Freeride Program Update: December 2024
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Introduction
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Coaching Update
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New Locker Room Space
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November Recap
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Drylands
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Woodward Park City
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Upcoming Events
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Competition Registration
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Intro:
Happy Holidays, winter is here! I hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving and opening day. Winter programming starts this week with a hike park at Snow King on Wednesday, followed by normal training from now until March.
Below is our weekly training schedule:
Dates: Dec. 4th - March 23rd
Wednesdays: 4:30-6:30 @ SK (Progression, Progression + and Competition)
Thursdays: 1:00- 4:00 @ JHMR (Competition)
Fridays: 4:30- 6:30 @ SK (Progression + and Competition)
Saturdays: 8:30-12:30 @ JHMR (Shredders, Progression, Progression + and Competition)
Sundays: 10:30-2:30 @ JHMR (Shredders, Progression, Progression + and Competition)
Our theme this month is mountain safety! Patrol has reached out to let us know that they are serious about slow zones this year. Do not ski or ride fast in slow zones, especially early season. Avoid those ahead of you, and always always always look uphill before crossing a slope.
Here is the skier responsibility code. Please take a look with your athletes to make sure they understand what this means
The club-wide winter Carnival is coming up during normally scheduled practice on Wednesday, Dec 11th. All Freeride athletes are welcome to come hike rails at the base of Cougar from 4:30 -6:30 to fund raise for scholarship. Food and drink will be available in the Snow King Lodgeroom. Check the link HERE to donate towards our scholarship programs.
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Coaching Update
We’re excited to have a strong coaching staff for the upcoming season! We’ve got lots of familiar faces as well as a few new ones joining us. Returning are:
Matt Newton
Stefan Merriam
Toby Koekkoek
Mike Decker
Max Wilbrecht
Riis Wilbrecht
Morgan Kilmain
Erica Bowditch
James Ablondi
I’m excited to introduce some new faces for the upcoming season.
Orion Willits
Orion just relocated to Jackson from Telluride, Colorado, where he held the position of Head Competition Coach. Orion has years of coaching experience, we’re very excited to have him on board for the season! Orion will be working with Competition and Progression + athletes this season.
When not coaching, Orion is a talented photographer, his latest work was for Freeski legend, Bobby Brown, in his latest project ‘White Gold’.
Grace Von Mettenheim
“Hi! My name is Grace!
I was born and raised in the beautiful town of Nederland, Colorado. I grew up ski racing at Eldora Mountain Resort nestled within the beautiful Indian Peaks wilderness. After 10 years of ski racing, I moved to Salt Lake City. This resulted in an Environmental Studies degree, from Westminster University, but primarily a whole lot of fun skiing at Snowbird and within the back-country. Shortly after graduating I made my way to Jackson to continue the fun.
I coach because skiing has been a foundational aspect in my life. Growing up in my local ski club experiencing a sense of community, similar to JHSC, was important in fostering lifelong relationships and a passion for skiing. I want to continue sharing that experience with the future generation. Through my skiing, I strive to create greater access and representation, as skiing is for everyone!”
Grace will be working with Shredders, Progression and Progression + athletes this season.
Will Cavallaro
“I grew up outside of Driggs, Idaho where I learned to love skiing and winter from a
young age. I spent most of my free time up at the local mountain, Grand Targhee, not far from Jackson. Growing up skiing in the Tetons has personally shown me the positive impact this sport can have on a student-athlete. After high school, I attended Boise State University where I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. During my time in Boise, I was a member of the Boise State Ski Club, which only fueled my love for skiing further. I spent last winter as a Freeski Coach for Bogus Basin Ski Education Foundation before moving out to the Jackson area.”
We’re excited to have Will coaching our Freeski FreePine, Progression and Progression + athletes for the season.
