Shiffrin, Voisin, and More Top Women Featured in the Modern Wellness Guide
By Megan Harrod
July, 2 2020
Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team assistant women's World Cup speed team coach Karin Harjo congratulates winningest female alpine ski racer, Lindsey Vonn, following her 82nd World Cup victory in Are, Sweden, in March of 2018.
The Modern Wellness Guide recently launched their Women in Sports Campaign, featuring four of the top athletes in the snowsports industry and two female coaches who are leading the way, including Olympic gold medalists Mikaela Shiffrin and Maddie Bowman, Olympic bronze medalist Brita Sigourney, and seven-time X Games gold medalist Maggie Voisin.
Featured U.S. Ski & Snowboard coaches include Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team assistant women's World Cup speed team coach Karin Harjo, who has paved the way for colleagues like assistant women's World Cup and Europa Cup tech team coach, Katie Twible. In 2016, Karin became the first woman in FIS Ski World Cup history to set a slalom course.
When asked who her role model was growing up, and how she manages the pressure of being a role model for young female athletes, Karin—who has coached Olympic champions Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin, among many more World Cup podium finishers—replied,
I’ve been blessed with many role models in my life. The consistent message they all taught me is that you CAN do whatever it is you want to do if you will take the leap of faith it takes to do it. The only thing holding you back is yourself.
Being a coach, in my mind, is a huge responsibility because of the impact you have on people’s lives not only as athletes but as human beings. It’s an incredible responsibility that shouldn’t be taken for granted. We might not be trying to find a cure for cancer but, in my mind, it’s just as important, because of that impact we have.
Being a role model is no different. My goal is always to do whatever I can to help, whether it’s young women or girls, in any way I can. I want to help them learn and grow, and try to help pave the way for them because I think that’s part of what our calling is, as any coach in any profession.
Each of the incredible women interviewed shared what it's like to overcome the competition to reach the top of the podium, or overcome "barriers to earn the same amount of respect and recognition as their male counterparts." They discussed role models, inspiring the next generation of athletes, and beyond.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin began turning heads almost instantly when she finished top 15 in her first two NorAm Cup races.
Skateboarding Is Not A Crime, It’s Training
By Andrew Gauthier
July, 2 2020
U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Sean FitzSimons going large at the Hood River Skate Park in Hood River, Oregon. (Fenn Paider - @fennpaider/fennpaider.com)
We all know U.S. Snowboard Team athletes can ride on snow, but do these skills translate to other boardsports? Scanning athlete Instagrams this off-season sure would make you think so. Skateboarding, surfing, wakeboarding and wake surfing may not be mentioned word for word in their training regiments, but there are clear crossover skills and style that makes for a very pleasant Instagram viewing experience.
Although many riders skate for fun, U.S. Snowboard Halfpipe Pro Team Head Coach Rick Bower respects skateboarding’s heritage and sees the cross-training benefits of riding transition off the snow.
“Snowboarding has been and always will be directly influenced by skateboarding,” said Rick. “All of our tricks come from skateboarding and the snowboard halfpipe is the most obvious representation of that direct influence. The very best cross-training a halfpipe snowboarder can do is learn to skate transition, with the vert ramp being the holy grail of transition mastery. A vert ramp enhances the skills needed to be a world-class halfpipe snowboarder such as balance and manipulating the human body through the constantly changing curvature of a massive transition from vertical to horizontal.”
Skating is one thing, but what about taking the board to water? Six-time FIS Snowboardcross World Champion Lindsey Jacobellis feels surfing not only keeps her connected to the outdoors, but also offers a great workout.
“Getting in the water is so healing,” said Lindsey. “I love being out in nature, especially if I surf at first light and there are only a few people out. I find that surfing helps my cardio and also my upper body strength. It is a nice way to change up the routine a bit.”
What about wakeboarding? It’s not just gravity anymore. The use of a tow line adds another element to consider. Whether you are just carving or getting airborne, there is no letting go if you want to keep the flow. U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Chris Corning recently picked up wakeboarding and shared his opinion on the similarities and differences to snowboarding.
“I have been wakeboarding a few times now and have been loving it,” he said. “The hardest part is learning how to use the rope. That can either be for passing it when spinning, the pull going up the wake on the boat, or jumps and rails on the cable. I really like wakeboarding to keep a board under my feet in the summertime!”
