2/23/09 WEEKLY UPDATE

THE EPIC RUN
Some thoughts on winning, shredding, and having the run of your life... any day, every day.

Andrew Holson cork 3 Japan

Mark Preschern rippin' da woods

Sean Kennedy 5 blunt

...As my elementary school gym teacher would say after a game of kickball when asked the final score (and he really did, this isn't some cliche to make you dry-heave!) -- "those who had fun, won."
...As coach Franky P can be heard saying daily, "PMA -- Positive Mental Attitude, brutha!!"
...As parent Matt Preschern expressed in a conversation this weekend, "Just SKI... it's all about just skiing!"

I chose the three photos above -- and the quotes that follow -- for a very specific reason: they embody an approach to sports, skiing, competing, and life that, I believe, is the path to success.

From the 10 year-old who is in the gate trying to qualify for Eastern Championships, to the 17 year-old who is trying to "get the shot" in front of a pro videographer's lens, there is a very important piece of preparation that will win the day, moreso than any other bit of technical coaching. What I am talking about is one's mindset, or "inner game," if you will... the focus on fun, positivity, and placing greatest importance on doing what we do simply because of one's love for the sport, that will put one in a position to ski the run of his or her life -- wherever, whenever.

I think you can see this attitude in the photos above -- our skiers are performing at an amazing level. Even though Sean doesn't have a bib on, Holson is only "soul-skiing,"and Mark is turning through the trees and not in a bump course, they are shredding their hearts out, and loving it. The point of my ramblings, in short, is that come competition day, why should one's mindset, priorities, and level of confidence be any different than on the day these photos were captured???

Good luck and congrats to our team as we approach Eastern Championships, the Mount Snow Open, Superunknown Finals, and any other opportunity to put your hard work to the test. Have fun with it, and you will all be winners.

A Freeride...
Below is the link to invitations/registration for A slopestyle Eastern Championships -- Peterson, Galloway, Buller, Talkington, Kennedy, Landy (Bunt and Holby will probably get in as people decline and list advances through alternates...)

• We will be going to Mt Snow to train on Thursday.
• Event is Friday -- a van will be leaving early Friday morning from Ludlow.
• Please accept invitation and register IMMEDIATELY, as they expire 48 hours from when they were posted.
  

http://services.easternfreestyle.org/invitations/invitation.php?inv=0

A Moguls...
A Mogul Eastern Championships at Killington this weekend... Karns and Heitsmith, Congrats! Though Heitsy is in another hemisphere right now...

• Karns, register immediately!!
• Training Friday, Singles Saturday.
  

http://services.easternfreestyle.org/invitations/invitation.php?inv=4


B Moguls / Freeride...
Hey team, below are links to invitations/registration for Regional Championships... please accept and register IMMEDIATELY, as invites expire 48 hours after being posted. Congratulations for all of your efforts and good luck in these invitational events!!

Female Mogul Skiers -- Whyte, Craig...
http://services.easternfreestyle.org/invitations/invitation.php?inv=43

Male mogul skiers -- Provance, Pawlak, Kaufman, Backe (alternate)...
http://services.easternfreestyle.org/invitations/invitation.php?inv=42

Male Slopestyle competitors -- Pawlak, Backe, Sturm, Provance (alternate)...
http://services.easternfreestyle.org/invitations/invitation.php?inv=44

Thanks and have a great week!
-Marks

HOLSON -- SuperUnknown VI Finalist!!

OMS Freerider
Andrew Holson
makes finals in Level 1 Productions'
SuperUnknown video edit contest!!!

View his entry below (all shots are of Andrew), and go to
http://www.level1productions.com/news.php?id=214
to see the edits of the other finalists...



Andrew Holson Superunknown VI Video from Josh Berman on Vimeo.

CONGRATS ANDYYYYYY!

...scroll down to see another, younger Okemo Freestyler in the media...

Okemo Freestyler in the New York Times

Okemo Freestyler
Maggie Bonnet
Interviewed in the
New York Times
as a junior ski tester...
see link below and scroll through all the pages to see her feedback on some junior skis!

