About

SWATeam Racing exists to give athletes the chance to polish their skiing first and then to race it as well as they are able. Our coaches' commitment is to make that an exciting thing to learn, to find the positive in every run and build the skills to go further.

Philosophy

The program is founded on the idea that sound racing technique grows out of strong skiing, and that learning it should be a positive and fulfilling experience. Early on the emphasis is on skills and fundamentals; later it moves to practicing and testing them.

We coach to SkillsQuest, part of the U.S. Ski Team's Alpine Training System. It is a sequenced set of drills addressing pressure, edge and rotational control, divided into six phases that account for an athlete's age, maturity and experience. Movements are introduced one at a time and practiced until they become reflex. It is a journey, a quest toward success in ski racing by focusing on skills, and it covers skiing skills, techniques and tactics, conditioning, equipment preparation, performance psychology and racer management.

Our focus is on developing well-rounded skills for skiers beyond the beginner stage, preparing them for the technical and physical demands of ski racing to the best of their ability, in a safe and enjoyable recreational ski team environment, and encouraging a love for the sport of skiing beyond their racing career.

Ski racing, like anything worth doing, takes time and patience. During that process it should be the goal of everyone involved to keep the experience a good one.

Coaching

Every group is coached by certified coaches working under the direction of our Program Director and Head Coach, George Loomans. SWAT is unusual in that your athlete is assigned to a coach for the whole season, matched by age and skiing ability. We think that continuity is why our athletes develop the way they do.

It is also why we carry a waitlist. Places open as athletes move between groups or leave for college, and we are limited by the space on our training hill.

We consider training to be entirely our responsibility. You will naturally be curious about your child's progress, and you should feel free to speak to their coach before or after training. We ask coaches to stay in regular contact with the parents of the athletes they train.

Goals

Thank you for considering SWAT for your children. Each year the program gets a little better, and our aim is that your children look forward to skiing and racing, not only with SWAT but for life.

The organization

Southeastern Wisconsin Alpine Team Racing, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, formed for charitable and educational purposes to teach amateur athletes the sport of alpine ski racing.

We work closely with Alpine Valley Resort so that our training has as little impact as possible on the skiing public. On training and race days a trail or part of a trail must be closed to keep racers and the public safe; Alpine Valley allows us to train on designated days of the week.

We started in 2001 with twenty athletes. We now have roughly twenty coaches and a hundred athletes, and a waitlist.