Kiley Staples accepts SR Junior of Year Award

Kiley Staples looked down at her Ski Racing Junior Alpine Skier of the Year Award, scoping out who the past recipients were: Christin Cooper, Tamara McKinney, Julia Mancuso, Lindsey Vonn — one of the women that the 19-year-old has looked up to — and many others that have gone on to great alpine success.
    Staples hopes to be one of them, and receiving the award is a sign of future success. Last season alone, former SR Junior Alpine Skiers of the Year got three World Cup titles, 25 podiums and nine victories on the World Cup.
    “I wanted one of these for a long time,” she said about receiving the award. “It’s been one of my goals.”
    Staples, who suffered a bone bruise at the end of the season, missed the award presentation at the U.S. Alpine Championships where Tommy Ford was award the prize for the male Junior of the Year.
KILEY STAPLES looked down at her Ski Racing Junior Alpine Skier of the Year Award, scoping out who the past recipients were: Christin Cooper, Tamara McKinney, Julia Mancuso, Lindsey Vonn — one of the women that the 19-year-old has looked up to — and many others that have gone on to great alpine success.
    Staples hopes to be one of them, and receiving the award is a sign of future success. Last season alone, former SR Junior Alpine Skiers of the Year got three World Cup titles, 25 podiums and nine victories on the World Cup.
    “I wanted one of these for a long time,” she said about receiving the award. “It’s been one of my goals.”
    Staples, who suffered a bone bruise at the end of the season, missed the award presentation at the U.S. Alpine Championships where Tommy Ford received the prize for the male Junior of the Year. She received the award Tuesday at Ski Racing's 2008-09 planning meeting in Park City, Utah.
    Staples proved her merit last season by finishing seventh overall on the NorAm circuit and fourth in slalom with a win at Mont Ste Anne in January. She powered the U.S. team at World Juniors, winding up fifth in combined behind skiers who have scored on the World Cup. She placed in the top 20 of the Europa Cup combined standings and placed strongly in slalom as well.
    And she could technically win it again, and “I won’t say no to that,” she told the SR staff in Park City where she stopped by to say hi and accept the plaque. This week, fully healed from her knee injury, she will hit the USSA Training Center to begin physical testing that is used as a way to gauge fitness from last year to now.
    The Rowmark Academy skier is from a family of racers. “I always loved skiing and loved doing Nastar,” Staples said. “My dad just put me in races and I liked it a lot."
    At around 11 years old, she decided to commit to the sport and be a role model for her younger siblings — all four and all racers. "I would think it was cool if I wanted to be a racer and my older sister was on the team,” she said.
    Staples is on her way, and wants to make an impact like one of her heroes, Lindsey Vonn. “I feel good about following in her footprints," she said.