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FRISCO — It's been a whirl-wind year for Frisco's Mikaela Matthews.
Last fall, the 17-year-old mogul skier wasn't even sure if she'd be able to compete in the 2008-09 season because of severe injuries to her patellar tendon and her hip.
Matthews recovered, though, finishing second on the NorAm tour to become the youngest member of the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team.
Since then, she's been in national-team camps in San Diego and Steamboat Springs and will head to Whistler for on-snow training Saturday.
“It's been a roller-coaster,” Matthews said. “At the beginning of the year, I didn't expect anything. ... My mindset was whatever happens, happens. I was just out there to try to improve my skiing.”
Her quick jump to the upper echelon of her sport definitely turned some heads, including those at Colorado Ski Country USA. Matthews was given their annual Female All-Star Athlete of the Year award last week at a reception in Boulder.
“It's really cool to win an award like that,” Matthews said, “because they don't just look at your skiing, but also the person that you are.”
Matthews has been part of the Colorado Ski Country USA All-Star team for the past few seasons and was chosen for the award after her remarkable climb to the U.S. team and for her commitment to sharing her experiences with less-accomplished skiers.
Matthews, in addition to helping out younger teammates over the years, has helped give back to the team that supported her career by coaching numerous Team Summit camps.
Since her competitive season ended in April, Matthews has been busy preparing for her first campaign with the national team.
At an off-snow training camp in San Diego, Matthews went through workouts with the rest of the team. For roughly 10 hours each day, Matthews and her teammates ran on the beach, did core workouts, lifted and even got in a little surfing.
“It was so hard, but really fun,” she said.
Part of the excitement for Matthews was being able to workout alongside many of the men and women she's looked up to throughout her career.
“Both Shannon Bahrke and Michelle Roark have been on the team longer than I've been skiing freestyle,” Matthews said of her Olympian teammates. “Both of them have been so nice and helpful to me, both with the workouts but also just with the life of being out there.”
Matthews will spend her Fourth of July with her new teammates north of the border in Whistler, working on jumps. She also has been working out in her time back home in pursuit of her major season goal: the Olympics.
“I'm trying to keep my expectations kind of low with it being my first year on the team,” she said. “The Gold Cup, which is an Olympic trial for us, is in December, and I'm gearing towards that. Anything can happen at it.”
Last fall, the 17-year-old mogul skier wasn't even sure if she'd be able to compete in the 2008-09 season because of severe injuries to her patellar tendon and her hip.
Matthews recovered, though, finishing second on the NorAm tour to become the youngest member of the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team.
Since then, she's been in national-team camps in San Diego and Steamboat Springs and will head to Whistler for on-snow training Saturday.
“It's been a roller-coaster,” Matthews said. “At the beginning of the year, I didn't expect anything. ... My mindset was whatever happens, happens. I was just out there to try to improve my skiing.”
Her quick jump to the upper echelon of her sport definitely turned some heads, including those at Colorado Ski Country USA. Matthews was given their annual Female All-Star Athlete of the Year award last week at a reception in Boulder.
“It's really cool to win an award like that,” Matthews said, “because they don't just look at your skiing, but also the person that you are.”
Matthews has been part of the Colorado Ski Country USA All-Star team for the past few seasons and was chosen for the award after her remarkable climb to the U.S. team and for her commitment to sharing her experiences with less-accomplished skiers.
Matthews, in addition to helping out younger teammates over the years, has helped give back to the team that supported her career by coaching numerous Team Summit camps.
Since her competitive season ended in April, Matthews has been busy preparing for her first campaign with the national team.
At an off-snow training camp in San Diego, Matthews went through workouts with the rest of the team. For roughly 10 hours each day, Matthews and her teammates ran on the beach, did core workouts, lifted and even got in a little surfing.
“It was so hard, but really fun,” she said.
Part of the excitement for Matthews was being able to workout alongside many of the men and women she's looked up to throughout her career.
“Both Shannon Bahrke and Michelle Roark have been on the team longer than I've been skiing freestyle,” Matthews said of her Olympian teammates. “Both of them have been so nice and helpful to me, both with the workouts but also just with the life of being out there.”
Matthews will spend her Fourth of July with her new teammates north of the border in Whistler, working on jumps. She also has been working out in her time back home in pursuit of her major season goal: the Olympics.
“I'm trying to keep my expectations kind of low with it being my first year on the team,” she said. “The Gold Cup, which is an Olympic trial for us, is in December, and I'm gearing towards that. Anything can happen at it.”
