A new old face has joined the U.S. Ski Team as former women’s speed coach Jim Tracy has been hired to replace departing women’s head coach Patrick Riml.
    Tracy spent seven seasons at the helm of the speed group, leaving the team after the 2003 season. He’s coached in five Winter Olympic Games.
    “Out of retirement and into re-hirement,” he said from Mount Bachelor, Ore. “I am pretty excited. It has all happened pretty quick. I’m pretty humbled by the whole thing.”
A NEW OLD face has joined the U.S. Ski Team as former women’s speed coach Jim Tracy has been hired to replace departing women’s head coach Patrick Riml.
    Tracy spent seven seasons at the helm of the speed group, leaving the team after the 2003 season. He’s coached in five Winter Olympic Games.
    “Out of retirement and into re-hirement,” he said from Mount Bachelor, Ore. “I am pretty excited. It has all happened pretty quick. I’m pretty humbled by the whole thing.”
    Tracy, who previously has been coaching the Meadows Racing Team at Mt. Hood, said he knew he had some big shoes to fill and saw his mission as being to “keep the positive things rolling.”
    He said the potential of the women’s team is “huge,” noting that Lindsey Vonn’s success this season was just the tip of the iceberg. “With that [potential] comes a lot more pressure to keep it rolling. That’s the hard part. I was always the one who looked ahead, no matter how well we did, to be sure there was a clear path to continue to do well. With success comes a lot of distractions. We need to make sure everybody can focus on what they need to do to excel. When you’re at the top everybody wants to get you.”
    As for just how that’s going to shape up, the coach was a bit uncertain. “You know I haven’t even been to the office yet. I don’t even know what the schedule is yet.   
    “I’m still blown away.”