Day In The Life of an OMS Student-Athlete
Each Tuesday-Friday our student-athletes are dropped off at Okemo Mountain at 8:15 am and load the lift by 8:30 am where on-hill training begins. The alpine ski racing athletes work on drills and fundamentals or training gates on a variety of trails. Wardance is our dedicated training facility at Okemo and is serviced by the Black Ridge Triple. Okemo also generously provides us with space on Chief for speed training or other trails to meet specific training goals. The freeski and snowboard athletes train in the halfpipe, the Zone, or on the Blackout Slopestyle course. The halfpipe, the Zone, and Blackout are serviced by a surface lift which provides our athletes the chance to stay connected to the snow and lap the park and pipe many times each morning.
After morning on-snow training, our student-athletes are transported back to OMS. Starting at 12 pm, student-athletes can be found eating lunch at our communal tables before heading off to their first class at 12:30 pm. Student to teacher ratios are generally no more than 2:1 and the focus is on each individual student and meeting their personal academic needs.
Built into each student-athletes afternoon schedule is a 42 minute physical conditioning period. Athletes work with a coach to follow a strength and conditioning routine that incorporates strength and plyometric training, agility and balance exercises, and cardiovascular workouts, specific to their discipline.
Tuesday-Friday, every athletic discipline will have the opportunity to devote an entire day to on-snow training, allowing them to further excel in their skills. Rather than returning to OMS at 11:45 am, lunch will be held on the mountain until their PM training (12:30 - 2:30 pm). Student-athletes will then be transported back to OMS for video review, sports education, tuning, and trampoline training, with an early pick up at 4:30 pm.
Mondays provide a brief respite for our student-athletes as they have the morning off from on-snow training. Student-athletes have extended academic blocks (47 minutes). During their conditioning period, we have presentations in nutrition, injury prevention, sports psychology, equipment tuning, Health curriculum, and relaxation yoga sessions.
Finally at 5:45 pm, the day is over and student-athletes are picked up by their parents or host families to head home for dinner, homework, and some much needed rest!
Daily Schedules
Student Life Activities
Along with the busy daily schedules at OMS, we offer fun camaraderie-building activities throughout the year. In previous years, this has included:
Guest facilitator for a Team Building day
Student of the Week
Team Spirit Days
Secret Elf gift exchanges
Winter Ball
Bravo Board to announce great grades + competition results
Valentine’s Day hot cocoa bar
Birthday celebrations
Guest speakers, like a Vermont State Game Warden
Community Service Hours
Okemo Mountain School has long valued community involvement, outreach, and service by our student-athletes. We have seen over the years many student-athletes who have dutifully committed themselves to helping the community at OMS and beyond. We have formalized this aspect of our program by including a 5-hour community service requirement as a part of enrollment at OMS.
Why require community service hours?
Volunteering in our community reinforces our school values of community and respect. Additionally, there are many proven benefits to volunteering, including: increasing self-confidence, providing career experience and teaching valuable job skills, increasing happiness, and increasing social and relationship skills. Continuing our school involvement in the surrounding community is important to us.
How has OMS student-athletes complete their hours in the past?
Ski / Snowboard Coach for Ludlow Elementary School’s Winter Sports Program
Wood stacking for local neighbor in need
Gift wrapping for Toys for Tots event
Tour guide at OMS Open Houses
Babysitting a local family in need
and so many other ways!