The Lowell Whiteman School

Nordic/Tele

Home of Johnny Spillane – Class of 1999, Two Olympic Silver Medals, 2010

At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Johnny Spillane broke through a glass ceiling no other American ever had; he won the first medal EVER for a U.S. competitor in the Nordic Combined Individual.  Silver at that!  The next week, he and “Team Steamboat” won the silver medal in the Nordic Combined Team Event.  The team consisted of  Billy Demong, Todd Lodwick, Brett Camerota and Johnny Spillane.   Johnny then went on with Billy Demong to dominate the Big Hill event – taking the silver again and helping Billy earn the gold.  All of these medals are earth shaking for the U.S and anyone who has watched Nordic Combined in the past.   In January, Johnny had already rocked things when he became the first American to win the World Championship in Nordic Combined.  He had set records early in his career as well;  in 2003, he  won a World Championship medal in a sprint.  He explained in a recent interview that he'd had a rough summer, suffering from knee injuries, but he and the team had a goal and they were in it to win it.

Olympic Nordic Combined Coach Dave Jarrett (LWS alum, class of 1989) was one of the many who helped Johnny along his path.  As Coach Jarrett pointed out, so many people were involved in the team's success for many, many years including long-time SSWSC Nordic Coach Tom Steiz, (father of Korie Steitz, class of 2005).

Johnny also said in a recent interview that he has not forgotten his school [LWS] or the support he has in his hometown.  “This win began 15 years ago when we decided to train together in Steamboat – to go for it and we did.”

The Nordic Program in Steamboat Springs is one of the oldest in the country beginning in the early 1900's. But the sport is far older In Europe.  Cross country and ski jumping have a tremendous following with many young athletes participating.   The U.S. Nordic skiers have been struggling for years to compete on the same level, especially in the Combined event.  When Johnny Spillane and the rest of the 2010 Olympic Team including Todd Lodwick (wife Sunny is a LWS alumna) won medals in Vancouver, everyone was very surprised. This hard working team put themselves, the U.S., Steamboat Springs, SSWSC, and The Lowell Whiteman School on the map in Nordic Combined.  The whole world was watching.  Americans paid attention to Nordic Combined for the first time.  now most of them even know what it is.

"President Obama even mentioned Johnny's name during a speech in Denver," proud father Jim Spillane said.  (Jim was the LWS Head of School for many years.) "It's pretty exciting if even he knows who did well in the Olympics and he knows about Nordic Combined.   It's wonderful for Americans to be on the podium.  But you would be amazed how the Europeans were pulling for us to do well.  They want to see the sport grow. They would of course, rather that they won, but they were thrilled for the U.S.  Nordic is a very small world and a close group of athletes and coaches that crosses international borders."

So how does the SSWSC/LWS Nordic program produce an Olympic Athlete?

Athletes receive comprehensive training focusing on physical conditioning and technique improvement.  They can hone their skills in Cross-Country, Nordic Combined, and Special Jumping.  Coaches are dedicated and extremely experienced.  Competitors can continue their schooling at a level which will ensure them a spot at the college of their choice.   Johnny said, “Training was hard and so was school but it was worth it. Whiteman helped make it happen, and they were really patient with whatever it took to get my work done when I got back from training or comps.”

To learn more about Nordic coaches, see below.

The Lowell Whiteman School and SSWSC have produced many notable Nordic competitors and Olympians. These include:

Johnny Spillane (’99 ) - check out his page for all his results.  Four-time Olympian & Silver Medalist, Johnny’s 2010 Olympic team spot was assured when he easily won the Nordic Combined Trials in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in front of his home town crowd in December ‘09.  He went on to win his first individual World Cup in O- berhof, Germany in January 2010  making him the first American to win a Gold medal in World Championships history in Nordic Combined.  He is also the first U.S. athlete to medal in Nordic Combined in the Olympics.

Clint Jones (’04) - Competed in the 2002 & 2006 Olympics.   At age 15, he won the National Championships in Steamboat Springs and then went on to  compete in the Olympics.

Tommy Schwall (’02) - Tommy and Clint Jones helped the U.S. Ski Jumping team place 11th overall, matching their team effort from the 2002 Salt Lake City games.  Tommy captured the Ski Jumping Supertour championship in 2005 for the second straight year and set a personal record of 178m in 2003 at Planica, Slovenia.

Ryan Heckman (’93) - Member of the U.S. Ski Team, Ryan competed in the 1992 and 1994 Olympics and was the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic Nordic Team at age 16.

Dave Jarrett, (’89) - Two-time Olympian and 2010 US Nordic Combined Team Coach.

