Prepping to Start Ski Racing Next Season.

[fkb]

Hello PUGskiers. I'm currently a freshman in High School with approximatelty 4 years under my belt of recreational skiing.

I'm a fast learner and next season I'm going to be a ski instructor and am aspiring to join my high school ski team (slalom focus).

So with the season wrapped up here in MN. I'm wondering what are some things that i can be doing to prepare myself for skiing competitively next year in terms of knowledge, training, and resources, along with tips for gear, tricks for assistance, etc, etc...

Really excited to go deep into skiing next year so any help is appreciated

Thank you

 

[whitefeathers]

I'm replying because I'm very interested in what the knowledgeable responses will be. I also want to race next season myself.

 

[BGreen]

Work on core strength, particularly lower back and hip flexors (pilates is good), work on explosive strength (plyometrics, etc.), work on max effort sprints that run for 1-2 minutes (hill repeats). Watch world cup video, or even better, video of world cup skies training -- both in and out of gates. See if you can get on a club soccer team. Now is a good time to shop for gear. If you have contacts with Volkl there are some incredible deals on gear they are trying to move this week. Understand that racing and instructing have nothing in common and keep them mentally siloed. I know I will get flamed for that, so kindly PM me rather than pollute this thread. If you want to get good quickly, look into a guy whose initials are HH and has a system called PMTS. Understand the why behind it and don't get so concerned with the what. Much of it is to appeal to people to who need a dogma. Buy two pair of boots, something cheap and comfortable to instructing, and something for racing. Get the race boots properly aligned. You can find good deals on skis on sidelineswap, but mostly it is a lot of overpriced stuff masquerading as good deals.

This is old, but some videos I put in a playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZJT3sTCqFrDC1HN7Oogvr7vJ-xA_dl-O

 

[ella_g]

@fkb does your high school team ski at all in the summer? If they do try to go with them. If not there are a bunch of commercial race camps at mt hood that offer race and intro to race camps. My kids ski there through their ski club but I’ve heard good things about Tichy camp. There’s also fall camps at Copper and maybe other places, but that would involve skipping some school (maybe do nice things for your parents so they’ll let you do this stuff? Get a summer job to help pay for it?).

I’ve noticed the fastest kids in my kids ski club tend to be very good at some other sport/s too. So soccer, or whatever you like and if joining a team isn’t your thing run a lot. I’m not sure if I’d get a bunch of gear now. Coaches seem to be pretty specific about what they think their kids need and they also might be a gear swap / gear night where you could get guidance from a coach.

Are you sure you’ll have time to race and teach? I’m not sure how hs teams work but expect races to be a wknd time suck (but I’m a good way), and to be practicing or have dry land most days. Do you know kids on the team who could give you the lay of the land? Do you have to try out? Keep us in the loop with how it all goes, good luck, ski racing is so fun .....

 

[James]

Advice would be not to instruct on weekends next season and get into some sort of coached racing program. Find out about it now or in summer. There's just not enough time. You've got catching up to do having started 4 years ago.

 

[ScotsSkier]

Work on core strength, particularly lower back and hip flexors (pilates is good), work on explosive strength (plyometrics, etc.), work on max effort sprints that run for 1-2 minutes (hill repeats). Watch world cup video, or even better, video of world cup skies training -- both in and out of gates. See if you can get on a club soccer team. Now is a good time to shop for gear. If you have contacts with Volkl there are some incredible deals on gear they are trying to move this week. Understand that racing and instructing have nothing in common and keep them mentally siloed. I know I will get flamed for that, so kindly PM me rather than pollute this thread. If you want to get good quickly, look into a guy whose initials are HH and has a system called PMTS. Understand the why behind it and don't get so concerned with the what. Much of it is to appeal to people to who need a dogma. Buy two pair of boots, something cheap and comfortable to instructing, and something for racing. Get the race boots properly aligned. You can find good deals on skis on sidelineswap, but mostly it is a lot of overpriced stuff masquerading as good deals.

This is old, but some videos I put in a playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZJT3sTCqFrDC1HN7Oogvr7vJ-xA_dl-O

make up your list of equipment requirements and let ScotsSkier know...

 

[Magi]

Hello PUGskiers. I'm currently a freshman in High School with approximately 4 years under my belt of recreational skiing.
So with the season wrapped up here in MN. I'm wondering what are some things that i can be doing to prepare myself for skiing competitively next year in terms of knowledge, training, and resources, along with tips for gear, tricks for assistance, etc, etc...

