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1/5/09 Message from Paul Clarke, Prep Director

Hi Skiers,

The sunshine and great snow made an excellent start to the Prep season. Kids and coaches finished the day tired, but with smiles. Coaches were working on skills such as the "athletic stance" while evaluating technique. Most groups were looking very compatible by the end of the day, but there will still need to be a few changes to the groups, mostly to balance out the group sizes. This week please look for the coach that you finished the day with last Saturday. If you don't remember that coach's name, please look for me or one of the head coaches. Head coaches are: J6 Jennifer, J5 Kirsi, J4 Steve.

Each week we will meet at the CMAC building ready to ski by 8:45am. Lunch and end of day meeting place will be uphill from the ski school kids area, on the hillside above the green fence. Please do not crowd the lift line area or the entrance to the ski school area below while waiting for your kids. We need to be above the fences on the steeper hillside. We do this as a convenience, as it can be quite a hike to the CMAC shack several times.

Some final requests from your coaches: (1) Please try to let us know if you will be missing part or all of a training session; (2) make sure the coach has your cell phone number; and (3) remember to take bathroom breaks before the group sessions start.

Congratulations to the Prep skiers who entered the Warm Up Slalom. It's also great to see so many of the top racers that were former Prep skiers!

See you again Saturday.

MM Prep Program Information
The Mitey Mite Prep Program is CMAC's entry level program to ski racing and consists primarily of directed free skiing on Crystal's challenging terrain, with limited gate training. This program is offered only on Saturdays and is for skiers 7 through 12 years of age. Participants in this program must be able to make their way from the CMAC shack (in the base area) to chair 7 (Gold Hills), load and ski chair 7 without assistance and with minimal supervision. The program begins January 3, 2009, and extends through March 7, 2009. Mitey-Mite Prep skiers race in the season ending Sallie McNabb Cup on March 7, 2009. Qualified skiers who desire more gate training and would like to participate in more ski races should sign up for the Full Season Program. If you are interested in participating in our Mitey-Mite Prep Program, download the application, fill it out, and send it in!

MM Prep Groupings
We will organize groups by age and ability. We will start with past members from last season. Then we will organize by age and ability the best we can. We may shift your child to a faster or slower group during the first few sessions.

MM Prep Daily Schedule
Most of the time we will begin with directed free skiing. This is the most important time of the day for learning. The coaches will instruct the kids on stance, carving, balance, etc., by doing different drills, or by taking them to challenging terrain.

If the kids are executing the new skills well, then it is time to bring them into drill courses and gate training. We will bring the Mitey-Mite Prep skiers into the gates around mid season, but may use drill courses to teach technique and tactics sooner.

8:45 AM Meet, directed free skiing, drills and instruction.
10:30 AM Skiing on challenging terrain or move to drill courses
11:30 AM Lunch
12:45 PM Free ski/drill courses and gate training
3:15 PM Pull courses - Day Ends

This is only an example, but all elements of learning are included in this example. Skiing on challenging terrain all day is sometimes much better for a young skier. Gate training is only part of becoming a great skier and racer.

Races
The prep program is dedicated to improving skiing ability and introducing kids to racing. We only schedule a season ending race, the Sallie McNabb Cup. The kids really enjoy this race, and if they fall in love with racing, we encourage them to sign up for the Full Season Sunday program the following year.

Season Calendar Highlights
Dec 26, 2008 - BEECHER'S HANDMADE CHEESE MM Warm Up Slalom Registration DUE
January 3, 2009 - Prep Training Day #1
January 3-4, 2009 - BEECHER'S CHEESE MM Warm Up Slalom @ Crystal Mountain
January 3, 2009 - CMAC Social @ Alpine Inn
January 10, 2009 - Prep Training Day #2
January 17, 2009 - Prep Training Day #3
January 24, 2009 - Prep Training Day #4
January 31, 2009 - Prep Training Day #5
February 7, 2009 - Prep Training Day #6
February 14, 2009 - Prep Training Day #7
February 14-16, 2009 - MM Cherry Tree Charge 2GS/1SG @ Crystal Mountain
February 21, 2009 - Prep Training Day #8
February 28, 2009 - Prep Training Day #9
March 7, 2009 - PREP Sallie McNabb (PREP ONLY RACERS) @ Crystal Mountain