Column: Chocolate!

My Life in Chocolate

By Kathryn Dawson

I’m devoting this column to chocolate, even though it will inevitably be posted beside Gwen’s piece that laments the popularity of candy. It seems appropriate since I’m currently in Switzerland, and chocolate is more interesting than my difficulties with German or the chamois (which are funnily colored Swiss goats, only more fun to say). During the brief intervals when I’m not stuffing my face with chocolate, the people surrounding me are inhaling chocolate that must contain some weird European drug. And I know that back at NSA, everyone’s still diving for those chocolate chip pancakes.

 

Rows of truffles in a Swiss cafe

            Unlike most kids, my fascination with chocolate was minimally related to Halloween overdoses or cravings. Rather, it was centered on “mommy’s box.” Since I can remember, my mother has always had a small box of Evelyn’s truffles below the drink shelf in the fridge. They were expressly forbidden, therefore especially exciting to a 6-year-old Kathryn. Nonetheless, 6-year-old Kathryn did not have the attention span required to stay focused for a prolonged time, even on forbidden chocolates, and Legos and fort building soon took precedence.

 The  yellow box

I reached the most pathetic point in my life soon after, when my obsession with chocolate returned with a vengeance. Somehow, I had gotten over being transfixed by “mommy’s box,” until one fateful Valentine’s Day when my dad gave a bright yellow box of chocolates to my mom. With the relentlessness that only a sugar-driven 8-year-old could have, I begged my mother for a chocolate after every dinner. Perhaps my mother wasn’t particularly fond of those chocolates (how could that be? they smelled delicious and were in a yellow flowery box), she lacked the energy to refuse my obnoxious persistence, or my logical appeals (I did have more than five servings of veggies!) finally paid off. No matter, 8-year-old Kathryn finally got to taste a truffle. Which brings me to the pathetic point in this story, after my mother eventually finished that box of chocolates. Unbeknownst to her, I crept into the basement, slid the empty box into a sweatshirt, and stashed it in the mini-attic in my room. Every once in a while, 8-year-old Kathryn would sneak up the ladder and just sniff the open box. I don’t remember when I stopped needing those hits of chocolate fumes, maybe when I got to eat actual chocolate, but the box stayed in my room until a year ago. 

In the past few years, I’ve channeled my love of chocolate through making truffles. I realized that they make relatively cheap and well-received Christmas presents, plus they’re fun and surprisingly simple to make. All you need is chocolate chips, milk, butter, and whatever is laying around your kitchen that goes with chocolate (anything). My favorite filling is chunky peanut butter with a little confectioners sugar to thicken it. The most liked ones are usually peanut, almond, truffle, white chocolate/coconut, and ginger (actually, that’s just my grandma’s favorite).

Filling baking sheets with truffles for Christmas

Admittedly, while making dozens of Christmas truffles two years ago, I had to find my old dorky retainer (does anyone actually listen to the dentist and wear those?) and wear it around the kitchen so I wouldn’t eat any of the chocolates. Clearly, 15-year-old Kathryn had as little impulse control as 8 year-old Kathryn, but at least has the foresight to limit herself.

Here in Switzerland, I have stayed true to form and had minimal self-control, mostly derived from the potential ease of bankruptcy-by-chocolate and from distractions, like skiing (making skiing the 17-year-old equivalent of tent building).

 

Column: Free time at NSA!

Have a break!

By: Frédérick Hallé

Couple of hockey guys were having fun,
putting 106 t-shirts on Fred Halle at diner time.

Who doesn’t like free time after a good day at school and at practice?

At NSA most of the free time is right after school, 6:15 pm to 8pm. There isn’t much to do, but people find ways to have fun.

Students wish they could have more free time. They actually have quit a decent amount; they just don’t spend it efficiently. Let me give you an example. As a hockey player, I am usually free around 11 am until class start at 1. By the time you eat lunch, get ready for class or have a meeting, you maybe have 30minutes that you could use wisely. Keep in mind these 30 minutes. After this, you get to class, and most of people have a free 42minutes bloc. We are now at 1hour 12 minutes.  Let’s say you don’t screw around and do your homework, and you add day study hall, which is another 42minutes plus study hall at night, which is 1hour, it gives you 2hours 54 minutes of time to do your homework.

After this, you know that you can hang out with your friends, play video games or just take a nap at 6:15 to 8 plus 9 to 9:30 before everyone has to be in their dorm.

It gives you 2 hours 15 minutes to do whatever you want, other then being in ‘’school’’. I putted school in quotation mark because we are still in the school building but at that time, it is more like are house. Obviously you have other time that you can have fun with your friends but it’s maybe during snack time, in class, practicing your sports or at lunch so you can’t do what you want.

If you use your time wisely during the day with the 2hours 54 minutes of study time, the free 2 hours 15miuntes that you have, should not be use to do homework, but to hang out with your friends, laugh and change your mind.

There are not a lot of activities that you can do during that lapse of time. Depending on the season, the weather or the period of the year, you will do different things during your free time.

During the fall, there isn’t much to do, because it is always rainy, the weather is not very appreciated, and it’s starting to be cold. During the winter, it isn’t much better, but at least, people that like snow, get to go play hockey at the outside rink, get to skate on the lake, go sliding or just fight in the snow like little kids. Springtime is probably the most liked season of the school year partly because students get more free time, result of the end of the sports season. The weather is getting better and warmer, it’s not too rainy and the end of the year gets closer.

