About Us

Founded in 1985 by a group of Kirkwood community leaders, the Kirkwood Ski Education Foundation (KSEF) was built to support the development of youth alpine ski racing in the Kirkwood valley. The KSEF mission is to provide alpine ski racing programs that promote a healthy lifestyle, instills a winning spirit and a love of mountain snow sports, through professional athletic skill development. We are in our 29th year of operation and are proud to continue to fulfill this mission. Read more about our Mission & Values.

Our program offers on hill alpine race coaching for youth and masters athletes, with weekly training (Friday – Sunday) and Holidays. Our 2021-2022 program starts on November 23rd and runs through April of 2022. Our athletes compete in United States Ski Association (USSA) sanctioned (Far West and FIS) races, and Tahoe League races.

Through the years one of our major points of differentiation has been our outstanding coaching staff. We continue to provide a low coach to athlete ratios, and the combined experience of our staff exceeds 50 years with coaching and building ski team programs. They are 100% focused on each athlete’s success. Read more about our Coaching Staff.

Our oldest daughter started with the Kirkwood Ski Team eight years ago and the younger girls have followed suit. We thoroughly enjoy the sense of community for our girls and as parents. The program is well run and has a strong relationship with the resort which provides for access to training on the highest quality most reliable snowpack in the Tahoe area. The coaching staff is top notch and provides individual differentiated training for each athlete.

From the first day my daughter joined KSEF, she felt part of something special. The coaches made her feel confident that she could improve and do well, and the other ski team kids made her feel like part of the family. Being part of the Kirkwood Ski Team has been a wonderful experience for the whole family.

We make the beautiful (non-freeway!) drive to Kirkwood each weekend, and then don't get back in our car until we're headed home. Two full days of exercise for the kids, outside and away from any type of screen, surrounded by incredible nature. Fresh air, tired bodies, and early nights in bed. It really doesn't get any better than that... that is, until the ski team hikes to some hidden powder stash, and everything moves to a level that you might have thought wasn't possible!

The experience and growth for my son participating in the KSEF has been awesome. Toward the end of the season when he was 8, he switched from JETS to KSEF. In his first season of racing he was 9, and out of a field of about 80 racers, he would finish right in the middle of the pack. Last year at 10 in his second season of racing, he finished on the podium twice and finished 6th overall in the Far West North division. Yes as a father I am very proud and happy for my son for his results, but that’s not what is important. Results are great but what is priceless is the quality father-son time we spend over the entire race weekend. Years later we will not remember what place he got at a particular race. What we will remember is getting to the race hill super early, racing all day, getting back to the hotel, taking a long nap, and then watching Cartoon Network while having Cheez-its and root beer floats for dinner just because we wanted to. Also, the friendships my son has made with his KSEF teammates will be lifelong. He is with the same group of great kids for about 20 weekends in a row so they are super close. Finally, though the Kirkwood Ski Team is small, I feel it has been a huge advantage for my son’s technical development. Over the course of the season, he gets instruction from six amazing coaches. I highly recommend KSEF and in my opinion, it is one of the very best ski programs in all of Tahoe.