Featured Athletes

Mikaela Shiffrin and Ryan Cochran-Siegle are SkillsQuest athletes. When Mikaela and Ryan were young skiers, they did a lot of skiing all over the mountain in every type of terrain and snow condition. They worked hard on their skiing fundamentals, whether it was freeskiing on their own or doing specific exercises to improve their skills. They stayed active with lots of different sports. They kept their equipment in tip-top shape. They worked on goal setting and other strategies to boost their confidence and help prepare them mentally for training and competition - including staying on top of school work. And they managed their race schedules to maximize the amount of time they could train (Mikaela only had 11 race starts as a 14 year old so she could get more practice time in). These are characteristics of a SkillsQuest ski racer.

Every young racer aspiring to be their best is a SkillsQuest athlete. Like Mikaela and Ryan, SkillsQuest athletes understand that it takes hard work on the right things to reach their full potential. Being a great racer in the long-run means being a great athlete and a great skier first! Do you have what it takes to be a SkillsQuest athlete?

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"Mikeala has been fortunate in having had a coach who views skills acquisition and quality training, particularly during key developmental years, as critical elements to future success. Racing was always secondary to mastery. Mikaela is continually striving for improvement. She can then race feeling well prepared, confident, and supported, which makes that part of the sport so enjoyable for her."-Mikaela's parents, Jeff and Eileen

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