Meanwhile, U.S. Snowboard slopestyle and halfpipe rookie team member Fynn Bullock-Womble is a sponsored boat and cable wakeboarder who competes on a professional level. Although very different, Fynn feels the sports are complimentary.
The two disciplines are quite different,” said Fynn as he wrapped up a day on the boat. “Snowboarding is primarily lower body and wakeboarding is upper body. However, the edge control, air awareness, and balance established riding rails and features make the two sports very complimentary. I truly love all aspects of both sports and feel incredibly grateful to be able to pursue a career in both industries.”
The skatepark, the ocean, and the wake all offer U.S. riders what they need in the off-season - a chance to express themselves, have fun, and continue to build on their skill sets. Many people assume that these sports just come easy to U.S. Snowboard Team athletes, but just as they put time in on snow to dial in their competition runs, their work ethic translates to their off snow riding as well. It’s who they are, it’s in their DNA, and it is sure fun to watch.
Check out some of the action from the U.S. Snowboard Team this summer below. There’s no shortage of entertainment here, so be sure to check them out and follow for more content from U.S. Snowboard Team athletes.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin began turning heads almost instantly when she finished top 15 in her first two NorAm Cup races.
Shiffrin, Wright Featured in the Associated Press
By Megan Harrod
June, 30 2020
The Associated Press recently interviewed newly-nominated Development Team athlete Bella Wright, who was an invitee with the U.S. Ski Team throughout the 2019-20 season and started in her career-first FIS Ski World Cup in Lake Louise, Canada. (Max Hall - U.S. Ski & Snowboard)
When the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team returned to snow recently at Official Training Site Copper Mountain, Colo., they didn't know what to expect. Colorado in early June, in one of the hottest summers to date?! But, the Copper Mountain and U.S. Ski & Snowboard staff pulled it off together, and it was a productive camp.
That feat caught the attention of the Associated Press' Pat Graham, a longtime partner of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, who was impressed, to say the least. He featured the camp in a recent article, entitled "Peak performers: Shiffrin, ski team return to snow for camp".
In his piece, Pat interviewed newly-nominated Development Team athlete Isabella "Bella" Wright, who was an invitee with the U.S. Ski Team throughout the 2019-20 season and started in her career-first FIS Ski World Cup in Lake Louise, Canada. Bella, who won the 2019-20 super-G NorAm title, was stoked to be back on snow in Copper.
“Being back skiing, on the snow, it just felt like home,” said Bella Wright, who made her World Cup debut last season. “It felt like we were back doing what we’re supposed to be doing.”
Head women's coach Paul Kristofic added that the training was vital, since the Team missed spring training due to COVID-19. "It's just great quality mileage in the bank," he said.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin began turning heads almost instantly when she finished top 15 in her first two NorAm Cup races.
Dani Loeb on AL.com
By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
June, 27 2020
Dani Loeb won a Europa Cup event in 2019 in Chiesa in Valmalenco
From Alabama to aerial skiing, Dani Loeb shares her journey to the U.S. Aerials Team on AL.com.
When Dani Loeb was eight, she and her friends tried to build a snowman.
But the 1-inch snowfall, which was the first that Dani can remember in her hometown of Montgomery, wasn’t quite enough to form more than a snowball.
Ten years later, Dani, the girl who usually had to travel to see snow, is one of seven members of the women’s national Aerial Ski Team. Continue reading on AL.com
Alabama native Dani Loeb, part of the stacked U.S. aerials team, has 10 NorAm Cup wins, two World Cup top-5 finishes, and was part of the 2023 World Championships roster.
Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team Wraps Up Successful Camp at Copper Mountain
By Megan Harrod
June, 22 2020
In early June, the entire women’s team, including A, B, C, and Development Teams, as well as the men’s Europa Cup team led by Matt Underhill, was able to return to the mountain in an unlikely location: Copper Mountain, Colo.—Official Training Site and home of the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center, where all athletes spend a significant amount of time in late October and November, heading into each FIS Ski World Cup season.
As Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes returned home early in mid-March from a shortened 2019-20 season, they were faced with a plethora of unknowns amidst the new normal that a global pandemic would provide. On the top of their list? Uncertainty around when they’d be able to return to the mountain and be able to do what they love so much: ski fast.
