NCAA's Post #2

NCAA's from Coach Hatton

Coach Hatton here, providing my short take from NCAA’s. I’m so grateful we had the opportunity to compete this year and with a full team, nonetheless. With everything that has been going on and with so many unknowns this season, it was a bit of a miracle this all came together and went so smoothly. Many thanks to UNH and all of the other coaches. Very fortunate and proud to have led such a great group of skiers and had the opportunity to support them. Not only are they determined and hard working skiers, they are incredible individuals and I couldn’t have asked for a better time at NCAA’s. 

Here are some photos from the week that show just how awesome they are!

So rad

YEAH!

Yippeee!

Hello, Charlie!

PC: Gabby'21

We arrived on Sunday on a beautiful and sunny day. We were lucky enough to be Covid tested and get in some exercise before settling into our rooms. It was incredibly nice to have stayed right at the venue all week. It was great being able to get to our trailer and the trails whenever us coaches needed to without the extra time of driving or burdening the athletes. With the warming temps before the classic race, it meant some extra time waxing and preparing a lot of skis! I think ETown said it was the most skis he’s waxed at NCAA’s...We wanted to be the most prepared on race day; can’t ever be overly prepared, anything could happen on race morning and not having a course of action A-D shows how much or little you care.

Coach ETown preparing skis
PC: Coach Hatton

Both race days proved to have their own ups and downs for each athlete, but they sure represented our team and school well. It was a lot of fun to see them battling against some of the best college skiers out there. It definitely felt like a normal race season and environment on the trails with all of the western teams, despite there being no spectators. I can ensure that this opportunity, one that may not have come normally for this SLU group, has provided a lot of experience that will lead them to grow into better racers in the coming years! Thanks to all of the parents and alumni support from afar this season! I’m excited to continue to watch the team build, grow, and kick butt! 

Formal anyone?

L-R: Charlie, Tim, George, Gabby, Jordan, Steph

Until next time, all the best, Coach Hatton

NCAA Championships: Post #1

 Hi everyone, Gabby here!

To cap off a truly unusual racing season, SLUSKI was fortunate enough to send a full team (3 men and 3 women) to nationals at Jackson, NH the week of March 8^th. We stayed at the Eagle Mountain Hotel which overlooks the stadium of the race course, which completely eliminated drive time to the race venue! (In the two previous races at Jackson this season, we had a 1.5-hour drive time from the hotel in St. Johnsbury, VT to Jackson, NH).

Our home for the week, The Eagle Mountain House

PC: Coach Hatton

The “training” days leading up to the races followed a very 'lax schedule: get up early, eat our scheduled breakfast at 7:00 AM, sit in rocking chairs on the front porch, ski, eat lunch, hang out, eat our scheduled dinner at 5:50PM (M-W-F), hang out before bed, and then go to bed early. Compared to the constant bustle of life on campus, the quietness of the hotel life was really nice. We used some of the down time for all six skiers to get eyebrow notches and temporary tattoos. Jordan and I full sent it. We dyed some of our hair pink, for that full Kikkan Randall inspirational look! It was both a physical and mental break for us to get ready for the races.

 

Here we are getting ready for our first day of training at Great Glen Ski area!

 L-R: Steph, Charlie, Gabby (Me!) 

PC: Coach Hatton

Thursday’s classic race was quite possibly the hottest race I’ve ever experienced. It was super fun to be in that head-down-and-grind, but the combination of thawed snow and sun made for mushy conditions and sunburns. It was really great to see some strong performances on our team! It cooled down by Saturday for the skate races, which felt soooo much better. Again, we had some great finishes on the team, and I am super proud of everyone who raced their hearts out.

The melt out...
PC: Coach Hatton

To the readers who tuned into the races, I want to say thank you for all of your support! I was able to talk with Peter Graves, the announcer, after the races on Saturday and he said that was the most amount of people that tuned in to watch the races both days.  Also, thank you to our coaches, ETown and Dana for making that week smooth sailing and for getting our skis ready to rip!

I am so proud of this team, both the ones that raced at NCAA’s and the ones who finished their seasons earlier. They have worked through highs and lows, and it has been so much fun training and ripping up races together! As an official retired SLUSkier, I am confident when I say that this team will continue to excel next season and for years to come. Watch out EISA!

L-R: Coach Hatton, Charlie, Gabby (Me!), Steph, and Jordan
Missing from photo: Tim, Charlie, and Coach ETown
PC: flyingpointrd.com; thanks Steve!

Look for more blog posts in the coming days from the others who also experienced NCAA's alongside me!

Peace out,

Gabby W '21