Describing the training environment at Apex Mountain a 鈥渄ream,鈥� the Penticton head coach of the Canadian men鈥檚 moguls team says his guys are ready to rock the Olympics.
After spending the last 10 days on the local ski hill, Rob Kober, his coaching staff and team members boarded the 6 a.m. flight Thursday at Penticton Regional Airport on the first leg of their journey to Pyeongchang, South Korea and the XXIII Olympic Winter Games.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the perfect course up here on Kristi鈥檚 Run and we鈥檝e been enjoying ideal conditions. I can鈥檛 imagine a better set up for a pre-Olympic camp,鈥� said Kober who has been at the helm of Canada鈥檚 powerhouse for a dozen years. 鈥淭he course here is ideal for adding intensity in a relatively safe environment, and we kind of fly under the radar so that helps minimize distractions.
鈥淚 think having that kind of environment where everything is ideal on the snow we can insulate the athletes and keep it fun, keep them well-fed and rested and we can do all that here.鈥�
He credits the outstanding programs at Apex over the years for producing top calibre skiers like former Summerland Olympian Kristi Richards and Penticton鈥檚 Andi Naude, 22, who will be seeing her first action in the Olympics this year on the women鈥檚 team.
鈥淚鈥檓 biased but I think Andi鈥檚 going to win,鈥� said Kober, whose two sons Jordan and Josh and daughter Chloe are all involved in the sport. 鈥淎ndi鈥檚 awesome, she鈥檚 awesome, can鈥檛 say enough good stuff about her, and right now she鈥檚 really peaking at the right time.
鈥淚 think Andi鈥檚 best stuff is the best stuff out there right now.鈥�
Naude joined the national team at age 16 and narrowly missed the cut for the 2014 games in Sochi.
And for his part, if results are any indication of success, Kober is definitely on the right track.
The Canadian men finished one, two in the 2014 Olympics and the silver medalist that year, Mika毛l Kingsbury, is back for his third try at a gold.
Kingsbury has been burning up the course on the World Cup this season and is favoured to wind up on the top shelf of the podium this time.
鈥淢ik鈥檚 been on a terrific tear here for quite a while and hopefully will live up to those expectations,鈥� said Kober.
The Canadian men suffered what he described as a 鈥渄evastating鈥� blow a couple weeks ago when their number-two guy, Philippe Marquis, tore his ACL at a World Cup event in Deer Valley, Utah.
The injury, however, has not kept the 28-year-old veteran off the skis.
鈥淗e trained last night at Apex and he looks great and he鈥檚 going to try, but it鈥檚 a pretty terrible injury,鈥� said Kober. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been done before but with no ACL it鈥檚 a pretty aggressive mission.鈥�
With such a strong, experienced team the coach is not planning to come back home empty-handed.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 honest, nope,鈥� he said about being satisfied without winning a medal. 鈥淭o be successful we definitely need to come out there with some hardware, that鈥檚 for sure. At the same time, I would say how we handle failure 鈥� hopefully we won鈥檛 have to 鈥� but how we handle that will define our team as much as anything.鈥�
He added: 鈥淔or me, the way I think about our team, our program and any individual athlete is definitely not going to be defined by the results from any one event, whether it鈥檚 the Olympic Games or anything else.鈥�
The teams will begin training in Pyeongchang on Feb. 5 with both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 first qualifying rounds going at night on Feb 8.
The women鈥檚 second qualifying round and finals will be Feb. 11 and the men鈥檚 second qualifying and finals are Feb. 12.