In early June, the entire women’s team, including A, B, C, and Development Teams, as well as the men’s Europa Cup team led by Matt Underhill, was able to return to the mountain in an unlikely location: Copper Mountain, Colo.—Official Training Site and home of the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center, where all athletes spend a significant amount of time in late October and November, heading into each FIS Ski World Cup season. The conditions were nothing short of incredible, and World Cup speed and tech athletes including Olympians Mikaela Shiffrin, Alice McKennis, Alice Merryweather, Breezy Johnson, Laurenne Ross, Jackie Wiles and more were singing Copper Mountain’s praises for the opportunity.
“It was amazing that Copper was able to pull it off. I think they were ready to flip the switch when the county let them, and they kept the hills in good shape and had plenty of snow up there,” said Head Women’s Coach Paul “PK” Kristofic. “Obviously, we wanted to capitalize on the very best options for snow and altitude and hill profile, and Copper was by far the best choice at this time of year, and it became available. We were super happy they were able to do it—it took a ton of effort from Frank Kelble and the Copper Mountain staff to get it done, and then our entire sports science team and all of the staff that were able to check off the boxes to ensure we were able to pull off a camp safely.”
For Breezy, it was great to get back on snow and experience some sort of normalcy after the long break, “The precautions meant that we were a little more distant from our teammates than normal,” she commented. “I never realized quite how close we all were until we were literally required to stay away from each other. But luckily you need distance while you ski so things felt pretty normal in the course and on skis for the most part.”
In order to run safe camps, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard staff worked tirelessly to create and roll out a protocol to all athletes and staff returning to the mountain. This included minimizing contact with other training groups—including their teammates—and creating safe and small “team bubbles,” wearing masks, disinfecting workout equipment and any communal surfaces, distancing on the chairlift, and much, much more.
Despite all of the precautionary measures, World Cup technical skier and seven-time national champion Nina O’Brien was happy to be back on snow and admitted it wasn’t that different than normal. “It felt so good to be back on snow in Copper!” Nina exclaimed. “I’ve really missed skiing and my teammates these last months.”
“It was definitely a little strange to be social distancing on the mountain, but we all respected the rules and I felt totally safe returning to training,” she added. “Besides wearing face masks and sticking to our small training groups, it didn’t feel wildly different to be skiing with the COVID-precautions. Off the hill, the biggest changes we made were daily disinfecting of our condos, twice daily symptom monitoring, and changes to group workouts. I think our trainer Bob [Poehling] had the most difficult job of wiping down every piece of workout equipment between each person!”
For speed specialist Alice McKennis, returning to snow was sweet, especially considering it came sooner than she had expected. She said, “It was really exciting to get back on snow and much sooner than anyone anticipated! Throughout the spring I had heard of many different ‘plans’ that local ski clubs were trying to put in place to ski that kept getting shut down—so I had my hopes up several times this spring that I would be able to ski that never came to fruition until now! The first few free runs of just going fast and free without any focus were incredibly fun! Then to work…”
Speaking of work, PK said that the focus for all of the athletes was fundamental technical work. For the women’s speed team, that meant a focus on giant slalom. “We made a conscious decision to really put some effort into our GS training and technical training to improve the technical aspects of the speed team,” noted PK. “We decided that as a staff, and it’s just a really good opportunity to do that. So we’re able to work technical fundamentals with freeskiing, and then do a really good progression in giant slalom through this entire block of training to really implement those technical improvements into their GS gate training. That’s been the primary focus.”
On the tech side, there was about a 50/50 split of slalom and giant slalom with “a lot of technical, basic fundamental work at the start of camp.” Other than the skiing itself, one of the most exciting components of this camp was welcoming four-time Olympian and U.S. Alpine Ski Team alumnus and 2010 skicross Olympian Casey Puckett, who most recently was a FIS coach for Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club (AVSC).
“A big target for this camp was the introduction of Casey Puckett as the Europa Cup coach, as he was leading the entire group since [World Cup Tech Team Head Coach] Magnus [Andersson] wasn’t there, so it was a chance for him to work with those athletes for the first time, work with Katie [Twible] for the first time, and get to know everybody,” added PK. “The camp was high volume slalom and GS, focused on technical adjustments and progression. It was nice there because you could start changing slopes, you could go across three different hills and change the profile to change the challenge so you’re not stuck on one hill all of the time with one profile. You could move around and match up your progression to the challenge of the hill, which was really good.”
