Shiffrin

**jackstraw** · 01-04-2018, 09:33 AM

Originally Posted by I've seen black diamonds!

See Bill Johnson: only had a few podiums in his career. And he managed to win Olympic gold.

Yeah, was a perfect venue for him.

**nyskirat** · 01-04-2018, 10:27 AM

Originally Posted by I've seen black diamonds!

See Bill Johnson: only had a few podiums in his career. And he managed to win Olympic gold.

See Andrew Weibrecht.

It's stupid that a lot of people put so much on the Olympics, but at the same time it's the biggest stage in the world. Underperforming there may result in a label that one can never shake.

**Danno** · 01-04-2018, 10:40 AM

eh, the Olympics is that way for lots of sports, not just ski racing. You toil in (relative) obscurity for 4 years and then get your one time, random shot at stardom in front of the world. Track and field, skiing, biking, you name it. They all have competitions throughout the year, every year, that for the hard core fans matter a lot.

**Canada1** · 01-04-2018, 10:53 AM

The olympics are the biggest con ever. I have multiple consultants living in million dollar homes around me from Olympic contracts, while I know athletes living out of their trucks trying to make the team.
That said shriffin is the funnest watch out there right now. She has mastered the ability to find acceleration out of the ski pop like no one I’ve ever seen. Like ligity was for GS pre crash, she is for slalom. She is the model others will attempt to emulate.

**Danno** · 01-04-2018, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by Canada1

I have multiple consultants living in million dollar homes around me from Olympic contracts, .

hypothetically speaking, how does one go about getting one of those contracts? asking for a friend.

**grskier** · 01-04-2018, 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by Danno

hypothetically speaking, how does one go about getting one of those contracts? asking for a friend.

start by going on facebook and joining all the olympic organizing committee pages and stalking the "bigshots"

**neufox47** · 01-04-2018, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by Canada1

The olympics are the biggest con ever. I have multiple consultants living in million dollar homes around me from Olympic contracts, while I know athletes living out of their trucks trying to make the team.
That said shriffin is the funnest watch out there right now. She has mastered the ability to find acceleration out of the ski pop like no one I’ve ever seen. Like ligity was for GS pre crash, she is for slalom. She is the model others will attempt to emulate.

Welcome to the world of amateur sports. NCAA is just as bad. A great system to steal from the athletes.

**Canada1** · 01-04-2018, 03:02 PM

At least they’re getting the opportunity for an education out of it. A hell of alot of the kids aspiring to be olympians are walking away broken and broke.

**Dee Hubbs** · 01-04-2018, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by Danno

hypothetically speaking, how does one go about getting one of those contracts? asking for a friend.

PM me...

**Vt-Freeheel** · 01-05-2018, 08:03 AM

Americas Princess

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**Dexter Rutecki** · 01-05-2018, 09:29 AM

Originally Posted by nyskirat

I've definitely seen more female coaches in VT than any other state but I think with the current generation (i.e. millennials) slowly reaching the age where skiing becomes expensive, coaching is a good way to offset the costs. I know of at least 3 girls who have gone back to coach, even if it's at the younger age groups.

Never occurred to me that VT would have disproportionately more female coaches. I am trying to remember female coaches from other states I have seen and can only think of a few.

Another interesting thing is that, at least in Southern VT, for the past four or five years the number of female athletes (through U16, anyway) has been larger than for the boys. Optimistically that could translate into more female coaches down the road.

I think it would be a real benefit to the sport if we could get at least a decent percentage of female coaches. Ideally one day 50/50, but we're so far from that right now that it seems like an impossible goal at any point in the foreseeable future.

**gimpy** · 01-05-2018, 09:59 AM

Tiger shaw???
What's his involvement w us ski team?? Dude used to be my coach racing 3s n 4s at bromley in early 80s.

**Dexter Rutecki** · 01-05-2018, 10:02 AM

Pres/CEO of USSA.

Big B still pretty much the same, I'm sure...

**californiagrown** · 01-05-2018, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by jackstraw

What I hate about the olympics is that people who have no clue about skiing make the olympics the be-all end-all of the athlete. I’ve had arguments with people about Bode when he didn’t do great in the olympics and tried to explain the “World Cup!” to them...ahh...but it was a futile argument on my part. I’m preaching to the choir here, but so much come into play with ski racing that is not in their control. And obviously speed events can vary tremendously from one venue to the next.

Any one-game/race championship is a crapshoot- superbowl, Indy 500, Golf/Tennis majors, etc. Thing is, the great ones will almost always win at least one, and will rightfully not be considered one of the greatest if they do not. to be great, you cannot pick and choose when you are great, and you especially cannot shrink when the lights are the brightest. Great ones rise to the occasion despite odds stacked against them.

**jackstraw** · 01-05-2018, 11:51 AM

Originally Posted by californiagrown

Any one-game/race championship is a crapshoot- superbowl, Indy 500, Golf/Tennis majors, etc. Thing is, the great ones will almost always win at least one, and will rightfully not be considered one of the greatest if they do not. to be great, you cannot pick and choose when you are great, and you especially cannot shrink when the lights are the brightest. Great ones rise to the occasion despite odds stacked against them.

The only thing that compares in your example is Golf. The others do not.

And I would add surfing to that as well.

**californiagrown** · 01-05-2018, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by jackstraw

The only thing that compares in your example is Golf. The others do not.

And I would add surfing to that as well.

the superbowl doesnt? Indy 500 doesnt? Weather, off days, injuries, mechanicals, etc all affect those teams/drivers/individuals. It would be easy to correlate any issue involved with ski racing to most sports. fact of the matter is that the great ones will outperform the competition when it counts the most.

**skideeppow** · 01-05-2018, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by Dexter Rutecki

but I can't think of any female head coaches in VT.

.

I think Sally Night/Utter up at GMVS is a head coach for the younger women.

**jackstraw** · 01-05-2018, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by californiagrown

the superbowl doesnt? Indy 500 doesnt? Weather, off days, injuries, mechanicals, etc all affect those teams/drivers/individuals. It would be easy to correlate any issue involved with ski racing to most sports. fact of the matter is that the great ones will outperform the competition when it counts the most.

Jim Kelly is not great because his "team" did not win the Superbowl? Defense counts. Weather is the same for both teams.

Car racing...again they're all in the same conditions the entire race... everyone. Baja style can be slightly different I suppose. I don't know the speads on the starts.

**californiagrown** · 01-05-2018, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by jackstraw

Jim Kelly is not great because his "team" did not win the Superbowl? Defense counts. Weather is the same for both teams.

Car racing...again they're all in the same conditions the entire race... everyone. Baja style can be slightly different I suppose. I don't know the speads on the starts.

Kelly and marino have huge knocks on their careers because they couldnt win the big one. Crowd noise, isnt the same for both teams. Weather plays to advantage or disadvantage of a team's and individuals tendencies. If rain starts while a team is running their 2 minute drill to win the game, it sure as hell makes it harder for that QB... etc, etc, etc.

The bottom line is that the truly great ones in their sport are great enough for long enough to outlast any truly flukish factors that make it impossible to win the big one.

**tenB** · 01-05-2018, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by Canada1

The olympics are the biggest con ever. I have multiple consultants living in million dollar homes around me from Olympic contracts, while I know athletes living out of their trucks trying to make the team.
That said shriffin is the funnest watch out there right now. She has mastered the ability to find acceleration out of the ski pop like no one I’ve ever seen. Like ligity was for GS pre crash, she is for slalom. She is the model others will attempt to emulate.

Do you have to be Canadian to get in on this racket?

Don't be fooled, olympics is professional sports now.