Prepping for Opening Weekend

We are only a few days away from the first day of program and things are really ramping up! The Westside Six is nearing completion as they have spliced the cable and are scheduled to start putting chairs on at the end of the week. Hopefully all goes as planned - they will do a load test next week, and before we know it, we will be loading the Westside Six!

Remains of the cable splicing
The coaching staff participated in a coaching clinic this past weekend. 50+ WRF coaches were in attendance and had a full program on Saturday. Starting promptly at 8:30AM, the coaches covered all things WRF. While the morning was spent covering much of the season long logistics and programming, the afternoon gave us all a chance to get on snow together and work through an early season progression. The coaches were split up into groups by first pairing up with a fellow coach who they do not normally work with on the hill. They were then grouped together randomly with a group leader to work through the progression all on D Lift. I had provided them with a framework of the content that needed to be covered, and the group leader was able to tailor the content to meet the needs of the group. This is exactly how things will work this season within our athlete age groups with a lesson framework going out to the coaching staff for their age group, and then each coach having the freedom within the lesson to deliver the content in a way that fits their style and the needs of their group. It was great for me to travel around to each group and see how they were all putting their own twist on the lesson.


 



On Sunday, we had a spirited workshop with Dennis Moore and Hans Vitzthum around group management tips and tricks. They had the room laughing at some of their antics and taking notes with some of their tricks to keeping a group engaged on snow. We had a discussion around hosting races as well as attending races at other mountains. We all agreed that we want to be well known for hosting great races and for helping while at other venues, and I have no doubt this group can do both. We finished the session breaking into coaching age group assignments to cover some curriculum and scheduling before the first weekend. Seeing all of the coaches actively involved in the discussions showed me exactly why WRF has been so successful and continues to be successful: the diverse group of coaches who care deeply about all of the WRF athletes. Huge kudos to all of the coaches for their dedication over the weekend and I know they are all fired up to get on snow with the athletes and do what they are here to do...COACH!

The dynamic duo - Dennis and Hans

U10/12 staff curriculum meeting

Mini World Cup staff curriculum meeting

U14/16/19 staff curriculum meeting
When it is finally Saturday morning and you are prepping your athletes for the day, please remember that we are all here to make sure the athletes have a great time and learn more about skiing and ski racing. We will face some of the normal challenges of the first weekend, and I ask that you remain patient and stay positive. We are so fortunate to have a fantastic start to the season and hopefully it is a sign of good things to come. Also - make sure your athletes have their pass as the gates will not open without it!

See you Saturday!

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