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PCSS Newsletter December 16, 2021

By Park City Ski & Snowboard, 12/16/21, 3:15PM MST

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  • Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
  • Geno's Story
  • Upcoming Events
  • Division Highlights


Message from the Executive Director

Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!

Thank you everyone for doing your snow dances. With the incoming storms we are all excited to get on snow. Thank you all so very much for your patience as all of our coaches have been creatively trying to prepare athletes for the season. 

With this extra time during the holidays, we want to congratulate the seniors at the Winter School, many of whom are PCSS athletes. Winter Sports School is still accepting applications for incoming 9th graders for the upcoming school year beginning April 2022 for both Utah resident and non-resident student-athletes.  The current Utah resident lottery enrollment period ends on February 10th and there remain several open spots for 9th grade to be filled through the next lottery drawing on Friday, February 11.  Find out more about the high-quality, flexible, and personalized learning opportunities for your student-athlete at Winter Sports School today:  info@wintersportsschool.org or reach out directly to Admissions Specialist & Director of Operations, Megan Altman at maltman@wintersportsschoo.org or Head of School, Tess Miner-Farra at tminerfarra@wintersportsschool.org

 

Winter School PCSS Graduates

Aten, Lindsey

Alpine Ski Racing
Brown, Benny Alpine Ski Racing
Cooke, Carina Alpine Ski Racing
Dobrovinski, Alex Alpine Ski Racing
Heavrin, Kennedy Alpine Ski Racing
Hunt, Epsen Alpine Ski Racing
Johnson, Colby Freestyle Skiing
Johnson, Donovan Big Mountain Skiing
Kaiserman, Maddie Alpine Ski Racing
Kanzler, James Freestyle Skiing
Karlen, Bjorn Alpine Ski Racing
Kelly, Ava Alpine Ski Racing
Macuga, Alli Freestyle Mogul Skiing
Potter, Cole Alpine Ski Racing
Rogers, Jake Alpine Ski Racing
Sheppard, Leyton Alpine Ski Racing
Sheppard, Sebastian Alpine Ski Racing
Travis, Gunnar Alpine Ski Racing
Walden, Amelia Alpine Ski Racing
Weaver, TJ Alpine Ski Racing
Willis, Mikayla Big Mountain Skiing
Worthington, Sami Freestyle Mogul Skiing

 


Upcoming Events

January 2nd - Intro Moguls Clinic @ UOP

January 15-17 - South Series Alpine Races @ UOP

January 28th - Park City Town Race Series @ UOP 6pm to 8pm 

February 10th - Olympic Watch Party @ UOP 6pm to 8pm

February 11thPark City Town Race Series @ UOP 6pm to 8pm 

Geno's Story

Athlete Spotlight- The Power of SPort

Geno Schinderle is 16-year-old Sophomore from Iron Mountain, located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Geno has been an avid skier since he was just 2 years old and grew up skiing at Pine Mountain, a small ski hill, in his hometown.   Geno and his older brother, Dominic spent every waking moment on the hill during the winter.  Then, after a full day of skiing, they would come home and turn the backyard into a terrain park.   Geno was always the one who had to try everything first, which is probably part of the reason he is so fearless.  

In November 2020, Geno was gearing up to move to Park City to be a part of the Park City Ski & Snowboard Freestyle Team.  Everything was in place, his Uncle Dar and Aunt Leslie had his room all-set, and he was counting down the days until his departure.  He was so excited. A week and a half before he was scheduled to leave for Park City…WHAM!  He was rushed via ambulance to St. Vincent Children’s Hospital in Green Bay, WI, where we heard the three words no one ever wants to hear…you have cancer.  On November 19, 2020, Geno was diagnosed with High-Risk T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.  His first question was, “Does that mean I can’t go to Park City?”.  Unfortunately, his dream of moving to Park City to ski came to a screeching halt and our hearts were breaking for him.  

Geno became critically ill and instead of hitting the slopes in Park City, he spent the next 75-days in the hospital fighting for his life.  His leukemia was compounded by multiple life-threatening infections.  During this time, he also developed severe Neuropathy in his feet causing bilateral foot drop; one of the many side-effects of his chemotherapy regimen.  He was no longer able to walk unassisted and needed a wheelchair to get around.  For an active kid who loves to ski, that is a tough pill to swallow.  

