Phillips turns down C team bid to go on LDS mission

Andy Phillips will not accept his nomination to the U.S. alpine C team and said he will leave July 30 to go on a two-year mission for his Latter-Day Saints church.
    “It’s always been something in the back of my head,” the 19-year-old said. “I had a talk with my dad and we decided that now would be the best time to go. I might as well go now instead of later because it’s a lot easier to qualify for the team again at a younger age.”
    Phillips, a member of the 2007-08 Development Team who's ranked No. 2 in the world in his age group in slalom, felt like he needed a break to rest his injured shoulders after a rough but successful season.
    “From last season, I was pretty beat up … and I just kind of wanted to take a little break and go for another adventure for a few years and then come back to skiing,” he said.
    He will leave July 30 to spend two months in Provo learning Norwegian, and then head to Oslo, where he will work with members of the local wards as well as speak to others about Mormonism.  
ANDY PHILLIPS will not accept his nomination to the U.S. alpine C team and said he will leave July 30 to go on a two-year mission for his Latter-Day Saints church.
    “It’s always been something in the back of my head,” the 19-year-old said. “I had a talk with my dad and we decided that now would be the best time to go. I might as well go now instead of later because it’s a lot easier to qualify for the team again at a younger age.”
    Phillips, a member of the 2007-08 Development Team who's ranked No. 2 in the world in his age group in slalom, felt like he needed a break to rest his injured shoulders after a rough but successful season.
    “From last season, I was pretty beat up … and I just kind of wanted to take a little break and go for another adventure for a few years and then come back to skiing,” he said.
    He will leave July 30 to spend two months in Provo. Utah, learning Norwegian, and then head to Oslo, where he will work with members of the local wards as well as speak to others about Mormonism.  
    The news was a surprise to USSA Alpine Director Jesse Hunt and the new head men’s alpine coach, Sasha Rearick, when they were told, Phillips said.
    “They at first were a little taken aback as they should be along with a ton of my teammates, but the more I talked to them I was like, ‘I’m still young. There is a lot a stuff I need to learn. I struggled last year with a lot of the traveling.’ I think taking a break will be a good thing for me to, you know, just sort of grow up.”
    Though some people have criticized his choice, those people’s opinions don’t matter to the young racer, Phillips said. He knows he wants to do this and will be back the summer of 2010 to race again.
    “I think a lot of people don’t realize how mental ski racing is,” he said. “If you leave the sport for a few years you’ll lose your touch. But at the same time, Steven Nyman [was out] one and half years for injuries and he’s still on top of his game and there is no reason I shouldn’t be able to do that.”

To learn more about Phillips' choice to temporarily leave ski racing, and why his religion means so much to him, check out the first issue of Ski Racing magazine's 41st season of publication in September.