Morgan Schild is one of America’s top freestyle mogul skiers, who after a two years break made a major comeback in January 2018. Schild placed third in two events at the FIS Visa International World Cup, securing her spot on the United States Olympic team for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. At the Olympics, Schild was in third place after the first round of qualifications, allowing her to automatically advance to the first round of finals. She was the top American qualifier.
Women Fitness’ President Namita Nayyar recently caught up for a quick chat with Morgan on achieving such great heights in Skiing.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You began skiing at the young age of five and were inspired to ski competitively after watching Hannah Kearney win a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Share with us your journey towards competing in the Winter Olympics.
Ms. Morgan Schild:
My journey started at a tiny hill called Bristol Mountain. I fell in love with skiing ever since I watched my older cousins race alpine. I soon became a regular at Bristol, driving down every weekend to get to the slopes. I skied in my first mogul event when I was 9 at Bristol and I’m pretty sure I got last place. As my experience increased, my competitive instincts were inevitable. I started going up to Lake Placid, NY to water ramp at the Olympic Training Center. I had the chance to jump with Hannah Kearney and watch her intensely train first hand all summer. During my time skiing at Bristol, I never had more than one or two girl teammates. The team was filled with mostly boys, my little brother being one of them. This never discouraged me because at the time I just wanted to beat everyone. This factor probably attributed to my success later on. After I found myself dominating most competitions on the East, my parents and I realized it was time to go to the next level. I moved out west for the winter season of 2014-15 and competed on the North American Tour with Team Vail. Winning 5 out of the 8 days of the tour would qualify me for the US Ski Team and send me off to La Plagne, France for my first World Cup ever. I was 16 years old, a junior at Pittsford High School, when I was named to the US Ski Team. This was the start of my professional ski career and I’ve invested my life into it ever since.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
In January 2018, you were placed third in two events at the FIS Visa International World Cup, securing your spot on the United States Olympic team for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and have been gradually climbing the ladder each year towards being one of the best freestyle skiers in the world. Provide us an insight into a day in your life.
Ms. Morgan Schild:
The Season of 2017-18 has been such a rollercoaster of emotions. I had the most intense training schedule of my life leading up to it including travel all summer and fall to get on snow. Our qualification included all our events from that years World Cup tour. It was 7 competitions at 5 different mountains and 4 different countries. It was the most travel-intense tour I’ve ever experienced and had the most riding on the events. I went into every competition with a confident mind set but the most important thing I’ve learned is to move into each week not dwelling on the previous one.
My daily training life varies depending on the season. We joke that our sport has no off season because were on snow all year long. Spring, summer and fall consist of strength and conditioning work outside of skiing. Our gym work mirrors the power and quickness our sport demand. We also water ramp into a pool in the summer to dial in our tricks in the air. Its much softer to learn something new into the pool than on snow. Fall is our last season to prepare for competition so our training takes place mostly on full length courses.
(A typical training day is 7am till 8pm. Warm up, ski, snack, ski, lunch, workout, snack, video review and plan, dinner.)
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All Written Content Copyright © 2018 Women Fitness
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You were named the 2015 FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year. Share with us your training and key factors that have helped you become a successful freestyle skier? What motivates you to stay focused?
Ms. Morgan Schild:
My fitness has been a huge focus since 2015. I had a season ending injury 3 weeks after I won my first World Cup in 2015. I tore my ACL and damaged my Meniscus and MCL. I also partially tore my AC joint in my shoulder. I was in Italy when this happened and had to fly back to Park City, Utah to get a MRI. On that plane I was terrified I didn’t know the extent of my injury yet but I knew whatever it was I would come back stronger than ever. It took me 2 surgeries and 22 months of rehabilitation and training till I returned to competition in 2017.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Winning involves a lot of determination and sacrifice, more so in the life of a professional sportswoman. What exercises comprise your fitness regime both on a daily basis & when you are preparing for competition?
Ms. Morgan Schild:
Mogul skiing demands everything from your body. Difficult courses cause soreness in muscles that you didn’t know you even had. The most efficient focuses are pre-training warm up and recovery. After an entire summer of conditioning and weight lifting, the winter relies heavily on how well your body can recover and feel ready for the next day. On average, 1 day of training can include 5-8 runs on a mogul course. I make sure to keep my flexibility and anaerobic abilities in check during our competition season and after most competitions I lift to maintain our leg strength. My previous knee injury also requires daily attention and Physical therapy every couple of weeks.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Optimum nutrition is an integral part of the life of a sports person to stay fit and recover from wear & tear. There is no doubt you need to take special care of your diet? Do you follow a strict menu to stay healthy and physically fit?
