Metz the Jersey boy

Sorry guys, I've been in traction for a month. the last time we got snow I had to find the closest pitch to ski down. turned out it was my roof. j/k.... anyways, i've been around, working 2 jobs, full time school, playing golf, and daydreaming about skiing next year are all keeping me busy. Also, ever since '999 posted those speedsuit pics of me I've had more dates than i could handle. That has taken up a lot of my time as well Well, if anyone needs me, send me a PM... or for that matter, if anyone wants to play golf, send me a pm or email me.

I think I'm going to apply to med school so that in 6 years I can understand 'mom's posts But I think I got the gist of it... So what you're saying is ski fast now while I can, because when I get older its going to take a lot more to ski at that level? I think we should have a PASR cup next year. We could all race a certain set of ASRA and Nastar races with a world cup points system. Then, at the end of the year I'll convince Zonked to award medals. Either her or we'll find a studly young man to award for mom or Jeff.... I think you'd see ski999's fast twitch muscles working at full capacity then...

Mum and Sib, I definitely see what you're saying. Slalom will come harder to a bigger person, but believe me, anything is possible. A lot hinges on what kind of training the skier does. Next year I'm planning on doing a heck of a lot more to train for race season. One of my focal points will be plyometric drills. I'd assume both of you probably know what they are, but for the benefit of the rest of the board, I'm speaking of agility drills that you do using a wooden box. The benefits that I reaped doing such drills were VERY aparent when I was playing football, and I can only see them doing the same for skiing. After all, I think that dodging gates on the way to a finish line is much the same as dodging defenders on the way to a goal line... But back to Bode- basically, I really think the guy just needs to have a much stronger focus. If he is mentally tough enough to stay ahead of the course he won't need to make those rapid adjustments that his younger, smaller body would allow him to make. One thing I know for sure: If Bode can get his act together I'll really enjoy watching him, not because he is doing well again, but because it will mean that he mature significantly. We can only hope...

Honestly I can see an athlete with a larger frame being able to compete just as well at slalom as a smaller athlete. All it requires is an extremely acute sense of rhythm. If those recoveries are not needed, a larger athlete is on the same playing field. In order to avoid those recoveries, however, the athlete must be able to concentrate at a world class level. This, obviously, is where Bode is currently lacking. Personally, my build is much more linebacker than slalom skier. I know I can ski slalom as competitively as anyone else, as long as I 1.) stay on the proper line and don't get behind the course and, 2.) am in good enough physical shape to complete the actions needed. Do Jeff and Bernie Resch have a distinct advantage on me? Most definitely. They'll get many more women while in a speedsuit than I will... and as far as skiing, I'll have to work extremely hard to be as agile as they are. Anyways, back to the point. Bode could easily be just as dominant in slalom now, but he needs to have the head to do it. If he doesn't want to, then fine, he doesn't want to. No big deal, ditch the sponsors, and be a ski bum. If he does, however, he needs to focus a hell of a lot more.

Yup, they ski Volkls because Ted Ligety is tearing it up Sorry... shameless plug. Assassin- I see what you're saying about the sponsorships and all the press that Bode is getting. Yes, everyone does know who Bode is now. Though I think you raise a very valid point, we might have to agree to disagree on this.

Not too many other people who command as much public attention as bode. Join Bode.

You know what, i'm actually going to agree with doug on one part of the blue/camelback debate. I really wouldn't mind seeing blue's ownership take over CB. My only complaint with Blue is that its a little dumpy. All that garbage that was under the lift and the lodges are both a little unclassy. The Glen Lodge at CB, the bar/resturaunt area at elk, and Bear Creek are amazing lodges and some of the best facilities I've seen at any mountain, anywhere. If The Glen Lodge had lockers it would be perfect. Camelback should definitely expand east too. The first ski area in the poconos to break 40 trails is going to have it made. They could install a dedicated race trail with automated snowmaking over there, a snowcross trail, a larger, dedicated park for the freestylers... the possiblities are endless... Also, they could build maybe 4-8 lodges on top of the hill with dormitory facilites for school trips and things like that. Week long or weekend rental kind of deals with high sleeping capacity right on the hill. Just some ideas...

