Cory earned a Bronze Medal in Giant Slalom in the top division of the Advanced Group today at Marmot Basin near Jasper, Alberta in Special Olympics' National Winter Games.
After a little slip in his first run, he was in fourth position but nailed a great 2nd run, improved his time by 2 seconds, and jumped ahead onto a spot on the podium.
The current World Champion from Quebec grabbed the gold medal - as we expected - and another excellent ski racer from Ontario took the silver. Tomorrow is the Super G, then slalom in the afternoon, so we'll update again tomorrow night.
The story of a 36-year-old man with autism and a passion for ski racing, and his dream-come-true of representing Canada at Special Olympics World Winter Games. In March 2025, Cory competed for Canada at the World Winter Games in Turin & Sestriere, Italy. And he won all 3 of his races, taking Gold in Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Super Giant Slalom! A 3 Time Olympic Gold Medalist!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Ready to Fly Like An Eagle!
With 10 days to go to Cory's departure for Special Olympics' National Winter Games in St. Albert & Jasper, Alberta, his 5 years of preparation and training are coming to an end. He's just returned from two days at Whistler, where he spent one day at Gatebusters doing some GS gate training, and the next in a Kokanee Super G race. He'll train one more time with Special Olympics, but will use most of the next 10 days resting.
Working with former Canadian ski team member Chris Kent this week, he's been trying to add just a little tweak to his body position by spreading his arms further apart -and "fly like an eagle", as Chris said.
Like any sport, becoming a better racer requires repetitive practice, and Cory has been able to do gate training on 23 days so far this season. On each day, Cory tries to get about 8-10 runs through the race course. With about 20 gates per course, that means that he has made up to about 4600 turns around gates this season.
Here are a few of those 4600 turns....
At a Gatebusters GS session on Ptarmigan at Whistler on February 1, where Cory is working on just trying to find more speed...
But first, some warm ups with Blackcomb's Seventh Heaven in the background:
Spectacular sights are easy to find at Whistler Blackcomb:
And a week later, again at a Gatebusters GS session on Ptarmigan, he seems to have found that extra speed....
And a view of the whole race course....
Got to fit in a lunch break amongst all those runs...
And then on Gandy Dancer on Blackcomb on February 15, working on keeping his arms a bit wider, and it takes him a few runs before he starts to "fly like and eagle"...
At the end of the day, a ride on the Peak to Peak Gondola to get us over to the Peak to Creek run...the longest intermediate run in North America...for the last run of the day. Over the last couple of weeks, we've tried to cut back somewhat on Cory's gate training - after all 4600 gates should be enough! - and just enjoy more free-skiing, just to add a bit more fun, a bit less work, to Cory's routine.
And then a bit of clowning around with Cory trying to "fly like an eagle"..
The next day, it's a race...another in the Kokanee series, and this time it's a Super G on Gandy Dancer on Blackcomb. And Cory does a good job at keeping his arms further apart as he races, though he does drop his inside hand as he turns. But the wider arms will give him more stability and balance in a more athletic stance as he races.
And he said later he heard me ringing the cowbell!
With the Super G cut to only one run due to a continuing snow fall (which adds soft snow to a hard race surface which can be dangerous), then why not use the extra time for some hot-tubbing - but that falling snow is cold!
and talk about a great ski-in/ski-out location - right by the Wizard Chair....
So after 5 years of training - from the 2007 Special Olympics British Columbia Provincial Winter Games when he set his sights to qualify for the 2012 National Games - Cory is ready. He'll train one more time with Special Olympics at Cypress next week, and then get some rest, work some shifts at Canada Safeway, and prepare for his departure with Team BC on Monday, February 27. And then it's onto Marmot Basin near Jasper, where he certainly plans to "fly like an eagle". We'll update again soon.
Working with former Canadian ski team member Chris Kent this week, he's been trying to add just a little tweak to his body position by spreading his arms further apart -and "fly like an eagle", as Chris said.
Like any sport, becoming a better racer requires repetitive practice, and Cory has been able to do gate training on 23 days so far this season. On each day, Cory tries to get about 8-10 runs through the race course. With about 20 gates per course, that means that he has made up to about 4600 turns around gates this season.
Here are a few of those 4600 turns....
At a Gatebusters GS session on Ptarmigan at Whistler on February 1, where Cory is working on just trying to find more speed...
But first, some warm ups with Blackcomb's Seventh Heaven in the background:
Spectacular sights are easy to find at Whistler Blackcomb:
And a week later, again at a Gatebusters GS session on Ptarmigan, he seems to have found that extra speed....
And a view of the whole race course....
Got to fit in a lunch break amongst all those runs...
And then on Gandy Dancer on Blackcomb on February 15, working on keeping his arms a bit wider, and it takes him a few runs before he starts to "fly like and eagle"...
At the end of the day, a ride on the Peak to Peak Gondola to get us over to the Peak to Creek run...the longest intermediate run in North America...for the last run of the day. Over the last couple of weeks, we've tried to cut back somewhat on Cory's gate training - after all 4600 gates should be enough! - and just enjoy more free-skiing, just to add a bit more fun, a bit less work, to Cory's routine.
And then a bit of clowning around with Cory trying to "fly like an eagle"..
The next day, it's a race...another in the Kokanee series, and this time it's a Super G on Gandy Dancer on Blackcomb. And Cory does a good job at keeping his arms further apart as he races, though he does drop his inside hand as he turns. But the wider arms will give him more stability and balance in a more athletic stance as he races.
