Much like an apex predator, Apex2100 Ski Academy offers the highest level of programs and staff. Among the infamous heavy hitters at Apex is Sasha Rearick, the heavy hitter of sport directors. Passionate for development, he joined the academy to utilize his wealth of expertise and experience to mold the next generation of elite skiers.

A city boy turned ski racing athlete

Sasha Rearick is originally from New York City. However, after developing an interest in skiing, he attended Gould Academy in Maine and eventually began his coaching career at one of their summer camps. After high school Rearick attended Western State in Colorado, receiving a degree in Exercise Science. During his final two years, he also coached the Western State Mountaineers. Interestingly, in the middle of his studies, Rearick took a year away from school to work as a ski instructor in France. His experience in France only served to nurture his love of teaching. It is noteworthy that Sasha’s mother is French and Rearick speaks the language fluently.

Coaching started during, between, and after college

Following his year in France, Rearick returned to the US to finish his degree while coaching the Mountaineers and he worked at the Olympic Training Center. At the OTC, one of his responsibilities was the Alpine development team.

With a degree, he moved to Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS) in Vermont. For three years, Rearick’s primary responsibility at GMVS was the conditioning program. However, during his time in Vermont, Rearick wore many other hats, including ski coaching, biology teacher, lacrosse coach, and dorm parent.

After three years at GMVS, he began an 18-year career with the US Ski Team. During this time, he experienced working at every level, starting as a Europa Cup technical coach, and over time he advanced to become the head men’s World Cup coach. Following his years as Head Men’s Coach, he returned to the USST Development Team, where he rekindled his love of working with younger developing athletes. At this point, Rearick has participated in nearly every aspect of elite ski racing.  His impressive and lengthy resume says it all.

A return to grassroots development

How does Rearick feel about being back in development at Apex? He tells Ski Racing Media, “Sports have always been my life, I have always played all sports, including football, but something about ski racing always intrigued me. It was fun and outside, but it also had this international element. And being able to travel internationally and working around different cultures was something I enjoyed. So, there is a draw towards ski racing for various reasons, not just the fun of sliding down the mountain.”

He explains what keeps him interested in ski racing, “Being able to combine elite athletic practices from around the world in terms of conditioning, tactics, technique and basic concepts of sports science makes this an enjoyable environment to be a part of. And then there’s this component of the team, of the individual, and how does the team function together? That’s intriguing to me and keeps me interested.”

How has he consistently put together staffs that fully support athletes in their journey? Rearick reports that it is a delicate balance between finding good people but also finding the right place for them. Sometimes the right person is in the wrong seat or role and shifting them to a better-suited position makes all the difference in the world.

Rearick identifies the traits he has seen in the highest-performing athletes

Rearick states that the best competitors have a combination of spark, fun, and a love of all the critical parts of the sport. Additionally, they possess a love of travel and competition. He has noticed throughout his career that enthusiasm and having a lot of heart play incredibly important parts in the development of an elite skier. 

Additionally, good rhythm and timing are critical in successful ski racing. Further, Rearick sees a need for a clear understanding of the tactics.

To get to rise to the elite level, it helps to love traveling

When sending a student to a ski academy, every parent will want to see positive results and specific measures of success. We asked Rearick what are the foundational pieces that help athletes become their best. 

In his experience, he has seen athletes that love to ski but would prefer not to travel. He notes that many of these skiers may struggle to love the elite levels of the sport. 

Having a passion for the sport is at the center of being successful in ski racing. Indeed, an athlete must have heart, Rearick defines heart as, “intrinsic motivation and just an unbelievable unquenchable work ethic.”

Rearick’s programming philosophy

Rearick places a high value on rest. He only approves programs that include time to play video games, hang out with friends, and, most importantly, be free in mind. He knows rest periods are essential to the training process and produce better results. 

Another critical component of all the athletic programs Rearick directs is unstructured free time on the slopes. His athletes have access to an enormous amount of terrain at APEX. Rearick doesn’t want his students to associate being on the slopes only with being pushed or challenged. He also hopes they appreciate the splendor of the remarkable mountains without a structured schedule or plan. He hopes his athletes can enjoy the snow and the slopes for enjoyment’s sake.

Now that Rearick influences many young promising skiers, the next generation of athletes can utilize his decades of expertise and experience in coaching and pedagogy to improve their ski racing. 

Progression is a critical part of program design

Rearick sees everything as a progression. He utilizes advancements in designing all his programs on and off the snow. Although he always believes in fundamentals, he constantly looks to add challenge and sophistication as athletes and staff progress. 

His youngest athletes focus on time under load (time being physically challenged), skiing mileage and fundamentals. However, realizing the importance of fun, he insists their programs include a healthy dose of unstructured play. 

As the athletes progress through the system, he doesn’t forget to let them play but increases the precision he expects in their execution of fundamentals. While continuing to focus on time under load, he includes increased strength and agility demands. 

Once an athlete has reached a reasonably high level of performance, Rearick’s demand for detail increases. With his oldest, more advanced athletes, he also offers a path to an increased level of technique, tactics, timing and fitness. To aid in their development, at this point, he also begins introducing equipment setups. Rearick has them start their setups progression neutral and adjusts, so they experience the differences and eventually find individual solutions. 

However, at all levels, he asks his students to push the race line to the limits of their ability. He has worked with the best in the world and knows how they create speed. However, this, too, is done incrementally. The race line progression always mirrors their advancement in fundamentals, tactics and timing.

One thing Rearick also believes in is sleep and nutrition. In these two areas, he asks for a high level of attention from all his athletes.

Eyes on the future

With all this coaching under his belt and his reliable method of pedagogy on and off the slopes, Rearick is excited to shape the next generation of ski athletes at Apex2100 Ski Academy. We asked him how does he keep his students engaged and motivated? He responds, “The best way to encourage that energy is by showing enthusiasm. Both when you successfully hit all your goals, or enthusiasm even when you fall on your face and get up and are simply making progress.”

Rearick had his eye on Apex for quite some time, including while working for the US Ski team, and he refers to it as the “best ski academy in the world” That makes it the ideal place for one of the most experienced and successful coaches to make it his home.