On March 12, 2022, PASEF held the first banquet since the pandemic shut down Camelback in March of 2020. The snowstorm on that day made attendance difficult for many.

As part of the celebration, coaches were asked to present three awards; Most Improved Athlete, Outstanding Athlete and Coaches Award.

Alpha/Bravo Group Coaches Steve and Megan presented awards as follows:

Most Improved Athlete: Erion Metaj
Erion, who displayed his quickness and agility from the outset, learned to control his movements more effectively as the season progressed. An animated whipper-snapper
from the start, Erion learned to smooth and slow down his movements, demonstrating
the ability to establish a stance that allowed him to better control his skis on the snow.

Outstanding Athlete: Yve Lieberman
In our first meeting on snow, Megan and I challenged the Alpha/Bravo team to journal each day on snow as a ‘best practice’ for learning any pursuit effectively. This would help organize learning, chart progress, stimulate questions and have something to show parents. After the first couple weeks, we asked who had taken the challenge. Only Yve raised her hand.

On the last meeting on snow, we had a fun race in which Yve and Gia were dual racing.
From the first run through the gates, Gia was beating Yve. On the chairlift ride with them both, I described a stance which would allow for better stability at speed. When they finished the next run, I asked Yve what she did to catch up to Gia. “I just applied what you described”, she said. As a coach, there’s no better feeling.

Coaches Award: Katelyn Hadzima
On our first chairlift ride together at the beginning of the season, Katelyn expressed her amazement that we were performing J-turns on our first day. She wasn’t expecting that.
There is no better feeling for a coach than to hear that you exceed expectations of your athletes. Katelyn’s participation was sympathetic, thoughtful and helpful all year.

Friday nights are an opportunity for extra practice running gates. Katelyn was a regular, showing her desire to improve. On one occasion, another athlete, wearing a PASEF jacket was less than welcoming as they both lined up for their turn. Katelyn took one for the team, as the photo of her upper arm bruise showed.

Both Megan and Steve will outline a dry-land training program by end of April that should provide athletes with a comprehensive format that will help prepare them for next season.