Athletics

Snowboard

More than 25 years ago, CVA was the first academy to develop a snowboard-specific program and has remained one of the leading snowboard academies in the world. We offer world-class coaching in Snowboard Cross, Freestyle, and Snowboard Alpine Racing. CVA student-athletes compete in Junior World Championships, Youth Olympic Games, and FIS World Cup events, achieve multiple Nor-Am podiums and national titles, and have gone on to compete in the X-Games and win Olympic gold.

The CVA Difference

Located at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain, CVA’s strength is defined by the ruggedness of our surroundings and the dedication of our coaches and faculty. At CVA our students have access to the following:

The best snowboard venues in the East Big Dogs have a longer at-home training season, progressive terrain, and an Olympian-designed cross course.
An experienced and dedicated coaching staff Our Snowboard coaches boast impressive competitive and film careers with excellent coaching credentials. Snowboard Program Manager and SBX Head Coach, Freddy McCarthy '12, established himself as a dominant SBX racer earning Junior Worlds nods, a World Cup start, and won USCSA titles in multiple snowboard disciplines. Freddy's connections in the film industry add another dimension to his profile, facilitating opportunities for collaboration and promotion within snowboarding and related media.
A supportive community The CVA community is dedicated to helping each of our student-athletes achieve their personal bests.

Program Philosophy

The CVA Snowboarding Program focuses on long-term athlete development with proven training and performance principles. Competition and training plans are developed to focus on these key elements for success:

Maximizing time on-snow
Riding with accelerated pace
Freeriding to build the snowboarder’s driving force and specialized training to create the competitor.

Snowboard Progression

CVA Snowboard provides ability-appropriate coaching to help student-athletes reach their goals. Athletic groups are determined based on progression, skill acquisition, commitment, and attitude.

Development Team is primarily for athletes under the age of 15. This group works on fundamentals such as stance, proper posture, and edging. Athletes compete in all snowboard disciplines of the regional USASA series and may compete in the eastern Rev Tour or other intro-level FIS events.

Travel Park Team focuses on the mastery of freestyle skills in slopestyle and rail jams including training technique, competition tactics, and understanding judging principles. Video and photo documentation for sponsorship purposes are provided, and skills in networking and film production are taught. Athletes compete in Grand Prix, Revolution Tour, and FIS/Nor-Am events.
Travel SBX & Race Team concentrates on the mastery of skills needed for competitive parallel slalom, giant slalom, and boardercross including racing technique, competition tactics, understanding judging principles, and equipment tuning and maintenance. Video and photo documentation for sponsorship purposes is provided, and skills in networking and film production are taught. Athletes primarily compete in FIS/Nor-Am events and elite-level FIS competitions.

Year-Round Training

The best snowboarders are all-around snowboarders and well-rounded athletes. Fall and Spring Terms at CVA provide an environment that prepares our athletes for success. Our training program includes evaluations and goal setting, weight training, mental performance training, and cross-training.

During the off-season, we provide multiple opportunities to train at on-snow venues around the world.

List of 3 members.

Freddy McCarthy

Snowboard Program Manager & Head SBX Coach

207-653-8476

Bio
Throughout his competitive snowboard career at CVA, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and Sierra Nevada College, Freddy established himself as a dominant SBX racer earning Junior Worlds nods and a World Cup Start. Freddy is a well-rounded rider who won multiple USCSA titles in multiple snowboard disciplines while attending Sierra Nevada College in Tahoe. He served for three seasons as the Head Snowboard Coach at his alma mater before joining the CVA coaching staff in 2019. Freddy graduated from CVA in the Class of 2012.
Ben Elliot

Head Snowboard Park Coach

970-333-1914

Bio
Ben started riding at the age of 5 at the small resort Shawnee Peak in Bridgton, Maine. As his passions for the sport grew he soon left the New England mountains he grew up riding and went to Colorado where he joined the Burton Team along with Analog and Dragon regional programs. Filming, competing in rail jams, slopestyle events, and riding everything from Big Mountain to downtown city streets; from Utah to Oregon. Having a full spectrum knowledge of the sport with a focus on Freestyle, Ben is eager to cultivate a positive environment for our snowboard athletes to reach their best performance.
Goldy Goldschmidt

Snowboard Development Coach

207-670-5256

Bio
A graduate of Stratton Mountain School in Vermont, Goldy was named to the US Snowboard Team in his sophomore year. His resume includes a third place finish in the World Cup in Torino in 2005, first place finishes at the Killington Grand Prix in 2007 and the NorAm Cup in 2009, and many other World Cup and FIS Junior World Championship top finishes in Halfpipe, Big Air, Slopestyle, and Snowboardcross. He competed in the X-Games in 2005, 2006, and 2007, placing 7th, 11th, and 7th respectively, and also competed at World Cups, The U.S. Open, World Superpipe Championships, and Junior Worlds during his career. He joined CVA in 2016 and currently serves as the Snowboard Development Coach.

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Carrabassett Valley Academy

3197 Carrabassett Drive
Carrabassett Valley, ME 04947
(207) 237-2250

Carrabassett Valley Academy prohibits discrimination against or harassment of any member or group based upon age, gender, race, color, religion, disability, categories sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetic predisposition, ancestry or other categories protected by Maine or federal law. CVA does not discriminate on these bases in the administration of its admission process, scholarship and aid programs, educational policies, athletics, or other school-administered programs.