Ski Racing Kids!

Also I think his most prized possession is that hat he is wearing he got for being selected to and participating in the Ussa speed week this season by ussa.

Congratulations!!!  (Woah - he shot up!)   Good luck at Sugarloaf!

My son is interested in racing on the Gore team but I am curious as to what the time committment is.  I didn't see anything on the racing website in this regard and they have not returned my emails requesting info.  Can anyone help here?  thanks!

Hi - raised my daughter successfully through the Gore NYSEF program and then also with Clarkson.  NYSEF is a fantastic experience.  Not only will your son be one of the best skiers - anywhere - regardless of results, the life lessons are a huge part of the whole package.

How old is your son?
What is your vicinity to Gore?

Check out NYSEF.Org and reach out to Rich the Gore Head Coach at richb@nysef.org.  Or walk over to the training center and ask at the desk for info.

Based on above 2 answers, I can help answer your commitment question.

Thank you!

How old is your son?     He will be 11 for next season.  
What is your vicinity to Gore?    I'm in Westchester County.  3.5+ hour drive.

depending on his bday, u12 is solely at Gore, and licensing generally not needed.  USSA and NY licensing starts at U14. which is primary Gore with trips to West and WF.  

The travel could start at u16 but the state is primarily split b/t E and W.  So that means closer to you, as opposed to Bristol by Rochester.  

As far as commitment, you (he) gets out of it, what he puts into in.  Full dedication is every weekend and holiday, including Christmas week and part/all of the Feb break.  Again not required, but part-time does not allow the development though the season or onto next year.  We pretty much planned every weekend day and holiday day at Gore, Tx to mid-March.  Which is a good thing as you get to know other parents, kids, etc.  Certainly during hard rain or crazy weather schedules would be adjusted.  Less participation is not ideal, but ok, especially for younger kids.

The NYSEF kids excel in the NYS high school teams.  He will there sooner then you think, as 14 year olds can join varsity in some sections.  

Hugh reward for the payoff.  Look at the east coast members of the US Ski team.  East coast skiers learn technique by the crappy conditions we have.  Most race kids are smoking their parents by 12 or 13 years old.  

The life skills such as focus, discipline, sleep mgmt, food, priority over other activities, goes a long long way.  Cant say enough good things about NYSEF.  They truly focus on all levels.    

Hope this helps.

Helpful, thank you

I echo hosers thoughts
Huge benefits for the kids maturity and life skills.  It’s only you out there on the course.

Given that you live in the city how often are you committed to being at Gore?  You petty much need to commit to be there every weekend.  Do you have housing locally to Gore?  You will also need to learn to tune skis if you don’t already.  

I know older racers can get in some week night training down south there which is really helpful at U14s as they start skiing tall pole SL.

Does your local high school have a team.  That is a great way to go for weekenders.

The Gore race parents are a great group.  Ask to join thier private FB group.

^^great post

My granddaughter is a NYSEF product. It was the best thing her parents did for her. Not the fastest racer but the life skills learned were invaluable. Its a big expense, a huge time commitment but it's also an investment. You do have to keep it in balance though, it can easily consume you both in time and in money. You can spend thousands on ski camps all over the world, new equipment every year and even private schools. That may move your kid up a few spots but it won't put them on the US Ski team nor is it likely to get them a scholarship - only raw talent will do that. So do it - but just keep the right balance.

Great advice on the balance.   Focus on fun while gaining life skills and ski technique.   A couple camps a year are great.   Just be careful.   If college is a focus keep it club or D3.   Fun.  

Great point earlier post on tuning.  This is ok to obsess so the kid can lay them out with confidence.   Tune every night.   Guys seem to catch on quick and tune in high school.   Many college girls not so much.  

Hoser wrote

Tune every night.   Guys seem to catch on quick and tune in high school.   Many college girls not so much.

Absolutely false

PeeTex wrote

My granddaughter is a NYSEF product. It was the best thing her parents did for her. Not the fastest racer but the life skills learned were invaluable. Its a big expense, a huge time commitment but it's also an investment. You do have to keep it in balance though, it can easily consume you both in time and in money. You can spend thousands on ski camps all over the world, new equipment every year and even private schools. That may move your kid up a few spots but it won't put them on the US Ski team nor is it likely to get them a scholarship - only raw talent will do that. So do it - but just keep the right balance.

So we don’t scare the poor guy off from getting his kid racing PT.  There are 0lentyof ways to lower costs.  Buying used skis, speed suit etc.  you can spend on camps but kids summer camps that many families do are similarly priced except for the travel that is involved.

Get started see how your kid l8kes it and go from there.  Kids sports in general get expensive and at the top end ski racing is not cheap.  This sport has some great benefits to raising an adult.

I grew up racing and am very thankful to my mother for that.  I wasn't very good at racing because I wasn't very good and because we were, by far, the least affluent in the group.  What it did do is expose me to some very good skiers my age (improved my overall skiing, especially bumps), kept me away from trouble during the day and too tired at night.  It allowed me to know people on the hill so I could teach and earn some money later when I was in college.  That led to teaching full time at a point where the economy was sucking balls and the few ideas I had about a career were wrong for me anyway.

Racing also exposed me to some very good parenting.  The best, most talented skier in the bunch had the most humble parents in the bunch.  If you do it, you probably should be involved.  But you definitely have to be interested.

