From Bristol Mountain to the Olympics

    Six young skiers from the Rochester area have gone from learning to ski on weekends at Bristol Mountain to winning world competitions. Of the 29 members of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (new name of the U.S. Ski Team), six hail from Rochester and Pittsford. It is believed that no other ski mountain in the United States has this number of athletes represented on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team —and there are 425 ski mountains in the country! To boot, the six are all competing in the same discipline, the Freestyle Team, comprised of athletes who tackle moguls and aerials.

   “If Greater Rochester was a country, we’d be the best ski team in the world,” said Bristol Coach John Kroetz, the 2015 Domestic Coach of the Year, as deemed by the United States Ski Association. “The whole community should be super proud of what our hometown athletes have been able to accomplish.”

  These stars of the snow are affectionately referred to as “Bristol Super Six.” Bristol Mountain is represented on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team by:

• Jon Lillis: Aerials; eight years on the U.S. team

• Dylan Walczyk: Moguls; six years

• Morgan Schild: Moguls; four years

• Harrison Smith: Aerials; four years

• Chris Lillis: Aerials; two years

• Patrick O ‘Flynn: Aerials; first season

  Three of the six hold World Cup Rookie of the Year titles, one is the current Aerials World Champion, two are U.S. National Champions, and many are World Cup competition winners.

Thanks to Bristol and Coach Johnny

  The Bristol Super Six grew up skiing at Bristol Mountain where they later joined the Bristol Mountain Freestyle Team and competed under the direction of “Coach Johnny,” as he is affectionately called.

   “I couldn’t do this without Johnny,” said Morgan Schild, age 18, a Pittsford Sutherland grad and a top Olympic contender. Kroetz is a 10th Ward native and an Aquinas graduate. He had his own skiing days but now works by day as an engineer and dedicates countless hours to Bristol’s programs and his athletes.

  For his mogul runners, he hand-carves 60 to 70 moguls per course, an action her repeats at least 20 times a season. For his aerial athletes, he hand-chops the landing areas, digging down three feet to aerate the snow so it’s fluffy, allowing the skiers to sink in when landing. “Johnny is shoveling before it’s light out, so the kids can start training as soon as they arrive,” said Drew Broderick, Bristol Resort marketing director. “He is extremely dedicated and talented. It’s not a fluke we continue to have champion skiers under John’s leadership.

  “Any of these kids and their parents would move the world for Johnny,” she added. “It’s a great coach/athlete relationship.”

  And the pride in Bristol Mountain runs as deep as their admiration for Coach Johnny. “I’m proud when these kids come back and they have the American flag on their shirt and that really hits home,” Kroetz said. “Any coach dreams of their athlete reaching the highest in their sport. For these kids to be traveling an competing around the world and to even have the Olympics in the conversation is exciting.

   And when they are traveling to competition worldwide, the Bristol pride remains. Broderick noted, “Morgan and Chris will say, ‘We’re not former Bristol Mountain skiers, we are still Bristol Mountain skiers.”

   By comparison, famed ski community Vail, Colorado has two members on the U.S. team. And comparing further, coaching fees at Bristol are $675. The cost for coaching at Vail? $50,000.

 “We recommend you start skiing for fun,” said Broderick. “And if you’re out there training and you love every minute of it, that’s a recipe for success.” Kroetz said that, of course, most kids who train aren’t going to make the Olympics. “But it’s a life sport and you’ll always have that skill and enjoy it,” he said. “It’s why you live, whether it’s the arts, sports, or helping other people. In this case, I’m lucky because I can enjoy the sport and help other people.”

  Two Super Sixers who he truly has helped are the Lillis brothers of Pittsford. In 2015 Chris was the youngest man ever to win an aerial World Cup, and this past season was named World Cup Rookie of the Year. His brother Jon won that Rookie title in 2012 and now is the reigning world champion in aerials, which is only one notch below Olympics.

  And then there’s the lone female Super Sixer, Morgan Schild … one of the greatest mogul skiers in the world.