U.S. Ski Team athletes were surprised by how good the training conditions were for June, and though they battled with some warm weather, the snow held up and allowed for productive training. “We started the camp with a progression of drills,” said Nina, “and eventually worked our way into normal slalom and GS courses. I was mainly focused on getting a good feeling back on my skis and strong body position.”
For Alice and Breezy both, the giant slalom training and honing in on the technical fundamentals made for a great start to the 2020-21 season prep period. “The conditions were great! We certainly had some ‘spring’ conditions a few days where the snow softened rather quickly but our staff worked super hard with salting and slipping to make it the best possible,” commented Alice. “Our last couple days of full-length GS were really good, some of the best and more challenging GS training I have had in a long time!” Breezy added, “I’ve been trying to improve the technical aspects of my speed skiing for some time so working on GS was a great time to get some of that done. I was working on being dynamic and moving throughout the turn and staying level over the outside ski.”
Coming off a challenging season in which Alice returned from a horrible leg injury, she said she changed up her focus and thought a lot about the notion of “skiing out”—“skiing the turn deep, then getting really strong pressure above the gate, while pushing my upper body out and away from the gate as I have a tendency to move my upper body inside which weakens the top of my turn. It was really just a different way for me to think about leveling my shoulders up and worked really well.”
The athletes are full of gratitude to everyone who was able to ensure they made a safe and productive return to the mountain, including the U.S. Ski & Snowboard staff, team manager, Copper Mountain staff, and beyond. Alice also passionately added, “HUGE thanks to Copper Mountain, the lift operators, ski patrollers, groomers, Frank Kelble, and much of the Team Summit crew that put so much work into getting everything ready and making skiing happen again! Our staff did an incredible job as well being short-staffed without any of our European staff—Karin [Harjo] was certainly the MVP and we are so grateful for the help from Kristina Revello for joining us this camp! It was pretty fun having an all women's crew I must admit...additional thanks to my husband Pat and Napa (Jonathan Wyant) for helping with the ski preparation! All in all, it was a huge effort to make this training camp happen and I know how grateful all of us are! After a strange few months, it was motivating and inspiring to get on snow again.”
Women's team athletes were treated to an almost entirely female staff, including Rocky Central Regional Coach Kristina Revello, women's speed team physio Torey Anderson, Assistant Europa Cup tech coach Katie Twible, and Assistant World Cup speed coach Karin Harjo.
In terms of what’s next, PK said: “We’re keeping all options open and we have multiple plans in place, and all of them are driven by our ability to travel and travel safely.” Currently, the women’s team has plans that are all domestic, plans that are based in Europe, and those in the Southern Hemisphere “which are definitely challenged at the moment.” He added, “The number one priority is to do it safely and number two is to be able to capitalize on the best training we can get safely, so that may turn out to be a domestic Mt. Hood program for the summer.”
U.S. Ski & Snowboard sanctioned training camp attendance is optional. U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes and staff should not feel pressure to travel to train. All sanctioned training camp policies and protocols are subject to change based on local, state, and federal public health orders, updated guidance from the USOPC, or updated U.S. Ski & Snowboard policies.
Mikaela Shiffrin
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin began turning heads almost instantly when she finished top 15 in her first two NorAm Cup races.
Proffit's Unlikely Path to U.S. Alpine Ski Team Featured in St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Megan Harrod
June, 22 2020
Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team Development athlete Ainsley Proffit was recently featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's "Best of St. Louis" series, featuring the region's top performers in Olympic and recreational sports in an article entitled, "From St. Charles to U.S. ski team: Ainsley Proffit's unlikely quest to be queen of the hill."
Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team Development athlete Ainsley Proffit was recently featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's "Best of St. Louis" series, featuring the region's top performers in Olympic and recreational sports in an article entitled, "From St. Charles to U.S. ski team: Ainsley Proffit's unlikely quest to be queen of the hill."
“I remember my first year racing out in Colorado,” Proffit recalled. “I came out for Colorado’s end-of-season championships, where all best racers who were 11 or 12 years old all competed, all the best kids in the state. In the first race of the series I got second and one of the moms asked my mom where I was training. Did I go to Austria or Switzerland for special coaching? How was I so good from Missouri? It was me skiing at Hidden Valley every day.”
Alabama native Dani Loeb, part of the stacked U.S. aerials team, has 10 NorAm Cup wins, two World Cup top-5 finishes, and was part of the 2023 World Championships roster.
This column was originally posted by Gus at SkiPost.com.