I'm a Gore racing parent. If anyone wants to PM me and discuss I'd be happy to chat. I've got a first year u12 who came up through full season Mountain Adventure and has been in NYSEF three years. I also have a first year U10 who came up through full season Mountain Adventure and this is first year in NYSEF. Mountain adventure is great but NYSEF is a big jump up in technical instruction. For both of our kids they reached a certain point with Mountain Adventure where they sort of plateaued. You will notice a huge improvement in your kids skiing within the first couple weeks. When your kid pops off one ski and throws it on her shoulder so they can practice one ski skiing all the way down Sunway "for fun" you'll understand.

At Gore there are two path's for U10/12. First is "World Cup" which entails the kids doing 4-5 races at Gore against other Gore kids. This is the "non travel" option and U10s are encouraged to pursue this option unless they have an older sibling who is traveling. It doesn't require any additional licenses or memberships to race. Kids practice every weekend from early December through mid March. Some training (not every day) during xmas week and presidents week. If you miss weekends or holiday weeks its not a big deal. The more time your kids get on snow the better but there isn't big pressure to be there all the time. Just make sure you get your kid there by 8:15-8:20 on training days. Also, unlike mountain adventure the coaches don't eat with your kid. You have to be outside near gondola to get them at 11:30 and make sure they are back out at 12:30. Training usually ends at 2:30pm. Your kids may want to ski with you at 2:30 but most days they will be wiped. If you want to ski with your kid tell the coach at 11:30 that you are going to ski with them in the afternoon. I know this from much experience. The kids ski hard.

The other option is "Europa Cup". U12s are encouraged to pursue this path but its not required (they can do world cup option). It involves some limited travel. This year we did the Hovey at WF in early January, a race at Pisgah in Saranac, a "friendly" at West during president's week and the Kandahar at West in early March. My oldest qualified for Kandahar Champs so we spent last weekend at Toggenburg. The rest of the time is training at Gore. Once you become a U12 you can also train at Gore on Friday's for no extra fee. My oldest did this as much as possible this year and it really improved her skiing. You can also do Wednesday/Thursday night option as a U12 at Willard and West for around $250 plus lift tickets. We didn't opt for that as we didn't want our kid to burn out. If you do the travel option you will need NYSSRA and USSA memberships. That's around $150 total plus race fees which are around $50 a day. The Hovey and Kandahar require you have those memberships. The Pisgah and West friendly did not so you could do those races even if you do the world cup option.

We've done both options above. For the U12s it is really good for them to ski against kids from other mountains. If your kid is going to be a second year U12 (someone that is going to move up to U14 the following year) then you definitely want to do the travel option. The course sets at the travel races are more difficult and better prepare them for becoming a u14 when travel is strongly encouraged and things start to get a little more serious. In theory a U14 doesn't have to travel but there are no "gore" only races at this level so they would just be training.

You don't have to break the bank on skis. Boots are most important. You want to make sure your kid can flex the boot well. You don't have to necessarily buy new but just make sure you aren't getting something too stiff. For a first year kid I would buy a slalom race ski or one of the Rossi multi event Heros. Get something that has been used for one year. It will have some life left but not break the bank. You should be able to get something around $200 give or take. Again you want a ski the kid can flex. The rule of thumb I've heard is the French skis are a little softer while the Germans and Austrians are stiffer. You can pick up a pair of GS skis too if you want but you don't need them. Kids can make GS turns on slalom skis but not the other way around. Most of the GS course sets at U12 are pretty tight so at the Kandahar qualifier for instance most of the kids skied their slalom skis in the GS event cause the gates were so tight. The Hovey was true GS, there was a speed camp at Gore that was true GS and the Kandahar champs course was true GS. Even those races a kid could have gotten by on Slalom/multi event.

Chances are very very slim that you kid is going to be the next world cup skier. IMO opinion this sport is about the process and the friendships - especially at this age. The races are a good way for your kid to gauge and challenge themselves but its not really about that. Its about having fun with friends and learning. Most of the parents are pretty low key and fun too. There are a few intense ones but no more than any other youth sport.

I didn't start skiing until later in life so I can only imagine the grit, determination and resiliency these kids have. The confidence they gain from standing in a starting gate looking down at the course is impressive - especially if they just watched one of their own DNF because they missed a gate or fell or lost a ski or whatever. DNFs and DSQs and DFLs are part of the sport and are good training for life.

Hope this helps anyone considering signing their kid up. Its a great program and a great experience. An added benefit is that it "forces" you to get at least 30-40 days of skiing in. Two final thoughts. Make sure your kids skis are kept sharp. Wax for races but tune for training. I've got three kids so I decided to drop the money on a razor tune but you can do the same with a decent set of files and diamond stone. Your kid won't gain confidence on a dull ski (ant their technique won't improve). A pair of rock/all mountain skis is a good investment too. Get a used pair for $100 bucks. They won't use them all that often but you don't want those race skis in the woods or getting dinged in early/late season.

Woah! That's going to break the internet!

Z wrote

The Gore race parents are a great group.  Ask to join thier private FB group.

It's very quiet there April to August, but in the fall conversation will pick up. Join our Gore Ski Club group at www.facebook.com/groups/goreskiclub

Johnnyonthespot wrote

Woah! That's going to break the internet!

Nah. If it was November maybe.

my son put his head thru the last panel in his first FIS GS and had a wee bit of a crash
His skis did cross finish so he got to score some points to get off the 999

Thought we were going to the hospital but he walked away just with a bruised shin and raced next day to a better result

https://youtu.be/fTb3ZGGJLHQ

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