And he said later he heard me ringing the cowbell!
With the Super G cut to only one run due to a continuing snow fall (which adds soft snow to a hard race surface which can be dangerous), then why not use the extra time for some hot-tubbing - but that falling snow is cold!
and talk about a great ski-in/ski-out location - right by the Wizard Chair....
So after 5 years of training - from the 2007 Special Olympics British Columbia Provincial Winter Games when he set his sights to qualify for the 2012 National Games - Cory is ready. He'll train one more time with Special Olympics at Cypress next week, and then get some rest, work some shifts at Canada Safeway, and prepare for his departure with Team BC on Monday, February 27. And then it's onto Marmot Basin near Jasper, where he certainly plans to "fly like an eagle". We'll update again soon.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Breakthrough!
Cory continues to train in the Gatebusters program and race in the Kokanee race series at Whistler Blackcomb in preparation for Special Olympics' National Winter Games that begin in 28 days. And at last Saturday's Gatebusters, his coach - Chris Kent - called it a "breakthrough" day for Cory. And what great timing to breakthrough, with just over a month to race day.
The Kokanee race was held in pleasantly clear conditions a couple of days earlier.
Here's Cory and his Blue Streak teammate Christie taking some course inspection advice from Whistler legend Rob Boyd...
Then it's time to prepare to race:
And into his first run of the 2 runs for the day:
He has worked hard to improve his technical skills and a couple of weeks ago, his coaches suggested he now put those skills to work - that he forget about thinking of his body position and technical skills as he trains and focus on just finding a way to go faster in a race course. Taking a more aggressive line, tucking more often, just attacking the race course. And on Saturday, there was a noticeable improvement and that's what prompted Coach Chris to call it a "breakthrough day, a big step up".
In fact, when we compared Cory's times to those of another racer he often trains with, a racer who has always been up to 5 seconds faster in a race course, we saw that Cory was now the faster racer - by 2 seconds for each run! That is indeed a big step up, a breakthrough day.
Some early runs through the Gatebusters course:
and then as the day progesses, his increased speed is noticeable here as he cuts in closer to a gate and hits it harder than he's ever hit a gate before...
So now it's off to Gatebusters for another GS training day on February 1, then a short training break as Cory takes a well-earned 4 day long weekend with no ski training. He''ll return to snow next week at Cypress with his Special Olympics Provincial Coach - Randy Scott - and then onto more Gatebusters sessions and one more Kokanee race at Whistler.
Here he is with Coach Randy at Cypress on a foggy night of training:
During his training break, we are expecting he will receive his Team BC uniform and gear so we'll update soon with photos of that.
The Kokanee race was held in pleasantly clear conditions a couple of days earlier.
Here's Cory and his Blue Streak teammate Christie taking some course inspection advice from Whistler legend Rob Boyd...
Then it's time to prepare to race:
And into his first run of the 2 runs for the day:
He has worked hard to improve his technical skills and a couple of weeks ago, his coaches suggested he now put those skills to work - that he forget about thinking of his body position and technical skills as he trains and focus on just finding a way to go faster in a race course. Taking a more aggressive line, tucking more often, just attacking the race course. And on Saturday, there was a noticeable improvement and that's what prompted Coach Chris to call it a "breakthrough day, a big step up".
In fact, when we compared Cory's times to those of another racer he often trains with, a racer who has always been up to 5 seconds faster in a race course, we saw that Cory was now the faster racer - by 2 seconds for each run! That is indeed a big step up, a breakthrough day.
Some early runs through the Gatebusters course:
and then as the day progesses, his increased speed is noticeable here as he cuts in closer to a gate and hits it harder than he's ever hit a gate before...
So now it's off to Gatebusters for another GS training day on February 1, then a short training break as Cory takes a well-earned 4 day long weekend with no ski training. He''ll return to snow next week at Cypress with his Special Olympics Provincial Coach - Randy Scott - and then onto more Gatebusters sessions and one more Kokanee race at Whistler.
Here he is with Coach Randy at Cypress on a foggy night of training:
During his training break, we are expecting he will receive his Team BC uniform and gear so we'll update soon with photos of that.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
39 Days To Go!
With 39 days to go until the Opening Ceremonies of Special Olympics' National Games in St. Albert, Alberta, Cory's training is in high gear. Monday nights at Cypress with his Special Olympics Team BC teammates and Coaches Tom Advocaat and Randy Scott, then Wednesdays in the Gatebusters program at Whistler working with Coach Ken Pedersen, Thursdays in the Kokanee Race Series and Saturdays back in the Gatebusters program, both at Whistler.
Kokanee GS, January 5
This was the second Kokanee race of the season, and as always with a Kokanee race, we joke that Cory's goal is to not finish last. And in this race, he is successful - finishing 5th out of 11 racers in his age category, with the 25th best time of the 40 male racers.
First though, a little TLC for those GS race skis...
Then it's race time, on Ptarmigan - now the National Training Centre - on Whistler:
Gatebusters GS, January 7
Back into Giant Slalom training with Gatebusters, again on Ptarmigan. Cory is working on maintaining a dynamic body movement throughout the race course, and trying to keep his weight more over his downhill ski
Gatebusters GS, January 11
Staying on Ptarmigan for the next GS training session where Cory now is working on holding his turns just a bit longer to maintain a higher line in the steep sections. Otherwise he skis more directly at the next gate resulting in a lower and lower line through the course which usually results in a braking motion in order to make a gate. By maintaining a higher line from turn to turn, he can maintain his speed until the course flattens out and then go more directly at gates with speed. It's a difficult concept for him since he instinctely wants to go as fast as possible.
