When life gives you 95mph winds and a snow storm on May 21st, make lemonade. After the lifts closed we descended upon the gym with 64 athletes and put them through a circuit routine of balance, coordination, agility, acuity, and mental imagery.
The physical sessions were lead by two time World Cup Winner, Marie Michel Gagnon, and the visualization exercises were lead by Men’s World Cup Downhill coach Johno McBride (a hall-of-fame coach in our books).
The coaching staff followed up with individual goal setting: technical, tactical, and mental. Goal setting is such an important step an any athlete’s journey, but doing it right is easier said than done. Rather than focusing on the outcome, we asked the athletes to get more specific and create actions to help them accomplish their goals.
American Downhiller’s goal is to empower young ski racers to approach their careers champion grade passion, genuine curiosity, and formidable tenacity. We do so by providing coaches who are both past and current world cup champions, showcasing motivational speakers and educators, and by getting out on the mountain everyday and working on getting better. Most importantly, we ask the athletes to think for themselves rather than rely on their coaches for success.
