There aren’t many who can successfully compete in multiple sports at a time. Athletes such as Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders and Jim Thorpe come right to mind, and Parkite Nate Gendron is looking to channel a touch of their magic on the slopes and the baseball diamond. 

A junior at Park City High School, Gendron is competing on the Nor-Am Cup circuit, a step below the World Cup one, as a mogulist and as part of the Miners junior varsity baseball squad. While his skiing schedule takes place during the winter and baseball the spring, Gendron must manage travel, practice and competition schedules that most athletes in each sport don’t. 

Gendron trains with the Wasatch Freestyle Foundation in Park City, where he’s been since he was eight years old. Wasatch’s director Jon O’Brien said Gendron is an anomaly, as the vast majority of skiers choose that path by ages 16 and 17. Outliers for O’Brien, who has coached U.S. Ski Team freestylists for over 30 years, include Jack Petrone, who skis with the foundation and plays football, and Jeremy Bloom. 

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Bloom is a U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame inductee (2012) who won 12 World Cups and participated in two Winter Olympics (Salt Lake City 2002 and Turin 2006) before going on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL as a wide receiver and return specialist. 

“When you look at an athlete like Jeremy Bloom, it’s hard for me to say, ‘Kid, you’ve gotta ski,” said O’Brien. 

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O’Brien said it’s incredibly difficult to chase skiing greatness while playing another sport; most simply cannot pull it off. O’Brien noted former Wasatch skier Nick Page, the top-ranked U.S. men’s mogulist (fifth overall), and his love for golf, which he is only able to play as a hobby. 

Gendron’s goals in moguls skiing, like Page who he shared the Waterville Valley (New Hampshire) National Championships course with March 23 and 24, are lofty. He finished the Nor-Am season, his third full one, 18th overall (17th in solo and dual moguls), with his season’s best result coming in those National Championships (fifth in duals). Gendron would like to win the tour next season and earn a few World Cup starts, and in the long-term win the a Crystal Globe (World Cup season title) and Olympic gold medal.

“Hopefully I can keep improving and finish higher,” said Gendron. “All I can do is work hard, stay healthy.”

Right after the National Championships last month, Gendron hopped on a plane back to join his Miners baseball squad, with whom he missed the early parts of the season. Gendron said managing the differing schedules and training demands is the toughest part of playing both. He has one more skiing competition this season, the Snowbird FIS Open April 20 and 21. 

Snowbird is one of three regional FIS events Gendron has competed in this season. He will compete in solo and dual moguls events there on the 20th and 21st, respectively. Snowbird is one of Wasatch Freestyle’s regular training locations — Deer Valley Resort is their primary.

Freestyle skiing and baseball serve as positive cross-training for Gendron, who is able to strengthen different parts of his body through each discipline. Baseball works his upper body, and skiing, his lower body and core muscles. He’s thankful that both his coaches each understand his unique situation and allow him to play.

“I’m also especially thankful for my teachers, who have to deal with me being away for weeks at a time,” said Gendron. 

Gendron loves skiing and baseball and has future plans in each. He’d like to make Park City’s varsity baseball squad next season and help lead them to a program-first state title. He acknowledges skiing is his priority, however, with him having more potential to continue after high school. 

If Gendron’s baseball game allowed him to earn him a spot in college, that’s another opportunity he’d welcome with open arms. O’Brien thinks Gendron could well make the U.S. Ski Team in the coming years. The Team makes their selections in May, with their freestyle team being the best in the world.

O’Brien said Gendron is a great skier and competitor — and also a great person off the mountain. 

“He’s a great sportsman,” said O’Brien. “He’s always the first to load a van or unload a van, or help with this chore or help with that chore during the travel experience.”