Created: 11 August 2020
A Wasatch Academy student enjoya an on-campus skate session between classes. Wasatch Academy is a college-prep boarding school for students in grades 7-12 located in Mount Pleasant, Utah.
We sat down with Wasatch Academy’s Director of Snowsports, Chris Nester, to chat about the advantages of boarding school in the time of COVID-19, what it means to for student-athletes to have their own private snow and skatepark (with a rope tow and private cat for hot laps!!) and how Wasatch Academy’s newly developed competition program for USASA athletes offers the next generation the best of both worlds. Did we mention Mount Pleasant, Utah, home of Wasatch Academy’s 300 boarding students is perfectly located with easy access to seven national monuments, five national parks and 14 of the best ski and snowboard resorts this country has to offer?
USASA competitors and members of Wasatch Academy's competition program, Cael McCarthy and Axel Bonenberger, show off a little USASA hardware. Photo: Wasatch Academy
As Director of Snowsports at Wasatch Academy, tell us about your snowboard and freeskiing programs and how being in central Utah plays into athlete opportunities?
Wasatch Academy skiing and snowboarding programs are for all levels. Our most popular program is our First Tracks; skiing and snowboarding with friends every weekend during the winter months. We have a lodge slopeside at Brighton resort for our students to stay in! We also have a program for students that compete in USASA, Future Tour, and Rev Tour events. The students interested in competing have the advantage of training on our private hill with our terrain park located 20 minutes from campus, and working with our excellent coaching staff along with a partnership with Park City Ski and Snowboard team and coaches. Being located in the center of Utah means we are lucky to be at the crossroads of so many great resorts for training and competition. We are 2 hours south of Park City and 6 hours from Copper and 8 hours from Mammoth.
What makes Wasatch Academy's snowboard or freeskiing experience unique?
Our school is amazing! Consider getting a first-class education along with a robust skiing and snowboarding program. Our facilities are second to none. We are a non-profit school established in 1875 so we have just a little experience in education!! We are an international school with students from more than 40 countries. We offer core academic classes to prepare our students for college, but what makes us special is our diverse range of course opportunities; from rock climbing to engineering and video game design.
Just to give you a snapshot of what we offer several of our students will be in our private skatepark before and after school or just hanging out with friends. You can find students building rails for our skate or snow park in the engineering building or even putting together video or photo edits in one of several editing classes. Did I mention the recording studio and digital audio classes for adding your favorite beats! I mean really what you get here is a world-class academic education that builds on the skills needed for the modern world. We also have 100% college acceptance for our students.
Axel Bonenberger getting lofty at USASA's Big Mountain West event at Park City, UT. Photo: Wasatch Academy
Last year was the first year you had an elite competition program at Wasatch Academy, how did this come about and how did it go?
Amazing, I am so proud of our athletes. We needed to start an elite team so I looked around the U.S. for young talent. I found two young men age 14 that were just killing it in competition and as great human beings. We were the youngest team and newest team on the block and we had a great time! We competed in USASA, Rev, and Futures tours and we were the youngest athletes most of the time. We trained with the Park City Freeski Team and it was perfect. Unfortunately because of the COVID-19 virus, we had to scale down our financial aid and I will do everything in my power to get these student-athletes back next year!
When students aren't snowboarding and skiing on your private hill and terrain park what other recreational activities are available?
We do love pre-season training! We have a first-class weight room, multiple gyms, and an indoor rock wall and bouldering room. Otherwise, we will use the airbag at the Olympic Park, and of course the new Woodward at Park City. Wasatch also has popular outdoor adventure programs. We hike and camp in the 5 national parks just a few hours south of campus or rock climb at some of the best sites in Utah. Another popular adventure is mountain biking at the resorts or on some of the world-class trails around Moab.
Access to Park City's Olympic Park with airbags and off-season training are just some of the perks.
We can't really address anything in 2020 without talking about COVID. How is Wasatch Academy adjusting its program to ensure the safety of all its students?
This year will have its challenges! Fortunately, because our school is a boarding school we are living on campus. This is a huge advantage because everyone is going to be tested and quarantined on arrival at the beginning of the school year. After we have been given the green light or tested negative our students will have regular class schedules and activities specifically planned to keep the virus out of our community. Also, consider that we are located in a very small town in the center of rural Utah. We are currently considered a safe area but we have, as most all of us have, had COVID in our communities. I guess you could look at it like we are creating a giant bubble of safety around our campus. The word is getting out about our school and our plans regarding COVID and our admissions team has seen a dramatic increase in calls.