In 2009,  Johnny Spillane, Ryan Heckman and Todd Lodwick were included with a group of former ski jumpers  inducted into the Ski Jumping Hall of Fame. LWS can’t really claim Todd Lodwick, he did not graduate from LWS, but his wife, Sunny was class of 1995.

Flying Far….since the 1900's.

The Nordic program in Steamboat Springs goes back to the early 1900’s when a Norwegian visitor named Carl Howelsen showed Steamboat how to use skis. For the more gutsy members of town, he demonstrated how to “fly” off a jump.  Thus was born Steamboat’s love affair with “Flying Skiers.”  A jump was constructed on a hill in town and and it was called Howelsen Hill.   Howelsen was a favorite place of the 10th Mountain Division and many of it’s members brought here by local skier, Division Member and Coach, Gordy Wren.   Gordy was an Olympic competitor, the first to compete in all four Nordic events  and he was a coach in Steamboat for many years.  He brought the best of the best Nordic skiers to what he considered to be the best place in the world to ski and jump.

The Nordic Program at The Lowell Whiteman School gives the students two possible routes and can either join the Winter Sports Club or the Steamboat Springs High School team.  Both teams train at Howelsen Hill.  The difference between the two is mostly visible on the competition level. The coaches are the same, but the high school team competes in high school races, while the Winter Sports Club competes in the Rocky Mountain Division.

The high school team is also cross-country only. The Nordic Program at the Steamboat Winter Sports Club (SSWSC) includes FIS homologated 50, 70, and 90 meter Nordic ski jumps (this means that the jumps were designed according to the sanctioning rules for FIS competitions).  The facility is repeatedly the site of Junior Olympic and Junior/Senior National Championships.  More recently, the complex served as the site for the Olympic qualifying U. S. National Ski Jumping Championships.  In December 2009, it hosted the U.S. Ski Team Trials for the Olympic Games for Nordic.

SSWSC boasts the largest jumping and Nordic Combined development program in the country.  When not at Howelsen, the cross-country skiers train at Steamboat Touring Center which provides over 20 kilometers of groomed country trails.  Like the other winter competitive disciplines, Nordic skiers and jumpers can take advantage of LWS’s special academic program.  They can drop two classes in January and make them up during an intensive month of study in April called Intersession. 

"I like dropping two classes during the winter,” notes Molly Newman ‘10, Nordic skier, photo at right.  “I can get to bed really early and focus on racing. ”

Molly likes the feeling of keeping up with the classes she has and doing well with them.  She likes Intersession because it’s quiet study time, and she knows she’ll cover as much material in a concentrated way as her peers who don’t compete.  She says it might even be a better way to learn.   "I feel so grateful for Whiteman.  I’ve talked to people who have graduated from here, and they tell me that when they get to college, the work load is not a big deal.”

The Coaches – Highlights

Todd Wilson ~ Program Director, Head Jump/Nordic Facilities Manager, Primary Coach for Age Class Nordic Combined Team. In 1984, Coach Wilson was named to the U.S. Nordic Combined Team and competed internationally for nine seasons, which included the Winter Olympic Team in 1988 and 1992 and the World Championship Team in 1985 and 1987. Todd began coaching with the SSWSC in 1993.   Todd oversees a professional staff of thirty five coaches involved in the training of over 275 athletes in the Nordic sports of Ski Jumping, Cross-Country, Nordic Combined, and Biathlon. This is his thirteenth season coaching at the SSWSC.

Martin Bayer ~ Ability Head Coach for the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined programs - A Slovak native, Coach Bayer joined the SSWSC Nordic staff in 2006. Bayer is a two-time Olympian (’92, ’94), Slovak National Champion in Nordic Combined, and the son of a lifetime national coach. He brings to the table an impressive educational background including secondary specialized education in athletic training and coaching. In 1997, he moved to the U.S. to coach in Ishpeming, MI.

Brian Tate ~ Ability Cross-Country Coach – A cross-country enthusiast Brian appreciates training inspired teenage athletes. In his ten years at the SSWSC, he has coached Nordic Combined and Cross-Country athletes, including two former competitors with podium finishes at the World Junior Championships.

Gary Crawford ~ Ability NC Head Coach - The head coach for the Development team , Coach Crawford is a former SSWSC athlete and U.S. Ski Team member.  He skied for Western State College for two and a half years; then in 1976, was named to the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team and competed internationally for twelve seasons including two Olympic Winter Games in 1980 and 1988 and a World Championships in 1982.

For more information on all the coaches see SSWSC Nordic Coaches.