Take time to relax, enjoyed your free time is what I’m telling you. It is important that you do it, otherwise in a month or two, you’re going to get tired of school, you will go crazy and you won’t work as hard as you should.

Also, free times gives you the opportunity to get closer from people on your team and at school, you get to know them better.

Remember to use your time wisely, make sure you take time for yourself. 

Column: Euro Soccer Riots

EURO Qualifier:  Serbia vs. Italy Called Off

GENOA-Italy – The European Championship qualifier between Serbia and Italy was meant to be played in tribute of four Italian soldiers who were killed fighting in Afghanistan. However the Serbs had other plans and the honorable EUFA gesture would be short lived. Serbian rioters violently cut through the protective mesh, threw flares onto the field, burnt flags and broke enclosed barriers.

After delaying the match 45 minutes and booing their own national anthem, the Serbian “Ultras”(passionate soccer fans) forced the EURO qualifier to be called off only 7 minutes into the game. Craig Thomson, the Scottish official, felt that the players' security could not be assured and goes on to say that it was now up to EUFA and their disciplinary procedures to deal with the matter.

In 2007, the control and disciplinary board awarded Sweden a 3-0 default win over Denmark in a similar case. This may prove to be disastrous for the Serbian Football Club for it would put them in a tight spot to qualify. Losing 3-1 to Estonia two weeks prior while leading 1-0 going into the half doesn't help matters. More over that match marked the debut of Vladimir Petrovic, who was called in when Randomir Antic was fired following a 1-1 draw at home with Slovenia last month. This only added to a crisis that began with a disappointing exit from the World Cup after doing exceptionally well and beating Germany 1-0.

The people of Serbia have been through a lot in the past century and this is most definitely reflected in their soccer matches. They fought several wars, experienced countless economic and social complications and the more recent succession of Kosovo adds to their troubles. It's as if the Serbs had just lost their Jerusalem and are powerless to do anything about it.

Many are skeptical to the legitimacy of the Kosovo war. 1.5 billion dollars was spent by the American government to eliminate the “Serbian threat”. Yet when the final count was in as to how many actual soldiers were killed, an astounding 457 men were killed. I'm sure the American tax payers will be happy to hear that they had successfully destroyed a total of 19 tanks and 21 artillery vehicles. However what is shocking to me, is the fact that the bombings had killed over 9,500 civilians including 112 bridges, 16 nuclear plants, 12 water purifying plants, 9 churches and 7 schools. This and many other things would leave Serbia with 68 billion dollars worth in repairs. As you can imagine, it would be frustrating to go through all that and lose what you were fighting for.

That said, a few ruined it for the Serbian people as a whole. A hundred or so Serbian Ultras attended the match and had a personal vendetta to suspend the match. They wanted to get back at Serbia's first-choice goaltender Vladimir Stojkovic. Prior to the Italy vs Serbia game, Stojkovic, had upset many Red Star Ultras by moving to the club team's fierce rival the Partizan in the off season. This in Europe is one of the biggest taboo's and is just not done. According to ANSA news agency, earlier that day, Stojkovic was hit by a flare that was thrown toward the team bus and taken to a local hospital. This was very minor compared to what team Ultras from around Europe have done in similar cases.

In the end this is a big disappointment to soccer fans from both Italy and Serbia. With both teams having uncharted potential and skill, many people were expecting a good game. It is clear that these Ultras should have never been allowed into the stadium with flairs and cutting tools, but behavior of this sort needs to be dealt with properly. If only a hundred or so could end a game early, what would a stadium of up to a 100,000 people have the ability to do?

Once more, what a shame for most Serbian people have taken a positive outlook towards Westernization and integrating themselves within the EU. Hopefully, this will not be a set back for a brighter future in Europe.

Athletic Results: Boys Hockey

NSA Mens Hockey

By: Brandon Patraw

The National Sports Academy men’s hockey team is off to a slow start but improving everyday.  Two weeks ago, they lost to Ulysse Prep, a young team, based out of Montreal.  

NSA’s assistant coach, Chris Curley said it was a disappointing and frustrating loss.  Curley stated, “We didn’t play with emotion, we weren’t ready to play mentally, and we lost a lot of loose battles to the puck.”  

NSA Goalie Mike McDaniel had a standout
performance against the South Shore Kings.

Ulysse scored the first two goals of the game.  Trailing 2-0 after the first period, NSA got some momentum going in the second.  NSA’s Brandon Patraw received a picture perfect pass from Patrick Hayes and slide the puck into the net.  The score remained the same for the remainder of the second.

Just 31 seconds into the third period, NSA’s Alex Fukes banged home back door pass to lock things up.  Brandon Patraw and Patrick Hayes were awarded with the assists.  

After having the game all tied up, NSA had a mental breakdown.  Ulysse Prep then scored 4 unanswered goals to pull ahead with the 6-2 victory.  

Chris Curley said, “We knew we weren’t doing something right, we changed our practice  plans for the following week.  We implemented more team oriented drills and worked through our problems as opposed to yelling at the kids.  

The following week, NSA had to face one of their toughest opponents of the year. The South Shore Kings, a team from the EJHL.  Although losing 6-1 it was apparent that NSA was a different team this week. 
NSA's goaltender, Mike Mcdaniel, had a stellar performance in net. 

Curley stated, “South Shore is a very skilled team and I felt we played much better this week than we did the previous.  Our boys battled with pride and never lost their composure.”

Brandon Patraw scored NSA’s lone goal on a rebound that was left in front of the net.  

