Pre-Season Training
We will have a few activities commencing in September and our full Pre-Season Training Schedule will begin in October.
Starting October 13 - December 11:
11-12 year olds Training Day is Monday’s from 3:00 - 4:00pm @ The Velvet Underground
9-10 year olds Training Day is Wednesday’s from 3:00 - 4:00pm @ The French School Gymnasium
13+ year olds Training Day is Thursday’s from 3:00 - 4:00pm @ Elevate Gym
Monday’s will be sessions from Kirsty Exner and Julia O’Donoghue (read more about them below!).
Wednesday sessions will be a mixture of fitness circuits and playing other sports/activites with Coach Sora and Ryan.
Thursday’s will be with Personal Trainer Kian Johnston from Elevate Gym.
**Water Ramp Training will be on September 13/14 and 21./22 at Covert Farms, in Oliver, BC - this is open to interested athletes - additional charges apply.
Bi-weekly Team Bonding activities with Club Director Ryan Lachapelle - with an emphasis on fun! Eg. hikes up our local mountains, aquatic centre diving board sessions, climbing gym, gear chats, mountain biking & playing other sports like tennis and volleyball.
Mental Skills will be held once a month December - March at Seven Summits School with Mental Coach Dr. Sean Larsen.
Practitioners
Dr. Eva Gifford, D.C.
Eva grew up on the playing on the slopes of Red Mountain and single track trails of Rossland. She has a love for moving in the mountains, and a knack for type - 2 endurance fun, namely running trail races up to 100miles in length.
She holds a Doctorate of Chiropractic and a BSc. in Kinesiology with a minor in Biochemistry. Eva’s practice as a chiropractor is centered around exercise and movement based treatments as well as patient education. She has a background in S&C as a personal trainer while working out of the Pacific Institute for Sports Excellence, in Victoria, BC.
Eva aims to teach the basics of strength training at age-appropriate levels, while helping skiers learn and develop fundamental movement skills that will help them excel on the slopes.
Kirsty Exner - Physiotherapist
Kirsty has been working as a physiotherapist for over 10 years and, prior to that, she was a personal trainer for 8 years, which gave her a very solid foundation on which to build her physiotherapy practice. She worked in various clinical settings in Vancouver and then moved back to Rossland BC where she has been operating her own business, “Kirsty Exner Physiotherapy”.
With 25 years of personal and professional experience in sports conditioning training, physical rehab, ski coaching, and a competitive sporting background, Kirsty offers a comprehensive and dynamic program that encompassing all that she has learned.
“As a ski coach with a physiotherapy background, I see the muscle imbalances and structural issues clients have as it comes out in their skiing and limits their ability to perform a certain ski skill or drill. Having the time to assess for these inefficiencies and then balance them in a dryland clinic setting before getting on snow, is an invaluable and rare service to be able to take advantage of. It will give clients more resilience and therefore, less risk of injury setting up their season for success.” Clients will also have fast-track access to physiotherapy treatments throughout the season as needed.
Mental Coach - Dr. Sean Larsen PhD
Sean has over 15 years' experience working with children and youth with mental health disorders. He has a deep understanding of how the brain works in moments of stress and has spoken nationally on anxiety disorders and intense emotional experiences. Though somewhat new to the area of performance coaching, Sean’s experience working with children who have experienced traumatic stress and anxiety disorders provides unique insight into how the brain works when overwhelmed and how to manage difficult emotions and stress. Sean has worked with a number of elite level athletes over the years to help them overcome mental challenges to performance. Sean will be working alongside Ryan and his team to support athletes in achieving optimal mental performance in sport, supporting youth through the ups and downs of competition, injury, success and failure, and providing tools and resources for families and athletes to promote continued growth and wellbeing as athletes. Sean is a self-proclaimed mediocre skier and a “pretty okay” mountain biker who loves being outdoors, adventure, continuing to improve, semi-pointless type-b fun challenges of endurance and fortitude, and sharing the ride with others.