SL training on highline

Early Morning photo from the top of the mountain

Ktown Showdown

Our K-town showdown competition series kicked off last weekend. The weather was great and the setup was great. The kids all worked very hard. Will Stellar took 2nd and Joey took 3rd for the grom boys. Grace took 3rd in the girls open division.

USASA GS at Bromley

Sam H. racing to 3rd Place
Rookie Nikki S. racing to 3rd place

Kamran G. racing to 3rd place
(3 was the magic number today!)

Conner P. finishing strong!

Alex S. cranking a toe turn

Kamran from the start

Sam H. arcing it

Conner pulling out of turn 1

Conner in the start

Saturday 12/18/2010 was KWSC/KMS Snwoboard Team's first USASA event of the season. The Giant Slalom (GS) was a double header- 2 races in the same day with both races' results counting towards qualifying for USASA Nationals.

The first course was technically challenging with 2 delays/bananas and fast finish. The second course was more staright forward and easy to read with no surpirses. The weather for the races was reasonably warm at 32 degrees with partial cloud cover at the start and sunny skies at the finish.

KWSC/KMS rider Sam Hayden raced past most other riders in his age group, finishing third place in both races despite a fall in run 2 of the second race! Way to go Sam!! Sam beat several riders in hard boots racing on his freestyle setup.

KWSC/KMS rookie Nikki Sardelli also scored 3rd place in both races!

Kamran Gossieaux placed 3rd and 4th in the races in the extremely competitive Youth 14-15 division on soft boots as well. Alex Sheppard nailed down 6th and 7th places and KMS Athlete Conner Phillips landed in 8th place for both races.

We're very proud of our racers!! Great job all. One more GS on the schedule, and we've got plenty of video from this past weekends race (Thanks Jason Hayden) to use for training!!

-KC

USASA GS at Bromley

Alex S, Conner P, Sam H third place, Nikki S third place and Kamran G third place. Great job everyone!

Today's training

At least what's left of it...

Powder!

We found it...it wasn't easy!

12/11 Weekend Schedule

Hi Parents and Riders,

We've been getting great snow here at Killginton this week, along with continued cold weather and wind! Winter is finally here and that means more trails opening as well! In fact, we've had enough terrain open that we'll be able to run GS gates this weekend in preparation for the Bromley USASA GS on 12/18! Aditionally, The Reason early season park will be shutdown and the Mouse Run park is scheduled to open up Saturday.

This weekend's schedule:

Sat 12/11
8:30 Meet outback of the Club, warm up and split into groups
8:45- 11:00 Training: Park w/Evan, Gates w/KC, Freeride w/Gillian (will likely include gates)
11:00-12:00 Lunch
12:00 - 2:30 Training: Park w/Evan, Gates Video w/KC and Gillian

Sun 12/12
8:30 Meet outback of the Club, warm up and split into groups
8:45- 11:00 Training: Park w/Evan, Gates w/KC, Freestyle w/Gillian
11:00 - 12:00 Lunch
12:00 - 2:30 Training: Park w/ Evan, Freeride w/Gillian, Race Tuning w/KC

As usual, please email or call me if you have any questions or concerns.

-KC

Race Training

(Hmm...yeah, we can handle it)

With sub freezing temps and uncrowded trails, several KWSC Snowboard Team members decided today was the day to train for the upcoming GS race at Bromley on 12/18. We spent plenty of time on Snowdon repeating fundamentals on Mouse Run and Mouse Trap- especially "home" position, which helps riders use their whole bodies to rutn the board rather than just shoulders. Everyone did great after they remembered that getting better doesn't mean freeriding all the time- it takes hard work!

In the afternoon, a smaller group trained boardercross by passivelhy, then actively absorbing troughs and bumps, which ended in 3 runs on the very bumpy "high line". What a great day! These riders are going to do great in BX!!!!

Jesse K. charges off a strong heelside into the bumps on High Line

Abby and Nikki hammering the High Line

The BX Warriors

Next weekend, we run gates!

KC's group at rams head

We found uncrowded lift lines today, but it was much colder than I thought it would be!

(L to R above) Andrew, Jesse, Nikki, Madison, Abby, Alex and I had some fun working on pop and grabs doing straight airs, as well as making our 180's snappier.

