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Show Wednesday, April 10, 1974 Page 5 ammoN THE PCSSC SEASON END REVIEW The competitive ski season is over for the Park City Ski and Sports Club and coaches Bruce Morse and Patti Formichelli can reflect on what has to be termed a successful campaign. In its first year of operation, PCSSC not only produced accomplished racers but more importantly, a team spirit and unity that was the envy ' of their competition. The Park City Ski and Sports Club was formed to answer a need. There were many children in the community interested in high performance skiing and racing who were not sufficiently skilled to make the Park City Racing Team. Compounding this problem was PCRTs quota of sixty members, the majority of which are from Salt Lake City. Responding to this situation, parents in Park City formulated a plan for a community oriented racing team which would retain continuity throughout the year by involving members in tennis, backpacking, bicycle racing and touring, and various other activities. Thus the term Ski and Sports Club. Coaches Morse and - Formichelli cited the all-osupport of the National Training Center as the most prominent factor contributing to the clubs success. The Center provided the use of their slopes, slalom poles, their ut Mighty-Mit- e lift, and slope preparation. In Bruces words, They opened their arms to iis. memOf the clubs twenty-fou- r three had bers, only previous exin Intermountain sancperience tioned races and the ability levels ranged from expert to beginner. Pattis and Bruces objective was to expose the young participants to high performance skiing and racing and then let them decide if it was something with which they wanted to remain involved. The club trained Tuesday and the eye while racing stimulates the racer to extend himself, pull out of the stops, and try filings he would otherwise be reluctant to Thursday afternoons from 1 : 30 to 4:00 and all day Saturday and Sunday. Patti observed that no other junior club spends as much official practice time on the slopes. The coaches began the practice sessions by allocating three weeks to basics. Their plan was to begin with low speed perfection of technique. There was considerable snowplowing and concentration on edge feel. This building from the basics was easily assimiliated by most of the children in that they had few bad habits to overcome. Strangely enough, it was the more advanced skiers that required the most fundamentals work. attempt. The PCSSC consisted of boys and girls in the Pee Wee, Novice and Intermediate classes. eight-year-o- From the elementary, the aspiring racers graduated to just plain skiing and lots of it. Miles and miles of non-sto- p runs were made, sometimes utilizing short, quick turns, at other times, long turns. This program resulted in strength and endurance while allowing the skiers to work on their acquired basics at high speeds. Running gates was the next step and from there, week to week workouts were predicated on the type of race which was Proper lines and timing of turns were practiced in accordance with the course to be run, be it downhill, giant slalom, or slalom. Races were held every other week so Bruce and Patti had the club competing in dual races with the Park West team on free weekends. This dual format enabled the kids to make up to fourteen competitive runs in a single day. Hie excitement of this competition kept the racers attentive and overcame fatigue which would have bogged down an ordinary practice. Also, the sight of a friend in the corner of g. com eight-year-o- The ability of the Pee Wee girls was manifest by the number of top ten finishers in various races. In the giant slalom at Powder Mountain, the club placed four members in the top eight and in the Park City Slalom they took five of the top ten places. Leilani Soares is an Pee Wee who had never raced. By absorbing the basics and through hard work, she progressed to such a point that she eventually placed first. Laurie Hann, at age ten, was a weak skier at the outset but by midseason she was pulling down second and third places. In fact, she led after the first run in a two run race near the end of the season. Alana Soares was consistently in the top ten and Jona Price and Cheryl Dunning improved as the season progressed to lend strength to the Pee Wee effort. If anything, the Pee Wee boys gave stronger showings than their female counterparts. In the Park West Slalom they accounted for five of the eight fastest times. ld Eric Hays was consistently the . highest finisher. The ten-year-o- ld won the Tribune Cup by accumulating more points than any other Pee Wee boy in the Southern Section of the In- termountain Division. Matias Alvarez could usually be relied on for a high finish in competition. He has been characterized as skiing with abandon. Ten-year-o- ld HSU X Ryan Bertagnole Not skiing competitively last year due to a broken leg, Chris steadily improved throughout the season and really came on strong in the last half. Ryan took a first place in the last race of the season at Snowbird. Mike Hays won the Pee Wee Slalom at Alta this year. The was one of only two Pee Wee competitors, boys or girls, to finish the difficult course. Young Jeff McGilvery, the Elwell employed an analytical mind and hard work to make great strides this race season. Marco Alvarez, who lets em run and who is a much better technical skier than at the beginning of the season, and Brandon Bertagnole were both dedicated novices who benefited from the winters competition. Superlatives are the only terms which can be used to describe dynamic duo in the Intermediate class. Hie friendly foes, Doni Waldman and Roxanne Toly have battled each other for top honors all season. Between them eight of ten possible first places were garnered and both will move to the expert class next year. It will be extremely interesting to observe the accomplishments of these two young athletes as their racing career progresses. ld team individual, possesses great potential and will have to PC-SS- be contended with in the future. Things fell in place for enthusiastic Steve Toly in the last three weeks of the season, especially his pole plants, and it was reflected in his performance. Desire and hard work made Glen Rodgers a much improved racer and Shell Thomas did his part to make the Pee Wee boys a formidable crew. Best potential of any novice in the division and great natural skier are terms applied to Karri Hays. Coaches Morse and Formichelli are hesitant to alter her technique in that skiing seems to be second nature to this twelve-year-ol- Coaches Formichelli and Morse are geared for full go next season and are optimistic for an expanded program. Both are to be highly commended for not only supervising and instructing a triumphant race team but also for providing an rewarding ex- d. Kim Ringwood was the only other novice girl competing for PCSSC but she was unable to complete the season. Bruce states that Louie Leatham is one of the best technical skiers in the Intermountain Division regardless of class and that more difficult courses will allow him to grow into his advanced ability. for perience T-Bo- ne After missing the first half of the season, novice Scott Rodgers went from seventy-firs- t seed in the Park City Slalom to second seed in the Snowbird Slalom. Tom Rodgers late season rise can be attributed to his mastery of riding the ruts. service by I & METROPOLITAN LAUNDRY DRY CLEANING O SSw' X FREE DINNER SHUTTLE DC 649-93- 38 a 'Presenting' RANCE SEARLE DINNER ENTERTAINING SATURDAY thru WEDNESDAY nightly 6:30pm - 10 pm CLUB CAR 19 SHARON open 5 pm UNCK ENTERTAINING THURSDAY thru SATURDAY -- 1 am AND Rosie's Deli 8 PHONE 438 MAIN STREET 649-933- ce)M(5V open Noon - 10 pm 5W(5V deserving youngsters. W0V ArfdMGfcP |