Team Summit...

Team Summit Freestyle gets early start at Copper Mtn

COPPER MOUNTAIN — New snow. New season. New goals. Saturday marked the first on-snow practice for Team Summit Freestyle in Summit County, as the team went through some bump drills at Copper Mountain.“The kids have been doing some dry-land training since September,” coach John Dowling said during the team’s lunch break. “Then the first time we get on snow in Summit County is here at Copper. That’s when our regular season training begins.”

With Copper opening to the public on Nov. 7, Team Summit shared the Copperopolis run with various ski teams from Canada and California.Dowling said that Team Summit is using the early practice time to get its athletes’ fundamentals down.“Mainly at this point, we are working on posture and keeping square,” Dowling said of his team’s bump work. “We start with simple drills that bring out things for the coaches to look at. ... When they are fresh like this, we get a good look at their old habits and train in new ones.”

The training regiment for Team Summit Freestyle varies from athlete to athlete. So some skiers train as many as six days per week, while others only participate on weekends.Athletes can join the team’s developmental program from as young as six years old.“Almost all the skiers start in the developmental program,” Dowling said. “That’s when they learn basic skills. Then they work their way up to competition.”Catlyn Harrell, 11, is a good example of an athlete on the younger end of the spectrum, yet she says the competitions can’t start soon enough.“They are fun,” Harrell said of the events. “You get to hang out with your friends and watch them compete.” Though small in stature, Harrell’s goals for the year are large. The third-year Team Summit member is hoping to qualify for the Junior Olympics in her division.“That’s definitely my goal,” she said.

Brandon Danker, 20, is looking to spend the season on the NorAm Tour, a series of freestyle competitions for the top U.S. and Canadian development skiers.“I’m putting my goals really, really high this year,” Danker said. “ ... I want to start the season strong and finish strong.”In order to qualify for the Tour, Danker will need a solid showing at the U.S. Selection event in December.No matter the goal for a Team Summit skier, the program will certainly do all it can to help them.“We do elements of physical training, some weight lifting, trampoline training, some plyometric training, all in addition to being on the snow,” Dowling said. With the team’s first official event being at Winter Park in early December, the team is getting a jump start to the season being at Copper.“Skiing with Team Summit, we get more on-snow training than anybody,” Danker said. “I mean, we are (at Copper Mountain) right now, and no other team in the country has that right now.”