Ms. Morgan Schild:
My nutrition has taken some experimenting to perfect over the last couple of years. Our life on the road can throw many curve balls your way. Traveling makes our routines a little touch and go but preparing the right foods ahead of time and searching for the best options really make a difference. The heart of my diet comes from my mother’s diet actually. She went paleo a couple years ago and adopting it made a lot of sense for my lifestyle. Sticking to high protein and complex carbohydrates and avoiding processed foods makes eating very easy. These foods naturally contain a million vitamins and minerals which my body so badly needs when we’re on the road. Although I do believe that there are short cuts when it comes to cultural experiences. If you have a chance to try something new or exotic, dig in.
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Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Being a professional athlete, you are a role model for many striving to make their dream come true, provide us with 5 keywords to succeed in life?
Ms. Morgan Schild:
Happy, passion, determination, perseverance, and chocolate. You cannot forget about the chocolate.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Morgan, you suffered an ACL and shoulder injury, that prevented you from competing for two years. While playing professional sports, athletes often face such injuries and difficulties, what tips would you like to provide to beginners to better cope with an injury & return back to competition?
Ms. Morgan Schild:
Life will go on. That is the first thing I had to understand. The world doesn’t stop moving, competitions will keep going, and someone else will be winning. For a long time I had to watch my teammates and competitors ski on world cup while I was stuck in the gym recovering from my injury. Being 17 years old at the time, it felt like I was being left behind and I could never catch up to them. I wasn’t going to be passed physically. This transition from feeling petty to feeling determined happened a month after my injury I realized how much this sport meant to me, and how badly I wanted to be back at it. I believe there is a silver lining to injuries. Though it takes patience, I had so much time, time to physically reset and heal. I kept busy with activities that made me happy and excited like hiking, running, and biking. These activities didn’t completely settle me deep inside. I was manifesting this hunger and passion that was becoming stronger the closer I was to returning.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You debut the Olympic Games in PyeongChang this year, after dealing with a lingering injury for nearly two years. Tell us how does it feel to be so close to living your dream?
Ms. Morgan Schild:
I felt excited to participate in my first Olympic Games and make it in full health. I feel like I have been playing this game of “staying healthy” before the Olympics and was relieved that I had made it.
2017 Visa Freestyle International World Cup at Deer Valley
Photo © Steven Earl
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Having performed so well throughout your career, what inspires, and motivates you as an athlete?
Ms. Morgan Schild:
My motivation comes from my love of the sport. The diversity and inconsistency of Mogul skiing makes me keep going. I feel excitement from the different terrain of the courses, the constant effort in perfecting your skills, and understanding each technical turn in the moguls. I also find joy in competing the more difficult and technical tricks of the girls and succeeding in things that are more difficult.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
“Smile, breathe, have fun.” that’s your philosophy of life. Why and how you keep up with it?
Ms. Morgan Schild:
At the end of the day if you’re not having fun, its hard to keep going. In the face of frustration I have to believe that the tougher the times, the higher the reward. I love the feeling of pushing myself physically and mentally to achieve perfection. It’s funny, in a sport where there’s no such thing as a perfect score, there’s sure a lot of demand to be perfect. This pressure can eat you away if you’re too serious and not smiling. I find joy in waking up everyday, and as Hannah Kearney said it “your only job is to attempt to get better”.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Women Fitness works relentlessly in reaching out to women all over the world providing them with best in health, fitness, beauty & fashion. What do you wish to say about the website (Womenfitness.net) and message for our readers?
Ms. Morgan Schild:
Success isn’t expected, its earned. No matter where you are reading Women Fitness from or who you are, I hope you become the best person you can be. This magazine can help with that and provide amazing inspiration to being healthy. One last thing. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to be healthy. Being healthy will enhance your everyday feel and all you have to do is attempt to be better than the day before.
Follow her on:
- https://twitter.com/schildmorgan
- https://www.facebook.com/morganschildski/
- https://www.instagram.com/morganschild/
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All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http://www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2018 Women Fitness