Vermont Academy Brings Home The Lakes Region Freeski Title

Feb. 23, 2012 - PRLog -- What is Hank's new trick? And who is Hank??

Hank is Henry Nashed, of Waterville Maine.  And Hank's New Trick is a viral ski video at http://vimeo.com/32471990  that got over 35,000 views in four days back in November when Henry and his Freestyle Ski Team at Vermont Academy took a pre-season training trip to Breckenridge Colorado.  Basically, Henry botched a backflip that lead to a stupendous crash, one that caught the eye of two of the world's best Freeskiers, who then Tweeted and Facebook'ed the video that his coach, Chris Marks, had taken, and the rest is history. Hank became famous with "Hank's New Trick."

Fast forward to Wednesday, February 15th and the Lakes Region Prep School Championships Slopestyle event at Okemo, hosted by Vermont Academy.  VA went into the event tied in the season standings with Freeski powerhouse Proctor Academy. 

Leading up to this event was a series of decisions by Vermont Academy's Board of Trustees to make a concerted effort at bringing VA's Sports on Snow programs to a competitive level, one in which the school would be  considered as a viable alternative for those athletes looking to attend a dedicated ski academy, but who were interested in broader athletic, academic, and arts offerings. The school's Snowboard Program, under Head Coach John Kelly, has won league championships for a number of years, although the Freeski team had lacked a coach since its inception. 

Marks, now in his second year coaching at VA, has made a strong recruiting push, bringing to Saxton's River Freeskiing talent from all over the Northeast, Seattle, Oregon, and even as far as Spain. And of course, Hank from Waterville Maine, who in the days before school began in September, found himself lending a hand to the local community's Irene recovery effort, helping the Proctorsville Fire Department direct traffic and unload FEMA supplies from trucks and helicopters. 

And rounding out a school year of disaster relief and internet stardom, Hank stood atop Okemo's Blackout Slopestyle course on Wednesday the 15th of February, ready for his second run after falling on his first.  Once again,  it was that infamous backflip -- Hank's New Trick -- that he went on to land in this second run, which earned him 8th place overall and put him in scoring position for his VA Freeski Team behind teammates Blake Bejan (1st), Sage Vogt (2nd), and Carlos Soldevilla (6th). This won the Championship event for the Wildcats, bringing the school their first ever Lakes Region Championship in Freeski.