NSA faces another tough opponent this weekend.  Bridgeton Academy will be coming to Lake Placid on Saturday.  The game is at 2pm on Saturday and noon on Sunday.  

This weekend Curley hopes to see some solid offense and most importantly he hopes the boys work hard and give their best effort possible.

Curley said, “This team has the best chemistry I have ever seen from coaching and playing. We have a special group of guys who are all very close.”

Column: Hunting in the North Country

October Love

By: Brandon Patraw 

It’s not about the weather changing or the leaves falling.  It’s about huntin’ in the Adirondack’s.  Everyone from Lake Clear knows that October is one of the most special times of the year.  Hunting for whitetail deer couldn't be more exciting.  The rush of seeing that big buck tramp through the woods cannot be described.  

October in Lake Clear is about tradition.  Reuniting, with friends and family in hopes of getting the big one.  And after a long day of being in the woods, telling stories of the “one” that got away.  

There are many unique ways of hunting.  Different types of guns all come into effect throughout different times of the season.  Many people start out the season using bows.  

The Whitetail Deer

Bow hunting is popular at the beginning of the season because it’s what opens first.  Bow season starts October 2 and it’s the only way you can shoot a deer for two weeks.  On October 16th a new style of hunting begins.  It’s called muzzleloader season.  

Muzzleloader season can be very tricky.  It can be difficult because you only have one shot and then you have re-load the gun through a timely process.  Most other guns can shoot many bullets without having to put more ammunition in the guns' chamber.  

The next style of hunting is my personal favorite.  Rifle season starts October 23rd and the season ends December 5th.  Rifle hunting is probably the easiest way to shoot a deer.  Rifles shoot very far and can usually shoot more than one bullet in a matter of seconds. 

Hunting in the Adirondack’s is a way of life.  For many people it’s part of their culture.  Often times, when hunting season starts, local businesses will close for 2-3 weeks because people want to go out and hunt. 

Shooting a deer is very important for a lot of families.  Due to our economic crisis we live in today, getting a deer can account for a numerous amount of meals.  

Everyone wants to shoot the biggest deer possible.  Not only because it serves as more meet in the freezer, but also for bragging rights.  If one were to shoot a big deer, the entire town would consider you a legend until someone else gets one bigger.  

After a tiring day of being in the woods, it doesn’t get any better than hanging out with friends and family in front of a fire, watching football.  Hunting in the Adirondack’s is a time of year that brings everyone close.  

Alpine training-Elm Street

Alpine Athletes Train, Alpine Coaches Inflict Pain


Dry land training is an important part of our race program at NSA. With out the tools we develop during dry land our athletes wouldn’t be able to make the arcs, hit the speeds and walk away from the crashes we do every day on snow.

At NSA we spend the time we are not skiing doing all sorts of activities to train our bodies to be strong flexible and fast.

In the fall we train in the morning for about 2-3 hours each weekday. The alpine team’s program is very diverse and well developed. There are days that every athlete looks forward too and days that we dread. The most dread full day of the year is Elm Street.

Elm Street is a large hill that is off of hillcrest in Lake Placid.

One of my best friend lives at the bottom of it, he has had to hike up with hill whenever he wanted to go anywhere since ha has lived in Lake Placid. He truly hates the hill. But his hate for the hill seems like love if you compare it to the hate that any single alpine athlete has developed for the hill after one day of training on it with Smitty.

The ski team has gone to the hill at least once a year since I started at NSA 5 years ago.

From my first year of training I still remember the reactions from the vetern athletes when Smitty announced that we would be going to the hill the next day for training, They all just went “oh crap” and looked pail in the face.

I learned why they had the reaction that very next day and have also adopted that same reaction.

Training on Elm Street starts off with a light jog to the hill. Then Smitty sends every one to the steepest part of the hill and makes us run up at whatever past, distance and way he wants us too.

He usually starts off with some short jogs at 50% up the hill and quickly works up to running the whole length at 100%.  We usually get ten or twelve up hill sprints in before one or two kids are on the side of the hill bent over, enjoying their eggs and pancakes a second time.

 A few more and nearly all athletes look like they are ready to join the kids on the side.

Once everyone can barley get halfway up the hill. Smitty moves onto the next part of the elm street work out in which consist of a combination of hops, skips, jumps, fireman walks, lunges and crabwalks.

Although these may not be the hardest exercises in the word, when you have to do them on a 60-degree slop they truly hurt, especially with smitty standing over you making sure you do them just right.

Although Elm Street is a painful day of training, it is possibly one of the most important days of dry land we do. We learn what it’s like to really work hard; have developed a better attitude towards training and working hard. When training gets tough I tell my self, life could be worse; I could be on Elm Street right now.

Column: SCUBA

What is Under the Boat

By: Jon Symons

photo of Jon Symons taken by Jerry Symons

A fish swims by inches from my face, I wonder if it can see me. Right now, in the cold, dark water, there is an unsettling quiet. The illusion of being alone haunts everybody in an Iowa lake.  The water is so dark that you can’t see your hand in front of your face. Every year I have to go out to a lake an hour or so from my house to do an open-water dive with the new divers. There is a feeling of tension around the new divers as they are preparing for the certifying dive.

In sunlight everything is visible. I am about 300 meters from the dive boat and I can see it perfectly. The coral is glistening with the shine from all of the fish scales. The water is peaceful, and I can see my dive buddies. There is a weightlessness of being underwater that makes you forget about all your problems on the surface, because underwater nothing seems to matter. The warm salt water running through your hair makes it feel gelled. When you get out and feel the cool ocean spray hitting the dive boat and smell the fresh fruit or freshly baked cookies, all the sound that you were missing underwater comes rushing back and before you know it everyone is talking about all the rare or interesting fish that was seen on the dive, reality hits you once again and you want to go back in for more.