My last couple blocks of training have gone pretty well, with one setback called shin splints, caused by running too much early in the spring. It's been a little bit of a bummer to not run for the last month or so, but it hasn't impacted my training too much. It has also made me much more conscious of how careful you have to be when returning to full summer mileage. I've still been able to train well with biking and roller skiing, and it's made it so I can ride my new mountain bike more than I would, which is a nice silver lining! I even did mountain bike intervals one day for the first time ever. It's definitely a different feeling, you have to make sure you don't overload your legs too much so you don't just hit a wall and lose power. I still was able to breathe hard and get my heart rate up so I think it was a worthwhile session! Mostly, though, I've been doing my intervals on roller skis.
Other than that, I've still been riding motocross once or twice a week on easier weeks, hanging out with our new puppy, and working on a summer class, so I have plenty going on!
I'm really looking forward to getting back into running over the next several weeks, I just have to take it slow. I really do enjoy running, so it'll be fun to be back doing more hiking and bounding intervals. Other than that, I look forward to the next time I can see my U.S. teammates. Our U.S. Ski Team camp in Park City that was originally scheduled for June got moved back again to a tentative August date, which is kind of a bummer because I miss those guys that I haven't seen since the season ended. While I'd rather be able to hang out and train with them once in a while, there is something very nice about just staying in one place to train, especially if that place is home. It's been really easy for me to settle in and focus, while mixing training alone, with AWS, and with other friends also training here. That brings me nicely into my question of the month, which asks about doing intervals alone, and how to feel productive in those sessions.
SkiPost: Gus, Nordic skiers train many hours, and there are many times when skiers are training without their team or group.
What advice would you give for junior and young adult skiers who are doing intervals sessions on their own over the summer? How can they feel like they are putting in the effort when they don't have coaches around to push them or teammates to strive toward. How can athletes training alone feel like they are staying competitive, even when they don't have anyone to compete with?
While I think doing intervals with other people around the same speed as you can be very beneficial, I also think it is extremely important to do some interval sessions totally on your own. This makes it easier to focus on your own technique and pace, which are key things to be able to control in a race. Sometimes it can be hard to motivate or get hype when you're alone (hard things to fake!). Coaches and teammates are common ways to do this, but finding ways to hype yourself up for individual workouts is important, so you're not as reliant on a group. Personally, I like to watch video of good skiers before training, and I also like thinking about future races and how I want them to go. Those things get me fired up to train hard. One other hurdle is how you can feel competitive even without people around. A great way to do this is to find a hill or loop that you like for a specific interval set, and always do those intervals there. Comparing times is a way to be competitive against yourself and try to always get better. Set loops are also good if you're not as comfortable with pacing, because then you can see your changes in speed from interval to interval. One downside would be pressure to push too hard, but if you're aiming for a specific number of intervals, you won't be able to finish them with high quality if you go too hard!
Alabama native Dani Loeb, part of the stacked U.S. aerials team, has 10 NorAm Cup wins, two World Cup top-5 finishes, and was part of the 2023 World Championships roster.
Olympic gold medalist Julia Mancuso announced her latest endeavor, a new podcast called "Just Be Yourself with Julia Mancuso," where Julia will "welcome you into my life in a unique way and I'm excited to take you guys along with me on this adventure as we share in this journey together. I want to support your journey toward the future you dream of as you create it." (Getty Images)
Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Alpine Ski Team alumna Julia Mancuso announced her latest endeavor, a new podcast called "Just Be Yourself with Julia Mancuso," where Julia will "welcome you into my life in a unique way and I'm excited to take you guys along with me on this adventure as we share in this journey together. I want to support your journey toward the future you dream of as you create it with unwavering determination."
The always fun-loving, wild, tiara-wearing woman, Julia was a young phenom—part of the famous 1984 birth year that included standout teammates and fellow Olympic champions Lindsey Vonn and Ted Ligety. Growing up in Squaw Valley, California, Julia was inspired by the spirit in the Olympic Valley, host of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. Each day she passed the Olympic rings going to and from school.
For Julia, success came quickly, as she grabbed five junior world championship gold medals and three bronze medals—across four disciplines. She raced her first World Cup when she was just 15-years-old and made her first Olympic team in 2002 at 17 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nagging hip pain as a result of hip dysplasia would eventually force Julia to retire just before the 2018 Olympic Games, but she would do so in style, at the site of her first career FIS Ski World Cup super-G victory in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...wearing a superhero cape, dressed as "Super Jules".
