Every year the beginning of the season it's the same story!

Every year the beginning of the season it's the same story!

Postby h.harb » Thu Nov 03, 2016 10:53 am

And every year I see the same things, only they are getting worst, not better. As you know this isn't the first time I have brought this up as a topic of conversation.

I have no good news from watching the PSIA Crew (Demo Team, Examiners and DCLs, do difference between them these days, it's all bad) skiing at A-Basin the last two days. Even less good news about how the junior racers are skiing, which is exactly like PSIA except a little faster and higher edge angle. So what are the similarities? Full upper body rotation, arm swing to compliment it and leaning away from an engaging ski, losing all the pressure as the arc continues. Oh yes, the PSIA crew skids out of the arc, due to the lack of edge angle.

I'm afraid I have to tell everyone, that Warren Witherell was wrong. The racers no longer have a different way of skiing. So watching US Junior Racers, is no longer, "How the Racers's Ski" at least not like the best racers. USSA development and coaching are directly to blame and responsible for this in my opinion, and the facts support that.. The racers ski just like the PSIA gang, so do their coaches.

Do we have a Development problem, Houston? Yes and it's coming directly from USSA and PSIA. We have nothing coming up in the ranks for the US Ski Team, no matter what the commentators say. Since when was there a second Slalom and GS skier regularly qualifying in slalom and GS on the women's side, to the obvious one? The men have little better chance or future prospects, we are still hanging onto Ligety. It's been almost 5 years since Bode, and no one before or after. I wonder what the brain trust in the Park City "Castle" is thinking about when they look at this situation? Is it, "We sure hope the cross country and snowboard team can pull us through???"
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Re: Every year the beginning of the season it's the same sto

Postby HeluvaSkier » Thu Nov 03, 2016 2:08 pm

I often make similar (or exactly the same observations) about the current crop of racers I see kicking around the mountain on race and training days. Most of my friends and colleagues tell me I’m crazy. It is somewhat nice to hear that while it may still be possible that I am crazy, my lunacy may not extend to the identification of good and bad skiing.
Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.

www.youtube.com/c/heluvaskier
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Re: Every year the beginning of the season it's the same sto

Postby h.harb » Thu Nov 03, 2016 4:00 pm

When you ski with skiers who can really make a ski work under their bodies, the difference between great skiing and merely adequate skiing is indisputable. Just because "they" can't see their ineffective skiing and coaching, that doesn't make you, and don't let them make you wrong, it just makes you better informed and more discerning of good skiing, and much better then they are.

It reminds me of a story Crawford Pierce always tells, Crawford was a US ski team coach for 10 years, has tons of experience and is now a PMTS racing coach. As Crawford tells this story,

"Harald saw one of my young US development team racers, who I had at a camp. Harald was helping me coach. Harald told the kid in front of me (he had the best GS points in the world at that point, for 16 and under) if he didn't change his skiing immediately; he would not make the World Cup. Well the kid didn't change and his ranking went from number one, to 150 for under 18, in the next two seasons. After that he quit."

I have seen this numerous times, talent alone doesn't win world cup races and the USSA doesn't have the coaching to make up the difference.

That is the short story for US ski racing.

Having skied with Reilly on several occasions, there is not one skier up here from PSIA or USSA, on these slopes, that can come even close to matching his skiing.
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