Our local mountain is offering freestyle camps for 5-6yo in March. I'm considering signing DS up but want others opinion. Last yr as a 4 year old he was skiing blue runs, linking controlled turns and was almost parallel. According to his instructors he was only limited by physical development as far as parallel skiing since he was only 4. He will presumably improve as a 5yo between now and March. He loves skiing bumps and in the trees (with instructors). I did not ski with him much b/c he would act out for my benefit (ie. not get up after a fall even though he could). They also offer an intro to ski racing camp but while skiing fast was an issue for us, he really talked about how much fun he had "skiing in bumpy snow." Is it too young to do it?
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Kids Freestyle camps???
- Thread starter PNWSkier
- Start date
Gloria
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
If the camp is geared for 5-6 Y.O. and he is 5 I would say go for it. More than likely it will be geared to introduce kids to the sport and let them check it out and see if they like it. I don't know what the facilities are like at the camp, but if they are planning on sticking to a mogul course and jump zone etc for most of the camp, each run is your childs and at his level and speed as they would run no more than 2 kids down the hill on opposite courses at the same time. ( As opposed to all mountain skiing where he would be trying to keep up with a group where they are all skiing the same run at the same time. ) If he is at all interested in jumping, I would strongly encourage it as as he will learn the fundamentals and how to do it safely. It would be great if they allowed the kids to spend a few days at each camp to give them an opportunity to try each and see what they like. If they would allow you to, I would try to let him spend some time at each. The benefit to the race camp, if you have concerns about going fast, is he would learn the fundamentals of skiing fast, safely at this level of camp as well. The same concept would hold true if they are going to focus on skiing gates and course, where his runs would be his own more or less.
Go for it! I think you will be amazed at how well the instructors can scale things down to suit a 5 Y.O.
I would love to do both and absolutely see the benefit in the ski racing camp but they are offered on opposite days for 3 weeks. I will be in my 8th month of pregnancy. I think we are going to do the freestyle one b/c I really think he will love it. Hopefully another time we can get him into something ski racing related. He really wants to "snowboard like daddy" but that is a couple years off so maybe this will give him something new to learn in the meantime. Thanks!!
little one
Certified Ski Diva
went through this with my daughters. i wanted to put them in the race program at our mountain but that just wasn't 'cool' enough for them (at ages 4 and 6). so i put them in the freestyle program ... needless to say they LOVED it. they are both in college now and are freestyle instructors and competitors. they went to the summer camps at mt. hood and whistler ... so much fun for them. of course i am perpetually worried for obvious reasons! oh well. they are the sons i never had and i continue to marvel at their accomplishments on snow and in life. let your son do the freestyle ... he'll be thanking you for the rest of his life!
So, DS starts freestyle camp this weekend. I am 8 months preggo so the next few weeks ought to be fun getting from the parking lot to the base. Last week during his regular lesson he was learning how to do "twirlys" in the snow which as he described sounded like 360s.
Anyway, anyone have any ideas what I can expect him to be learning at 5yo from this camp? I wish I could ski by and get a peek but I will just be in the lodge. I want to at least have an idea before I talk to him about his day.
Anyway, anyone have any ideas what I can expect him to be learning at 5yo from this camp? I wish I could ski by and get a peek but I will just be in the lodge. I want to at least have an idea before I talk to him about his day.
Gloria
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The twirlys set the foundation for the 360, they learn them on the snow and then air. So yep they are little 360's. It is also a drill used to increase body awareness and edging, it's used in rails etc as well. But definately a stepping stone to the 360. I wouldn't expect him to be throwing them off jumps by the end of camp, but he will most likely learn proper jump technique 4pt take-off and landing. It's hard to say exactly what else he'll learn without knowing if the camp is freeride oriented or more traditional. Freeride will focus more on jumps and rails etc and traditional will be more jump and mogul technique. Either way it should be a great experience for him.
mountainxtc
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
they're called whirly birds in this neck of the woods!! you could just ask for them to learn to spin on the snow.... 
He started today and LOVED it!!! His exact word for the day was "awesome." They started working on "twirlies," worked on skiing switch and balancing on one leg. They did spend their day in the terrain park and even emphasized park etiquette and safety. They also learned how to take a jump and land a jump. He truly loved it and I LOVED his smile at the end of the day. Can't wait for next Sunday! He did ride the double lift that services the terrain park with a friend alone but that is for another thread!
