Adult Snowboard Team at Crotched Mountain, 2016-17 Season

[Atom Ant]

Hey Everyone,

 

I am proud to announce the creation of an adult snowboard team for the 2016-2017 Season at Crotched Mountain New Hampshire.  I have worked with the mountain to secure lane space every Saturday evening from 6pm – 9pm, but starting as early as Crotched will allow us to set course; we have our own stubbies, and will be setting both GS and SL courses.  Coaching is graciously being provided by Eric Brammer (“Eric Brammer Aka PSR” here on Bomber), a man with a long history of providing solid training to aspiring racers.  

 

The goal is to provide an avenue for adult riders to be coached and improve, as well as foster a stronger community among East Coast hard boot riders.  Although the program is aimed at improving times in course, you of course do not have to be an aspiring World Cup racer to benefit from the program—the goal is to simply help all who participate become stronger riders.  We aim to provide coaching to anyone who wishes to participate.  We are going for a laid back, all riders are welcome kind of vibe. 

 

We are currently seeking to build the team out to eight “Core Members” for this first year.   A Core Team Member is required to pay for the program in full up front; the benefit is a less expensive per-session cost.  Drop In’s are also welcome; however the per session cost will be more expensive.  See details on cost below.  At this point there is no formal deadline for paying, but space will fill up.

 

If you are interested, please PM me and we can move the conversation to the phone.                 

 

Program details:

·         Program is hosted by Crotched Mountain in New Hampshire (non-mountain affiliated, we are a private team)

·         Program length is 12 weeks (12 Saturday evenings), with the possibility of more pending snow conditions

·         Program will start in December

·         Coach is Eric Brammer

·         Cost is $300 / person for the 12 week program for Core Members.  This does not include lift ticket ($30/night) or season pass.  This price includes            all course access and coaching for the 12 weeks

·         Refunds will be given on a pro-rated bases for any cancelled sessions

·         Non-Core team member drop in’s welcome: cost per session is $40, not including lift ticket ($30/night).  Please contact me by Thursday the week of          so I can reserve your spot. 

·         Must be 18+ to participate

 

This program is meant to resolve the current issue with adult riders on the East Coast not being able to find coaching, and not having the opportunity to train in a proper race course for snowboarders.  It’s going to be grass roots the first year, but with enough interest and participation we could see this program grow and grow.  To my knowledge, this will be the only adult program on the East Coast!

 

Please contact me directly with any questions, happy to talk snowboarding any time of year.

 

Mitch

[workshop7]

Mitch,

 

I'm very interested in this.  However, there is a good possibility that I will only be able to make it to only half of the sessions.  Is this an issue?  I live in Goffstown which is about 40 minutes from Crotched.  I didn't know that Eric was so local.

 

Dave

[ursle]

What's psr's nastar handicap?

[HillB]

Good luck with this! Sounds great!

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[evnewsphoto]

Yes good luck! We need more race teams and having hill space is always the first hurdle. As a guy who does marketing and outreach for teams I would suggest you start a Facebook page and try to spread the word to local people and those in the area, perhaps through Crotched (hilarious mountain name!) ski school also? I know when I coached at Stratton years ago we often would get drop ins through ski school and it helped keep the numbers up. It is hard to get those "core athletes" to start with, it's a chicken and egg problem, sometimes you have to build it and set gates every week even if only two people show up, and then it will grow over time and word gets out. "You build it and they will come."

 

Best of luck and hope you guys succeed we need it! 

[patmoore]

I applaud your efforts! It would be great to see expansion of racing on the east coast.

[dhamann]

count me in for core. will make it when i can and contribute however it may benefit the operations. nice to see stuff like this happening and will be glad to support it.

[Eric Brammer aka PSR]

What's psr's nastar handicap?

Hell, I don't even know!!!  Maybe Pat Moore would know?  Nah..  Sorry..

[HillB]

Who cares?

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[HillB]

Someone is willing to coach and that's awesome!

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[CMC]

Someone is willing to coach and that's awesome!

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Precisely.   PSR is a top notch coach.  I know from experience.  He coached me with racing slalom skateboards back in the late 90s and continued to coach me through the years.  1st race was the Worlds in 2001, Morrow Bay and countless races after that.  I achieved plenty of awards as a result. I've beat some fast racers and been beat as well.  More importantly, PSR dedicated his time and knowledge to help me and many others because that is his passion.  He didn't ask for anything in return.  A true coach.  You could even see the sparkle of excitement in his eye when teaching.

[Eric Brammer aka PSR]

Thanks! Curt.    But sometimes that glint in my eye was seeing If YOU were as fast Me ! Well, and then I was too good at the coach thing, and you smoked by me... And, dang, my mother used to say the 'old age and treachery would defeat youth and exuberance any day'; well, I guess not always...

 

As for the Nastar query, I haven't raced on flats much, and only really paid attention to 'the pace' of a race. While numbers/times matter, it's The Ruts you need to worry about, or wax, or conditioning of the racer; Times are just a result of what you prep for.

 

[[ But if anyone wants good 'war stories' from a few races of mine, I have them, and a medal or two, as well. Although,T. Sims was one dude I didn't catch up to (while he was still racing), but he quit racing when he was a decade younger than I am now. 12 years ago, I got 2nd at The Worlds Super-G, and I actually wasn't paying much attention to myself (I was coaching Schwippy) on a slalom skateboard. That was a 38 mph (clocked by Chips Radar) Slalom run down Turri Road. Even OLsOn said I looked 'fast'    !   In nightime BX at Stratton, Heingartner got me by doing a method over, but next-to-me on the last jump. Psyche!!  , but I took it in stride, as he and Karol are of 'my generation', and he did a great move at the last to catch me.  It's all relative, but what I can provide (beside boring war stories) is inspiration, safety, skill-building, an a few remedies based on my experiences of over 3 decades racing a snowboard. ]]

[Atom Ant]

Eric has been and will continue to be a great coach.  His knowledge of our sport runs quite deep.