Really excited to go deep into skiing next year so any help is appreciated

What are your goals over/across the next 3 seasons?

The advice you'll get for: "how do I get good enough to ski for a college team?" is different than "How can I have fun racing and use it to get better at skiing?". (The former suggests you cannot spare the time to be an instructor, the latter suggests that may be a great way to access training).

Work on core strength, particularly lower back and hip flexors (pilates is good), work on explosive strength (plyometrics, etc.), work on max effort sprints that run for 1-2 minutes (hill repeats). ...

@BGreen Great advice! Does any of the workout advice (or maybe just how to go about it) change for a teenager who's still growing vs an adult?

 

[fkb]

@fkb does your high school team ski at all in the summer? If they do try to go with them. If not there are a bunch of commercial race camps at mt hood that offer race and intro to race camps. My kids ski there through their ski club but I’ve heard good things about Tichy camp. There’s also fall camps at Copper and maybe other places, but that would involve skipping some school (maybe do nice things for your parents so they’ll let you do this stuff? Get a summer job to help pay for it?).

I’ve noticed the fastest kids in my kids ski club tend to be very good at some other sport/s too. So soccer, or whatever you like and if joining a team isn’t your thing run a lot. I’m not sure if I’d get a bunch of gear now. Coaches seem to be pretty specific about what they think their kids need and they also might be a gear swap / gear night where you could get guidance from a coach.

Are you sure you’ll have time to race and teach? I’m not sure how hs teams work but expect races to be a wknd time suck (but I’m a good way), and to be practicing or have dry land most days. Do you know kids on the team who could give you the lay of the land? Do you have to try out? Keep us in the loop with how it all goes, good luck, ski racing is so fun .....

The team schedule is during weekdays with some optional weekend practice. The instructing is primarily for money and to still be part of the community that started me on skis.

They aren't active during the summer sadly. They have preseason training in ~September-November then once snowfall happens legitimate ski practice begin.

My main other supersizing regimen is road biking throughout the warmer seasons. However, if i have a goal for what i need to practice, I'll be including workouts.

I have a close friend on the ski team who has given me the ropes, I know personally about the techniques involved, it's just a matter of execution and practice.

To answer the time suck question, no. This team is a fairly relaxed team, there aren't too many high stress teams I've found (or if there are, they aren't quite low cost or entry level). The instructing is JUST Saturdays, not weekday job.

I don't believe there is a try-out. I've heard some (non-serious) kids have joined barely knowing how to ski.

Overall, this program is a multi-school wide group, and functions similar to a normal high school sport, where the goal isn't to pure-breed racers, but introduce ski racing and give hopeful individuals an experience and base to continue skiing.

Thank for the reply! @ella_g

 

[fkb]

make up your list of equipment requirements and let ScotsSkier know...

Current gear is:

Boots: Atomic Race Hawk 90

Skis: Atomic Race 6's
However, I'm waiting till the about September to pick up a set of Atomic SL skis.

LEKI WC Straight Poles

Poc SINUSE SL helmet (w/ chin guard)

If there's anything else in need of mentioning, let me know!

@ScotsSkier

 

[fkb]

What are your goals over/across the next 3 seasons?

The advice you'll get for: "how do I get good enough to ski for a college team?" is different than "How can I have fun racing and use it to get better at skiing?". (The former suggests you cannot spare the time to be an instructor, the latter suggests that may be a great way to access training).




@BGreen Great advice! Does any of the workout advice (or maybe just how to go about it) change for a teenager who's still growing vs an adult?

My goal would be to shoot for college team. However, I understand that requirements are high for those types of programs.

More detailed would be that i want to progress as a skier beyond simply carving or teaching and want to push myself to my limits and enjoy myself while giving something to tender my competitive spirit.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[fkb]

Work on core strength, particularly lower back and hip flexors (pilates is good), work on explosive strength (plyometrics, etc.), work on max effort sprints that run for 1-2 minutes (hill repeats). Watch world cup video, or even better, video of world cup skies training -- both in and out of gates. See if you can get on a club soccer team. Now is a good time to shop for gear. If you have contacts with Volkl there are some incredible deals on gear they are trying to move this week. Understand that racing and instructing have nothing in common and keep them mentally siloed. I know I will get flamed for that, so kindly PM me rather than pollute this thread. If you want to get good quickly, look into a guy whose initials are HH and has a system called PMTS. Understand the why behind it and don't get so concerned with the what. Much of it is to appeal to people to who need a dogma. Buy two pair of boots, something cheap and comfortable to instructing, and something for racing. Get the race boots properly aligned. You can find good deals on skis on sidelineswap, but mostly it is a lot of overpriced stuff masquerading as good deals.

