CLASSACTION AS USSA WELCOMES STUDENTS TO ITS NEW NATIONAL ACADEMY, BOTH SUPPORT AND CRITICISM ABOUND FOR THE TEAM CONCEPT
By Geoff Mintz
“It’s live, face-to-face teaching with highly qualified teachers as well as that virtual online component,” says TEAM headmaster Dan Kemp of USSA’s new academy.
PARK CITY — At the beginning of the summer, it was
an unfinished space with concrete floors on the third
level of USSA’s Center of Excellence. By August 27, it
had become a school — the U.S. Ski Team’s first-ever
national academy.
The USSA Total Education and Athletic Model (TEAM)
Academy, is — at least in theory — modeled after Euro-
pean systems that have been successful in such coun-
tries as Austria, Norway and Switzerland.
“For the last 15 years or so, we’ve really been focused
on building our programs into the best ski and snow-
board association in the world,” says USSA Executive
Vice President of Athletics Luke Bodensteiner. “To do
that, we spent a lot of time looking at [European coun-
tries] and saying, ‘What are those guys doing right?’ One
of the particular things that we found is that they all have
a national ski academy.”
With greater inclusion of park-and-pipe events and oth-
er disciplines, many USSA athletes are reaching higher
levels of competition at a younger age — high-school
age in some cases — which calls for greater flexibility
and specialization to accommodate more demanding
schedules, say USSA officials.
“The program put kids in a tough situation in terms of
getting through school,” says Bodensteiner. “We had in-
stances where kids were essentially dropping out of high
school. That wasn’t acceptable; kids shouldn’t have to
do that to participate in this sport. There was no great
solution for kids in the elite team programs, so we said,
‘We have to provide one.’”
The academy reflects a renewed interest in development
for USSA. But the latest initiative does not come without
controversy and, in some cases, dissent by coaches and
other personnel within the established academy system,
which has been in place for decades.
Some believe the move sends a signal to the clubs that
they’re not cutting it, while others reconcile the friction by
characterizing TEAM Academy as a stepping stone to-
ward full-time national team involvement — a goal. Most
top-level representatives for prominent clubs and acad-
emies, however, declined comment for this story.
Hitting the books
USSA officials expect 20 to 25 student-athletes in this
first academic season. This is a number TEAM Academy
headmaster Dan Kemp says is intentionally manage-
able.
“When we put in this system, we committed to start-
ing with a small number,” says Kemp, “to provide the
one-to-one support that we’re committed to giving our
students.”
In this inaugural academic year, the fully accredited
TEAM Academy, which operates essentially as a tuition-
based private school with scholarships available, will
serve named national team athletes.
“We’re adding the academic support for these students
who are already in the athletic pipeline,” says Kemp.
“One of the things USSA exemplified was flexibility for
our students. Their day-to-day scenario includes both
academics — math, science, English, history — within
the Center of Excellence, and they’ll be able to train by
walking right down the stairs.”
Whether making the trip to early-season snow in Colo-
rado or competition abroad, the student will travel with
