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| If it looks like Nils is focussed on the camera and not the landing hill in this shot, it's probably because he was. |
NILS STOLZLECHNER
Age 50
Kitzbuhel, AUT
Skigymnasium Stams, US Ski Team
When I graduated 1980 from the
Skigymnasim Stams in Austria I accomplished something that no one
thought would be possible. Four years prior at my arrival I was kind of a fat
kid that was an OK alpine racer but decided to take up ski jumping at 14.
Somehow and with luck I survived the learning curve but at the end did not make
the Austrian team. In that country that means you are done as an athlete.
People that know me, however, know that I am rarely done. I had an US passport
and an idea. I found out that the US Ski Team had a new coach, Greg
Windsperger. I also found an address for the US Ski Team in Park City so I
wrote them a letter asking for a license to compete as an American in the
summer events in Berchtesgaden. Before e-mail it took a while for my letter to
reach Greg. I received a license (actually never had to show it). In late fall
the US Ski Team came to train in Europe and coming from knee surgery it was the
first time I had jumped since the previous winter and I hoped to impress the
new coach. The guys all seemed OK- Jeff Davis, Jim Maki, Dave Solner, Jim
Grahek, Jon Denny I think were on the trip. We went to Passo Rolle, Italy for
snow training as well. After that I used all my saved up money to buy a ticket
to go to Thunder Bay. That’s where I first met the Canadians, back then with
Steve Collins and Horst Bulau two of the best ski jumpers in the world. Under
Greg’s new style the team changed fast.
Jeff Hastings, who I first met in Lake Placid along with Mike Holland,
Dennis McGrane, Mark Konapacke, Zane Palmer and Landis Arnold quickly excelled
and by 1982 the US Ski Team had changed its face. John Broman, John Denney and
Read Zuehlke from the old guard and a bunch of crazy wild new kids began to
score top 15 finishes by 1984. One of the highlights for us certainly was the 5th
place in the team event at the 1985 World Championships in Seefeld, AUT beating
Norway. In our best year we had 8 guys place in the top 15! I think the
combination of a new dedicated coach, new raw talent and an Austrian kid who
was a little arrogant really gelled well. Spending nights sleeping in the inrun
tower at Berchtesgaden with Dennis and Landis, having to share a room with John
Benzie for two weeks in T-Bay, driving cross country and running out of gas,
hitting big birds on the freeway and the fire cracker fights while driving from
Oberstdorf to Garmish are experiences that I will never forget. For me the US
Ski Team set a path in my life that certainly made me a better person, taught
me how to believe in the almost impossible and showed me that hard work pays
off! For what its worth, I would do this
all over again. I miss the soccer matches and my teammates, am grateful for the
opportunity I was given and look forward to the new generation following in our
footsteps.
While jumping is no longer an option I
have found something else that keeps me in the air J once you get that flight feeling its
hard to let it go.
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| Nils's new source of adrenaline- kite boarding. In addition to competing he has his own line of boards- NJS Design. |
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