Alaska Winter Stars was established in 1997 by Jan Buron, former Polish National Cross Country Ski Team Member and voted Coach of the Year '99 by the US Cross Country Ski Association. The idea for AWS came from Jan's long experience in athletes development.
To raise top national athletes there must be year-round cross country program with the same group of coaches that would start training kids at a very young age. To become a champion one must have a love for sports in his heart and soul. It takes years of training and dedication to master skills and develop strength of a champion.
Shortages of year-round programs in the United States and especially in Alaska leaves young athletes and masters torn between vacation time with no ski program, fall when ski season is not open yet and spring when winter ends and everybody forgets to stay in shape and continue to train.JAWS, as our kids call us (Jan's Alaska Winter Stars), includes a ski program for people ages 10 to masters. Each session is divided into groups specifically designed to meet the needs of the particular age group and ability level.
A lot of our members have been training with Jan for many years in different clubs before AWS was created. The junior members of AWS won 10 medals during the US Junior Olympics 2000 and 11 medals during the Arctic Winter Games 2000 in Canada. They brought home 20 medals from the US Junior Olympics 2001. No other programs have qualified that many juniors and won that many medals. These results make our club the most successful in the country. AWS athletes play a big role in Team Alaska and they brought Alaska's Cup back home again for the second year in a row.
Certified coach, former Polish National Team Member, World Cup Competitor, Polish National Champion in cross-country skiing, Medalist in U.S. Masters Cross-country Championships 1997, voted "Coach of the Year" by the US Cross Country Ski Association in the 1999-2000 season, selected to be Head Waxing Coach for the US in the World Junior Championships in Poland, 17 years coaching experience.
Coach Support: Ben Arians, Brian Erickson, Erin Hamilton
To raise top national athletes there must be year-round cross country program with the same group of coaches that would start training kids at a very young age. To become a champion one must have a love for sports in his heart and soul. It takes years of training and dedication to master skills and develop strength of a champion. 