Andrew Kominak
“I grew up in the Methow valley in North Central Washington where I was taught to ski by my grandfather who patrolled at the local ski hill. As I got older and started driving my natural progression was towards backcountry skiing which to me meant a new world of freeride terrain to explore and push myself beyond what the local ski hill could offer. I graduated in 2020 and moved to Jackson to keep exploring bigger terrain and to be around like minded peers who were as obsessed with this sport as I was. Since then I've spent the last four seasons between Jackson Hole in the winter and riding park/pipe on Mt. Hood for the summer.”
Andrew is gunning for 300 days on snow this year after a stint in New Zealand this “summer”. Andrew will be working with our Freeski Shredders for the season.
Roslyn Cordell
“Hi! I was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I moved to Jackson right after graduating college in May of 2018. My first winter in Jackson I really only had experience snowboarding the smaller mountains outside of my college town in Western North Carolina. I worked for JHMR 4 winters teaching snowboarding in the hopes to learn from the best so I could have a solid base knowledge and skill set for riding. Overall, I love teaching and I love snowboarding and am so excited to be combining the two again.”
Roslyn will be coaching our Snowboard Shredders this season.
Adrian Ballard
“Hello all! My name is Adrian Ballard, I’m a Victor Idaho local born and raised. I started snowboarding at 9 months old in a baby backpack on the pass with my old man.
I started instructing at Grand Targhee in 2014 where I worked until spring of 2018. During this time, I earned my AASI Level 1 and 2, as well as my Freestyle 1. I moved to Crested Butte, CO from 2018-2021 where I obtained my Freestyle 2 and 3. After 3 years at Crested Butte I returned to Teton County and got a job with JHMR, where I earned my AASI Level 3. I competed from 2020-2023 in IFSA competitions and filmed video parts during the same years. My background is in big mountain freestyle. On my days off, you’ll find me building jumps in the backcountry dialing in my own riding.
I began coaching this past season on the IFSA circuit. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed coaching athletes whose intentions are to better themselves through Snowboarding. My 10 year background in AASI and snowboard instruction has helped me to master instruction of the fundamentals. Coaching has taught me how to take these fundamentals to the competition circuit. I look forward to meeting everyone in person and to grow alongside the athletes this coming winter.”
Adrian will be working with our Snowboard Progression + and Competition team athletes.
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New Locker Room
I put on my work gloves this fall and changed up our locker room space to make room for
Freeride! We’re excited to have more space for the team. Freeride locker room space will be shared with very strict expectations for respecting the space and each other’s equipment. Please do not leave gear downstairs in the lodgeroom or in the hallway.
Locker Room Rules:
Locker room behavior is 2 strikes and you’re out, first offense = Locker Room Clean. 2nd strike means you are no longer allowed in the locker room.
The Locker room will be accessible from 9AM - 15 minutes after practice M-F. Weekend hours will vary. Let us know if you need to access the locker room outside of normal hours.
Locker room rules:
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Respect yourself, your teammates and the locker room.
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No eating/drinking in the locker room.
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If you make a mess, clean it up.
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No rough housing.
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All loose gear (gloves, goggles, helmets , etc.) should immediately go straight into your bag/backpack. All personal items should have your name on it. No loose gear left out.
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Respect other people’s things. If it’s not yours, don’t touch it.
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We are not responsible for lost items.
Know that the locker rooms are video monitored. Coaches will be in the locker room 30 minutes before and 15 minutes after practice to supervise.
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November Recap
Drylands:
Thanks to FreePine mom, Genevieve, for snapping this awesome photo!
During November, our Competition and Progression Plus teams completed a great fall of dryland training! With colder temperatures, we were able to set hike parks for our last weeks of training. These early season parks are great places to get tricks back and get the rust off before lifts start spinning. Everyone worked hard for Drylands, it’s already paying off with strong early season riding.
Freeride Dad, Ben, was also out snapping photos!
Woodward Park City:
Freeride went down to Woodward Park City twice this November, Nov 2-4 and again Nov. 22-24. FRP athletes and coaches had a great time using Woodward’s incredible training facilities. We’re excited for our first on-snow trip the weekend of Dec. 13-15th.
