March 19th, 2008
2008 New England Junior Olympic team
The week is over – it is always amazing how fast the week goes but how long the days feel for the wax techs and coaching staff! But its all good- the staff worked really well together and the end results of watching our skiers race hard and race well, day after day, made up for all of the hours.
I always laugh to myself when trying to explain to people outside of our ski community, just what a week at an event such as JO’s is like. The idea that we are “on vacation” is in one sense true if you consider a vacation traveling to a place you might not normally have an opportunity to visit. But coaching at these events is really hard work, and requires constant hours and discipline to get everything done, and done well. There is no such thing as immunity from any task- if something needs to be done and you have a free hand, you do it. This can mean that a waxer may not see the light of day on race days, but knowing that you played a role in giving an athlete a shot to be the best they can be on that day, means everything to the coaches. A huge Thank You goes out to this year’s staff for all of their efforts: Sverre Caldwell (SMS), Andrew Gardner( Midllebury), Jon Arne Envoldsen ( GMVS), Pepa Milocheva (Craftsbury), Igor Badamshin (Gunstock), Tim Caldwell (Ford Sayre), Eileen Carey ( MWSC), Adam Masterman ( Carrabasset Acad), Morgan Laidlaw (Maine Coastal Nordic), Poppet Boswell (SMS), Rob Bradlee (CSU), Janice Sibilia (NENSA).
New England’s performance overall was solid. Several athletes had inspiring performances, and even surprised themselves after a hard fought season of Eastern Cup races and very tight qualifying. Junior Olympics has a way of doing that; of pulling out the best in the athletes, and enabling them to dig down further than they think they can. It was not clear cut for Lauren Turner if he would qualify this year, until the final JOQ race at Holderness; yet he raced to a fantastic 12th place in the Men’s freestyle race. Elizabeth (Lizzy) Anderson was a first alternate and fought her way to a 2nd place in the mass start race! And there are so many other motivating stories that took place in Anchorage.
Hard work, systematic training, timing your races and recovery correctly and just a little bit of luck staying healthy – and you just never know what you can do. These skiers along with everyone on the team raced super hard at this event and their efforts were evident watching them out on the race course. Hilary Rich will not be denied- this girl is tough and doesn’t back down no matter who is in the field, or what the situation is. Parker Tyler the same- She hung tough in a very fast mass start classic race, got a gap with two other skiers and finished 3rd in the OJ division.
Sophie Caldwell, Tara Geraghty-Moats, David Sinclair, Bridger Tyler, Kristen Halverson, Sam Tarling and many other New England skiers also had great races. My eyes are bleary at this point and I am sure I have left out skiers names who had great performances, but suffice it to say that we are all very proud of the entire team and their accomplishments. New England may not have won the Alaska Cup this year but we showed the depth that this division has- and that in the long run, will be the real bonus.
From here, several of the New England skiers have headed to Canadian Nationals, US Biathlon Nationals and US Distance Nationals before they will head home to take a much deserved short break. Others are on their way home now. Either way, when the races are over, the next race season begins. Rest, but not on your laurels. Give your body a break from the structure, but certainly stay active. Your competitors will be training and doing all of the things they believe to be right for reaching their goals. You must do the same. Find out what is right for you and stick to it with dedication and consistency and above all, patience. It will pay off down the road and in other aspects of your life.
Mt McKinley seen from Kincaid Trails. We were told that it is only this clearly visible about 5 times a year. It’s physical location from Kincaid is about 150 miles- this mountain is huge.
More photo’s to follow!
