COLLABORATION BETWEEN U.S. SKI TEAM AND PSIA-AASI
MEANS YOU AND ELITE RACERS SHARE COMMON SKI TACTICS By Peter Kray
level of cooperation. On the second night of PSIA-AASI
P
T e previous spring, immediately following National Academy 2014, PSIA Alpine Team members Robin Barnes, Eric Lipton, Dave Lyon, Michael Rogan, and PSIA-AASI Examiner and USSA Alpine Sport Education Manager Ron Kipp, among others, engaged in a weeklong certifi cation training clinic with athletes and coaches from the U.S. Ski Team. Attendee Steve Nyman (a two-time Olympian and World Cup standout) said the clinic was a critical element in helping him win the Val Gardena Downhill in December 2014. T is past spring, the clinic returned after National Academy 2015, and was attended by members of the men’s and women’s teams, as well an equal mix of up-and-coming developmental racers and proven Olympians, such as silver and bronze medalist Andrew Weibrecht. “Last year was a fi rst step,” Rearick told the National
Academy crowd, adding that many racers had to be convinced that taking a clinic with instructors was worth their time. “But this year it came together in a heartbeat, with athletes like Andrew Weibrecht calling up and asking to be included because they wanted to get back to the basics of what skiers need to learn.”
PSIA INSTRUCTION GIVES RACER’S THE EDGE T e original event came about because of the dual association affi liation of people like Kipp and Rogan, who also coaches for the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), and also because Rearick felt his coaching team lacked the ability to explain the fundamental elements of skiing and instruction. Rearick, who trained as a ski instructor in France, said that, since the initial clinic, all of his coaches are using simpler, more focused instruction with the athletes, and focusing on the fundamentals that can improve their racing. “Every person in this room has a big role in the future of
our Olympic success,” said Rearick. “T e passion these athletes have was developed when they were young, and it was often their fi rst teachers who gave that spark to them.” “PSIA-AASI already sees the positive eff ects of this ongoing collaboration,” said PSIA-AASI Education Director Dave
36 | 32 DEGREES • FALL 2015
SIA-AASI and the U.S. Ski Team are enjoying what many in both organizations feel is a groundbreaking
National Academy 2015, U.S. Ski Team Men’s Alpine Head Coach Sasha Rearick gave a presentation that he said was, in part, to celebrate the partnership between professional instructors and the ski team.
Schuiling. “Our education leadership recognizes how PSIA- AASI can learn from the strengths in both parties, and are looking to see how can do more to build on those strengths to the benefi t of both associations.” Although PSIA-AASI and the U.S. Ski Team have always had a similar focus – helping skiers improve so they can enjoy the sport, both recreationally and in competition – it’s only in the past two years that the two entities have sought to formalize their cooperation.
Sasha Rearick
SARAH BRUNSON/USSA
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