Maxx Parys ’20 during a slalom racing event at Sugarloaf in December. (Photo by Flying Point Road)
If you ask Maxx Parys ’20 what it’s like being one of the top slalom racing student-athletes in the country, he’d probably tell you it’s no big deal. Maxx is unassuming and soft-spoken, but this season, his skiing has been making lots of noise.
“For the most part, I’ve been happy with my skiing this season,” says Maxx. “Slalom racing has been going pretty well.”
To translate “pretty well,” right now Maxx’s FIS slalom ranking is first in the country and ninth in the world for his age. Talk to his coaches, and you get a different story.
Coach Parker Gray, who this time last year was coaching Olympians in Pyeongchang, works almost exclusively with high-level postgraduate skiers. That is until Maxx came along.
“Maxx has progressed rapidly in slalom since the summer and fall training camps. He is willing to do whatever it takes to make his skiing faster. He has a great feel for the snow and makes speed in tough situations. This is why he is ranked so high. He still hasn’t reached his full potential though!”
Maxx is hesitant to take any of the credit for himself. He talks about the quality of the coaching and the quality of training at Sunday River.
“It’s really competent coaching. They set [courses] on the best snow they can find, and they’re always out there. Sunday River is a great place to train; the snow on the hill is always so good. The best part is all the time on-snow.”
Follow Maxx through slalom gate training.
As an eleventh grader, the good news for Maxx is that he’s going to get a lot more time on snow next season. Gould’s new surface lift that is being installed on Monday Mourning will give student-athletes the chance to get twice as many runs in the same amount of time.
“It’s going to be really nice to have a much shorter lap time, especially on the weekends,” says Maxx. “It’s going to be really productive.”
Next up for Maxx and two other Gould alpine racers, Donovan McKee ’18 and Mitch Sampson ’19, is a National Performance Series event at Snow King Mountain Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that brings top-level junior racers together to compete head to head. US Ski & Snowboard uses these results along with FIS rankings to determine who qualifies to National Junior Championships and to invite top performers to their summer camp projects.
“So far it’s probably my best season results-wise, and probably my best season progression-wise. I’m performing right where I should be.” – Maxx Parys ’20
Director of On-Snow Programs Kurt Simard couldn’t be happier for Maxx.
“We are really excited to see the incredible progress that Maxx has made and the results that have followed. Maxx started here at Gould in our eighth grade Winter Term Program and has worked hard to take advantage of all his opportunities.”
Maxx, on the second step, taking home a little hardware at Sugarloaf.
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