the first overseas victory for a US woman since her birth year, 1984.

The guys had a blast. They were seven of 25,000 screaming fans at a ski race. It is really special that they got to be a part of this. From a personal standpoint, my first real World Cup was watching the Hannenkahm downhill and Schladming night slalom in the same weekend as an 18 year old. 70,000 and 50,000 fans respectively. Being an American growing up racing in America, it changed my perspective permanently (for the better).

The pictures and videos tell the rest of the story. Tomorrow is our last day before heading home. Slalom at the top of Tyrol, as they say.

Austria Day 7: Tough SL Hill and Dinner in Italy

2011-10-22T15:33:00.006-04:00

Today's session was a little bittersweet. We had lane space set up for an afternoon session on #20 which would have followed Manfred Pranger's private morning session. Pranger is the 2009 World Cup Overall Slalom champion. Tom had arranged that the Austrian coaches would pull the course and we would set ours in the same holes. The idea behind this is so the guys can see what the fastest possible line in SL is and then try to ski it. Most likely, they would not have pulled it off. It provides a great hands on lesson in where they need to eventually be in SL physically and tactically.

Unfortunately, the snow was soft today, too soft for Manfred to want to train. Not too soft for KMS though! We had the best lane on the entire glacier, normally reserved for national teams. It starts off flat for about 15 turns, then goes into a long steep section, probably around 20 turns, before flattening out abruptly for 5 turns into the finish. It's a globe style pitch, which means that every turn is a little bit steeper than the last. It is very challenging, because when the hill falls away from you constantly, it gives the feeling that there is a touch less gravity than normal. It is really easy to lose snow contact at this point.

There were a lot of DNF's today, but the guys are skiing fast when they are able to make it all the way down. It is a very challenging hill and some DNF's should be expected in October. It is exciting to watch Kyle come into his own, Cam and Mike are light years ahead of their SL from last season already. Dylan is killing it. James and Wyatt are very impressive as first years FIS guys, and many of Tommy's runs are the fastest I have ever seen him take in SL. He is starting to really figure out what dynamic skiing is.

As a reward, we all made the short drive to Italy for dinner. It is the best food on earth, that's all.

One side note. Tom and I pulled an awesome bonehead move today that must be shared. Because it is Saturday, we had to park a mile down from the gondola and take shuttle buses up. On the way back (the guys had already made it to the van) we hopped onto a shuttle and said "Wouldn't it be funny if this was the bus into the valley?" Well, twenty minutes later we were in the valley. We hopped off, waited, got on a shuttle back up to the glacier. The driver looked at us funny because we were the only people in ski gear trying to get up to the glacier at 4 P.M. Having a bus all to yourself is pretty nice. We arrived to the guys pointing and laughing. Sweet.

We have one more SL session on Monday before heading back to Munich. We will be moving back to #6.

Tomorrow is the big day. Soelden. Won't be able to sleep tonight, that's for sure.

Austria Day 6: First Slalom Session

2011-10-21T09:41:00.009-04:00

Today we moved over to #6, the primary SL venue at Stubai. It's a really cool spot at the very top of the glacier, actually the highest point(3200 m) of any ski area in Tirol, which is a region of the alps made up of different areas in neighboring countries. Kind of like New England in a way. It's a relatively long slope that starts out relatively steep. It's a long pitch that gradually flattens out down to the t-bar. There are roughly ten lanes for SL in a very small bowl surrounded by towering peaks that seemed to be right on top of us. It almost feels like a massive natural stone stadium.

The guys got in eight runs today and they all did very well. To be honest, much better even than I expected for the first day. The coaches are excited to see what kinds of jumps they can further make as a group in the next two sessions. We will move over to the steepest hill on the glacier for SL session number two tomorrow. It is a BIG day for the guys, stay tuned to find out why.

Austria Day 5: Awesome Day Off!

2011-10-20T14:19:00.011-04:00

Not much to report today, but the pictures and videos will tell the story of a great day for the guys. Go Karting in the morning, and then a tour of the Swarovski World of Crystal. Pretty amazing place.

Austria Day 4: Last GS Session

2011-10-19T15:27:00.006-04:00

We did our final GS session today and it went great. Cam and Kyle have been excelling all week with the timer and James is the young gun nipping at their heels. Wyatt and Tommy both had their best days as well. We added some length to the course today and it ran nearly full length, 45 seconds. They got six quality runs in.

Tomorrow is a day off, and we are looking for a good Go-Kart track in Innsbruck. From there, we will go two days of SL, World Cup, then one more day of SL before heading back to Munich.

Austria Day 3: Jungle GS

2011-10-18T14:08:00.006-04:00

The guys continued to improve today, tallying eight to nine runs in the session. The training venue was changed last minute by area management to a slope a little lower down on the glacier, starting with a moderate pitch then finishing with a long, high speed flat section. It was really good training for the guys, especially the flats, which take tons of practice to master.