I know you have some big goals for your snowboard and freeski programs, can you share some of your vision for Wasatch Academy's future student-athletes?
I meet with so many families when they visit and tour our campus. I hear what the students want and what the parents want and it is loud and clear: get my son and daughter out of the house or dorm and into the outdoors. When I speak with the students I hear get me on a bike, wall, or snow as much as possible! So that's what I do. Let's not forget that we have education and classwork to finish while on our adventures but with a little determination and time management we ultimately find the balance. My big goal is to help students find a balance between reaching their outdoor and academic goals. However, I really enjoy the students that really work hard for their goals whether its learning a new trick or making it to USASA Nationals or beyond, my vision is to have the most supportive outdoor programming for students that want a serious academic, social and emotional growth opportunity at a real school.
Learn more about Wasatch Academy and their open enrollment and freeski and snowboard programs here.
Created: 04 August 2020
Hinojosa family four-pack. Southwest Freeride Series Directors Tiffany and Tony with kids Ela and Diego.
The Southwest Freeride Series is a family affair for series directors Tiffany and Tony Hinojosa. “Our series, be it participants, parents, volunteers, and judges, all come together to support one another on the snow and off. We are more than a series. We are a family.” says Tiffany.
Created: 23 July 2020
USASA ASSURANCE PROGRAM (TERMS & CONDITIONS)
USASA Membership Assurance provides peace of mind for USASA members to purchase a competitor, official or judges membership for the upcoming 2020-2021 season. In the event a 2020/2021 USASA Member is not able to use their membership, due to a series, resort, or event closure due to COVID-19, the USASA will honor the membership for the following 2021-2022 season.
UNUSED 2020/2021 USASA MEMBERSHIPS MAY BE DEFERRED FOR CREDIT TOWARD A USASA 2021/2022 MEMBERSHIP
Created: 14 July 2020
The Owens Family celebrating the finish of the 2020 Southern Vermont Series Season at Okemo (pictured from left to right, Maggie, Leslie, Amy, Kevin, Harrison).
Fourteen-year-old Maggie Owens’s homework assignment was simple, make a video about something you’re passionate about and explain what it means to you. The Fairfield, CT native immediately thought about the weekends she spent competing at USASA, “I wanted the video to show what I love about my winters in Vermont with my family and how much I love competing every weekend with my snowboard friends” Maggie said as she set out to capture what she and her twin sister Leslie experience as part of the competitive and tight-knit Breaker Girls snowboard division in the Southern Vermont Series.
Created: 06 July 2020
Meet the Southwest Series’ Pepper Family. Parents Billy and Jenna along with Porter, 14 (Breaker Snowboarder), and Ry, 11 (Menehune Snowboarder), Delmar, 7 (Ruggie Freeskier) relaxing after a big day at Nationals 2019.
Five years ago, Billy and Jenna Pepper along with their three young boys lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and started a USASA journey that would change their lives. Their oldest son, Porter who was nine at the time, fell in love with snowboarding and after spending two years shuttling the whole family the three hours from Albuquerque to New Mexico resorts Billy and Jenna decided it was time for a change. “Competing at USASA events was such a fun way to spend the weekend, we totally reshaped our lives around it and being in the mountains,” Billy said.
Created: 24 June 2020
SNU Claiming another USCSA National Championship Title.
Nestled in the heart of Lake Tahoe, CA, Sierra Nevada University, is a small and nimble educational institution. Long before COVID-19 was our new reality and distance learning and training programs were being sought out by every school, SNU was ahead of the curve. In the fall of 2019, Chris DeLeon, SNU’s Athletic Director, and Women’s Head Soccer Coach saw the need for SNU’s soccer and snow athletes to have consistent training and access to coaches while away from campus. Enter Volt Athletics, a digital training platform that allows coaches, trainers, and athletes to track, tweak and monitor programs and performance from afar. SNU became one of the first small schools to Beta test this Seattle, Washington based Gatorade fueled app which has changed the game for SNU student-athletes.
Created: 24 June 2020
Capt. Jack Gouge, an Air Force Special Tactics Officer assigned to the 17th Special Tactics Squadron at Fort Benning, Georgia, is leading outreach efforts to collect over a thousand pounds of food and supplies for COVID-19 relief in Puyallup, Washington.
The STO is currently serving as the Director of Global Outreach and Community Impact at Bethany Baptist Church in Puyallup, Washington as part of the Department of Defense’s Career Skillbridge program.
