The high cost of living the skiing life

Well said. Totally lost all respect in USSA this summer after the announcement of the required ski changes.  I thought, hoped, that they get it.  They do not. FIS is in bed with the ski manufacturers, and USSA joined the party. So disappointing for the sport, and the 99% of those kids looking for fun and success in high school and USSA programs.  

Hoser wrote

Definitely the life lessons from ski racing make involvement in NYSEF for ten years all worth it,  as well as the life long ability to be one of the best skiers on any hill, east or west coast.

That explains why these ski racers full of confidence keep going off piste and either die or have to be rescued.

You a good Dad Coach  
Your son is lucky you can do this for him.

Skiing for me is cheap tho --- pass 400 bucks, put my boots on in my living room then drive my Ranger 1 mile to the hill

Gaper Rog wrote

Hoser wrote

Definitely the life lessons from ski racing make involvement in NYSEF for ten years all worth it,  as well as the life long ability to be one of the best skiers on any hill, east or west coast.

That explains why these ski racers full of confidence keep going off piste and either die or have to be rescued.

Glade - so glad you could add something positive to the discussion.  How did you escape from Troll jail?

Gaper Rog is not Glade.

great we have another Troll with the initials GR

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2015/01/05/2-us-ski-team-prospects-die-in-avalanche-in-austria/21288747/

This is the type of thing I was referring to.  Didn't know posting the facts here was considered trolling.  

Coach Z wrote

great we have another Troll with the initials GR

I so thought it was Glade because of the initials GR, but Gaper Rog himself told me that he didn't know who Glade was.  I emailed Harvey asking if it was another clone, but he said that it was a new person.

This is several years old and was a tragic event for the team and the families so I'd consider making light of it is Trolling.  One of the kids involved was from Snowbird and really should have known better but Powder Fever gets even experienced big mountain skiers who have avy training.  The team has since instituted some basic avy knowledge training for all from the D team up.  These kids were new to skiing in Europe which is a whole different animal if you are used to the level of avy control inbounds we have in the US.  I have been guilty of skiing some things in Europe that when I saw them later across the valley I was like wtf was I thinking.

Sorry for the attitude but I assumed you were one of dozens of Glade Runner clones.  He was a real dick and was banned several times over.

Gaper Rog sounds a lot more like Rog from the TGR forums. He was banned for making very insensitive comments about an athlete that passed away in an accident. A very loved and respected person and was close with a lot of people on that forum I'll add.

I'm all for freedom of speech and the right to say whatever you feel like but the post or posts that got him banned crossed the line and made me feel uncomfortable.

Humans screw up, we all make mistakes, I think an even bigger flaw though is to act or have that mentality like it can't happen to us and have some sort of false sense of superiority.  

It was an insensitive comment but I don't think it's the same person. 2c

Coach Z wrote

This is several years old and was a tragic event for the team and the families so I'd consider making light of it is Trolling.  One of the kids involved was from Snowbird and really should have known better but Powder Fever gets even experienced big mountain skiers who have avy training.  The team has since instituted some basic avy knowledge training for all from the D team up.  These kids were new to skiing in Europe which is a whole different animal if you are used to the level of avy control inbounds we have in the US.  I have been guilty of skiing some things in Europe that when I saw them later across the valley I was like wtf was I thinking.

Sorry for the attitude but I assumed you were one of dozens of Glade Runner clones.  He was a real dick and was banned several times over.

Actually it's not several years ago it was a year and a half ago.  But that's not the point.  Everyone is so politically correct anymore.  I was called a troll for stating my opinion.  So I backed my opinion up with facts to back up my claim.  

I'm not sure what I said to upset you but, my point is that ski racers might be great in some aspects of skiing.  However, they more often than not do not have all the tools for all-mountain experience because they have been forced to ski the same trails and do the same training over and over.

I have friends whose kids have raced and they couldn't even use the trail map to navigate around the mountain.  Most of the time these kids are followed around by an instructor and always told what to do and never leave their comfort zone.  Then as in the article they separate from the instructors who always tell them what to do and when they aren't there anymore they don't know how to think for themselves.

I suppose if an incident is tragic, it can't be brought up again.  That would be insensitive.  But, sometime that's what we need in this politically correct world.  Feelings get hurt but, people need to know the dangers out there.  Avalanche dangers are real and serious.  It was a tragic loss but, let's all learn something from this.

Sorry you associated me with someone else that must have been a real ass.  Trust me, that wasn't my intention.

Coach Z wrote

I said at best D1

Results or a place on a team after U19 are not part of my criteria for success for this endeavor.  Creating a strong mature adult is what I am after.  The commitment to reaching for goals with hard work is something that racing provides.

