Before you read the program outline for this year, I would like to share some of the thought processes that went into its development. Before designing the schedule, I first had to define what the Devo Team is. The Devo Team consists of 9-12 year old athletes who wish to improve their skiing technique through ski racing and race training. This age group encompasses a broad range of both physical and mental development and includes skiers of widely varied abilities. Some of these athletes have been involved in the Mitey Mite and Devo Programs for many years, and they are well on their way to become skilled ski racers. Others may be much newer to skiing and ski racing and they have never felt the absolute bliss of a carved ski turn. Whatever the skill level, this age group is in an extremely critical period of their skiing development. The fundamentals and techniques that they learn in these years will stay with them for the rest of their life. The challenge then is to design a program that will benefit everyone involved. So how do we do this?

First we must clearly state the goals for the Devo Team. They are as follow:

1. To ensure that the athlete has FUN.
2. To teach the athlete a love of skiing and ski racing.
3. To prepare the athlete for training and competition at the Junior Team level.
4. To teach the Alpine Athlete Core Competencies for this age group

The Alpine Athlete Core Competencies are defined by the USSA Sports Science and Education Department. While I will not go into extreme detail here in regard to these core competencies; it would be helpful to share some of them. (I will make a full copy of the core competencies available to any parent who requests them.) USSA considers the 9-12 year old age group to be the "Early Phase", which is defined as, "…the initial stage of sport involvement, characterized by enjoyment, play, and a gradual acquisition of skills in a social environment that promotes further participation in the sport." To this end they recommend that only 25%-35% of the athletes time be spent in tactical and technical drills (both with and without the aid of gates). They recommend that the rest of the time be spent in both directed and undirected free skiing. While we may not follow these recommended percentages exactly, we will be using them as a guideline when determining the course of action for each weekend.

To meet the stated goals of the Devo Team, we have designed a program that will focus on the basic elements of skiing. Once the athletes skill level has been evaluated, we will start teaching basic stance and balance as well as the "science of skiing". From this we will move on to teaching the basics of carving and completing a turn as well as introducing the concept of rhythm. There will also be a continual emphasis on using the acquired concepts and skills in all terrain and snow conditions, not just on groomed slopes. If the athlete learns nothing else this year, without a doubt, they will be able to ski the entire mountain with skill and confidence. As we teach these fundamentals, the athletes’ progress will be continually documented in their racer profiles. This will allow any coach within the Juneau Ski Club to constantly monitor the development of the athlete. Of course these profiles will also be available to the parent of each racer.

As the 4 races of the Youth Ski League approach, we will introduce the Devo Team to gate training. As the athletes begin skiing training courses, the emphasis will remain on basic fundamentals. While we will be introducing some aspects of race tactics, our biggest goal will be to ensure that the skills and concepts that were acquired earlier in the year are not forgotten in an effort to get down the hill the fastest. Remember, to become a good ski racer, one must first be a good skier who has mastered the basic fundamentals of skiing.

To ensure that the Devo Team athlete is receiving the best training available, the coaches will strive to use all methods and materials at their disposal. The Juneau Ski Club has committed to a coaches education program that will do nothing but enhance the quality of training that the athlete is receiving. We will also be using video as much as possible to record the development of the athlete. Video is one of the most powerful tools that we will be using, as it provides both the coach and the athlete a different perspective. Video has the wonderful quality of instantly exposing any deficiencies in the technique of the athlete. In addition to video, from time to time we will be bringing in the other coaches of the Juneau Ski Club to "guest coach" a certain skill or technique in order to give the athletes a fresh look at some of the basic fundamentals.

I hope that the preceding words have given you some insight into our plans for this coming year. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me at any time