Welcome Email



Hi, Mogul Family!

Welcome to the 2025 – 2026 Freestyle Mogul Team season.  We are super excited for some snow to fall and to get back on the hill.

Dates to Know:

Our first day of the program is Saturday, December 6th. We will meet at 8:30 on the hill between the Waffle Cabin and the Bluebird.

Our first Parent Meeting will be at 4 pm on December 13th at the Ski Club.

Our Coaches:

We are happy to let you know that all our coaches have returned, AND we are super thrilled to announce that Rob Schumaker has joined our coaching crew!  Our 2026 team of coaches consists of Corey Donnelly, Paul Lafferty, Michael Rosella, me, and Rob as our comp coaches.  For those with athletes in our Devo Mogul program, Ron Grabowski is returning and will be teamed up with 2018-2025 program athlete Winter Lafferty.

Our Coaching Philosophy:

For new families who may be unfamiliar with how we operate, we believe in a healthy balance of coached freeskiing, drills, and competition practice runs. This approach has produced successful athletes who have progressed from entry-level competitions to the Olympics. However, we know that every athlete has different goals and advances at different rates. To meet every athlete's needs, we have four pillars to our coaching philosophy.

Our 4 Pillars:

Have Fun: Fun mixed with maximum hours on the hill.  We have been very successful because our athletes simply get more runs. This is a result of our team being easygoing, low-pressure, and keeping it fun.  

We give instruction and guidance, but also let the athletes assume responsibility, and we encourage athletes to move towards autonomous learning.  

We motivate and support athletes to improve, and we do little “pushing”. Athletes who want to excel will do so in this environment.

We keep a high Stoke Level – so our athletes want to be on the hill and continue to make advancements.

Equipment:

Try on your gear! If anyone has new equipment, I ask that you try everything on before our first day. For example, if your athlete has new boots, please have them click into their skis with the new boots in your living room in the next two weeks.

Mogul Skis: Some have asked about mogul skis.  Here are some guidelines

Size: They should come up to the bridge of your nose

Camber: Normal Camber, no Rocker.

Dimensions: This is the tricky part; we want something that is under 75 underfoot but is also a twin tip to be able to roll through the park.

A good example of a ski that performs well in the bumps but is a twin tip, so you can also take it in the park, is the Zipline Mogul.  The dimensions for the 150 are 96-65-85 (found online).  Another is the Jr. Kastle Mogul X Jr (found at Equipe Sport and tell them you’re with the Mogul team.

Construction: wood core, no cap if possible.

For the first season on the Mogul team, a skinny park ski with no rocker that comes up the bridge of their nose will work out great.

Mogul Pants: We generally order pants from RUTT Mogul.  We will not do a team order this year.  Please order right from their site:  https://www.ruttmogulpants.com/. We generally go with the Classic Pant in black.                 

Competition Information:

The schedule has just been posted to https://services.easternfreestyle.org/schedule/.  Our first B-level competition for most of the team will be at Killington on 1/9 – 1/11.  For returning parents, note that 1/9 is a Friday, and K-town will run Men and Women.  For all new parents, the schedule is VERY CONFUSING, but we will go over all the info about events, registration, etc., at the parent meeting.  Registration for an event does not open up until 2 weeks before that event, so there is nothing to do right now.

Also, for returning families, please remember to get a USSA Competitor License. For new families, we’ll explain all this to you during the Parent Meeting.

Communication:

A weekly email will be sent generally on Monday or Tuesday with a weekend wrap-up and information about the upcoming weekend schedule and any additional info needed. 

I’ve kept the email distribution list from last year, but for new parents, I’m only given one email address per athlete.  Just let me know if other email addresses need to be added.  Competitors can get this email too; it isn't just for parents.

Thanks for reading this long email, and again, we are looking forward to getting the season started.  Please reach out with any questions, and do your snow dances!

My Best,

-Laff

Scott D. Lafferty

Mount Snow Training Center, Head Coach Mogul Team

MOUNT SNOW, VERMONT

617-872-8345