Park Smalley Stands for Freestyle
11/26/2025 07:41AM ● By Deb Olsen
Steamboat Springs resident Park Smalley is often dubbed "the father of freestyle." Photo by Paula Jo Jaconetta.
Freestyle skiing would probably have become an Olympic sport without Steamboat Springs’ coach Park Smalley. But then again, maybe not.
Park is quick to say that seeking legitimacy from the Olympic committee for ski-ing’s wild child was a group effort. Those athletes who were there at the time declare definitively that Park was their leader, spokesperson and relentless advocate.
“Yeah, I just wouldn’t go away,” Park says with a chuckle about his repeated pleas for Olympic status. In its early days, “hot dogging,” as freestyle was dubbed, was an outlier in the tradition-bound sport. The moniker was well-deserved.
Case in point: Park and his friends, Rusty Taylor and Mike Williams, came to Steamboat in 1976 and convinced the parks and rec department to let them set up summer training features at Howelsen Hill. Part of the plan included build-ing an artificial ski jump so they could practice their maneuvers in the off-season.
They built a ramp and hauled in about 200 bales of hay for the landing, which they had to fluff up to soften the impact. Halfway through the job, Park and Rusty noticed Mike climbing to the top of the jump. “I reminded him we’d only fluffed about 100 bales and that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to go for it just yet,” Park says. “But, true to form, Mike went anyway.” Needless to say, he missed the straw and landed squarely in the dirt. “And that, believe it or not, was the beginning of the Great Western Freestyle Center,” Park finishes.
"There wasn’t another place like that in the world,” says Olympic aerialist Fuzz Feddersen, who was 10 years old at the time. “Park was wearing corduroy shorts and Vuarnet glasses. I thought he was so cool.”Steamboat resident Jeff Good, who was Park’s suc-cessor as the U.S. Freestyle Team coach, was first introduced to the sport when he moved to town in the 1980s. Friends sug-gested he sign up for the Tequila Cup, a now-de-funct bump competition during Winter Carnival.
After the event, Park was showing video at Buddy’s Run (now Timber & Torch), and Jeff had never seen himself ski. “I ran over there, and Park was the emcee. He was pouring Cuervo into what amounted to a ... bowl. I didn’t really know any-body, but I felt really welcome,” Jeff says. “The way Park handled it, it was all about camaraderie. We were an island of misfits, but as a collective, we worked. All of us are still in touch. It’s unique to have something like that in your life.”
Those lifelong friendships were renewed last spring when Park was inducted into the U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. People came from around the world to celebrate with him. “Everyone has a Park story,” Jeff says.
One of the best comes from Donna Weinbrecht, who won the first gold medal in Olympic freestyle skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
“As a kid, I loved the Olympics, but I thought it was for special people – not me,” Donna says. Skiing was not a family sport and there wasn’t money for coaching, so Donna taught herself at Hidden Valley in New Jersey, near her hometown. Eventually, when she earned a spot on the U.S. Freestyle Team, Park literally became her first coach.
Donna’s career is legendary, including five overall World Cup titles, 46 World Cup wins, seven U.S. championships and three trips to the Olympics. Despite the podiums, she sometimes had self-de-scribed imposter syndrome. When Park figured that out, he was incredulous. “Park looked at me with that leprechaun face and said, ‘You don’t believe you’re good?’ He always could get me out of my own head. He was the most impactful person in my career,” Donna says.
When moguls became an official Olympic sport in 1992, Park was transitioning from coaching to broadcasting, where he continued to be freestyle’s most vocal proponent. He was in the media booth on the day of the women’s mogul finals, when a storm left the snow sticky and unpredictable. Donna was struggling to land her second air during practice. Park saw what was happening and left the booth to help her. “What are you doing?” she recalls him asking, encouraging her to land the jump straight-on, instead of cautiously pulling to the side.
"It was just what I needed to hear,” Donna says. She brought home the gold, while Steamboat’s Nelson Carmichael took the bronze medal in the men’s event
In the ensuing years, Donna, Nelson and Fuzz were induct-ed into the U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, but not Park. “When I got inducted, I felt guilty because he should have been in before me,” says Fuzz, who led the charge to get Park elected. “He did so much for the sport. He was THE guy. He was the one who always stood for freestyle."
