Recently I had a chance to sit down with Granite Chief’s own Josh Benge, who also happens to be the head U16 coach and Prep Period Specialist for Squaw Valley as well. To be fair, Granite Chief is actually more of a sidegig for Josh, he’s just nice enough to grace us with his presence on occasion.

Josh grew up in Truckee and went to Truckee High, so he’s familiar with the local mountains and the aspects that make the Truckee/Tahoe area such a unique, special place to grow up and ski. Josh actually started his ski racing career at Northstar Ski Resort before switching to Squaw Valley midway through his racing career. He studied Civil engineering at University of Nevada, Reno and began coaching at Squaw in his last years in college.

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Moving forward a few years, Josh now finds himself as the head of the U16 race division for Squaw. This puts him in charge of 42 teenagers this season, a job that some would find quite daunting. Josh however finds it invigorating. We discussed the challenges of coaching so many different athletes and how “everyone reacts to things in a different manner. It’s really cool to see when an athlete gets something.”

And get something they do. Currently, Josh has over five of his former athletes competing with the US National Ski Team. That really is an astounding number, considering the entire team is about 100 members. While everyone likes to see their athletes win, Josh is aware that not everyone is going to be a champion, and helps foster a program that’s “built to try to help every athlete, while creating a lifelong love for the sport.”

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So what is it about this area that produces so many quality racers, year after year? “It’s the outdoor and athletic atmosphere of this region,” says Josh. “It’s the culture of ‘I wanna be faster than you.’” If you’ve ever skied at Squaw Valley, there’s a decent chance you’ve been passed by a kid who barely reaches your waist, so you probably know just what he’s talking about.

There are few places in the country, or the world, with the kind of skiing history that Squaw Valley boasts. “It gets lost on you, but then you look up and realize, I’m part of a machine that has been this productive for this long.”

And, if history serves, more than likely Josh will be coaching plenty more kids and sending plenty more to races that most of us can only dream of.

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