Kokanee GS, January 12
In this Kokanee race, his VASS Blue Streak colleague joins in, and it's a beautiful day for a race.
Cory continues to use these races as a training exercise and in his first run it is clear he is holding his turns longer and managing his speed well, though it likely results in a slower race. For the second run, we talk about using his new skill of holding his turns only when he feels it is necessary as he races through the course, and once again he does not finish last, 4th out of 9 racers in his age group.
Gatebusters SL, January 14
Now a switch into Slalom training, still on Ptarmigan, the National Training Centre at Whistler.
Here in Cory's first slalom training since November, Cory is working on taking a more aggressive line and instead of skiing around the gates, learning how to ski through them. He got arm and shin guards for his birthday and for Christmas, now it's time to put them to good use.
Gatebusters SL, January 18
And then there was this Gatebusters session...the coldest day we've ever experienced on skis. It was -21C, with high humidity, and strong winds. A couple of weeks ago, Cory skied with his Special Olympics Provincial Coach who was impressed enough with Cory's skiing to say that he was ready to compete and the National level now, and it would be OK for Cory to reduce his training if he wished. But Cory would have none of it. He said he's trained too hard and too long to ease off now, with just over a month to go. So let's keep at it he said. So in spite of the weather, he insisted we get out of our warm beds at 5am for the drive to Whistler.
Even his first experience with frostbite didn't stop him. He got 8 runs in, with 4 stops in the warm-up hut in between, and by the last run he was skiing slalom better than ever, and the Gatebusters coach told him so.
He has another Gatebusters Slalom session planned for this Saturday at Whistler, and then a GS Kokanee race on January 26 and a Super G Kokanee race on February 16. There are Gatebusters sessions at Whistler every Wednesday and Saturday, but he'll likely be selective with those. He certainly wants to be in peak condition but not over-trained by his departure from Vancouver Airport for Edmonton on February 27.
We'll update again before then, that's for sure. And then it will be 2 days of racing at Marmot Basin in Jasper for the opportunity to represent Canada at Special Olympics' World Games in Pyeongchang, Korea in 2013. Our fingers are already crossed. We do know that no other athlete there could possibly be better prepared, but we also know that anything can happen on race day.
Kokanee GS, January 5
This was the second Kokanee race of the season, and as always with a Kokanee race, we joke that Cory's goal is to not finish last. And in this race, he is successful - finishing 5th out of 11 racers in his age category, with the 25th best time of the 40 male racers.
First though, a little TLC for those GS race skis...
Then it's race time, on Ptarmigan - now the National Training Centre - on Whistler:
Gatebusters GS, January 7
Back into Giant Slalom training with Gatebusters, again on Ptarmigan. Cory is working on maintaining a dynamic body movement throughout the race course, and trying to keep his weight more over his downhill ski
Gatebusters GS, January 11
Staying on Ptarmigan for the next GS training session where Cory now is working on holding his turns just a bit longer to maintain a higher line in the steep sections. Otherwise he skis more directly at the next gate resulting in a lower and lower line through the course which usually results in a braking motion in order to make a gate. By maintaining a higher line from turn to turn, he can maintain his speed until the course flattens out and then go more directly at gates with speed. It's a difficult concept for him since he instinctely wants to go as fast as possible.
Kokanee GS, January 12
In this Kokanee race, his VASS Blue Streak colleague joins in, and it's a beautiful day for a race.
Cory continues to use these races as a training exercise and in his first run it is clear he is holding his turns longer and managing his speed well, though it likely results in a slower race. For the second run, we talk about using his new skill of holding his turns only when he feels it is necessary as he races through the course, and once again he does not finish last, 4th out of 9 racers in his age group.
Gatebusters SL, January 14
Now a switch into Slalom training, still on Ptarmigan, the National Training Centre at Whistler.
Here in Cory's first slalom training since November, Cory is working on taking a more aggressive line and instead of skiing around the gates, learning how to ski through them. He got arm and shin guards for his birthday and for Christmas, now it's time to put them to good use.
Gatebusters SL, January 18
And then there was this Gatebusters session...the coldest day we've ever experienced on skis. It was -21C, with high humidity, and strong winds. A couple of weeks ago, Cory skied with his Special Olympics Provincial Coach who was impressed enough with Cory's skiing to say that he was ready to compete and the National level now, and it would be OK for Cory to reduce his training if he wished. But Cory would have none of it. He said he's trained too hard and too long to ease off now, with just over a month to go. So let's keep at it he said. So in spite of the weather, he insisted we get out of our warm beds at 5am for the drive to Whistler.
Even his first experience with frostbite didn't stop him. He got 8 runs in, with 4 stops in the warm-up hut in between, and by the last run he was skiing slalom better than ever, and the Gatebusters coach told him so.
He has another Gatebusters Slalom session planned for this Saturday at Whistler, and then a GS Kokanee race on January 26 and a Super G Kokanee race on February 16. There are Gatebusters sessions at Whistler every Wednesday and Saturday, but he'll likely be selective with those. He certainly wants to be in peak condition but not over-trained by his departure from Vancouver Airport for Edmonton on February 27.