There are many factors to be taken into account when determining a good dive site. For example, current, reef conditions, number of species, what kind of fish there are, and many more. It also depends on what kind of life you are wanting to see there are many things to be seen on a dive and the more you know about what you want to see the more fun you will have and you will be able to find it more often. It is hard for me to pick a particular dive site as my favorite because there are so many types of dives and types of reefs that it is easier for me to pick my favorite from every type of dive.

The most popular sites aren’t always the best spots because they become over dove and people start to actually hurt the health of the reef. The best dive sites in the Pacific Ocean are in either in the Bahamas (in a part called the Exumas where there are no cruise ships), Cozumel, and Bonaire (a small island off the coast of Venezuela). These are all good places to go because they offer the most life variety with little human traffic. There are many types of dives to do in each place. If you are looking for a lot of color on a reef and lots of fish variety then go to big open reefs that range from 30-60 feet deep. Wreck dives do not have all the variety of life that reefs have but they are home to a specific set fish and they are also to look at the wreck itself.  There are drift dives, which are where there is such a strong current that you just stay buoyant and relax and it takes you along for a ride.  Wall dives are also special because it is just a wall in the ocean full of different corals and life. Night dives are an incredible experience because you get to see life that you don’t get to see during the day.

In my 11 years as a diver I have come across only one drift dive that I liked. The name of the site was The Wash Machine it is located in the Bahamas. There is a giant creator in the ocean floor about 40 feet deep and about 100 feet in diameter and the current forms a vortex that once you go in it you get flipped and spun around. There are the same species of fish on a drift dive as an open reef but in a drift dive you just go by a bunch of reefs.

One of my favorite reefs in the ocean is called Periwinkle Reef, although it is near Nassau, Bahamas, it does not get dove often and there is great life. It is also and easy dive. When I’m on that dive I like to find a nice sand patch, lay on my back, and blow ring bubbles. It is a way for me to relax after a good day of diving.

In the Bahamas there is a wreck named The Sapona. It is a wreck from the 1930’s and 40’s that was sunk by the US navy for bomb target practice. It sits in about 15 to 20 feet of water. When you get into the wreck there is coral growing on the walls of the ship and it makes for a very different feel being surrounded by coral. One the out side of the wreck you can find bullets, bullet casings, and one person even found a dummy bomb.

                                                                  the Sapona photo by Jon Symons

Bonaire is famous for its wall dives. There are many beautiful walls located there and there are very many dives with different forms of life on each dive. I don’t have a favorite wall dive. They generally range from about 30 feet to however deep the ocean is.  My favorite is Salt Pier. This is site is by a pier that they mine salt from so it is a unique dive site in that there are fish there that you wouldn’t see very often anywhere else.

When you shut your light off in a night dive, and move your hand around fast, there are bioluminescence in the water that turn it green for a split second. It is also a special feeding time for a lot of animals. You can see different life that doesn’t come out during the day. For example octopus do not come out during the day so you can see them during the night. For a night dive you just go to any dive site.

Spending interval time on a dive boat is also a special thing that you can’t get anywhere else. You make friends that last a lifetime.   During the interval time there is always something to be learned. You can have very in-depth conversation. There are peaceful debates going on all the time about what the government is doing, what is wrong about the way people are cleaning up the environment, but there is always a subtle tension of the anticipation of the next dive. On the dive deck you teach just as much as you learn whether it’s a dive technique or a concept on how to be a better person. No matter what is going on everyone has a smile on his or her face.

At the end of the day everyone goes out to eat. They talk about all the good things they saw, or they talk about some difficulties they encountered. At the end of the trip sometimes we all get together, get a projector, eat chips and dip, and watch a slide show of the dives and all the things that got captured on camera above water. People will put photos up of the joke of the week (which wouldn’t be funny unless you were part of the group).

Scuba diving is a unique sport in which life-long friends are mad between dives and under water is where they save your life. There are many factors when choosing a trip for a group. There has to be many like-minded people to have it be a successful and enjoyable trip. They all have to like the same kind of dives while also like a little variety in dive types. 

Column: Gwen Schultz takes a look at the sweet stuff.

I HATE CANDY!

By Gwen Schultz '10

I’m sorry, but your feelings are about to get hurt.

How many times have you bought candy or ice cream on an impulse and then totally regretted it after you scarfed it all down?

"Kid in a Candy Store"

Honestly, I don’t think that you like it that much. And certainly not enough to eat it in the quantities that we Americans like to. I think you are conditioned from childhood—programmed, even—to reach for the fatty and sugary foods because you think you are supposed to like it and that it will make you feel good.

I think it all starts when we are little kids and we are fascinated by sugar. I think pretty much everyone goes through a phase like this. M&Ms, skittles, starburst, and the like become our religion for a few years. In fact, when I was little my parents would confiscate my Halloween candy, making the substance even more elusive and intriguing.

But think about it the next time you eat an entire bag of skittles in one sitting… Did it really make you feel better? Somehow, we just never let go of the childhood candy craze.

Personally, I choose not to buy into the whole candy/ sugar obsession (or ice cream, for that matter, but I will get into that later). Yeah, it’s true, I’m weird, but let’s be clear: I am by no means anti-chocolate! Dark-chocolate covered almonds will get me every time.

