What Inspires the Top Women in US Skiing?

Whether it’s overcoming the competition to reach the top of the olympic podium, or overcoming barriers to earn the same amount of respect and recognition as their male counterparts, the women of the U.S. national ski team know a lot about major victories. We spoke with some of the nation’s top female skiers and their coaches about who their role models are and what it’s like to inspire the next generation of athletes.

Who was your role model growing up? How do you manage the pressure of being a role model for young female athletes? 

My role model growing up was my friend Kim. She was older than me and the only other girl on the park team at my local mountain. She was fearless. I feel that it is a gift to be a role model and before I do something, I ask myself if I would be OK having a little girl doing what I’m doing. I think it keeps me honest and healthy.

How do you handle being a female athlete in a male-dominated industry? 

Honestly, the men in our industry are so supportive of other athletes whether they’re male or female. I have to say the women before me overcame the challenges of being paid the same amount, so it has always been normal to be equal. I thank Sarah Burke and the early freeskiers for that often.  

What is the best advice you can give to young girls who want to break into the sports industry?  

I would say focus on your love for the sport. When you do that, you will automatically draw people who value your passion, not your gender.  

Who was your role model growing up? How do you manage the pressure of being a role model for young female athletes? 

It’s hard for me to pick one person who was my role model growing up. I’ve had many throughout my lifetime and I’m still constantly learning from more and more wonderful people and powerful females. In regard to my ski career, growing up, I looked up to the generation before me. Ladies like Sarah Burke, Ashley Battersby, Kaya Turski, Dania Assaly, and Anna Segal. 

There is definitely pressure to be a great role model, but I just try to remember to be myself and to share my message as authentically as possible. As athletes, I think it’s so special and important to realize we have such an incredible platform to inspire many people. So instead of worrying about the pressure of being a good role model, I do my best to just put my focus on being the most positive person I can be for myself and for others. 

How do you handle being a female athlete in a male-dominated industry? 

Over time, women have been pushing the sport of freeskiing and all action sports to a whole new level. I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by so many positive male athletes that want to help push the progression of female sport. I know it has not always been that way and I owe that to the generation of females before me. 

One name that stands out the most to me is Sarah Burke. She did so much work for females in action sports and pushed the limits to get girls to where they are now. Along with Sarah, there have been many more females who did so much for females in our sport. I can only hope that I continue to add to that contribution. 

What is the best advice you can give to young girls who want to break into the sports industry?  

Dream big.

That’s my motto and I held close to it in my young years of becoming a skier, and it’s the motto I still live by today. I knew from a young age all I wanted to do was be a skier, so I followed my heart no matter what I was told. 

I think it’s important to remember at a young age you can achieve anything you put your heart and soul into. With hard work and dedication, you can achieve anything. Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun and always love what you do. 

Who was your role model growing up? How do you manage the pressure of being a role model for young female athletes? 

I never had one particular role model growing up but I definitely admired a lot of female athletes. One of my first big sporting events was watching the U.S. women’s soccer team play at the Santa Clara stadium, and I was so in awe of Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain. It was like a full-blown celebrity sighting for me. 

I think I had one or two idols in every sport I participated in. I thought Natalie Coughlin was so cool that I decided I would specialize in backstroke just like her, and that became my stroke for my entire competitive swimming career. And then in skiing, it was obviously Sarah Burke. Not only was she insanely talented but she always seemed so confident, and you could tell just by watching her video segments that she had everyone’s respect — even the guys’. 

I think the best way to be a good role model is to be true to yourself and your values, and not worry so much about the pressure of making anyone else happy. I ski because I love what it brings to my life and how it makes me feel. I love the challenges it creates and the sense of accomplishment I get from overcoming those challenges, and I always try to do so with a positive attitude and good sportsmanship. 

Having a platform like the Olympics is an added bonus to show everyone, especially young female athletes, that they should pursue their passions, too, and they should do it gracefully.

How do you handle being a female athlete in a male-dominated industry? 

Ever since I was a kid, I always loved skiing with my group of guy friends. I was one of three girls on my ski team and I loved how they pushed me out of my comfort zone. Of course, I also love a good ski session with my female counterparts, but they are fewer and farther between for me, and I still find myself skiing with men most days. I think they each have their own value and I wouldn’t want to give up either. 

