Author Archives: patliu

About patliu

Tristate U19 Head Race Coach

Tristate U12 & U14 racers Friday night GS training approved!

Hi everyone,

Just letting you know Steve has just informed me that the mountain has approved of some extra GS training on Catamount Friday, tomorrow evening.

Steve will be setting a course between 5 & 6pm The course will run until around 7:45pm. Please make sure that your racer helps to break down the course at the end of the night.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at Bousquet on Saturday and Berkshire East on Sunday!!!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Tristate U12 & U14 racers Bousquet GS on Saturday & Berkshire East GS on Sunday!!!

Hey racers!

Here’s some information about this weekend’s races:

Bousquet GS
Race Registration
If you haven’t registered for the race, you must do so on the Tristate Schedule for the Western MA Series. Registration is online at Adminskiracing. Online registration ENDS AT 5PM TODAY, Thursday, February 2nd!!! If you miss it, you can still register the morning of the race but a $20 late fee will be applied.

Race Day
Registration at Bousquet starts at 7:30am on the 2nd floor of the lodge. Course inspection begins around 8:30am and the race begins at the end of inspection (between 9 & 9:30). Make sure to get there early so your racer can get a proper inspection of the course. They are responsible for making their way to the start BEFORE their bib # is called. If a racer misses their start, they will automatically be placed at the end of their age/gender group. The order of this (and every) race is as follows: U12 Girls; U12 Boys; U14 Girls; U14 Boys. The 1st run at Bousquet will run A, B, C then D. The 2nd run at Bousquet will follow the order B, C, D then A. At the end of the 1st run, the course is reset and then opened for inspection. The 2nd run usually begins about an hour after the last racer finishes from the 1st run.

Berkshire East GS
Race Registration
Registration is online at Adminskiracing. Online registration ends tomorrow at 12 noon, Friday, February 3rd!!! If you miss it, you will NOT be able to register on race day!!!

Race Day
Registration at the Beast starts at 7:30am on the 2nd floor of the lodge. Course inspection begins around 8:30am and the race begins at the end of inspection (between 9:15 & 9:30). Make sure to get there early so your racer can get a proper inspection of the course. They are responsible for making their way to the start BEFORE their bib # is called. If a racer misses their start, they will automatically be placed at the end of their age/gender group. The order of this (and every) race is as follows: U12 Girls; U12 Boys; U14 Girls; U14 Boys. The 1st run at Berkshire East will run C, D, A then B. The 2nd run at Beast will follow the order D, A, B then C. At the end of the 1st run, the course is reset and then opened for inspection. The 2nd run usually begins about an hour after the last racer finishes from the 1st run.

Here’s to a strong finish to the regular season!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Congratulations Tristate U12 & U14 Racers @ the Beast/Eaglebrook SL!

Congratulations everyone on our second SL of the season! It was definitely a nice change of venue to have SL at the Beast! The course held up in the AM and PM and at the end of the 1st run, our U14 ladies were 1, 2 & 3! Great 1st runs by Clare Howard, Sage Siegel and Winnie Mann.

We had some notable finishes this race with several Top 10 finishers:

    U12 Girls

4th place – Eleanor Smith
7th place – Charlotte Van der Linden

    U14 Girls

1st place – Sage Siegel
7th place – Francesca Mann
10th place – Ella Keaney

    U12 Boys

4th place – Philip Mann
6th place – Neil Howard
9th place – Quentin Balboni

    U14 Boys

8th place – Dax Roy
9th place – Greg Levin
10th place – Alex Gagnon

Special thanks to our parents for the help staging kids at the start! And EXTRA special thanks to Yanni for coming to cheer on his team even though he was injured and couldn’t race himself! Now that’s a team player!!!

Great job everyone!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Tristate U12 & U14 SL training Saturday/ Sunday Eaglebrook SL race venue moved to Berkshire East

Hey everyone!

I can’t thank everyone enough for the amazing teamwork shown on Saturday for GS training on Lower Alley Cat and the last minute change of equipment and plans for SL training on Sunday with the cancellation of our race. The 9:00am start for GS training on Saturday was probably the earliest I’ve seen in my short tenure at Catamount and only happened with the careful work between the mountain, ski patrol, coaches and parents! The training itself was very productive as improvement in confidence and technique was seen for every single racer. Many thanks to the parents who came to help in the morning and then again at the end of the day to break down the “B” netting.

Race Registration

    Be sure to register for Sunday’s race on Adminskiracing.com before Thursday at 8pm! Although the venue has been changed, you should still register under Eaglebrook’s link on Tristateracing.org

    Saturday SL Training – Race Slope

      Saturday’s plan will be to train a full SL course in the morning with a proper inspection and 2 timed runs. Then drills and/or free skiing “with a purpose” in the afternoon. Be sure to re-attach your chin guard, bring your SL poles with pole guards, shin guards and SL skis!

      Sunday SL Race Day – Berkshire East “Beast”

    Registration generally runs from 7:30am – 8:30am on the 2nd floor. We usually try to sit together on the 1st floor. The cafeteria is usually open and the food is pretty good. Inspection usually runs an hour with the start of the race at 9:30am. The order will run exactly as Bousquet would have. U12 Girls/U12 Boys/U14 Girls/U14 Boys. 1st run will be C-D-A-B and the 2nd run will be D-A-B-C. Inspection for the 2nd run generally starts about an hour after the end of the 1st run.

