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**truebluefan** · 07-02-2008, 07:36 PM

Jim Tracy took a look around the U.S. Ski Team High Performance Center last week and smiled. While only June, the women's alpine head coach was pleased with what he saw: a solid Team in great preseason shape.

"Everyone is feeling good, happy and testing really well," said Tracy, who was renamed to the helm of the women's program in April. "We tested strength, agility and body composition and all the girls looked great."

Following the annual on-snow fundamentals camp held at Mammoth Mountain in early May, the Team gathered in Park City for one of their regular visits with the U.S. Ski Team Sports Science Department. Rejoining the squad were tech aces Resi Stiegler (Jackson, WY) and Hailey Duke (Boise, ID).

It was Stiegler's first time back with the Team after suffering a season ending crash on December 28, which broke her left arm and tore ligaments in her right knee. Duke was also returning to workout speed following a successful recovery from a knee scope for meniscus damage.

"It was just so great to see everyone again," said Stiegler, who nearly landed her first World Cup podium finishing fourth in a slalom a month prior to the crash. "It was awesome to go to Park City to be with the Team again. The session reassured that I was doing well in my recovery, but also showed me how much more I still need to do."

Stiegler has yet to be back on snow, but is anticipating a great reintroduction when the Team heads to New Zealand in August. Duke, however, will be back and testing equipment at Mt. Hood in mid July. That is, after she and teammate Keely Kelleher (Big Sky, MT) graduate from the Hoyt Dartmouth Language program.

The pair will be studying German at Dartmouth College during a 10-day intensive learning course offered free to U.S. Ski Team athletes thanks to Judy Hoyt and the Rassias Foundation. Hoyt funds the program in memory of her late husband Pete, a long-time Foundation Trustee.

"The knee is coming around. I was cleared to do some explosive tests and it's feeling really good," said Duke, who captured a four Europa Cup slalom podiums last season, including back-to-back wins. "It will be awesome to get back on the snow at Hood, but I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about surviving 10 days without speaking English."

Duke and Kelleher will have the long flight to New Zealand to practice their new vocabulary with World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO), who is fluent in German, promising to help.

"They are all ready to ski hard. The only one we're still missing, but will be excited to get back is Julia Littman, who is still recovering from a torn ACL. Both the speed and tech programs are going really well and we'll really see were we are when we get back on snow together in August. So far, so good," said Tracy.

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