2014 NYSEF Eastern Fundamentals Camp

Click here for the Eastern camp announcement!

NYSEF Hires Mark Archer

Mark Archer (aka Speedy), from Mt. Hood Oregon will join the NYSEF staff at Whiteface as Head Women’s USSA/FIS coach for the 2014-2015 season. Mark brings his best coaching practices, along with a wealth of experience, to NYSEF’s alpine coaching staff.

Mark has dedicated over 40  years to the sport of ski racing in a number of roles; in addition to being a successful am/pro racing competitor, he served as a world cup service tech and coach at the top levels in both the U.S. and Canada. His most recent positions include the Meadows Race Team (OR) Head Men's Coach, the Loveland Racing Team (CO) Alpine Program Head Coach, the Squaw Valley Ski Team (CA) Women’s FIS Program Coach, and most recently the Snow Summit Race Team (CA) Head U18/21 USSA/FIS coach. Additionally, Mark has been Program Director/Head Coach at Speedy's Ski Camps. Mark holds a current USSA Level 300 coach certification as well as a level 1 referee/officials certification. 

Throughout his professional coaching career, Mark has helped numerous young athletes to reach their goals and potential. Starting at the junior level, many of his athletes have developed into members of their respective USSA regional, collegiate and national teams, while others have gone on to finish on World Cup, World Championship and Olympic podiums. Most notably, Mark worked with renowned Canadian racer Thomas Grandi when serving as the Head Alpine program coach at Mt. Norquay in Canada. Thomas went on to become the first Canadian male skier ever to win a World Cup GS (Alta Badia ITA) and World Champs medal, a silver in (Turin ITA).


NYSEF is excited to welcome Mark to the strong team of coaches at Whiteface!

2014 NYSEF Colorado Camp

Fall is in the air..... and so is the 2014 NYSEF Colorado Fundamentals Camp Announcement! This camp is a great way to get a jump on the upcoming ski season!

The 2013 group at A-Basin

 Please click here for the camp announcement!

Northwood School Hires JP Daigneault

Jean-Pierre Daigneault will join the Northwood School faculty as Alpine Program Director this fall. Former Head Coach for British Columbia’s Women’s Alpine Team, J.P. brings over 12 years of professional coaching experience to his new position at Northwood. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he was captain of the Dartmouth Alpine Ski Team and is a four-time All-American, NCAA Division I skier. J.P. was previously Head Coach of the Québec Ski Team Men’s Alpine Team and Alpine Coach for Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS) in Vermont. Both NYSEF and Northwood are thrilled to welcome him aboard!

Daigneault says of his new position, “Northwood School’s alpine skiing success in the years to come will be due in large part to the work of Guy Middleton who has been at the helm since 1993, all the while building a solid foundation for the future of the program. It is a privilege for me to come to Northwood and have the opportunity to add to the legacy of its storied skiing program.”

JP joins the staff in September 2014

ABOUT Northwood School, a partner of NYSEF and located in the Olympic village of Lake Placid, is co-educational independent boarding and day school serving students in grades nine through post-graduate year. For more information on Northwood’s academic and athletic programs, contact Tim Weaver, Director of Admissions at (518) 523-3357.

2014 Chile Camp Highlights

Last Day: Smackdown in La Parva....

All good things must come to an end..... Tomorrow will be our last day on snow - we'll be heading down to Santiago after tomorrow's morning SL training session and flying back to JFK. Needless to say, we've had a great time and maybe even learned a thing or two! 

Here's a group shot from today under the HUGE Chilean flag on the mountain.

Now... On to the Main Event. NYSEF Smackdown 2014! Just before sunrise, La Parva will see the biggest battle this side of the Equator. The epic battle will take place in a Dual Paneled SL format on Manzanito. Below are the matchups (drawn from a Ducks Unlimited hat....) for the first round. Tune in to NYSEF/La Parva radio for the live feed.....

'Ralphie' Reynolds vs. 'Lips' Piper

'Montclair' Lily vs. 'G-Liddy'

'Venus' vs. 'The Moon'

'Queen Latifáh' vs. 'Da Nurse'

'Roadrunner' vs. 'Raj'

Red Course Ready......Blue Course Ready...... Racers Ready???

