Hey U16’s!

Saturday, March 9th – SG training on Upper/Lower Glade am, SL training on Race Slope pm

Feedback from last week’s speed training was that it was a success! So now the mountain is looking to continue speed training on Glade.

Please bring GS/SG equipment for the am speed training and SL equipment for the pm.

If any U16/U19 racers are interested in helping/learning to set SL please contact Coach Pat & Coach Charles by Remind.

Saturday Night – End-of-the-Season Party @ the Cashen’s

Parent volunteers! We can really use your help setting up fencing in the AM and breaking it (and the course) down at 12 noon! Please report to the pump house at the top of Lower Alley Cat when the Quad opens and again at 12 noon!

See you this weekend!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Hey U16’s!

U16 Champs @ Jiminy Peak

Congratulations on finishing the season with U16 Championships this past weekend at Jiminy Peak! Once again it was crazy weather on Sunday where it was freezing rain and then just rain!

Great job on Saturday (GS) to Clare Howard (13th), Delphine Cohen (15th), Winnie Mann (18th), Ruby Blunt (18th), Ella Keaney (33rd), Zoe Wells (35th), Maya Silver-Lewis (47th) out of a field of 62!

Sunday (SL) to Clare Howard (9th), Frannie Mann (11th), Winnie (12th), Delphine Cohen (15th), Zoe Wells, (27th), Ruby Blunt (29th), Elisabeth Hartnett (31st), Morgan Weinberg (35th), Maya Lewis-Silver (41st) out of a field of 60!

Saturday (GS) to Dax Roy (12th), Alex Gagnon (14th), Hayden Claussen (16th), Oliver Thompson (30th) out of a field of 91!

Sunday (SL) to Alex Gagnon (5th), Hayden Claussen (20th), Ryan Claffey (28th) out of a field of 90!

This weekend’s training @ Catamount

Colin Bargar & Steve Adams are planning on Speed Training from 7:30am-8:30am this Saturday. Bring your GS skis (if you have Super G’s then bring them). Please let Steve and Colin know ASAP if you plan on attending.

I’ve spoken to Coach Sonia and she is welcoming any U16’s who would like to join her in working on SL clearing technique. And Coach Mark & Coach Kenny will be at the mountain welcoming any U16’s who would like to join them and the U19’s. Coach Charles will be at Jiminy Peak this weekend coaching for Eastern Finals and I will be at Okemo for my USSA 200 certification clinic. Please bring both GS and SL equipment on both days. Some of the best training happens at the end of the season when the pressure to perform is off!

Congratulations on your hard work this season!

On behalf of all the U16 coaches, I’d like to extend a hearty congrats to everyone for their hard work this past season. We’ve seen some great improvement in every racer on the team. Some of you really worked on your “mental game”, others were working on their carve on steeper terrain. Some of you really improved your commitment of weight to the outside ski, while others worked on early pressure before the fall line and early release just after the fall line. Some of you really improved your SL clearing technique while others really improved your pole plants which also helped your timing. What is great to see is how motivated you all are and with such positive attitudes that you bring to the mountain every day of training. It inspires us to work that much harder for you.

Thanks so much to Colin, Dusty and the race crew for all of their help bringing gates and B-netting up to the top of Lower Alley Cat and Race Slope as well as their help in setting up fencing and courses and tearing them down.

And finally a special thanks to the parents of our team. You take care of registrations, driving up to the mountain early in the morning and late at night, you make sure that the equipment is taken care of and ready for training and races, you volunteer to set up and break down the B-netting and courses (even in the rain!). It is your support and help that makes our program possible!

Cheers to a great season and let’s celebrate at Chris Cashen’s house on Saturday, March 9th! An Evite will be sent with details of the party (times and what to bring)

Coach Pat : )

Hey U16’s!

Just a reminder that U16 Championships are this coming weekend at Jiminy Peak! Registration ends Thursday, February 21st at midnight! For details, click here.

SL will be on Saturday and GS will be on Sunday however, the mountain may switch days depending on the weather so make sure that you bring all of your equipment just in case! Also a reminder to have your edges sharpened and bases waxed, scraped and buffed! Check out the hourly temperatures to give a general guide to the type of wax you should use.

Congratulations to all of our racers who raced at Bousquet last weekend!

Special recognition of Alex Gagnon on his podium 3rd place finish and Yanni Schattman on his 5th place finish! What a great day of racing as we had 3 boys finish top 20 (Alex Gagnon, Yanni Schattman & Greg Levin) and 3 girls finish top 20 (Clare Howard, Delphine Cohen & Frannie Mann), and great improvement from all of our racers! Just in time for Tristate Champs @ Jiminy on 2/23 (SL).

Keep up the great work!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Hey U16’s (and U19’s)!

Saturday, February 16 – parallel paneled SL Training on Race Slope

We will be training SL on Saturday. Please warm up at the Quad @ 8:25am as a group and head up for your warm up run and swing by to inspect the course when it’s ready. If any racer is interested in helping Charles and I set the course, please contact me asap on Remind! We’ll take 2 racers with us to help set our course.

Sunday, February 17 – make up parallel paneled SL Race @ Blandford

Registration ends tonight @ 11pm! Click here for details: https://adminskiracing.com/node/187935

Race Day registration starts at 7:00am usually in the lodge to the left (as you face the mountain). Let’s meet in the main lodge to the right where the cafeteria is located.

If you’d like to stay overnight before the race, there’s a Holiday Inn Express in Westfield that has hot breakfast and a pool!

TSARA U16 Championships @ Jiminy Peak on Saturday 2/23 & Sunday 2/24

Registration is now open on AdminSkiRacing.com and ends at midnight on Thursday, February 21. Click here for details: https://adminskiracing.com/node/221302

There may be some training opportunities @ Catamount from 2/18-2/22! – Please see Steve Adams

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Hey U16’s!

