MASTERS START TRAINING
First, there was the annual season opening party, where platters of elk, venison, goose and pheasant, all bagged by head coach Bill Skinner, awaited the hungry. The party is a forcast: it's easy to see who has been training and who has been lax.
Many men of the Park City Masters looked lean and mean. They are ready to race. One regular, Rick Slabinski, is coming back after a freak summer accident. His knee hit his handbars in a mountain bike race; he was thrown forcefully onto his head and was in a coma for weeks. He had to relearn how to read and speak. As soon as the doc gave him the all clear, 'Slabby' hit the weights and the road, and now looks in better shape than he has for years.
Assistant coach and 'best brother' Bobby Skinner has let his grey hair grow long, and actually purchased a new helmet; he will no longer be recognizable by that battered old red one. Bobby claims was too busy being a river rafting guide over the summer to work out, but the coach who races like a madman is not expected to be anywhere but in the top five overall in Masters races this year---not bad for a man nearing 50.
The Park City Masters is one of the best programs for ski race training in the country. But it's more than that. Some who sign up never intend to race, though they may train in the gates. But for many, the program is about becoming the skier of their dreams.
As proof, take the first training day, Monday, November 26. Despite the fact that Park City Mountain Resort has only the main run of Payday open, Bobby says, "There were 25 people who showed up. We are laying the foundations down to ski really good early in the season."
As for the coaching quality, coach Don Sears has won the prestigious "Instructor Of The Year" award from Ski Magazine, new coach Ivan Illejevski is a former certified race coach for both Croatia and Austria, and Bill Skinner wasn't there because he is currently a course worker at the pre-World Cup NorAms now going on at Winter Park, Co., where most of the World Cuppers are getting an early warm-up. Bill is getting plenty of video and tips to bring back for the Masters group.
Bill says from Colorado, "Now is the time to develop the fundamentals that make for a great season. The best way to get started is (on) easy terrain."
Of the first day, Bobby says, "It was pretty warm, but the snow was firm, it was good to be on such a wide open run. Everyone had a great time."
The group is working on drills, especially turn initiation drills, moving the pressure of the skis from front to back, then moving the body downhill 'like a rolling wave,' as Illejevski says.
The Park City Masters program still has openings for those who want to join. There are also special daily and weekly rates for one or more sessions. Since the program is informal, Masters often show up for just an hour or two of the six-hour training day, so there are often times when one of the coaches only has a few people---occasionally, no people---in his group. When that happens, it doesn't matter how much joining up costs. The $950 season-long train fee may be hefty, but personalized coaching is priceless!
For more info, email: bskinner@ussa.org