[pruh-fesh-uh-nl-iz-uhm] noun
1. professional character, spirit, or methods.
2. the standing, practice, or methods of a professional, as distinguished from an amateur.
ath·lete
[ath-leet] noun
a person trained or gifted in exercise or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill.
pro·fes·sion·al ath·lete
[pruh-fesh-uh-nl ath-leet]
Potential definition: A person who is willing to make the most out of any, and every opportunity to enhance their performance in a given sport. i.e. Alpine ski racing.
Looking back on summer camp, I can only say we achieved the objectives above, and as a result it was a very successful camp. This summer the weather wasn’t as kind to us as last year, so we had to make the most out of every day, but by and large there wasn’t a single day when we came off the hill that the coaches weren’t buzzing about their groups’ progress. The weather days we had enabled us to do things we might not have been able to do otherwise - going for long hikes up to mountain lakes to swim, and completing the high ropes course, featured in our programme.
With a few new members of staff you can never be sure how things are going to work out, but the additions of Bradley Morgan, Alex Moran and the return of Jutty, have certainly strengthened the coaching team.
When first lift’s at 6:30 for racers and last uplift at around 12:30, it’s possible to get around 5 hours of skiing in the morning. The glacier in Zermatt is holding up pretty well, and we had solid snow until 11:00 most days, with only the surface transforming to soft snow until 12:30 when we’d finish. With long training pistes and limited numbers allowed on the hill you can get a lot of skiing done in that time.
The priority for the Juniors (training with Ruslan and Jutty) was to try and get to grips with the new GS ski, and after a couple of free skiing days they seemed to have the hang of them, some work skiing brushes on the flats and they were well prepped for their first runs in the gates. By the end of the camp they all seemed to have a good concept of the line and timing required to use them efficiently.
The children’s programme was split between myself and Dave Tee with Brad Morgan as assistant. We had a great time skiing with a mix of new trainees and old, plus the new 1st year U14’s. With good progress being made all round, we went home happy.
Ali
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