Club and individual athlete success are dependent on a consistent understanding of JHSC's mission, values, and the sport philosophies and principles that guide our programs. This page helps educate and provide resources to parents, athletes, and the entire Club community.
JHSC is a US Ski & Snowboard Silver Podium Certified Club
The Jackson Hole Ski & Snowboard Club was recognized as a Silver Podium Certified Club by U.S. Ski and Snowboard in May, 2018. This places JHSC in the top tier of US clubs that have officially demonstrated the application of best principles and practices in all areas of the organization and its programs. See below for more information on how we use US Ski & Snowboard's Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model.
USSA Club Certification is a process the club continues to pursue. Our goal is to achieve "Gold" certification by 2024.
The USSS Club Resource Center contains a great deal of resources: in particular, the Club Culture section has excellent information for parents and club communities.
The JHSC adheres to a Positive Coaching philosophy.
JHSC programs and coaching are Athlete-Centered.
Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD)
A Long-Term Athlete Development model drives all JHSC program structures.
- As defined by National Strength and Conditioning Association
- As articulated by the USOPC American Development Model
- As founded by the research of Balyi, Way, and Higgs (2014)
- As critiqued by Ross Tucker
- As outlined by the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSS) in the training systems
- Getting buy-in for LTAD
- A Framework for Understanding the Training Process Leading to Elite Performance
- Research in Youth Sports Critical Issues Status
Changing the Game Project
The mission of the Changing the Game Project is to ensure that we return youth sports to our children, and put the ‘play’ back in ‘play ball.’ We want to provide the most influential adults in our children’s lives—their parents and coaches—with the information and resources they need to make sports a healthy, positive, and rewarding experience for their children, and their whole family.
U.S. Ski and Snowboard Training Systems
All JHSC programs (Alpine, Backcountry, Freeride, Nordic, and Student-Athlete Support) are based upon the Phases of Development outlined in the US Ski & Snowboard Training System.
The six Phases of Development track an athlete from starting in a sport to World Class Performance.The six phases are based on a combination of an athlete's chronological, biological and training ages: these three factors are the primary determinants of what activities, skills, and competition level are appropriate for a given phase.
In each phase, the Training Systems categorize activities, skills, competition level, and other factors into seven Domains, or major areas of focus. The Training Systems consist of the following seven domains:
Development, Physical Fitness, Technical, Tactical, Equipment Selection and Preparation, Mental and Social Skills, and Competition.
(THIS document explains each domain).
For each athlete in a JHSC program, the Coaching staff provides an End-of-Season Evaluation (and mid-season evaluation for athletes U16 and up) of each of the 7 Domains for the athlete's Phase of Development.
Here are the Training Systems, with details on each of the 7 Domains for the six Phases of Development:
