Jay Panther Early Season 2009

Hello,

I am pleased to write this update after a couple of solid weeks on snow. We have been in Colorado since November 2nd and the training has been great. The first week and a half of our stay we skied a single groomed run working a lot of turn technique. It was a great way to start the season, get my ski legs back, and really fine tune my skiing. The last three days, however, I am ecstatic to report we have been jumping! I have been really anxious to get in the air and the adrenaline has been good for the soul. As you know I worked very hard this summer training a D-Spin 1080 (California Roll) and have been excited to bring it to the mogul course. Yesterday I tried my first ones on snow and had nerves comparable to a competition day. I embraced those nerves as moments like that are what I live for, and I am happy to report I landed all three attempts. Today I did six or seven more with the same result. It feels great to see hard work come to fruition and I feel confident this new trick will be ready to help me win Selections! I have attached a video of a California Roll (D-Spin 1080) I did today so you can all enjoy it with me.

We will be in Colorado until the 22nd of this month and then I will return to Park City because the mountains will be opening there. I was extremely excited to find out my Mom will be going to Las Vegas for a few days in the beginning of December so I will certainly be taking a few days off at that point to be with her, my little brother and dad. Thank you all for your love and support. I will keep you updated as we get closer to U.S. Team Selections event December 16th.

Love

Jay Panther

Jay Panther

Hello, I hope that your fall is going great as mine has been awesome. I just got done training at the water ramps in Park City last week. The training was really productive despite 40 degree water and having to shovel snow off the ramp several days. I have been working on my California Roll (3 off-axis rotations/D-Spin 1080) and am very excited to bring it to the mogul course. I can hardly wait until we head to A-Basin, Colorado at the end of this month to get on snow and start my season. I am in Vegas for a few days working out and mentally preparing for the season. I am really excited to watch my brother, Shane, play his senior soccer season. Shane has lead his team to one of the top spots in the state and is personally among the state leaders in goals and assists. I am sure he will continue to play well as he looks forward to figuring out where he will play in college. There is also some news regarding the reality TV show. They meant with five stations, including MTV, VH1, and CW last Tuesday. Now we sit and wait to see if anyone calls with any interest. Keep your fingers crossed and I will keep you updated on any news that comes in. Think snow! Love Jay Panther

Hello,

I am writing today with a lot of really exciting news. First and foremost, probably the coolest thing I have ever done, I completed my Olympic Registration for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. This does not mean I am going to the Olympics, it means that as a U.S. Team member I am a potential competitor. I also got fitted for all the Olympic outfits. Those two experiences really opened my eyes to the job ahead. It was the first time I thought about the Olympics as a real possibility as opposed to a distant dream. Game on!

We filmed again last week for the reality TV show. The crew came out for four days and filmed everything we did. They were extremely accommodating to me because I had to leave a day early. The crew crammed three days of filming into two days but we got everything done and all parties involved are very excited. Hopefully we will know in the coming months whether or not a Network is interested.

I had to leave the shooting a day early for Zach Recine's, one of my best friends, wedding in Lake Tahoe. I meant Zach as soon as I moved to Las Vegas and we were instantly riding partners in every sense of the word. His wedding weekend was easily one of the best weekends I have ever been privy to.

I escaped Zach's wedding unscathed and have just arrived in Mt. Hood, OR for three weeks. I will be doing some guest coaching and a lot of training. In addition to moguls and jumping, I intend to incorporate a lot of Giant Slalom (GS) training to strengthen my skier cross abilities.

Thank you so much for sharing this excitement with me. My drive is stronger and focus clearer than it has ever been before. There is a set path laid before me and the first step is winning U.S. Team Selections in December. Thanks again for your love and support.

Love

Jay Panther

Spring Training and Reality TV

Hello, I am excited to write in good health.  My shoulder is getting better everyday.  I have been back in Park City a little over a week now and the training has been great.  We are skiing on the weekends at Snowbird and jumping during the week at the water ramps.  I have attached some video of the Snowbird training last weekend. I also have some exciting news to report.  The reality TV show that came to Park City in March to film us is moving forward.  The original project manager has gotten the producers he wants and the financial backing to film a pilot.  The crew is coming up June 22-28 to film us live and train.  Once they film the pilot they have to find a network who is interested and if it gets good ratings then it is game on!  It is still a long shot but exciting to be moving forward.  It would be so cool if this caught on and our sport ended up on MTV!   Thank you all so much for your support and love. Jay Panther

Jay Panther Wins in Mt. Gabriel

Hello everyone,  

It feels good to write with great news...I won the Mt. Gabriel Nor Am! It is nice to have a win under my belt going into the half way point in the season. This also puts me in a solid position for the Grand Prix.  

The weekend was really very crazy. The weather dropped down to -40 degrees over the weekend. The cleaning lady took my cell phone the first day we were there. Please send me an email back with your phone number because all of my contacts are gone. There were over 35 World Cup skiers at the Nor Am. A lot of the coaches were saying that was the toughest contest they have seen in years. I skied really well all weekend. I qualified 15th and then skied my finals run over two and a half seconds faster than anybody else skied it all weekend! I have posted the winning run on YouTube. The link is below:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hIOcYPqac8  

Coming back to the U.S. on Monday one of our rental cars broke down. I ended up driving 11 people in a van with 7 seats and all of our gear across the boarder. The fact that we got through is a miracle. Then we showed up for our flights 20 minutes before the plane took off and still managed to get on! It is really nice to be back in Park City but I leave again soon. We are actually driving to Sun Valley, ID today and then I go to Copper, CO on Monday for the Skier Cross Nor Am! I will keep you all up to date. Thank all for your support! Team Panther finally has a win!!!!  

Jay Panther