Andy started skiing at age 3. He was one of Nancy Jean Steffen's little Lollipoppers when he joined the Bill Koch Youth Ski League. By the time he moved on to high school he had already accumulated a large collection of First Place blue ribbons from participating in many BKL races. At the Stratton Mountain School, Coach Sverre Caldwell saw Andy achieve national and international success. Newell's accomplishments are much too extensive to list here, but by the time he was on the US Development Team, it was apparent that this guy has what it takes to compete with the best nordic skiers in the world. This is what US Ski Team coach Pete Vordenberg had to say about Andy in April, 2003:
"One of the most impressive races at the World Championships was skied by Andy Newell. The Worlds sprint course included two tough climbs and a long straight run to the finish. Newell busted from the start and made up five seconds on the skier who started before him by
the top of the first hill. He looked fast, lithe and quick, and he was going as
fast as he looked. At 600 meters Andy Newell had the best time of
anyone in the race. Coming down the long home stretch it looked like he was
suffering, like a sled dog straining at a heavy load alone. He was fighting a
strong, invisible force and was loosing the fight. At the finish he stood bent
over, absolutely still.
'Andy,' I asked, 'are you OK?' He
didn’t answer. He looked bad, really bad. I started to get a
little nervous. 'Andy, seriously are you OK?' 'No…' he was
grimacing, 'I can’t move.' And then he moved, from the inside
out…I took a step back.
Andy Newell gave it everything he
had. That guy will be back."
That’s
right. He did come back and had some incredibly impressive races in the last couple of years. Watch for him in February, 2006!