For the majority of Wood River High School graduates, the path onward is distinct and well traveled: pursue a college degree and seek gainful employment of the nine to five sort.
Six years after receiving her diploma, Aprilia Hagglof continues to eschew convention, choosing instead to follow a dream that could lead her to the 2010 Winter Olympic snowboarding site at Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver, B.C. Canada.
Hagglof, who lived in Warm Springs for nine years before returning to her native Sweden in 2001, used the Sun Valley Snowboard Team as a stepping stone to international competition.
Having participated in the 2006 Winter Games as an alpine snowboarder on the Swedish national team, she is acutely aware of the sacrifices necessary to remain a professional athlete, especially in a sport that is far from mainstream.
"You have those rainy days," Hagglof said during a recent trip back to Ketchum. "It's a sport where you don't make a whole lot of money and you have to put everything else in your life on hold so at some point you have to start thinking about what you're going to do after."
Recent events have caused a proliferation of these thoughts. After placing 16th in Torino, a result she calls "dissatisfying but a good experience," Hagglof watched as her Swedish team shrunk from seven to two members.
According to Hagglof, the exodus was largely due to the hiring of a new coach, a micromanaging Austrian whose preferences on everything from the riding stance of his athletes to their equipment adversely affected their performance.
What followed was a winter of discontent for Hagglof, 24, who ended with a disappointing season-best eighth place finish.
In April, Hagglof and her remaining teammate, Daniel Biveson, met with the Swedish Olympic Committee with a list of demands aimed at improvement, including the hiring of a new coach and the ability to train alongside the Swiss, who have one of the strongest alpine snowboard teams in the world.
"We didn't expect it because it's a lot of money and we didn't have the results last year," Hagglof said.
The pair was surprised when the committee acquiesced, and the negative atmosphere was replaced by optimism heading into their off-season.
Still, even with this overt display of support, Hagglof knows her future in this sport ultimately rests in her own hands.
"For sure I'll be done after the 2010 Olympics, but it could be a lot sooner if I have a bad season between now and then," Hagglof said.
She estimates that the Swedish Olympic Committee spends around $20,000 for her travel, equipment, and training, in addition to a $15,000 living stipend. As well, she's has a number of sponsors, including sportswear manufacturer Helly Hansen, but all of this financial support hinges upon her performance and the production of results.
This pressure to succeed goes beyond her ability to pay rent in Stockholm, one of the most expensive cities in the world, as she is by no means guaranteed a ticket to Vancouver. In order to make it to the next Olympics, she will need to finish in the top eight in at least two of the seven World Cup races that will take place in the months leading up to the Winter Games.
For Hagglof, this means an adherence to an intensive training regimen, even when there's no snow in sight.
"The sport is so young that it's changing all the time. The athletes are constantly improving so you can't afford to take any time off," Hagglof said.
Her two-week return to the Wood River Valley was no exception. Accompanied by Biveson, she visited old friends and favorite landmarks such as Grumpy's, but also put in significant hours at High Altitude Fitness and spent two hours of her "rest day" engaged in a tennis match at Atkinson Park.
For Hagglof, this kind of commitment is a small price for the potential reward.
"It can be hard when people start saying you need to start looking at your future, and you know you can't do this forever," Hagglof said. "But the feeling of standing on the top of the podium is addictive. It's unlike anything I've experienced or could imagine."
Aprilia Hagglof, a 2001 Wood River High School graduate and Swedish Olympic alpine snowboarder, and teammate Daniel Biveson make time for some cross training at Atkinson?s park during a recent trip to Ketchum. Hagglof participated in the 2006 Winter Games and hopes to make it to Vancouver in 2010. Photo by Willy Cook
