The SSWSC Alumni Project provides opportunities for former SSWSC athletes to reconnect the relationships formed at SSWSC and make new ones. It’s about enjoying the company of friends and sharing life stories, diverse perspectives, and interesting paths. We plan to have a few social events throughout the year.
Tell us a little about yourself, and if you are interested, share a photo and a story for SSWSC to use on the website and materials.
Alumni Voices
What Our Members Have to Say
Matt Grosjean
“The SSWSC has had the largest influence on my life of any organization that I have been a part of. It was the spring board for my ski racing career, my Olympic dreams and almost every success in my adult life. The values I developed, the friendships I made, and the experiences I had through the Winter Sports Club largely formed who I am today.”
Brendan C. Doran
“The club gave me the independence and confidence to go into anything in life knowing I can be successful. The club gave me the opportunity to travel all over the world with the U.S. Ski Team and make life-long friends. However, none of them hold a candle to Steamboat Springs and the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.”
Lauren Crawford
“It takes a village to raise a child. Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club is a huge contributing factor to the way children are raised in Steamboat. … The club is a staple in Steamboat and I can’t imagine what the town would be like without it.”
Cole Puckett
“Always keep trying your best. Your worst race result could be followed by your best run. Perseverance and hard work pays off.”
Andy LeRoy
“In a world where pitfalls for growing children hide behind every corner, I sought to find my way and managed to fall into just about every bad situation one could imagine. But every time I slipped, I had a coach or fellow athlete push me to pick myself up and strive for everything that I could be.”
Jack Miller
“The SSWSC provides opportunity. If your goals include the Olympics, striving to become a better skier or wanting a chance to challenge and better yourself through athletics, the club provides the opportunity. The SSWSC is 100 years of providing opportunity. I’m just one example of thousands. Let’s keep it rolling.”
Alumni Profile
David Lamb — SSWSC Alpine Alumnus
By Eileen Allen
“I have the markets at my disposal while maintaining a lifestyle of outdoor sports freedom.”
— David Lamb
I caught up with David to see how he was doing with his new office and to ask him how the SSWSC has affected his life — and did he have a story to tell!
Many of you remember his ski career… he was one of those kids who skied very well at a young age and then got better. He basically lived at Howelson Hill and the only way his folks could punish him (that actually worked) was to deny him training. He learned how to take care of his body and learned how to stay driven, focused and enjoy the escape and freedom that skiing fast gave him. He knows that the self-confidence and pride that he received from being part of the SSWSC are what propelled him to the US Team. After several years on the team he was a top skier for the DU Pioneers.
After a devastating crash at a World Cup in France he knew it was time to move on. He searched for a career that would allow him to feed his competitive spirit and opened an Edward Jones office in Steamboat Springs.
Coming home to Steamboat, David knew he wanted to give back in a big way. He knows that it was the Steamboat Lion’s Club that paid a scholarship so that he could train in Europe, that it was David Baldinger and Craig Thrasher who helped him with equipment, that at every race maybe 40 volunteers were there to put on the races, and coaches helped him reach his dreams. Now you can see him giving very generously with his time — coaching J3 kids free skiing, volunteering at the Arts Council, paying it forward as an active community member.
David feels that the experience of the SSWSC has given him a leg up in life on many levels compared to people who haven’t had this experience, and for this he is very thankful.
