Hi, Mogul Family!
Welcome to the 2026 – 2027 Freestyle Mogul Team. We are super excited for some snow to fall and to get back on the hill. The coaching staff met last weekend, and we are ready to rip. Back coaching this season are Mikey, Paul Laff, Corey, Rob, and I ... and joining the coaching team is AJ Kelleher!
Dates to Know:
Our first day of the program is Saturday, December 5th. 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 12th at the Ski Club.
We are working on getting a tuning clinic for Saturday, December 5th - details will come shortly.
Our Coaching Philosophy:
For new families who may be unfamiliar with how we operate, our team believes 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 three pillars in our coaching philosophy.
Our 3 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.
Motivate, Support, and Encourage Autonomous Learning: We give instruction and guidance, but also let the athletes assume responsibility, and we encourage athletes to move towards autonomous learning. To do this, we motivate and support athletes to improve, and we do little “pushing”. As many of you know, we have had a high level of success with athlete development, and athletes who want to excel will do so in this environment.
Stoke Level: 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: Between chin and eyebrows
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 Faction Mogul ski (can be found at Mt. Snow Ski Werks). Another is the Jr. Kastle Mogul X Jr (found at Equipe Sport). We're working on discounts but have not confirmed yet.
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 about the bridge of their nose will work out great.
Boots: Last March at Nationals, Paul got to hang with the US Team coaches for a few days. We learned that boot flex is something that is holding athletes back. Boot flex for our young athletes should be around 60. One goal this season is to get our athletes more forward in their boots, and an appropriate boot flex allows them to do this. As athletes get older and heavier, the flex should obviously get stiffer. But only our older A Team athletes should be in a boot with a flex over 100.
Bindings: The DIN should go up to at least 10 for athletes over 90lbs. Funny story, Tucker's initial water ramp skis this summer only went to 7, and he blew out of them like every other jump. Oops, Dad fail. I've got some great vids of him losing his skis right off the jump, though. The best bindings for moguls are Look Pivots.
Poles: Mogul poles are smaller. The size can be determined when the athlete's elbow is open to 95-100 degrees, which should put their hands level with the top of their hip.
Team Jackets, pants, and gear: Huge thanks to Rachel for organizing the Mogul Team apparel options and team orders. Images will be shared soon, but here is a link to the order form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScjst1d5R2nwa1PByhMDEVfSoZGy3QD4zJduuNbb9kZK7Rleg/viewform
Competition Information:
The schedule will be posted soon at https://services.easternfreestyle.org/schedule/. Our first B-level competition for most of the team will be at Killington on 1/8 – 1/10. Note that 1/8 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 parents' meeting. Registration for an event does not open up until 3 weeks before that event, so there is nothing to do right now.
For our older athletes moving to As this season, we have 4 regular season comps on the schedule:
Bristol
Killington
Stratton
Crotched
Also, for returning families, please remember to get a USSS 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. Additionally, we will continue to use WhatsApp for informal communication for things like tailgate plans, gear swaps, jokes about Rob ...
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.
News from Eastern Freestyle:
The Eastern Freestyle Fall Conference Call is tomorrow night. Everyone is welcome to join.
EFCC Fall Conference Call
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Meeting Link
Agenda
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!
Peace, Powder and Pancakes!
-Laff
Scott D. Lafferty
Mount Snow Training Center, Head Coach Mogul Team
MOUNT SNOW, VERMONT
617-872-8345