On February 1, 2021, Geno was discharged from the hospital.  Following his discharge, he continued his chemo treatments and began physical therapy where he learned to walk again.  

In March we were advised that Geno’s best chance at remaining cancer free was to undergo a bone marrow transplant.  Because he didn’t respond to the initial chemo, we somewhat anticipated this would be the case therefore his sister and brother were tested early on to see if they were a match.  Thankfully, his older sister, Sophia was a perfect match.  In April, we found out that there was no longer any evidence of disease so we could move forward.

On June 17, 2021, Geno was admitted to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, to begin his conditioning to prepare him for transplant.  This entailed total body radiation twice a day for three days and four days of intense chemo.  Not going to lie, it was rough, but he pushed thru.  His sister donated her stem cells, all 7.46 million of them, and on July 1, 2021, Geno received his new cells.  We spent 49-days in the hospital, most of which were brutal, but we took it one hour at a time.  He was discharged on August 4, and we spent the next 2 months in Milwaukee until he was stable enough to come home.   During this time, Geno began working with the most amazing Physical Therapist-Athletic Trainer, at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, in order to improve his strength, endurance and to regain the use of his foot.  He was determined to get back on his skis and his hard work has paid off.  On December 4, 156 days after his bone marrow transplant, Geno went skiing again!  It was a huge accomplishment for him.  When I asked how he felt, he said a little sore, but it is a good sore!  I haven’t seen him smile that big for over a year…it made our hearts happy.

Geno was dealt a hand that no one ever expects to receive.  He thought his hopes and dreams were shattered but he has proved that thru perseverance you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to.  We still travel to Milwaukee for check-ups on a regular basis but Geno hopes to visit Park City sometime this winter for a couple weeks.  He plans to continue working hard and getting stronger so he can participate in the summer sessions.  His goal is to be a part of the PCSS team for the 22-23 season.

I asked Geno what he learned from his experience.  His response was:

  • Don’t take life so seriously.
  • Live life to the fullest.
  • Live like you are never going to see tomorrow because tomorrow isn’t promised.
  • Be thankful and grateful for everything you have because it can be taken away in the blink of an eye.  
  • Don’t get mad over little things.  

When Geno isn’t fighting cancer or skiing, he enjoys swimming, skateboarding, camping, baking (he is amazing) and hanging out with his kitten, Critter.

Division Updates

Alpine Early Season Highlights: 

  • Benny Brown gets first Nor Am Results 20th in SL @ Copper

  • Benny Take a win and a 2nd at Super-G Races in Copper

  • Benny takes a win and a 2nd at NJR GS Races at Beaver Creek

  • Jake Rogers scores personal best point score with 61 pts and a 4th place finish @ Beaver Creek GS

  • Stefan Brennwald scores 2 personal bests at Beaver Creek GS’s gaining 2 Junior Podiums (2nd and 3rd).

  • Mia Hunt gets first Nor Am Results with 21st in SL at Copper

  • Mia also got a 3rd place overall finish at the NJR GS at Beaver Creek

  • Mia, Benny, and Maddie Kaiserman head to Panorama, BC for the next round of Tech Norams starting next week.

  • Fiona Sawyer took an 8th place overall which was 3rd Junior for one of the Super-G races at Copper

  • All groups are now on snow and doing what training they can.

Devo Freestyle Early Season Highlights:  

  • Officially kicking off winter training this Saturday

  • Enrollment for both Devo and Shredders up from last season 

  • Return of many Devo coaching staff...

  • 11 latin X athletes for Shredders program

Ski Jumping Early Season Highlights: 

  • PCSS ski jumping athletes Rachael Haerter and Josie Johnson are in Vikersund, Norway to compete in Continental Cups this weekend with USA Nordic’s National Team.

  • Eight of our athletes are in Steamboat Springs, CO getting their first jumps on snow this weekend.  They will be competing in the opening US Cup, as well as the first Junior World Qualifier and US Junior Championship qualifiers of the season.  

Hired two new coaches: 

  • Matt Doyle: Former Nordic Combine Athlete from New Hampshire and former NCAA Nordic Racer For Saint Michael's College.

  • Michael Ward: former US Nordic Combined National Team athlete from Aspen, CO. Recently graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Athletic Training.

