Overview

For the 2012-2013 season, the Bear Valley Team Program returns with a variety of options for skiers and snowboarders. As structured in the past, the Team Program provides intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders a great way to enjoy snow sports while improving the participant’s skills in a team environment. The Team Program focuses on ensuring all participants develop and improve the fundamental skills necessary to provide a strong foundation. Whether participants are interested in slope style, skier/boarder cross, big mountain, racing or just free skiing, mastering the skiing and snowboarding fundamentals is the key to success and enjoyment. Depending on skill level and interest, athletes may join teams that compete locally or regionally.

Please make sure that you have joined Bear Valley Snowsports Education Foundation at www.bvsef.org . Membership at BVSEF will ensure you receive important team information as well as have access to a variety of snow sports resources.

Team Program Approach

All Program teams include a comprehensive individual training plan that will focus on developing and improving the skills of each athlete. Bear Valley’s coaching staff will train the athlete to successfully navigate all snow conditions and terrain in a safe, confident manner.

Team composition will be determined by discipline (park, all- mountain, race, ski or snowboard) and ability. In order for the individuals to progress successfully and safely through the season, team composition will include athletes of the same ability level. While efforts will be made to include siblings and/or friends on the same team, their abilities must be similar. Grouping athletes purely by age without allowing for some movement or exposure for athletes who have more or less experience or who are physiologically more or less mature than their same age peers can have a detrimental effect on their performance.

Bear Valley’s Team Program is based in part on the USSA Training Systems which provides a guideline to achieve an integrated system for athlete development. The system is focused on age appropriate content and stages of development, including areas of emphasis within the relevant sport domains, as well as a competition system that optimizes training and competition windows. It is based on a long-term athlete development model for skiers and riders that emphasize age-appropriate training and competition that will allow each athlete to reach their full potential.

For the 2012-2013 season, we will be implementing the USSA SkillsQuest program for skiing. SkillsQuest is a cornerstone program of the Training System designed to assist coaches with and to motivate and reward athletes in working toward and improving abilities in the key areas of emphasis of the Alpine Training System. As its name implies, it represents a quest, or journey toward success in ski and snowboard competition, by focusing on skills, the critical components that make up a high performing ski and/or snowboard competitor. In its full build-out, it will include activities and competencies for skiing and snowboard skills, technique and tactics, conditioning, equipment preparation, performance psychology and athlete management.

Although the USSA Training Systems’ ultimate goal is to develop skiers and riders for world class competition, the fundamental skills embodied in this system comprise the critical foundation for expert skiing and riding whether it is for competition or pleasure.

DOWNLOAD the 2012/2013 SNOWSPORTS Team Application by clicking here!