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/02/18/fashion/20090219-physical-slideshow_index.html

2/17/09 WEEKLY UPDATE

TOP FINISHERS OF THE WEEK
Alex Buller -- 2nd, Killington's President's Rail Jam ($150 ca$h, +more, more, more)
Sam Pawlak 7th, USSA B Slopestyle, Okemo

Es un Coincidence?...
Three of our Okemo Freestylers are currently (or will be shortly) in Central and South America ... Katie Craig (Honduras), Robin Holby (Ecuador), Ryan Heitsmith (Peru)... Bien viajes, pero no hay nieve ahora!

A Freeride...

Big props to Alex Buller and Sean Kennedy for stomping their runs at the Aspen Freeskiing Open -- this was a course bigger, tighter, and more technical than any they've skied and they stepped it up huuuge, finishing in the middle of their qualifying heats, respectively. Both were proud of their skiing, as are their coaches! Dale also laid one down and, by all accounts, should have slid easily into the semi's. But, as judged events sometimes go (especially poorly judges ones(!)), he missed it by a couple of spots. His skiing though, over the entire trip, according to Bruno and based on the shots I've seen, was pretty pro.

Dale is currently in Park City, UT, with the Okemo extended family -- 4BI9. He is working hard on his segment for the upcoming 4BI9 film, hiking backcountry booters and braving the streets, slaying urban handrails.

Alex Buller and Coach Bruno decided to see just HOW MUCH driving they could do in a 24 hour period, competing in a rail jam at Killington Sunday afternoon, then promptly heading up to Sugarloaf, ME (tummies filled with overpriced wings) for a Monday slopestyle (nabbed 14th place), then right on back to the 'Low Monday night.

BIG SHOUT OUT to Charles Bocklet, taking the year off of OMS to recover from injury, who made an appearance this week to ski with the team and share a few laughs.

COMING UP>... Eastern Championships for USSA Slopestyle, MT Snow, 2/26-27... Stay tuned for invites (Galloway, Bunt, Holby, Landy, Buller, Kennedy, Talkington, Peterson -- this means you!)

A Moguls...

A few weekends off the competitive circuit, but now it's time to gear up for Eastern Championships at Killington. Keep your eyes peeled this week on easternfreestyle.org for the invite list.

Karns, I see you every day... hey.
Will, I hope you're over your flu so we can get back into the bumps!
Ryan, watch out for those Peruvian girls... you may forget all about your competitive skiing future if you're not careful.
Curtis, How's dat collarbone??
Harry, HARRREEEE!?

We will have the course on Ledges indefinitely... wicked sweet training opportunity.

We've decided on a new psychological intimidation tactic for the start area -- involves a speed bag and aggressive calisthenics. Will keep you updated with the relative success or failure of this gem.

B Moguls / Freeride...
Okemo hosted two competitions at the B level this past weekend -- Moguls on Saturday and Slopestyle on Sunday. First off, nice job to all of our competitors... second, thanks to all parents who came out and volunteered -- none of this could happen without your support, and we all thank you!!

Highlights include a strong showing from first-time competitors Jia Hong, Mark Preschern, Maggie Bonnet, and Matt Sturm (slopestyle); Sam Pawlak and Jace Provance qualifying for second runs in moguls and finishing top 20; Delia Whyte's AGGRESSIVE airs reaching other orbits; Christian Backe's top 15 slopestyle run; Sam Pawlak's 7th place slopestyle run; Patrick Craig's super-quick feet; and Kyle Kaufman's K-A twister and Kosack! ... and great to see Tommy P and Dylan Freeman back in the mix this week...

mogul results: http://services.easternfreestyle.org/results/Rpt2009/30_M.pdf
slopestyle results: http://services.easternfreestyle.org/results/Rpt2009/30_S.pdf
video of our entire team's mogul runs: http://www.youtube.com/user/Jokemofreestyle

COMING UP>... There was so much fire from the B team at the Okemo comps this weekend that it was clear that these guys and girls were not ready to hang it up for the regular season... WE'RE GOIN' to WHALEBACK!

• Moguls Saturday, Slopestyle Sunday
• Please sign up by Wednesday
• Email me if you're going! We'll arrange carpooling, etc...
  

Fresh Start Freestylers...

Fresh Start Freestyler Jia Hong... goin' hUUUGE!

