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| June pow day #2 at Mt. Bachelor |
The motel where we stayed also
hadn’t been open to full capacity in 6 years. It took a couple days to grease
the wheels and get everything and everyone rolling at the same pace, including
myself.
This camp was the beginning of my
new job description working with the younger kids, 12-13 year olds (J4’s, or
now as they call them in USSA, U14s). I spent last season working with the
13-14 year old (J3/U16) boys and had a blast. Initially when I went searching
for a new coaching job in the west, I wanted to work with the J4s. When I
landed the job with Ski Club Vail, they put me with the J3 boys. I was super
nervous at first and went through a phase of doubting my ability to coach this
group to the best of my ability. After the first month or so though, I got into
it and felt more comfortable helping these kids on the brink of stepping up
their game in the coming years to ski faster. It turned out to be one of the funnest seasons of my
coaching career, working with great kids who are so dedicated to the sport, and
a crew of coaches, the “Z Team”, whom I learned so much from and had an
absolute blast working so hard together every single day.
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| Z Team hard at work |
Starting with a new group of kids
and new coaches was slightly intimidating to me. It wasn’t the familiar crew
that I had spent the previous season bonding with. What made my experience last
year especially great was working with a female peer coaching the same group of
kids. Having another girl to work with was incredibly empowering and comforting
to relate to on another level. Don’t get me wrong; I can hang with the boys. I’ve
spent my entire ski racing and coaching life hanging with the boys. But having
another girl who’s also spent her life with the boys made it that much easier.
There will be a more gender diverse
group of coaches for the coming winter, but at Bachelor, it was just me. So
coming into a new group without my support system from last season took some
time to adjust. After a few days of “adjusting”, it turned out to be more fun than
I had ever imagined. The 12-13 age group is incredibly special because they are
starting to become athletes with muscles, but are still mostly innocent and
cute. They only grow into their egos, bodies and bad habits as they age…
Coming off the first
ever SSCV Bachelor camp, I am beyond psyched to work with the U14s next season.
We worked hard at camp and made big improvements to the kids skiing and my
coaching. I feel more comfortable as a coach and more confident with my eye for
U14s and beyond. 
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| Z Team out numbers the A Team by 3! (in trouble for no safety bar or helmets in this shot!) |
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| new U14 "Dream Team" |
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