This is old, but some videos I put in a playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZJT3sTCqFrDC1HN7Oogvr7vJ-xA_dl-O

Thanks for the detailed reply! Exactly what i was looking for.

I found the site you're talking about (PMTS system of dynamic turns)

I sadly have very few contacts as I'm the first in my family to get into skiing at this level and my parents are immigrants.

For boots section, What flex would you recommend? I'm a medium weight (150 LBS) and height (5'8"). I ski quite aggressively and just recently got a set of Atomic RaceHawk 90's.

I know about sidelineswap, I've had mixed results looking for some gear, but it's present as a resource.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[fkb]

Does any of the workout advice (or maybe just how to go about it) change for a teenager who's still growing vs an adult?

Is this something of interest? @BGreen

 

[focker]

fkb, my son races for a HS team in the metro and joined last year as a freshman. They ski 3 days a week at Trollhaugen and race at Troll and Wild.

My best advice for you would be to join a D team that trains on the weekends here locally during the season. My son is in race academy each Sunday at Troll. It goes from 9:30 to 3:00 with a 1 hour lunch break. That's 4.5 hours of extra racing per week with instructors. Teams only really get 2 hours of practice each weekday so those Sunday sessions are super important. We also race both SL and GS in D team which the kids love. If you want you can do D team on Saturdays AND Sundays, providing you can get transportation to the hill.

We also free ski lots of Friday nights and also after D team is over on Sunday. Our coaches motto is 'ski, ski and ski more'.

Another good option is spring Slalom at Trollhaugen which is a series of 4 races that take place each Thursday night after the HS season is over. Almost our whole HS team did it this year and did well.. It's great additional racing, but there is no coaching involved.

Our coach also recommends rollerblading during the summer and participating in a fall sport as well, such as cross country.

 

[BGreen]

@BGreen Great advice! Does any of the workout advice (or maybe just how to go about it) change for a teenager who's still growing vs an adult?

I'm not a physio, nor do I play one on TV, we have a very good one so we don't have to pretend to know things. I'm not a fan of weight work for growing bodies unless it is highly supervised. Body weight exercises are preferred. Running and cycling are both good, but as I say, plyometrics, and hip flexor strength are good places to start. If you have a climbing gym, parkour, American Ninja type training or something similar near you, those all are great. Yoga can be good too. I'm sure Runners World has plans for becoming a great sprinter. As noted above, inline skating is good too. There are a lot of good ways to occupy yourself over the summer. I've been pushing some of my younger girls into lacrosse because it is a good way to learn to get aggressive.

There was a recommendation above for a session of a Tichy Racing camp. Martin and family are the best. Highly recommended.

I don't know what Race Hawks are, but I'm pretty sure any boot with "Hawk" in the name isn't a race boot. If you are hung up on birds, Head sells Raptors. If you like Atomics, I think they are still called Redsters. Don't buy an Atomic used unless it's white. My personal preference is junior Langes. It sounds like @focker can direct you to local resources.

 

[James]

I'm pretty sure any boot with "Hawk" in the name isn't a race boot. If you are hung up on birds, Head sells Raptors.

Lol, true. Or it's a hood decal on a car.
Saloman did make the Falcon race boot some years ago.

While instructing as a way to get into things and make money sounds good, if the goal is college racing then it doesn't help you get there. Doesn't help much with money either frankly. Realize you can be there all day and may work 0 hrs, 2 , 4, 6 hours.

There's simply no substitute for snow time, and races are pretty inefficient for that. Lots of standing around.
Coached training is essential, you need eyes on what your doing esp since you have no experience at this point.

 

[ScotsSkier]

Current gear is:

Boots: Atomic Race Hawk 90

Skis: Atomic Race 6's
However, I'm waiting till the about September to pick up a set of Atomic SL skis.

LEKI WC Straight Poles

Poc SINUSE SL helmet (w/ chin guard)

If there's anything else in need of mentioning, let me know!