Full of ups and downs, Julia's career was nothing short of exciting. She kept the mood light, was a big event performer who pulled out all the stops on the biggest stage of them all, donned a tiara on the Olympic podium, danced, smiled and had fun. In doing so, she won more Olympic medals than any American woman in alpine skiing, with four, and grabbed five FIS Ski World Championship medals. She has also stood on the world cup podium 36 times and started in 398 world cup races.
Of her new venture, Julia wrote in her Instagram announcement, "Stay tuned as I'll be making an announcement in the next couple of days about how you can be involved in the show. Until then, stay true to yourself and get ready for the adventure to begin!"
Shiffrin Returns to Snow at Copper for First 2020-21 Training Camp
By Megan Harrod
June, 19 2020
Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin returned to snow in early June at Copper Mountain, Colo. for the first prep period camp of her 2020-21 season. (Max Hall - U.S. Ski & Snowboard)
Though the time away from the mountain was challenging for Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes, there was one athlete, in particular, who made the most of the time away—spending some much-welcomed time with her family, settling into her new normal as the “CEO” of her brand as she dove into learning about finance and accounting, giving back to charitable causes for COVID-19 relief, launching her involvement with her new foundation, Kindness Wins, raising $41,000 through the All In Challenge with a HomeLight Killington Cup VIP package benefitting those faced with food insecurity during the pandemic, and working closely and tirelessly with U.S. Ski & Snowboard on a future fundraising campaign that will benefit all U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes across all sports...all while dancing, singing, AND staying fit in her home gym. That would be two-time Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin, of course.
Following the tragic passing of her father in February, Mikaela spent more than a month at home in Edwards, Colo. with her family. She returned to Europe in early March in hopes of stepping into the start gate for one final FIS Ski World Cup event prior to the end of the season, in a place that personally meant a lot to her—Åre, Sweden. That hope would soon be shattered, as the races were cancelled and the season cut short due to COVID-19. Mikaela’s world had stopped in February, but the entire world came to a screeching halt in March when the global pandemic hit.
Even so, Mikaela would get on the plane from Europe back home, feeling a sense of gratitude for how far she had come. As she told the New York Times in March while still in Åre, “If nothing else, I’m grateful that we came this far, even with the races canceled. So I got to get out there for that training session with full intentions of preparing for a race and skied with that intensity. I accomplished that, and that was all I had set out to do.
“It was maybe in the long term even better that I didn’t step into the start gate and have to deal with the mental challenges of knowing that the overall title was still in the cards,” Mikaela added, “because the competitor in me probably would have come out and said, ‘I care about the results,’ even though that was never my focus.”
Fast forward to June, and, after months of waiting, Mikaela would get her chance to return to the mountain, just a short drive from her home at U.S. Ski & Snowboard Official Training Site, Copper Mountain, Colo. After weeks of planning and time spent creating COVID-19 protocol, led by U.S. Ski & Snowboard High-Performance Director Troy Taylor and Lead Physical Therapist Gillian Bower, along with team managers, staff, and beyond, athletes were finally able to return back to snow. And, how sweet it was!
“Returning to snow was—it’s difficult to describe, truthfully—because it was really amazing,” reflected Mikaela’s Head Coach, Mike Day. “It was something that was so refreshing like I haven’t really experienced in my career. In my career, there was not a time where we had no option to ski, so when we were finally able to get back on snow with everything going on in the world and COVID, it was really special,” he added.
Perhaps the extra time off snow gave athletes and staff an even greater sense of gratitude for their return to the mountain and the sport they have so much passion for, which is reflected in Mike’s sentiments about the camp. “We can’t begin to thank Frank Kelble and Copper enough for the effort they put in to produce great venues, safe venues—both with protection with b-net but also with social distancing measures and really well-thought-out planning,” commented Mike. “They did an excellent job in all capacities to make sure we had great training and were safe.”
U.S. Ski Team athletes are accustomed to descending upon the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain for training camps in October and November with supreme conditions, but this June camp was a unique opportunity for the team, with conditions that surpassed expectations of both athletes and staff.
