Not sure why everyone is so eager to get rid of these two. If the US was Austria or Switzerland and had tons of young racers that were just as good sure - but seems like these guys perform as well or better than the younger guys on the team. My guess is the decision regarding whether to hang around will depend on family, health and competitiveness. If they are good on all three of those why not stay around and make good money in the short period you have where you can earn it as a pro. If their injuries keep coming back or they are embarrassing themselves on the hill or their family says enough is enough then sure pull the plug. But none of those seem to be true right now at least in the small sample we have this year.
I think the issue is "the decision regarding whether
to hang around.....", and how that plays into the entire USST Alpine program. Development through the various one person teams that we have on the WC. Who's decision is it to stick with it, and what factors are involved? At what point does your performance decline to the point where the resources that you use are disproportionately large? The USST does not seem to have the resources to allocate to athletes that frankly a nonprofit of it's size should. Our NGB is not funded by the government. The funding and budget of the Austrians, the Swiss and others is very different. A lot of government money. And, we can't deny that it is their national sport.
In our current situation, we have stated that our goal is Project 26. To field a team that will be dominant at the 2026 OWG's. OK, though I don't agree, I do understand the concept, did see the stake go into the ground, and do see some of the exceptional young skiers coming along who may get the USST there. However, at the same time, the decision to retire from the USST, even if you can still perform "near the top....even if it is a big drop from YOUR previous peak" is yours as an athlete.
In past years, it might have been suggested, or even agreed to, that the end was here. LV's career ended due to injury. Mancuso's did as well, though there was remarkable denial as to when it really had ended, and she took up a roster spot, funding, etc....
which also enabled her to keep getting paid by all of her hard goods suppliers...for at least a couple of years. She was a physical wreck before she really was forced to admit it.
Bode milked it for a while. Ted Ligety was, and is a LEGEND in the sport. He derives a lot of income from the sport, including a huge deal from Head. A deal that he signed at his peak. Steven Nyman has been a really solid speed skier {despite starting as a JWC SL gold medalist}, and he's had a good career. This is is 19th WC season, I think. He has had 11 WC podiums, and three WC wins....all at Val Gardena. 7 of the 11 podium have been there, and at Beaver Creek. I know that from conversation over the weekend. He will turn 38 soon. Does he still have it? Will he past this current season?
Both of these guys have had back problems. Bad back problems. They travel the circuit with their kids, and families. Neat experience. Ted had decided to race just GS this season {I have no idea where the SG start at BC came from...nostalgia?}. Steven will primarily race just DH, and a few SG's. Ted has his own "team"....coach, assistant, tech, physio. Alex Martin, the tech, is paid by Head. The cost to support Ligety is big. Nobody, NOBODY, denies that he is a great guy. And Steven is one of the most well liked guys, and classiest guys on the WC. In other sports, though, it's done and over at some point. I have a couple of NHL friends, Hall of Fame players, and they really did not and could not hang around.
I would much rather look to the future. Perhaps those Ligety coaching resources need to go to some younger guys, like a River Radamus, Luke Winters, Brian McLaughlin? Maybe Nyman would be an all world coach for Sam Morse? Maybe some of that happens over the summer.
To me it's about the goals, present and future, and the resources. I wish that the team could do BOTH well.
Now...resources. Mikaela has her own team. I believe that she even has her own press officer who travels with her, as LV did. I don't know of she has a chef. I can't even add up the people in her current group. And it is ALL
for her. I saw her training a couple of weeks ago at Aspen. Had the entire venue to herself. There is no mentoring, no sharing. If there is, it's strictly on Instagram.
So the issue that is brewing, that nobody in the USST ranks is willing to address, is whether the USST needs to pour all these resources into her, or whether she and her business might actually fund some of it...or have her sponsors fund more of it. It could be that Redbull is funding a bit. Nothing like they did with LV. The fact is that MS would have NO career, and would not be the highest paid athlete in the sport, were in not for the USST. Now agents and advisors have a nice way of convincing the USST, along with NBC, that there would be NO USST, or not one that anybody cares about, were there no MS, so the USST should feel fortunate to be able to fund this and have her in a USST uniform.