Tomorrow will feature lots of work on turning and speed control through turn shape (rather than skidding) as we look towards the first USASA event of the season- the Giant Slalom at Bromley on Dec. 18th!

-KC

KMS Snowboard Conner at Breckenridge, CO

Preppin for Breck

Study Hall

Conner has officially finished his skill book!

Study-hall in Frisco, CO.

Yeah we do it all

More Pitures From Loaded Turkey

Will wins the "Mini Shred" award

The guys waiting to drop in during practice.

Will (and a ton of freeriders) on the course

The fellas pumped after qualifiers

Dan on the first rail

Loaded Turkey

Sunny skies and cold temps greeted us for our first top-to-bottom run of the year this morning! Great snow under the guns on snowdon! Nothing like hose powder to get warmed up :)

Official photographer Sam H. rolled up to the rail setup on Down Draft- a wide down bar followed by a kink box set up on a flat, with rider's choice of a slightly down bar or a slightly down box as the last feature. Will S. turned up the heat in practice with 4 tries at his new trick- backside approach to a frontside 180 to 50-50 bs 180 out. On the fifth attempt, a colossal wind-stealing crash sent our hero sprawling, but not for too long.

While he recovered his air, team mates Peter C. and Dan C. showed up to practice as well. Peter was getting so close to the front lip pretzel out and was putting on a spin show on the boxes. Qualifiers were a 2 run format, with the top 10 riders advancing. Dan sketched on both runs, but landed a trick he was after. Peter put down 2 solid runs, including his pretzel out, but didn't make the finals.

Will was feeling good after his safety run, and threw down the new trick! 180 on to 180 off, followed by a nose to tail press on the kinked box, fs 50-50 fs 360 out on the last rail!! Epic run! Unfortunately for his finals hopes, the competition was too fierce as he was competing against older riders who were throwing down some filthy nasty tricks. bs 360 on to fs 360 off? Who does that? The winner, that's who.

But, don't despair, KWSC/KMS Snowboard Team Member Will S. was awarded the "Mini Shred" award for the day and brought home a Pumpkin Pie, some new shades and a Monster sweatshirt.
A big thanks to Killington Events crew and Park Crew for a well run event! And a huge Congrats to Will for landing a sick run and Peter and Dan too for represnting!! This is a great start to the season!

See you on the hill,
KC

Gate C2 = Gateway to Colorado

Another Friday in the Books

We made it through another Friday after a pretty warm and rainy spell. Unlike the previous one though, this was was 22 degrees at the summit and cloudy. That didn't stop us though!

Will S. and Coach Evan trained hard in the early season park for the Loaded Turkey Rail jam this Sunday. They dialed in the approaches, takeoffs, moves and landings and developed a strategy for the comp on Sunday. It ended after Will had hiked the rails 40+ times and couldn't stand anymore. He is stoked for Sunday!!!

Coach KC and Sam H. made laps getting ready for the 1st GS of the year- 12/18 at Bromley. The theme of the morning: look-ups. We looked uphill when moving onto our heel edge to prevent the shoulders from turning downhill and helping the tail of the board skid around the top of the heel turn (read: slow you down). The afternoon was spent refining using a flat base in transitions between turns. Sam is going to kill it on the race course this year! Sam and I ended the afternoon with a new gondola walkway speed record: 4 minutes and 19 seconds from the northridge lift to the inside of the gondola car. we may not break it this year as top-to-bottom riding begins today!!!

Good luck to Conner and Coach Evan who leave for Colorado today. They'll be back with us in December. Shred some for us guys!

See you on the hill,
KC

Loaded Turkey Rail Jam on Sunday 11/21

Get ready y'all, the first Jam of the year!! Pre-registration is the best bet if you'd like to compete (please email me a note if you'll be competing). For KWSC/KMS riders that will enter, we'll meet at the Club at the normal time 8:30 on Sunday Morning. We'll check-in at 9:00 and roll up to the park together to scope the course and practice. The official schedule is below.

Coach Evan will be in Colorado with Conner (we're all jealous fellas!) so it'll be me in your corner on Sunday!!!

Let's shred!
-KC


from www.killington.com

Loaded Turkey Railjam

We’re bringing back an old favorite…

This year, we’re kicking off the season with a rail jam, good ol’
Thanksgiving style…That’s right, with a turkey as the grand prize along
with all the fixings for second and third place winners.

