Coaching Program

This season, Midwest Masters looks to continue building momentum with its training and coaching program. This page outlines this program for the 2023 Season and is extended to all participants in our program.  

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Peter Maxwell

  • 20+ years of alpine coaching experience
  • Certified US Ski & Snowboard Level 400 Alpine Ski Coach
  • 6-time Junior Championship participant
  • Attended US Nationals as a Junior
  • All-American Collegiate skier at Rocky Mountain College
  • Masters racer since 2004

Peter believes in a strong foundation built upon the principles of Balance, Edging, Pressure, and Pole Plants. He also believes in the importance of strong starts, especially in the Midwest.

Assistant Coaches

Michael O’Connor and Dave Walker

Mike is a life-long Masters racer, and currently coaches the Roseville HS ski team. Mike is also a licensed Official and Level 100 Coach with US Ski & Snowboard. Dave is on his way to attaining his Level 100 certification, and has taken the lead with our new coaching technologies including our new FreeLap timing system, and our continued use of video analysis as a coaching tool.

Copper Camp Coaches

Head Coach Matt Fox, Assistant Coaches Lee Eddy, Frank Mangold, and Ryan Fuller 

Ski Cooper Speed Camp Coaches

Head Coach Doug Briggs, Assistant Coach Ryan Fuller

Coaching Program

This season’s Program will consist of the following:

COPPER MOUNTAIN FALL CAMP:  For the last 20+ years, Midwest Masters has had a presence at Copper Mountain for our annual fall camp. This Camp is a great value and a fantastic way to get your skis underneath you before the season gets into full swing. This is a 4-day camp to be held Sunday, Nov 27 to Wednesday Nov 30 at Colorado’s world-renowned Copper Mountain training facility. The camp consists of both drill and gate time, along with video analysis each evening. The camp is coached by Midwest native and longtime coach and Masters racer, Matt Fox. This year, we are also happy to have Lee Eddy, Frank Mangold from Rocky Mountain Masters, and Ryan Fuller as our Assistant Coaches.

SLALOM SKIS FOR CHECKOUT:  Midwest Masters will continue to offer Slalom skis to those new to slalom FREE OF CHARGE thanks to the generous donations of Dave Walker. We have available three pairs of Slalom race skis, shin guards, and poles for use by those totally new to slalom or considering a return after many years. This gear will be reservable for use at Midwest Masters race and training events. Their primary use is for "drop-in" training at our Thursday SL Training nights with Buck Hill. To reserve skis, simply contact Midwest Masters or Dave directly at [email protected] to reserve a pair. 

BUCK HILL THURSDAY NIGHT SL TRAINING: This is a 10-week program that starts just after the new year, and is coached along with the Buck Hill Ski Team. We will continue to have drill time coached by Peter, Mike, and/or Dave for those interested from 6-7pm, with gate time to follow from 7-8:45. We will also be offering offline video analysis for those that attend nights when we record video. There is an additional cost as this program is run by the Buck Hill Ski Team. The cost is $225 if signed up before Oct 15, and $250 thereafter. New this year, we will have a “drop-in option” available on our website, but spots will be limited each night. As we are implementing a new registration system this summer, the process to register is TBD but will be communicated via our Fast Times Newsletters and Facebook pages later this summer.

GROUP INSPECTION AT OUR RACES: Peter and the assistant coaches will continue to take new racers through group inspections during regular inspection time. This is a great way to get an experienced racer's perspective and to learn new things about how to tackle the race course. Find the coaches at the top of the course near the US Ski & Snowboard feather banner when inspection time opens! 

BUCK HILL DECEMBER TRAINING NIGHTS: We will be running coached SL and GS training on Monday and Wednesday nights in December. We will run GS and SL side-by-side and Midwest Masters will have a coach providing you feedback from the bottom. New for 2023, we will be adding coached drill time from 6-7pm. Cost per session is TBD but will be announced later this summer. Tentative dates are Monday and Wednesday nights December 5 and 7, 12 and 14, and 19 and 21. Drill time runs from 6-7, with gate training from 7-8:45. 

FREELAP TIMING: Thanks to the generous donation of David Walker, we will continue our use of the FreeLap timing system which allows racers to get additional timed feedback on their training runs. The system will be available free of charge at most of our training events this season. With this system and the free online app, users can get quick feedback on their training runs. We will continue to experiment with this system this season, using it to track sections in training courses, the speed of our starts, and various other things. 

DECEMBER PRACTICE RACE: On December 17 at Buck Hill, we are planning to hold a "mock race" that will be not only a great opportunity for gate time, but a means by which those new to Midwest Masters can get a feel for how Masters race events function. The day will be organized similar to a regular race day, however, we'll walk those new to our events through the details of inspection, how run orders work, how results are tabulated, and of course also provide coached training runs! We will be performing video reviews as well once we're off the hill. This is a great way for you to kick off the season with some coaching while also learning how our organization works! 

SPEED CAMP AT SKI COOPER: If you've never tried a speed event, and have been reluctant to do so as you don't know where to start, Midwest Masters runs a fantastic event that can help you get over that hurdle. Each season, we co-host a week-long event with Rocky Mountain out at Ski Cooper in Colorado called the Shin-Tuck Showdown. Yes, there's a SL race at the end of the week, but the majority of the week is spent on the DH track. The Ski Cooper venue, although still a challenge to any level of racer, is a great first DH track. The first two days of the event, Midwest Masters and Rocky Mountain provide coaching geared specifically towards Speed rookies, and coached by former USST athlete and super fast Masters racer, Doug Briggs. We cover everything from gear to line tactics to aerodynamics. We did the math a couple of years ago, and if you attend all days of this event, you'll ski the equivalent of over 7 full seasons of Ski Challenge in under a week! This is by far the best value in ski racing for Masters, and fantastically coached at a fun and welcoming venue. Check out our schedule for more details. And don’t forget that your Buck Hill pass gets you 3 days at Ski Cooper!