Education is a cornerstone of athletic success. To help further the education of athletic coaches, U.S. Ski & Snowboard has launched a new online Learning Management System (LMS). The new platform will create a channel to deliver education when and where members choose.

The new learning system is debuting this year with an online component of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Level 100 Coach Certification program across all sports. Additional programming for coach education, officials training, club development, athlete education and parent engagement are in the works, as is internal training for staff.

“The introduction of an online learning system will greatly enhance our ability to provide consistent education on more topics to more U.S. Ski & Snowboard members,” said Sport Development Director Jon Casson. 

The LMS is available through the organization’s new website at education.ussa.org. The system is run using the popular Moodle platform, a widely used LMS with a base of 95,000 individual sites and 125 million users. The system is open to any U.S. Ski & Snowboard member alpine coach seeking to complete their Level 100 certification. Other sports will be coming online later this season.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is also supporting the efforts of its partner organization United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association (USASA) at education.usasa.org.

The system is being managed by U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s new Coach Education Manager Chris Packert. A lifelong skier and ski instructor, Packert brings a wealth of education background to the organization. Prior to joining the U.S. Ski & Snowboard team, Packert managed online learning programs for NASA, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, the U.S. Marine Corps, American Public University and the Western Governors University.

“I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge working in online education programs for some of America’s most noted governmental agencies,” said Packert. “I’m anxious to bring that experience into the sport that I truly love.”

The new Alpine Ski Level 100 Coach Certification program available now is a blended learning program incorporating several courses that participants complete prior to attending an on-snow clinic with a trained clinic leader.  After passing an on-snow assessment of skill demonstration, coaching ability and movement analysis, the participants return to the online platform to complete a final exam. Throughout the process, participants also complete a portfolio where they describe in detail how they will utilize their learning in their daily coaching practice.

The online modules are designed to give coaches a solid foundation in the fundamentals of effective coaching and a base of understanding in the specific components of the sport.  Based on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Training Systems, the online modules in the L100 course are divided into two sections: Coaching Core Competencies and Sport Specific Topics.

Coaching Cord Competencies
•    Coaching Roles and Responsibilities
•    Coach Ethics and Philosophy
•    Coach Pedagogy
•    Long Term Athlete Development
•    Training Environments
•    Athlete Mental Skill Development (under development)
•    Physical Literacy and Physical Fitness (under development)

Sport Specific Modules
•    Fundamental Technical Skills
•    Tactical Applications
•    Equipment Selection and Preparation
•    Competition Rules and Pathways

Following the launch of the Alpine Ski L100 program in November, sport-specific online learning modules will come online soon including snowboarding, freeski, cross country and nordic combined. Cost for the Alpine Level 100 program is $160.00.
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team athletes landed 10 podiums at the first Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Olympic qualification events of the season last weekend in Copper Mountain, Colorado, including wins from halfpipe masters David Wise (Reno, Nev.) and Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.).

The women’s U.S. Cross Country Ski Team continued to show depth with impressive results in Davos, Switzerland, including a podium from World Champion Kikkan Randall. The moguls team kicked off their season advancing five women into finals, with World Championship bronze medalist Jaelin Kauf notching a fifth-place finish.

With just under two months to go until the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, read on to see where the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team will be in action this week and how to watch via NBC, NBCSN and the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA - as America’s best skiers and snowboarders continue to vie for spots on their respective Olympic teams.

FIS Women’s Ski World Cup - Val d’Isere, FRA / Courchevel, FRA
The U.S. Ski Team women’s speed team continues the European leg of the FIS Ski World Cup this weekend in Val d’Isere Dec. 16-17 with downhill and super-G races. The deeply talented women’s speed team will be out in full force, including Stacey Cook (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.), Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) and more. Though Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) has arrived to Val d’Isere, she has yet to make a decision about whether or not she’ll kick out of the start gate this weekend, due to spinal joint dysfunction sustained in Saturday’s super-G. Stay tuned. Then, on Monday the tech women head to Courchevel for a giant slalom and a parallel slalom under the lights, led by current overall leader Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) and Resi Stiegler (Jackson, Wyo.).

