Sports Performance Program

Excellence on snow starts with developing all-around athleticism on the field and in the gym. Our strength and conditioning programs, both in-season and in the off-season, are designed around creating athletic awareness, developing fundamental movement patterns, improving aerobic and anaerobic systems, and developing strength and power. We are lucky to have strength and conditioning experts who have been leaders in their field for decades, training some of the best athletes in snow sports! Physical fitness is integral in performance on the hill, endurance through long days of training and competing, and injury prevention, so that our athletes can continue doing what they love. General physical education promotes happy, healthy humans long past their years at the Competition Center!

The purpose of the Return to Sport (RTS) program is to facilitate the injured athlete’s journey through rehabilitation, recovery, and a successful return to sport. Injury can come with a lot of frustrations, emotions, and changes, and the RTS Team is here to help. Focus areas include but are not limited to:

- Social support (coping with feelings of isolation from the team/sport they love)

- Fear of re-injury

- Staying motivated throughout physical therapy

- Handling stress. Skiing can be a stress reliever, and with injury, that coping mechanism goes away. This sometimes causes changes in mood, behavior, eating/sleeping habits, and other wellness indicators.

- Regaining confidence as the athlete transitions back into activity

The Winter Park Competition Center holds concussion injuries in high regard, with a strict protocol for return-to-sport post-injury governed by the State of Colorado. Learn about the protocol here.

WPCC is lucky to be partnered with phenomenal physicians and practices to support our athletes’ medical needs, from concussions to orthopedics, general health to physical therapy, they have got you covered! Check out our ‘Preferred Providers’ tab for more information!

To learn more or get involved in the RTS program as an athlete or coach, email Stephanie Zavilla at szavilla@winterparkresort.com.

FUELING FOR Optimal performance in Mountain Sports

During the sports season, it is important to establish healthy, nutrient-dense fueling habits for optimal performance when engaging in mountain sports activities. The athlete’s body goes through tremendous amounts of work and needs energy to sustain the demands of high performance. Eating fresh, unprocessed foods creates an ideal environment for the body to live and thrive. You will feel more consistently energized, reduce muscle soreness and inflammation, build lean muscle mass, and have an overall healthy and happy body.

Nutrient-dense fueling means eating quality foods to absorb the most vitamins and minerals possible. Prioritizing vegetables, fruits, whole grains/carbohydrates, and quality protein and fats in your diet will allow a wide variety of options to help properly maintain or improve your performance. Mountain sports activities and competitions can last a long time, so it is critical to keep your body energized throughout!

Make each meal and snack well-rounded and colorful, including all food groups - vegetables, fruits, protein, whole grains, and dairy. Then, add wholesome snacks to fuel your body and relieve hunger. Invest in high-quality foods, just like you would any equipment, to keep your body functioning at its optimal level.

We are lucky to have trained dieticians here at the Competition Center, so take advantage! They have a wealth of knowledge on important topics like:

- Fueling for competition
- Eating healthy on the road
- The importance of hydration
- Specialty diets like vegetarianism/veganism in sport
- Fueling for healing post-injury

Contact Stephanie Zavilla at szavilla@winterparkresort.com with any questions, and she will get you connected to our experts!

RESOURCES

Fuel and Hydrate for Optimal Performance
Choose My Plate
Good sources for US Ski & Snowboard supplement rules
Nutrition topics for athletes

It is the Winter Park Competition Center’s top priority to be diligent and intentional about creating a safe environment for our athletes and membership, and in the prevention of bullying, harassment, and abuse. All staff undergoes yearly Safe Sport and the Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP) training. We apply those best practices in all Competition Center activities and interactions. For more information, please visit the following links:

Preventing and Addressing Abuse

Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention

HAVE YOU EVER…

- Felt like everything goes well in training, but when you get to a competition, you can’t seem to perform?

- Felt like fear of injury is holding you back from accomplishing your goals?

- Felt like nerves get the best of you on competition day?

SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Mental skills training and sports psychology provide the opportunity for athletes to discover the power they have within themselves, and the ability to use it when it matters most.Skills that are developed include:

- Focus, concentration, allocation of attention

- Confidence

- Self-motivation

- Overcoming obstacles

- Handling pressure

- Self-talk

- Imagery, visualization

ON-HILL CONSULTATION

On-hill consultation is an opportunity for your athlete to receive mental skills coaching while in their training environment, as opposed to the classroom. On-hill mental skills consultation allows them to get in-the-moment feedback and helps immensely with transferring skills taught in sessions to their performance on the mountain.

BIOFEEDBACK

Winter Park Competition Center is now on the cutting edge of sports science with the introduction of comprehensive biofeedback training protocols. We use heart rate, respiration, muscle tension, skin conductance, and peripheral skin temperature to tell us more about how your body manifests stress, and then work with you to improve self-regulation!

During biofeedback sessions, athletes receive instantaneous feedback demonstrating the mind-body connection. It allows us to assess an athlete’s ability to handle stress, as well as how quickly they can bring their physiology back to baseline. After determining the baseline responses, we then have the opportunity to train the body to adapt to stress.

Sports psychology resources- apps, podcasts, books, and blogs.