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At Stiegler Ski Racing Camps, we know the secret to success... its all about preparation!
How many days did you train this year? Did you train gates last summer? Are you spending time in the gym? How is your mental skills game? Equipment? Whoa...! There are a lot of moving parts in alpine skiing, Lets focus on the most important one: Days on snow. This is a no brainer!
According the the US Ski & Snowboard association, the average FIS skier needs more than 30 days on snow during the summer months. For U16's, that number is around 25. For the full season, US Skiing recommends FIS age skiers train 5-7 days a week. How do you stack up?
The number of days isn't the only factor either. How effective were those 30 days? Did you ski slush in Mammoth? Were you snowed out or food poisoned in Chile? All true stories from our experiences. Or were you on ice in Europe training next to the top national teams? Your time on snow matters, so the quality does too.
Its pretty easy to check out during the summer months. Maybe you have a job, another sport, or just like kicking back in Maui. These are all great things, but how likely is your skiing to benefit from a sun burn or some extra pocket money? Chances are your expectations won't be in line with your race performance. Sometimes its hard to connect the dots over such a long period of time.
We recommend keeping some basic training logs. It can be simple notes like number of days on snow, in the gym, or maybe even number of gates. It's a small thing to do on a regularly basis, but will give huge insights into your training habits. Make friends with excel and put some numbers behind your strategy this season. This is a chance to be honest with yourself and see how you stack up against teammates, friends, and even national team athletes. You might be surprised with what you find. Ten thousand hours here we come!
You can download the US Ski & Snowboards training guidelines here. Their training matrix is chock full of useful information.
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