Clubs vs. Academies...and going to school

I’m sitting in the lobby of our hotel in Chile right now. Today was the last day of our camp here at Valle Nevado. It has been a while since my last blog so ill do a little recap on the six weeks or so between getting to school and now. Originally I was going to write this and the next blog as one long on but since they basically are two completely different topics I decided to make them into two bogs.

After hood we had 4 weeks of school before coming here for two weeks. The first four weeks were defiantly a little bit of a change from my normal life. The biggest underling difference was that I was actually going to school. While I feel like I have done pretty component home school classes in terms of difficulty they have been to my timetable. If I had a 4-page paper to write in home school I could work at it, take a break, work on it a couple days later a finish it whenever. For the first time I had to sit down a write a 4-page paper in one sitting. The first week I was on top of my game and school was fairly easy. As the weeks passed the school got harder I got lazy. By my last week of school I found myself behind in a few of my classes. I quickly realized (and was informed for numerous staff members) that can’t happen during the season if I want to ski a competitive calendar. Aside from going to school there have been some other pretty drastic changes in my way of life. The next biggest difference besides schoolwork is the size and diversity in kids. You might expect that going to a ski academy with 50 other ski racers would be about the farthest thing from diversity. While that argument can certainly be made I have been surprised how untrue it has proven. Last year I skied on a team with only 3 other kids, all of us had like goals of being the best skiers in the world and all pushed each other pretty hard. That tight of peer group is something that can’t be found…anywhere except for maybe the U.S. Ski Team. Before last year I came from a club that was fairly small, I had some close friends there that I grew up skiing with there. The level of competivness was not there, but between my coach at home and my parents giving me opportunities to train outside [the lower 48 (not Alaska)] I was able to train and compete at a high level. This year at an academy has been a different experience. Last may I went to a ski camp and had an interesting conversation with a Squaw Valley coach. Squaw Valley is famous for having a huge program that produces a lot of good skiers. Most kids there barely train, especially when they’re younger, instead they free ski. Its good proof that skiing gnarly terrain and skiing all day because it’s fun can lead to skiing fast in the course. The coach there said how he alone is supposed keep track of a 100 different kids. Obviously this is impossible; at most he can keep his eye on 10. If those 10 kids want to get better and get coached they have to make the effort to get noticed, they have to be driven from within. There are obvious downsides to a place like Squaw Valley. The schooling isn’t very good, as you get older when more training and attention is necessary it is not usually there. That is where academies shine. Here at Burke every kid is looked at and carefully watched. All of the staff know (or think they do) exactly want your every need is. There is a full-time trainer that travels with the kids to camps and is in charge of all of the injured kids. Granted, he is a huge asset and just two days ago helped me when I injures my leg (which ill talk about later.) While of these things can be great if you are willing to work hard I also feel they can ruin some kids. I see situations every day in which a kid is faced with situation and instead of having to figure it and deal without “Burke” takes care of it. The Squaw coach mentioned how often times when kids who have been at academies and have had everything spoon-fed to them make the U.S. Team they cannot function. Their coaches have been there to hold their hand every step of the way and suddenly when they are forced to think and act for themselves their skiing falls apart. I like to think about the difference between clubs and academies like the difference between old school rappers and most of the noise the call rap now. Old school rappers were usually legitimately gangsters, they sold drugs, killed people, or at least grew up in the “hood.” A lot of rappers now a days only talk about how much money they have, they never endured any hardship to get there. For that reason old school rap has a more pure sound, instead of the “hip-pop” that might have a catchy beat but doesn’t exhibit any kind of passion. Old School rappers had to work for what they got while new schoolers get everything handed to them. I feel in general the same can be said for clubs and academies. If you make out of a club (the hood) then you will probably go far, where as if you come from an academy you better have the drive within yourself or else you will never make it far (and go triple platinum.) Keep in mind there are new rappers that make good music, it is obviously possible to ski fast have a successful career ski racing coming from an academy (I think a few people have done it.) I’m glad I’m at Burke, I think that it has the necessary steps in place to succeed and I can’t think if a place I’d rather be.