Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Sunday May 9 2004 — 05 to train with nation’s best Seventh-grade- r PARK CITY (AP) — While most girls her age an lounging by the pool this summer Rachael Pack will be somersaulting and twisting off ramps high above the water With no snow Utah Olympic Park will is where the seventh-gradpractice her jumps in preparation for her fust season as the youngest member to make the US Ski Team “It’s still really fun” Rachael who turned 13 on Friday says about training at the pool instead of on the slopes “When you go off the jump it feels like you’re just beginning to go off a roller coaster — going to a kind of thing” loop-d-loRachael was added to the US “C” freestyle roster last month — before she even officially became a teenager Though she’s years away from World Cup and Olympic competition she will still train with the country’s best as part of the national team “We’re kind of excited about it because she can learn our system and it’s going to be pretty ingrained with her” US freestyle coach Jeff Winter-stee- n says “She always has a smile on her face and really loves to jump" Rachael has spent nearly all her life in Park City growing up around freestyle skiing She was 10 when her big brother Joe won the Olympic silver medal right up the street from the family home “I think it’s fantastic She’s pretty young but she’s been working hard for die past couple of years” Joe Pack 26 says “She’s like a sponge She just soaks it up” Physically Rachael’s youth is hard to miss She bounces along the pool deck at Utah Olympic Park with her braces and long blond ponytail Next month Rachael will be with the team for dryland training in Toronto Then the aerialists return to Park City and hit the pool for die summer V fT Vj U Jfc ' s' er Continued from B1 Province That was from a pool of more than 900 athletes While her looks may have changed a bit her demeanor hasn’t She is not one to talk a lot about herself and there is no boasting Those are all similar traits she possessed when being interviewed after being named Player of the Year in 1999 after wrapping up her high school career Folsom earned honors three years in basketball and accolades for soccer and softball When asked about the championship game and being named MVP Folsom modestly replied “I had a good game I guess It was more assists In the second half toward the end of the game when it counted I made some shots I missed some (shots) early in the game I had some steals and made some defensive plays” Her stat line? “I don’t remember my stats I’ve never been the type that looks at my stats” Folsom answered “I would rather just go play and if we win that’s what counts” A search on the internet turned up some season sta- tistics She was second on her 30-- 1 team and tied for second in the league in scoring with 14 points a game while leading the conference and Kodiaks in assists with 34 each outing Her 33 rebounds a contest was third on the Lethbridge team She made 818 percent of her free throws and 448 percent from the field Folsom hit attempts So how did a Bobcat end up in Canada? “I’m from Canada” Fol- som replied “I’m Canadian My parents are the whole family is She was born in Alberta and moved to Montana as an infant Several years later the Folsoms moved to Cache Valley Mickey grew up and went to school here But she has plenty of family that live close enough to come watch her play plus her parents make the drive north “They (parents) are troopers" Folsom said “They drive to a lot of games" But how she became a Lady Kodiak is not as simple as being Canadian After a stellar high school career at Sky View Folsom actual All-Vall- ey all-vall- ey 24-of-- 12-ho- ur V I i I - p v 5f'-- ' 'j( i f Y'7 ' v: op Folsom I ' Vv --V 1 "' ' ! : -- f V' i v i - AP photo - t ' h‘ £ v — H’-- r $ ' : '! V is f A Ai Rachael Pack 12 the youngest person ever named to the US ski team sits at the top of the aerial ski jumping training facility hiH at Utah Olympic Park In April She acknowledges time’s a little fear but not enough to keep her from soaring off the practice ramps and splashing into die pool She’s nailed the frill back flip with a full twist which she calls the foundation for more complicated moves Now she wants to work on doubles — even though she’s not allowed to do them competitively until she’s 13 “I’m actually really nervous when I go off the jump” she says “As soon as I get it it’s more comfortable and I’ll just do it again and again until I get it down” Rachael who won the girls aerials at the Freestyle Junior Olympics in March is the youngest member of the US national team since Kate ' in Reed made it as a 1999 Now 20 Reed is one of the leaders on the “A” team At 12 Rachael is already one of the taller female aerialists and still has more growing ahead of her Her eye is on Vancouver in 2010 Until then she'll have plenty of chances to work on her jumps in NorAm events a step below the World Cup and junior elite events “What she did wasn’t extraordinary when she came in but she’s worked on it What’s great about Rachael is that she’s self motivated” says Bruce Erickson Rachael's personal coach “You look at her she’s an average girl But she’s an extraordinarily mentally tough girl” The Pack family moved from New Hampshire to Park Gty in 1992 not long after Joe went from an aspiring alpine jumper to freestyle Since then Fenny and Jim Pack have grown more comfortable seeing their children take die risky flights above the snow “It’s not a good sport for a mother” Fenny Pack says “Joe just always seems to land on his feet I’m hoping she has the same cat quality It’s good to see them land” s 4 1 APpholo Rachael Pack jumps on the trampoline at the aerial ski jumping training facility at Utah Olympic Park in Park City ly went south to Utah Valley State College in Orem where she played for two years helping the Wolverines finish seventh in the nation her second season Then came two years away from college and basketball “I was just working and saving money” Folsom said “I went to Alaska for a while”' About the time she was thinking of going back to school she got a call from an uncle’s best man He just happened to be Brad Karren the head coach at Lethbridge After getting no response from Utah State she decided to head back to her birth country Now the arts and science major has one more year left at Lethbridge where she runs the offense as the point guard “Coach (Karren) let’s me pretty much run the team” Folsom said ” The coach here is very different from UVSC He is not as demanding but we win” She compared the play in Canada to that of junior in the United States Folsom was also quick to point out that Division I schools would “kill us” The Kodiaks play four guards and their tallest player is only 1 They try and push the ball for fastbreak opportunities “It’s a lot like Sky View we were pretty short there too so I’m used to it” Folsom said The former Bobcat said her fondest memories at Sky View were her friends teammates and coach Amanie Crosbie She hasn't had a lot of time to keep up with the Bobcats but did know Crosbie was headed to Mountain Crest Folsom isn’t entirely sure of what lies ahead in her future She spent a year poaching the sophomores at Sky View and liked it but admitted she wouldn't want to be a coach her whole life How about a shot at the WNBA? “I don't know about that" she answered after a good chuckle She does want to get a masters and be her own boss For now she will continue to hone her golf skills and do some fishing in the offseason as she prepares for her final year on the hardwood and another run at a national title M P15580R13 P17570R13 P18575R14 P19570R14 P20570R15 P20575R15 32 34 36 36 Ihy otar n mMIi a Mk aringi (Vehicle Maintenance' J -- LTXMS Package (gnfinenial® 4 CH95 CONTtTOURINGCONTACT col-leg- es 77 P20555R16 Ongm Equvmnl Pawl Go tor: BMW Mi 0WW EiemVaVM w Aid WtaMgn Batili GENERAL TIRE '4-Ti- Spin Balance' re ! & Rotation Premium All Terrain ck Radial US" 6-- i I Include J i air pressure check Mem Evm50(Mi 'Computerized Thrust"' Angle Alignment I ig’LVJHfl ffnrzjuxrnx Qnflnenlais rot tvtirTMHt rou vtivr TIGER PAW ASC P20S70R14 P23S50R16 MttMMg BFQoodHeh M s SJGJTU3 Alignment 4999 j MnliMiWCsinienSIiy numoYMn Major brand tires at discount prices u 2S)99 I I V ! 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