24
Feb
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
As young skier’s find their feet in the sport, we place a large emphasis on building enjoyment and passion within the sport, creating space for our young shredders to create friends for life. At this phase in the development, our programs are designed to encourage exploration of the full variety skiing has to offer, from carving on-piste, balance in challenging terrain and snow conditions off-piste as well as safely navigating all the features in park.
Our development pathway is aimed at building a solid all round base of fundamental skills that allow our youngsters to ski the whole hill with confidence.
Groms (U8/U10)
Reaching for the stars begins on the ground. Starting with building the foundation of life-long passion in sport, our Groms Program is aimed at cultivating an enthusiasm for learning and setting alight a pathway for personal development within the sport of skiing.
Fundamental skill development at this age is focused on building all round abilities to allow for discovery of new terrain and exploring the possibilities a pair of skis can offer.
Juniors (U12)
Growing a posse to explore the mountain with, is an essential ingredient to fostering a passion within the sport. With that in mind, our Juniors Program focuses on developing a social network within the sport to share new experiences with and broaden their perspective on the sport.
Building on fundamental skills developed, this program centres on applying technique to discover fresh and new ways to ski the whole mountain. Whilst fun is still the key focus at this stage in the development pathway, we begin to introduce kids to fundamental physical movement patterns as well as the individual freestyle disciplines, including Slopestyle, Moguls, Big Mountain/ Freeride and Ski X.
Shredders (U14)
Utilising the bag of tricks and skills developed in earlier programs, the Shredders Program is designed to help young athletes discover their own purpose and style within the sport. This stage of development is concentrated on giving kids who want to take it to the next level the tools and tactics to transition from passionate skier to athlete.
Here, coaches aim to foster physical fitness and introduce young athletes to competition mindset and the psychological tools that enable healthy involvement in performance sports.
Performance (U16/U18)
Aligned with Snow Australia’s Elite Pathways, Mount Hotham Free Ski offers discipline specific programs focused on affording young athletes the opportunity to push their own boundaries. These programs are for athletes 14 and over who have progressed through our development programs and looking to apply their skills in their chosen discipline.
All programs focus on the broader spectrum of elite sport, acknowledging that competition is not the only pathway. Training will provide athletes with the knowledge and skills to navigate the world of self-promotion through film/photography, responsible use of social media and gain an understanding of sponsorship acquisition.
Coaches will work with athletes to help define personal goals and build action and guide athletes to develop on and off-snow routines to grow physical fitness, nutritional habits and injury prevention strategies to allow young athletes to excel.
Rec Riders (U16 +)
We have designed these freestyle programs for the individual passionate recreational skier who wants to continue their ski journey into their adult life. Join in the fun, make new friends for life whilst taking their skiing to the next level with like minded freestylers!
Moguls
Our ‘Bumps’ Program is for the passionate young athlete who loves hopping into the bumps! By combining both aerial and technical all mountain skills and the knowledge to achieve both local and national competition success. Training is geared to towards developing the confidence and proficiency to continue building top to bottom runs with the ability to think in advance and move fast. It’s a dynamic and fun ride when you succeed.
Outcomes are focused on applying these skills at local and national level competitions:
Slopestyle
Our Slopestyle Program is focused on developing confidence, aerial awareness, fun progressions whilst learning a variety of jumps and executing them succession the park, both on rails and jump to align with the athletes personal goals.
This program offers on mountain park mentoring whilst competing in both competitions or wanting to head down filming pathways as a high performance crew skier.
Athletes will have the opportunity to test themselves at local and national level competitions:
Big Mountain/Freeride
Big Mountain/Freeride is currently the fastest growing ski discipline globally and the steep faces and gullies of Mt Hotham offer the perfect training ground to leap from. Combining the full compass of all mountain skills established throughout our development programs, this Program is centred on providing athletes a well-rounded awareness of terrain choices and mountain safety to build confidence in all conditions.
Competition outcomes of this Program are directed towards creating success at local and international competitions:
© Mount Hotham Free Ski 2018
