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Team—just one of thousands of children
she taught to ski. Cochran’s became a non-
profit in 1999.
Barbara Ann’s nephew, Jimmy Cochran,
World Cup skier and Olympian in 2006
and 2010, serves as general manager.
“There has always been tremendous
community support,” says Barbara Ann.
She notes that Snow Motion isn’t the first
school program to come to Cochran’s;
local high school ski teams have long
used Cochran’s as a base for training. And
Richmond and Williston schools have
brought students after school for years.
“The Richmond PTA called Mom in 1962
to ask if she would do an after-school
program,” Barbara Ann says of her mom,
Ginny. The problem was that only one
Richmond parent knew how to ski. Ginny
not only had to train the other moms how
to ski, but also had to train them how to
teach others to ski.
Brian Godfrey, however, was the first to
suggest a school program during the day.
Another minor detail was that Cochran’s
doesn’t operate during non-vacation
midweek days. But because of Brian’s
commitment, Cochran’s decided to open
for Richmond schoolchildren. “It’s an
incredible gift that we have Cochran’s right
here,” Tam says. “It’s like a symbol for the
best of Vermont: we’re a small, but scrappy,
community. We have this little, but stellar,
ski area. Brian saw these incredible hidden
treasures, and he found a way to use them
in a way where the entire community
wins.”
Snow Motion has instructors with
Olympic and World Cup experience. How
many gym classes can claim that honor?
An Experience Gap
“I played basketball growing up,” says
Brian, whose hoops career extended into
college. After graduating, he continued
coaching, and he organized teams, Ama-
teur Athletic Union (AAU) leagues, and
tournaments—a warmup perhaps for the
organization he does today in support of
Snow Motion.
About half the children in Snow Motion
have never skied or snowboarded before.
The socio-economic range in Richmond—
like most places in Vermont—spans the
spectrum. “You’ve heard of a learning gap,”
58 VERMONT MAGAZINE
Brian says. “Well, there’s also an experience
gap.” While one student will come to class
Monday talking about skiing at Stowe,
another will say, “What’s Stowe?”
Regardless of a student’s socio-economic
status, Brian believes that students should
have access. “You may not see the impact
for years,” he says. There are Richmond
parents who wouldn’t think to expose
their own children to skiing or riding at
Cochran’s because it’s cost-prohibitive—or
maybe simply because their parents never
exposed them as kids. For today’s Rich-
mond Elementary students, snow sports
are demystified. “Maybe they’ll take their
kids to a ski hill in 20 years,” Brian muses.
“I hadn’t snowboarded much before,” says
sixth-grader Tavia Smith-Miodownik, who
participated in Snow Motion. Tavia recalls
trudging uphill with a snowboard strapped
to one foot. “It took persistence,” she says.”
Eventually, however, she and her friends
built the skills to ride the lift and venture
off independently.
Suddenly they were making decisions for
themselves regarding their own safety. “We
helped each other,” she says. “There were
some trails that my friends wanted to take,
but I knew I just wasn’t ready.” She wisely
rode down easier routes and stayed safe. “I
still had fun though,” she says. “And some-
times we’d still stick together.”
Why do parents, teachers, and admin-
istrators support Snow Motion? For the
independence, decision-making, confi-
dence building, and learned cooperation
that Tavia describes.
Unfortunately, the program is not
currently self-sustaining. “I want Snow
Motion to outlast me,” says Brian. The
buses, lifts, and equipment cost money.
Brian holds events such as a Big Truck day,
parties, concerts, and summer camps to
subsidize something that every Richmond
student looks forward to. He organiz-
es volunteers and solicits support from
companies such as Burton or Killington,
who have donated, or sold at a discount,
skis, boards, and helmets. He shares Snow
Motion equipment with other districts
and schools. He raised funds for trailers to
transport (and store) gear.
Meanwhile, take note: not everyone can