Mancuso Looks for Right Equipment to Ease Mind

There are so many aspects that make skiers successful: their experience, their confidence, the conditions on the slopes and of course their equipment. Whether you’re an Olympic champion, an experienced ski instructor or someone who is hitting the bunny hills for the first time, you need to have the right equipment. After all, if you don’t trust your equipment then it’s very difficult to be successful.

Like all Olympians, Olympic Gold medalist Julia Mancuso has been preparing for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia for months and even years. However, despite her past success her World Cup season got off to a very rough start, something Mancuso says was a result of her equipment and her mindset. According to Mancuso the two actually go hand-in hand.

"At this point in my career, I believe (skiing) is 99 percent mental," Mancuso told CBS News. "I think the training and working on equipment has a lot to do with the mental aspect."

Now that Mancuso has found the right equipment and her mindset is in the right place, the results on the hills are showing. Mancuso finished at the top of the leaderboard in January at the World Cup downhill training in California and she finished in the top-10 twice in Italy. With those results under her belt, Mancuso is now feeling ready and confident for the Sochi Games.

At Launch Pad we also understand the importance of equipment in regards to success on the slopes. Ski training is not easy without the right equipment and having the wrong equipment can make the whole learning experience rather tiresome. However, with the right ski training tools in your arsenal the learning experience can be fun. Learn more about our ski training tools and how they can improve your learning and teaching experience.

Source: CBS News, “2014 Winter Olympics: Gold medalist Julia Mancuso says skiing is '99 percent mental',” Fabrice Coffrini, Feb. 3, 2014.