Development Team Parent Guide

Winter 2010

A Guide for Development Parents

Welcome to the Thunder Ridge Development Race Program! The Development Team is comprised of skiers ages 6-8. New this year, 9 year old skiers will be considered for this program if their skills need additional time to develop. Parental input and coaches’ evaluation will determine this eligibility. The primary focus is on developing good FUNdamental skiing skills, which are then applied to FUN (non-competitive) drills and games that will help to develop slalom and giant slalom racing skills. Although these skiers do not race, they are a vital aspect of the Thunder Ridge Race Team. Our “Devos” are the future skiers of our Race Team!

Please note — Participants in this program must be able to ski intermediate terrain and ride all lifts unsupervised.

Registration Forms

There are 3 forms that you need to be concerned with: 1) registration form, 2) medical form, 3) behavioral contract. Please make sure that these are completed and returned to Thunder Ridge Ski Area with your payment.

On the registration form you will see a line for your email address. We often communicate via email, so please give us a family address that you check frequently.

Program Schedule

Our program runs for 6 consecutive weeks starting January 9^th & 10^th. The dates are: January 9^th & 10^th, 16^th & 17^th, 23^rd & 24^th, 30^th & 31^st, February 6^th & 7^th and 13^th & 14^th. We will have a season-ending fun race the weekend of February 27^th & 28^th, TBA.

Daily Schedule

Saturday practice is from 9:30 – 2:30, Sunday is from 9:30 – 12noon. The Coaches take the skiers to the lift at 9:30, so please come early to get ready and boot up.
The drop off and pick up location is the Race Room, located at the far end of the deck, walk off the deck, and enter the last door on the left. Please come in with your child to sign them in and out, and be sure to tell the coaches about any early pickups. Please make a note in the sign-in book!
Lunch break is at 11:30, unsupervised, for 1 hour. Parents are expected to meet their skiers for lunch, or have arranged for some type of supervision during this time. Please encourage them to use the bathroom before returning to ski. On an extra cold day, we may take a hot chocolate break. Parents, please include hot chocolate money every day so your racer does not have to try and find you, but can come in with their coach and group, warm up, and return to skiing. Unfortunately, our coaches cannot supply them with the money. The Thunder Ridge Gift Card is a great alternative. It is a prepaid card that can be used in the cafeteria for hot chocolate and lunches as well. It can become our skier’s meal card! You can put any amount on it ($10 minimum), and keep adding whatever you want, whenever you want. Zip it in your athlete’s jacket, and forget having to give out hot chocolate or lunch money every practice!

Equipment & Clothing

First, helmets are mandatory. Goggles are a good idea. As we are outside all day, please dress them accordingly – layers are best when it’s cold, and then they can remove some at lunch if it warms up in the day. For warmth think neck warmers.
Mittens are better/warmer than gloves for those little hands. Think waterproof, not fleece or knit mittens. Always have a 2^nd pair of mittens with you in case the 1^st pair gets wet in the morning.
Stay away from cotton socks and cotton in general. It gets wet and stays wet. All long underwear should be OUT of the boot, and socks pulled up to keep from getting bumps and ridges in the boot. This can result in sore spots and bruises on the shin.
Make sure that every night their boots and mittens are dry. Pulling out the inner boot liner will insure a dry boot. It takes a few times to get the hang of it, but it is sooo worth it! Condensation from wet and snow can make feet and hands miserable!

General Tips

To make your child’s experience successful, please try and keep the following things in mind:

Make sure that your racer has a good breakfast!
Label, label, label everything!
Have your child practice bathroom runs, without your help. After a couple of times with helmet, mitts, zippered jackets, suspenders, and snow pants, they will see that they need more time to go to the bathroom than they may have thought. This will help avoid accidents, especially for our young girls! Also, at lunch, encourage them to use the bathroom before returning to ski.
If a child gets separated from their group, reinforce that they should wait at the lift for their group to reassemble. Their coach will tell them if there is another meeting spot.
As weather can be variable, there are 2 ways to check for changes in schedule:

Thunder Ridge web site: www.thunderridgeski.com, click on race page
Race Team Hotline: 845-878-4100 press 6 for race team

Any changes will be updated by 5pm the night before. If there is nothing posted, follow your regular schedule. You will NOT receive a phone call or an email. WHEN IN DOUBT, CHECK IT OUT!
Be patient the 1^st weekend, especially with your racer. Come with time to spare as the first days are rather busy for everyone.
Watching your child train — for safety and insurance concerns, Thunder Ridge does not allow non-skiers beyond the immediate fencing and on the hill without a lift ticket/ski pass/equipment. The Lodge window offers a great view!