What's wrong with the USSA ?

Bryon Friedman's article "USSki Team comes up short....again" gives - saddly - a realistic image of - only - some of the shortcomings exisiting for more than a decade at the USSA. The USSA's leadership direction has undoubtedly produced some important positive results, nobody denies that. The fund raising efforts led by Mr. Bill Marolt, its CEO, has produced one of those very important positive results. Some of the advertising efforts of the success of the USSA in general and of some of the USSA's athletes in particular is another positive endeavour. However, for the past eleven years I have first hand witnessed numerous and somtimes serious flaws in the way that no-profit organization is lead, staffed and functions. With all the right intentions Mr. Marolt, lacks the actual modern knowledge and professional understanding of the specifics elements needed to develop and help individual athletes to become "Best in the World" in an individual and dangerous sport. Beacuse of that, some of the key staff people he surounded himself with along the years got to their positions.............. following Peter Principle. Before addressing the point Bryon makes in that article, showing that he does NOT suffer of the systemic sickness many people suffer from these days, i.e. "Political Corectness", I am just touching one very telling point, The one reffering to the "adventures" of Bode Miller, the greatest American Ski racer of the moden era, faring through and now..... out of the USSA!. Bode is a racer who helped the USKI Team to come out of anonimity and claim of getting close to be "Best in the World". I have first and second hand knowledge of Bode being a Maverick athlete and person, our paths have crossed several times when I was privately and part time coaching and mentoring Bryon Friedman and Erik Schlopy, bewteen 1997 and 2005. Bode is an honest young man, outspoken, faithful to his true friends, a gutsy and generous person who races and lives life at his own drum beat. Skiing is a VERY specific and individual sport, once described by a famous ski Guru [George Joubert) as being "An Art, a Technique". Bode confirms Joubert's understanding, but in his unique way of enjoying, understanding and perceptually feeling ski racing, while living life "his way" he was never understood and genuinely liked either by Bill Marolt, Jesse Hunt [Alpine Ski Director] or Phill McNichol. Jesse tried for years to coach Bode to ski with parallel shins, which Bode - thanks to his outstanding perception - never accepted to do, proving the so called modern technique as being just an isolated tool [used mainly in Slalom] in a great racer's technical tool kit. Phil McNichol, the head coach of the USSki Men Teams for many years, is another example of inability to understand great athletes: he tried unsuccsessfully to "put up " with Bode. Phil was not pshychologically/professionally prepared to understand and help individual athletes who were different. The wrong combination of personalities and professionals like Marolt- Hunt - McNichol resulted in Bode being forced to leave the USSki Team at the end of 2006/2007 season, the very team HE carried on his shoulders for several years. As deserved, Bode, racing outside of the USSA, on his dime - as Bryon puts it - just finished this last season as the number 1 alpine ski racer in the World (sic!). Bode is just an example in a long list of top USSki Team athletes not understood by the USSA executives and leaders. Kristina Koznic, a former great American ski racer was also forced to ski outside of the USSA, on "her dime", because a stiff-minded approach took by the USSA leaders. Jeremy Nobis, Tommy Moe, AJ Kitt, Kyle Rssmussen, Jeff Olson, etc., etc. are other athletes, who, because of their different personalities were not understood and not treated properly by Bill Marolt and other USSA leaders; these frustrated atheltes decided to retire too early..... Bryon Friedman is an honest, outspoken, gutsy young man, who found himself at the short end of the stick several times with the USSA leaders. So did Erik Schlopy. I believe that, with the help of ski racing fans, Bryon will raise "enough dimes" to demonstrate once more that the USSA continues to be led by people who need a more open minded approach and lower personal salaries and bonuses, when it comes to develop and help individual racers involved in a very risky, dangerous sport. It may be time for the USSA Board of Directors to truly listen to the athletes who are risking their limbs to make the USSA a success, thus justifying the salaries of the organization leaders. ....and perhaps to make the needed changes ! Back to Bryon ....and Erik Schlopy and Dane Spencer and Jake Zamanski..... They "cannot" be funded because a huge amount of the money raised by the USSA go to fund a.....Building !! The USSA new Center: some call it........... the "Marolt Mausoleum". Along with executive slaries out of the normal - decent - ranges, the Mausolem is hurting BIG TIME the USSA athletes! That's just one of the realistic answers to "What's wrong with the USSA" ? Dean Nicholas, PH.D., former USSCA Coach & Official. PS: The list of USSA athletes of every sport who were/are frustrated goes on and on..... So does the list of blunders unwilingly produced by the USSA leaders.