See ya'll soon...... NYSEF Chile 2014 signing off till next time....

The Home Stretch...

Today was our much needed off day after five days of GS training and free-ski drills. Since we last checked in, we had one day of difficult GS with with plenty of offset - everyone's limits were pushed. We then finished our GS progression with a double session yesterday: full-length GS in the morning, paneled SL in the afternoon to get ready for our upcoming SL block which starts tomorrow.

Here's a couple videos of training yesterday - GS and Paneled SL:

 

 

On Sunday night, we treated everyone to a fondue dinner - cheese fondue, meat fondue and finally chocolate fondue for dessert. What a meal! Check out the crew - the clean up ok, huh?

They clean up nicely, huh?

Last man standing....

On to our Slalom progression where our objectives will be: 1. Upper Body Discipline, 2. Pole-plant/Recenter, and 3. Ankle Flexion. 600 SL turns for everyone tomorrow......

The Supermoon from La Parva

Break at mid-station

2014 Hood Camp Highlights

One Down - One To Go!

Checking in from Chile.....

We're a little over halfway through our two week camp. Over the last few days, we've had unbelievable skiing and training. After four days of free-ski drills and paneled SL, we started our GS progression and have had three AWESOME days of GS training. Our main focus has been to develop good pressure on the outside ski above the gate and create good turn-shape. We've used various locations for "helper" brushes to teach turn placement, where to maximize pressure, where to release pressure, etc.... With gate training in the morning and continuing work on free-ski drills in the afternoon, each athlete is great making progress. 

Just so y'all don't think we're slacking off down here, here's a recap of our typical day: 5:45am wake-up... 6:45 shuttle up to the Vegas poma lift in the dark.... Course is set and we're warming up on snow before sunrise!

Overlooking La Parva

Valle Nevado in the distance

The morning warm-up.

Then we get right into training time... La Parva gives us plenty of time to get training in with the poma lifts providing a lightning quick turn-around (just ask coach Smith how fast the poma lifts go...). On Thursday and Friday we trained 30 gates of GS on Tòrtola Sur and got upwards of 10 runs each day. Today, Saturday, the crowds come up from Santiago so we have to pull the course at 10am - we still got 8 runs of 30 gate GS in on Nevada Bajo. (Check out the trail map here for a reference). Here's some pics from GS training.....

Alex Akoundi

Frenchie Neron

Sunny Sheffield

 After training, it's lunch at noon and back out skiing/drilling at 1pm for an hour or two. Then, dryland usually at 4pm for an hour, dinner/meeting at 6pm, and we jam video, ski tuning/waxing, and even a call home once in a while.... Needless to say, our days are packed with activities - but extremely productive. 

Here's a few more random pics - be sure to check NYSEF Snowsports on Facebook for more.

Blake enjoying snack time

Peter - prepared for his run...

Andrea working the one-ski drill in the afternoon

Chloe working the up-and-over drill

Lily teaching Liddy a new drill

Olivia (OYE)

Till the next time...... Adiós!

WINTER IS BACK!!!!

In anticipation of weather and some much needed rest, we took today off after 4 productive days of free-skiing, drilling and paneled SL training. It turned out to be a good call - we woke up to this.....

The view outside our condo mid-morning

Yes, looks like normal winter now! About 8 inches of snow fell throughout the morning which will help coat the trails and freshen up some of the areas in need of snow. We're looking forward to starting our GS progression tomorrow morning. 

More ski pics the next time we check in (many have made it to the NYSEF Snowsports Facebook), but I'll leave you with a few "fresh" live views from La Parva!

NYSEF at La Parva - Days 2 and 3

Just checking in....

We've had three awesome days of skiing at La Parva so far. Although there's less snow than during a typical year, we've definitely been getting some top quality skiing and training done. On Sunday after the fog blew off, we free-skied all over the mountain and got to know the area. The mountain is huge with plenty of terrain and breathtaking views in every direction. Check out a few photos below. 