    Looking forward to seeing you this weekend!

    Coach Pat : )

    “Ski fast… Take chances…”

Sprongo Membership

Hi everyone,

Peter Chudy and the Parent Association have generously provided membership for all Tri-state racers to Sprongo.com, a great coaching/video website that both Lars and I have used for a couple of years now. However we need your help in providing a single preferred email address so that we may send an invitation to join the team online. Please only provide ONE email address as each email address counts as one membership. Please click on the link below to place your racer’s name and preferred single email address so that we may continue with Sprongo’s registration. On this website, you can access your videos, “pro” videos, use slow motion, side by side viewing etc.
The sooner you fill in your racer’s information in the provided Google Sheet, the sooner you’ll be able to access videos from your home computers or your phones!

Sprongo Registration Information

Thanks for your cooperation!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Tristate U12 & U14 Bousquet GS Race Postponed! SL Training Tomorrow!

Hey everyone!

Sorry about the late notice however we just found out that the race tomorrow has been postponed. Tristates will let us know when the race will be rescheduled.

In the meantime please bring your slalom equipment (poles with guards, helmet with chin guard, shin guards and slalom skis). It’s ok if you don’t have everything. We realize some of you may not have all of your slalom equipment. We will be training on Race Slope from 8:30am – 11am and then from 12pm – 2pm.

Ski you tomorrow!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”

Tristate U12 & U14 GS Training Saturday and Bousquet GS Race Sunday!

Hey racers!

Great work last weekend from focusing on timing on Saturday and gradually working from Lower Catamount to Lower Alley Cat on Monday. Big thanks to Lars, Charles & Chris for setting a course that was U12/U14 “friendly.” And special big thanks to our parents who came to the course to help with fencing both in the morning at 8:20am to set up and at 12:15pm to break down! Coach Greg Smith and Andy Levin get a special “Pat-on-the-Back” for dragging 2 bundles of fencing from the bottom to halfway up the course!!

And what a great turnout for Sunday’s video analysis of the Butternut SL race and indoor session! Special thanks to Coach Doug and Coach Sonia for their hours of preparation in uploading video and creating the Google Slides presentation. If you didn’t get to see the video, you will be able to see it on Sprongo.com. Look for an invite in your email to join the website, courtesy of Peter Chudy and the Parent Association. Please click on the embedded link for Sonia’s Google Presentation.

Saturday Training

Just a reminder to everyone that our first GS race is held at Bousquet this coming Sunday. We will be training on Lower Alley Cat on Saturday along with the U16’s and with timing. Training on Lower Alley runs from 8:30am – 12:10am and we will again need parent assistance at 8:20am and 12:15pm to set up and break down fencing. A reminder to racers to remove your chinguards. Although protective for SL training, they can lead to neck injuries if worn during a fall at high speed during GS training.

Race Registration

    If you haven’t registered for the race, you must do so on the Tristate Schedule for the Western MA Series. Registration is online at Adminskiracing. Avoid the $20 late fee by registering before 12 noon TODAY, Thursday, January 19th!!! Online registration ENDS AT 5PM!!! If you miss it, you can still register the morning of the race but the $20 late fee will still apply. Watch for an email in case the race is postponed due to poor snow conditions.

    Race Day
    Registration at Bousquet starts at 7:30am on the 2nd floor of the lodge. Course inspection begins around 8:30am and the race begins at the end of inspection (between 9 & 9:30). Make sure to get there early so your racer can get a proper inspection of the course. They are responsible for making their way to the start BEFORE their bib # is called. If a racer misses their start, they will automatically be placed at the end of their age/gender group. The order of this (and every) race is as follows: U12 Girls; U12 Boys; U14 Girls; U14 Boys. The 1st run at Bousquet will run C, D, A then B. The 2nd run at Bousquet will follow the order D, A, B then C. My apologies for the correction for last week’s race order. At the end of the 1st run, the course is reset and then opened for inspection. The 2nd run usually begins about an hour after the last racer finishes from the 1st run.

    Please feel free to ask if you have any questions regarding training or the race!

    Go Catamount!

    Coach Pat
    liupatrickm@gmail.com

    “Ski fast…Take chances…”

Tristate U12/U14 GS training tomorrow – Monday, January16!!!

Hey Racers!

Just letting you know our plan for tomorrow.

We will be training on Lower Alley Cat and Lower Catamount from 8:30am – 12noon. Be prepared to have your GS skis, forearm guards (optional) and remember to remove your chin bar from your helmet. Please meet your coaches at the bottom of the Quad at 8:25am to warm up. Then from 1 – 2pm, we will be skiing GS specific drills to help prepare for our 1st GS race at Bousquet.

Parents we can really use your help in putting up fencing. Due to safety issues, no one can practice on the GS training course until proper fencing is set. Please be ready to board the Quad at 8:20am sharp (you do not need poles) and come to the pumphouse on Lower Alley Cat where you will be directed on how to help put up fencing! The quicker we get the fencing up, the quicker your racers can get on the practice course!

Then at 12:15pm, can you please come back to the top of the training course on Lower Alley Cat to help break down, roll up and carry/drag the fencing to the finish shack at the bottom of Lower Alley Cat. This season, the mountain has asked all Tristate coaching on Alley Cat to end by 12:30pm so that they may groom and open up the terrain back up to the public.

We’re excited to see you all tomorrow!

Ski you later!

Coach Pat

“Ski fast…Take chances…”