I somewhat blame USSA for making this whole thing so darn expensive.  There mission should be to grow the sport in the US but they take it to be to find the one or two world class skiers and the rest of the kids are just field fodder to result in that.

I have advised you to read "The Fall Line" and I repeat that again. As a race parent it is a must read. You will find that part of USSA's mission IS to identify skiers who can go on to the USA ski team and not necessarily to grow the sport.

From what I see, although the coaches want to help all the kids and they will train to the goals of the athletes, they also want to identify and groom the very best skiers even at the detriment of others. If your kid is one of the best, money will be less of an issue because the USSA teams will hook them up with sponsors. Reading the book you will see that Bodie Miller who came from a poor family was given an almost free ride at an academy based on his talent. He was able to dominate the field as a kid on used skis.

I think it's great that you want to give your kid all the best stuff and to feed his ski habit. We do the same with the grand kids. However - having been through this before I know that ski racing is extremely expensive and we have always put ski racing expenses or for that matter any kids ski expense as a low priority item. If you haven't been putting away the full 529 $10K/year allotment into the college fund first than you should take a hard look at your priorities.

D3 or club is the place to be in college skiing. I will repeat - if your boy does not get to under 50 pts in more than 1 discipline he will like not get a spot on a D1 team and he needs to be much better than that to get scholarship money. I hope he does well this year and look forward to your reports on this. I also hope he stays safe.

Totally agree with P take .

You might take the120 k you are likely to spend on racing over the next 4 yrs including jyour NW expenses and  Invest that toward the kids education or your retirement . let the boy race at your current outlay admittedly that will subtract some of that corpus , but in either , case you achieved both goals ...a great set aside with both 529's and your 403 b and the kid races and then potentially goes D 3 or club , you covered additional college expenses and its a win win .

Not to be pessimistic but a 120 k layout for skiing which has low potential for D1 or professional level seems like a stretch
You can develop all those quality life skills ( character building, time mgt skills , hard work discipline you mention in darn near any sport and many non athletic activities too , band , theatre arts , scouting , key club hell the list is endless)

At any rate as i said before , youre a smart guy with a good heart , it 'll work out ...just think and think realistically about ALL  the options , then pull the trigger and don't look back

W
I

It's all about how we raise our children, including the values we instill in them. I'm all about quality education, as teachers, coaches, and teammates are quite influential with shaping our youth. Unfortunately, not everyone can gain admission into top prep schools, and even those who can, may find themselves being unfavorably influenced by less than stellar individuals.

My family of 4 will spend between $4000 and $5000 on skiing this winter.  Passes, some new equipment, gas, occaisional lift ticket at another mountain, french fries, hot chocolate, a couple of beers on a deck in spring.

No big trips. Sleeping in our own beds at night.  Decent sized chunk of our income, but obviously worth it.  What are we gonna do? Not ski?

Anybody who is paying attention would never confuse Gaper Rog with Glade.  The first clue is that Rog has posted several coherent sentences.

I'm with Brownski... nobody can tell you how to best spend your money.

PT - I've read that book.  doesn't show ski racing in a very flattering light at all.  Mostly talks about injuries.  There probably needs to be two different organizations for ski racing - one which is the steward of the sport responsible for growth like USGA and another that is responsible for finding the best and putting the team out there the equal of the PGA Tour.  Certainly the PGA and USGA work together but they have different mandates and missions.  Trying to combine the two and apply that all the way down to U10 and 12's seems to be a stupid set up.

Welcome Rog - sorry I mistook you for that @hole Glade.  Race programs that don't ski the whole mountain as part of their training are being done a big disservice.  A big part of our younger levels at Whiteface the kids are spending in the trees, bumps, skier cross and everything else but the park.  I could send my son to a PSIA level 3 exam and he would ace the skiing portion.  The kid absolutely rips at age 13.

Warp - I'm a bit torn on the 529 thing.  I have been funding it since my son was born and have about a year and a half covered now.  I'm told that that 529 majorly counts against him from a grant and scholarship perspective so I have put off greatly increasing the funding to it.  You are an expert in this area - what is the scoop?  I'm also told that the independence, time management skills, and maturity that ski racing takes in a program like NW is very attractive to colleges and help drive financial aid.  Your view on that.

Wife and I have funded 400k worth + worth of education using the 529 program.Just back off any aggressive investments as school nears...

Why would it effect any scholarship money? My kids have received various academic scholarships. Not once have they asked about finances..

5% is used to it offset aid of the parent owns the account.  Pretty generous. If a grandparent own the account it is more. Like 12% don't quote me on the 12.  If you qualify for 10k in aid and have 50k in 529 you will get 2500 less.