Saturday, February 9 – Bousquet SL

Just a reminder that registration ends at noon tomorrow! Make sure to register at adminskiracing.com. Here’s the info for the race! bousquetSLRaceInfoSheet2019. Let’s meet up on the upper floor where registration is.

In preparation for the U16 Championships @ Jiminy Peak (GS on 2/24), we will train GS on Lower Alley Cat. Make sure to remove your chin guard and bring your GS skis/poles! Please meet Coach Charles at the Quad at 8:25am sharp to warm up.

I’ve been very disheartened in our racers’ tardiness these past few weeks. The coaches and I work extremely hard at getting to the mountain earlier so that we can make the most of our limited training window on Lower Alley Cat (gate training ends @ 12 noon) If you truly love what we do, get your racers to the mountain on time and make sure your racers are out at the Quad at 8:25am!!!

Parent volunteers! We can really use your help with rolling B-Netting at 12 noon! Please report to the pump house at the top of Lower Alley Cat at 12 noon!

See you this weekend!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Hey U16’s!

Wachusett Mountain GS

Another great GS race at the Wachusett Mountain last Sunday for Team Catamount!  Congratulations to Alex Gagnon for his 7th place finish, Greg Levin for his 10th place finish and Clare Howard for her 8th place finish for U16’s!

GS & SL training this weekend

This Saturday we will be training GS on Lower Alley Cat.  Sunday we will be training SL on Lower Alley Cat in preparation for our SL race next Saturday @ Bousquet.  Please be ready to meet your coach at the Quad @ 8:25am on both days!  Please bring your GS & SL skis and equipment for the weekend.

Jiminy Peak U19 SL & GS

Any U16 going to this race should pair up or inspect in groups and check in with Coach Mark and/or Coach Ken at different key spots in the course.  Since you will be missing SL training, have a goal for the day; race and free ski with a purpose.

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Hey Parents and Racers!

Blandford Race on Monday

I emailed Coach Gretchen Sonju, the Tristate U16 Chair and Bill Scherpa from Blandford to ask about the timing of the cancellation. Unfortunately, races cannot be cancelled ahead of schedule and the race jury must be present on site to make that determination (in this case they were at the mtn at 7am). In the future, they will consider delaying the registration so that more people can get the message of cancellation/postponement in time. (Unfortunately it wouldn’t have helped me as Hayden and I left White Plains at 5am!) The race has been postponed to Sunday, February 17th.

GS training Saturday on Lower Alley Cat

Please bring your GS gear and meet with your coach (TBA) at the Quad at 8:25am sharp! Timing will be set up and we’ll see who’s Queen/King of the Hill for the day!

GS race @ Wachusett Mtn Sunday

Be sure to register before midnight on Thursday! There is NO late or walk-in registration offered. Check in begins at 7:30am. Please click here for race day details. Many of the racers and their families will be staying at the DoubleTree in Leominster (15min from the mtn) on Saturday night. Bring your swimsuit as it has a pool!

See you at the mountain!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Hey U16 & U19 racers and parents!

With the impending weather, formal training tomorrow is likely to be cancelled. Instead, Coach Charles has generously offered (who are we kidding??? he’s there for the fresh pow!!!) to meet any racers at 9am to freeski and learn to make patience turns in the powder.

I’ve contacted Bill Scherpa from Blandford for more information regarding the impending temperatures for the race. Monday’s race has been postponed to 10am START!!! Registration is still at 7:30am, inspection begins @ 8am. I will let you know if there are any other changes to the race.

Great practice today everyone! We saw some awesome skiing (and double punching!) from EVERYONE!!!

Ski you later,

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Hey U16’s!

Congratulations on your 1st SL race at Mohawk!!! We had a top 10 finisher in both Girl’s and Boy’s races! Clare Howard finished 9th with a combined time of 1:57:61 and Alex Gagnon finished 9th with a combined time of 1:48:51. Congratulations to all of our racers. There was so much confidence in their runs and they handled the Royal Flush at the end of the 2nd run like pros!!!

Saturday – SL Training & Paneled SL Training – Lower Alley Cat

Be prepared to train SL and Paneled SL on Lower Alley Cat on Saturday. Please meet Coach
Charles at the Quad at 8:25am sharp! You will warm up until the courses are ready. Training on Lower Alley Cat will run from from about 9am – 12noon. Single pole SL on the upper pitch of Lower Alley Cat. Bring your forearm guards for the paneled SL at the bottom of Lower Alley Cat.

Sunday – Head to Head Paneled SL on Race Slope!

Be prepared to train Dual Paneled SL on Race Slope on Sunday. Please meet your coach (TBA) at the Quad at 8:25am sharp! You will warm up until the courses are ready. Training on Race Slope will run in the AM ONLY and all parents, racers and coaches have been requested to meet with Jim Schaefer and Colin Bargar in the Taconic Lodge after the morning session for a general meeting regarding the direction of racing at Catamount.

Monday – U16/U19 Paneled SL Race @ Blandford

Just a reminder that registration for this race ends at 11pm Friday night!!! Make sure to go to adminskiracing.com to register for the race. (the event is listed as “Ski Blandford U19 Parallel Slalom.”

Registration starts at 7:30am usually in the lodge to the left (as you face the mountain). Let’s meet in the main lodge to the right where the cafeteria is located. I’ve emailed Bill Sherpa from Blandford for more information about race day.

If you’d like to stay overnight before the race, there’s a Holiday Inn Express in Westfield that has hot breakfast and a pool!

See you at Catamount this weekend and at the race!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”