  
We did a number of drills all around the mountain - traverses, wedge turns, and just having fun in this beautiful place.

Enjoying the view at 12,000 feet!

After skiing, we did another spinning/stretching session for dryland and then dinner. We have a chef preparing three meals a day for us here - so far, the food has been excellent and nobody has gone to bed hungry!

Today the clouds were back but visibility was excellent and we started our training progression with some SL corridor work and paneled apex SL on "Parva Chica". The main focus has been (and will be!) developing a good balanced stance and position on the skis as we move into gates with proper turn shape. More of this tomorrow....

Paneled apex SL today

The base area - Santiago in the distance...

Looking forward to another great day tomorrow - will check back with you in a day or two...

 

P.S. Every night after dinner so far, we've watched some unbelievable sunsets. Here's tonight's with the lights of Santiago to the left.... Not bad, huh?

Buenos Dìas!

Greetings from the Southern Hemisphere!

We arrived safely in Santiago on Friday which began our 2014 Chile Camp in La Parva, Chile. After a 42+ switchback ride in a van, we arrived in the village of La Parva and checked into our condos. 

After unloading all our bags and getting settled in, we had some dinner and a team meeting - also witnessed one of the area's famous sunsets (watched another one tonight - what a beautiful place!).

Today the weather was not ideal... Strong winds made the skiing up high very challenging so we didn't waste any time and got into free-ski drills on the lower mountain - wedge turns, traverses, ya know - the fun stuff ;). Plenty of valuable runs. After skiing, the weather moved out and we spent a bit of time recovering on spin bikes from our perch high in the mountains...

 Here are a couple shots from on snow today - check in for more tomorrow......

2014 NYSEF Chile Camp

 Greetings, athletes and parents! 

Below you will find details for the 2014 NYSEF Southern Hemisphere Camp to be held this summer in August at La Parva, Chile. Since 1980, NYSEF has offered summer/fall training opportunities at world class training locations in North America, Europe, New Zealand as well as South America. The 2014 NYSEF Chile Camp, geared towards strong and highly motivated athletes U16 and older, will provide the experienced athlete with a prime opportunity to prepare for the upcoming season.

La Parva, Chile

For more information, please see the Camp Announcement here and/or contact us at davids@nysef.org or 518-946-7001

2014 Mount Hood Summer Camp!

Hood Group Flight Info:

July 1: Southwest Flight 3777 ALB-PDX 7:50 AM - 12:30 PM

July 11: Southwest Flight 799 PDX-ALB 1:50 PM - 12:15 AM

Hello athletes and parents!

The winter season is winding down but we are eagerly planning ahead to summer camp. Below you will find details for the 2014 NYSEF Mt. Hood Camp to be held this summer in early July at Timberline Ski Area, OR. Since 1980, NYSEF has offered this annual summer training opportunity - many successful athletes learned the fundamentals of ski racing at this camp.

This year, we are switching things up a bit and offering only one set of dates geared specifically towards our younger athletes (specifically U12s and U14s) while we will be organizing a southern hemisphere option for U16s and U18s. The camp will be open to U12s (YOB 2004) – first year U16s (YOB 2000) athletes that want a head start on the upcoming season. Questions about which camp your athlete should attend? Contact us.

2013 Campers - On-Snow in July!

Click here to learn more about the 2014 NYSEF Mount Hood Summer Camp!

Taking a much needed break after skiing!

Interview Exclusive: Biathlete Lowell Bailey Talks Life/Sport Balance

Lowell Bailey grew up in the NYSEF program before heading to UVM where he became an NCAA-All American while racing XC for the Catamounts. He then joined the US National Biathlon Team, and recently represented the US squad in Sochi-- his 3rd Olympic Games. In his free time, Lowell loves playing mandolin and guitar with his new band, "Swimming with Champy." 

NYSEF alums Lowell Bailey (L) and Tim Burke (R) take a break during a training session in October

During the Sochi Games, Lowell placed a disappointing 38th in the individual pursuit, but rallied to nab 8th in the 20km individual race-- the best Olympic performance ever by an American. 