We'll update again before then, that's for sure. And then it will be 2 days of racing at Marmot Basin in Jasper for the opportunity to represent Canada at Special Olympics' World Games in Pyeongchang, Korea in 2013. Our fingers are already crossed. We do know that no other athlete there could possibly be better prepared, but we also know that anything can happen on race day.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
The Training Grind
Since his return from Hurricane Race Camp in Loveland, Colorado, Cory has been training and racing at Whistler Blackcomb in the Gatebusters program and the Kokanee Race Series, as well as training with Whistler Mountain Ski Club and Whistler Adaptive Sports Programs.
A few of Cory's runs through the Gatebusters course on Gandy Dancer on Blackcomb... He's working on two things - getting his body over his downhill ski rather than leaning back uphill and being more dynamic - rising and dropping harder onto to his skis as he initiates his turns:
Then in a Kokanee race the next day on the same run on Blackcomb, Cory appears to be a bit cautious on his first run, and posts a time of 1:03.97:
But on the second run, he cranks it up and takes 7 seconds of the time of his first run with a time of 56.47....he was so surprised that he thought they had made a mistake with his time.
Since Cory started racing in the Kokanee series two years ago, we've always joked about his goal being to not finish last. Most of the Kokanee racers are much more experienced than Cory and he usually does finish last in his age group. But not this time, he finishes 7th of the 8 racers that completed the course.
And one of those experienced racers is Rob Boyd, who has worked with Cory when he trains with Whistler Mountain Ski Club. Here's Rob's run through the race course:
A few days later we were back at Whistler, training on a beautiful day with Whistler Mountain Ski Club on Ptarmigan:
Cory keeps increasing his speed and one of his challenges now is to mentally adjust to that speed, to be better prepared as gets through one gate to move into another. On his second run of this video, just as he reaches the camera he does not anticipate the next gate and is too slow to transition as he approaches the blue gate. As a result, he completes his turn well below the gate and must ski across the hill in order to make the following red gate. So he'll need to do as much gate training as possible to get used to his new-found speed through a race course.
The next day Cory gets to practice a little bit of tucking, which he will certainly need for his Super G race at the Nationals next March. But it's obvious he hasn't been using it much as he needs to lower his head and shoulders, move forward on his skis, in order to straighten his back and become more aerodynamic.
Later, he is faced with certainly the most challenging race course he's ever been on...not as icy as the Nor-Am course at Loveland of course but that had no gates. This course had two very steep pitches - which usually means gates that are very much offset in order to slow the racers down, but on this course the gates were more direct and Cory could tell during his course inspection that it would be very fast.
So he starts rather cautiously again but as the day goes on, he really picks up his speed and has an excellent final run:
So now a short Christmas break and back to Whistler Mountain Ski Club for 3 days of Slalom training, then more Gatebuster sessions and a Kokanee race in early January. And 67 days now till the National Games races at Marmot Basin in Jasper.
A few of Cory's runs through the Gatebusters course on Gandy Dancer on Blackcomb... He's working on two things - getting his body over his downhill ski rather than leaning back uphill and being more dynamic - rising and dropping harder onto to his skis as he initiates his turns:
Then in a Kokanee race the next day on the same run on Blackcomb, Cory appears to be a bit cautious on his first run, and posts a time of 1:03.97:
But on the second run, he cranks it up and takes 7 seconds of the time of his first run with a time of 56.47....he was so surprised that he thought they had made a mistake with his time.
Since Cory started racing in the Kokanee series two years ago, we've always joked about his goal being to not finish last. Most of the Kokanee racers are much more experienced than Cory and he usually does finish last in his age group. But not this time, he finishes 7th of the 8 racers that completed the course.
And one of those experienced racers is Rob Boyd, who has worked with Cory when he trains with Whistler Mountain Ski Club. Here's Rob's run through the race course:
A few days later we were back at Whistler, training on a beautiful day with Whistler Mountain Ski Club on Ptarmigan:
Cory keeps increasing his speed and one of his challenges now is to mentally adjust to that speed, to be better prepared as gets through one gate to move into another. On his second run of this video, just as he reaches the camera he does not anticipate the next gate and is too slow to transition as he approaches the blue gate. As a result, he completes his turn well below the gate and must ski across the hill in order to make the following red gate. So he'll need to do as much gate training as possible to get used to his new-found speed through a race course.
The next day Cory gets to practice a little bit of tucking, which he will certainly need for his Super G race at the Nationals next March. But it's obvious he hasn't been using it much as he needs to lower his head and shoulders, move forward on his skis, in order to straighten his back and become more aerodynamic.
Later, he is faced with certainly the most challenging race course he's ever been on...not as icy as the Nor-Am course at Loveland of course but that had no gates. This course had two very steep pitches - which usually means gates that are very much offset in order to slow the racers down, but on this course the gates were more direct and Cory could tell during his course inspection that it would be very fast.
So he starts rather cautiously again but as the day goes on, he really picks up his speed and has an excellent final run:
So now a short Christmas break and back to Whistler Mountain Ski Club for 3 days of Slalom training, then more Gatebuster sessions and a Kokanee race in early January. And 67 days now till the National Games races at Marmot Basin in Jasper.
Monday, November 28, 2011
A Great Start to the New Season
Cory returned late Sunday night from his week at Hurricane Race Camp in Loveland, Colorado.
