Chris "Henry" Hendrickson started his collegiate skiing career here in Utah at the University of Utah back in 1974.

Opportunities eventually led him into other states and into other ski programs.

He returned to Utah this winter to take on what he said is his toughest challenge. That is, to build a men's and women's ski program at Westminster College.

First, Westminster has never had a ski team, so it doesn't have a skiing reputation that would attract good skiers. It does, however, have some of the best skiing in the world in its nearby mountains.

Second, he'll build his team with skiers who really want to ski and learn since he'll have no athletic scholarships to entice talent.

So far, he said, things have gone well.

"I'm getting calls, now, from some pretty good skiers. I think people will be surprised," he said. "At first it was hard, very hard, making calls and trying to get the word out that we now have a ski program."

The only school with a proven skiing record here in Utah is the University of Utah, which started its program in 1950 and has nine NCAA championships to its credit.

Westminster is lucky in that Hendrickson was anxious to get back to Utah and partake of its active lifestyle, he said, and that he has directed some proven programs that adds instant credibility.

It helps, too, that there are some very good junior programs here in Utah to draw skiers from, including those at Snowbird, Park City, which produced Ted Ligety, and Rowmark Ski Academy.

There has been a lot of young talent come through these programs, but, because of the limited opportunities to ski for a college or university, skiers have had to end their careers early.

Hendrickson said he plans to have both men's and women's alpine teams, cross country teams and a club snowboard team, which is a first here in Utah.

Snowboarding has yet to be embraced by the NCAA and its member universities. But that may well change with the increased emphasis of boarding in the Olympics.

Among his coaching duties, Hendrickson was head of the Snowbird junior race program for several years, then left to be an assistant for the U.S. Ski Team's A-squad. For 15 years he was head coach at Sierra Nevada College. While there his men's team won 13 consecutive U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association championships and his women's team 10 titles.

During that time he also entered and dominated several of the western NCAA events, including those sponsored by the U.

As Hendrickson said, this has been his toughest coaching job yet, but he added that thus far it has been one of his most rewarding, "being able to build a team up from the ground up."

This is definitely going to be an opportunity for some of Utah's better skiing talent to extend their careers past high school and very possibly be discovered by the U.S. team.

As Ligety has proved, the talent is here just waiting for the opportunity.

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