By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
Seven years ago, when Nolan Street was only seven years old, he went to Snowshoe to ski for the first time. Born in Clearwater, Florida, he came to visit family in West Virginia. After 30 minutes on the mountain, he raced down the hill..and he’s been racking up medals ever since. “Snowshoe is just like the greatest place in the world,” he says.
In two weeks, Nolan heads to the USA Ski & Snowboard Association (USASA) Nationals. The 14-year old qualified to compete in at the famed Copper Mountain in Colorado via his performance in regional competitions.
He’s excited to compete, telling the Real WV, “At nationals, you find out who’s the best of the best.” And he feels good about his chances.
Nolan competed at nationals last year as well. That was his first time making it to that stage.
“It was pretty scary, honestly,” he said. “Going to Copper is one of the coolest things in the world.”
After qualifying as part of the Appalachian Series of USASA (composed of skiers from WV, VA, PA, & MD), Nolan will compete in four disciplines–ski cross, rail jam, halfpipe, and. He enters nationals with momentum, clocking in the fastest time of all skiers and snowboarders at Turning Man this winter in a ski cross competition.
Nolan plans to ski professionally when the time is right. “I don’t think the X Games are in my future,” he shares, “but the Olympic ski cross team could definitely be in my future.”
If you want to watch Nolan, check out the USASA Nationals YouTube page. Nationals run from March 31, April 13, 2023. Nolan will compete during week two.
He self-funds his competition costs and says, “It’s expensive to go.” The community is very supportive of him, which he appreciates greatly. If you want to help, you can contribute to his stepdad, Seth Ruckle, via PayPal or Venmo to sethd3@gmail.com.
Stay tuned to The Real WV for updates on Seth’s performance at USASA Nationals.