@ScotsSkier

First, listen to some of the advice above, particularly from @BGreen. Being a ski instructor has no relevance to learning to ski slalom. And slalom is not something you can just jump into a course and somehow develop. It is in some ways the hardest race discipline. It requires coaching and the opportunity to run gates regularly to progress. Typically only found through a race program. Otherwise, you are simply wasting your time and will find yourself running at the back of the pack.

Equipment wise at a minimum you will need shin guards and hand guards on your poles. Hitting gates without shin or pole guards is extremely painful! Your boots will probably work to start with but if you are serious about this you will find yourself needing to change them before long. At a minimum put a booster strap on them Skis will definitely need to be upgraded. You say you are going to buy atomic slaloms. Some advice to save you wasting money. Buy the proper FIS ski, not the "race look alike". the non FIS one simply does not stand up to a lot of gate use. Also, given this is your first foray into slalom, I would suggest going with a 157/158 ski rather than a 165, will be a bit easier on you. Look for good used ones if you can at this stage, easier to find deals on 157/158 as well.

 

[BGreen]

Lol, true. Or it's a hood decal on a car.
Saloman did make the Falcon race boot some years ago.

Were those the red ones? Those were good boots.

 

[focker]

I wouldn't worry about boots right now too much, as long as they fit WELL. Make sure your skis have the proper turn radius for SL (12-13). I see most HS racers around here on either Vokyl Racetigers or Fisher RC4's. Both are excellent skis for a HS racer from what I've heard and seen.

Get googles with CLEAR lenses in them, or at least yellow or pink. You're going to do almost all your training at night. If you've got the money, get some really good warm base layers and mid weight layers for under your speed suit. The HS teams here ski in any and all conditions and you'll do some waiting around for your turn through the course. Stay warm. Hottronics boot warmers are recommended as well but not cheap.

 

[rcc55125]

@fkb, since your in based in the Minneapolis area you have several options for summer training.

Tony Olin (from Afton) runs camps at Mt Hood, https://www.skiracing.com/camps/olinlacasse-ski-racing-school. You can't get much better than Lindsey Vonn's early coach.

Buck Hill runs summer camps on their plastic surface, http://www.buckhill.com/summercamps/.

You also have one of the few indoor ski training facilities in the country available to you, The Alpine Factory, https://thealpinefactory.com. Training racers in the summer is one of their specialties. The owner, Jessica, is a race coach. If you spend one day a week there you will learn a lot of the technical movements you need to be a successful racer.

As far as equipment goes, see Dave Hinz at Pierce Skate and Ski, http://www.pierceskateandski.com. The top finishers at the State meet usually get their equipment at Pierce. Lindsey Vonn (ne Kildow) got her first skis there. It's kind of fun to see her two signed posters on the wall, one Kildow and one Vonn. It's the place to go for racers.

If you want any specific info PM me.
Full disclosure, I not a racer just an old fart instructor.

 

[fkb]

First, listen to some of the advice above, particularly from @BGreen. Being a ski instructor has no relevance to learning to ski slalom. And slalom is not something you can just jump into a course and somehow develop. It is in some ways the hardest race discipline. It requires coaching and the opportunity to run gates regularly to progress. Typically only found through a race program. Otherwise, you are simply wasting your time and will find yourself running at the back of the pack.

Equipment wise at a minimum you will need shin guards and hand guards on your poles. Hitting gates without shin or pole guards is extremely painful! Your boots will probably work to start with but if you are serious about this you will find yourself needing to change them before long. At a minimum put a booster strap on them Skis will definitely need to be upgraded. You say you are going to buy atomic slaloms. Some advice to save you wasting money. Buy the proper FIS ski, not the "race look alike". the non FIS one simply does not stand up to a lot of gate use. Also, given this is your first foray into slalom, I would suggest going with a 157/158 ski rather than a 165, will be a bit easier on you. Look for good used ones if you can at this stage, easier to find deals on 157/158 as well.

Yea the skis are where I'm going to be upgrading, and the reason i don't have guards at the moments is that my pole guards are shipping and I'm looking for good deals on the shin/arm guards.

Should I be looking for new ones? Or used ones, I would personally imagine there to not be the largest difference in necessity for a long while.

Would you think of arm guards as necessary?

EDIT: just thought of this now, What are the merits of getting a race suit ASAP. Should I look for current new ones, pads or no pads? Or should I wait until I get better?
Thanks for the reply! @ScotsSkier