Page 30 - GP Periodical 2018-19

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more local action as both the mid-winter and Provincial Finals are in Southern Ontario. In addition, some athletes will be selected to the Canada Winter Games at Nakiska, Alberta, the Eastern Canadian finals in Calabogie, Whistler Cup and Val D’Isere, France. The schedules will be busy for everyone as we are also looking to extend the Ontario ski racing season into mid-April with a newly scheduled slalom event. We hope that by having an event later in the season, we will keep athletes on snow longer and increase the days on snow without significantly raising the costs.
The O-Cup group is looking forward to a great season and seeing everyone out on the slopes!
Heather Metzger
A Note from Cara Williams U10, U12, U14 & U16 SOD Head Coach
Skiing is never far from a ski Coaches’ mind—even in the heat of summer I was preparing for the upcoming season. Last spring, I was asked to join an Alpine Ontario U12 round table with a group of delegates from across Ontario. This ongoing initiative is tasked with outlining and executing a provincial skill development plan as well as set of consistent race guidelines for U12. One of the exciting outcomes of this initiative to date is the implementation of organized skills testing across the province. As you may know, Georgian Peaks has been holding our own internal skills testing for several years, which helps us improve our coaching and athlete development strategies.
Looking ahead to the 2018/19 ski season at Georgian Peaks, our Coaches are hard at work attending coaching conferences and furthering their education through supplemental seminars and certification courses. New this year, we have lead hands in place within U10, U12, and U14 to ensure clear and consistent skill development and training so that each athlete, in any given training group, is working on comparable skills and practicing comparable training courses. Simply put, we aim to promote unity, fun and skill development.
My ultimate goal as a Coach (and as a parent) is to create passionate, lifelong skiers. Mileage at a young age contributes greatly to the long-term love of the sport, and skiing with your kids is the single best thing you can do to prepare, motivate and encourage fun. Get out early and have a few runs with your kids before programs – they’ll love showing you what they have learned and how they have improved.
Here’s to a snowy 2019 and plenty of turns with your kids. See you on the hill!
Cara Williams
THE PARENT’S PERSPECTIVE BY BRUCE CAMPBELL — ASHLEY CAMPBELL’S JOURNEY
Ashley started skiing at the age of 2, which began a lifelong love of skiing. With Ashley’s love of her ski friends and skiing, she also met with success racing and set high goals for herself. I realized that we were in this for the long haul. If she was to advance with racing and have a chance of achieve her goals, we were going to have to leave behind our little ski club and our family of friends and look at moving to one of the big ski racing clubs in Southern Ontario.
I started to talk to other Coaches at SOD camps and development courses and there was always a group of Peaks Coaches. They were all happy to explain the program and how great it was. They all told me I had to talk to “Tomaz”. When I connected with Tomaz we spoke of all the personalities in the coaching world and before I knew it, I was hired and my daughter welcomed to the program. After our conversation I realized then it was not about her, it was about what a strong ski racing program could offer young racers.
I was nervous leaving Keeley and Jack at home while Ashley and I ventured out to one of the biggest ski racing clubs in Canada with a proven track record—Georgian Peaks. Fortunately, she fell in with an incredible group of friends who adopted her very quickly. She would tell me how fantastic her Coaches were and how they took the Team to the haunted house and jumped off cliffs and rolled in the snow. We seldom spoke about her technical and tactical development. In fact, the hardest part for me was to not coach my own kids! The relationship that the Coaches develop with our young athletes is incredibly important for their development in skiing and as individuals. The Coaches get to be their friends, mentors, instructors and cheerleaders. I came to the realization that what my kids needed from me the most was to be their Dad!
I listen to Ashley’s stories and adventures of her travels to camps in Mt. Hood, Copper Mtn., Hintertux, Chile, Panorama, and Whistler. I have no idea where the time has gone; she has grown up so fast. She has developed as a ski racer but more importantly she has developed her independence, confidence and maturity. For her it has really been more about enjoying the process each step of the way. She loves being out on the hill from early morning practices to the last ride up the lift at the end of the day. She has now achieved one of her lifelong goals of being named to the Ontario Ski Team which means it is time to refocus her goals again and continue moving forward on her journey.
When I look back on our time here at the Peaks, I realize we never did leave a small hill in Ontario with our extended family, our extended family just got a lot bigger.
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