Meet Morgan Schild

  Morgan starting training at Bristol with Kroetz at age 8. Fast forward a decade and she has been chosen by NBC Sports as “the” face of the Winter Olympics promotions — which required video and photos shoots in Hollywood. She also has appeared on the national NBC talk show the Megan Kelly TODAY Show.

  “Bristol is where I learned my love for the sport, and I still carry that with me to this day, whether I’m in China or Utah skiing,” Schild said.

  “We have put in so much effort and moved out west and given up our childhoods,” she noted, including having to give up her spot on the Pittsford Sutherland soccer team her junior year. “We all love our job and this is our job.”

  Schild grew up playing many sports through school and at the YMCA and was often told she was “better” than the boys. While she had fun beating the boys, it was going toe-to-toe with male counterparts that pushed her harder, and that continues on the slopes today.

  “I was there for her first jump ever,” Kroetz said. “I had to bribe her with a lollypop to do a jump into the pool.”

  For safety and to be able to train yearround, aerial skiers use swimming pools for landing their jumps. To access facilities needed for training for global competitions, the Super Six spend most of their time in Utah, Lake Placid, or locations in Europe.

  Schild’s mother had a hand in focusing her daughter toward moguls vs. aerials. “She wanted me to slow her daughter down, because she was going so fast, so she suggested we try the moguls,” Kroetz said.

  Schild doesn’t seem to mind that early interference from her biggest fan, her mom. “She’s the whole package — a great skier, she has a wonderful personality, she’s humble, she’s sweet, and she’s very considerate of other’s feelings,” said her mom, Lorraine Schild. “I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

It’s a Family Affair

  “We need to give our thanks back to those who put us there,” Morgan Schild said. Due to the extensive international travel, her parents don’t often get to see her or her wins on the road. “What you’ve done for us is insane,” Schild said to her parents and other Super Six parents during a press conference in November. “All you’ve given up for us is truly special and I cannot thank you all enough for all you’ve sacrificed.”

  The reality is the United States does not fully fund their national teams, so the out-of-pockets costs for a skier competing at this level is $25,000.

  To make their children’s dreams a reality, three of the five families have sold their homes, some use credit cards to fund the adventures, and others have the added expense of a parent traveling with the teen athlete.

  “These folks are spending a king’s ransom sending their kids all around the world,” Kroetz said. The dedication runs as deep for the parents as it does for the skiers.

  “It’s an unusual situation to have these kids from one area, but that provides us parents with a great support network,” said Lorraine Schild. “My non-skiing friends have no concept of what we’re all going through, but the ski families get each other and we’ve become so close.”

  She and Jaime Lillis stay up together when their kids are competing in a different time zone or overseas. They can cheer or cry together, deeply feeling the wins and losses for every member of the Super Six.

  “During competition season it’s very stressful,” Lorraine Schild said. “We worry constantly bout injuries, since all of these sports are very extreme, and at any moment an injury can happen.”

  Bristol Mountain general manager, Dan Fuller, said you won’t find a tighter-knit group than the Super Six parents. “We are extremely proud of these amazing athletes who not only represent Bristol Mountain, but also the Finger Lakes and Rochester communities,” Fuller said.

Supporting the home team

  “We have a unique circumstance here in Rochester,” said Senator Rich Funke, whose district includes Bristol. “These athletes are reaching the highest levels in the world. It’s truly unbelievable. It makes us all proud and it makes Bristol shine a little brighter..”

  A longtime TV sports anchor, Funke was a founder of the Greater Rochester Amateur Athletic Federation (GRAAF). Through this non-profit organization, money is being raised for the Super Six and their Olympic dreams.

  On Facebook, you can learn more on the page titled Bristol Freestyle Fun. All donations are tax deductible and 100 percent of all donations will go directly to support the Bristol Super Six.

 “There’s an entire community rooting me on,” Schild said, “and that is so motivating and special for me.”

To learn more and to donate visit graafusa.org/bristol-freestyle