New USSA athletes welcomed to the fold at 2012 Rookie Camp

By Published On: June 26th, 2012Comments Off on New USSA athletes welcomed to the fold at 2012 Rookie Camp

Nothing gives a team a boost quite like a little fresh blood. Last weekend, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association got a huge shot in the arm by welcoming a new crop of 48 young athletes to the ranks of its U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Freeskiing, and U.S. Snowboarding squads at Rookie Camp 2012.

The recently nominated athletes, X Games gold medalists and national champions amongst them, are part of the expanding foundation the USSA is building a year and a half away from the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. The rookies gathered at the team’s headquarters in Park City, Utah June 21-23 for the sixth annual USSA Rookie Camp.

The three-day camp was designed to introduce the young athletes (most in their late teens) to the resources and responsibilities that come along with joining the national teams. The athletes met with USSA President Bill Marolt and vice president of athletics Luke Bodensteiner, talked competitions schedules with their respective program directors and worked out in the Center of Excellence gym.

“We’ve done this six years now and this was a very interesting one,” said Bodensteiner “We’ve been able to develop a really good program with a lot of educational content but we have learned to keep them active too. It’s been an interesting mix with the new sports that were included into the Olympics last summer. Where we have had a lot of development-level skiers in the past, we now have a lot of really established pros at this camp.”

Along with all of the information given to the Olympic hopefuls, they were also handed the physical keys to the organization.  

“The coolest thing that really set in was when we got the key to the building, It was just like ‘wow I’ve finally made it,’” said halfpipe skier Alex Ferreira of Aspen, Colo. “All the resources you have for physical fitness, you can do whatever you want, it’s incredible.”  

The athletes were also trained in best communication practices, educational opportunities and anti-doping procedures. Team building exercises including a ropes course and a soccer game were also on the agenda to unify the new teammates from across the country.  

“The camp had been unreal,” said X Games champion slopestyle skier Bobby Brown of Denver, Colo. “It was nice to have everyone here and get the whole team together to figure out what USSA can do for us and how we can take advantage of all the opportunities that are out there and how to approach the future.”

Sport     Athlete
Aerials McKinnon, Kiley
Aerials Olsen, Madison
Aerials Gorelik, Madison
Aerials Bohonnon, Mac
Freeski Rookie Micinski, Alexi
Freeski Rookie Stevens, Darian
Freeski Rookie Breda, Jess
Freeski Rookie Drew, Annalisa
Freeski Rookie Currier, Lyman
Freeski Rookie Borm, Willie
Freeski Rookie Laker, Chris
Freeski Rookie Partridge, Andy
Freeski Rookie Blunck, Aaron
Freeski Rookie Ferreira, Alex
Men’s Alpine Ginnis, Alexander (AJ)
Moguls Walczyk, Dylan
Moguls Tempel, Cody
Nordic Combined Lynch, Erik
Nordic Combined Loomis, Adam
Nordic Combined Ward, Michael
SB HP Gold, Arielle
SB HP Mack, Kyle
SB HP Ferguson, Gabe
SB SS Karlinski, Jordie
SB SS Walker, Ty
SB SS Jenson, Jessika
SB SS Willett, Eric
SB SS Guldemond, Chas
SB SS Kotsenburg, Sage
SBX Hernandez, Jackie
SBX Tuttle, Alex
SBX Kearney, Hagen
Ski HP Bowman, Maddie
Ski HP Adams, Duncan
Ski HP Barrymore, Tai
Ski SS Wint, Emilia
Ski SS Herman, Keri
Ski SS Battersby, Ashley
Ski SS Olenick, Meg
Ski SS Eliassen, Grete
Ski SS Brown, Bobby
Ski SS Carlson, Sammy
Ski SS Schlopy, Alex
Ski SS Christensen, Joss
Ski SS Wallisch, Tom

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About the Author: Eric Williams