This event will be held in our early-season terrain park and is open to
skiers and riders of all ages. Competitors will throw down in qualifiers
to advance to the finals, where the top female and male skiers and
riders will battle it out for a turkey and FREE entry into the 2010
Rails 2 Riches rail jam! Plus, our sponsors will be hooking up all the
winners with sweet prizes.
Date:

Sunday, November 21, 2010
Location:

Early season terrain park
Registration:

Pre-registration is now open to skiers and riders. The cost will be $15 for all
divisions. Due to the location of the event, competitors will be
required to have a season pass/lift ticket in order to compete - a $35
discounted lift tickets will be available for competitors to purchase.

Pre-register now

All participants of the Loaded Turkey Rail Jam must fill out an Express
Assumption of Risk form, save time and fill yours out now. If you are
under 18, you will need a parent /guardian to sign your form.

Express Assumption of Risk form
Rules:

For this competition, all competitors are required to wear helmets.
Schedule:
9:00-10:00 a.m. Registration / check-in, 3rd floor of the K-1 Lodge
9:00-10:45 a.m. Practice
10:45 a.m. Athlete meeting at top of venue
11:00-12:00 p.m. Skier qualifiers
12:15-12:30 p.m. Rider practice - one lap only
12:30-1:30 p.m. Rider qualifiers
1:45-2:00 p.m. Finals practice
2:00-2:30 p.m. Final rail jam (skiers and riders)
2:45-3:00 p.m. Awards
*All times are subject to change
Divisions:

* Female Skier
* Male Skier
* Female Rider
* Male Rider

Prizes:

In each of the four divisions, top place competitors will receive:
1st Place Turkey and prizes from our sponsors
FREE entry into Rails 2 Riches on December 11, 2010
2nd Place Box of stuffing and prizes from our sponsors
3rd Place Cranberry Sauce and prizes from our sponsors

Additionally, the judges will select one skier and one rider to receive the “Mini Shredder” award.

When	Sun Nov 21, 2010
Where	Killington (map)

Sam and William ready to shred the gnar!

The Lift before KC's first run of the season.. Accompanied by Sam

Our Freeride Counterparts are STOKED

KC and Sam on our hike down the MTN.

Friday 11/12/2010

Bluebird sky and temps in the 50's made Friday great! The snow began as groomed granular and was pretty shaved off by the end of the day, but a fantastic day overall.

Sam Hayden represented the Elite Team in the AM and we mixed freeriding with race training. The word of the day: Power Position. Two words, I know...but we worked hard to get over the tail of the board on heelside to prevent sketches and speed-robbing skids. Sam did great!

In the afternoon, Conner joined us and Coach Evan had the fellas focus on aerial grabs- nose, tail, indy, stalefish. Great success, despite the early appearance of Tindys and tailfishes.

The day finished with a serious lower body workout for Conner in the gym.

Sunday looks like it'll be beautiful again, and perhaps a bit more crowded on the hill...we'll stay flexible on the day's focus and try to stay away from the crowds.

First USASA races of the season are coming up! Bromley hosts a GS on Saturday 12/18!!!
-KC

Conner Phillips

Summer Camp

Today we had fifteen minute lift-lines but amazing snow-cover. We had two athletes today and both of them had a great day of progression in the park.

First day of the Three Day program

Our first day was greeted by fresh snow. Our goal for the day was to get our feet under us and concentrate on the basics. We easily achieved that goal and then some. We had some rain mid-day but the weather cleared after lunch. All the athletes did well and are eager to progress.

Blogging

Just figured out how to Blog.

People should look forward to a great season of pictures, videos, and interesting updates.

It's on. It's so on.

It has begun- Killington spun out the K-1 and North Ridge triple yesterday for the first time of the season! Reports are that conditions were great for November 2nd. Looks like we're off to a great start!

After a great meeting on Sunday, Coach Evan and I have come up with a little more defined philosophy that we'll use to approach training this season. Of course there's a lot more to it than this short list, but here's our pledge to the athletes we'll be training this season.

KMS/KWSC Snowboard Coaching Philosophy

Multi-D Approach: Repeating the same moves on the same terrain is repetitive and can slow real progress. KMS and KWSC athletes will train using a multidimensional approach- not just riding rails, jumps and halfpipe. Riders will explore movements for effective riding all over the mountain and bring them back to the proper venue. By practicing these movements in safe and varied terrain, they will master them before committing to metal or air, leading to greater success. This approach will be used both on and off snow. Skateboarding, climbing, yoga, trampolines, core training and other movement based activity will improve the strength and balance skills necessary to propel riders to the next level.

