Travis Jones of Steamboat Springs, Colo. has been hired to lead the SVSEF Cross Country Olympic Development Team, according to Wednesday's press release from the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation.
Jones, 36, former head coach with the Boise-based Bogus Basin Nordic team, has accepted an offer to become the head coach for the SVSEF's Cross Country Olympic Development Team.
Rick Kapala, SVSEF Cross Country program director, commented " We are very excited to add Travis to our staff. He will bring a very high level of experience and enthusiasm to the SVSEF ski team and we are lucky to attract a coach of his caliber to our program."
Raised as an alpine ski racer in the Lake Tahoe area, Jones moved to Steamboat Springs, Colo. where he finished high school and then went to Norway for a year as an exchange student and to further his interest in Nordic skiing. He skied for the University of Colorado from 1991-96 and received a degree in archaeology.
Travis led the Bogus Basinprogram from 2000-04. Most recently, he has coached with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. In February 2008 he was an assistant coach of the U.S. team, with Sun Valley's Abi Holt the trip leader, for a visit to Estonia for the J1 (16-17) Scandinavian Championships.
His new responsibilities will include overseeing the training of the SVSEF national-level cross-country skiers including Mike Sinnott, Morgan Arritola and Alexa Turzian among others. The SVSEF XC Olympic Development Team is currently stocked with several of the best
young Nordic skiers in the U.S.
Travis will be joined in Sun Valley by wife Ivana Radlova (a Czech Republic XC Olympian and former NCAA cross-country ski champ) and their two sons Sebi, 5, and Mats, 2.
For more information on the SVSEF Olympic Development Team, contact Kapala 726-3899, or xcolaf@mindspring.com.
Travis Jones