“The conditions really surprised us—they’ve been remarkably good and we couldn’t be happier,” admitted Mike. “We were excited to go skiing, but our expectation was not extremely high with what we would get for quality, and we’ve had extremely high-quality training. It has been mostly freeze-thaw snow, but it’s pretty spectacular to not be above treeline, but to actually be in the trees, and be in a familiar place.”
The variable conditions provided for some productive training sessions. “We’ve had a couple of days that were warmer than others, which has also been something that we needed to focus on with Mikaela, on softer, salted conditions—which has been a nice balance,” added Mike. “And we’ve had some extremely hard snow as well, so we’ve been able to cover a variety of conditions and produced really good high volume and quality with access to the Excelerator lift and such a quick turnaround. It was a really good venue to work with at this time of year, and we were lucky to accomplish all that we did.”
Having not been able to build into the prep period as they had originally planned, the focus of this camp was really fundamental. Mikaela’s focus was fundamentals in both slalom and giant slalom, with giant slalom being the primary focus. “We’ve been able to get good volume done in both events,” said Mike. “Same focus points we’ve worked on in the past, but it provided us a little bit better of an environment to be able to work through them. I was excited to see the level that Mikaela brought back to snow. She was immediately skiing at a very high level, which was nice to see, in both events.”
While the entire staff wasn’t able to travel (notably Jeff Lackie) due to COVID-19 restrictions, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Western Region FIS Coach Fletcher McDonald stepped up to fill in the gap, along with Green Mountain Valley School’s (GMVS) Charlie Powell, which was definitely a welcome addition to the group.
“Fletcher McDonald has been able to be with us, and not only has he been amazing and a great fit, but he can do massive amounts of work—but it’s also nice to have someone from within the organization. I would thank Fletcher, as well as Bill Gunesch [Western Region Development Director] and Chip Knight [Alpine Development Director]—it was just nice that we were able to get him in. I think it was a special experience for him, but equally rewarding for us,” he added. “Then, Charlie stepped into the role of serviceman for this camp, which has been amazing, and he’s also a really fluent coach, so he’s been able to do a number of things on the hill as well as take care of the skis. So it’s been really incredibly seamless and really high-level execution, so it’s been great.”
For Mikaela, returning to the mountain, while being able to stay in the comfort of her own home as she and her family adjust to their new life without their dear father and husband, was so special. “It felt amazing to be back on snow after having the longest time off skis that I can remember in my career,” reflected Mikaela. “I wasn’t sure how it was going to feel after such a long time and with everything going on in the world, but I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to spend some time training on snow, as I realize so many people in our country hardly have the chance to even get outside right now and the damage that is doing emotionally and mentally is beyond words.”
“Of course there are still so many unknowns we’ll have to navigate moving forward in this ‘new normal,’ but I really can’t thank Copper, the U.S. Ski Team, and my team enough for working together to create great training conditions that led to a really productive camp,” she added. “Many of our competing nations have had access to on-snow training over the last weeks and will continue to have access throughout the summer on the glaciers, while some competitors were never forced to go off-snow at all, and still some have yet to touch their skis to snow, and may not have the chance until the fall or winter...so I am incredibly grateful to be among the athletes who have been able to practice on snow for any amount of time at all.”
In terms of what’s next...it’s really unknown at this point. Head Women’s Coach Paul Kristofic said, “We’re keeping all options open and we have multiple plans in place, and all of them are driven by our ability to travel and travel safely.” Currently, said Paul, the women’s team has plans that are all domestic, plans that are based in Europe, and those in the Southern Hemisphere “which are definitely challenged at the moment.” He added, “The number one priority is to do it safely and number two is to be able to capitalize on the best training we can get safely, so that may turn out to be a domestic Mt. Hood program for the summer.”
U.S. Ski & Snowboard sanctioned training camp attendance is optional. U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes and staff should not feel pressure to travel to train. All sanctioned training camp policies and protocols are subject to change based on local, state, and federal public health orders, updated guidance from the USOPC, or updated U.S. Ski & Snowboard policies.
Alabama native Dani Loeb, part of the stacked U.S. aerials team, has 10 NorAm Cup wins, two World Cup top-5 finishes, and was part of the 2023 World Championships roster.
College Ski Racing and the U.S. Ski Team: Another Perspective from a U.S. Ski Team Alumna
By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
June, 19 2020
U.S. Ski Team alumna Heidi Voelker, who was a 12-year member (1985-1997) of the U.S. Ski Team, shares her perspective on the collegiate ski racing and U.S. Ski Team relationship. (Jack Arrix)
One of these individuals is alumna Heidi Voelker, who was a 12-year member (1985-1997) of the U.S. Ski Team. Heidi wrote this piece in response to a Ski Racing Media article, USST, NCAA butt heads over NorAm schedule.