zaldon- werd. LOL... I'll take ice anyday... In fact, hell, I'll ski any conditions you throw at me. Well, I ski bumps pretty badly, but I'll admit that fault. Been working on it though. And just for the record- Skidude isn't too fancy, but he can go pretty damn big in the park. I wouldn't want to race him in skier cross. 1.) cause he's hella fast, and 2.) he's got a much longer reach than me. he'd knock me the f* out. And about that edge angle thing... life's not fun unless someone can read the brand name on the bases of your skis while you're skiing.... lol. Assassin- its offical. You're fighting the battle of wits with an empty water pistol. Out of respect for yourself please refrain from posting. The only real battle going on is the one between your ignorance and your arrogance. No matter which one wins, you lose. Really.... you'd have better luck alpine skiing in florida.

Oh well man, its not the last time you'll ever race, be sure of that. Just as long as you skied like it was going to be. Good thing you asked about these SG skis... it got me thinking... I'm going to need a pair myself for next year... My schedule has at least 2 of them... speed events are tasty...

Yeah man, Heino's really is the place to go... He'll give you some awesome tuning tips and whatnot if you want as well. He basically helped me prep my skis for every race the second half of this year. Good luck at Sugarbowl next year. We're all jealous. Trust me. BTW, how'd you do at Elk? I was going to check the results while I was there, but I never got around to it. I was the dork hanging out with Missy and the dude all day.

Skierboi- Best bet would to go see Greg at Heino's ski and cycle on rt. 23 south in Pequannock. He's pretty much the race guru in northern NJ. I drive the 40 minutes to go see him about anything that is racing related. As far as readily available SG skis, I saw a pair of atomics floating around somewhere online. Also I know of a couple sites that sell the Nordica SG stocks. The Nordicas are supposedly a monster of a ski though. They'll be very much like a world cup stock. Fischer and Nordica supposedly are the toughest skis to handle.

Hell no! Lets keep this one alive! It was just getting good. Only problem is I really, REALLY want to see this one get settled on the slopes. Only problem is that if we found somewhere to run gates Assassin has a lot of people to go through to get to '999. Frankly, I'll jump up anytime I get the chance to race an ignorant individual. But I mean, hey, we could just let ya take some ski lessons from '999. And about first descents, you go to alaska and do them... I'm still worried about getting the first descent on... oh, wait, sorry... family friendly board...

253 days is a really long time to wait.... hold on... let me put that in my calendar.... oh, sorry, right, back to the thread... You know what? Bode does have an immense amount of talent. He does in fact have the ability to win all 5 globes. There's someone else thats going to be a major player though. Ted Ligety has now shown that he can compete in speed events after his showing in the combined. He's also a dominant force in the technical events. Right now he's probably the best US slalom skier. Combine that with the fact that he's 7 years younger than Bode... and well you get the picture. I'd really, really like to see Bode come back and start skiing with the desire that he used to possess. If not for his fans, sponsors, his country, and his time, then for himself. Please, please, please let us "Join Bode" somewhere other than face down on a bar room table. As much as I want to see Bode back in top form chasing down this new goal, I'm sour on Bode. He's got a lot to prove to me before I'll call myself a fan again. Because of this I say GO TED!!!!

ASRA is the "beer league" in question. Its actually a race series that takes place all over the east from PA and NJ up to VT. The "beer league" terminology is from a long dead post.

