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Ski racing with Team Afton is how over 40 kids are spending their winter. Tony Olin is the head coach of Team Afton and skiing has been a part of his life and a personal passion since a young age. He progressed all the way up the ladder to compete on the U.S. Ski Team. Now he is trying to show today's youth just how much fun they can have on the slopes. Team Afton has 42 racers between the ages of 8 and 18, as well as several more kids on a development team. The team is small in numbers compared to other local ski teams, but they routinely put the same amount of skiers on the podium as the rest of the teams.
Tony was the childhood coach of Lindsey Vonn, now the top skier in the world and gold medal favorite in Vancouver. Team Afton has several junior Olympians on the team and Tony knows "that there is a close connection to what Lindsey Vonn is doing and what these kids are doing."
Inside the Team Afton clubhouse you will routinely find kids watching videos of their skiing heroes. With the 2010 Winter Olympics just weeks away the Olympic spirit is running high on Team Afton. After feeling the Olympic spirit myself I decided to get my skis and take on one of Team Afton's rising stars. Jack Midtlien, age 12, was a junior Olympian last year and right from the start I knew that I did not have a chance in our race. With a 2 or 3 gate head start Jack managed to catch me and pass me about half way down the course.
Team Afton will be hosting the annual J456 Championships on Sunday February 14th. The day starts with a flyover of historic aircraft and Coach Olin described it as a "mini would cup." For more information on Team Afton and the J456 Championships click here. Also, for more information on Afton Alps click here. |
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