Team America Re-Launched for 2018-19 Season

Garret Driller

Brian McLaughlin

Alex Leever

Team America re-launches independent Alpine Ski Team as an alternative to the US National Team for NorAm and World Cup level post-collegiate alpine ski racers. The original Team America was founded in 2007 by Bode Miller when he left the U.S. Ski Team to build a program he felt would better suit his specific needs. Though no longer associated with Bode Miller, Team America continues in the spirit of independent athlete development. The 2018 version of Team America is privately funded in the spirit of giving underdog athletes and those whose needs were not met by U.S. Ski and Snowboard a chance to compete at the Continental and World Cup level and compete for coveted World Cup spots.​

Team America currently consists of 22 year-old Garret Driller, former athlete for the Montana State Bobcats, 23 year-old Alex Leever, former captain of the University of Denver Ski Team, and 25 year-old Dartmouth graduate Brian McLaughlin. Alex and Garret were All Americans at the NCAA Championships, as well as consistent high performers at the NorAm level, while Brian won the NorAm GS overall title and was the NCAA GS Champion in 2018.

Team America has partnered with SYNC Performance, a purpose-driven, high-performance mountain apparel brand based in Vail, CO. SYNC is committed to helping these athletes reach the World Cup. In addition, Team America will be an official Performance Partner for SYNC’s Elevate The Athlete Project, where customers have the opportunity to contribute 10% of sales to help these athletes achieve the highest level of competition.

Team America is guided by Head Coach Peter Lange. With more than 30 years of experience in the ski racing industry, he coached athletes of all ages both privately and on the U.S. National Team with great success.  Peter is highly committed to his athletes' development both as ski-racers and young adults in line with the Team America Vision.

Aiding him is assistant coach Alex Skladanowski, a former racer, then coach of 3+ years at Loveland Ski Club's Alpine Race Academy.

Rounding out the staff is Certified Athletic Trainer, Chris Toone. Formerly with the U.S. Alpine Team, Chris brings 3 years of experience as an ATC with U.S. Ski and Snowboard to Team America, as well as 2 years with University of Utah's collegiate program. Fully backing Team America's vision, Chris is looking forward to helping the athletes reach their maximum potential.

"When you're stepping into the start of a World Cup, you need to know you're a badass."  Bode Miller

Team America offers a chance for athletes to learn exactly that.