MOUNTAIN LIFE
GLEE CLUB
Ski & Snowboard Club’s winning formula mixes fun with practice BY MARTINIQUE DAVIS
“W
hen you have fun in a sport, you want to do it more. When you do it more, you get better. And when you get better, you have more fun,” says Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club Executive Director Justin Chandler. Those three interconnected strands of fun, practice and success are the essence of the club. The popular youth program has been a Telluride institution for 35-plus years and in that time has nurtured a love of sport for innumerable skiers, snowboarders, Nordic athletes and ice skaters. The winter of 2020-21 marked the largest enrollment ever, with more than 465 kids participating in the various TSSC disciplines. Chandler says this winter is shaping up to be another big season and notes that the program’s enduring popularity owes much to its focus on fun. “You really have to make it all about the kids and for them the first priority is to have fun,”
he says, noting that safety is at the forefront as well. That spirit of fun is evidenced in the buzz of excited chatter that envelopes the groups of kids gathered at the base of the slopes most weekends in winter. Coaches lead these sessions with a goal of providing “miles of smiles”, while adeptly incorporating training drills too. Chandler says, “When you talk to the best skiers in the world, that’s what they say — it’s all about fun. It may become work as they get older, but because they love doing it, it doesn’t feel like work.” He adds that skill acquisition also plays a role, especially for the older age groups. As TSSC athletes get older, their training volume increases, from one day a week for the youngest participants to multiple weekly sessions for the oldest. The club’s model has reaped rewards, with some TSSC-trained skiers and riders successfully competing in the uppermost echelons of
‘THE FIRST PRIORITY IS TO HAVE FUN.’
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Melissa Plantz
J u s tin Chandl er
telluride.com | 855.421.4360
