Team Philosophy
The following principles guide our behaviors, thoughts, and actions on the PSD Nordic Ski Team. Upon joining our team, skiers will learn what each of these rules mean in greater detail and how to embody these values while on the team and beyond.
Rule #1- Party
Rule #2- Be Good People
Rule #3- Always learning
Rule #4- Full Send
Rule #2- Be Good People
Rule #3- Always learning
Rule #4- Full Send
Team At A Glance
Our team numbers vary depending on the given year, anywhere between 35-60 participants. We have a relatively even mix of boys and girls and fairly equal numbers from Fort Collins, Poudre, Rocky Mountain and Fossil Ridge. We've also had skiers join us from Liberty High School, Polaris, and home school programs.
No Cut Sport
There is no official Varsity / JV distinction in high school skiing. All participants compete in the same races. On our own team, we have kids vying for top 10 spots at the CHSAA State Championship, and we have kids that have never skied before. All abilities are welcome—no experience necessary. Everyone who wants to be on the team will have a spot and get to race. While there is no Varsity & JV team, we do have assessments or placements, especially on roller skis, to determine which practice group skiers will be in. Sometimes the whole team will practice together as a group, other times we'll be divided up in different locations based on ability/experience to ensure a positive and beneficial environment for everyone.
Communication
Our student-athletes (not parents) are responsible for communicating with coaches. This includes absences, race sign up, questions, concerns, etc. This is all part of the experience and working to shape not just good skiers but responsible and mature students. Of course there are special circumstances where parents are the first line of communication, but as a general rule of thumb, all communication about the season should come from the student-athlete to the coaches. If participants are not satisfied with the result of the initial communication between coach and student-athlete, then parents are encouraged to join the conversation.
We use TeamSnap to communicate to skiers and parents. We do a lot of communicating and adjusting on the fly, so make sure you download the TeamSnap mobile app. Please send the email addresses and phone numbers of everyone (skiers and family members) that you want included on the team communication to coachkylesteitz@gmail.com. We also use the Availability feature in TeamSnap to sign up for races. It is the skiers responsibility to mark their availability for the respective race/event by the deadline in order to get signed up. Coaches will show skiers how to do this at the start of the season.
We use TeamSnap to communicate to skiers and parents. We do a lot of communicating and adjusting on the fly, so make sure you download the TeamSnap mobile app. Please send the email addresses and phone numbers of everyone (skiers and family members) that you want included on the team communication to coachkylesteitz@gmail.com. We also use the Availability feature in TeamSnap to sign up for races. It is the skiers responsibility to mark their availability for the respective race/event by the deadline in order to get signed up. Coaches will show skiers how to do this at the start of the season.
Attendance
We cover a lot of information on a day to day basis because we have so much to learn and are constantly playing catch up compared to the other mountain schools. Because of this, showing up on a reliable basis is crucial. We depend on having all our skiers at practice to build the team bond and culture that the PSD ski team is known for across the ski league. From memorizing names, to suffering through workouts together, to learning all the inside jokes and experiences, attendance is essential for the success of the individual skier and the collective team.
There are two attendance policies that determine which team you are on:
Competitive team:
- Allowed 3 missed (excused or unexcused) practices per month
- Competitive team skiers wax their skis before races
- Only competitive team skiers are eligible to attend the State Championship
- Allowed 8 missed (excused or unexcused) practices per month
- Recreational team skiers do not wax their skis before races
- Recreational team skier can attend any races they want except the State Championship (even if they technically qualified)
Types of Absences
- No communication given = unexcused absence
- Two red boxes (unexcused absence) per month = missed race. Four red boxes per month = two missed races. Six = three missed races, etc.
- Competitive team skiers are allowed a total of three (3) missed practices per month. This includes yellow (excused) and/or red (unexcused) marks.
- For example, in the month of December, you could accidentally miss one practice from sleeping in (red mark), and miss two practices for band (yellow). One more missed practice results in moving to the recreational team.
- Excused absences (yellow marks) all fall in the same category. Whether you’re missing for homework, another sport, band/choir/theatre, vacation, etc., if you communicate your absence in advance, you’ll get an excused yellow mark regardless of the reason.
- If you’re missing for one of the above reasons, but don’t communicate, it’ll turn into an unexcused red mark.
- Sleeping in counts as an unexcused absence. Set more alarms and get out of bed.
- If you need to leave a practice early, this needs to be communicated to the coach PRIOR to arriving at practice. Oftentimes we have to plan ahead for early departures since we are not always near the pick-up/drop off location.
Excused Absence (communicated in advance) = yellow
Unexcused Absence (not communicated in advance) = red
Special situation (communicated in advance - sick, injured, zero hour, family emergency) = gray (does not count as yellow or red mark)
Communicating Absences:
- Communication should be done through 1) an individual TeamSnap message OR 2) an email (coachkylesteitz@gmail.com). Communication must be written and sent- verbal notification, does not count.
- Communication about missed practices needs to be given with at least 4 hours of advance notice.
- Communication needs to come from the skier. Only in rare exceptions should it come from a parent.
- In your message, you need to explain why you are missing practice. For example, “Coach, I will not be at practice tonight” will not get you excused— even if you have a good reason.
- All practices missed due to illness/injury OR with less notice than 4 hours, require a text to Coach Kyle (970-846-4565)
- There is absolutely no reason not to communicate with a coach about missing a practice. You have text, TeamSnap, email, or phone calls at your disposal. Respect the coaches’ time. Respect your teammates' time. Respect your time. In real life, when you don’t show up for something you’re expected to be at without communicating, there are consequences.
