Former champion Erik Schlopy joins U.S. Ski..

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Three-time Olympian and 2003 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships medalist Erik Schlopy is now part of the U.S. Ski Team men's alpine technical staff.

Schlopy, who joined the team training in New Zealand this week, was a member of the U.S. Ski Team for 14 seasons before retiring in Dec. 2008. Since his retirement from racing, Schlopy has remained active in coaching privately and for U.S. Ski Team development camps. Schlopy.

"Ski racing is just in your blood and you can't change that," he said. "After being away from it for a little while, I feel like the competition aspect of the sport is still so much a part of my life that I'll be able to enter the coaches role with a unique perspective to help drive performance.

"These athletes have such amazing speed, that much I know. My goal now is to learn each of their qualities and then figure out how to help them translate that speed into being consistently fast."

Schlopy will work directly with World Cup athletes like Nolan Kasper (Warren, Vt.), Will Brandenburg (Spokane, Wash.) and David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, Colo.).

Former champion Erik Schlopy joins U.S. Ski Team staff