Welcome to the Alpine Blog! I hope to update you with short manageable sound bites from the Alpine world of SSCV. I will use this forum to let followers know where in the world our young athletes are and any pertinent Alpine news. I will also try to pass on information that our followers might find interesting and helpful.

Looking forward to a Fun New Season

The mountains are white, the skis are waxed, parent meetings are behind us, excitement surrounds us. What is better than the anticipation of a new season? Some athletes are moving into the next age group, some will now be the top of the heap. New kids have joined the program and there are new coaches. It is shaping up to be a really FUN season!

Your staff of coaches has spent countless hours planning and preparing for the new season, in the hope that we will have considered everything to create the best program ever. Our goals are to provide our members with challenging programming that inspires each athlete to be better and to strive for excellence.

Can striving for excellence and having fun co-exist? Is it possible for the kids to have fun while they push themselves to be better? Improving oneself and putting out effort toward excellence alongside others with the same goal is exhilarating. Each little step toward improvement is a reason to celebrate and celebration is fun!

Is training always “FUN”? Is it always fun to get up early, freeze your butt off, go up and do the same thing over and over? The answer is “NO”. It is not always fun. But it is ENJOYABLE. The process of striving for goals, working hard, celebrating small improvements creates enjoyment. That is different than fun.

A wise coach I know once said to an athlete, “If your goal is to have fun, then when you get to the bottom of the training course, I will ask you if you had fun. If the answer is yes, then we achieved your goal. If you want to improve, I’ll coach you and you can go try again.” It might not be fun, but it is enjoyable.

Our hope for you this season is that we will find a way to create and foster enjoyment in your journey toward your goals this season. We hope you will have fun often and that spending time together with your friends with similar pursuits will inspire you to strive for excellence on and off the hill.

Thank you for allowing us to be a part of the enjoyment!

Happy skiing!!

Karen Ghent, Alpine Program Director, SSCV