Mid-season check-in

This season is flying by, I don't want it to end!  I haven't had time to write much fresh content; I've been taking an EMT class, and spent all of my free time training for the PSIA-E Development Team tryout.  This team is the first step on the path to becoming an examiner in the Eastern Division.  It currently sits at about 50 athletes, and the fresh intake of 19 coaches were chosen with youth, athleticism, and coach-ability in mind.  I am so humbled to say I was selected for the team, and thankful to everyone who has helped me along the way!  I sit a 4 year term, in which I will understudy clinics and certification events, before trying out for the Examiner Training Squad (ETS).


My home mountain of Stowe was recently acquired by Vail Resorts.  A move that I am personally very excited for.  I look forward to the changes they'll make and to be a part of a ski area management company that operates on a global scale.  The Logan Scholarship was established in 2002 and provides continuing education and professional growth for Vail instructors through their participation in the PSIA-AASI National Academy.  I am super stoked to have been selected as the first recipient from Stowe to attend the National Academy, which will be held at Big Sky, MT on April 17-22, 2018!

The last 2 seasons I've been training towards the goal of making the PSIA-E DEV Team.  Having reached that goal, it's time to set some new ones!  In a recent conversation with my Ski School Director, Dave Merriam, we spoke about the mastery of skiing and how it takes time.  In my own skiing, I like to think of a "sweet spot"; the holy grail of skiing where everything just clicks and you feel like a hero.  As a beginner, that sweet spot will feel miles away as movements lack accuracy and consistency.  As you gain experience and refine those movements, that "sweet spot" gets closer and closer.

When I first moved to Stowe, I'll admit there were some days when the mountain kicked my ass!  I played a lot of team sports growing up and loved the competition aspect.  Now it's just me vs. the mountain, and I'm very glad to say that it's now me kicking the mountain's ass!  I'm right on the cusp of that "sweet spot" where it doesn't matter what the conditions are, I'm getting the maximum performance from my skis and my body.  They're working as one and not fighting against each other. The thing I need to work on now is consistency.  Some runs it's there and others it's not.  This mastery of skiing takes time and the more you refine your skills, the longer it takes to make incremental changes to your skiing.  So it's time to finish my cup of very English tea and hit the mountain!