They actually excluded a large part of her FB post--she wrote a really good essay on the culture.
There is lots to agree with in Dan’s post and I will interject my thoughts on the matter. First, the team does not become good or bad in a year, or in a couple years. The lack of depth we are experiencing today (not including the women’s speed team!) is, in part, an outcome of Marolt’s focus from 2002-2015ish. Success followed Marolt’s vision back in his day. That was medals and the “A” team and it worked. However I was alpine director of the SSWSC at this time and I remember feeling strongly that the system in place would cause problems for the future; a lack of talent in the pipeline. Marolt’s emphasis was not on development and not only that, those young athletes for the first time had to pay for much of their way. Another shift we experienced in the 2nd Marolt era was the rise of the mega star and how the star negotiated the world cup tour. It became acceptable, and even the norm, for the stars to travel and operate independently of the team. Mikaela’s support team has brought this concept to a whole new level. One cannot deny that it has worked for Mikaela. I would suggest that access to the team’s best talent ought to be a core value and guiding principal of the USST; a pillar of development. I know of no champion out there who did not learn from watching and rubbing shoulders with those better. As for the NCAA topic, Tiger has been in active conversations about this very thing for the past year. If anyone values what the NCAA brings to USA skiing it would be Tiger and his staff has programming in place in an effort to bridge this divide. I believe a new day has arrived for the NCAA and the USST partnership. This has certainly not been the case in the past and the cry to engage these two organizations is heard by Tiger. As for salary, Tiger’s salary is half what Marolt’s was. In my view it’s not too much for a job so significant.
I find it fascinating that such an awakening is happening now at a time that the system of the past is only more entrenched than before. Yes, the system has been somewhat misguided and Tiger has come on board to redirect the ship. Dan speaks of how the athletes are treated today, I remember in 1984 when the Olympic team was not filled; US team athletes who were the best our country produced were denied spots on the team; denied the opportunity for the rest of their lives to answer “yes” to the first question that everyone asks, “did you go to the Olympics”. I know of athletes from early 2000’s who paid over $100,000, the equivalent of their college education, to be on the team. This angered me to no end. These athletes were “serving our country” in my view, competing for American pride, while Marolt was taking a massive salary (double Tiger’s) and building the COE. Gang, the issues Dan speaks of have been building for quite some time. Marolt did great things for US skiing while simultaneously dealt Tiger a weak hand. Marolt took great care of his stars but left nothing in the pipeline for the future. Tiger is rebuilding, shifting focus, tackling the NCAA opportunity that Marolt never touched and negotiating a complicated athlete funding dilemma Marolt initiated. I wish all outrage we are hearing today came about back then when the seeds of our issues today were planted.
A significant point I would like to focus on is culture. Everything gets back to culture and this is where we stumble in my view. For us in the USA this includes the internal culture of the athlete, family culture, club culture and our national ski racing culture. Let’s begin with the internal culture of an athlete. Internal culture includes personal accountability, an entrepreneurial/innovative spirit, complete ownership, visualizing the path, stopping at nothing, not relying on a system. Internal culture is an equal access commodity for the rich and poor and cannot be bought. Next, family culture. I see two types of family cultures that work best in USA ski racing. One, being the mega informed parent. These parents know much more than the average informed parents. These parents were former USST athletes or coaches or professionals in the sport in some capacity. These parents know the sport, understand timelines, have perspective, implement disciplined thought and planning, and do not follow the trend of the day in the sport. The other family culture is that of the parents being clueless, and they know it, so they stay out of the way. This allows for full mastery and management by the athlete at an early age and this athlete pulls the parents along for the ride. Families in the middle of this spectrum often struggle. Then comes club culture which accounts for community, LTAD, educating families, offering leadership at multiple levels to reinforce guiding principles. And finally our overarching USA racing culture. Gang, we think we got it but as a country we don’t to a large degree. As we know football, the Europeans know ski racing. Every European mom understands what a flex gate is and shinning, like every mom understands the end zone in football; you don’t have to be a fan but you are versed in verbiage and the sport to an extent. Some of what we experience in USA ski racing is the blind leading the blind. Equally bad are folks who are somewhat informed and heavily invested in their child’s ski racing pursuit with strong personalities influencing everyone else who will follow. That’s how we get multiple skis for youngsters. Emphasizing gates over a base of skill development. Parents elevated pride at their child’s U10 podium. Then our kids go to school and, for most ski racers, their teachers don’t understand the sport and their friends are wondering why they are gone so much. We, for some crazy reason, have technicians at the start of races for U12s, U14s, U16s. Club directors become swayed by parental pressure. USSA executives are swayed by huge $$. Let’s fix: culture, education, the equipment arms race, the deep and broken need to “win” at the tender ages. Let’s empower Tiger get his complete system in place which includes the NCAA, addressing the cost issue incurred by team members, bolstering development and club support, etc. He has not been handed a full deck. He must rebuild and this takes time. Elevated emotion surrounding the USST is nothing new. If you love our sport of ski racing, now is the time for solutions. If everyone takes ownership in making things better we will all be better off. It is at the club level where we have the control and will make US ski racing better. Educate the parents. Inspire the kids. Don’t cave to short sided ego driven pressures. And with that, how about more representation of female coaches and female leadership in the equation. Those female brains have lots to offer. Just some of my thoughts for all you interested ski racing fans........