Questions: 

• How would you describe the energy or personality of this team — what makes it unique compared to other teams you’ve been on?

This team is sort of split into two parts, the 3 veterans who’ve been around the tour for a while, and the 3 younger guys (including myself) who are trying to get established and make a name for ourselves. The two other young guys (Erik Arvidsson and Sam Morse) are two of my closest friends, and it’s a blast to be trying to break through together on the world’s stage. And we’re close with the older guys too. Everyone works really well together and I think the young crew can bring some fresh fire and energy while learning from the experience and previous success the older guys bring to the table. But above all, I think our whole group prides itself on being a bit of the underdogs, as you always are when you’re American. As opposed to Austrian or Swiss teams, where skiing is so ingrained in the culture and where you would compete close to home most of the year, we as Americans are together on the road for months on end. This makes for a really close-knit team who relies on each other for that support network and is hungry to prove the depth of American skiing. 

• Who’s the glue — the one who keeps everyone laughing or motivated on tough days?

The beauty of this team is that everyone can fill that role when needed, because everyone has good days and bad days. We don’t have that singular leader figure like some teams, but instead work together as a group of equals where everyone can bring the team up on a given day. And it’s nice because then you don’t have those moments where your “glue guy” skied poorly or isn’t feeling it and the whole team’s mood suffers accordingly. 

• What’s a travel or training story that captures what life on the road is really like?

My first World Cup slalom race ever was in Adelboden, Switzerland. I had been doing some races in North America right before it and was qualified to compete in this race for the first time, so I flew over straight from my races in upstate New York directly to Zurich. But when I showed up my bags were nowhere to be found, and the airline had no idea where they were. So here’s this huge race and something that I’ve trained my whole life to prepare for, but last minute travel hiccups end up leading me to run around like a chicken with my head cut off and borrow skis, a speedsuit, helmet, and other gear from my competitors for the race. It’s these moments where you quickly learn how many things are out of your control, so it’s best to not take yourself so seriously and just try to roll with the punches as they come. 

• How do you support each other when things go wrong — an injury, a bad result, burnout?

Things will always go wrong or not as you planned them; that’s one of the constants of life. But having friends and teammates in your corner goes a long way in helping move past these things. I think just the practice of everyone having the belief in the other guys around them goes a long way, so that on days where you don’t necessarily believe in yourself, there’s enough people around you that do believe in you. Which lifts you right out of the hole. Also, everyone has been through injuries and disappointing seasons, so people get the headspace you’re in at that time and really do want to help. It’s like you would with any friend really; being teammates and almost brothers on the road is no different than how you would support one of your best friends at home. A rising tide lifts all ships, so you want to get the best out of your teammates and competitors as well. 

• What’s something the public might not understand about the bond between racers?

I think people assume we’re a lot more harshly competitive with each other than we really are. It’s different to a sport like football or something where you can talk trash to your opponents and make some enemies and that’s a fun part of the game. Instead, everyone is so supportive of the other guys and generally quite laid back. I think, especially among downhill skiers, it comes down to the fact that everyone understands the risks and the sacrifice that their competitor is willing to take because they take them themselves, and anyone ready to risk their life for this sport earns a certain level of respect. So there’s very few personalities on tour that are universally disliked or are generally rude. Instead everyone is quite close and wants to help. All the guys are pretty open with what works for them and what they’re thinking about in the races instead of trying to guards their secrets in the fear that someone will learn their trick and beat them with it.