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I am writing to express my opinion on the recent articles about the development differences between the USST and NCAA. I am a three-time Olympian and have been involved in this sport for over four decades. I am also the parent of a first-year FIS athlete, who will one day have to make a choice in this regard (if he is fast enough to be in that position).
Choices are always difficult, we make them every day, yet they come with trade-offs. Skiing for the National Team or a college program are very different; they both require exceptional talent and speed. The rewards for success and risks are also different between the two. The path you take depends on your goals and ambition. There is no wrong path, but you will be forced to choose and in so doing, you will be faced with trade-offs. Some say you can do both, I disagree. Are their exceptions? Yes. But, if your measure of success is defined by World Cup, World Championship or Olympic podiums, the success rate through college racing is very low and data backs this up.
Prior to the inception of the World Cup tour in 1966, college skiing was the path to the World Championships and Olympics. Once the season long World Cup tour was established, governing bodies around the world had to adjust and because of competitive forces, the path to these events changed.
When I ask young children, who ski race what their goals or dreams are, they say “I want to ski in the Olympics, my dream is to win a Gold medal”. I have never heard “My goal is to ski for a certain college”. That’s not a knock, it’s just the way it is.
The World Cup is the highest level of competition that we have in skiing. It takes sacrifice, effort, talent and ultimately speed to achieve success. The mission of the National Team is to develop competitive athletes that win races, World Championship and Olympic medals. Especially Olympic medals, because that’s their currency of currency, their funding is based upon it.
The USST path is a full-time job. You compete against other athletes from other countries that train year-round. If you don’t, you are at a huge disadvantage and that compounds every year that you are not on that path. The USST has their development process, while not perfect, it again provides funding for athletes on the D and C teams, which was sorely lacking over the last five years and something that helped me in my career. To make the team is great, but the goal of the program is to have skiers on the A Team, competing for podiums. That’s the truth; the tip of the spear is sharp and not always accommodating to athletes that can’t perform to this level.
This process requires solid progression and can’t take more than five years to show results, given funding limitations. Talent can be identified and progressed; however, some athletes will not make the next step and the Team is forced to make decisions. This is a risk with this path, not everyone who makes the National Team leaves happy. But if you have the speed it’s your path to ski at the highest level of this sport and achieve Olympic dreams. There are great skiers like the Phil and Steve Mahre, Tamara McKinney, Bode Miller, Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin who have gone this path, stood on podiums-making a trade-off, forgoing college.
There is a lot of discussion around having the National Team accommodate the college schedule. The National Team needs to build their schedule for the benefit of their athletes. 90% of these races are on foreign soil. In the U.S. our highest level of racing is NorAm. In Europe, they have Europa Cup and World Cup. U.S. athletes must be able to adapt to living and racing in Europe. It is very rare that an athlete can show up in Europe, learn the lifestyle, be comfortable, and be competitive right away. It takes a couple years for this to happen.
That means that the D and C team athletes must compete over there. Our NorAm races are preparation and test events for the D and C team athletes. Ultimately, they need to compete in high level FIS and Europa Cup races in Europe and make their mark there, so NorAms need to be scheduled before the races in Europe or later in the season which conflicts with the college schedule.
College ski racing is a cool experience. Being able to ski race for four years at a great college or university and walk away with a degree is a great opportunity. With that said, the educational requirements, testing and workload are demanding and when you add alpine training, NCAA rules and the college calendar they simply do not align with the requirements of competing at a high level on the World Cup. Comparing other college sports and the progression to the pros is not accurate; there are so many differences in international ski racing and the countries that are represented. People just need to come to grips with this fact.
The College path is an excellent option for athletes who don’t want to go the National Team route or for those who have been with the national team for two to three years but did not make the next level. NCAA Division 1 is very competitive and a spot on any team is not easy to achieve, even if you are trying to migrate from the National Team. College ski racing is very rewarding; my brother and sister took this path and they loved their experience.
In the end, all athletes need to understand which path is the best for them. There are trade-offs and sacrifices with both, as well as unique experiences. While each path requires a high level of commitment, the body of work are different, and choices must be made.