"First comp ever for the Fresh Start Freestylers! Give it up for a great job coming out and having fun at the B Mogul and Slopestyle events! Everyone had a blast and I have heard nothing but excitement about going off to Whaleback next weekend for the last B comp of the season. We're all proud of you guys that you came out this weekend and gave it your all, especially with a lot of sicknesses going around. Lastly, way to ski hard this morning on the new bumps on Sels. Have fun skiing this week for those of you who are off and let's get pumped for Whaleback on Saturday!" -- Coach G

...Once again, this class of Fresh Start Freestylers has "graduated" to the B mogul team -- Congrats! All that means is that, for the most part, you'll be training with the rest of the B team skiers for the remainder of this year, so look for your updates under B Moguls/Freeride in the coming weeks. You guys have come a long way this year and you should be proud of yourselves!

Thanks and have a great week!

-Marks

President's Week Training Schedule

** Training Schedule for President's Week **

Monday 2/16:
9-11, 1-3 Meet top of AB

Tuesday-Friday, 2/17-20:
Mogul Skiers -- 9-noon, meet top of the AB
Freeriders -- 12:30-3:30, meet at the chalet

Thanks!

2/9/09 WEEKLY UPDATE

TOP FINISHER OF THE WEEK...
Delia Whyte, once again, lands herself on the podium
with a Silver at Mt. Snow's B mogul comp!

...must have been the OMS February Freestyle Camp she attended last week
with Jace Provance, Kyle Kaufman, Christian Backe, Mark Preschern, and Katie Craig. It was a super-fun week during which a great deal of progress was made by all.

A Freeride...
Stay tuned for the Aspen Open recap from Coach Bruno...

The rest of the A Freeriders who were not in Aspen competed in Slopestyle at Waterville this weekend. One of the highlights of my weekend was seeing Graham Bunt's rodeo 720's that I have been hearing so much about -- they are sicker than heck. Other highlights to the event include Jeremy "Soulja Boy" Peterson's stylie poked-out mute 900's, Tyler Galloway's consistent 7's and even 9's over the big jump, and Karns White's Superman front flips.

When all was said and done, Jeremy had the best finish with a 15th place. See the complete results here: http://services.easternfreestyle.org/results/Rpt2009/23_S.html

Coming up...
We may or may not be going to Sugarloaf's Solpestyle event on Monday... will wait to gauge interest from the team...

A Moguls...
Karns went solo to Waterville's A mogul singles event on Saturday. Though he took on the field alone, he battled like a warrior poet, nabbing a season-best 11th place and missing the hardware by only .1 of a point. He killed it, basically. Next stop -- Eastern Championships!!!


B Moguls / Freeride...
"Congratulations to all the competitors who came down to Mt. Snow this weekend. The mogul venue was a big difference from what our athletes skied at Stratton -- Mt. Snow had bigger, better-spaced moguls and bigger jumps.
Congratulations to Delia on her 2nd place finish, wowing the crowd with her huge daffy on the bottom air. After a few hard faceplants in training she recovered to stick her first run and then went on to ski even better in the second run.
Jace also had a great weekend sticking a huge spread up top and a big 3x down bottom. His run won his age group for the second comp in a row, and beat many of the older competitors run’s in the process, landing him 13th overall.
Sam Pawlak also had a solid day in moguls, sticking a solid run with some big airs.
Christian pushed it in his run and unfortunately couldn’t stick his big 3 on the top air. Way to go for it Christian!!!
On Sunday the team changed gears as we prepared to compete in slopestyle. Sunday was an interesting day as far as conditions, warm temps and rain in the morning made for some nice soft snow. Unfortunately the soft snow didn’t last all day; by the time the comps started in the afternoon the cold air had moved in and firmed up the slope course. Luckily for us, that did not stop our athletes. Sam came out early Sunday morning to train and it paid off, as he learned a switch 180 and took it to the big side of the first jump in the course. After his switch 180 he finished off with a clean box slide to a huge tail grab on big side of the final jump. Christian came out spinning in his run. He threw a nice 3 toxic up top, to a clean box slide to another 3 on the final table. Congratulations to all of our competitors this weekend." -- Coach Lenny

results: http://services.easternfreestyle.org/results/Rpt2009/24_M.html

COMING UP... The much anticipated home B Mogul and Slopestyle comps, 2/14-15!!

