Snow named to the U.S. Ski Team
SANDPOINT — “Ski fast, take chances!”
That mantra is written atop the new website of Sagle skier Scott Snow and is a very apt description of the style that earned him a spot on the 2011 U.S. Ski Team on Tuesday, becoming the team’s youngest member.
Snow, a precocious 16 years-old, won J2 Gold in both the Downhill and Super G during the past ski season and impressed the U.S. Ski Team coaches enough to earn one of the 20 berths on the 2011 Men’s Alpine Team.
Being named to the team means Snow has reached the highest echelon of the sport, but as a member of the “D” team, he essentially is starting anew at the bottom and will go about proving himself at the next level — the highest level.
“It’s unreal, amazing, something I’ve wanted since I was a little kid,” described Snow, whose goal is to eventually represent the U.S. in both the World Cup and Olympics. “This summer will be all strength training and I hope to make it to the “C” team next year. Hey, might as well shoot for the fences.”
Snow possesses a rare mix of physical and technical tools that make him a natural in the sport he loves. He’s spent nearly one-third of his days on earth on skis, honing a graceful yet powerful technique that meshes well with his 6-1, 200 pound frame. He skis all four disciplines well, but concedes most people believe downhill might be his strongest event.
Proud father Shep Snow has been stewarding Scott along the way to this point, much of it as the coach of Independence Racing, a blue-collar non-profit youth ski racing team from Sandpoint. Shep plans to accompany Scott until he turns 18, helping him adjust to the rigors of year-around professional skiing as well as a quick baptism into adulthood.
“Scott’s worked really hard, and it’s good to see hard work rewarded,” said Shep, who along with wife Joy felt Scott was ready for the challenge. “You come in at the bottom of the pipeline and work your way up. This is a step and the end state is the world cup and Olympics.”
Aptly named, Scott took to the Snow at an early age, riding chairlifts and skiing unattached by the age of two, and racing the NASTAR course at Schweitzer by the age of four. He’s dominated the competition at every level he’s raced, accumulating more than 40 USSA Gold medals.
Last year alone Scott and Shep logged more than 150 days and 25,000 miles on the road, capping a stellar season that helped Snow earn a berth on the team. It will ratchet up a couple more notches next year, as Snow will be skiing in all 12 months of the season on the North American Cup circuit (NORAM), the equivalent of AA baseball.
He recently spent 15 days with the U.S. team at Mammoth, California, and will be at Mt. Hood in June, Park City in July and Chile in September, and that’s all before the actual ski season even starts. When he’s not on the slopes, he plans to squeeze in a little of his other love, baseball, as a member of Sandpoint’s American Legion team.
Snow is currently enrolled in the Idaho Virtual Academy, allowing him to pursue his high school education while striving to drop precious tenths of seconds on the slopes.
Every year since he was little, Shep has pulled Scott aside and asked if he wants to continue pursuing his passion. Every year the answer is a definitive yes, as Snow is having as much fun as ever tearing down the slopes at breakneck speeds.
“I figure when I stop having fun I’ll be done, but I don’t see that in the near future,” said Snow, adding what he loves most about skiing. “Speed and Freedom. Wherever gravity takes you, you can go, and you get there in a hurry.”
For more information and pictures, visit “www.scottsnowski.com.”