In addition, I really don’t have a problem with other people eating candy. When I see someone consuming the awful substance, I don’t attack them or try to convert them to my ways.

My point, however, is this: Why eat something that does nothing for your body? Candy, cakes, brownies, etc. have zero nutritional value and therefore I do not see the benefit in eating these things. Even if I liked candy I wouldn’t eat it.

All-natural rainbow flavor?

A secondary point: a lot of candy is not real food. It is full of corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and other man-made products. I can’t remember the last time I ate skittles, but I remember that they tasted fake. There is nothing in nature that resembles little colored balls of sugar. The rainbow does not taste like that!

A lot of my inspiration to go healthy comes from being an athlete. My path to becoming a health freak started at the beginning of high school when I was playing so much hockey I didn’t have time to eat bad food.

Have you ever tried to go into a workout with a snickers bar sitting in your stomach? Maybe you wouldn’t even notice it, but the truth is you are making the workout harder on yourself.

Similarly, I refuse to drink soda, which I regard as the liquid version of candy. Not only does it have no nutritional value, but also it is horrible for your teeth and dehydrates you. Honestly, I don’t believe a true athlete would drink soda during a season.

A typical ice cream cone

Ice cream, however, strikes a different chord with me. I am repulsed by the stuff and I do not even like to look at it. I find it gross and sticky and I especially hate melted ice cream.

But take a look at the facts. As high as 16% fat content and 16% sugar or artificial sweeteners? Not worth consuming. Not only that, but next time you buy ice cream make sure you look at the ingredients. If you’re going to repulse me, at least eat real food—not ice cream made with “modified milk ingredients.”

Believe me, I once was normal, too. When I was in elementary school, I did eat ice cream and M&Ms—but I think I just grew out of it.

Perhaps my weirdness came from my parents: during the years of Halloween candy confiscation, my brother, my sister, and I would have to wait until Christmas just to have Frosted Flakes. From an early age it was forced into my head that some foods are not worth eating.

I’m glad it happened, though, because I believe that being a healthy eater helps not only with my nutritional health but also my general energy and happiness. You may be wondering…if not candy, ice cream, cakes, and such…what do I eat? Rabbit food? Raisins, almonds, fruit, fruit leather, and granola are always to be found in my dorm room. Tasty!

It’s time we rethink what we really want to be eating. By no means should you deprive yourself of something you really love—I’m not here to do that to you. But I ask that you rethink what you really do like, and whether you think what you eat will have any benefit for you later on. A little change in your diet could go a long way.

Lake Placid Water Ramps

Lake Placid Water Ramps
by John Wilkins

Dillon Calderone warming up on the tramp

    The Lake Placid Water Ramps, located at the Olympic Jumping Complex (OJC), in Lake Placid, New York, is a summer training facility for Arialists, and Freeride Skiers and Snowboarders.
    Their are three olympic trampolines for warming up on before you ramp as well as for learning tricks you want to do on the ramp. The tramps help you understand where you are in the air, the rotation, and what axis’s you want to spin on before you go and try it on the ramps.
    The OJC also has three different water ramps which are jumps that you can hit on skis, snowboards, or even snow blades if you want. The three different ramps are The Single, Double and Triple, named by the number of flips each ramp is ment for. The in run and take off is made out of hard plastic bristles that get watered down by the sprinkler system running down the in run which makes it so your skis or board can slide down it. When you drop in you have to have a strait line to your take off, and stay flat base because if you use your edge your going to hook and whip down into the bristles which will give you some really bad rug burn and cuts. When you can keep that flat base and strait line you pump threw the transition and pop (jump) as hard as you can then start your trick. The ramps are such a good training facility because when you hit it you land in a pool with air compressors at the bottom creating a softer landing so you can learn new tricks. This doesn’t mean you cant still get hurt though.
    The Single is mainly for Freeride Skiers and Snowboarders but also is used by the aerialists frequently. This ramp might be named the single but single flips is not the limitation for this ramp. It has an extension on the end of the take off that rises to make the jump bigger and steeper, and also has a normal drop in point and a much higher drop in point to choose from depending on how much speed and air you want for your certain trick. Then if you really want to go as big as possible my friends and I would rub soap on the bases of our boards/skis and down the in run because it gives you an astonishing amount of speed.
    But as I mentioned earlier single flips are not the limitations for the single. The NYSEF(New York Ski Education Foundation) Freeride Team really stepped it up this summer.  Jake Doan, K.C. Brousseau, Dillon Calderone, David Cardany, Daniel Lillo, Keith Shipman, Justin Perry, and myself would be at the ramps three days a week, every week, for the entire summer and fall until last Friday October, 15th, 2010.  Five of our seven athletes learned at least one double flip or double cork, and a couple of us learned multiple doubles differentiating in the amount of rotations and what axis’s are being used.  One of our Freestyle skiers K.C. Brousseau, learned at least five different doubles including; double back, double front, and double cork 1260 spinning both ways left and right (natural and un-natural).
    The Double is the first of the two jumps that are only allowed to be hit on skis.  The in run is longer than the single and has a steeper take off than that of the single because this jump is made to send you more up than out, giving you time for your rotations in the air.  Given the name “Double” its obviously for working on strait double flips and double flips with spins such as "Full", "Full" which is a back flip 360 to a back flip 360 in one air.

