Hillberg Youth Ski Team

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher R. Morales
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  The winter season is over and even though Alaska did not receive record snow there were moments to remember. After heavy snowfall, every hill became a mountain of deep, soft-powder snow. It was the start of a masterpiece, the hill was a canvas, and every ride down was a brush stroke.

"I always had a rule on the hill: when we have powder days, you have no friends," said Brad Gamblin, Hillberg Youth Ski Team head coach. "Your job is to beat your friends down the hill and make those tracks first."

The Hillberg Youth Ski Team is part of the Hillberg Team Youth Booster Club and is volunteer-run and family-oriented team that teaches children age 5 to 17 years old how to ski and race professionally.

"Here, they learn about sport, about competing, keeping competition fun and exciting," Gamblin said. "It's not all about racing, but being able to ski at a high level ... and racing simply raises that skill level at a faster pace."

Two young men placed first and third, and one young lady placed fifth overall at the state youth 12 and 14 championships this season.

"The biggest thing for the children is that it gets them out," said James 'Bobby' Stone, Hillberg Youth Ski Team co-president. "We get kids all over the nation - all over the world for that matter - coming to Alaska for the first time worried about the environment they are going into and we just get them outside enjoying the winter, and everything it has to offer."

Parents can register their children at the start of the next season at the Hillberg Ski Area. Registration costs between $50 to 70, depending on rank, and this season had approximately 130 members, but has had up to 215 before.

"We do bring the parents into the coaching fold, as part of the process, which is one of the reasons why I've stayed in." Stone said. "I've been with the team for about 14 years - 13 years in charge of it - and my kids grew up in the team."

His children were a part of the team for about 10 years each and then coached incoming members alongside expert-level skiers.

"We've had a lot of children grow up here and became expert-level skiers, competing around the nation, and returning back to the team to coach," Stone said. "I've been here for many deployments on the Air Force and Army side, and I've seen the team as the backbone to some of these families ... it goes way beyond just a Saturday practice."

Practice has also gone beyond the normal Saturday afternoon. When the weather permitted and the students pleaded, practice was also available Friday evening and Sunday afternoon for all who wished to join.

While the children are skiing outside, some of the parents coach, but others fill the rooms of the Hillberg lodge. The lodge is a two-story building where people can rent equipment, buy lift tickets, eat and hang out.

"It's a community-based day lodge, where you go inside and there is always a friendly face, there is always a warm bowl of soup on a Saturday, and one parent always makes something so that all the coaches feel good by the end of the day," Gamblin said.

The Hillberg crew sell accessories, offer equipment rentals and ski-lift tickets, and make additional snow for their hill.

"The crew, especially the snow-making crew, are amazing!"  Gamblin said. "They kept the hill going while many other hills this year were closing."

The Hillberg Youth Ski Team also provides a program for the parents to learn how to ski as a coach under Gamblin, who has had more than 40 years of skiing experience.

"When we get a new coach who has never skied, we teach them all they need to know about how to teach and next thing you know they are skiing," Stone said. "You learn so much when you're teaching or explaining something."

The Hillberg Youth Ski Team is a combination of recreation and profession. It is a sport and an opportunity to learn, teach, grow and have fun.

"One of the things they carry when they leave here is the life skill of being able to ski," Gamblin said. "They also learn that stressful competition is not the priority, but being able to express themselves and expand their capabilities."