Patrick O’Brien – FasterSkier

Elite Team Preview: SMS T2

Gavin KentchNovember 18, 2021

Team name and location: SMS T2 Team; Stratton Mountain, Vermont Coach: Patrick O’Brien Current roster: Jessie Diggins, Julia Kern, Katharine Ogden, Alayna Sonnesyn, Lina Sutro (women); Ian Torchia, Bill Harmeyer, Ben Ogden, Will Koch (men) Who’s new: Lina Sutro, coming from the University of Vermont ski team Who’s moved on: Sophie Caldwell Hamilton and Simi Hamilton, who celebrated their second wedding anniversary earlier this year, retired from pro skiing last spring and are beginning a new life...

Feature General News

Seeking Snow: SMS T2 Finds Glide Time in Oberhof, Germany

Ella HallSeptember 22, 2021

With temperatures dropping steadily each day and the first signs of winter visible on distant mountaintops, the mind of a skier inevitably turns towards thoughts of snow. For the professionals this goes one step further: how and when can they get on snow before the season starts? In the US, pre-season snow time is limited. Once the snow disappears on Mount Bachelor, the Eagle Glacier in Alaska is typically the only domestic pre-season skiing available,...

Dryland General News

Elite Programs Ramp Up for Modified Training

Jason AlbertMay 20, 2020

Although the training cycle has officially begun, it decidedly has a different vibe and look. Adding some complexity to our short-term new normal are a crosshatch of state, county, and city regulations as it relates to mitigating the community spread of Covid-19. The core question elite cross-country ski programs are asking is this: How can we most responsibly promote safe and effective training for their athletes? (The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has...

Resources Training Workouts

Wednesday Workout: What’s the Prescription for “Flooding” Legs?

Jason AlbertJanuary 16, 2019

2014 is when a relatively green Patrick O’Brien took charge of the Stratton Mountain School’s elite team, otherwise known as SMS T2. In a relatively short time, by way of juggling athletes, wax-teching, training plan writing, and life-living O’Brien has become a problem-solving resource. Jack of many trades, and very much an emerging master of elite level coaching, FasterSkier tossed a general question out to O’Brien for our Wednesday Workout series: what are some workouts...

Multimedia Nordic Nation Podcasts

Nordic Nation: The Patrick O’Brien (Patty O’) Epsiode

Jason AlbertSeptember 14, 2018

He’s another skier who bleeds maple syrup. Raised in Putney, Vermont. Skied at the Statton Mountain School (SMS), Dartmouth, and post-collegiately with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project — take a breath — and yes, still in Vermont as the SMS T2 Team head coach is Pat O’Brien. Thirty years old this summer, O’Brien has been at the helm of one of the dominant elite level programs in the U.S. since 2014. As he begins his fifth...

Interviews News Team nominations US Ski Team

From D to B: Paddy Caldwell’s Natural Progression

Jason AlbertJune 6, 2017

Back in December of 2010, 15-year-old Patrick “Paddy” Caldwell was racing amongst grown men. He finished 17th in an International Ski Federation (FIS) classic sprint held in Craftsbury, Vt. Today, at 23, Caldwell skis for the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team and is a newly minted U.S. Ski Team (USST) B-team member. To put things in perspective, during that 2010 Craftsbury sprint, Patrick O’Brien, Caldwell’s current primary coach and head of the SMS Elite Team, was nearly 23...

General Interviews Juniors News Racing

O’Brien, Nelson Continue Their Development as U.S. Junior/U23 Worlds Coaches

Jason AlbertJanuary 30, 2017

Development isn's just for athletes: BEA's Bernie Nelson and SMS Elite Team's Patrick O'Brien get a chance to lead and learn at Junior and U23 Worlds at SoHo.

General Interviews News

Celebrating 27 Years of College Coaching, Patterson Departs Dartmouth

Gabby NaranjaJune 2, 2016

After 27 years of leading the Dartmouth men's nordic team and 10 years coaching with the U.S. Ski Team, Sun Valley native Ruff Patterson is venturing into the next chapter of his life and heading back west.

Collegiate General Interviews Racing

From College to Pro and Back Again, Pokorny Primed for NCAA Championships

Kaitlyn PattersonMarch 10, 2016

A former SMST2 elite skier, Annie Pokorny is back in navy blue and white, racing for Middlebury as a senior with junior eligibility and focused on NCAA Championships this Thursday and Saturday in Steamboat Springs, Colo. So how do NCAA amateurism rules work in this case? The 23-year-old Pokorny explains.