FIS Men’s Ski World Cup - Val Gardena, ITA / Alta Badia, ITA
The men’s speed and tech teams are in action this weekend with downhill and super-G races in Val Gardena Dec. 15-16 and a giant slalom and nighttime parallel giant slalom in Alta Badia Dec. 17-18. U.S. Ski Team athletes expected to compete in Italy include Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah), Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.), Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.), and more. Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) has yet to decide if he’ll kick out of the start gate on the famed Saslong classic downhill—a track he knows and loves, and where he’s won all three of his FIS Ski World Cup victories.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Secret Garden, CHN
The U.S. Ski Team aerials athletes kick off their World Cup season with an individual and team event Dec. 16-17 at Secret Garden resort, a site for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Nine U.S. athletes are expected to compete, including reigning World Champions Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) and Jon Lillis (Rochester, N.Y.) as well as 2015 World Cup champions Kiley McKinnon (Madison, Conn.) and Mac Bohonnon (Madison, Conn.).

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Montafon, AUT
After wrapping up a race in Arosa, Switzerland on Dec. 12, U.S. athletes Tania Prymak (Goshen, N.Y.), Tyler Wallasch (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), Whitney and Brant Crossan (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) move on to their third World Cup of the season in Montafon.

FIS Cross Country World Cup - Toblach, ITA
The men’s and women’s cross country World Cup tour continues Dec. 16-17 with freestyle and classic pursuit races. The U.S. Ski Team is coming off another solid weekend with three women making the freestyle sprint finals in Davos, including a podium from Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) and Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) posting his first top-10 finish of the season.

FIS Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup - Hinterzarten, GER
After a week off, Abby Ringquist, Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, Utah), Nina Lussi, Nita Englund and Tara Geraghty-Moats will compete Dec. 16-17 in one team and one individual event. The American women will return to the U.S. this month for U.S. Olympic Trials Dec. 30-31.

FIS Men’s Ski Jumping World Cup - Engelberg, SUI
Will Rhoads (Park City, Utah), Mike Glasder (Cary, Ill.) and Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill.) will compete in two individual HS140 events. Qualifications are on Dec. 15 with finals Dec. 16-17.

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup - Ramsau, AUT
Bryan and Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Adam Loomis (Eau Claire, Wis.) return to World Cup action Dec. 16-17 with two individual World Cup events. The USA Nordic nordic combined team will also compete at U.S. Olympic Trials this month.

FIS Snowboard World Cup - Val Thorens, FRA / Montafon, AUT
After kicking off the World Cup tour in Argentina back in September, U.S. Snowboard Team snowboardcross athletes are back in action with races in France on Dec. 13  and Austria Dec. 16-17, including a team event on Sunday. The U.S. has a strong contingent of 19 athletes competing, including Olympic bronze medalist Alex Deibold (Boulder, Colo.), World Champion Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton, Vt.) and Jonathan Cheever (Saugus, Mass), who landed a podium at the first Olympic selection event in Argentina. The U.S. advanced seven men to the finals for the Val Thorens event.

Dew Tour - Breckenridge, Colo.
After a week of strong performances at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix, U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Team athletes move over to Breckenridge for the Dew Tour, which is also serving as the second Olympic qualification event of the season. Halfpipe and slopestyle athletes will compete in finals Dec. 15-16. A full schedule is available here.

U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD BROADCAST AND STREAMING SCHEDULE
All times EST
*schedules subject to change

ALPINE
Dec. 15
6:00 a.m. – Men’s super-G; Val Gardena – Olympic Channel TV

Dec. 16
4:30 a.m.  – Women’s downhill; Val d’Isere – Olympic Channel TV
6:00 a.m. – Men’s downhill; Val Gardena – Olympic Channel TV
5:00 p.m.  – Women’s downhill; Val d’Isere – NBCSN (SDD)
6:00 p.m. – Men’s downhill; Val Gardena – NBCSN (SDD)

Dec. 17
3:30 a.m. – Men’s giant slalom run 1; Alta Badia – olympicchannel.com
3:30 a.m. – Women’s super-G; Val d’Isere – Olympic Channel TV
6:00 a.m. – Men’s giant slalom run 2; Alta Badia – Olympic Channel TV
3:30 a.m. – Women’s super-G; Val d’Isere – NBCSN (SDD)

FREESTYLE
Dec. 15
4:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s skicross – Olympic Channel TV

Dec. 16
12:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s aerials – Olympic Channel TV

Dec. 17
12:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s team aerials – Olympic Channel TV