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Upcoming Events:
First Day on Snow! (Progression, P+ and Comp teams): @ Snow King, 12/4, 4:30 PM
Our first practice of the season will be Wednesday December 4th!
First Day on Snow! (All Teams) @ JHMR Saturday, 12/7, 8:30 AM
Our first practice with all teams will be Saturday December 7th!
Woodward Park City:
Our final training trip to Woodward Park City leaves Friday Dec. 13th!
No Training Dec. 25th.
Progression and Progression + moved to Snow King: Dec. 28th + 29th
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Competition Registration
Competition registration is now open for USASA and coming up soon for IFSA. Please see the below, copied from 11/29’s Freeride Friday Update for more information:
USASA registration is live! We’re still waiting for IFSA registration dates and will update you all as soon as possible. Matt Newton sent the below in an email earlier this week.
“To access the events, you need to create a LiveHeats account. If you have previously purchased a USASA membership for this season, you use that login, if you haven’t already purchased your membership, please go to https://www.usasa.org/membership/ and follow the steps to purchase a membership & create a live heats account.
Below are the events we are attending:
Jackson Hole, WY
January 3, 2025- Rail Jam
January 4, 2025- Slopestyle 1
January 5, 2025- Slopestlye 2
Big Sky, MT (Inland NW Series)
January 25, 2025- Rail Jam
January 25, 2025- Slopestyle
Sun Valley, ID (Dollar Mtn)
January 30, 2025- Boardercross/Skicross 1
January 30, 2025- Boardercross/Skicross 2
January 31, 2025- Boardercross/Skicross 3
January 31, 2025- Boardercross/Skicross 4
February 1, 2025- Slopestyle 1
February 2, 2025- Slopestyle 2
Grand Targhee, WY
February 21, 2025- Boardercross/Skicross 1
February 21, 2025- Boardercross/Skicross 2
February 22, 2025- Slopestyle
February 23, 2025- Rail Jam
Registration for Jackson, Targhee & Sun Valley can be found here: https://liveheats.com/usasabmw/events
Registration for Big Sky can be found here: https://liveheats.com/usasainw/events
I highly recommend any athlete pursuing USASA Nationals Slopestyle and/or Rail Jam qualification attend the Big Sky event.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks,
Matt Newton”
IFSA Registration is coming right up!
3* Nationals
All 3* Nationals will open next Friday, Dec. 6th. Link HERE with more info. Nationals are filled strictly by rank. There is no advantage to registering early, as long as you register within the window.
Reminder: We’ll be attending the following events.
Grand Targhee: Jan. 29 - Feb 2 (Registration closes Dec. 11th)
Crystal: Feb 19 - Feb 21 (Registration closes Dec. 15th)
Snowbird Feb 27 - Mar 2 (Registration closes Dec. 17th)
Whistler Mar 13 - 16 (Registration closes Dec. 19th)
If you have any questions on which events to register for, please reach out to Head Coaches.
Registration for competitions can be found HERE.
2* Regionals
Regionals are filled on a 50% points rank and 50% first come first served basis. If you do not have a high ranking, you want to register for these events the minute they open to ensure the best chance of securing a spot. Northern region registration schedule HERE.
Reminder: We’ll be attending the following events.
Jackson (Toilet Bowl): Jan 9 - 12 (Registration opens Dec. 12th @ 6PM)
Snow King: Feb 14 - 16 *U12 and U15 only* (Registration opens Jan. 2nd @6PM)
Grand Targhee: Mar 1 - 2 (Registration opens Jan 16th @ 6PM)
We’re still waiting on more information for the Snowbasin regional Feb 7-9. Again, please reach out to head coaches with registration questions.
Registration for competitions can be found HERE.
Thanks all for tuning in! We’ll see you next month. - Collin
“It’s not the strip of death, it’s the slope of hope!” - Coach Toby