(Picture above: Coach KC shows a group how to start frontside spins on the snow. Once they mastered the movements here, we took it to snow on our boards, then jumps, pipe, rails. Success and Safety! Yes, Coach KC will be wearing this rad jacket this season...)

Movement Based Feedback: Coaches should help riders improve physically, affectively and cognitively. Period. For the physical piece, KMS/KWSC Coaches will focus on “how” riders need to move to improve, not “what” they need to do. Body movements will be tied to specific snowboard outcomes. For example, good coaching for a pipe rider might be “You need to pump that transition on your frontside wall more to carry more speed.” KMS/KWSC coaching will include “Try pushing your board away from your hips by extending both legs as you enter the transition, like this (followed by a demonstration).” Body movement coaching is the key to progression.

Feedback Delivery in Methods that Athletes Understand: KMS/KWSC Coaches will work to understand how each individual athlete learns and will strive to deliver coaching that suits each rider’s learning style. Some riders need soft and encouraging words. Some riders must see an example of how the move needs to happen. Some athletes learn better when they are pressed and pressured. We’ll assess each individual’s learning style and use it so that riders will see more progression, faster.

The Consummate Pro Athlete: Being a professional snowboarder is not just about competition snowboarding. KMS/KWSC athletes will also be coached in filming, sponsor relations, event choice, product placement and snowboard industry issues.

Team: Synergy is real; teamwork benefits all team members. This theory applies not only in snowboarding, but the entire KMS/KWSC community. We’ll train together, hang out together and travel together. The more support the better!

Success through Accomplishing Realistic Attainable and Measureable Goals: Not all KMS/KWSC athletes will choose to compete in contests, but regardless of this decision, success should be measured by accomplishing goals. KMS/KWSC Coaches will work with riders to establish realistic, attainable and measureable goals and a training plan to accomplish those goals. These goals will be re-accessed often to assure progression at an appropriate rate.

We're stoked and ready for the season. Please continue to check the calendar for updates and this blog for rad pictures and commentary.

See you on the snow,

KC

Winter is Coming!

Winter is on it's way, this picture proves it! Ok, so this shot was taken a week or two ago...the fact remains that it was snowing on the mountain yesterday- both from heaven and from hoses!

The first rail jam of the season was held this past Saturday night October 30th at the GMC Lodge- the 5th Annual Tricks n Treat ULLR Jam was a great event with plenty of shred for all. Coach Evan was there to cheer on the KMS athletes that competed and document the whole gig.

Speaking of Coaches, I'm sure you're stoked to see Coach Evan coming back this season in a full-time role. He'll be the man on the snow 6 days a week once he's finished with his last ever college final exams! Evan will be shredding with the KMS and KWSC snowboard teams and is totally committed to taking the athlete's riding to new levels.

The full-time students moved in to the Morse campus yesterday and it was nice to see so much activity on the mountain. A big welcome to Conner Phillips, who is entering his first year as a student athlete at KMS- we're pumped to have you!

My name is KC Gandee and I'll be the Snowboard Program Director and will be coaching as well this season for both KMS and KWSC. I'm super excited to be here, and will be updating this blog regularly with pictures, both old and new, so keep checking back. Also, be on the lookout for coaches bios and some content change on the KMS Snowboard website.

In the meantime, please don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have. You can reach me at kgandee@killingtonmountainschool.org

Happy Shredding,

KC

KMS 2010 Summer Snowboard Camp in New Zealand

2010 USASA NATIONALS

Max, Mitch and Alex went all out at USASA Nationals and did well in all their respective events. Some highlights include a 3rd place finish for Mitch in halfpipe and a repeat 2nd place finish for Max in boardercross. It was great ending to a excellent season!

Mitch awaits his first halfpipe run

Alex hikes the pipe during warmups

The crowd gathers for awards on Sunday

Mitch taking home the bronze

Mitch waits his turn at the slope venue on Monday

Max in the gate during Tuesday's semi-final heat

Max takes home silver in the boardercross

Kim Gaines and Christine Feehan at the KMS booth

Max's second giant slalom run

Coach Coates and Max before GS finals