• Saturday's Mogul comp is on Ledges, Sunday's slopestyle is in the Dew Zone.
• Please contact me immediately if you are a B parent and did not get my email regarding how to register, or have not yet done so...
• Many of you have signed up to volunteer -- thank you! If you have not signed up, but would like to help, please let me know. Otherwise, come on out and watch and cheer our crew on. Last year, our boys swept the podium... I think we may have some winners amongst us once again!
  

Fresh Start Freestylers...
All of us coaches are very proud of this group; they have worked hard all season towards this weekend's event -- the Okemo B event is the first-ever competition for a Fresh Start Freestyler. On behalf of the whole program, I wish you guys the best of luck and will be cheering obnoxiously loud when its time for your runs. After that, consider yourselves graduated to the B Mogul Team... but just so you don't forget who taught you everything you know, you still get to ski with coach G this Spring!

Thanks and have a great week!
-Marks

Aspen Open Update

Hello from Colorado.. Although we do not have the all the snow that Okemo has received, we have the sunshine and warm temperatures. The great weather has led to a very progressive 10 days so far. Everyone has learned new tricks and is ready and prepared to compete in the Aspen Open qualifiers this Saturday.


The guys have had 3 days to prepare on the course so far and one final day tomorrow to polish their runs. The course is holding up great and it is just as big and impressive as it looks on tv. We have also been training and sessioning with two OMS Alumni Sean Ryan and Brain Tempini. Unfortunetly Brian fell on both of his slopestyle runs today but Sean was able to hold it together and qualify 3rd in his heat, advancing him to the semifinal tomorrow.

Good luck to to all fellow Okemo freestyle athletes competing this weekend.
More news and pictures to come......

2/2/09 WEEKLY UPDATE

OMS Freerider Andrew Holson enters

Level 1 Productions' Superunknown Contest

check out... http://www.level1productions.com/news.php?id=197&y=2008&m=11

We'll know the finalists by March, so wish Andrew luck!

A Freeride...

RT brought Jeremy Peterson and Tyler Galloway up to Sunday River for the USSA A Slopestyle this past Saturday. In addition to battling the Mt. Snow team in a vicious game of Laser Tag, the team put down some solid runs on the slope course as well. Jeremy snagged a 15th place, missing the top 10 by less than 2 pts., and Tyler earned himself 37th place. All were pleased with their performances, and are excited to get back at it this weekend at Waterville...

This Weekend:

• USSA A slope at Waterville on SUNDAY. REGISTER by Wednesday. Will email with logistics... potentially looking for a parent to drive over on Saturday morning...
• Wish our OMS crew luck at Friday's Slopestyle qualifiers in Aspen!
  

A Moguls...

The A mogul team was just up the road at Killington this past weekend, where White, Heitsmith, and Conroy took on monster field of 77 males in singles. They placed 30th, 28th, and 57th, respectively. Duals on Sunday brought the real excitement, with Heitsmith advancing to the second round and White crushing his way into the top 16.

This weekend:

• Singles at Waterville, Saturday. Please register by Wed. We will be leaving Ludlow early Friday morning to train.
  

B Moguls / Freeride...
The bulk of the B squad will be at OMS this week for the February Freestyle camp, working on their turns and airs, preparing for championship events like Regionals and Easterns, and getting a taste of what it's like to be an OMS student. So far, we're having a blast and we're excited to have you guys here!

There seems to be some confusion regarding Sunappee or Mt Snow this weekend for the B Team... PLEASE check with me before registering so we can get the whole team to the same comp.

Fresh Start Freestylers (and some B's, too...)...

Report from Coach G:

"Sunday was one of my favorite days of the whole season. We dug out the jump on Black Out (with a super sweet, soft landing) and the B's and the Fresh Starters came to have fun and get their airs ready for the Okemo comp on Feb. 14^th and 15^th. Jace, Kyle, Christian and Sam all landed and skied out of sweet 360s and are ready to go for Mt. Snow next weekend. Maggie tried her first 360 and made it to 270! Both Jia and Matt also tried 3s and made it to 90! I'm thrilled that everyone gave it their all. Keep it up guys!"

Thanks and have a great week!
-Marks