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Team USA |
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Background on Team USA So what motivates each on of these skiers? Much of each skier's motivation stems from their history in the sport and the rivalries they have created among each other. The US Team is packed with rivalries. There is a huge rift that exists between skiers from the Lane Bowers faction of the team and the other top skiers. The Bowers faction consists of Lane, Rachel, and Mikey. The rest of the team consisting of Keith, Bill, Ryan and Scarpa are all good friends. This rift didn’t happen overnight. It’s something Lane has created for himself after years of criticizing Ron, Keith, and even Mike Siepel’s styles of teaching. Lane is the self-professed master of what he calls “posture and glide”; and he’s not shy about telling folks that his style is the only true barefoot style and that he spends a lot of time at his ski school correcting the bad habits skiers pick up from other instructors. That doesn’t sit well with the likes of Ron and Keith, and it has put a wall up between these skiers that may never come down. The self-proclamation would sit a lot better with the top skiers if Lane could ever pull off an Elite World Title. So you can imagine how bad Lane wants the Overall win in Australia. Will he get it? It's a long shot in our book based on his past performances against Ron, Keith, Patrick Werner and David Small.
Despite the cold shoulders Lane will be getting from his teammates, his performance will be critical to the US Team’s win. Without Scarpa on the team, the US is expecting Lane to step up and fill the shoes of the man known as Mr. Consistency. With all the added pressure and weight of all the chips on his shoulder, Lane could end up having a world class melt down. Let's hope all the Tony Robbins tapes keep it together for him.
So how do you train as a team if you don't like each other? That's the challenge Jon Kretchman has in front of him. Big egos, and history such as this can make it difficult to motivate the group to even want to sit down to dinner with each other. But Kretchman, being a top level skier himself, understands the mentality, and the history, and will no doubt bring them together when it counts. The core of the team, consisting of Keith, Billy, and Ryan, have already been training together and talking strategy for the last 2 months. Keith has been training very hard and skiing nearly every day. Billy and Ryan have both flown to Florida several times during the winter to get in sets with Keith. You know what they say: “You end up skiing like the friends you ski with”. Billy and Ryan have the right idea.
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The
importance of an “Overall” title to Lane Bowers became very apparent
when he decided to ski against Willie Farrell in the Senior Worlds two
month’s ago. Though Lane didn’t win 1st in Tricks or Wakes at the
Worlds, he did win 1st in Jump, which gave him the margin he needed to
defeat Willie in the Overall. But despite the win, most footers still
view Willie as the true Senior Overall World Champion. But the World
Champion title implies a lot of things to new skiers who want to feel
they are training with the best. It sounds a lot better than 2nd place
in Tricks and 2nd in Wakes. Lane’s desire to defeat Willie has gone as
far as to lobby the World Barefoot Council for rules changes that would
result in Lane's trick run being worth more than Willie’s. That’s
some deep desire in anyone’s book. 
Keith
St. Onge is also still in the hunt for his 1st World Overall title.
Keith’s domination at the US Nationals, combined with his new coach,
training, and workout routine, puts him as the odds on favorite.
He seems to have a whole new desire and passion for the sport. He will,
without a doubt, be the best all around trained athlete at the Worlds,
both mentally and physically; but the pressure is mounting. Keith
is viewed as the Tiger Woods of our sport, but he is yet to pull off the
coveted Overall World Win. He's got nothing to prove and
everything to prove. Winning a World Title will break the ice that
could result in many more to follow.
Bill Brzoza
is truly grateful to be on the team, but his biggest goal is to
establish himself as the best jumper in the world. He’s known as the
Beast from the East. He's big, he's solid, and he's tough.
If he face plants his tricks and wakes, but manages to set a world
record in jump, or even defeat reigning Jump World Record Holder Brett
New, he will come home a happy man. His new contract with Eagle Sports
gives him some great incentives to step things up a notch. So watch out
Australia, the Beast is coming to ski.
This
year is Ryan Boyd’s first year on the US Team, so his
focus is going to be on making a good showing, learning the
Worlds system, and hopefully contributing to the teams success.
The team could end up really needing Ryan’s scores should any
one of the other members fall. Ryan's got the tricks in
the bag, but the question is whether he will be able to call
upon them if needed.
We’re
unsure of
Rachel George’s motivations. Does she really desire World
Title, or is she just happy getting a chance to travel to Australia and
represent the US team again. She’s a huge part of the US Team, but can
she go head to head with Gizzie Halasz from Australia. Gizzie missed out
on gold at the Senior Worlds and is surely on a mission to ski well on
her home turf. Nadine DeVilliers is not competing in this Worlds, so the
Gold is up for grabs. It will be a close race between Giz and
Rachel. Rachel has plans to train with Lane a couple of weeks
prior to the Worlds, and Lane will surely get her pumped up mentally for
the event. 
As
for
Mickey (aka Marlboro Man) Caruso, our sources
have not heard from him. His motivation surely doesn’t seem to center
around being accepted by the other team members. Mickey has had a taste
of a Worlds Title when he won the 2001 Junior World Overall Title, but
personal issues and pressures of school may have diverted his attention
the last few years. So he’s a big unknown. His performance at
the 2003 US Nationals was lackluster at best when compared to the other
Open Pro Skiers. Will he be able to step it up a notch and make a
name for himself at a Worlds level? We'll find out in less than a
month.
So what about Scarpa?
