Pre- Season

•  Sign-ups are open, please have this completed ASAP if you plan to join the team. 

 https://students.arbitersports.com/bellows-free-academy-st-albans/2025-26-winter-athletic-registration-8

• Team Gear!! If interested in ordering team gear, you can order using this link. This is a quick turnaround; the store closes on November 25th!  Team Gear

        

Training Opportunities, and ski conditions!

       All Optional (updated 11/23) 

• Group Roller ski. Monday November 24th at 3pm, meet at Hardack. Check back for updates if interested as this will only happen if we don't have snow.  Snow is looking likely, the workout will be a Dickinsons if so. 
• On snow training. We have adequate snow to train on at Dickinsons.  We have had skiing there since Tuesday 11/11.  BFA skiers are welcome to train there at anytime, please stay on the trails and respect any signage.   If you ski there you need your own transportation.  Please take road conditions on the hill seriously, parents should drive and or give guidance to any student drivers. Bussing will be provided once we start the official season. New skiers should probably wait until official practices start, to make organization and the first time on snow experience more organized and positive. Conditions Update: We groomed the first meadow and the back meadow, the rest is closed. Grooming was on the outer edges of the trail. The center of the groomed trail will be icy and not groomed so take care to find the groomed surface, the little bit of new snow should brighten the experience. Worth the trip. 
• Sleepy Hollow has a 350meter snowmaking trail completed that should remain open through break https://skisleepyhollow.com/snow-conditions-trail-cam/
• Craftsbury will be the hotspot overbreak as they have begun blowing snow and taking snow out of the snow pit. https://www.craftsbury.com/#

Equipment: See the guide below for rental details. Most should wait until the parent meeting and the first week of practice to get information and set up. 

Next early season pickup dates for athletes with experience: Go to 13 Hudson Street.

Email Coach Magnan if you intend to ski before December 1 and don't have gear and ill post a pickup time. 

Post Season: See the best in the world close to home with friends close to home! This will be Jessie Diggins final races.

Tickets for the Stifel World Cup Finals at Mount Van Hoevenberg are on sale

Practice Week 1

Month overview and focus points

      December workouts will be highly focused on building strength, balance, technique efficiency and include 1 or more workouts per week that target the ability to ski well at or just above lactate threshold levels also referred to as L3 and Tempo pace. Once on snow we will reintroduce some longer ski (workouts) into the program to build endurance and technique efficiency. This allows for some recovery from high intensity (anerobic) workouts for athletes coming off a fall season and provides necessary building blocks for all athletes. We can accomplish these goals on and off snow and utilize workouts that allow us to keep moving forward in this weather transition month. 

Weekly breakdown (we often adjust to changing weather)

 Monday 12/1- Meet in the weight room at 3pm You may change in the locker rooms prior to meeting. You can store gear in a room adjacent the weight room during practice. We will start with some team introductions. The warmup will be a short run around town, that includes a trip to St. Albans Nordic headquarters on Hudson Street to work on rental boots. We will then head back to school for a strength workout. Practice will end around 4:30. 

Tuesday: Run to Hardack, we will do some bounding technique work and a light workout. We do have a bus scheduled for Dickinsons in the event we have snow

Wednesday: We will divide into 2 groups both groups will do a 30-minute run or work on ski rentals and a 40-minute strength workout. 

Thursday: Run to Hardack- This will be a bounding workout at or around Anerobic threshold levels also referred to as L3. Link to learn more about Anerobic threshold.  We do have a bus scheduled for Dickinsons in the event we have snow

 Friday:  We will divide into 2 groups both groups will do a 30-minute run or work on ski rentals and a 40-minute strength workout. 

Saturday/Sunday- 1-3 hours of trail running or skiing on your own. You should take one day off per week, so you can use the weekend accordingly.