One unique aspect of today's venue is how many teams are squeezed into a tight space. One team sets on the far end of the hill, and then the rest follow suit, shadowing its neighbor with a nearly identical course, with about 10-15 feet between courses horizontally. With all this happening on a wide open landscape of white, it literally looks like a high-speed jungle, easy to forget where you are. The pictures shows what it looks like. The only way to finish cleanly is to look ahead, an important aspect of the sport in general.

In the States, kids rarely if ever get to see this type of training. European skiers grow up in this setting. It is always a real treat to have the opportunity to train in an alien environment, and for our guys this was quite foreign. As was expected a few of the guys(mostly the older ones as a matter of fact) ended up in the wrong course halfway down in the first couple of runs. This is safe, as neighboring teams are always aware of each other's whereabouts and never "duel it out". See if you can figure out where Dylan accidentally switched courses in the video below.

After the first couple runs there were no more "incidents". The guys figured it out pretty quickly. They skied really well too, despite the added visual illusions. Tomorrow we will move back to yesterday's piste, Weltcup Strecke. Same program, eight to nine runs, 100%.

Austria Day 2: First GS Session and a little Football

2011-10-17T12:30:00.004-04:00

Today the guys got started with the high intensity training that will last the duration of camp. The plan for now is four days of GS, day off, and three days of SL. This is partially due to the weather forecast, which is calling for about a half meter of snow Wednesday night. Not too bad, but for now the snow is outstanding, and GS is preferred when such conditions are available. They got seven runs, impressive for their first day above 10,000 feet.

The terrain was moderate, with a rollover onto a 10 gate pitch on the bottom section, where the course stacked up nicely, requiring significant tactical adjustments. The guys showed in the first two runs that it had been a solid couple months since the last time they had skied, and definitely struggled a little bit with the line on the lower pitch. From there, it improved significantly for everyone, and quite drastically for a few. It was a great session. The coaches were very pleased, and it looks like the guys have set themselves up to make great strides in their GS skiing in the next few days. Tomorrow's session will take place on the same trail, with the timer out. Hopefully Mike Ferri can keep his ski on the snow all day long! (see vid, he was totally fine)

Afternoon sport was a relaxing game of football, good for the soul. The trip out here was certainly longer and more arduous than you're typical trip across the pond and they were happy to blow off a little steam.

Austria Day 1: Finally Arriving this Morning, Hitting the Slopes this Afternoon.

2011-10-16T15:05:00.003-04:00

Greetings from Stubai! Having arrived in Munich after a two day trip for a few of us (thanks to this year's typical east coast weather shutting down Newark airport for a few hours on Friday and leading to missed connections), we hit the road and made it onto the glacier for an hour of freeskiing GS to work out the stiff muscles and rust. After getting back into our home base of Patsch, we did an anaerobic agility session to flush out the legs after being idle for a couple of days(see video).

The guys will be ready and are fired up to start the short yet very intense remainder of this race prep camp with some GS on relatively moderate terrain tomorrow. They are also psyched for next Sunday, where they will attend their first live Men's World Cup, The GS opener in Soelden, just up the road from Patsch. Expect 15-20,000 fans in attendance. It will be a great experience for everyone, and they might even learn a trick or two from the pros.

The Beginning of a Very Long Journey to Europe

2011-10-16T14:49:00.002-04:00

2011-10-11T07:25:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures from last Friday's circuit. We are working in a explosive power phase of our training. I missed the tire flip pictures, but trust me it was good!

2011-10-02T09:31:00.002-04:00

Nine Month Crew traveled to Cobra Gymnastics on Friday for a coordination and agility workout. Shelby took them through some floor exercises and then some balance, tumbling and flips. A great job was done by all. This a serious workout for balance, agility and body awareness. All important components of what active skiers and riders need.

We'll be back!

Here are some shots!

jb

2011-09-29T18:46:00.002-04:00

Training has been going well at KMS, so has the bike racing! Ansel has been tearing up the cross circuit, Tommy doing the Wednesday Prep School MTB races (7th in his first race) and our very own Kenny McNeill making a presents at the Vermont 50 MTB Race, with a second place.

Great job Guys!

JB

2011-09-19T10:51:00.002-04:00

The nine month program is under way and the nine crew is finding out what a fall training program is really all about. Great job, guys and girls! We have some testing during the beginning of this week and finishing the week at a medium intensity.

The schedule is as follows;

Mon. -Thu. 3:40p to 6pm training

Tue, Thu, Fri am sport 730-830a

Train Hard!

JB

2011-08-18T07:53:00.004-04:00

Here are some more good slalom pictures.

2011-08-18T07:42:00.003-04:00

Well timing is everything! The snow did come and we perfectly placed our day off. We will go one more slalom session on Friday morning then pack, clean, have lunch and depart to the airport for our flight.

The staff is psyched with the progress at this project. As I said before, we have been hammering the basics; body position, balanced stance, pole plant, ankle engagement and there is a whole lot of good stuff going on. Some guys are even starting to use that pole plant in slalom. Nice Job, Boys!