Alright, so yeah, what exactly is a wanna-be racer? Would I be a wanna-be racer? Because I'm sorry, I don't really think you can tag anyone as a wanna-be unless they've never seen gates. I'm looking forward to the next race season. Here are the top 10 reasons 10.) We get to see how papasteeze does in the "beer league" 9.) Skidude will own everyone 8.) The friendly rivalry between Doug and I is so intense its bound to become a reality show 7.) I'm going to finish more slaloms than Bode 6.) Skidude might stop biting people and be able to take the bars off his helmet 5.) The Blue Mt. 6-pack will keep more skiers than you thought humanly possible flying down razors edge (see: chinese downhill) 4.) Ski999 is going to tear up his group in ASRA while wearing the dumb and dumber speedsuit 3.) The group of us will be able to convince doug to wear a speedsuit to karaoke at least once 2.) We might finally get to meet Jeff's boyfriend and the number 1 reason I can't wait is.... 1.) Zonked will be turning 18

Well, during this season ASRA hosted 7 Slaloms. They also do gate training 2 or 3 times a year which really will give me a chance to work on my technique. I really feel like training and excelling in the technical events is the way for me to improve my skiing the most. Also, I'm narrowing down the school selection now. I want to go to school right in the middle of the ASRA schedule. That way up north I can make day trips, and for the southern races I can stay at home. On a side note- slalom is my new favorite event. Its such a cool feeling running a course like that.

Thanks so much guys for all the support. Its really awesome to have people following how I'm doing. Like I said in the other thread, I wish I could have given ya a little more to cheer about, but there's always next year! I feel like there's a lot to build on for next year, and my big goal is to become a much better slalom skier.

Wow, '999 where did they post pictures from nationals? Thanks everyone for keeping track of me this weekend, wish I could have done a little better to give ya something to cheer about. Papasteeze, thanks man, I've been working on a lot of stuff. Personally, i don't like where my hands are in the pic, and I'm obviously behind the course, and not cross blocking every gate... so well... it could look a lot better. And please, everyone- if not for Jeff's sake, please, for mine, lets keep Jeff's personal life off the board. We really don't need to know why he's everyone's favorite caddy at the country club, or why they call him slurpee.

I seriously don't understand how ANYONE can defend Bode. He can't even defend HIMSELF!!! I would be the first to back him and support him if he gave a damn about skiing. Unfortunately, he doesn't. All he gives a damn about is being famous. Bode is no longer a skier. He's an icon for the partiers. You want to see some desire, and some good racing? Come out to an ASRA event and Bernie Resch catch 3 feet of air through the transition in the GS. Watch Mike Mezzetti take gold in the slalom, while wearing a chicken hat for a helmet. Hell, watch his wife toast most of the men. All of this just for a cheap medal that you could buy for 99 cents at the dollar store. For this reason, amateur sports will always be much more entertaining than professional sports. It appears that Ted Ligety hasn't forgotten his roots. At least to me it seems he's still in it because he loves it.