So it was with tears in his eyes that Park finally stood before his former athletes last April, ac-cepting skiing’s penultimate honor. Once again, he stuck the landing for the sport he loved.
Freestyle skiing would probably have become an Olympic sport without Steamboat Springs’ coach Park Smalley. But then again, maybe not.
Park is quick to say that seeking legitimacy from the Olympic committee for ski-ing’s wild child was a group effort. Those athletes who were there at the time declare definitively that Park was their leader, spokesperson and relentless advocate.
“Yeah, I just wouldn’t go away,” Park says with a chuckle about his repeated pleas for Olympic status. In its early days, “hot dogging,” as freestyle was dubbed, was an outlier in the tradition-bound sport. The moniker was well-deserved.
Case in point: Park and his friends, Rusty Taylor and Mike Williams, came to Steamboat in 1976 and convinced the parks and rec department to let them set up summer training features at Howelsen Hill. Part of the plan included build-ing an artificial ski jump so they could practice their maneuvers in the off-season.
They built a ramp and hauled in about 200 bales of hay for the landing, which they had to fluff up to soften the impact. Halfway through the job, Park and Rusty noticed Mike climbing to the top of the jump. “I reminded him we’d only fluffed about 100 bales and that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to go for it just yet,” Park says. “But, true to form, Mike went anyway.” Needless to say, he missed the straw and landed squarely in the dirt. “And that, believe it or not, was the beginning of the Great Western Freestyle Center,” Park finishes.
"There wasn’t another place like that in the world,” says Olympic aerialist Fuzz Feddersen, who was 10 years old at the time. “Park was wearing corduroy shorts and Vuarnet glasses. I thought he was so cool.”Steamboat resident Jeff Good, who was Park’s suc-cessor as the U.S. Freestyle Team coach, was first introduced to the sport when he moved to town in the 1980s. Friends sug-gested he sign up for the Tequila Cup, a now-de-funct bump competition during Winter Carnival.
After the event, Park was showing video at Buddy’s Run (now Timber & Torch), and Jeff had never seen himself ski. “I ran over there, and Park was the emcee. He was pouring Cuervo into what amounted to a ... bowl. I didn’t really know any-body, but I felt really welcome,” Jeff says. “The way Park handled it, it was all about camaraderie. We were an island of misfits, but as a collective, we worked. All of us are still in touch. It’s unique to have something like that in your life.”
Those lifelong friendships were renewed last spring when Park was inducted into the U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. People came from around the world to celebrate with him. “Everyone has a Park story,” Jeff says.
One of the best comes from Donna Weinbrecht, who won the first gold medal in Olympic freestyle skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
“As a kid, I loved the Olympics, but I thought it was for special people – not me,” Donna says. Skiing was not a family sport and there wasn’t money for coaching, so Donna taught herself at Hidden Valley in New Jersey, near her hometown. Eventually, when she earned a spot on the U.S. Freestyle Team, Park literally became her first coach.
Donna’s career is legendary, including five overall World Cup titles, 46 World Cup wins, seven U.S. championships and three trips to the Olympics. Despite the podiums, she sometimes had self-de-scribed imposter syndrome. When Park figured that out, he was incredulous. “Park looked at me with that leprechaun face and said, ‘You don’t believe you’re good?’ He always could get me out of my own head. He was the most impactful person in my career,” Donna says.
When moguls became an official Olympic sport in 1992, Park was transitioning from coaching to broadcasting, where he continued to be freestyle’s most vocal proponent. He was in the media booth on the day of the women’s mogul finals, when a storm left the snow sticky and unpredictable. Donna was struggling to land her second air during practice. Park saw what was happening and left the booth to help her. “What are you doing?” she recalls him asking, encouraging her to land the jump straight-on, instead of cautiously pulling to the side.
"It was just what I needed to hear,” Donna says. She brought home the gold, while Steamboat’s Nelson Carmichael took the bronze medal in the men’s event
In the ensuing years, Donna, Nelson and Fuzz were induct-ed into the U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, but not Park. “When I got inducted, I felt guilty because he should have been in before me,” says Fuzz, who led the charge to get Park elected. “He did so much for the sport. He was THE guy. He was the one who always stood for freestyle."
So it was with tears in his eyes that Park finally stood before his former athletes last April, ac-cepting skiing’s penultimate honor. Once again, he stuck the landing for the sport he loved.