Send It and Stay Present: The Mentality of Olympic Ski Racer Ryder Sarchett

Long before Ryder Sarchett was tearing down World Cup courses, he was sprinting up staircases.

"Walking back to the car, I'd always try to touch the car first," Sarchett recalls, "Just little things like that, but kind of extreme…and a lot." The competitiveness of his childhood is funny in hindsight. Sarchett has always been wired for competition

He grew up on skis with his dad, logging so many hours on the mountain that the technical side of racing came quickly. When the competitive structure arrived, it clicked into something that had always been there.

"It was skiing, which is something I love just for pure enjoyment, and then a competitive side," he says. "I was like, oh, this is sick."

Building Confidence Without Expectations

Sarchett's career progression has been anything but linear. NCAA racing at CU Boulder. Back-to-back tough results at World Juniors. The climb toward the World Cup circuit. Ask him how he maintained confidence through all of it, and he pauses before answering honestly: "Sometimes it actually doesn't feel like I've maintained confidence."

"I had two World Juniors that were horrible," he says, "but that didn't stop me from being like, you know, I can still do it here. And then with the World Cup, I was the same way…I wasn't crazy successful at the very beginning, but I still was like, alright, it's so close."

Sarchett simply held on to the belief that the next level was always within reach, despite setbacks. He kept showing up and chasing progress each day.

The ACL, the Fear, and the Faith

At 16, Sarchett tore his ACL and meniscus. He is candid about what it cost him, psychologically: "I had honestly no fear until I did that." The injury didn't end his career, but it brough a level of fear into the sport. He faces his fears head on “with prayer. And I rely on God to make me safe before I send it.”

So what happens in Sarchett's mind when he's standing in the start gate?

He describes a mental game that has evolved over time. And that he’s actively trying to walk back toward something simpler.

"I'm trying to get back to the headspace I had when I was younger, almost before I started ski racing," he says. "I can't tone that competitive part of me down," he admits. "But I am trying to also tap into the side of myself that actually loves skiing and loves the sport. A good combination of that is being stoked to just send it and go as hard as possible…because I want to win…and also trying to enjoy the skiing itself."

It's a balance every competitor chases. Sarchett has taken it to the Olympic level.

Back The Team is on a mission to interview every single athlete on the 2026 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team. One conversation at a time, we're building the most comprehensive record of mental performance in Olympic and Paralympic history. Follow along!