The US Ski Team Credo

Recently, Ski Team Men’s Alpine Head Coach Sasha Rearick, gave a presentation at Snowbird during the annual PSIA-AASI Academy. Rearick, who was taught skiing by my friend Leon Empereur before being trained as a ski instructor in France, said that currently, all of his coaches are using simpler, more focused instruction with their racers based on the fundamentals that can improve their performance.

Here are some highlights from his presentation:

“Skiing is simple. We are the ones who make it complicated,” he said [I agree]. He then boils down the three most important elements to ski racing: If you are making turns too round, you are going slower. Going straight can also present some problems. But, really, you want to take the straighter line. You want to be carving instead of sliding. You want to pressure your skis in the fall line [that one is interesting and true!]

Rearick said there are five basic elements to GS:

• Good lateral balance. 
• Independent foot action for active weight transfer. 
• Much more movement forward to carve all the way from tip to tail. 
• Skiing around the gates (i.e., making clean turns around them instead of skiing through them). 
• With today's stiffer GS skis, having the physical stamina to race on them [not for me!] 

He also said there are six basic elements to slalom [nothing new there]:

• An athletic balance and stance so a skier can move in any direction at any time. 
• Skiing outside ski to outside ski. 
• A stable upper body. 
•  The skis have to maintain contact with the snow. 
• Early ankle and lower leg engagement, to allow pressuring skis in the fall line. 
• A good pole plant for recovery, rhythm, and timing 

Now that you know what you must do to win ski races, get off your ass and start training!