OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. -- Both Dennis Erickson and Jeff Garcia can ski but won't. Bryant Young, who never has skied, is petrified at the thought of putting two slender planks under his 6-foot-4, 300-pound plus frame.
Needless to say, Young won't be skiing this weekend at the San Francisco 49ers Foundation Celebrity Ski Classic at Squaw Valley. In fact, he never will. Not when he retires. Not ever
"I think it's too late, I think I'll just start with tubing or something," joked Young on Friday in the lobby of the Resort at Squaw Creek, the host hotel for the third annual event. "The highlight (for me) is seeing the kids play in the snow. It's always fun to get out and leave the sun and see the snow and chilly weather."
Bryant, who has a 3 1/2 year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son, is making his second appearance at the fund-raising event that has raised about $500,000 in its first two years. Erickson, who was hired as San Francisco's coach in February, doesn't have the same view on skiing as his All Pro defensive tackle. As he glanced up at 8,900-foot Squaw Peak on Friday, though, he just said he wouldn't be setting a good example if decided to ski in today's slalom race.
"I'm not going to ski because I'm not allowing the players to ski," said Erickson, the former Oregon State and University of Miami coach. "I have skied but it looks pretty damn scary to me up there. It doesn't get any better than this. This really helps the children."
Garcia, who has put himself in the same category as previous 49er greats Joe Montana and Steve Young with his play the past three seasons, actually is a pretty decent skier. Growing up in Gilroy, Calif., located south of San Jose, he skied once or twice a year. He continued that trend until 1998, which is when he signed with San Francisco after starting his career in the Canadian Football League.
"Once I signed with the 49ers, I eliminated skiing," said Garcia, whose last skiing trip was to Banff, Alberta, Canada in the mid 90s, when he was then with the Calgary Stampede.
Even though Garcia and Young won't mingle with their new coach on the slopes this weekend, they'll still have a chance to talk with him. And it can't come to soon. Garcia, who plays the team's most important position, has only spoke with his new coach a few times since he was hired. And Bryant had never met him prior to him coming on board.
"Before they hired him, I didn't know much about him," Bryant said of Erickson, who had a short and unsuccessful NFL coaching stint with the Seattle Seahawks in the 90s. "He has a lot of history behind him. He loves to coach football and win ball games. If he didn't fit the job, he wouldn't be here."
Garcia was sad to see Steve Mariucci fired this past season, despite leading the 49ers to back-to-back playoff appearances. After all, Mariucci, now the head coach of the Detroit Lions, was the guy who groomed Garcia and was the only NFL head coach he has played under.
"It was tough to see him go because I developed a good friendship with coach Mariucci," Garcia said. "It's also the nature of the business. It's more about adjusting and recognizing the new leader and embracing the new leader. I like what he (Erickson) brings and the love the enthusiasm he has. He's going to bring new energy and new excitement. I'm ready to build that with coach Erickson.
The hiring of Erickson, who won two national titles with Miami in 1989 and '91, was scrutinized by the Bay Area media. It said the 49ers had an unorganized search plan, made several weak efforts to get the guy they actually wanted, then had to settle with Erickson when they are unable to get any those guys. But the soft spoken, gray haired Erickson didn't talk about the hiring process, which was mostly led by San Francisco General Manager Terry Donahue, a friend of Erickson's.
As long as he's not with Seattle, where he never had a winning season in four years there, he's just glad to be back in the NFL.
"It's an opportunity to be the best in the world in your profession," said Erickson, who turned Oregon State into a winning program after it had been a perennial loser for decades. "I think people understand that. That (coaching in Seattle) was not an easy situation. I went there for the wrong reasons. I didn't really evaluate why I went there. It was just like I'm going to the NFL and Seattle because that's where I was born and raised. It was stupid. That's not why I came here. I think anytime you change jobs, it takes a while until you get settled in and get into the job aspect of it. To me, coaching is what it's all about. I just want to win, I don't care how we do it."