First, a huge thanks to Bob Vial for continuing to work with Cory for the third time, after Mount Hood in 2007, and Loveland last year.
The week started with an early drive from Vancouver on Friday, November 18, to board a 6am flight from Seattle to Denver.
Then a short train ride from the aircraft to the Denver International terminal...
Later, after a two hour drive from Denver to Dillon, Colorado, it's time to settle into our condo and get over to the team meeting.
From brilliant sunshine on our day of arrival, to snow & wind the next day, Cory's first day on skis since his camp at Whistler last July, is a full day of free skiing drills with Coach Bob Vial giving instructions:
Coach Bob in one of his classic routines - "Schwinging the Heinie" - a very funny way to get his racers to stop swinging their bodies back and forth as they turn:
The next day brings some sun but it's still windy and quite cold:
Coach Bob starts with a safety reminder - "it's your responsibility!" - and then hits the basics talking about stance, even when the racers are standing still:
Then into a basic drill with poles held horizontally behind the neck. The idea is for the racer to keep the poles horizontal and avoid the natural tendency to let the upper body lean back uphill. For dynamic pressure into the skis, it is critical to keep as much weight and power as possible over the "downhill" ski - the ski furthest downhill on any given turn, which is the right ski on a left turn and the left ski on a right turn. Cory has difficulty with this manoeuvre as he does allow his upper body to lean. Coach Bob even started calling him "I-Lean". It's something he will have to work on during the week and in this video, he gets some shouted reminders from me.
Coach Bob exhorting the racers to "bend the skis". Race skis are stiffer than recreational skis, so they require more effort to pressure the skis to grip the snow. But the stiffness helps not only to grip, but as the pressure is released the skis bounce back, just like a trampoline, and can propel the racer forward. So it's important for racers to use their weight and their strength in a dynamic body movement to apply enough pressure to bend the skis.
Later that day, it's into slalom gate training, starting with stubbies - a less intimidating way to train slalom turns:
As he goes into this turn, Cory looks good with his skis close to the stubby and pointed right at the next stubby on the course. But on a closer look we can see that Cory is definitely leaning uphill, and as a result he doesn't have enough pressure on his downhill ski and lets the tails of his skis skid out, turning his skis far to the left and finishing his turn too far down the race course. Certainly something to work on.
A few runs through a full gate race course ends the day:
Another nice start to the next day...
One of the things we enjoy about Loveland Ski Area is their commitment to racing - they even shut down a lift and a few runs to the general public. No lift lines for racers!
Here's Cory warming up on a brush course. He shows good form as he gets his skis just outside the course and keeps his upper body inside the course.
But he has difficulty transferring that approach to a full-gate course. He does not have full slalom protective armour on his arms and shins, so it looks like it's time to invest in some.
The next morning is an earlier start than usual - we need to be on the hill by 7am, so it's a 6:15 load into the van:
It's the last day of slalom training and Cory continues to show improvement as he seems to get faster each time he goes through the course.
And in the evening video review, Coach Bob points out a flaw with Cory's pole planting:
More blue skies on the next day, Day 4 and we switch to Giant Slalom training now:
A basic GS drill...the J Turn, where the skier holds pressure on the downhill ski until the ski turns back uphill and comes to a stop:
And then it's back to gate training where Cory runs into the Canadian Women's National Slalom Team, who are also training there. He walks over and says hello and wishes them good luck for the upcoming season...that's Anna Goodman looking up from her gear and chatting with Cory:
And later Anna, Erin Mielzynski, and Eve Routhier pose with Cory....
In his first day of Giant Slalom training, Cory shows some good speed. He's working on "driving" the downhill ski - extending his downhill leg further down the hill while bending his uphill knee and trying to prevent his upper body from leaning uphill. This would put more of his weight and more pressure onto his downhill ski and result in cleaner, tighter carving turns. The result would be skiing a tighter run, getting closer and closer to the gates as he races by them:
The next day, more Giant Slalom training, but time for a father & son photo:
Time for "whirlybirds" - 360 degree turns which help in balance and for getting the feel of edges versus the snow, and Coach Bob adds the poles up to the helmet to encourage his racers to get out of their comfort zones:
And in the race course, Cory continues to work on a more dynamic body position and continues to show good speed & some good turns:
After training, a very special opportunity and Cory makes the most of it. A Nor-Am Cup race is to be held a couple of days later on an adjacent run. Nor-Am is one level below the World Cup/Olympians but since it's early in the season, many World Cup racers will participate. Cory's race team is asked if they'd like to ski the run where the Nor-Am will be held. But it's no ordinary run....World Cup and Nor-Am races are held on water-injected runs which creates an extremely hard, icy, and fast surface. A surface much icier than Cory has ever skied on.
One-by-one each of Cory's teammates took their turns, and though most of them are better racers than Cory, they all skied very cautiously, sliding sideways down the hill and often stopping. I stood watching and wondered how Cory would do. There was a real World Cup-like start hut at the top and Cory told me later he really pushed hard out of the start just like they do on TV.
What he didn't know was the next 50 yards or so were just sheer ice - I had skied on it and there was no way I could turn on it, it was frightening! Those 50 yards included a sharp right hand turn down the slope towards where I was standing with my camera...waiting to see how he would approach it.