John Wilkins hitting the Single

    Then the last of the three jumps is called “The Triple” as you might have guessed this one is for learning and working on triple flips with and without spins.  You have to be a little out of your mind to hit this.  Dropping in at speeds around 65 mph you hit a jump bigger than all the others, then you have to do three controlled flips spot your landing and land absolutely perfect in order to not hurt yourself.  The jump is so steep, and you get so much speed and air that you are not aloud to hit it and do anything less than a triple back flip.  I have one friend from the ramps that I know that hit the triple and he hits it everyday he ramps.  His name is Neven Brown and he lives at the Olympic Training Center, training for the next Olympics.  When the bubbles turn on for him in the pool and he is ready to drop in everyone cant help but watch.  He drops in and just flies down the ramp, then pops off of the take off and does tricks like Full, double full, full (back flip 360, to back flip 720, to back flip 360 all in one air).
    Every Wednesday of the summer ORDA (Olympic Regional Development Authority) hosts the “Wet & Wild Wednesday show”.  The Wet & Wild Wednesday Show is when people can come to the Water Ramps and sit on the bleachers and benches around the pool to watch aerialists and freeriders hit the ramp.
    This summer was my first time jumping in the show and it was a lot of fun.  Their is a jumping order and everyone gets two jumps.  It starts with the freeriders , then goes into an aerialist program showing the different variety of tricks.  After that its basically a repeat, Freeriders then aerialists, but with different tricks.  Finally once they get threw everyone's two jumps the finale starts.  In the finale their is a person standing on top of the take off while someone drops in on skis or a board.  Once the skier is about 3 seconds from running into the person standing on the take off, that person jumps off so that as they hit the water the skier is jumping over them.  A few seconds after the first line of skiers drop in on each of the three ramps a second line of skiers drop in and jump over the person who jumped off of the take off, as well as the skier who dropped in before them.  If you decide to visit Lake Placid in the summer time I would have to suggest to go check out the Water Ramps and the Wet and Wild Wednesday show.

Guest Speaker Profile: Resi Stiegler and Julia Ford

Alpine Camp at Saas Fee Meets with two US Ski Team Racers

By Kathryn Dawson

Julia Ford’s US Ski Team photo for 
her first year on the C team

Saas Fee, Switzerland- On October 29, Resi Stiegler and Julia Ford, racers on the US Ski Team, came to the Sonnenhof hotel to talk to junior racers from National Sports Academy and Northwood School.

            The talk was informal and the first athlete-prompted question was not about the Olympic Games or even NorAm races, but instead asked the question, “Do you have a speedsuit [for sale]?”

            Despite her impressive record, Stiegler joked that as a young racer, “I didn’t know about winning globes or going to the Olympics.” In fact, she simply figured, “you just signed up.”

            Both Stiegler and Ford stressed the importance of hard work and have intense schedules and remarkable results to support their assertion.

Resi Stiegler poses in her US Olympic Team outfit

Over the summer, Ford worked out from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah. While she said the team members tend to individualize their programs, they generally started with core and functional movements and then weight lifted, played a game, and did some cardio.
“I was always a natural talent skier,” Stiegler said, “luck can’t always get you to the top, or just natural talent.” This realization and her “fierce passion” kept her working hard.

Stiegler and Ford lamented the difficulties of constant traveling, but admitted they became acclimated to their grueling schedule.

Stiegler’s 9 years on the team have taught her to bring “a piece of home” on the road, as well as a supply of food and supplements (she prefers Greens) since she’s allergic to gluten.

Ford admitted that she still misses American food during prolonged trips to Europe, despite 4 years on the team.

However, their obvious enthusiasm and love of skiing overshadowed any complaints; they seem to relish every moment on snow.

They advised racers to individualize their training programs, always keep a focus in mind, and remembering why they love skiing. When asked about their focuses, Stiegler said she was working on keeping her body squared and not leading her inside foot and Ford said she was working on her tactics.

Stiegler and Ford’s advice was appreciated; the NSA and Northwood athletes were grateful for the chance to train at Saas Fee and surprised to get a personal meeting with two successful US Ski Team members.

 

Hockey NEWS!

NSA Women’s Hockey

By: Celeste! Brown

Boston, MA- The weekend of October 8^th through the 10^th the National Sports Academy’s Women’s Hockey Team had their first Junior Women’s Hockey League weekend. Despite the one and four weekend NSA learned a lot about their team and competition they would have this up coming season.

NSA Boston, MA 

NSA started off their weekend playing Bal Moral Hall, a school out of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. At the drop of the puck the game began not as strong as NSA Head Coach Bill Ward would of liked, “We pulled it off though,” said Ward.

The game finished 4-3 in NSA ‘s favor, with Alyssa Parke and Beth Hanrahan scoring one goal each, and Celeste Brown notching two goals for the win with an assist from Hanrahan.

Although NSA started off the weekend with a strong, promising win, this unfortunately was not foreshadowing of what would come throughout their next four games. NSA faced off against league rival Warner School from Alberta, Canada in game two. In past years NSA and Warner have gone back and forth in outcomes but this time Warner showed up strong, confident and ready to go. Warner defeated NSA 10-1.

On Saturday, NSA faced Pacific Steelers early in the afternoon. After a good majority of their team coming from the SAT they couldn't muster a late game win, falling by a margin of 3-2.

That same night NSA played the Minnesota Thoroughbreds, who had former mountaineer, Liv Halverson as their star defender. The game was similar to the previous one. NSA lost 4-2, the final Thoroughbred goal scored on an empty net. 

