J-IV

 

J-IV Weekly Training Schedule

Letter to The Parents

J4 Survey

The J-IV group (ages 11 and 12) continues mastering the fundamental skills of contemporary skiing and applying these skills to all-mountain skiing and racing.  Our athletes will work at reaching their next performance level skiing all conditions and all terrain while having a blast, whether we're skiing groomed runs, bumps, terrain features, trees, steeps, gate drills, or a race course.  Gate training will emphasize the concepts of proper technique and tactics as they relate to a race course, and also introduce Slalom (SL) and Super Giant Slalom (SG).  This age group has approximately 6 races including SL, GS, and SG.  At the end of the season there is a State Championship where the three ski councils all send a team to compete.  Participants are chosen using a formula based upon athlete's results throughout the season.

 

Our Objectives:
Our technical skiing goal for our J-IV athletes is to be able to ski short, medium, and long radius turns in near-perfect balance including pivoting, steering, and carving on a groomed black trail.  Our tactical goal for our J-IV athletes is to be able to demonstrate basic tactics and line adjustments in SL, GS, and SG courses on a groomed black trail.

Our plan to accomplish these goals is first to provide a fun and social environment for skiing and training.  Our next priority is to develop strong skiing skills that can be applied to skiing all conditions and all terrain.  This then becomes the foundation for combining skiing and tactics in the race course.

Our training program will emphasize a series of progressions, each of which is designed to develop a specific skiing skill or element of contemporary skiing.  We will then apply the skill to higher-level tasks, and finally incorporate the new or revised skill into all-mountain skiing.  We use gate drills to reinforce the fundamental movements of skiing and gate training to practice race course tactics.

Athletes will also spend time working on their personal skiing goals.  Using our Sample J-IV Skills and Development Chart the athlete's lead coach will keep track of the athlete's progress with personal goals, skiing skills, and gate drills. 

We will use coaching methods that will help our athletes develop ownership of the changes they make to their skiing, and give them a better chance of demonstrating these improvements on race day. 

A typical weekend of training will include approximately 20% gate drills/gate training, 20% progressions and drills, 35% all-mountain skiing to accomplish specific goals, and 25% free skiing for fun and mileage.
Feel free to meet us at the end of training sessions (11:30AM or 2:30PM) to discuss your child's progress, training program, equipment needs, etc.  If these times are not convenient let us know and we will schedule a time for you to meet with your child's coach.

General Information:

Contact information:  Bob Zuch   rzuch@highstream.net
       (914) 273-1408 (home)
       (914) 393-5727 (cell)
       (802) 297-1535 (Stratton)


Membership Information:
(all memberships must be in place by the first race on 1/6):
VARA:  www.vara.org
USSA:  www.ussa.org

Equipment:
(all equipment should be purchased by the Christmas Holiday week)
« Giant Slalom (GS) Skis
« Slalom (SL) Skis
« GS Poles
« SL Poles with pole guards
« Helmet with a removable bar for SL
« Shin Guards (for SL)
« Zip Off Warm Ups and/or Shorts (recommended)
« GS Suit (recommended)
« Tinted and clear lenses for goggles (must have the clear lens for the night race at Willard Mt. on 2/9)
« Tuning equipment

Training Schedule:
Athletes meet in front of the Ski School Building at 8:20AM and depart promptly at 8:30.  We return at 11:30AM and break for lunch, and depart again at 12:30PM.  The afternoon session ends at 2:30PM.

Please check that your son or daughter is properly dressed for the cold weather.  It is a good idea for athletes to keep a set of hand warmers in their jacket pocket, and also to carry a neck warmer if they are not wearing one.  Keep in mind that it is usually colder and windier at the top of the mountain than the base area.

Our groups will usually stop for a short warm-up/break mid morning.  We will have time for a quick snack and drink, but we discourage the kids from eating a lot of food or junk food.  A good breakfast before training starts is a must!