Red Mountain Academies have added a fifth discipline — nordic skiing — to their internationally reputed programs that blend state-of-the-art coaching in alpine ski racing, freeskiing, snowboarding, and dance, with flexible academics at RSS.
With the assistance of the Black Jack Ski Club, the new Nordic Academy will be run by Dave Wood, the former head coach of Canada’s Cross-Country Ski Team. Athletes in Grades 8 to 12 will ski and train for four or five days each week with Dave Wood and other coaches, while maintaining a balance with their academic pursuits.
“We were very lucky to have such a high-calibre coach as Dave Wood move to our area,” said Kristi Calder, the core coordinator for the academies. “It was an opportunity we simply couldn’t pass up. So with his and Black Jack’s assistance we have developed an international level nordic program to accompany our existing four sports in the 2011/2012 season.”
The season begins with an extensive dryland program that will span the summer and fall.
“We start the first of May,” Wood said, “For a cross-country skier, [the summer and fall] are where the big gains are made.”
Wood began his coaching career with the B.C. team, later becoming the Canada National Development Team Coach in Canmore and then the Canada National Team Head Coach for many years. He is recognized for Canada’s recent unprecedented results on the world stage, including the Olympics.
Although Wood said “there had been some discussion some time ago,” he, Al Fisher, and Wannes Luppens finally approached the academy this spring to see what opportunities were there.
After forming plans over the summer with Calder, Wood said, “The [Black Jack] club is joining with the existing Red Mountain Academies. I hope it will be well-received and successful.”
The Black Jack Nordic Academy will aim to provide professional athletic training to competitively minded skiers to allow these athletes to develop to their highest potential and compete at the local, provincial, and national levels.
“In Rossland, we enjoy training opportunities that are pretty tough to replicate elsewhere,” Wood said. “It’s an environment where somebody can excel if they want to take advantage of what we have.”
The Red Mountain Academies market themselves nationally and internationally, although Wood noted he would most like to see the academy draw Canadian skiers with a “strong desire to be better at the sport,” but who don’t live in the ideal area, “for example the lower mainland or Victoria, where the skiing is far away.”
“Not even 10 minutes from the high school we’re skiing on 40 kilometres of trails here,” Wood said. “We also have local athletes, including a very competent training group. Having a larger training group is more desireable than a smaller one.”
“Here we have the ideal [skiing] environment and a cooperative educational environment,” he continued. “A young person can apply themselves very well to the sport while keeping their education on track.”
The academy says that students balance 20 hours a week of training combined with 20 flexible hours in school. Kids get to follow their dream and find success while meeting other students with similar passions and working with great coaches, mentors, and teachers.
“The academy was originally created so that alpine ski racers could train and compete in their sport without
having to forfeit their academics in the process,” Calder said.
Now, the services offered to young athletes, aged 13 to 18, have grown to include Olympic level coaching, sport-specific dryland programs, physiotherapy, nutrition, and psychological training, “all without forcing them to give up their regular education,” Calder said, “allowing them to get the best of both worlds.”
For more information on the academies, visit www.redskiacademy.com or contact Kristi Calder at 231-8870 or kristi@redskiacademy.com.