His training is as intense as his motivation. As a national athlete he will be training or competing on snow 10 months per year. He is normally up by 6AM, on the snow by sunrise, and spends two hours doing weight, plyometric and aerobic training. As he is still in high school, he adds several hours of study at the end of the day. In the "off-season" he plays American Legion Baseball, his other passion.

With spending 175+ days on the road (and driving 24,000 miles) last season, Scott found it impossible to be enrolled in traditional school, and is now a Senior at the Idaho Virtual Academy, a home school program that accommodates his racing. Scott carries a full load of classes in the summer so he can have a lighter load during the ski season. He is in honors classes and studies German.

He was featured in 2008 by the school in a video that highlights both his academic achievements and his passion for ski racing.

Scott also works two jobs during the summer to support the cost of his skiing. He has some loyal equipment sponsors as well as a great pizza joint that supplies him with all-you-can eat grub, a fitness trainer and a photographer who donates his time and talent. But, the majority of the cost of training to be an elite ski racer falls on Scott's family, and raising funds is a continuous need to help Scott achieve his goals.

Scott's rise to the national stage began in the 2007-08 season when he won a Gold and two Silver medals at the J3 Junior Olympics. He also represented the US internationally in Italy and Canada, and was named a National Development System athlete for the first time.

As a J2 athlete Scott further elevated his game, taking Gold and Silver medals at J2 National Championships his first year, then two Golds and a Bronze his second year. He now holds more J2 National Championships medals than any racer in history. These results earned him invitations to the US Alpine Championships where he was the youngest competitor each of the past two years.

Scott ended the 2009-2010 season as the top ranked J2 in the US for Downhill, Super G and Giant Slalom, and the second ranked in Slalom. He is top three in the World for his age group in both Downhill and Super G.

Scott's family is his biggest support, including coach and Dad, Shep, Mom Joy, and siblings Bonnie, Jonathan and Adrienne.

In the 2010-11 ski season, Scott will be racing all of the North American Cup (NORAM) series. His near term goal is to be selected to the World Juniors team (19 and under) which will compete in Switzerland mid-Winter.

Check Scott's schedule and see if he'll be at a ski slope near you. Come out and cheer him on!

Fun Facts:

• As a baby, Scott rode the slopes with his Dad in a backpack.
  
• By age 2, he was riding chairlifts and skiing alone. He broke his nose that year when he tucked into a fallen snowboarder, and has worn a racing faceguard ever since.
• Scott has been on skis more than a third of the days he's been alive!
• Scott moved to Sagle, Idaho at age 4, and skied 140 days the first winter he lived in Idaho.
• Although it may sound as though he was raised with a singular skiing focus, Scott has, or does, compete in soccer, baseball and cross country running. He also is an avid kayaker, windsurfer, golfer and waterskier.
  
• Scott's family has two cats. The goofy one has adopted Scott and she is great entertainment. She's so uncoordinated that she cannot lay down gently. She targets the landing spot, and tips over. She's also so rotund that she cannot get to the top bunk – but that's where she likes to sit while Scott does school work. So he lifts her up (strength training) and she sits there making little mew sounds.

Other favorite activities:

• Baseball – Playing ball is Scott's main off-season thing. He spends most of his summers on the diamond. He's playing American Legion ball now. He catches most of the time, but also is used at all infield positions plus outfield when needed.
• Cross Country running – Scott enjoys running for Sandpoint High School. The coaches are great and he likes the camaraderie of the team. This really helps with his aerobics for pre-season training in Colorado.
• Blowin' his horn – Although his travel schedule prevents him from being in the band anymore, he goes to practice when he's home and plays with the pep band at games.
• Waterskiing – Sunny days on the lake with friends.
  

A note from Scott's coach:

The road to the Olympics - Like hundreds of other passionate ski racers with big plans, Scott has had to restructure his life in order to pursue the dream. Unlike so many other sports, there is no after school practice. There is no school support system. There are no free coaches or fitness facilities. There is no recognition from school chums. Since the training is on snow during the school year, ski racers face numerous challenges. Some school systems are more supportive than others, but regardless of how flexible the school is, maintaining a high GPA in a pre-college curriculum is tough at best. Interestingly, most accomplished ski racers, including Scott, are also excellent students – perhaps it's the discipline. In Scott's case, he had to leave the regular school system in 5th grade and move into an internet academy environment. Academically and athletically, this works great. But there are still sacrifices. Being a long distance friend for 6 months a year is tough. Thank goodness for Facebook, but it's still hard to dance on a computer keyboard.