Today’s national team — Crawford, Brodie Seger, Cameron Alexander and Jeff Read, Ken’s son — have grown up on the side of a hill together, travelling the world in pursuit of World Cup podiums. There is an unbreakable bond they all share and it’s helping lead to stronger performances every season.
The younger Read has heard all the stories from his dad about those Crazy Canucks days.
“My dad has brought it up a lot. It’s a must to have a cohort like that. It brought his group together and raised him up. It’s just essential,” Read says. “And so we’re really fortunate to have that. You can’t do this alone.”
They spend countless hours together in planes, on trains, and then on slopes around the world, each playing a role in the team’s chemistry.
When asked about the role Jack plays in all of this, Alexander smirks and pauses.
“Jack? Jack is… he’s a special character,” he says. “Jack is very analytical about things. He’s always thinking about different things, but then he’s also really good at just shutting his brain off.
There is a deep and profound respect they all have for each other.
“All of a sudden we’re here and we’re to the point where we’ve all seen ourselves fighting for the podium and fighting for wins,” Alexander says. “It’s exciting that this is finally the spot that we’ve gotten to. And now we just need to keep trusting ourselves and keep pushing for that top spot.”
That top spot feels within reach for Crawford.
But he doesn’t just want a World Cup victory here or there, he wants to consistently find himself on the podium from the start of the season to the last race.
“What I really want to do is win [Crystal] Globes and in order to do that I have to be in the top five every single race,” he says. “That’s the true test. If you’re able to be top five at every single venue, on every single type of snow, that just shows who the best skier is by far.”
