The World Cup According to Grande: La Parva Dos

Struggling with the Chilean version of internet technology is frustrating. But it is so inconsistent from place to place that you just have to wonder how the country functions in a 21st century world. But here I am, trying to post photos on Facebook and post new blog entries. And it is not working!

We are in the Renaca area of Vina del Mar, watching the big waves crash and enjoying the warmish, wet, salty air. We took a little walk on the beach this morning and now ready ourselves to head towards Valparaiso and then Santiago. We will hit the Los Dominicos market before we re-stock our kitchens and bathrooms at the Jumbo supermarket in Las Condes.  The Jumbo truly is huge, like a Fred Meyer but somehow it seems bigger. But that is probably the most similar American store I have been in.

Once we are done with our shopping spree, we will head back up the hill to La Parva after about 8 PM. Unfortunately we need to wait for the downhill traffic on the weekend to head back to Santiago before we can make our way up the gnarly hill. On the way down, most of the kids were fighting car-sickness. They all made it without a major incident but they all felt a little queasy when we stopped for a little snack and some gas. But uphill is too slow to cause too much illness, just a little fear if you make the mistake of looking down over the edge of one of the 40-plus “curvas.”

Tomorrow we will start our 5 day block to finish out the camp. We will get more time on the SG track and SG skis and get to jump a few more times as well as working in some GS training in second sessions. Tomorrow we will re-introduce some drills with the athletes and do some longer GS. It should be a strong session tomorrow and we look forward to the rest before packing up and heading for the states on Friday night.

The rumor is that snow is headed our way for Thursday and La Parva could use some to make the surface a little fresher. And selfishly I hope it holds off until Saturday so we can get our quality training done and head home.

And as we do all of this, Jeff Pickering, the Western Region Head Coach, is resigning to take a job with the National Team as the women’s Europa Cup coach. He is replaced by Brad Saxe who has arrived in Santiago today to begin his new job. The hand-off happens tonight and I get the feeling that “Pick” is ready to move on to a new challenge. And I know that Brad is very excited to get going on his newest project. Every job change in this profession is a new adventure and a new risk. It should be interesting to see how it all works out. Both men are good ski coaches with a lot of experience so I am not worried about either group, they are in good hands. Every new situation presents new challenges and everyone will adapt differently. I wish them both luck, it should be a fun ride!

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Greg “Grande” Needell grew up ski racing at Stratton Mountain,
Vermont. After graduating from SMS he skied for NCAA Division 1 St.
Lawrence University in Canton, NY where he was co-captain in 1986. Greg
returned to SMS to coach there for five years serving as the Head
Women’s Coach as well as the Head J2 Men’s Coach. He then moved to
Mission Ridge in Wenatchee, Washington in 1992 to become the Program
Director and Head Coach of the Mission Ridge Ski Club. In 1997, Greg
became the Head Coach at Mammoth Mountain, California.

In 2002 Needell was asked to join the U.S. Ski Team staff as a World
Cup SL and GS coach. From 2002 to 2008 Needell helped lead the U.S. Ski
Team Men to 43 wins, 105 podiums and 264 top ten finishes. Now at the
helm of Alpine Race Consulting, Needell offers his knowledge and
experience to clubs nationwide.

Click here for “The World Cup According to Grande” archive.