Let’s all take a deep breath

I cried a little bit this past couple of weeks.

It was moving to watch Shaun White end his amazing Olympic career with a near-miracle medal, taking his final lap down the pipe … seeing Mikaela sitting in the snow carrying the weight of not only her expectations but those of the entire country was saddening … then, tears of joy watching the Team Event and how our American athletes pulled together and supported each other. I became emotional last week when I learned of the resignation of U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Director Jesse Hunt.

Anyone who was surprised or disappointed by the U.S. Alpine medal haul hasn’t been paying attention. It was clear years ago that a gap was forming between the veteran stars who carried the team for a number of years and the talent rising in the pipeline. Even so, the last four years have seen the gap beginning to close with a number of new podium skiers and an improvement in international junior results. Several key injuries impacted the potential contribution of these rising stars and left an unbearable level of expectation on our remaining superstar. Among the rest of the team, a number of athletes achieved multiple best performances under the glare of the Olympic spotlight, and the U.S. advanced to the semifinals for the first time in the history of the Team Event at world championships or the Olympics. A deeper look reveals that this Olympics wasn’t the disaster that some make it out to be and that there were unexpected positives and continuing signs of progress.

But make no mistake: A team with numerous superstars is needed to win the Olympic medal tally. While some are on track rising through the pipeline, the U.S. has only one.

In the early 2000s the U.S. had the depth of five superstars and a number of other podium threats. Reduced funding for athlete development was in part due to the belief that regions, clubs and academies were equipped to deliver athletes prepared to successfully compete internationally. Select National Development Teams were not perceived as needed and project-based athlete development was implemented.

As a country, we have been through these cycles numerous times, swinging between distributed and centralized development philosophies. One only has to look at the various names and structures that have been implemented over time: Regional Teams, Development Team, Alpine Training Team, Talent Squad, NorAm team, NDT, National Junior Group, etc. Usually, when elite performance is at a high level, there is less attention given to what is provided for the rising juniors. When there is a need for rebuilding, the best developing athletes are brought together in centralized camps and named teams. Without fail, efforts that start as part-time programs evolve to become full-time teams as the athletes and coaches involved realize the need for consistency and focus.

Most recently “Project 2026” was introduced in 2017 with the following strategies:

• Refine U.S. Ski Team programming to focus on winning medals with selection criteria specifically focused on athletes who are on track to win medals.
• Shift from a national-managed D team to a shared elite development model between U.S. Ski & Snowboard and clubs.
• U.S. Ski & Snowboard will work more closely with regions and clubs to create a deeper pool of elite developing athletes from 12 to 20 years old.
• Direct resources towards high-level coaching expertise as well as club and coach education.

While it seems like athletic nirvana that the best young athletes have the resources of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, their region and home program working collaboratively to support them, the reality is that it leaves the athletes without a base and consistent direction.

When refined in 2020 because athletes and coaches reported, “They’ve been sort of lost and oftentimes coming back to us saying, ‘I didn’t feel like I was part of a team,’ or ‘I didn’t know who my coach was at the NorAm races,’” it was announced that the “Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team will evolve the Project 26 initiative by taking over direct athlete management of the named Development Team athletes.”

Currently, the athlete-development program managed by U.S. Ski & Snowboard provides full-time programming for a small group of named athletes while also providing larger groups of developing athletes opportunities for meaningful crossover and selection to camps and competition projects.

Never has there been so much time and energy invested and opportunities provided to developing athletes by U.S. Ski & Snowboard. National Teams and Regional Coaches have never been more supportive of athlete development, collaborative with clubs and academies or open to including non-named athletes who are skiing fast. There is more balance between centralized and distributed development than at any time in our sport’s history. If anything, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is trying to do too much for too many and diluting the scope of its impact. 

A laser-like focus on being the best is what’s needed. Becoming objectively the best in the world takes an extraordinary vision of leadership, unwavering commitment of all involved and an incredible amount of hard work and perseverance. There are only a few among us who are able to say they are — or have measurably been — the best in the world at what they do. Whether as an athlete, part of building an athletic program or as a business-leader, being the best in the world is, by definition, extraordinarily difficult. Jesse is one of the few in this organization who can say that they have been part of a successful effort.

It takes a TEAM 

The Alpine program has been focused over the last four years on creating a team environment. A formalized input process has been established for athletes, mentors and mentees assigned to help share knowledge and strengthen the concept of “TEAM,” and it appears to be making a positive impact. Ski racing is unique as an individual sport that is practiced in a team environment. Our athletes, coaches and other support staff sometimes spend months without being able to return to friends and family. A supporting environment where all stakeholders are unified in support of each other is critical to the individual success of all our athletes and our success as a nation.

Any successful organization must have a clear vision and a culture that supports that vision. Athletes, coaches and other stakeholders MUST be encouraged to speak out and advocate passionately for their beliefs. Planes fall out of the sky when the pilots don’t call each other out.

Let’s all take a deep breath. In sport, as in life, the best planning doesn’t always result in the expected outcome. Let’s not waste time laying blame but work together to help our athletes and teams achieve what should be all our goal: For the United States Alpine Ski Team to be the best team in the world of Alpine ski racing. 

Jesse was leading us in that direction. I, for one, will miss his leadership. We don’t have time to waste.

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