“We are having problems finishing,” Coach Kelli Vossler said. “We just can’t seem to find the back of the net.”

This issue continued to Sundays game, facing the best team of the weekend, Edge School. NSA lost 6-0 to the very strong Edge team. Although the weekend didn’t go as great as wanted, NSA learned a lot about their team and what competition was to be like in the future! The goaltending of Sarah Quigley prevented the outcomes of the games not to be any worse.

But in the end “Life’s like baseball…” Coach Ward said. “It’s the number of times you make it home safe that counts.”

Lake Placid, NY- The weekend of October 16^th through the 17^th the National Sports Academy had two home games.

NSA vs. Lady Senators

The games were against the Ottawa Lady Senators, a young Under 16 team that was rumored to be the best in Canada.

NSA swept the weekend with 2 wins. Game one 3-2 and game two 5-3.  

In the second game, senior standout Beth Hanrahan netted an astounding four goals.

Though the Mountaineers didn’t play up to their potential but found a way to come out with two wins.

Guest Speaker: Bill Demong '98

NSA Alum Bill Demong '98 Lives, Talks Peak Performance

Bill Demong '98 celebrates after winning the 2009
World Championships.

For the most part, as Bill Demong hurried up the front steps of his alma mater this past Friday afternoon to address students with his perspectives on the NSA year-long theme “Achieving Peak Performance," Demong was in familiar territory.

Backpack still in hand and sporting a barely detectable post-race cough from his morning effort in the NYSEF “Climb to the Castle” rollerski race (which ascends the steepest five miles of the Whiteface Memorial Highway), it was clear that Demong was no stranger to addressing folks after all-out efforts on the skis.

But last Friday, the class of ’98 alum had only one reason to feel slightly out of place: this was no press conference after an amazing World Cup win.

In fact, it was just the opposite. Despite nabbing the win in the Master’s category (age 30 +) in the uphill rollerski race, Demong was far from the fastest on the day, being bested by  more than a handful of America’s top  up and coming young Nordic athletes.

Backtrack six months to last February.

Demong and his Nordic Combined team had just written their page in the history books after bagging a record four medals in the three events at the Vancouver Olympic Games. Demong netted a silver in the four-man team competition, and days later became the first American to win Gold in a Nordic discipline, topping the podium in the 10km Large Hill individual event.

Fluke? No way.

Demong and his teammates had swept up numerous World Cup wins in the previous season, while bagging three wins at World Championships in Leiberec, Czech Republic. Topping it off, Demong proposed to his girlfriend immediately after the Vancouver gold medal ceremony, and shortly thereafter was nominated to carry the US flag in the closing ceremonies.

Enjoying his “first summer off in 14 years of training”, Demong spent his summer months pounding nails and renovating his house rather than hammering the pavement on the rollerskis—a choice which left him behind the lead pack in Friday’s rollerski climb.

Bill Demong and Johnny Spillane recount their historic Olympic medals.  

Standing before a crowd of NSA Student-Athletes, coaches and faculty, Demong shared his perspective on his post-graduation journey from a wide-eyed high school senior (which is exactly what Demong was when he went to his first Olympic Games) to the pinnacle of his sport.

But as he discussed his gold medal race and copious successes, Demong spoke in length about several painful setbacks:  a near fatal skull fracture in 2002 that left him sidelined for a full year, the crushing 4th place team finish in the 2002 Salt Lake Games, and his own struggle to find form on the jump hill until age 17 as he lagged far behind his peers.

Demong flies high en route to another World Cup Podium.

“It’s all about goals," Demong elaborated.  "Don’t be afraid to set them and make ‘em hairy [referencing a former Norwegian coach of his who mispronounced “scary” for a fuzzier rendition]. Then, backtrack from your goal all the way to today—find a plan that will get you to that goal."

Pulling his t-shirt over his shoulder, he exposed a fresh tattoo of a “No Diving” icon—a daily testament to his 2002 skull fracture in a swimming pool—a lesson which provoked him to set lofty new goals, and to forge a roadmap on how to achieve them.

After fielding countless questions form a newly inspired audience of student-athletes, Demong hurried off to prepare for the following day’s Flaming Leaves Ski Jumping Festival—the last event of the summer competition calendar.

Clearly, the sting of being crowned champion of the old man “Masters Cateogy” in the hill climb had worn off. Race over, lesson learned.

And we’re not worried one bit—we’re fairly sure this is just part of the plan.

Sport Profiles: Luge, Ice Dancing and Figure Skating

What is Luge? 

...Ice dancing? …Figure skating?

By: Frédérick Hallé

Do you really know what is the difference between Ice dancing and figure skating? Maybe you didn’t even know that Ice Dancing existed. 


What is luge? If you are truly an athlete you know what I’m talking about, but if you’re Mr. or Ms anyone, you think you know, but I am 99% chance sure that what you think it is, is actually bobsleigh. So these are the less known sports at National Sports Academy. Tucker West and Aiden Kelly are lugers; Brian D’Agostino is the ice dancer.

Luge is an extreme sport with one or two people on a sled going down a track all made of ice. Going feet first, they can reach speeds of 100 miles per hour and have a centrifugal force of 7G (which means seven times the force of gravity) when taking a large curve. There are a lot of risks that lugers take when they go down a track. Making a little mistake can cause death. The most recent one was during the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Nodar Kumaritashvili fatal crash was caused by a steering problem, which is at the control of the luger.

USA luge team coaches, Mark Grimmette, Klim Gatker, Miro Zayonc, Bill Tavares, and Duncan Kennedy all reside in Lake Placid.

