Hamilton, VA – Four years ago, gymnast Ashley Caldwell was sitting in front of her TV in Hamilton, Va., watching the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Tornio. Now, she is not only a member of the U.S. Aerials Ski Team but also an Olympian, competing in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, and the 2010 FIS Rookie of the Year.nQ: Ashley, tell us a little about yourself.
Caldwell: I guess it all started in gymnastics. I was a competitive gymnast for 10 years in Virginia at Apex Gymnastics. I was 12 when I watched the 2006 Games in Torino and saw aerials. I thought it was totally crazy, but my mom thought it would be a good fit since I really liked to ski. I’ve been skiing since I was about three. She signed me up for Freestyle America with Waterville Valley Academy’s Nick Preston. I began jumping at Waterville (N.H.) with his son, Wes, and in my first year I competed a lay-full and made the U.S. Development Team training under Dmitriy Kavunov. I’ve been training with him for the past three years and I totally love it- he’s amazing!
Q: In three years you went from a competitive gymnast to an Olympic aerialist, without having any ski instruction?
Caldwell: I hadn’t had technical coaching or anything. I just skied for fun.
Q: Tell us about your regional program and how you got started.
Caldwell: I started working with Wes, because Nick saw that aerials would be a really good fit for me with my gymnastics background. I started working with him in Lake Placid (N.Y.) at the Olympic Training Center and in the winter months trained at Waterville Valley Academy while completing online classes.
Q: What are you doing now?
Caldwell: I’ve been in Lake Placid and have been living at the Olympic Training Center for the past two years. I’m working at the water ramps and practicing take-offs and form secondary to that. I’ve been doing a lot of trampoline work, getting strong and working in the weight room. Overall, I’m working on my four year Olympic goal plan. I’m in the first year of it and have a lot of work to do leading up to Sochi 2014!
Q: After looking back where you were four years ago and now looking to the four year plan you have to Sochi, what are your goals?
Caldwell: It’s crazy. After looking at the past four years and one of the biggest things I learned was that anything can happen. Four years ago, I was an eighth grade gymnast who went to school every day and gymnastics practice every night. I was a totally normal kid. A lot has changed since then. Looking ahead to Sochi, my goal is to be able to do two triple twisting triples. I would love to do quadruple twisting triples, but that’s a little further fetched.
Q: What do you do when you are not being an aerialist?
Caldwell: I’m kind of a nerd and I like school. I’ve been doing online school and I’m almost finished with my first year of college classes. I’m little bit ahead. When I go home I like to go to the beach and hang out with my brother, who is the coolest five-year-old you will ever meet. In Lake Placid, I like going swimming in the lake and hanging out with all the other athletes at the Training Center. We play lots of games and think of new crazy things to do. I also really like training!