I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

jb

2011-08-17T06:30:00.003-04:00

we had another good day of slalom yesterday on LaPolma and we're trying for one more before the forecasted big snow. Our slalom is coming along. Just as we planned that working on our fundamental work in gs would cross over in both the longer and shorter turn.

Rhonda made some mean burritos last night for dinner and all is well.

A few slalom shots with Dylan having the fastest run of the day.

jb

2011-08-16T06:40:00.003-04:00

More slalom shots from Monday.

jb

2011-08-16T06:35:00.002-04:00

First day of slalom yesterday since April and it was not bad. We were scheduled on a tough hill, Los Flores, hard snow and a bit of a side hill. The kids did a great job. A little tamer venue in LaPolma today and maybe some snow showers. We are feeling very lucky with what we have accomplished to this point with the pending storm coming in.

JB

2011-08-15T05:34:00.002-04:00

Being out on the hill early does have its advantages!

2011-08-15T05:33:00.002-04:00

More gs on Nevada!

2011-08-15T05:31:00.002-04:00

Some good gs skiing from our last session.

2011-08-15T05:30:00.002-04:00

Day off fun at the beach in Vino Del Mar!

2011-08-14T06:31:00.001-04:00

2011-08-14T06:00:00.002-04:00

Here are some other good sg photos. We are back on today after a trip Vino Del Mar and one of the nicer open air markets in Chile.
Training gs today with some slalom freeskiing in the afternoon. This weekend is busy at LaParva so we are trying to get done what we need then remaining low key.

Hope to have more photos tomorrow am.

jb

2011-08-12T16:21:00.003-04:00

The snow was firm this morning for our last day of sg and gs for this block. The guys have rose to the challenge for the good speed training and some tough gs. Many improvements are visable on video.
Tomorrow we will head to the coast for the day and a day at sea level, which should recharge the batteries for our last block of training.

Photos will be available in the morning.

jb

2011-08-12T06:23:00.002-04:00

pictures still coming!

jb

2011-08-12T05:39:00.003-04:00

one more sg shot from the morning. Then we had a couple days of tough gs training for one of the groups that was ready on Quesdada. Here's a look at the trail and some footage.

jb

2011-08-12T05:32:00.003-04:00

We are coming to the end of our sg block today. It's been great training and good for the boys to get some speed training under their belts. Here are some shots from yesterday up on Barros.

jb

2011-08-10T05:46:00.002-04:00

glad we could get some shots up this morning. We are heading out for a early am sg session followed by some gs. It should be a good day. Here's a few more sg pics from yesterday, Aug 9th.

jb

2011-08-10T05:44:00.002-04:00

more gs shots from Aug. 7th

2011-08-10T05:42:00.002-04:00

sg on Barros Negros

2011-08-10T05:38:00.001-04:00

some more pics from monday's gs

2011-08-10T05:34:00.002-04:00

my 5am picture post.

jb

2011-08-09T17:52:00.000-04:00

sorry, no pics at this time, net too busy. see you at 5am tomorrow with some pics.

jb

2011-08-09T17:17:00.002-04:00

Super day today, the pics speak for themselves why we came to LaParva! 2 sections of super g training this early this morning and still enough time for some gs after lunch.

Mac & Cheese and ham for dinner, should be a night. Let's do it again tomorrow!

jb

2011-08-08T07:26:00.003-04:00

GS clips from sunday am on LaPolma!

picking up where we left off in Mammoth!

jb

2011-08-08T07:13:00.002-04:00

some more pics of yesterday's session.
jb

2011-08-07T19:48:00.002-04:00

great day of training. good volume and improvement. and the dinners, out of this world; roasted pork loin w/ applesauce glaze, roasted potatoes and veges. Nice meal Rhonda.

next block will go into some sg.

pics soon.

2011-08-06T17:17:00.002-04:00

Good day in Chile. Decent snow and winter temps greeted us this morning for some free skiing and drill work. The boys and girls are doing well and worked hard during our two sessions today.

jb

2011-08-01T14:07:00.002-04:00

Great Conditioning Camp last week. Everyone did a great job and even had some fun along the way.
Here some pics from all of our activities.

jb

2011-07-14T13:38:00.000-04:00

Contador's in pain today! R U!

Train Hard!

JB

2011-07-14T13:37:00.001-04:00

Next week gym hours; 7/18

9am-1130 - Monday - friday

possible some pm days by appointment, contact us?

jb

2011-07-07T12:10:00.000-04:00

next week;

gym hours are mon- fri. 9am -1130am

i will be there on mon, tues, thurs.

jb

2011-07-05T10:18:00.002-04:00

Keep in mind that I'm back east until Chile, so workout!!

Week of 7/4;

Wed- 9am -1130a

Thurs- 9am - 1130a bring bikes!

Fri- on own- aerobic

JB