Summer training is underway, U.S. Ski Team athletes are converging on Park City, and, for the first time, American university students and their coaches are beginning an official relationship with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) regarding the development pipeline.

University of Denver (DU) Head Alpine Coach Andy LeRoy and the University of Vermont’s (UVM) Director of Skiing and Head Alpine Coach Bill Reichelt both have athletes who were nominated for the inaugural National University Team (N-UNI). With Alex Leever representing DU and Griffin Brown and Sandy Vietze representing UVM, LeRoy and Reichelt addressed the N-UNI team as a whole as well as balancing athlete needs between USSA and their own NCAA programs.

“First and foremost, it’s a great step on USSA’s part,” LeRoy said. “Going forward, it’s up to us to try and make the most of it.” LeRoy identified the importance of USSA’s recognition of the development that has been taking place at the collegiate level over the past several years, with a number of NCAA skiers making the jump up to the national team either while still in school or shortly thereafter.

Reichelt, while also understanding the importance of the N-UNI team, was a little more cautious in his enthusiasm.

“I think in Sandy and Griff’s case, they were a little wary about what they would have to give up from being with (UVM),” explained Reichelt. “I think Peter (Lange) has talked to Sasha (Rearick) and it’s going to be very adaptable.” Allowing these athletes to train and compete with their college teams when it best suits them will be key to striking a balance that enables them to perform to their fullest potentials.

Reichelt also expressed his hope that these athletes will have access to the same equipment opportunities from which the rest of the athletes on the U.S. Ski Team benefit. One of the biggest disadvantages an athlete independent of the national team structure runs into is the availability of the same quality equipment and service support that national team athletes experience.

Lange’s role not only as coach of the N-UNI team but also as an ad hoc advisor at collegiate competitions was something both coaches expressed enthusiasm over. Having more continuity between racing conditions at the collegiate level and those found at the NorAm and World Cup levels is another step in the right direction toward further increasing development on the circuit.

“Hopefully the collaboration that’s happening throughout makes for a better athlete experience,” LeRoy added. “We’re making some big pushes out here in the West to try and do things better than we ever have.”

Speaking to the absence of a women’s program, LeRoy was very optimistic for the future.

“I think it’s going to come along really quickly. I really do,” LeRoy said. However, in order for that to happen, the culture around women’s ski racing in the U.S. may first need to change. “What I think we’ve seen in the past, most American women with any success or that early success are being on the national team before they even exit high school – and then not considering college as the next step, almost as if it is looked at as a step back, maybe it still is, but I’m hoping to change that.”

LeRoy added that the lack of a women’s N-UNI team in the inaugural season only speaks to a culture in this country that has more often than not seen women’s collegiate skiing as a step down rather than a stepping stone. “The program hasn’t been in place to allow us to jointly develop (with USSA).”

Reichelt echoed LeRoy’s sentiments of young American women failing to see college as a viable development option just yet.

“I get criticized sometimes for recruiting so heavily outside of the country, but if there’s an American woman that can ski 20 points and wants to come to school, yeah, absolutely,” Reichelt said.

Changing the culture of women’s ski racing is no easy task. But if one succeeds in breaking the mold, that might be all it takes to trigger an influx of athletes who see NCAA competition as a potential pathway to the U.S. Ski Team. This has now become an option on the men’s side, and time will tell if things will change for the women.