Dryland Training
We will have a few activities commencing in September and our full Dryland Training Schedule will begin in October.
Starting October 15 until Red Mountain Opens:
U12 Training Day is Monday’s from 3:30 - 4:30pm @ The Velvet
12+ Training Day is Wednesday’s from 3:30 - 4:30pm @ The Velvet
OPTIONAL Thursday’s from 3:30 - 4:30pm @ Elevate Gym - this is for the athlete’s that ‘want to be there’!
Monday’s and Wednesday’s will be split between sessions from Eva Gifford and Kirsty Exner (read more about them below!). Thursday’s will be done with a Personal Trainer from Elevate Gym. Ryan will be present at all sessions.
Every other Sunday we will have Team Bonding activities from 2-3:30pm with Club Director Ryan Lachapelle - with an emphasis on fun! Eg. hikes up our local mountains, trampoline/gymnastics, aquatic centre, climbing gym, gear chats, mountain biking & playing other sports like tennis and volleyball.
Mental Skills will be held once a month November - March at Seven Summits School. Most sessions will include our mental coach Sean Larsen PhD (learn more about him below!)
Practitioners
Dr. Eva Gifford, D.C.
Eva grew up on the playing on the slopes of Red Mountain and single track trails of Rossland. She has a love for moving in the mountains, and a knack for type - 2 endurance fun, namely running trail races up to 100miles in length.
She holds a Doctorate of Chiropractic and a BSc. in Kinesiology with a minor in Biochemistry. Eva’s practice as a chiropractor is centered around exercise and movement based treatments as well as patient education. She has a background in S&C as a personal trainer while working out of the Pacific Institute for Sports Excellence, in Victoria, BC.
Eva aims to teach the basics of strength training at age-appropriate levels, while helping skiers learn and develop fundamental movement skills that will help them excel on the slopes.
Kirsty Exner - Physiotherapist
Kirsty has been working as a physiotherapist for over 10 years and, prior to that, she was a personal trainer for 8 years, which gave her a very solid foundation on which to build her physiotherapy practice. She worked in various clinical settings in Vancouver and then moved back to Rossland BC where she has been operating her own business, “Kirsty Exner Physiotherapy”.
With 25 years of personal and professional experience in sports conditioning training, physical rehab, ski coaching, and a competitive sporting background, Kirsty offers a comprehensive and dynamic program that encompassing all that she has learned.
“As a ski coach with a physiotherapy background, I see the muscle imbalances and structural issues clients have as it comes out in their skiing and limits their ability to perform a certain ski skill or drill. Having the time to assess for these inefficiencies and then balance them in a dryland clinic setting before getting on snow, is an invaluable and rare service to be able to take advantage of. It will give clients more resilience and therefore, less risk of injury setting up their season for success.” Clients will also have fast-track access to physiotherapy treatments throughout the season as needed.
Mental Coach - Dr. Sean Larsen PhD
Sean has over 15 years' experience working with children and youth with mental health disorders. He has a deep understanding of how the brain works in moments of stress and has spoken nationally on anxiety disorders and intense emotional experiences. Though somewhat new to the area of performance coaching, Sean’s experience working with children who have experienced traumatic stress and anxiety disorders provides unique insight into how the brain works when overwhelmed and how to manage difficult emotions and stress. Sean has worked with a number of elite level athletes over the years to help them overcome mental challenges to performance. Sean will be working alongside Ryan and his team to support athletes in achieving optimal mental performance in sport, supporting youth through the ups and downs of competition, injury, success and failure, and providing tools and resources for families and athletes to promote continued growth and wellbeing as athletes. Sean is a self-proclaimed mediocre skier and a “pretty okay” mountain biker who loves being outdoors, adventure, continuing to improve, semi-pointless type-b fun challenges of endurance and fortitude, and sharing the ride with others.