As one of four skiing kids in a ski racing family, the path to the U.S. Ski Team was pretty clear for Julia Ford, who grew up ripping around Vermont's Okemo resort at 3. After three seasons on the U.S. Development Team, her age finally caught up with her ability to make the jump to the U.S. C Team for the 2011 season.

The Olympic winter marked huge strides for Ford. After getting her first World Cup start (as a member of the Devo Team) at Aspen, she went on to capture top 10 finishes in every NorAm race she entered en route to a second place finish in the overall standings and her second straight super combined title. She was also the top women's junior in slalom (9th) and giant slalom (13th) at the 2010 U.S. Alpine National Championships at Whiteface Mountain, NY and the top junior in downhill during the U.S. title race in Aspen.

But she wasn't done there, closing her season by racing at the Swedish National Championships where she finished second in the downhill behind World Cup great Anja Paerson and third in super G behind Kajsa Kling and Paerson prompting the Eastern Ski Writers Association to hand her the coveted Golden Ski Award for the third consecutive year.