Let's flip back to the Austrians. Hircher retired, and they do not have this issue. Maier retired and walked away. Eberharter retired when he was still damn good. All of them seemed to transition well without hanging on, on the roster. And some get dropped. I do not know what the Swiss are doing with Lara Gut. True, she has been injured and is making a long recovery. But she also has a big change in her personal life. And there is a lot of questioning about her drive and commitment. How much does she care? How hard is she working? How much money would she continue to earn if she were NOT an active member of the team? In her case, she has always been very, very "difficult." Very demanding. Cute, beautiful, captivating smile for the camera. Brutal and screaming away from it. I can't comment as to why they tolerate it. Her contract probably stipulates that she is on that team as long as she wants if her world ranking is at a certain level, or more likely since she is a WC overall winner, as long as she wants. And the top dogs at Head have loved her since the minute that they signed her. She, too, has a BIG deal. And probably will forever.
One factor is that the total money in the sport has increased, a bit. Forget prize money, that's icing on the cake. I'm talking the big ski deals. BUT, the percentage of WC skiers with ski deals has drastically gone down. I recall about 15 years ago when a friend made the USST B team and without even asking was handed a $50K contract from her ski company. Today, there is NO chance that a skier at her level would earn a check. Back in the day, way back in the day when the sport was alleged to be "amateur", we had athletes like Killy and Schranz making some money. Today, we have the superstars: HK, Pintu, MS, etc. making a LOT of money. And people starting 40th in a WC making none. Look at the other contracts for MS: Barilla, Logines, Adidas, etc. That skier staring 40th might have a $5K deal with a headgear sponsor. MS's deal....wow.
So.......why "hang it up", if you can keep this income stream going? For some it's going to dry up fast and furious when it ends. For the rare ones, like MS and Ted, it should go up. I would imagine that it is going way up for LV. Steven Nyman? Dunno. Somebody like Tommy Biesemeyer, who has been on the WC for 10 years, and has never cracked the top 10? He has been an up and comer, destined for greatness, since he was about 14. He's had some injuries, and tough luck. How has he performed? Does HE make the decision to hang around as long as "he meets criteria." I have no idea what his future holds. Family business?
I get real tired of hearing the generic interviews" Yeah...had some good skiing today..some good sections....but a couple of mistakes. Need to clean up a couple of things that I've been working on. Been working on the setup and that's all good. Yeah...I'm pretty happy." This can often be from a guy who has had 100+ WC starts, and was many seconds out. Maybe I expect more. Maybe I'm too harsh.
These guys are not embarrassing anybody, are not at the back of the pack, and they still flash moments of incredible brilliance and ski sections, or runs, REALLY well. But they are clearly on the last couple of holes of the back nine. That's why I like to see skiers move on before they really are embarrassing themselves.
I have enormous admiration for Hirscher. As I did for Killy, when I was old enough to understood his decision. And there are many others. But the income swing to the very top group, ski related income, is now a big factor. It's what astonished me about Bode walking away from Head and actually investing in Bomber. That's a big bet.
Today, on the USST, you can absolutely hang on. And even with late in career, almost certain career ending injuries, you can hang on longer. And if hanging on takes up USST resources, they are resources that could be used elsewhere. Should you be loyal to the old guard, or look to the future, if you can't afford to do BOTH? It is a tough decision. I think that people who advocate for the old guard do no realize what a mess USST development is in.
Not a big believer or fan of Project 26, but you can't drive toward that and keep a large a stable of aging athletes. Another question, is what should the expectations be for continual progress in your results as you become more experienced and older? If you were once high potential, but plateau at kind of not great, is that good enough? How long is a plateau? How high is it? It's not easy because some who might be in that category are still top 30 every now and then, scoring some WC points. That would be great for an up and comer. At some point with others, you expect more. How many years without a second run in tech events, etc.? Tough decisions as they all tend to be good people.
Just my $.02. There are a TON of varying opinions when it comes to this stuff. Even on the USST board.