He skied it like a racer, attacking the run and making turns, though I could hear him yelling something at times, very unusual for him. The video doesn't show how icy it was but the sounds his skis make sure tell a story. His coach and another parent were impressed...and the whoop it up as he skis by them.
I carefully skied down the run to catch up to him at the bottom and he was still out of breath when I got there. He told me he was out of breath not because of exertion, but out of FEAR! He was so scared he said he yelled "OH F...!" all the way down!! A few seconds later though, he turned to me and said it would be tempting to try it again. He really does have the heart of a champion.
At the end of this special day, there's time for a team visit to the top of Loveland Pass - 11,990 feet - and the Continental Divide...
On top, yes, but not quite the National Games podium yet....still a lot of work to do before then....
And a look down to Interstate 70 back to Denver and to the base of the run where Cory trained all week:
Then it's the last day, the last early morning cup of coffee...
Coach Bob allows Cory and I to work on his body position during some free-skiing and Cory really shows some dynamic body movement, bending his uphill knee and getting down low to put plenty of pressure on his downhill ski:
But he has difficulty using the same amount of body movement in the race course. We talk it over and he admits to a bit of fear - it takes a lot of confidence and trust to put so much pressure on a thin edge of steel on a steep and fast race course. I remind him of the courage he showed the day before on that icy Nor-Am run but it's definitely different when there's gates to get through. So it's something we'll have to work on when we get back home.
But overall, just a great start to Cory's season. He's skiing better than ever and he has 3 months to keep working and improving.
We'll look for a free-ski day at Cypress soon, then head to Whistler for gate training and a Kokanee race in mid-December, then several days of gate training with Whistler Mountain Ski Club over the Christmas holidays.
Leave a comment, we'd love to hear from you.
First, a huge thanks to Bob Vial for continuing to work with Cory for the third time, after Mount Hood in 2007, and Loveland last year.
The week started with an early drive from Vancouver on Friday, November 18, to board a 6am flight from Seattle to Denver.
Then a short train ride from the aircraft to the Denver International terminal...
Later, after a two hour drive from Denver to Dillon, Colorado, it's time to settle into our condo and get over to the team meeting.
From brilliant sunshine on our day of arrival, to snow & wind the next day, Cory's first day on skis since his camp at Whistler last July, is a full day of free skiing drills with Coach Bob Vial giving instructions:
Coach Bob in one of his classic routines - "Schwinging the Heinie" - a very funny way to get his racers to stop swinging their bodies back and forth as they turn:
The next day brings some sun but it's still windy and quite cold:
Coach Bob starts with a safety reminder - "it's your responsibility!" - and then hits the basics talking about stance, even when the racers are standing still:
Then into a basic drill with poles held horizontally behind the neck. The idea is for the racer to keep the poles horizontal and avoid the natural tendency to let the upper body lean back uphill. For dynamic pressure into the skis, it is critical to keep as much weight and power as possible over the "downhill" ski - the ski furthest downhill on any given turn, which is the right ski on a left turn and the left ski on a right turn. Cory has difficulty with this manoeuvre as he does allow his upper body to lean. Coach Bob even started calling him "I-Lean". It's something he will have to work on during the week and in this video, he gets some shouted reminders from me.
Coach Bob exhorting the racers to "bend the skis". Race skis are stiffer than recreational skis, so they require more effort to pressure the skis to grip the snow. But the stiffness helps not only to grip, but as the pressure is released the skis bounce back, just like a trampoline, and can propel the racer forward. So it's important for racers to use their weight and their strength in a dynamic body movement to apply enough pressure to bend the skis.
Later that day, it's into slalom gate training, starting with stubbies - a less intimidating way to train slalom turns:
As he goes into this turn, Cory looks good with his skis close to the stubby and pointed right at the next stubby on the course. But on a closer look we can see that Cory is definitely leaning uphill, and as a result he doesn't have enough pressure on his downhill ski and lets the tails of his skis skid out, turning his skis far to the left and finishing his turn too far down the race course. Certainly something to work on.
A few runs through a full gate race course ends the day:
Another nice start to the next day...
One of the things we enjoy about Loveland Ski Area is their commitment to racing - they even shut down a lift and a few runs to the general public. No lift lines for racers!
Here's Cory warming up on a brush course. He shows good form as he gets his skis just outside the course and keeps his upper body inside the course.
But he has difficulty transferring that approach to a full-gate course. He does not have full slalom protective armour on his arms and shins, so it looks like it's time to invest in some.
The next morning is an earlier start than usual - we need to be on the hill by 7am, so it's a 6:15 load into the van:
It's the last day of slalom training and Cory continues to show improvement as he seems to get faster each time he goes through the course.
And in the evening video review, Coach Bob points out a flaw with Cory's pole planting:
More blue skies on the next day, Day 4 and we switch to Giant Slalom training now:
A basic GS drill...the J Turn, where the skier holds pressure on the downhill ski until the ski turns back uphill and comes to a stop:
And then it's back to gate training where Cory runs into the Canadian Women's National Slalom Team, who are also training there. He walks over and says hello and wishes them good luck for the upcoming season...that's Anna Goodman looking up from her gear and chatting with Cory:
And later Anna, Erin Mielzynski, and Eve Routhier pose with Cory....