Obviously, it’s important to surround yourself with nice people who encourage you to be your best and I definitely focus more on that than the gender of my friends. Sports should be inclusive. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that way and I try not to associate with those people. 

Sometimes it feels deflating when companies aren’t willing to put as much promotion into their women’s side as they do their men’s, but I hope that through my career I can help change their perspective and make it easier for the next generation of women to find support.

What is the best advice you can give to young girls who want to break into the sports industry?  

Follow your heart and don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can’t do. If you believe it, you can achieve it. That’s the most important step — to believe in yourself. 

Leading up to the 2018 Olympics, I wasn’t feeling very confident and I knew I wasn’t going anywhere with that mind state. So I dove into some sports psychology books and reminded myself of some important mental training techniques like visualization. I went into the 2018 season with so much confidence that it completely changed my skiing for the better. 

Things don’t always come easily, so don’t be afraid of failure. I’ve spent five years working on one trick and it’s finally paying off. Sometimes things just take time. And like I said, surround yourself with positivity and people who support you. It’s much more fun to share your accomplishments with the people who helped you get there.

Who was your role model growing up? How do you manage the pressure of being a role model for young female athletes? 

I had many role models growing up and still do. I looked up to many ski racers, especially Bode Miller, but I think my two biggest role models have always been my mom and my Nana. 

My mom has been the female influence in my life and she has taught me the importance of work ethic and general determination. She is the kind of woman who gets the job done when she sets her mind to something, and she always puts in 100 percent effort. I have always been incredibly inspired by that and I learned a lot from it. She is also one of the most caring people I have ever known, and her family is the most important thing in her life, which I have adopted into my own set of values. 

My Nana was an angel on this Earth: just the kindest, sweetest and most caring person I have ever known. She was selfless, genuine, polite, and a total class act. Whenever in doubt, I remind myself to live up to my Nana’s standards (something my mom has had to remind me of a time or two).

I don’t feel an incredible amount of pressure as a role model for young female athletes — partially, I think, because I am not the only role model for them to look up to. If I were the only one, I might feel a bit more pressure, but I feel grateful to compete at a time where there are a lot of very strong female athletes, and many young aspiring female athletes, so I don’t feel alone. In fact, I still have many that I can look up to as well. 

I just try to do my best every day, work as hard as I can to achieve my goals, and follow my intuition, and somehow that has put me in a position to be a role model to others. That’s kind of crazy to me still.

How do you handle being a female athlete in a male-dominated industry? 

I am really lucky to be surrounded by a team of people who support me and in a sense “fight for me” to make sure I have the best training environment possible, and the greatest chance for success in my competitions. I think they often protect me from the parts of the industry that are “male-dominated” and I am so grateful for that because it allows me to put more focus on my job. 

To me, a huge part of being an athlete at the top of any sport is having people around you who can strip away the noise and drama, and help you create the most productive training and competition environment possible so you can have the best chance to get the job done. 

Having said that, you can’t ignore the fact that the sports industry and ski racing are still male-dominated in many regards. Out of the total number of ski coaches out there, 80-90 percent of them must be male (educated guess). I can count on one hand the number of coaches on the world cup circuit right now that are women, out of hundreds. 

My mom is one of my coaches and has been since I learned to ski. While I have learned and grown through my career, she has grown alongside me as my most trusted coach, adviser, and best friend, on top of being my mother. But there have been so many cases of us and her having to fight for her “spot” working with me, to feel that she has to prove herself over and over again and convince the world that she brings value to my professional career.

I think our biggest challenge is feeling like so much of the ski world outside of my direct team tries to push my mom aside and makes “excuses” for her part in the success we have had together, while very openly giving credit to many of the male coaches I have worked with. That said, I feel really lucky right now that the male coaches I work with directly like to work with my mom and are completely willing to make it a collaborative effort, rather than brushing her aside.

What is the best advice you can give to young girls who want to break into the sports industry?  

I would tell girls that in order to break the mold and prove the place of female athletes within the sports world, they must act and work not as female athletes, but just as athletes. Don’t place themselves into a category with that gender specification. 

I have always looked up to male athletes just as much as I do female athletes. In fact, oftentimes I watch the men ski racing more than the women because I feel there is so much to learn from their strength and precision in the sport. As a generalization, men are biologically stronger than women; it’s science. So young girls do not need to prove that they are “better” than men to have a place. 

