Monthly Archives: February 2016

TriState U16 End of Regular Season Recap

Greetings Athletes and Parents! I want to first of all THANK all the Athletes and Parents for participating during this less than memorable snow season. We all wish mother nature had been more accommodating, yet we still managed to complete the full season! With that said I want to congratulate ALL the athletes for the progress they made over the season. The coaching staff saw improvements in everyone’s skiing/racing ability.

Over the last weekend we participated in the U16 Championship. Catamount was represented by 15 members of the program. We raced Slalom on Saturday at Bousquet and Giant Slalom at Jiminy Peak on Sunday. As a result of regular season races and Championship events four racers from Catamount earned an invite to the U16 Eastern Finals at Okemo VT, and one racer earned a spot to the U16 Eastern Championships at Sugarloaf, ME.

We are all pleased to acknowledge the following U16 racers who earned a berth to the U16 Eastern Finals; Lindsay Adams, Emily Chudy, Maries Di Vecchio & Christian Kappes. Congratulations!
Special acknowledgment goes to Tyler Coenraads, who not only won the U16 Championship GS at Jiminy Peak this weekend, among other podium results throughout the season, but who also finished the #1 ranked men’s U16 Tri-State Racer. As a result of his season impressive results Tyler will represent Catamount Alpine Racing at the U16 Eastern Championship! Best of luck!

In closing I would like to thank Coach Lars Andersson & Chris Di Vecchio for making the season an enjoyable environment for learning and laughing with both the athletes and the parents.
The regular season may be over but we would like to continue training as long as possible into March. This coming weekend (3/5 & 3/6) we will train on Lower Alley Cat, Saturday we plan on Slalom and Sunday GS.

We would also like to try to hold an end of the season finale March 20th with a Tri-State dual panel slalom down Catamount, assuming conditions warrant. The format might be parent vs athletes.
Thanks again to all our Athletes and Parents for a great season!
Doug Hurry

Interclub Party and Awards

This Saturday, March 5th we will have our Interclub Pizza Party and awards in the Taconic Lodge after practice at 2PM. We are looking to have a dual GS race course set up so you can challenge your racers head to head. The Parents Association will provide Pizza and Awards to every racer. We ask that families bring other entrees, snacks, desserts, drinks, cups, utensils, plates….I have set up a sign up at the following link

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C054AAEA628A7F58-potluck

My first attempt at that so hopefully it works, and you can see what others are bringing. We will also have practice Sunday, lots of fun with no races to worry about. Time to enjoy.

Peter Chudy peterchudy@mac.com

March 5th and 6th Training

Hello Tristate and Interclub Race Teams

Due to the late start to the season this year, we have decided to extend our training for one extra weekend. We will be meeting for our last training weekend on March 5th and 6th. Normal training schedule and times. This is all depending on the Mountain of course. As usual, please check the catamountski.com website prior to making your way to the ski area, to check for possible mountain closings.

 

Steve

U12 & U14 Training this weekend!

Hey Racers!

Just letting you know the plan for this weekend’s training. Please be prepared to train GS Saturday on Lower Alley Cat and SL Sunday on Catamount. Please meet your coach at the bottom of the Quad at 8:30am sharp to warm up. The goal of this weekend’s training is to practice inspecting each course with a partner with minimal direction from the coach.

*****Parents we can really use your help in putting up fencing again!!! Due to safety issues, no one can practice on the GS training course until proper fencing is set. Please find and drag or carry a roll of B-netting located at the flat, skier’s left, above the pump house, to the top of Lower Alley Cat at 8:45am (you do not need poles) where you will be directed on how and where to help put up fencing. The quicker we get the fencing up, the quicker your racers can get on the practice course!*****

Thanks in advance for your amazing help!

Saturday – GS Full Course

1. Inspect the course with a partner – Do you know how many meters the course setter set the course at? Remember to look back and up the hill at every feature.

a. Look at the start – Is it flat? Pitched? Does it lead straight into the 1st gate or do you have to ski across the fall line to reach it?

b. Look at the pitch, are the gates set rhythmically with consistent offset? Are there any fall away gates that you need to set up early for? Where is the fall line? Are there any heavy left or right footers? Are there any compressions that you need to be prepared for?

c. When you inspect the delay, stand at the entrance to the through gate, look up the hill and down. Then stand at the exit, look up the hill and down. Imagine yourself at speed. How are you going to take the delay? High, medium or low?

d. Look at the flats, where can you drop into a high/half tuck? Can you drop into a full tuck? Is there anywhere that you can generate speed?

e. Look at the finish, where can you drop into a high/half tuck? Where can you drop into a full tuck? On which side of the finish will you be?

Try not to memorize every nook and cranny of the course. Trust your careful inspection that you can let your reflexes take care of the easy parts of the course. However, concentrate and memorize the tough parts of the course. Maybe there’s a particular cranker, difficult exit from the delay gate, a fall away gate or compression.

2. Check your inspection with a coach at the bottom of the course.

3. Run the course as if it were a race. If you train casually, then you’ll race casually.

4. Ask for feedback. Your coaches will give you feedback, but it’s helpful if YOU know what you’re working on and share it with your coach.