Park & Pipe Early Season Highlights: 

  • James Kanzler earned his first World Cup points finishing 25th in Big Air at Steamboat in his second WC start, after a solid first WC Slopestyle in Stubai Austria 

  • 3 athletes started in the Copper World Cup Nikita Rubocki 29th, Brendan Newby 30th, Cameron Brodrick 36th,

  • Dew Tour next week will include James Kanzler and Cameron Broderick is first alternate

  • Successful fall on snow Slopestyle camp with 11 athletes on Stelvio Glacier Italy

  • Successful November Halfpipe camp on Kitzsteinhorn Glacier for 2 WC athletes who braved the lockdown and end up with almost exclusive access to the Glacier and the Halfpipe

  • Launched the PCSS Exclusive training session at Woodward Mondays after hours

  • Pizza Party Team Night at Basin Rec to celebrate top 3 in JWW Drawing Ticket sales

  • Began on-snow limited training utilizing Woodward and Park City

Aerials Early Season Highlights: 

  • Derek Krueger competes in the World Cup at Ruka, Finland placing 31st and 37th. Set to compete again 1/10 and 1/11 at Ruka for second WC of the season

  • Snow training starts this weekend to prep for Nationals and Jr Nationals

Big Mtn Early Season Highlights: 

  • Another year of growth

  • Added an enhanced Dryland program and shared resources with SNB

  • Well attended parent meeting held Hybrid style in person and online

  • Added an athlete/coach meeting that was well attended to set guidelines and get training groups together before getting on snow.

  • Set up a competition team and a skills team to better serve athletes individual needs

  • Included a Pizza Party at UOP to celebrate top 3 in JWW Drawing Ticket sales

  • Kicking off on snow season 12/11 with limited on-snow training at Park City

Skimo Early Season Highlights: 

  • The Race Team has been training on snow and foot since early November.

  • Devo started training in early December. Both teams are bigger and stronger than ever. 

  • Our top athletes will be competed in US National Team Trials December 10 and 12th at Arapahoe Basin Resort in Colorado.

  • Grif Briley, Wes Perkins & Ethan Romer sweep the u18 National qualifications at ABasin

  • U14 Sam Kirschner & U16 Emmett Itoi placed top three for each race. 

Cross Country Early Season Highlights:

  • Wes Campbell got a full ride scholarship to Michigan Tech for 2023 school year.

  • Wes Campbell and Elena Grissom won early season races in Grand Targhee 

  • All Kickers and Gliders get equipment provided by the club to use for the season 

  • Equipment provided is approx 260 pairs of skis 

  • Donation of 25 pairs of skis to rental fleet from private donor. 

  • Skis donated by White Pine Touring for rental fleet. 

  • 37 athletes signed up for Kickers and Gliders Dryland session 48 percent increase from 2020. First time for Latinx participation. 

  • Most ever raised at Jans Winter Welcome more than $40,000. Budget was $14,000 (what was raised in 2021) 

  • Significant increase in Club team sign ups

  • Hired a Club team head coach

Moguls Early Season Highlights:

  • Recently returned from an on-snow camp in Idre Fjäll, Sweden where our athletes competed in the first FIS event of the season. We had two girls make finals (top 16) amongst a field of mostly World Cup athletes  - Zoe Dwinell on day one and LuLu Shaffer on day two. 

  • We are currently in Winter Park, Colorado for some on-snow training gearing up for US Selections where our athletes will have the opportunity to qualify for both NorAms and even World Cup Starts. We have 12 athletes competing: Alli Macuga, Zoe Dwinell, Kassidy Lynch, Kylie Kariotis, August Davis, Cristina Morelli, Sami Worthington, Bridget Donahue, LuLu Shaffer, Zoey Young, Jackson Crockett, and Slader Rodman. Of these athletes, 7  are pre-qualified for the NorAm tour. 

  • December 11th will be our first day of on-snow training at Park City Mountain for the young athletes enrolled in the Mogul Fundamentals program. 

Snowboard Early Season Highlights:

  • Successful Fall Dryland

  • Fall/early season Freestyle elite Europe training trip

  • Fall/early season SBX elite Europe training trip

  • Adapted on-snow shortened training to start season

  • Moving to full sessions on-snow even w/limited terrain and no freestyle features.

  • Adapted night Woodward training shifted to indoors.

  • Full season event schedules are calendared - TBD