If I were to race against the men in ski racing, the chances are very slim that I would win — that’s because strength plays such an important role in the sport and if you put me next to one of the male athletes doing max squats, I think you can guess who is going to be squatting more. That does not mean men are “better” than women. 

That is the part of this male vs. female fight that I think is unhealthy, because so many girls might be thinking “OK, I need to be better than the boys.” No, there is a space for female athletes and there is space for male athletes. And someday, we will all just be called athletes. There won’t be any more gender specification. 

Young boys can look up to women as role models in sport and young girls can look up to men in sport, or you can look to your own gender — it is all acceptable. I think the biggest compliment I have received to date is when a young boy comes up to me and says “you’re my favorite ski racer, I want to race like you,” because it tells me that with this coming generation, we are breaking that mold.

Who was your role model growing up? How do you manage the pressure of being a role model for young female athletes? 

My mom — observing her being a source of strength for our family, always promoting kindness, and encouraging us to be true to ourselves. I learned from this. It helped me to not only compete in competition, but to do it while holding on to my values as a good person. Hopefully I demonstrate this to my athletes. 

I do not consider myself a role model. I am doing something I love. I hope that through passion and kindness, the hard work rubs off on those around me. Passion can be contagious. 

How do you handle being a female coach in a male-dominated industry? 

I honestly try not to see it that way. I choose to be in this industry, because of my love of the sport. I want to assist athletes being the best they can be, and simply to be a positive part of the process. It is similar to any job; work hard. Do your best. It is not about whether I am male or female. Do the work. 

I strive to be my best: trust my abilities, ask questions, better myself. It’s about doing everything possible to ensure our athletes are getting what they need to have the opportunity to be successful. My goal is to set myself apart by demonstrating work ethic and competency. These things are critical, rather than what gender I am. 

What is the best advice you can give to young girls who want to break into the sports industry?  

Advice I would pass on to anyone, not just females, coming into the sports industry: Ask questions, take ownership, and take initiative when asked or challenged. At the end of the day, to get better, you have to be prepared to put yourself out there, to be exposed to risk, and to be uncomfortable. Take opportunity when it comes. Never allow a moment of practical education, an opportunity to learn, escape — even if it means taking risk. 

Support one another, especially when it is difficult. I would say to females, we can be our worst enemies. Break that statement. Be exceptional and take criticism to reflect, learn, and better yourself. Do not accept that you are a victim because you are female. Hold on to your values as a person and show your competency. 

Who was your role model growing up? How do you manage the pressure of being a role model for young female athletes? 

I’ve been blessed with many role models in my life. The consistent message they all taught me is that you CAN do whatever it is you want to do if you will take the leap of faith it takes to do it. The only thing holding you back is yourself. 

Being a coach, in my mind, is a huge responsibility because of the impact you have on people’s lives not only as athletes but as human beings. It’s an incredible responsibility that shouldn’t be taken for granted. We might not be trying to find a cure for cancer but, in my mind, it’s just as important, because of that impact we have. 

Being a role model is no different. My goal is always to do whatever I can to help, whether it’s young women or girls, in any way I can. I want to help them learn and grow, and try to help pave the way for them because I think that’s part of what our calling is, as any coach in any profession.

How do you handle being a female coach in a male-dominated industry? 

Regardless of gender, I believe in being the best you can be at what you want to be. I didn’t become a coach because of gender nor do I perceive success as a coach being driven by gender. It is the relentless pursuit of learning how to lead and help humans be their best. It is about the passion for learning and growing every day. It is about helping others to focus on the one thing we can only control, which is ourselves and our decisions.  

The biggest challenges I face are the limits I place on myself. Gender does not dictate success in any profession. Like my athletes, I work daily on reminding myself to focus on what I can control, and that is myself and what I do. 

What is the best advice you can give to young girls who want to break into the sports industry?  

It is to realize that no matter what level of the sport or industry a woman wants to work at, it is not her gender that will get her there. It is her dream, her drive, what she knows, and her ability to lead people that will lead her to the top of the sport. My presence should prove that if you’re qualified and passionate about what you do, you can coach at any level regardless of gender. It’s about going after whatever you want to be doing and being the best at it.