The Freeride Freeski Team had quite a bit going on in August. Alongside the ramps and tramps sessions athletes have been attending, 8 athletes went out to the Utah Olympic Park for 3 days of ramp and airbag sessions. We also snuck in a session on the super trampoline at the Center of Excellence in Park City, as well as had a ton of fun bouncing around the facilities at Woodward Park City. The jam-packed weekend included many new tricks learned, style development, and just overall stoke. There was progression all over the place, with first spins and flips landed all the way up to athletes dialing in double corks and more. Athlete Banks Ward stomped his first double cork 720, a trick he had been working on in tramp sessions all summer. Athlete Eliza Mueller locked in grabs on her spins, and even started lacing up some beautiful 540s and 720s with a mixture of technical grabs. The team dynamic really helped athletes support and motivate each other.
To close out our summer ramp & tramp sessions, local legend Will Berman hosted our teams for a weekend on the Bald Eagle Lake facility, but he didn’t show up alone. Alex Ferreira, Bobby Brown, Birk Irving, and Broby Leeds joined the athletes to celebrate the grand finale of the facilities at Bald Eagle Lake. These athletes have combined for dozens of X Games appearances, Olympic medals, film parts with the biggest producers in the sport, and more. The accomplishments of these athletes helped bring incredible energy to the teams over the weekend, culminating in the rowdiest (and sometimes loosest) ramp competition our coaches have seen. We lost track of how many new tricks athletes learned, and having role models like those professional athletes around clearly inspired everyone.
Now, with athletes returning to school, our team focus shifts towards preparation for the oncoming season. We have dove back into strength and conditioning sessions with Jeff and Sady, as well as started field work, and some final trampoline sessions to dial in tricks athletes look to take to the snow this winter.
“I cannot thank the coaches, staff, families, and athletes enough for welcoming me into this program as a first-year head coach,” said Wallace Hynds, Freeride Freeski Senior Team Head Coach. “The summer programming was a major success, and I cannot wait to keep the freeride/freeski culture alive and growing amongst our team this fall!”
Story submitted by Freeride Freeski Senior Team Head Coach Wallace Hynds.
