Author’s note: The good news in this conversation about cost — and there always is some — many of our country’s best ski racers are still finding a way to mature in this sport without stratospheric spending. They’ve made it with talent, hard work, creativity and an extraordinarily engaged and supportive ski community. We’ve talked to many of them and their parents, to learn how they managed to follow their dreams without bankrupting their futures. Their stories are all different, but they share some common themes in what helped them along their journeys, which include:

These athletes and parents shared their stories in the hopes that it will help young ski racers and their families see beyond the obstacles to the possibilities. Ski Racing Media is pleased to present a series within a series, if you will, “Breaking through without breaking the bank.”

Ryan Cochran-Siegle is Green Mountain homegrown

When you’re part of the Cochran clan in Vermont, you’ve got a good head start in the sport of skiing. As the son of gold medalist Barbara Ann Cochran and the youngest of all his cousins, Ryan Cochran-Siegle had his first pair of plastic skis before he can remember. As he and his older sister Caitlyn grew up, they graduated to hand-me-downs from cousins — four of whom would make the U.S. Ski Team — and gear from the annual ski sale held at Cochran’s Ski Resort in Richmond, Vt.

That was where Barbara Ann and her three Olympian siblings grew up and learned to ski on the rope tow their father, Mickey, built behind their house. As a single mom who headed up the youth ski lessons at Cochran’s, Barbara Ann literally raised the kids on the mountain. One race in which this Olympic champion never tried to compete was the arms race.

When Ryan was a J4, his uncle parlayed a Rossi sponsorship for him, and at every step, somebody in their tight knit community was there to help, while Ryan and Barbara Ann made careful choices.

Ryan opted out of his first U14 Future Stars competition (now known as Eastern Champs) and also out of the CanAm competition that typically followed. He did go to the US Nationals in Alyeska that year, but as a spectator and a guest of his mom’s who took part in the “Return of the Champions” held in conjunction with the event. Getting his first taste of big mountain skiing and watching his cousin, Jimmy, bring home the National GS and slalom titles proved to be much more valuable than another ski race. It planted the seed that inspired this kid from a 350 vertical-foot hill to become one of the world’s best speed skiers.

When Ryan and Caitlyn needed to expand their skills beyond Cochran’s, Barbara Ann looked to the Mt. Mansfield Ski Club. “I would buy them passes so they could get early season skiing at Stowe before Cochran’s opened, and Igor (Vanovac) would let them train sometimes.“

When Ginny Cochran passed away, she had ear-marked airline miles for her grandson, Ryan, then 13, to go to Mt. Hood for the first time at the camp his aunt Lindy Kelley organized. After that he went to Mt. Hood each summer with Lindy’s camps, paying for his airfare and lift tickets. Lindy also organized affordable camps at Sunday River pre-Thanksgiving for Cochran’s club kids.

Nevertheless, Ryan skied and raced far less than his peers. “I felt like he didn’t need to go chasing points,” says Barbara Ann. “That’s not a good way, and one way to cut down on expenses was not to enter every race you could.”

Ryan attended public school throughout his youth racing career, playing soccer in the fall and baseball in the spring. He spent three winters at Mt. Mansfield Winter Academy. After his senior year there, which ended up being his breakout season, he was faced with a $7,500 academy bill that Barbara Ann did not know how she’d pay. When she contacted MMSCA to discuss that bill, someone had already paid it anonymously.

Ryan opted out of the USST development camp that spring, in favor of playing his final season of high school baseball. Later that spring, he got an email that he was being nominated to the D-Team, followed closely by a $5,000 bill, the first installment of the team fee. “I wrote back that he declined,” said Barbara Ann, citing financial reasons and conflicts with summer work.

That June, Ryan was able to train with the U.S. Ski Team at Mt. Hood while staying with Lindy’s group. From then on, the U.S. Ski Team and the skiing community “started to find money for him,” says Barbara Ann. These include scholarships and grants, from, among others, T-2, Park City Ski Education Foundation, the Eastern Region and VARA. While training at the Center of Excellence, where athletes are on their own for housing, Ryan was able to stay with his cousin Jess and her husband Adam Cole. That was also the first year he went to Chile in the summer. He headed there with $23 in his checking account, just as the USOC came through with a $3,000 grant.

The next season he qualified for the B team, and went on to win two world junior golds the following season. The rest, as they say, is history, culminating in his 2021 downhill podium and super-G victory. “Along the way people and organizations have been really generous,” says Barbara Ann. “I feel like the opportunities my kids got were from the community.”

Stay tuned for more stories about “Breaking through without breaking the bank.” Have some thoughts on cost? Send a letter to the editor. If it’s good, we’ll publish it.