In the first two posts of our Athletic Development Series, we explored the WVABBTS philosophy and the importance of building a broad athletic foundation. In this third post, we are looking at one of the most important, and sometimes misunderstood, parts of athlete development: free skiing and riding.
It can be tempting to view time in gates, mogul courses, terrain parks, or other competition venues as the most valuable use of an athlete’s time on snow. After all, those are the environments where athletes compete. But athletes cannot consistently apply skills in competition until they have developed those skills outside of a structured training venue.
At WVABBTS, free skiing and riding are not simply downtime between training sessions. They are important and purposeful parts of athlete development.
Building Technical Skills
Technical skills describe how an athlete moves on snow. They include balance, body position, pressure control, edging, rotation, turn shape, timing, air awareness, and the ability to adapt to different terrain and conditions.
Changes in technique happen through focused free skiing, riding, and drills. Without the immediate demands of a course or competition venue, athletes can concentrate on a particular movement, try different approaches, and better understand how adjustments feel.
Depending on the athlete’s discipline, free skiing and riding can help develop balance, pressure control, turn shape, speed management, jumping, landing, air awareness, rhythm, and adaptability. These skills become the foundation athletes rely on when they enter gates, mogul courses, terrain parks, jumps, or other competitive environments.
Directed and Undirected Training
The WVABBTS philosophy includes both directed and undirected free skiing and riding.
During directed sessions, coaches give athletes a specific focus, drill, or technical goal. Free skiing allows athletes to explore movements naturally, often without consciously thinking about each action. Directed free skiing builds on that experience by asking athletes to think about a movement, perform it intentionally, and apply it on increasingly difficult terrain. Athletes may work on balance, pressure, body position, turn shape, absorption, takeoffs, landings, or adapting to different conditions. This process helps turn movements first explored instinctively into purposeful and repeatable skills.
Undirected sessions give athletes the opportunity to explore movement and make decisions more independently. They learn to read terrain, adjust their speed, experiment with new movements, and apply their skills without constant instruction. Just as importantly, they have fun. At every age and level, enjoyment remains an essential part of developing confidence, creativity, and a lasting love of the sport.
Both are important. Directed training introduces and reinforces technical concepts. Undirected skiing and riding help athletes develop creativity, confidence, adaptability, and greater ownership of their development.
How the Focus Changes with Age
The balance between fundamental skill development and discipline specific training changes as athletes grow. The exact training mix varies across alpine, moguls, freeski, and snowboard programs, but the overall progression is similar.
Ages 8 to 12
At this stage, fundamental movement is the primary focus. Athletes spend significant time exploring the mountain, developing balance, learning to manage speed, experimenting with terrain, and building confidence in different conditions.
The goal is to develop versatile skiers and riders who enjoy the sport and have a broad base of movement skills.
Ages 12 to 13
Fundamental development remains a major priority, but training becomes more intentional. Athletes begin connecting specific technical movements to their chosen disciplines.
They also begin to recognize what effective movement feels like and learn how to make adjustments based on coaching feedback.
Ages 14 to 15
As their technical foundations become stronger, athletes spend more time in discipline specific environments. Free skiing and riding remain important for refining fundamentals, learning new movements, and adapting skills across varied terrain.
Athletes also begin taking greater responsibility for recognizing what they need to work on and applying feedback more independently.
Ages 16 to 17
Older athletes devote more time to competition specific training, but free skiing and riding continue to support performance. Advanced athletes still need opportunities to refine movement, adjust to different conditions, develop creativity, and strengthen skills outside of formal competition venues.
The amount of time may change as athletes mature, but free skiing and riding never stop being part of the development process.
Creating Adaptable Athletes
Every competitive environment asks athletes to solve changing problems. Terrain, rhythm, speed, visibility, snow conditions, course layouts, features, and takeoffs are never exactly the same.
Free skiing and riding give athletes opportunities to develop a wide range of solutions before they must apply them under competitive pressure. Athletes who are comfortable across varied terrain and conditions are better prepared to adjust when something unexpected happens.
The goal is not simply to repeat one movement. It is to develop athletes who can recognize what a situation requires and respond confidently.
What Parents Should Understand
More time in a competition venue does not automatically lead to faster development. If an athlete has a technical limitation, repeatedly training the same course or feature may reinforce that limitation rather than correct it.
Focused free skiing and riding allow coaches and athletes to isolate a skill, experiment with movement, and build stronger patterns. Progress made outside a formal training venue may not immediately appear in a competition result, but it creates the foundation for more consistent performance over time.
For parents, the key takeaway is simple. Free skiing and riding are training. This is where athletes develop the technical range, creativity, confidence, and adaptability they need to perform when it counts.
In our next post, we will look more closely at the difference between technical and tactical development and how athletes learn to apply their skills to terrain, conditions, competition venues, and speed.