Sunday – SL Full Course

1. Inspect the course with a partner – Do you know how many meters the course setter set the course at? Remember to look back and up the hill at every combination or feature.

a. Look at the start – Is it flat? Pitched? Do you need to skate to the 1st gate?

b. Look at each rhythm section. Are the offsets consistent? Are there any crankers? Are there any tight gates?

c. When you inspect the delay, stand at the entrance to the through gate, look up the hill and down. Then stand at the exit, look up the hill and down. Imagine yourself at speed. How are you going to take the delay? ON/ON, ON/OFF or OFF/ON?

d. Look at the pitch, are the gates set rhythmically with consistent offset? Are there any fall away gates that you need to set up early for? Where is the fall line? Are there any heavy left or right footers? Are there any compressions that you need to be prepared for?

e. Look at each vertical combination. Is it a hairpin? Is it a flush? Stand at the entrance to the combination and look up the hill and down. Then stand at the exit, look up the hill and down. Imagine yourself at speed. Is the entrance difficult? Is the exit difficult? Do you need to set up early?

f. Look at the finish. On which side of the finish will you be?

Try not to memorize every single little detail about the course, but do memorize the order of the combinations so you know what to expect. Trust your careful inspection that you can let your reflexes take care of the easy parts of the course. However, concentrate and memorize the tough parts of the course. Maybe there’s a difficult exit to the flush, or a particular cranker on the exit of the last hairpin, a really offset exit from the delay gate, a fall away gate or compression.

2. Check your inspection with a coach at the bottom of the course

3. Run the course as if it were a race.

4. Ask for feedback.

Coach Pat : )

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

U14 Tristate Championship Selections!

Hi everyone,

Congratulations to the following U14 racers who made it to Tristate Championships to be held at Blandford (SL on Saturday, March 5th) and Berkshire East (GS on Sunday, March 6th)! Please click on the links below to see the attached final season’s standings for girls and boys.

U14 Girls

Sage Siegel

Francesca Mann

U14 Boys

Achille Saracheck

Dax Roy

Adam Hess

Will Cross

Stanley Spence

Ethan Leifer

Colby Stevens

Congratulations to all!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

U14F Final Season Standings

U14M Final Season Standings

 

 

Final Practice Dates/Interclub Awards and Party

Hi All,
We are quickly approaching the end of the race season. The last weekend of training for our interclub and tri state teams will be Sat and Sun 3/5 – 3/6 ( there may be some individual training going on after that weekend for some Tristate racers that have qualified for post season championship events.) That weekend Interclub racers will be awarded participation trophies for a season of hard work and skill development.
Thank you all for being a part of the Catamount Race Team
Steve

With many racers away at the Piche Qualifier this coming Saturday, an early finish for the race schedule, and a shortened start to the season, Steve Adams has got the mountain management to agree to an extra weekend. We will have our annual Potluck/Pizza Party for Interclub on Saturday, March 5th. I am looking forward to a fun weekend with no races to think about.

The following Interclub racers have qualified for the 1st Massachusetts Piche Invitational Qualifier this coming Saturday.
Eleanor Smith, Phillip Mann, Ruby Blunt, Matthew Glatt, Grace Swartout, Parker Levin, Alice Pajeski, Yanni Schattman, Louise Albert, Oliver Meir,Isabel Lehrman, Ryan Claffey,
Laurentia Arengi-Bentivoglio, Milan Savard, Ella Keaney, Alex Bradley, Sydney Dohr, Federico Arengi-Bentivoglio, Oona Albert, Noland Kozlowski, Jonah Dohr, Jasper Gititz
Emil Rahn-Siege

Congrats,

Peter

 

Congratulations to our U12 & U14 Piche qualifier selectees!

Hi everyone!

Congratulations to the following racers who made it to the Piche GS qualifier this coming Saturday being held at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area!

U12 Boys
Levin, Gregory
Metcalfe, Benjamin
Cashen, Connelly
U12 Girls
Piasecki, Clara
U14 Boys
Saracheck, Achille
U14 Girls
Siegel, Sage
Please let me know as soon as possible if you will NOT be attending so that the appropriate alternates can be promptly notified.
To register your racer online, please log on to Adminskiracing.com, click on Register to Race, scroll down to “U12/U14 Mass State Piche Qualifier **Invitation Only** (Non Wachusett Pass Holders Only)” and Add to Cart. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email or phone.
Congratulations to our racers!
Coach Pat
liupatrickm@gmail.com
914-882-1403
“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Congratulations Catamount U12 & U14 Racers @ Butternut SL!

Great job to all our racers at our 2nd SL and last race of the season! The course held up surprisingly well in the morning. However in the afternoon, as I heard one parent say, “the kids looked like they disappeared in the ruts”! Congratulations to all our racers today and to their great improvement this season!

Click on the link below to check out today’s results.

Special thanks to Charles Gagnon and Coach Larry Hess in helping with getting racers ready at the start. slipping the course and running coats and shorts down to the finish!

Butternut Tristate U12_U14 Girls Slalom 02_21_16

Butternut Tristate U12_14 Boys Slalom 02_21_16