We sat down with Lowell this fall at the Olympic Training Center to discuss the importance of balancing a ski racing career with other activities. 

Lowell. Welcome. Thanks for chatting with us.

My pleasure.

Lowell you had some of the strongest results of your career last season, including a great 10th place finish at Khanty-Mansiysk, which I cannot pronounce. Could you pronounce it for us?

Khanty-Mansiysk (Pronounced correctly in a thick Russian accent).

Thank you. So you’re headed to your third Olympic Games. How is this experience different from when you were gearing up for Torino?

In Torino, the Olympics was really about accomplishing a lifelong dream-- making an Olympic team and participating in the event. Moving forward after Tornio, the motivation and goal-setting changed alot. Now, the Olympics is what I want to do. I’ve prepared for these Games for decades. It’s all about as being as prepared as I can be and going for medals.

Lowell after finishing his leg of the relay in Sochi

Tell us something we don’t know about Biathlon.

Hmm. Well-- did you know that we compete mostly on manmade snow. In fact, most of the snow we’ll compete on this season will have been made last season. They make it in February of last year, store it in a big pile covered with sawdust and spread it out in November. Those are the loops we’ll race on all season.

Speaking of racing-- biathlon is hugely popular in Europe. Any idea how many folks turned out for last year’s World Championships in the Czech Republic?

I believe there were 40-50,000 people at last year’s world champs. And that’s just spectators on site, that doesn’t include TV viewership, which is in the tens of millions.

Ironically that’s the population of Paul Smiths, NY. What a coincidence! Cool. Alright, shifting gears a little bit. What’s the toughest thing about being a professional Biathlete?

For me, the most grueling aspect is the travel. It’s a brutal schedule. I’m away from home for roughly 6-7 months a year, and I’m in Europe for at least four of those months. Living out of a suitcase, a different hotel, different country almost each week. Folks really only see the photos and clips of us competing and training in beautiful venues. Sure-- the venues are amazing. The places we stay are certainly resort communities, but being in a foreign country where you’re not a part of the culture is tough. I mean, we’re part of the culture in that we provide some entertainment value, but being at home-- even in the United States-- you can speak the language and relate to the culture.

We do have a family, and we travel as a large group. The World Cup is almost like a traveling circus most of the time. But you do get this isolated feeling being in all of these foreign places-- I do get homesick because I’m a social person. I crave community, especially coming from Lake Placid where we really have that inclusive community feeling.

Lowell in Ruhpolding, Germany-- in the thick of some World Cup action

Lowell you seem to do a great job at balancing your full-time job as a professional athlete with your passion for music. What are some tips you might have for NYSEF athletes who are trying to balance athletics with school and other interests?

Everything about pursuing something else outside of sport can be looked at in two ways-- you can either look at it as compromising the quality of your training, or you can look at how it might increase the quality of your life. You need to weigh those variables. For me, like you said,I have a passion for music. It’s imperative that I pursue that in some capacity. Music fore me is a way to focus completely on something else other than biathlon. Then when I come back to training I’m that much more refreshed and recovered mentally and I can focus completely on training again. But it’s all about finding that balance-- finding a way increase your quality of life without compromising your training.

What’s the first thing you like to eat after a big race?

Right after the race-- this is a total nerdy thing-- I go right for the Power Bar and recovery drink. It just tastes so good, like a milkshake. But an hour or so afterwards, I like something hearty and home cooked, like a nice plate of spaghetti bolognaise, anything that fills you up. It’s all about getting some calories back in!

If your hand could have a retractable tool, which would function much like a Swiss-Army knife,  with the ability to perform a task of your choosing—what would it do?

Good question! It can do anything?

Anything.

Hmm. I guess it’d be a multi-task biathlon racing tool. Maybe on the ski course it’d be a highly adaptable ski propelling device that would boost my speed on the course. On the shooting range, it’d stabilize my rifle so I’d never miss a shot. You know-- it could deploy  while I was standing, come out onto my trigger and then take the perfect shot. I’m patenting that-- ‘The Perfect Shot!’

Lowell giving us a preview of next year's Rossi Dualtecs

Great. Thanks and good luck this season Lowell!