Nordic ski teams prepares for success this winter
Photo courtesy of Ava Schieffert
Ava Schieffert pushes up a slope toward the finish line.
December 14, 2018
Snow finally fills the trails which means it ski season. BSM nordic heads into the season hoping for another successful season by sending racers to state and by competing in the tough Metro West Conference.
All four senior captains–Keelan Gorman, Ava Schieffert, Erin Long, and Joe Munkeby–have high expectations for themselves and the rest of the team. โItโll be nice to go to state as a team, but weโll focus on individuals, and getting everyone to race, since we have a lot of new kids on the team and watching them race this year will be a great start,โ Gorman said.
This year the team lost several key skiers, especially on the girls’ side, so it’s going to take a lot of rebuilding and hard work during the season to get the team where they want to be. โWe lost almost half of our girlsโ varsity team, which hurts the camaraderie but we have younger skiers that will help build new leadership on the team,โ Schieffert said.
One important aspect of an elite team is friendship and a strong bond between both the skiers and the coaches. Every year the Nordic team spends a few days up at Maplelag in Becker County in order to build such relationships. โIโm excited for Maplelag which is a trip we go on as a team where we just ski for fun and itโs a great team bonding experience that I always look forward to,โ Gorman said.
Along with building strong bonds, the team will focus on practice and commitment in order to succeed. Since the ski season is so short they really have to take advantage of the little amount of practice time they have before the meets start. โIn order to be ready for the season, we will have to train hard and work hard consistently, day in and day out. It may be cliche but it always works,โ Gorman said.
In order to be ready for the season, we will have to train hard and work hard consistently, day in and day out. It may be cliche but it always works
— Keelan Gorman
The balance of new skiers and experienced veterans will bring this team a long way this season. โIt’s going to be a fun year; we have a lot of new skiers that Iโm excited to see perform this year and if anyone still wants to join they are more than welcome. #realskierskiuphill,โ Schieffert said.