I’m thinking it’s a huge waste of coaching resources and it’s denying an up and coming racer from valuable World Cup experience.
I don't disagree. If you read my posts on the topic of Julia Mancuso, going way back, you'll see that I have been quite critical of things. A year ago, I heard from close friends who saw her on the hill, trying to do something in the gym, and limping badly while in Chile that this thing was "over. Done." The word was that her surgery had not worked, and that any sort of rehab was an incredible long shot.
Having first seen her race at 12, and hearing rumblings of her hip issues by the time she was about 16-17, from people working with her, I was not surprised. However, I was amazed at the season long charade, where she traveled with the team {or at least at the team's expense} and was repeatedly on start lists all season long, only to be pulled, or even worse to forerun. At that point, she was eating up resources: time and money. And every time she was on a start list {not a training list}, somebody else was NOT. Agree on that. It was insane. But the start that we have based on her position on the WCSL does factor into this.
This season, I don't know how much she's using in terms of resources. I agree with
@S.H. I would say very little if any coaching time. I am pretty sure that even her PT is not affiliated with the team. So it's some travel {when she's traveled}. Still, to what end? I have posted here that in the fall, a number of friends saw her when she was at Copper. And on off days in Vail. The words that came back to me were "wincing, and hobbled." Sure as hell did not sound like ready to attack a WC SG or DH. I think everybody knows that her days as a GS skier ended some time ago.
Being injured, with her points still frozen {which others from outside of the USA surely argue is a joke} does protect a start for the USA Pretty sure of that.
The quote for the women is eight. Plus, we have a NorAm spot. And that means they can ski 11 in a training run. So, I don't think her taking a training run hurts anybody, other than the circus and media swirl around it. I agree on that. It does get old for some of these ladies and some of the team. They're thinking "Why?" At what point is it over? Pretty obvious, not until Julia says it is. She could just remain "injured", not be there, and the start quotas would not change.
At some point when we want to start a lot of our younger skiers in WC events {some are just too young and inexperienced now} that quota becomes more important.
Now, two years ago I was pretty critical of Bode, and of the whole inability to admit that he was done, finished, retired. I'm not a stranger there. Bode is stubborn, but guess what, he was almost 40 and
everything that he has in his life is the result of his ski and of somebody else funding it. He refuses to acknowledge, in private, that the USST has a thing to do with it. He thinks the team was lucky to have him, and that they organization was who benefited the most from it. So, we endured the whole Bomber saga, the make believe comeback, and on and on. He didn't even fake it by traveling, did he? But, his points were frozen as well.
So....we know that the USST has many, many issues. This is the low point. This is the crater. One of the issues is that however athlete contracts are currently worded, if you are "injured" {and that's a broad brush....the athlete essentially says I'm hurt} and you portray that you'll attempt top come back, you hold the cards. You hold your rostered spot on the team. I am almost certain that in Julia's case, her contracts with Stockli, Lekiand Lange all stipulate that she gets paid as long as she is on the team. Not as much as if she were able to win bonus money and skiing, but a lot more than if she retired mid-contract. So, yeah, that's a driver.
Bode has had this impression that he's somehow going to be the big factor that will make Bomber a successful premium ski. Maybe he will. He infuriated probably the most powerful guy on the sport, and he evidently felt that making it sound like he was going to comeback, and win on Bomber was key. SO keep me on the team. And by the way, keep my health and dental insurance in place fort my family, including the other two kids from the other relationships. That alone would fund a couple of athletes each of those two years.
Back to Julia. I think it's sad to see her try to hang on, try to dream of this Olympics, and just be beat up. I think somebody, be it her agent, her family............or Tiger Shaw and the USST should have been honest and firm and said "It's over. Done."
I can have a cynical side. I happen to have two childhood buddies who both were at one point Network sports presidents. I understand what a challenge it is to get any TV viewers of ski racing. I know enough about the USST to know how they perceive the importance of the Olympics, and how Julia has made herself the darling of the games in the past. She might be the most difficult woman to ever ski for the USST, but she has the smile and could turn on her game very few years. You can see that she was a big part of the plan for NBC. I assume that we'll still see her on camera. And since the USST is betting the farm on these Olympics generating some ski interest and making MS a household word throughout the country, ultimately generating more sponsor dollars, JM is yet another potential asset.
The whole thing is a mess. This is the legacy of Bill Marolt, and of following him up with perhaps a poor hire. The vast majority of the board are disengaged, the staff in many cases think it's "so cool" to work there. This, IMO, needs to be approached like a serious turnaround. I doubt that the board sees it that way. Maybe they'll see how bad/sad this is in Korea.
Would be great if they all went out on top.
