Utah Youth Get Visit from U.S. Ski Team

MIDVALE, UT (July 28) -  The men's U.S. Alpine Ski Team exposed their youthful side as they visited the Boys and Girls Club of Midvale for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. While in Park City for a short couple of weeks, this visit is one of many efforts by the Team to get more involved in the Utah community.

The Olympic athletes spent a few hours at the club with several dozen kids, making time for a short film, questions, autographs, dodge ball and tug-of-war.

The children, although squirmy, were all smiles as the athletes shared stories about their lives as professional, Olympic athletes. Most amazed by the skiers' scars and crashes, the kids also learned the hard work becoming an Olympic skier requires.

"They showed us how much work it takes to be a skier, and how long they have to practice. It was cool to see all of their scars," said Yessenia, a 10 year old starting fourth grade in the fall.

A nationwide mentoring program, Big Brothers Big Sisters works to improve the lives of less fortunate children by providing opportunities to spend personal time with enthusiastic adult role models.

Ashley Spilker, the school-based coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah, valued the skiers' visit, explaining how they contributed to the organization's vision and mission.

"We find volunteers in the community to go into different sites like the Boys and Girls Club and volunteer one hour per week to build life skills and teach different lessons. These athletes are the ultimate positive role model and have the potential to inspire these kids to become what they dream," Spilker said.

Both parties certainly benefited from the day's activities. While it was a chance for these kids to learn from the athletes in a hands-on environment, it was also a chance for the Team to give back to the community, and even learn a little bit more about each other.

Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA) enjoyed their visit, considering it a time to inspire some young kids and also an occasion to build the team.

"What I took from the day is that they can look at us and see that even though we're professional athletes, we're just normal guys, and hopefully it will inspire them to have dreams. It's pretty rare that these kids can see guys who have really succeeded in athletics and skiing," Sullivan said. "Doing this allows us to see another side of our teammates. We are just always in a macho skiing environment, but then you see a teammate helping out an 8-year-old girl who's scared to play dodge ball. It helps us get to know each other better."

In an effort to get more engaged in the local community, the Team has done many different activities like this one in the past.

Men's Alpine World Cup Coach Rewk Patten believes it is important for the athletes to become involved in various organizations in the community.

"It's important for us as a group to stay involved in the community. I think it humbles the guys a little bit to be part of a local outreach project. We try to put the guys out of their element a little bit. They have all said that they want to give back to the community; that was big on their list two years ago when we were building the team and taking it in a new direction," said Patten. At the end of the day, "There was a big smile on all the guys' faces."

The U.S. Ski Team's Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) thought it was a refreshing experience, both for the athletes and the kids.

"It's always fun to hang out with little kids, playing sports especially. It makes you feel younger, seeing how much joy they're getting out of it. It's really fulfilling to go and do something like that," said Ligety.

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