WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Coach Tom Olson and the Whitman College ski teams have a list of championship awards almost as long as the slopes down which they ski.
It was a list that became longer and longer as the 1990s came to a close.
Whitman's ski success was snowballing by early 1995, as Olson watched his men's and women's alpine teams dominate opponents, easily winning conference and western region championships. Then, his downhillers combined forces with the Whitman cross country teams to capture four-way titles at the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association's national championships.
Without question, it was the most successful ski season in Whitman school history. It also was no fluke. Early in 1996, Olson's alpine teams swept to their third straight conference titles and once again joined forces with the cross country teams to repeat as national four-way champions.
The run was far from over, however. In 1997, after the alpine teams raced away with conference titles for a fourth consecutive season, they hooked up with their cross country compatriots to easily capture their third straight four-way national crowns.
The women's alpine and men's cross country teams made the biggest splash at the 1997 nationals. Both teams won national titles for their events, while the men's alpine and women's cross country teams placed second overall.
The 1998 and 1999 seasons brought more of the same success. Olson's alpine teams added more conference and regional honors to the trophy case, and they again teamed with the cross country squads to lay claim to the all-around national championships.
As the winter of 2000 drew to a close, the Missionary alpine teams captured their seventh consecutive Northwest Conference titles, and both squads were once again victorious at regionals. At nationals, the Whitman alpine and cross country women won their sixth straight four-way title. Trying to do the same, the Missionary men's teams came up just short, placing second to St. Olaf in the four-way scoring.
Whitman's new snowboarding teams gave Missionary fans more reason to cheer at the 2000 national championships. Rob Spooner won an individual title in boadercross, leading the Missionaries to the team title in that event as well.
Looking back on the success of his ski program, Olson has little difficulty explaining where and how it all began. As he began building his ski powerhouse in 1990, one of the keys was finding the right material for a solid foundation. He found the right stuff in Stephanie Palmer and John Finley, a pair of rock solid student-athletes who served as cornerstones as the program developed. Both earned individual All-American honors in the process.
"Stephanie and John chose Whitman for its academics as well as its skiing, and having them here made a huge difference for the overall ski program," Olson said. "Success breeds success. Whitman sells itself. Student-athletes learn that Whitman will support them as far as they can go."
While trophies and titles are nice rewards, there are no shortcuts to success, Olson tells his skiers. His year-around training program requires dedication to hard work, improvement and the quest for excellence.
"It's one of the best training programs in the country," Olson said. "It's something I've worked very hard to develop. Our athletes are like football linebackers. We train them to be physically and mentally strong. They get out on snow and think they can conquer the world."
Olson's troops stay in shape during the offseason with a weight-training regimen and variety of dryland cross-training activities (circuit training, plyometrics, stomach and leg routines, and interval training). When the snow comes, his team spends as many as six hours a day on the slopes. "I try to make our training programs as fun and enjoyable as possible," he said. "We usually finish with a game."
Whitman's rigorous academic program adds to the challenges facing ski team members, but Olson notes that his charges find ways to make it work. "For starters, they are very bright young people. They also study in the vans on the road to practice and meets. Everybody has to know how to manage their time. They do it because they love to ski. They're dedicated, intrinsically motivated."
Olson, a native of New York, earned his bachelor's and master's degrees (with emphasis on teaching and coaching) at Alfred University, where he was a three-time All-American in skiing. He capped his most successful season by winning the Ski Meister Award at the NCAA national championships, an honor given to the individual who made the best all-around showing in four events (ski jumping, cross country, slalom and giant slalom). He was runner-up for that award on two other occasions.
Before coming to Whitman, Olson was director of skiing and head alpine coach at the College of Idaho, where his teams won six national titles in three years. He also coached previously at the University of Alaska-Juneau and Northern Michigan University.
In recent years, Olson has twice served as a coach of the U.S. alpine team in the Winter World University Games, both in 1993 in Zakopane, Poland, and 1995 in Jaca, Spain. Whitman skiers qualified for each of those events.
Now starting his second decade at Whitman, Olson marvels at the ongoing growth of the Whitman ski program. "The athletes just get better and better," he said. "My No. 1 skier six years ago wouldn't even be on the team now. We've gotten to the point where we're one of the top 10 ski teams in the country, no matter what division."