Greetings,

Arriving @ Catamount Saturday morning for the usual day of practice, turned out to be not so usual. Shortly afterwards, Coach Michael Purpura arrived and parked along side of my vehicle. We both glanced at each other and surmised that the Mountain was closed. Brillant deduction. After all, we both learned how reasoning flows from “If such-and -such is present, then such- and- such can only be certain” from our combined years of higher education experience . Hey a few weeks earlier we skied the lower terrain off the green chair in the rain. Trying to convince ourselves that same scenario would play out this day as well, we proceeded up to the door of the bubble. Nothing doing. Still feeling undaunted, we spent some time discussing assessment options for the racers, and chatting with a parent and her son, Bode, no not that Bode, regarding the opportunity to join us this weekend. Fortunately, the clouds cleared Saturday night, and without much fanfare, we went on to successfully complete our first race of the season. As a matter of fact 83 of our racers showed up with parents in tow. The average race turnout last year was 74 Catamount racers. Forty four girls competed and slightly out numbered the boys’ turnout by 5. I won’t go into great detail with numbers and results because most of you have access to “live-timing” results on the web. A total of 26 racers qualified for top 5 finishes (31% ). From this total we see that 11 (25%) girls and 15 (38%) boys made the walk to the podium. The percentage of top 10 finishes bumps up for each gender ( girls 34% and boys 59% ). The fastest overall time for the day was earned by Catamount’s John Mueller. Not far behind John are a strong contingent of boys separated only by a ski length or two. Going neck-and-neck for the fastest female Catamount racer was Lael Cashen and Francesca Mann, with Francesca edging out Lael. Now our catamount results certainly deserve applause and recognition. Racers who demonstrated fast times have been showing up for training week after week and training hard. Overall our racers have exemplified a commitment to learn skills and techniques to become a stronger and faster ski racer. And there in lies the key to ski racer development ,i.e., to develop is to grow, to evolve, to move toward fulfillment, Webster dictionary. This is the underlying goal of USSA and Catamount race progran as well. To become a stronger and more skilled ski racer one must develop the requisite skills and techniques. Many of the top Catamount finshers at Blandford achieved this status because they have been putting forth the effort for 2-4 years in the IC program.

Here is a quote from Chip White (USST Head Women’s World Cup Speed Coach):

“Just going fast will only take you so far. If you learn the skills first and build from that base, then as you progress, learning how to ski fast will be easier and eventually lead to a longer and more successful ski racing career.”

Here is another quote to share with your racer:

“Mikaela has been fortunate in having had a coach who views skills acquisition and quality training, particularly during key developmental years, as critical elements to future success. Racing was always secondary to mastery. Mikaela is continually striving for improvement. She can then race feeling well prepared, confident, and supported, which makes that part of the sport so enjoyable for her.” Mikaela’s parents, Jeff and Eileen.

Our coaching staff will continue to provide the necessary support to enhance your racer’s skill foundation on their way to becoming a better developed skier and hence ski racer. In the next few weeks we will be piloting several skill assessments with our racers. The information will subsequently be shared with parents. Please remember to volunteer for the Catamount home race

Regards,

John Greaser