Keaton Carlson

Dear Pursuit of Excellence Scholarship Committee,

I am the new coach for the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association Development team in Canada.  My athletes ultimate goal is to advance on to the National Freestyle Slopestyle team.  I have coached Keaton Carlson for the past 3 years and have recommended to him, that he joins BC Freestyle for the 2014-2015 season.  Keaton will reside in Whistler this season where the jumps are massive and the rails are some of the best in the world.  I have told Keaton that I want to see him back on my team as he is a very hard worker, is always up beat and is extremely dedicated to freestyle skiing not to mention one of Canada’s most talented.

Keaton’s results over the past few years proved that he is capable of competing under pressure against some of the best freestyle skiers in the world. He is passionate about skiing and has shown that he will do whatever it takes to progress to the next level.  Keaton competed in only a few competitions for the 2013-2014 season and consistently put down smooth and technical runs even though he has just come back from a knee injury.  I have no doubt that all of his hard work and dedication will pay off this season and he will get back to top 5 in Canada.

Keaton worked hard last winter during his recovery to become smoother and more consistent with all of his tricks which will help him do well in upcoming competitions.  We have talked about knee injuries and recovery as I had knee surgery as well during my career and he is physically and mentally stronger now than he has ever been before his injury. He has been water ramping in Grande Prairie, going to the gym for work outs, doing yoga for flexibility and getting into terrific shape, so he can perfect all the smaller tricks that help set the foundation to learn any of the large competition tricks necessary for this upcoming season.  Keaton is well into his ski career and has the potential to make the National team with financial assistance on the way.  Keaton would really benefit from receiving financial help as this seasons competition schedule will have him travelling back to the United States a few times as well as into Europe.

Sincerely,

Marc Shymko
Development Team Coach
Canadian Freestyle Ski Association