NDG Women: An Update

Photo: (Left to right) Annaliese Frohlich, Finn Boissonneault, Emma Reynolds, Abby Olson, Stella Buchheister, Sophia Tozzi, and Tatum Grosdidier

The Women’s National Development Group has been busy. After a ten-day camp at Mt. Hood, they gathered again for seven days of fitness training and education at the USANA Center of Excellence in Park City. 

Starting in Mt Hood

The camps began when a group of ten NDG women joined forces with USST Women’s Development Coach Shaun Goodwin and Western Region FIS  Coach Fletcher McDonald for ten days at Mt. Hood. 

Additionally, the NDG camp staff included club coaches. McDonald comments, “These staff members are critical to the camp’s success. And it gives us all a chance to collaborate and share ideas.” At Mt. Hood, Eastern Region, Coach David Kent and Rocky Division Coach Brian Olson both contributed their best efforts.  

McDonald reports that the camp’s weather challenges were less than ideal. Still, he sees it as very productive. “The weather challenges limited our on-snow opportunities, but the women came together to make it a compelling situation. Nevertheless, to take advantage of the time available, the program included extensive tech talks, tactical discussions, video analysis, tuning clinics and boot setups. 

McDonald adds, “The camaraderie within the group was very high and the camp was successful. The women absorbed everything we had to offer. They were engaged, and I believe the program offered them valuable tools that they can apply to the remainder of their prep period.”

Mt. Hood athletes included:

• Sophia Palmquist               2005  Team Summit Colorado
• Stella Buchheister              2006  Team Summit Colorado
• Allison Mollin                      2004   Team Palisades Tahoe
• Annaliese Frohlich             2005   Crystal Mountain Alpine Club
• Finn Boissonneault            2005   Holderness School
• Emma Lenoel Quang         2006   Catamount Alpine Racing
• Mollie McTigue                   2006   Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
• Noelle Roth                         2006   Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
• Abby Olson                          2007   Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
• Emma Reynolds                  2004   Holderness School

USANA Center of Excellence welcomes NDG women

Shortly after the NDG finished skiing at Mt. Hood, Oregon, athletes Buchheister, Frohlich, Boissonneault, Olson and Reynolds gathered again in Park City for a fitness camp hosted at the USANA Center of Excellence. Two additional skiers joined the five athletes from the Mt. Hood camp to make it seven.

• Sophia Tozzi                       2003  Stiegler Ski Racing
• Tatum Grosdidier               2004   Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club

 The program included baseline fitness testing, fitness, nutritional education, physiology and sports phycology—seven straight days of opportunities, a week of knowledge and another chance to learn from each other.   Fortunately, this time, the weather cooperated.  

In Park City, the staff included USST Development Coach Foreste Peterson, Fitness Coach Mark Dyer, Goodwin and McDonald.  

Tozzi appreciates the unique opportunity

Tozzi, heading to Middlebury College in the fall, comments, “Overall, I thought it was a super beneficial experience. Specifically, to be in the environment of the team and to be able to use all the equipment in the USANA Center of Excellence. I would not have access to this level of sophistication anywhere else.” Tozzi continues, “The NDG group this year is a super strong group of women, and it was super awesome to see everyone push each other to their max potential in and out of the gym.” Tozzi says, “I look forward to getting on snow with them in a couple of weeks and can’t wait to continue to see everyone grow.”

NDG Camp goals

McDonald confirms that the camps’ goals were primarily to inspire, educate and expose. He says, “Obviously, we will not change their skiing significantly or get them fit in a week. However, we can significantly change their understanding of what it takes to be their best. In addition, they witnessed firsthand what the USST women are doing to prepare for their seasons. Lastly, they were exposed to the same experts that guide the U.S. Ski Team. I feel terrific about the value of the content we offer.”

Olson attends both camps

Olson, a talented 2007 from Steamboat, gives the two camps 10 out of 10. Acknowledging the challenges in Oregon, she says they were still able to benefit every day. Olson says, “It was a very inspiring environment to work in, but my favorite part was working with the development team. It showed me what is possible. They pushed me out of my comfort zone and exposed me to new skills. The camps give me confidence.” However, the most valuable part of the camp for Olson came from the tech talks, specifically the sports phycology discussions that covered tools to use when dealing with negative thoughts. Olson concludes, “We were exposed to sports psychology, nutrition, and physiology information, and it was all valuable. Both camps were fun, and I learned a lot.”

Buchheister has strong opinions.

Stella Buchheister is an up-and-coming skier from the Team Summit program in Colorado. Like the other NDG athletes, she valued her time training with the women’s U.S. Ski Team. But she wants to share an exciting experience. Buchheister said, “We felt like we weren’t just visitors. They made us feel like we were part of their team. It motivated us to push ourselves in everything we did. And that is the biggest takeaway from the camps.” 

Buchheister continued to comment on the quality of the staff. She says,” They had a very clear, well-designed plan. And they had great information to share. Even in Mt. Hood, including the weather, it was one of the best camps I have been to. I learned so much.” Buchheister also rated the camps 10 out of 10.

Team Summit believes in NDG

Aldo Radamus, Team Summit’s Alpine Director, commented on the value of the NDG projects. Radamus says, “Team Summit always recommends that when athletes get invited to NDG projects, they make every effort to attend. Correspondingly, the opportunity to introduce athletes to National Team athletes, their coaching staff and the environment are invaluable to the process of their ongoing development as athletes and young men and women. We value the input they receive from different coaches than those they are exposed to daily and learn to process and apply that input to their skiing. These experiences help them become independent and self-reliant, strengthening the ownership they take in their sport.”

To conclude, after reporting on the programming offered by the National Development Group, it looks like NDG projects have a constructive direction. Participants agree that the USST has put a lot of effort into designing programs that offer development athletes unique and beneficial opportunities.