Report on PORTILLO (Speed Camp) Chile, by Jordan Williams
"This training camp is the main reason that the BC Ski Team athletes are strong in their ability to push their limits in super-G and downhill racing. The opportunities and volumes of training in this environment are excellent. We have spent the last 2 weeks training and analyzing the skiing through our Dartfish program to enhance and correct our technical and tactical approach to speed skiing. The US National Downhill Team was commanding the environment that we were involved with. The US coaches and athletes welcomed our athletes in the speed environment as long as they behaved and preformed like world class skiers. The Pridy Bros. (Conrad & Morgan) showed up and even impressed the staff and members of that World Cup team.
The majority of our team (men & women) skied on a track that was set to mimic the set by the US Ski Team – necessary because of our proximity to their track. Needless to say, this was a big challenge for them all. The undulating terrain, bigger distances and variety in super-G sets, although slightly modified by our coaches, provided fast, challenging training. We managed also to pick up a little bit of technical free-skiing and gate training during the days of inclement weather. In the tech training, the coaches realized that we hadn’t lost touch with the developing skills that were learned earlier in the training season.
The travel home was interfered with by a late arriving flight from Argentina. Not only did we get hit hard for our large amount of equipment but, we missed our flight from Toronto to Vancouver so we had an extra few hours in the lovely Pearson International Airport. We all realized how fortunate they are when our travel plans and logistics work out with no problems.
Jeff MacLennan and I believe that this has been the most effective environment that we could have offered the BC athletes and that it was utilized to the fullest. If an athlete could have executed their training any better, they will in the next environment. Watch for Chile photos from Jeff to be posted on www.bcalpine.com."
Muchas Gracias,
Jordan Williams
Head Coach, Men’s BC Ski Team