 

If anyone has any questions regarding the program, please don't hesitate to contact me.  This team is going to live or die pending on participation, we need members!

 

Mitch

[Mig]

@PSR and @Ripturns, Antrim slalom skateboard race might be a go in September from what I heard. It would be cool to see both of you guys there. And maybe Schwippy too? Who knows? :)

And to keep it thread related, Crotched Mountain has been a race sponsor and part of the festival in the past, if I remember correctly. :)

[Atom Ant]

All, 

Bumping this post.  We still have spots available for new core members.  The support for this is truly humbling, however we need actual members.  Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Our feeling is that the price of this program, for 12 weeks of coaching and course access, is a steal.  Its also the only program available to adults on the East Coast.  

 Whether you are a racer of not, this program will make you a better rider!

Mitch

[lafcadio]

I'll be at Crotched every weekend anyway.  I'd be crazy to not do this... it will be awesome to see some snowboard racing at Crotched.  Sounds like a bunch of fun and a unique opportunity and to learn something new.   Count me in! 

Congrats on setting this up.  I sent you an email with contact info.

[Eric Brammer aka PSR]

Great!  I'll be talking to the Mountain soon here, trying to establish what our lane venues will be, and dealing with inner logistics as well.I want to reinforce this idea; I will coach to the Rider's Level, as individuals. Age is not (young nor old) is not a concern for me, as I've had students as young as 25 months, and as old as 83 yrs.. Safety IS a concern, but I'll stand by my record of 23 students going to 1st-Aid in 26 years of being very active (some seasons with over 2K of students) as an Instructor + Coach. Of course, we may be doing a chunk of this under-the-lights, which will mean flat light and unseen stuff. But, the mountain is well groomed, and has good snowmaking as evidenced by last season, so I think things will be just fine.

Feel free to Pm me here for most anything!

[Atom Ant]

Hey Everyone, 

While the support so far has been humbling, we are still in need of an additional three "core" members in order to meet our goal!  Please let me know if you are interested.

Whether you are a racer of not, this program will make you a better rider!

Mitch

[Atom Ant]

And we have a facebook page!  Please "like" on Facebook!  Its still a work in progress, but your support can only help.

https://www.facebook.com/EasternAdultSnowboardTeam/

[patmoore]

Best of luck for a successful season. Wish I lived closer. 

For folks in southern Vermont I plan to set one lane with stubbies on Okemo's NASTAR course most Saturdays and Sundays again this season.  10 - 2 each day with unlimited timed runs for $12. 

[Eric Brammer aka PSR]

One of the big bennies we hope to offer will be having Gates up + running in late afternoon thru the night. Thus, we can avoid crowds, and get riders many laps, and do so without having to interrupt things like School or Work. The downside may be in video analysis, as 'under the lights' may not be so nifty for cameras. I'll be discussing details with the mountain management later this week. I'm hoping for a full lane with timing booth, etc, plus having access to the hill at large. The Park crew is limited in snowmaking, so I'm not yet sure about a faux BX run yet, and it'll likely be without a start ramp & posts if it happens. But, overall, I'm stoked on the possibilities!

[Atom Ant]

Hey all, 

The team is still accepting new members.  If you have any questions, please reach out!  

Per Eric's note, this is going to be a great place to improve!

 

 

Edited September 23, 2016 by Atom Ant

[alpinegirl]

Bump!!

BOL members! Please seriously consider this opportunity. Race training with people is fun and makes you a better racer and rider. It may even save the world. Finding harmony in our riding will make the world a better place. 

Running gates without sound foundational skills = bad habits. You can only go as fast as your own self created limitations allow you to go.

Eric Brammer is the coach. I have only had the opportunity to ride with him at the women's carve session over a decade ago. That tiny moment in time helped me to start moving in the right direction with my riding. And to this day I continue to improve with each season (I'm old and slightly broken but I'm faster and stronger). Eric didn't meet any one of us with, this is the only way to ride, but rather politely worked with each one of us dispelling myths and steering us all forward as individuals.

I cannot fully express what a tremendous opportunity this is to work with Eric. His professional knowledge is tremendous. His movement analysis skills are difficult to surpass. And his infectious positive attitude will pump you up to keep moving towards being your best, because every iota of improvement is more exciting than the previous ones.

USASA and NASTAR are tremendous fun. Come put together the building blocks for successful racing in a fun environment with a coach whose biggest goal aside from safety, is to see everyone improve while having fun.

[Eric Brammer aka PSR]

I talked with a Rep from Crotched Mtn last week, and will be talking to the management this week. We have a full lane to ourselves, and will likely have some access to a steeper 'GS' trail. We really need two more 'Core' members at this point. However, I've had a few people ask about 'just dropping in', and we can, and will, do that. I'll post back up here after my chat with the mountain crew.  Things aren't moving as quickly as I'd like, but, things are moving forward.

And, thanks to those who've voiced a positive note on my coaching; I'm grateful, and flattered, and now have expectations to live up to!! lol...

 

[TVR]

Not to be eager, but I can hardly wait for this to begin. Chasing people like Dave down the hill with coaching, actual adult coaching will. be a blast as well as a huge learning experience.

 

2016/2017 will be a good season.