In his first day of Giant Slalom training, Cory shows some good speed. He's working on "driving" the downhill ski - extending his downhill leg further down the hill while bending his uphill knee and trying to prevent his upper body from leaning uphill. This would put more of his weight and more pressure onto his downhill ski and result in cleaner, tighter carving turns. The result would be skiing a tighter run, getting closer and closer to the gates as he races by them:
The next day, more Giant Slalom training, but time for a father & son photo:
Time for "whirlybirds" - 360 degree turns which help in balance and for getting the feel of edges versus the snow, and Coach Bob adds the poles up to the helmet to encourage his racers to get out of their comfort zones:
And in the race course, Cory continues to work on a more dynamic body position and continues to show good speed & some good turns:
After training, a very special opportunity and Cory makes the most of it. A Nor-Am Cup race is to be held a couple of days later on an adjacent run. Nor-Am is one level below the World Cup/Olympians but since it's early in the season, many World Cup racers will participate. Cory's race team is asked if they'd like to ski the run where the Nor-Am will be held. But it's no ordinary run....World Cup and Nor-Am races are held on water-injected runs which creates an extremely hard, icy, and fast surface. A surface much icier than Cory has ever skied on.
One-by-one each of Cory's teammates took their turns, and though most of them are better racers than Cory, they all skied very cautiously, sliding sideways down the hill and often stopping. I stood watching and wondered how Cory would do. There was a real World Cup-like start hut at the top and Cory told me later he really pushed hard out of the start just like they do on TV.
What he didn't know was the next 50 yards or so were just sheer ice - I had skied on it and there was no way I could turn on it, it was frightening! Those 50 yards included a sharp right hand turn down the slope towards where I was standing with my camera...waiting to see how he would approach it.
He skied it like a racer, attacking the run and making turns, though I could hear him yelling something at times, very unusual for him. The video doesn't show how icy it was but the sounds his skis make sure tell a story. His coach and another parent were impressed...and the whoop it up as he skis by them.
I carefully skied down the run to catch up to him at the bottom and he was still out of breath when I got there. He told me he was out of breath not because of exertion, but out of FEAR! He was so scared he said he yelled "OH F...!" all the way down!! A few seconds later though, he turned to me and said it would be tempting to try it again. He really does have the heart of a champion.
At the end of this special day, there's time for a team visit to the top of Loveland Pass - 11,990 feet - and the Continental Divide...
On top, yes, but not quite the National Games podium yet....still a lot of work to do before then....
And a look down to Interstate 70 back to Denver and to the base of the run where Cory trained all week:
Then it's the last day, the last early morning cup of coffee...
Coach Bob allows Cory and I to work on his body position during some free-skiing and Cory really shows some dynamic body movement, bending his uphill knee and getting down low to put plenty of pressure on his downhill ski:
But he has difficulty using the same amount of body movement in the race course. We talk it over and he admits to a bit of fear - it takes a lot of confidence and trust to put so much pressure on a thin edge of steel on a steep and fast race course. I remind him of the courage he showed the day before on that icy Nor-Am run but it's definitely different when there's gates to get through. So it's something we'll have to work on when we get back home.
But overall, just a great start to Cory's season. He's skiing better than ever and he has 3 months to keep working and improving.
We'll look for a free-ski day at Cypress soon, then head to Whistler for gate training and a Kokanee race in mid-December, then several days of gate training with Whistler Mountain Ski Club over the Christmas holidays.
Leave a comment, we'd love to hear from you.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
THANK YOU! WOW!!
Thanks to all of Cory's supporters for the huge success of our Pie & Cookie fundraising sale! Ali, Tracey, Ashley, Barb, Gary, Elaine, Angela, Donna, Barrie, Donna & Shaw, Marc & Emily, Sarah & Alain, Megan, Kim, Kathleen, Louise, Nicky, Michelle & Iain, Tracy, Gale & Helmut, Pat, and Tanya, we really appreciate your support.
And a very special thank you to Cory's cousin Becki for rallying so many of her friends to participate.
In total, we've sold just over $1600 worth of pies & cookies, which will give Cory $511 towards his training this winter.
And it all starts right now....very early tomorrow morning, around 1:30am, we'll be driving to Seattle for a 6am flight to Denver. Then starting on Saturday, Cory will put in 6 days of slalom and giant slalom training with Bob Vial's Hurricane Race Camp at Loveland, Colorado. Race camp is a lot of hard work....early mornings, carrying gear to and from the hill, lots of "barking" criticism from the coach, plenty of runs both in free-ski drills and through gates, then ski waxing and tuning back at the condo, with video review wrapping up each day.
First though, we have to finish packing up the gear...
and getting it into the car....
We'll update with news from Loveland next week, but once again a big thank you to all of you for giving Cory a helping hand to what we all hope will be the top of the podium at the National Games on March 1 & 2, 2012.
And a very special thank you to Cory's cousin Becki for rallying so many of her friends to participate.
In total, we've sold just over $1600 worth of pies & cookies, which will give Cory $511 towards his training this winter.
And it all starts right now....very early tomorrow morning, around 1:30am, we'll be driving to Seattle for a 6am flight to Denver. Then starting on Saturday, Cory will put in 6 days of slalom and giant slalom training with Bob Vial's Hurricane Race Camp at Loveland, Colorado. Race camp is a lot of hard work....early mornings, carrying gear to and from the hill, lots of "barking" criticism from the coach, plenty of runs both in free-ski drills and through gates, then ski waxing and tuning back at the condo, with video review wrapping up each day.
