Aspen's Bob Beattie chimes in on the 2006 U.S. Olympic alpine team

Aspen’s Bob Beattie chimes in on the 2006 U.S. Olympic alpine team{mosimage}Ski Racing caught up with former U.S. Ski Team coach Bob Beattie at the NCAA Ski Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on Friday. The former University of Colorado coach traveled from his home in Aspen to cheer for both his alma mater — Middlebury — and the Buffaloes. Given his role coaching Billy Kidd and Jimmy Heuga to their historic silver and bronze medals at the 1964 Olympic Games in Innsbruck, we asked him what he thought of the U.S. Ski Team’s performance in Torino.

Bob Beattie: Obviously, I’ve thought about it a lot. The women I thought were really going to do well. But there was only one woman who hadn’t been injured going into the Olympics — Julia [Mancuso]. And she won a gold medal. She was the only one as far as I’m concerned who had an opportunity to [win].

SR: What about the other racers named to the Olympic team?
Beattie: If you don’t finish in the top five of World Cup races several times, it’s not realistic to think you’re going to win a medal. In my coaching career, I’ve always seen young guys come up on the team. They’ve never been in the top 10, and they say, ‘I’m going to win a medal at the Olympics.’ ‘To what do you attribute that?’ [I ask]. ‘How are you going to do that?’

SR: How about the men’s team?
Beattie: We only had three men who I would say had a chance to medal — Daron [Rahlves], Bode [Miller] and [Ted] Ligety. And surprise, surprise, Ligety, the youngest of all three, won. I think Daron had a bad day. He’s had a great year. I think he just wanted it too badly. That happens a lot.

SR: What about Bode?
Beattie: I think he has to think about himself a lot. He’s a great athlete. I like him. But I think he has to sit back and think. He’ll probably have some help. But he’s the one who has to do it. I think he was a disappointment to himself and to a lot of others. You would never know if you talked to him. He would have his party line. ‘I was really happy,’ he would say. ‘I did just what I wanted to do.’ He’ll need to think about it, how important ski racing is. I don’t think he knows what he wants to do in the future. I don’t think anyone does. Maybe he does.

SR: So what’s you overall take on the Games and the World Cup season?
Beattie: As far as World Cup races this winter, so many injuries for the girls, and three guys who could be there, but we only had one. It kind of sounds like an old coach’s line, but there’s some truth to it. … Unfortunately, no matter how you look at it, it’s one run down a mountain every four years. And that’s tough.