Alright everyone, I'll fill ya in on just what happened up at K-Mart. Conditions were horrible all week. Rainy and 50 degrees... Not good news when you run DFL. Either way, on saturday for the championship GS I decided I was going to go after it hard. The course set for the first run was incredible. I really liked it. The top was technical with a tricky transition onto the headwall. The headwall was set for speed, speed, and more speed. the gates were far apart, without much offset. This led into an EXTREMELY technical flat at the bottom, with an undergate and 2 transitions. All in all, I think they do an AMAZING job setting courses at Killington. On my first run I came out of the gate hard and skied the top section EXTREMELY fast. I was well ahead of the course when I took the transition to the headwall. I went a little higher than most people did on the first gate of the headwall, in order to be able to carry a ridiculous amount of speed into the lower section. The course had other plans for me though. Coming around that first gate on the headwall I was really booking. My left ski cleared the huge cross-rut, but my right didn't. It was like I hit the eject button. I catapulted out over the front of my skis, and that was the end of my run. I did have some fun though- once I stopped myself from sliding I realized both my skis were at the bottom of the hill. So I did what any fun loving racer would do- I treated the head wall like a giant slip n slide and dove head-first down it in my suit... Sunday's slalom was a great course set as well, with two flushes, and a three gate flush set up at the bottom part. They also set us a small practice course off to the right near the bottom. I used to practice course to learn how to properly cross-block a gate, and also to get used to the sl skis I was on, as they were rentals. I was skiing the first run exceptionally well considering my experience in slalom. Six gates from the finish, however, I came out of the three gate flush and I got confused. I missed the gate I should have skied through, stopped for a second, couldn't figure out what gate I had to hike, and then skied through the rest of the course, registering a time of 46.11 after a full stop on course. I was really disappointed. So I took my second run, and registered a 46.10. Aparently if I had finished I would have taken gold in my ability class. I'm not terribly upset, as this was only the second slalom that I've ever raced. All that my times tell me is that if I hadn't DSQ'ed I would have had a fantastic race. I've got a lot to build on for next year, and I can't wait. My GS run was actually really satisfying. I didn't finish, but I went after it with everything I had. I'm much happier with this result, than if I had raced and been afraid to give it my all. After the slalom I was hanging out with Bernie Resch and Dave Moore for a little while, and aparently there's a GS at Roundtop this Saturday... I'm thinking I'm going to head out there, just to get a chance to charge some more gates. As far as the awards and parties go- There were definitely some fun times to be had afer the races! The door prizes were great too! I have now joined Doug on "Team IcyHot." Other door prizes I took home were a swix shot glass, some universal wax, and finally, my big one, a pair of Marker Titanium 12.0 Turbo bindings. Not bad at all!!!! On one final note, no plaques were given out for age class points leaders, so I have no prizes for anyone, including myslef... sorry to those of you that placed well. I could have used something cool to bring home...

Yeah, I can definitely see how Bode would think Lance Armstrong is a cheater. Aparently having true desire to excel is a competitive edge that Bode no longer understands. Lance is a man of action... You know, like when he'd won the Tour de France more than anyone in history and decided to retire... and then the world started calling him a cheater... yeah, you done went and pissed off Lance Armstrong. I sincerely hope the man wins the Tour 10 times before he's done. I think Bode needs to get maybe just a little tiny bit pissed off at the world and put some of that emotion that he used to be famous for back into his skiing. But for one, I'm pissed off at Bode. I'd give a kidney in a heartbeat to get the opportunity to ski in the olympics. If he's not going to go out and chase down the dream send someone who will.

Yeah, it was definitely a great season of racing with ASRA. Happily, mine isn't quite over yet. I think I'm going to be doing a lot more racing next year. Namely, a lot of travelling to the races up north and what not. We should definitely try and set up a club team, with the amount of racing we're all planning on for next year! Of course, that means certain 'mums might need to change their team... hehe. Anyways, wish more of you were coming up to killington, but I'll try and represent PASR the best I can. (focus should be on the "best I can" clause)

Doug, trust me, when you have a wingman with an accent, you become the wingman. I've learned this after 4 years of having a close friend from South Africa. I usually have to call him on "abusing the accent" at least twice when we're out at our local yuppie watering hole. Mom, you could be the funniest person alive. bar none. And yes, after much probing I did, in fact, find out that the pictures you put up were the reason for those dates... Unfortunately, they were not big fans of "You've seen mine, now show me yours." I, too, plan on making the top 16 next year. All I really have to do if you look at that picture is get that right hand up, level out the shoulders, get that left ski a bit more on edge, and find a jet engine to strap to my back. By the way, anyone notice the strange space weather lately? There have been almost weekly meteor showers across the northeast... what's going on here? Oh, and PS- '999, yes, 6' tall blondes that ski do exist... I brough one with me to Blue earlier this year... Granted, she couldn't carve a turkey, let alone a turn, but that doesn't mean I wasn't

What? are you kidding? I've already gotten 2 dates because of that speedsuit pic of me.... lol, thanks '999!!!

Hey, not my fault they fit better than boxers under my speedsuit... As for doug... well, I'm not sure what reason he has for wearing the granny panties, but I'm sure its a horrible one...