Continental Cup General Interviews

Crossing Off the List: Anne Hart, Paddy Caldwell Top Craftsbury SuperTour 5/10 k Freestyle

Gabby NaranjaFebruary 9, 2016

In the SuperTour 5 /10 k freestyle events this past Saturday held in Craftsbury, Vt., Anne Hart beat out Chelsea Holmes by less than three seconds for first, and Paddy Caldwell achieved his first victory of the season. "It was my first ever SuperTour win, so it's nice to cross that off the list,” Hart explained.

Continental Cup General News Training

Many Hands Make Light Work: Sun Valley SuperTour Snow Update

Gabby NaranjaDecember 3, 2015

With plenty of shovels and smiles, the Sun Valley crew is working hard to make both SuperTour races happen at the Lake Creek trails. "Putting the work in here gives the athletes an opportunity to test themselves appropriately on the kinds of courses that they need to be prepared to ski on," SVSEF Nordic Director Rick Kapala explains.

Continental Cup News Racing

Canadian Women Dominate SuperTour Sprint; Bender Narrowly Claims Third

Lander KarathNovember 29, 2014

SuperTour racing began Friday with a 1.5 k freestyle sprint in West Yellowstone, Mont. With warm temperatures and strong winds, two Canadians, Heidi Widmer and Alysson Marshall, were able to top the American women's field led by Jennie Bender.

Other News

2014-15 NENSA Eastern Cup Series Preview

BrainspiralOctober 6, 2014

(NENSA press release) By Sophie Hodges We are down to three months away from the next Eastern Cup, NENSA’s signature race series, and it is time to get prepped for all the excitement to come! In case any of you have been keeping up with the Farmer’s Almanac, this year is supposed to be a winter to remember, so lets get excited!I personally am very excited for this winter, because we have a new venue, Rikert Nordic Center!...

Training Workouts

Wednesday Workout: 100 k Ski-A-Thon with SMST2

Lander KarathSeptember 24, 20147

Saturday marked Stratton Mountain T2 Team's third annual 100 k Ski-A-Thon. A clever mix between a fundraiser and an over-distance workout, the event is a way for the team to reap both physical and financial benefits over the course of 62.1 miles.

Interviews News

With Tour Win Under Belt, Hamilton Looks to Improve in 2015

Lander KarathSeptember 18, 2014

FasterSkier caught up with Simi Hamilton during the USST Lake Placid Training Camp to talk with him about his summer training and the winter season ahead. While Hamilton doesn't plan to change much in his routine, several "gear changes" might allow him to achieve even higher results in the coming months.

Camps Canadian National Ski Team Dryland Training US Ski Team

Canadians Head South to Stratton for New Camp, Combine with SMST2 (with Photo Gallery)

Alex KochonSeptember 4, 20141

With the help of U.S. Ski Team head coach Chris Grover and Canadian National Team Head Coach Justin Wadsworth, Tor-Arne Hetland and the Canadian World Cup Team ended up in Vermont last month. "Andy Newell can train here for many years … That’s the reason we are here," Hetland explained.

General News Training

Fresh Off Racing Career, O’Brien to Head Up Stratton’s T2 Team

Alex KochonMay 8, 20141

Anyone who follows U.S. racing closely knows the name Patrick O'Brien. He's been a staple at Craftsbury for the last four years, captained the Dartmouth ski team, and is now delving into a career as head coach of the Stratton T2 Team -- something he didn't necessarily anticipate but sees as a good fit and ideal transition.

Racing US Nationals

Ultimate Team Event: Anchorage Hosts Coed Relay at National Championships

Alex KochonMarch 25, 20141

It's sure to be an exciting day at Kincaid Park on Tuesday for the first team event at U.S. nationals in at least a decade, and unlike most relays, this one's coed. Stay tuned for a showdown between APU, Stratton, Craftsbury, Sun Valley and several college teams.

Interviews Racing World Cup

Notes and Quotes: Québec Individual Sprint Edition

Alex KochonDecember 9, 2012

Still waiting to hear from your favorite North American skier that failed to qualify for the Quebec World Cup heats on Saturday? We've got their responses.