18-WEEK PROGRAMS

 

FUNDAMENTALS

Typically from ages 7-11

 

Now that athletes have the basic ski skills down, it time to learn what freestyle skiing is all about! Southern Alberta Freestyle Ski Club's  Jumps and Bumps program is designed to help young athletes grow their freestyle potential in a safe and fun environment. J&B is a Canadian Freestyle Ski grassroots developmental program, which focuses on allowing athletes to develop their basic freestyle ski skills. It also provides athletes with the opportunities to learn and develop their all around ski skills, which are necessary for navigating a mountain on their own. This entry level freestyle program will teach kids who already have a firm grasp on skiing how to grow their skills in the following areas: jumps, rails, halfpipe, moguls and freeskiing. The ideal candidate for this program is an athlete who has completed 1-2 seasons with a Nancy Greene program. Our coaches are NCCP trained and passionate about developing young athletes to be well-rounded, confident skiers. Our biggest goal is to help athlete realize their potential and passion for the sport of freestyle skiing. Along with developing freestyle ski skills, athletes also learn to respect the terrain on which they train and the etiquette required when skiing on the mountain. At Southern Alberta Freestyle Ski Club, athletes learn how to ski the challenging and varied terrain at Sunshine Village, along with the basic freestyle skills.

 

Program Objectives:

1. To provide young skiers with a FUN and challenging introduction to the FUNdamental skills of skiing and each of the disciplines of Freestyle;

2. To instill in young skiers an appreciation of the techniques of safe, enjoyable Freestyle skiing;

3. To measure skill development and reward the achievement of participants.

 

Minimum requirements for entry into our Jumps and Bumps program: Being able to load and ride a chairlift unassisted; Knowing the skiers' responsibility code of conduct; Being able to make small, medium and long round turns on blue runs; Being able to ski with parallel skis (no snow plow) on a blue run while incorporating proper pole planting.

 

 

FREESTYLERZ

Typically from ages 10-13

 

Now that the athletes have developed their basic freestyle skills its time to step it up a notch!

Southern Alberta Freestyle Ski Club's Freestylerz program is a progression of the Jumps and Bumps level, with a focus on more advanced skill development.  Athletes will begin to learn more difficult freestyle skills including a variety of tricks and spins (180 spin, 360 spin, 540 spin, grabs, etc.), as well as continue to advance their overall ski skills. At this level athletes are very comfortable on their skis and are capable of maneuvering all of the challenging and varied terrain Sunshine Village has to offer. Athletes will also be pushed to progress further in moguls, jumps, rails, halfpipe and freeskiing. At this level athletes will begin to develop their competitive skills by preparing for club level events. The focus is still mainly on the progression of skills and having fun! 

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Athletes at the Freestylerz level are expected to attend regular training sessions to better prepare for competitions, but are still developed to be well rounded passionate skiers for life. In addition to their Saturday training, athletes also have the option of  attending mid-week COP training on Thursdays, as well as every-second Sunday training.  At this level, athletes also have the opportunity to attend summer airbag training sessions, to further develop their air awareness and variety of tricks in a safe and fun environment. Along with summer training athletes are also highly encouraged to attend fall dryland and trampoline training in preparation for the on snow portion of the program.

Coaches are trained through the NCCP certified SUPERCOACH courses to develop skills in Slopestyle/Terrain Park * Tramp/Acrobatics * Halfpipe * Moguls * Skiing * Fitness.

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COMPETITION DEVELOPMENT

Typically from ages 11-17

 

Now that the athletes have graduated from the Freestylerz program they are ready to start their competitive path and train a little more seriously, while still having fun!

Southern Alberta Freestyle Ski Club's competition development program is suitable for athletes between the ages of 11 to 17 years old. Athletes will be grouped by age and ability. At this level athletes will have the opportunity to compete in 3 events per season, consisting of a mix of both club level and provincial level events (events will be chosen by the head coach). Athletes will continue to learn more challenging freestyle ski skills (inverts, more complicated spins, etc.) and focus on improving in all areas of the freestyle sport (moguls, jumps, rails, halfpipe, freeskiing).

Athletes will start at the “comp dev” level and have the opportunity to move to the competitive program once their skill level has increased to be suitable for the next step up (Coaches discretion will be used to make this decision).

At this level athletes will begin to increase the intensity and volume of their training and will train both Saturdays and Sundays, as well as mid-week COP training on Thursdays during the winter season. It is also strongly encouraged that athletes attend the winter trampoline program.

 Athletes will be expected to attend regular training sessions to better prepare for competitions. Athletes in the “comp dev” program will still focus on having fun and developing their skier for life mentality, while further developing their freestyle skills. By skiing the challenging and varied terrain at Sunshine Village, athletes will continue to learn to respect the mountain and develop their well rounded skiing skills.

Along with the on snow portion of the program, athletes at the “comp dev” level will be strongly encouraged to attend as much of the summer airbag and dryland program as possible, as well as the fall dryland and trampoline program. The skills developed during this “off season” training will help athletes to develop their strength, endurance and performance and skills, which will ultimately improve their competitive performance and safety during the on snow portion of the program.

Coaches are trained through the NCCP certified SUPERCOACH courses to develop skills in Slopestyle/Terrain Park * Tramp/Acrobatics * Halfpipe * Moguls * Skiing * Fitness.

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COMPETITIVE TEAM

Typically from ages 14-18 

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Team is determined based on skill level and coaches' discretion. 

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This program is designed to help skiers in our club achieve their competitive dreams. Athletes generally progress from the Competition Development Group into the Competitive (Comp) group. Athletes in this group are expected to attend the majority of scheduled training sessions, including dryland and trampoline. In addition, off season water or airbag ramp training is essential, and attending summer glacier camps is highly recommended. Along with further developing their freestyle skills athlete still maintain and continue to develop their freeskiing skills and skier for life mentality. The program offers instruction by certified NCCP Coaches.

 

Entrance requirement: All new athletes enter the program at the Comp Dev level. Placement into the Comp group is at the coaches discretion, and typically based upon results at previous provincial competitions and performance at training camps. 

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10 WEEK ON SNOW PROGRAM FOR ALL LEVELS

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All skill levels are also available in a 10 week program format. Join us for a free meet and greet ski any weekend before the December Holiday break to see if Southern is a fit for you and your athlete. In December your athlete will go through an evaluation with one of our coaches to evaluate which level will be most appropriate. You will need to register your athlete with Canada Freestyle for the coach evaluation to take place. The 10 week program starts in January and goes until March. After completing the 10-week program your athlete will have the opportunity to join Southern for the remainder of the training season for an additional charge. Your athlete will also be invited to our year end rap up competition, the Mustache Olympics, at the end of April.

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Your athlete will ski Saturdays with Southern coaches at Sunshine. Seasons pass or lift tickets for Sunshine Ski Hill wil be required to board to the gondola. Your athlete will be added to SAFSC team snap. This  is how we communicate any schedule changes and upcoming events. Your athlete will be required to be at the main lodge by 9:00am on the days they train, this will require them to ride the gondola from the base lodge up to the ski area. They will need Skis, boots, poles and a helmet along with warm ski clothing. They will be provided a SAFSC bib to wear over their coat. Bring a lunch and a drink. Groups break for lunch and come in to warm up as needed. At a minimum your athlete will need to be able to load and unload the chair independently, they should also have the ability to ski a green run independently and stop on their own.

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The 10 week program allows your athlete to drop in to a dry land training session, so they can see what our off-snow program looks like.