CROSS COUNTRY
Dec. 16
5:00 a.m. – Women’s 10k freestyle – olympicchannel.com
7:30 a.m. – Men’s 15k freestyle – olympicchannel.com
1:00 p.m. – Women’s 10k freestyle – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 17
5:30 a.m. – Women’s 10k classic pursuit – olympicchannel.com
7:45 a.m. – Men’s 15k classic pursuit – olympicchannel.com
1:00 p.m. – Women’s 10k classic pursuit – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

SKI JUMPING
Dec. 15
10:00 a.m. – Men’s HS142 qualifications; Engelberg – olympicchannel.com

Dec. 16
6:30 a.m. – Women’s Team HS108; Hinterzarten – olympicchannel.com
10:00 a.m. – Men’s Team HS140; Engelberg – olympicchannel.com
5:30 p.m. – Women’s Team HS108; Hinterzarten – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)
7:00 p.m. – Men’s HS140; Engelberg – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 17
8:00 a.m. – Men’s HS140; Engelberg – olympicchannel.com
9:30 a.m. – Women’s HS108; Hinterzarten – olympicchannel.com
5:30 p.m. – Men’s HS140; Engelberg – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)
7:00 p.m. – Women’s HS108; Hinterzarten – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

NORDIC COMBINED
Dec. 16
5:00 a.m. – Men’s HS96 – olympicchannel.com
7:30 a.m. – Men’s 10k – olympicchannel.com

Dec. 17
5:30 a.m. – Men’s HS96 – olympicchannel.com
7:45 a.m. – Men’s 10k – olympicchannel.com

SNOWBOARD
Dec. 13
6:30 a.m. – Snowboardcross; Val Thorens – Olympic Channel TV

Dec. 16
6:30 a.m. – Snowboardcross; Montafon – olympicchannel.com
2:00 p.m. – Snowboardcross; Montafon – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 17
5:30 a.m. – Snowboardcross team event; Montafon – olympicchannel.com
2:00 p.m. – Snowboardcross team event; Montafon – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

DEW TOUR
Click here for streaming channel listing
Dec. 15
11:00 a.m. – Men’s halfpipe skiing finals
12:45 p.m. – Women’s halfpipe skiing finals
2:30 p.m. – Men’s halfpipe snowboarding finals
4:15 p.m. – Women’s halfpipe snowboarding finals

Dec. 16
11:00 a.m. – Women’s slopestyle snowboarding finals
12:15 p.m. – Men’s slopestyle snowboarding finals
2:30 p.m. – Men’s slopestyle skiing finals
4:15 p.m. – Women’s slopestyle skiing finals

U.S. Ski and Snowboard athletes posted some remarkable results last weekend as Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) continued to establish herself as one of the most dominant athletes in any sport in the world, landing two downhill podiums, including her first win, in Lake Louise, Canada. Sadie Bjornsen (Anchorage, Alaska) skied to another podium finish in a classic sprint in Lillehammer, Norway, and the U.S. Ski Team men’s alpine athletes took to the famed Birds of Prey course in Beaver Creek, where Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) led the charge in giant slalom and Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) skied to his first top-10 World Cup finish.

More top results will be accomplished this week as U.S. Ski and Snowboard athletes compete around the world, including the first stop of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix, which also serves the  first Olympic qualification event of the season for members of the U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Teams. All the action will be either streamed or broadcast LIVE, or same-day coverage, on the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA - or on the networks of NBC Friday through Sunday.

Toyota U.S. Grand Prix - Copper Mountain, Colo.
The ride to PyeongChang for the U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Teams continues this week with the first Toyota U.S. Grand Prix of the 2017-18 season at Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado. U.S. athletes who land podium spots in halfpipe skiing, halfpipe snowboarding and big air snowboarding competitions will be one step closer to making their respective 2018 Olympic teams. Halfpipe skiing finals will take place on Friday, followed by halfpipe snowboarding finals on Saturday and big air snowboarding finals on Sunday. The U.S. has a strong contingent of athletes expected to compete, including Chloe Kim (San Clemente, Calif.), Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo.).

FIS Women’s Ski World Cup - St. Moritz, SUI
The U.S. Alpine Ski Team women head to Europe for an action-packed weekend in St. Mortiz, featuring an alpine combined event Friday, and a pair of super-G races Saturday and Sunday. Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) are among the athletes expected to race in an action-packed weekend that will attract millions of viewers worldwide.