You can see a video that explains what is luge in more details.

http://www.usaluge.org/aboutluge/fastfacts.php

Figure skating is for both men and women. It can be single or a couple skating. It is judge on jumps, spins, and footwork. If it’s a couple, lift and death spiral are also judge. A Death Spiral is when the male skater brings his partner in the air and spins while they hang on for dear life. 

Ice dancing isn’t much different than figure skating. The only difference is that Ice dancing doesn’t have the jumps, and is almost always skated with a partner, and always with a partner at the Olympics. 

Below is a short video of pairs figure skating:

Lake Placid Venues

Lake Placid Venues
By: John Wilkins

    Lake Placid, NY, is a mountain town that you really can’t grow up in without getting a taste of athleticism, thanks to all the the venues it has to offer.  Lake Placid has some amazing winter Olympic sport training facilities such as Whiteface Mountain, The Olympic Training Center (OTC), The Oval, The Olympic Sports Complex which is home of the Luge, Skeleton, and Bobsled track, The Olympic Center (know as the rink), and the Olympic Jumping Complex.  Thanks to all of these venues Lake Placid is a pretty athletic town, and the majority of people in it all have a sport that they compete in.

    Whiteface Mountain is one of the most fun, known, and to myself and the entire ski and snowboard team, the most important venue around.  Whiteface Mountain is an amazing mountain for skiing and snowboarding whether you like to race, take laps through the park, or if you just want to have fun skiing around on a nice day with your family. Whiteface has had competitions from USASA Slope styles, USSA races, to World Cup Boardercross, and even the Olympics in 1932 and 1980.  Then in the summer you can take a scenic gondola ride to the top to either take in the breath taking views of the Adirondacks, or ride your mountain bike down if your brave enough to try.
    Right outside of the Public high school and Arena, Lake Placid offers the beautuful speed skating oval.  The oval has been used for so many different activities from speed, and free skating around it, to the basketball court next to it, all the way to the rail jams and the jumps that have been built in the middle of it to be hit by snowboarders being towed in by snowmobiles.
    You could say the Olympic Jumping Complex is the most interesting venue viewed by tourists that come to Lake Placid in the summer.  On Thursdays they have “Soaring Thursdays” which is when they have a ski jumping exhibition on the 90m ski jump where people pay $14.00 to watch.  On Wednesdays they have “Wet & Wild Wednesdays."  On Wet & Wild Wednesdays Aerialist skiers, Free ride Skiers and Snowboarders hit a jump going anywhere from 15-65 mph doing tricks like single, double, and triple flips landing in a pool.  At the bottom of the pool there are air compressors that cover the pool in bubbles to soften the landings for the athletes.  The ramps also have three olympic trampolines to warm up on before one hits the jump and to also learn new tricks to try later on the ramps.
    Everyone knows about the famous Lake Placid Olympic Center better known as "the rink" to the locals, where the U.S. snatched the 1980 Olympic gold medal in hockey from the Soviet Union.  This is where NSA’s hockey teams train for there competition season.  Also their is a gym downstairs from the rinks that all of our athletes use throughout the year.
    Olympic Training Center is a facility for aspiring olympic athletes to eat, sleep, live, and train for there certain discipline.  The OTC has a dinning area, dorms, a gym, olympic trampoline, and many more tools for the athletes to use to help them get better at there sport.  The OTC has 96 rooms, 19 of which are used year round.  It is also the home of some of our athletes such as Aidan Kelly, a Luger who slides at the Olympic Sports Complex.
    The Olympic Sport Complex is the home of Lake Placid Luge, Skeleton, and Bobsled track.  The Luge track has 20 intense turns to get through at speeds around 60 mph.  The fastest anyone has gone down the track in Lake Placid was an astonishing 84 mph.

Community Profile: NSA

Jocks, Geeks, and Preps of NSA

By: Jon Symons

"The Breakfast Club," a 1980's movie depicting the typical high-school experience.

                                                              

At a glance around the room, at an all school meeting, you would notice that everybody is sitting together and very close. It is only after you have been here a while that you would notice the different cliques and groups that populate NSA.

They are not your traditional cliques though. In a normal school there would be: the jocks, the preps, the hippies, the nerds, the thespians, and the band geeks. In our school it is broken down into boys hockey, girls hockey, and skiers.

On the boys hockey team there are three main groups of people because everyone usually hangs out with each other.

One group is “the mountain house boys.” These kids live in the mountain house and are super tight because they stay up with each other talking usually with all of the people in the dorm present, they also are the older kids.

The second group of kids are the “dorm kids” these kids are staying at the school in two separate dorm rooms they are the younger kids and all but one of them hangs out usually with themselves.

The third is the foreign kids, these people are from Europe and are very cool to talk to but usually talk with themselves.

The interactions and friendships that they make are a special bond because not only are they close friends they are also team mates, which you can tell by the way they play and know each other. From an outside view people say that everyone hangs out together which, for the most part, is true.

The girls hockey team is broken down differently. It is not into groups it’s more just the friendships that form. From the information I have gathered the most general way to group them is by new students and returners.

The new students would be the students who haven’t been here before or haven’t had a connection other than hockey before she came here.

The returners have been here before and know the unwritten rules and how things work around the school. They have grouped together to form a close group of friends.

The whole school has a way of working where you don’t get to see any of the groups specifically until the weekend. The groups seem to form naturally. The people with a lot in common congregate almost instantly.