Ski & Snowboard Club Vail announces Character, Courage and Commitment awards for February and March
Martin, Horning, Schaub and the full-time freeride coaching team receive honors
SSCV/Courtesy photo
Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV) has as its core values — character, courage and commitment — the 3Cs. SSCV is delighted to announce its February and March 3Cs award winners and recognize people who embody these core values on and off the snow: Ollie Martin, the full-time freeride coaching team, Adele Horning and Dolly Schaub.
3Cs February 2023 Athlete Award
Edwards Ollie Martin, 14, is finishing up his freshman year at Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy with a 4.0 GPA and will begin his college career this summer with a Colorado Mountain College course. He has been riding with the club since he was 6 years old. His parents, Chris and Anne Martin, said he is “obsessed with snowboarding.”
Martin was nominated for his courage to compete after receiving five stitches to his lip, his commitment to his progression and long-term goal and his character to persevere through the setbacks of the season and still get results.
He is one of just two 14-year-olds to break the World Snowboarding Points List slopestyle top 100. He caught the attention of the U.S. Snowboard Team and received an invitation for the Mammoth World Cup, but due to his young age he was ineligible.
“As parents, we are very proud,” the Martins said, “but Ollie is focused on the future and the ultimate goal (to win the Olympics). He pushes himself for progression and is happiest when he gets a new trick. Ollie is so lucky that he can be a part of a team of riders who push themselves daily to progress while staying humble.”
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3Cs February 2023 Staff Award
The freeride coaches (Matt Luczkow, Zach Booth, Matias Doherty, Justin Holder, George Sandy and Hunter Whiting) were nominated by the Leonard Family (Katharine, Teddy, Tripp and Max) for their commitment to the athletes and how they prepare them for competition season — no matter what life throws at them.
“To say that this coaching team has dealt with adversity would be one of the biggest understatements in the world. This group encountered two major challenges that, in some cases, would derail an entire season. First, the tragic death of Lily Connelly. Followed by an unimaginable van accident (that totaled the vehicle and sent one coach to the hospital) en route to a national event in Wyoming,” the Leonards noted.
As the season went on, athletes in all age classes kept putting down solid runs — including two U12 podiums at Steamboat Springs, multiple podiums (and wins) at regional and national events for the U12 and U14s and notable podiums and showings for ages 15 to 18. Standout athlete, Finn Griffith, placed sixth at the Junior Freeride World Championships in Austria, and beat well-known athlete Kai Jones of Idaho at a national event — just a few days after being in the van accident.
Whether it’s FaceTiming with athletes ahead of a competition, trading videos and photos after training, traveling to Europe to coach in the Junior World Championships, encouraging the team to send “backflips for Lily” and just generally helping with the mental well-being of the young athletes, these coaches, said the Leonards, “prioritize the progress and happiness of the kids. Their exemplary conduct, on and off the snow, has taught the kids what it means to be competitors, teammates and friends.”
In other words, the freeride coaches demonstrate character, courage and commitment.
Luczkow, from Eagle, is an SSCV alum and has skied professionally, being featured in films by Warren Miller and appearing in every major ski magazine. Booth, also a local and club alum, first put in his coaching hours on the lacrosse field and in the hockey arena.
Doherty, born and raised in Santiago, Chile, in a family of ski instructors, has competed on the Freeride World Qualifier circuit for many years, qualifying top-three overall in the South American region in 2017. He was one of the most consistent South American athletes on the Americas circuit. Holder has also competed on the Freeride World Tour.
Sandy started out as a race athlete at Wintergreen Resort in Virginia and has a decade of experience teaching skiing. Last but not least, Whiting began ski racing at Cardigan Mountain School in New Hampshire before transitioning to freestyle and freeride at Gould Academy in Maine.
3Cs March 2023 Athlete Award
SSCV/Courtesy photo
Adele Horning is a senior from Leadville who started cross-country skiing when she was old enough to walk. She has loved it ever since, and has been competing with SSCV since the end of her sophomore year.
“It is fair to say that in the last two years Adele has had her fair share of struggles. But whether it is dealing with the commute from Leadville or dealing with injuries, Adele keeps showing an amazing resilience, willingness and courage to push through the rough waters,” wrote Lenka Sterling, head female Nordic coach, in her nominating letter for this award.
According to Sterling, Horning’s commitment to the sport has allowed her to grow as an athlete and achieve high-level results despite all the hurdles, including a sprained ankle and a severe jaw misalignment, which requires her to constantly modify her diet to ensure adequate caloric consumption while simultaneously dealing with her jaw pain. In addition to eating baby food for months at a time while training to be a competitive Nordic skier, she also dealt with a broken wrist and sleep apnea, which deprived her body of the oxygen it fully needs and more.
“It would be a lot to handle for an adult and it certainly is a ton for a high schooler who would probably much rather worry about normal teenage problems and focus on skiing without all the additional puzzle pieces,” Sterling said.
“That being said, most people don’t even know Adele is struggling with these health problems, because she manages all of it quietly and never perceives these problems as an excuse for her performance. That shows her character.”
Horning placed fifth in the U20 race at the U.S. Junior Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska; she was also nominated for the nationwide Dave Quinn Award and won the Rocky Mountain Division’s Zeke Award — both of which recognize sportsmanship and dedication.
Horning will be attending Dartmouth College in the fall and skiing on their varsity cross-country skiing team. Aside from skiing and training, she enjoys art and music. A fun fact: she has done a five-person water ski pyramid with her family.
3Cs March 2023 Staff Award
SSCV/Courtesy photo
Dolly Schaub, head coach for the part-time U14/U16 Alpine race program, brings many years of coaching experience to the slopes. She is also a single mom who has raised two incredible children, both of whom are full-time athletes in the SSCV Alpine and freeski programs. On top of her coaching and parenting responsibilities, she runs a full-time financial advisory business.
“I am not really sure how she does it all,” Anje Worrell, part-time programs head coach, said in her nominating letter. “In my opinion, she is a true supermom and super coach, and someone I deeply admire. She exhibits all of the qualities — character, courage and commitment — on a daily basis, as a parent, as a coach, as co-worker and as a friend.”
Schaub’s passion started when she learned to ski at the age of 2. Her love of ski racing developed attending Carrabassett Valley Academy. She moved to Colorado for college and began her career in the ski industry after graduating. Schaub spent 15 years instructing and supervising at the Crested Butte Ski School. She coached for two years at Crested Butte Academy, working primarily with FIS/NorAm athletes. She also was head coach for the Crested Butte Ski Club for 3 years. During this time, she completed her Level 3 PSIA and Level 300 coaching certifications. Schaub moved to the Vail Valley in 2013 and began coaching for SSCV in 2017, when her 8-year-old twins joined the club as Future Stars athletes.
Her foci as an SSCV coach are on building the fundamentals, delving into tactics and mental focus, honing skills in the gates, enhancing a love of the sport and having fun.
“Dolly is patient and kind, and always steps into her job with a smile, never complaining, no matter what the challenge may be,” Worrell concluded.
More about the 3Cs Awards
The 3C awards are based around recognizing SSCV athletes and staff on their embodiment of SSCV’s core values of character, courage and commitment. Nominations come from coaches, parents, teachers, peers or anyone in the community.
This year, SSCV recognized one athlete and one staff pick each month from December through March, giving a total of eight 3C awards — four SSCV athlete awards and four SSCV staff awards.
On of the four athlete award winners will be selected and honored as the Walter Kirch Character, Courage and Commitment Season Award Winner at SSCV’s year-end banquet next week.
