Snowboard and Freeski partnered up to truly kick off the season by heading to Park City, UT for training sessions at the Utah Olympic Park and US Ski & Snowboard Center of Excellence. While the snow may still be a few weeks away from piling up, SSWSC was able to take advantage of the dry slope airbag facility up at the UOP. At 50’ wide and almost 300’ long, the airbag allows athletes not only to revisit and work on slopestyle jumping fundamentals but also to attempt new or ‘stretch’ tricks before the winter gets underway.
Before dropping in on day one, the snowboard team headed to the COE for warm-ups, activations, and aerial work on the super tramp. With an in-run at 33* and required speeds in excess of 20mph, hitting the jumps is no small endeavor and not for the faint of heart. Freeski used the water ramp facilities at the UOP to get their feet back underneath (and above) them before partnering up with Snowboard on day two.
We were lucky to have Walter Crijanovschi from the US Ski & Snowboard strength and conditioning team run the kids through a variety of fun warm-ups before leading a light workout and reinforcing the importance of proper dryland training. Even after the two-and-a-half-hour session on the airbag, the athletes were still stoked to get over to the Indoor Hub at Woodward Park City for trampoline and foam pit progression.
The crisp morning temps and progressing foliage were a reminder of what’s just around the corner and great motivation for our final session. In just three days, athletes were able to get back up to speed on their tricks from last season and start to take more than a few steps towards new ones for the upcoming winter. Stoke was high, progression was evident, and excitement for the winter is appropriately here.
Photos from top to bottom:
1 – Snowboard and Freeski, ready to kick off day three
2 – Nolan Lopez doing dub flat 9
3 – Snowboard crew, Day 1 at the Center for Excellence (COE)
4 – Also Nolan doing cork 9 on water ramps
5 – Parson Cotter prepping for launch at Woodward Park City as the crew watches on
6 – Cooper Malia, about to drop on day one
7 – Utah Olympic Airbag… would you hit it?
8 – Snowboard crew warming it up at the COE day one.