FIS Men’s Ski World Cup - Val d’Isere, FRA
The U.S. Ski Team men’s alpine tech group, including Ligety and Ford, will race giant slalom Saturday and slalom Sunday.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Ruka, FIN
The U.S. Ski Team moguls athletes kick off their World Cup season this weekend with a moguls competition in the winter wonderland of Ruka, Finland. The U.S. is starting six men and six women who will all have a chance to secure a top result in the first of seven competitions being considered in selection for the 2018 Olympic team.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Val Thorens, FRA
The ski cross World Cup tour opens with a two-race weekend in Val Thorens Thursday and Saturday. U.S. athletes Tania Prymak (Goshen, N.Y.), Tyler Wallasch (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), Whitney Gardner (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Brant Crossan (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) will be competing. Crossan was fifth in Tuesday’s training runs.

FIS Cross Country World Cup - Davos, SUI
The U.S. Cross Country Ski Team will join their alpine teammates in Switzerland for a weekend of freestyle races. Freestyle sprints will take place Saturday, followed by a 10k freestyle for the women and a 15k freestyle for the men on Sunday. Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN), who finished a pair of top-five results in Davos last year, will be on the hunt for her first podium of the season.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup - Titisee-Neustadt, GER
Will Rhoads (Park City, Utah) is coming off a strong weekend of competition where he placed 21st in a World Cup in Russia, a personal best, and the best result for an American athlete on the men’s World Cup since 2003. Rhoads will be joined by USA Nordic Teammates Kevin Bickner (Wacounda, Ill.) and Michael Glasder (Cary, Ill.) for another weekend of ski jumping action Friday through Sunday.

U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD BROADCAST AND STREAMING SCHEDULE
All times EST
*schedules subject to change

TOYOTA U.S. GRAND PRIX - COPPER MOUNTAIN
Dec. 8
1:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – nbcsports.com

Dec. 9
1:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
4:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC (same day delay)

Dec. 10
1:00 p.m. – Big air snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
1:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBC (next day delay)
8:00 p.m. – Big air snowboarding finals – NBCSN (same day delay)

ALPINE
Dec. 8
4:00 a.m. – Women’s combined/super-G; St. Moritz – olympicchannel.com
7:00 a.m. – Women’s combined/slalom; St. Moritz – olympicchannel.com
8:00 a.m. – Women’s combined; St. Moritz – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 9
3:30 a.m. – Men’s giant slalom run 1; Val d’Isere – olympicchannel.com
4:45 a.m. – Women’s super-G; St. Mortiz – olympicchannel.com
6:30 a.m.  – Men’s giant slalom run 2; Val d’Isere – Olympic Channel TV
7:30 a.m.  – Women’s super-G; St. Moritz – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 10
3:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom run 1; Val d’Isere – olympicchannel.com
4:30 a.m. – Women’s super-G; St. Mortiz – Olympic Channel TV
6:00 a.m. – Men’s slalom run 2; Val d’Isere –  Olympic Channel TV

FREESTYLE
Dec. 7
5:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s ski cross; Val Thorens – olympicchannel.com

Dec. 9
7:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s ski cross; Val Thorens – olympicchannel.com
9:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s moguls; Ruka – olympicchannel.com
11:00 a.m. – Men’s and women’s moguls; Ruka – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

CROSS COUNTRY
Dec. 9
7:15 a.m. – Men’s and women’s freestyle sprint – olympicchannel.com
10:00 a.m. – Men’s and women’s freestyle sprint – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 10
5:30 a.m. – Women’s 10k freestyle – olympicchannel.com
7:45 a.m. – Men’s 15k freestyle – olympicchannel.com
1:00 p.m. – Women’s 10k freestyle –Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

SKI JUMPING
Dec. 8
6:00 a.m. – Men’s HS142 qualifications – olympicchannel.com

Dec. 9
10:00 a.m. – Men’s Team HS142 – olympicchannel.com
6:00 p.m. – Men’s Team HS142  – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 10
7:45 a.m. – Men’s HS142 – olympicchannel.com
7:30 p.m. – Men’s HS142 – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

The following is a statement from U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw regarding the IOC decision on Russia participation in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018:

 "U.S. Ski & Snowboard applauds the decision of the IOC today as it demonstrates a strong commitment to the importance of clean sport and the support of clean athletes. On behalf of our athletes, we have a fundamental obligation to fight for fairness in sport, to advocate for the health and welfare of athletes and to protect the image of our sport. Now we look to the International Ski Federation (FIS) to hold a FIS Council meeting to review the IOC’s decision and related evidence to consider its impact on the Russian Ski Association, its FIS committee members, officials and athletes."