June in Copper

Alpine Athletes Still on Snow in Colorado

This month, a group of NYSEF FIS and U16 alpine athletes travelled with FIS Head Coaches Jeremy "Worm" Transue and Seppi Steigler to Copper Mountain in Colorado for a summer on-snow training camp.

Training began with four days of giant slalom on hard snow with fast conditions. Day one of skiing was on "Copperopolis", with two different GS environments; a rhythmical 27 meter course, followed by a smaller 23 meter constraint course to help force a positive body position. The following two days were on "Andy's", where athletes and coaches focused on "The Wall" drill emphasizing the apex of each turn and rolling strong into the top of the turn. Day four saw the return of the competition clock. Women's Coach Transue said "This training block has been great and every athlete can be proud of these first four days".

In addition to on-snow training sessions, athletes participated in afternoon dryland each day Sessions consisted of pickleball, speedball, core work, pool workouts, and a hike up Mayflower Gulch.

Day five of camp was a day off from skiing. Athletes had the opportunity to travel to Vail, Colorado to watch the GoPro Mountain Games - a five-day long festival of adventure sports and music. The team got to enjoy watching whitewater kayaking, acrobatics, and dog dock diving among other things!

"Block Two" of Copper Camp included slalom-specific training on the snow Each day had multiple different environments consisting of picket fence drills, where athletes worked on movement on flatter terrain with quick feet and a dynamic weight transfer. Coaches set rhythm courses, brush courses, and tall pole full length courses with timing

In the evenings there were heated games of kickball, thrilling rallies of pickleball, jigsaw puzzles, pizza parties, and a birthday celebration (Happy Birthday Mala!). But in what may be the most hair-raising moment of camp, athletes braved Worm's cooking on spaghetti night Luckily the survival rate was 100%.

After dropping half the group off for early flights out of Denver, the remaining athletes killed time before their own travel by visiting the Denver Zoo, and playing a few rounds at Top Golf. Golf recruiters on site recommend that our athletes stick with skiing for the time being

"This is the best June camp that I have ever been a part of! The skiing was fantastic, the weather held out, the athletes were respectful, motivated, and a true pleasure to work with. Thank you athletes for your hard work - keep that hard work going in the gym through the summer months! Thank you parents for encouraging and supporting your children’s passion!" - Coach Jeremy

Transue