Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Ski & snowboard team gears up for Sunday's season opener
1/19/2018 12:00:00 AM | Ski & Snowboard
This week's snowfall throughout Virginia and other southern states has put Liberty University's ski & snowboard team in the right frame of mind for this weekend's season opener at Beech Mountain Resort in North Carolina.
The Flames welcomed plenty of new faces to the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre (LMSC) slopes this fall, for the start of their 10th season as a Club Sports program.
Though young and inexperienced, they have high hopes for a successful season in preparation for the 40th annual USCSA National Championships, set for March 4-10 at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, N.Y., site of the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Starting Sunday at 9 a.m., Liberty will compete against skiers and riders from Appalachian State, Bridgewater, Duke, East Carolina, George Mason, James Madison, Leeds-McCray, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Washington & Lee at the spring semester's first United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) Southeast Conference competition.
"We're definitely very excited and curious to see how the guys will do, riding on snow and competing, many for the first time," said former Flames snowboarder Isaac Gibson ('15), who will make his head coaching debut after serving as an assistant under former Head Coach Ryan Leeds for the past three seasons. Leeds, who will remain general manager of Snowflex, relinquished the coaching reins to Gibson so he can focus on finishing his master's degree.
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| Flames junior Jonathan Wong leads a deep and talented men's ski team this season. (Photo by Isaac Gibson) |
Both the ski and snowboard squads have six travel-team members, led by senior snowboarder Garrett Long and four returning skiers — junior Jonathan Wong, freshman Cole Loomis, sophomores John Hunt and Chris Yablonski, and senior Andrew Garafolo.
"We have a very strong camaraderie on the team this year, with the new guys adding a lot of excitement and energy," Gibson said. "The guys are very hungry to get better and they feed off each other and push each other to go for (tricks) they've never done before. Hopefully, they'll be able to bring the same level of riding they've shown at Snowflex out to the competitive slopes, and we'll be able to place well as a team."
Gibson emphasizes the spiritual element of his riders' development and encourages them to share their faith with their competitors.
"We have a lot of really strong-spoken guys with a lot of energy on the team, and I'm really excited to see them be out on the hill and be a light for His Kingdom … to pour out Jesus' love into others' lives on the slopes," he said.
After competing at another Southeast Conference slopestyle event on Jan. 27 at Massanutten Resort near Harrisonburg, Va., and traveling to larger slopes, possibly Seven Springs (Pa.) or Laurel Mountain (N.H.), to train on bigger jumps, the Flames will host two competitions at LMSC — a USCSA Southeast Conference Slopestyle event on Feb. 17 and a Big Air competition on Feb. 18.
On Feb. 25, Liberty will compete in the Mid-Atlantic Regionals at Wintergreen Mountain Resort in nearby Nelson County, Va., where travel-team members have season passes, in preparation for nationals.
Long helped the snowboard team reach the podium with a third-place finish in the Rail Jam the last time nationals were held at Lake Placid in 2016.
"He's grown a lot from last season to this season," Leeds said. "He's learned a lot of new tricks and looks comfortable on the board, trying new things, and it's been fun to watch his progression."
Instead of staging Rail Jams on the steps of DeMoss Hall and behind the LaHaye Ice Center as in previous spring semesters, Liberty will host a Big Air and Rail Jam competition called "Air Dogs and Rail Hogs" on April 28 at Snowflex.
"It will look very similar to the Snowflex Games that we've hosted in the past, but we're going to try to make it a community event," Leeds said. "It will be rider-focused with prize money involved, but we want to make sure it's enjoyable to watch."
Food trucks, live music, and games for kids will be offered as supplemental entertainment.
"We want to get people out to the atmosphere where they can come with their families and see good riding and skiing and want to sign their kids up for lessons, which are available year-round," he added.
Last year, Snowflex started four-week freestyle-focused developmental programs on Saturdays in the spring, summer, and fall, for youth to receive quality instruction from experienced riders and skiers and snowboard instructors. Those are in addition to the day and overnight Next Level Summer Camps, which have grown in popularity every year.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
