VAIL – When it comes to graduating athletes onto the national ski team, few programs in the world produce as impressive results as Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s moguls squad. 

That’s the takeaway from So Matsuda, a Japanese freestyle skier who watched Casey Andringa go from not making the U.S. Team to being the top finishing American at the Olympics in just a few months. Andringa, of Boulder, sought out Ski & Snowboard Club Vail for the man he called “arguably the best mogul coach in the entire world,” John Dowling.

After watching Andringa’s story unfold, “I believe the Vail team is the best in the world,” Matsuda said.

With a goal of making his own national team in Japan, Matsuda joined the club this year and started notching some impressive results. The 19-year-old is currently ranked third overall on the North America Cup (Nor-Am) — one level below World Cup — after winning a Nor-Am event in Vermont earlier this month and taking a pair of podiums in Canada Feb. 9-10.

Read More