January 17th, 2026 | by Alexandra Jospe
Today in our Quench’d series, we are hearing a story from SMS Nordic coach Alex Jospe, a recent recipient of the National Nordic Foundation’s Trail to Gold fellowship. Alex is a current coach of my former high school ski team, and while our times there never overlapped, I’ve still been able to see the positive energy and expertise that she brings to the team (and sometimes it makes me wish I was back in high school…)
The Trail To Gold fellowship is awarded to talented women ski coaches across the US, and gives them an immersive trip into all aspects of World Cup coaching and ski waxing. Because Alex was awarded this fellowship, she got to spend two weeks last winter waxing skis for the best American skiers, getting a feel for the team culture, traveling with the team as everyone competed in the Tour de Ski, a whirlwind series of 7 races in 2 locations over the span of 9 days, and getting valuable knowledge to bring back to her team.
P.S. We teamed up with NNF to create this awesome bottle and all proceeds from the bottle go to NNF to help them fund this program, and so many others that help elevate US Nordic skiing!
- Charlotte Ogden (Custom and Content Creation at Bivo)
Shoutout to our friends atNENSA for originally publishing this story (and just generally being great people).
Today in our Quench’d series, we are hearing a story from SMS Nordic coach Alex Jospe, a recent recipient of the National Nordic Foundation’s Trail to Gold fellowship. Alex is a current coach of my former high school ski team, and while our times there never overlapped, I’ve still been able to see the positive energy and expertise that she brings to the team (and sometimes it makes me wish I was back in high school…)
The Trail To Gold fellowship is awarded to talented women ski coaches across the US, and gives them an immersive trip into all aspects of World Cup coaching and ski waxing. Because Alex was awarded this fellowship, she got to spend two weeks last winter waxing skis for the best American skiers, getting a feel for the team culture, traveling with the team as everyone competed in the Tour de Ski, a whirlwind series of 7 races in 2 locations over the span of 9 days, and getting valuable knowledge to bring back to her team.
P.S. We teamed up with NNF to create this awesome bottle and all proceeds from the bottle go to NNF to help them fund this program, and so many others that help elevate US Nordic skiing!
- Charlotte Ogden (Custom and Content Creation at Bivo)
Shoutout to our friends atNENSA for originally publishing this story (and just generally being great people).
Last winter, I got the opportunity to attend the Tour de Ski as a Trail to Gold fellow, working shoulder to shoulder with coaches, wax techs, and athletes on the USST. My younger self had no idea that future-Alex would get to do something this cool! Huge thanks to NNF for making this trip possible.
Last winter, I got the opportunity to attend the Tour de Ski as a Trail to Gold fellow, working shoulder to shoulder with coaches, wax techs, and athletes on the USST. My younger self had no idea that future-Alex would get to do something this cool! Huge thanks to NNF for making this trip possible.
The Bivo crew showing off our NNF collaboration bottles at Sleepy Hollow in Huntington, VT. The bottle features the NNF logo as well as some skate ski tracks that wrap around!
The Bivo crew showing off our NNF collaboration bottles at Sleepy Hollow in Huntington, VT. The bottle features the NNF logo as well as some skate ski tracks that wrap around!
Like any wax room, the day starts early and ends late, the task list is long, and the banter keeps us all rolling. Sure, we were making skis for the highest level of ski racing, but the fundamentals were very familiar. Somewhere along the way, however, I started to pick up on a central theme.
Like any wax room, the day starts early and ends late, the task list is long, and the banter keeps us all rolling. Sure, we were making skis for the highest level of ski racing, but the fundamentals were very familiar. Somewhere along the way, however, I started to pick up on a central theme.
I get to watch Jessie, Julia and Ben train in the summer with the SMS T2 Elite Team when they train with our SMS juniors, so I am well aware of how much work these athletes are putting in, but it becomes so clear that it’s not just the athletes doing athletic things that puts them on the podium. From a nutritionist who wrangled Italian chefs into feeding us at very American suppertimes, to a masseuse, a PT, and a doctor who donated their limited vacation time, to two professional coaches, seven professional wax techs, and one Trail to Gold fellow, it really takes a village. Among other things, the end-of-day debriefs in the truck led to an environment where each villager felt supported and encouraged to speak their mind, and ready to give their all. Even in this, there is familiarity - our primary team culture goal at SMS is that every team member should feel valued and supported - and being in the US wax truck felt like an extension of my home club.
I get to watch Jessie, Julia and Ben train in the summer with the SMS T2 Elite Team when they train with our SMS juniors, so I am well aware of how much work these athletes are putting in, but it becomes so clear that it’s not just the athletes doing athletic things that puts them on the podium. From a nutritionist who wrangled Italian chefs into feeding us at very American suppertimes, to a masseuse, a PT, and a doctor who donated their limited vacation time, to two professional coaches, seven professional wax techs, and one Trail to Gold fellow, it really takes a village. Among other things, the end-of-day debriefs in the truck led to an environment where each villager felt supported and encouraged to speak their mind, and ready to give their all. Even in this, there is familiarity - our primary team culture goal at SMS is that every team member should feel valued and supported - and being in the US wax truck felt like an extension of my home club.
Alex in coach mode at the World Cup.
Alex in coach mode at the World Cup.
Of course a race has winners and losers. Even if you have cultivated the mindset where you can celebrate the small wins, any racer is bound to be disappointed some days. But I watched athletes (and techs!) turn around these disappointments for another race the next day, supported by their villagers in all the little ways, time and again. In addition to all the new technical ski service knowledge, I think these are the lessons I take forward with me to the SMS junior team and beyond. In the end, the Tour de Ski was just another set of ski races, but watching the USST functioning from within was an experience that sets it apart. Thank you to everyone in my village for making the trip possible for me!
Of course a race has winners and losers. Even if you have cultivated the mindset where you can celebrate the small wins, any racer is bound to be disappointed some days. But I watched athletes (and techs!) turn around these disappointments for another race the next day, supported by their villagers in all the little ways, time and again. In addition to all the new technical ski service knowledge, I think these are the lessons I take forward with me to the SMS junior team and beyond. In the end, the Tour de Ski was just another set of ski races, but watching the USST functioning from within was an experience that sets it apart. Thank you to everyone in my village for making the trip possible for me!
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