For those who enjoy winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding, having the chance to go to the Olympic Games would be the ultimate dream, whether as an athlete or a non-competitive participant.

When the games begin on Feb. 6, the University of Utah will be well represented. Among the individuals who have been involved in the training of the American skiing contingent are Ryan Wyble and David Euler—both coaches for the U.S. Freestyle Skiing team and proud U alums.

“I grew up skiing in the Wasatch Mountains,” Wyble said. “Park City Mountain has been my home resort. I met Dave as a high school senior and then went to the U. I applied to a couple other schools, but I knew I wanted to ski a lot, so it was kind of a no-brainer for me.”

Wyble was a freestyle skier when the sport was just in its infancy in the early 2000s. Initially described as “hotdogging” by skiing purists because it involved acrobatic aerial maneuvers, the sport was officially recognized by the International Ski Federation (FIS) in 1979. The discipline debuted at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Canada. Today, aerials, moguls, halfpipe and slopestyle are all popular events.

“I did a little bit more of the competition stuff, but back then, you’d go do these contests. I traveled across the U.S. and did a couple of things in Canada. But I didn’t do super great with it. Dave started coaching one or two years before I did, and then, I also started getting into it,” said Wyble.

Euler took up coaching around 2010 for a program called Access Free Ride in Park City, which he and Wyble both started working on with their friends.

“It was a way to get a free pass,” Euler said. “It was fun to do while we were in college, and we got to help kids and share the sport that we were so passionate about. It turns out we both loved it and kept doing it. And it’s kind of snowballed its way to where it is now.”

He said his passion for freestyle is why he began coaching and why he still loves it today.

“When we were doing it, coaches (for our sport) didn’t really exist yet,” Euler said. “Getting into coaching and realizing, wow, you can help these young kids make such better decisions than I did.”

He added that improved coaching has also helped skiers avoid some of the injuries that his generation had to deal with. As for the skiing itself, current athletes are pushing the envelope with more athleticism, imagination and innovation than ever.

“The sport now compared to where we were is night and day,” Wyble explained. “It’s progressing every day at every event with the amazing things that these athletes are doing.”

“When we started coaching, we were doing it based on our experience. Now we are coaching the best athletes in the world on things we’ve never even comprehended doing,” Wyble said. “It’s a cool collaborative experience with us using our knowledge on what we know and their experiences doing all these tricks in their brain. It’s a great progression from where we started years ago.”

“Creativity is huge, because now everyone is so good, and has their special set of tricks,” he added.

For the Milano Cortina Games, the U.S. Freestyle Skiing team is comprised of 32 athletes, including seven who are ranked in the world’s top 20. Overall, Euler and Wyble said the attitude within the roster is one of camaraderie and support for every teammate.

As they prepare for the excitement of the Olympics, both coaches look back at their time on the U campus as a period that helped them begin the journey that led to this monumental time in their lives.

“I wouldn’t be doing this if I hadn’t met so many friends and coaching colleagues that congregated at the U,” Euler said.

“The networking and being at the U really was a really critical piece of why we’re here today,” Wyble added.