First though, we have to finish packing up the gear...
and getting it into the car....
We'll update with news from Loveland next week, but once again a big thank you to all of you for giving Cory a helping hand to what we all hope will be the top of the podium at the National Games on March 1 & 2, 2012.
Friday, November 4, 2011
2 Weeks to Snow
With still 2 weeks to the start of Cory's ski season, he continues to work hard at dryland training - though on this day we joked that it was more like wetland training.
And from this video of him doing wall jumps, it certainly appears that he has increased his leg strength...he easily and quickly gets 20 of them done....
And he's definitely improved his upper body position on Cone Hops, which is a good drill for slalom skiing. Slalom is very different from Giant Slalom and Super Giant Slalom in terms of body position. This is helping Cory understand that in slalom it's all about swinging the legs out in a pendulum style, while keeping the upper body still, as he does very well here. GS and Super G is more about a dynamic body dropping power and strength into the skis for clean carving and aerodynamics.
Those 2 exercises combined with the tortuous leg blasters really appear to be making a difference. In 2 weeks time, we'll see for sure.
And from this video of him doing wall jumps, it certainly appears that he has increased his leg strength...he easily and quickly gets 20 of them done....
And he's definitely improved his upper body position on Cone Hops, which is a good drill for slalom skiing. Slalom is very different from Giant Slalom and Super Giant Slalom in terms of body position. This is helping Cory understand that in slalom it's all about swinging the legs out in a pendulum style, while keeping the upper body still, as he does very well here. GS and Super G is more about a dynamic body dropping power and strength into the skis for clean carving and aerodynamics.
Those 2 exercises combined with the tortuous leg blasters really appear to be making a difference. In 2 weeks time, we'll see for sure.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sports Celebrities Festival 2011
Cory was invited to participate in the Sports Celebrities Festival last week, which is a major fundraiser for Canuck Place and for Special Olympics British Columbia. This was the second time he's participated in this event. Each member of the Vancouver Canucks was paired with a Special Olympics athlete and this year, Cory was paired with David Booth, the newest Canuck who had just arrived via a trade a few days earlier.
Before dinner, Cory played video games with a couple other members of the Canucks, and here he is in serious competition against Cody Hodgson...
A couple of days later, during a Hockey Night in Canada telecast, David Booth was interviewed and he talked about the event and meeting Cory....
But now, with less that 3 weeks to race camp at Loveland, Colorado, it's back to serious dryland training to prepare not just for the 11,000 feet of altitude there, but also to get a great head start to Cory's race season.
Before dinner, Cory played video games with a couple other members of the Canucks, and here he is in serious competition against Cody Hodgson...
A couple of days later, during a Hockey Night in Canada telecast, David Booth was interviewed and he talked about the event and meeting Cory....
But now, with less that 3 weeks to race camp at Loveland, Colorado, it's back to serious dryland training to prepare not just for the 11,000 feet of altitude there, but also to get a great head start to Cory's race season.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Dryland Training Continues...
With 4 weeks now till Cory is back on snow, he continues to do some dryland training 4 or 5 times per week. He has increased the intensity of his routines now, focusing on building his leg strength and developing quicker feet.
At the end of last ski season, one of Cory's coaches - Sammy Kent - suggested that he work on building his strength during the off-season so that he can maximize the use of a skill that he developed well last year - a more dynamic body action.
A dynamic downward-moving body places more pressure onto the skis, providing not just more edge pressure for cleaner carving, but builds pressure under the ski, which when released at the end of a turn, propels a racer forward. Race skis are very stiff so when pressure is applied downward, the skis bounce back. Just like a trampoline.
So for dryland, he's been doing some Wall Jumps to build leg strength...first on both feet,
then adding weights, and then switching to one foot jumps:
Onto some Cone Hops:
And finally the gruelling Leg Blasters:
Cory now plays basketball once a week and does some weight training with a Special Olympics coach once a week as well. And with an important bowling tournament coming up in mid-March - the first step towards making it back to the Summer National Games - he continues to work on his 5 Pin Bowling too. But the main focus is certainly on 2 days in early March, where all this dryland work, and his on-snow training starting in four weeks, will hopefully culminate in a National Championship and a ticket to Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2013.
Next stop - Loveland Colorado, at Bob Vial's Hurricane Race Camp.
At the end of last ski season, one of Cory's coaches - Sammy Kent - suggested that he work on building his strength during the off-season so that he can maximize the use of a skill that he developed well last year - a more dynamic body action.
A dynamic downward-moving body places more pressure onto the skis, providing not just more edge pressure for cleaner carving, but builds pressure under the ski, which when released at the end of a turn, propels a racer forward. Race skis are very stiff so when pressure is applied downward, the skis bounce back. Just like a trampoline.
So for dryland, he's been doing some Wall Jumps to build leg strength...first on both feet,
then adding weights, and then switching to one foot jumps:
Onto some Cone Hops:
And finally the gruelling Leg Blasters:
Cory now plays basketball once a week and does some weight training with a Special Olympics coach once a week as well. And with an important bowling tournament coming up in mid-March - the first step towards making it back to the Summer National Games - he continues to work on his 5 Pin Bowling too. But the main focus is certainly on 2 days in early March, where all this dryland work, and his on-snow training starting in four weeks, will hopefully culminate in a National Championship and a ticket to Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2013.
Next stop - Loveland Colorado, at Bob Vial's Hurricane Race Camp.
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