It is essential to create a comprehensive club athlete development training system. This season, watch for an alpine and nordic Training Systems poster (adaptive, freestyle, and snowboarding will be ready in 2010-11) and comprehensive poster matrix, outlining six key biological age groups, including six domains and associated competencies. We hope that many clubs and athletes will use our high quality, attractive visual displays as material for their program kickoff. Check out other program kickoff ideas below.
Coaches Education: One great way to kickoff the season is for a club to host a USSA coaches education clinic. The USSA has special pricing for a club only clinic. Whether it's a Level 100 alpine, nordic, snowboarding, or freestyle fundamentals clinic, all can be tailored to match the needs of the club. Often, club directors will contact USSA Sport Education, ahead of the clinic, to talk over issues that the clinician can directly address within the content of the clinic, that will help to resolve technical or tactical issues between club coaches, or issues across age groups or gender differences. Whatever the problems may be, our USSA instructors can help clubs resolve these differences for a more productive and positive athletic experience for everyone. Contact USSA Sport Education at csteinbach@ussa.org for further details on hosting a special club only coaching clinic. Vancouver Olympics - Special Guest Speaker: Every town has a local sports celebrity, a star that excelled or a retired coach who has a life story worth hearing. A good speaker can set the tone for the season, especially if they are coached ahead of time to emphasize a few of the club themes for the season. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics presents a wonderful opportunity to generate extra excitement and energy at the start, so find that someone within your winter community that may be an ex-Olympic competitor or ex-Olympic volunteer, resulting in an Olympic experience that everyone will want to hear. Take the time to find that Olympian within you community and you will have a special Olympic kickoff.
Program Handbook: If you don't have one get busy! It should contain everything from program philosophy, to procedures and policies, to the daily/weekly schedule, etc. It's essential to revise the existing handbook every year. Parents easily see when last years' handbook is recycled without any fresh thinking or changes.
Ski Area Relations: If it's not standard practice to invite the ski area owner or management team to the kick off gathering, it should be. Ski area relations continues to be a major issue on all of our club/coach surveys. As Herwig Demschar (COO of Powdr Corporation) emphasized in his presentation at the Club Excellence Conference in May, "a ski club must develop and maintain personal relationships with key members of the ski area." From the management team to the groomer, every effort should be made to include ski area staff as part of all club operations.
