According to Nordic Ski head coach Doug Peterson, the team is diligently working toward their goals, which includes state for some skiers.

“I believe that the team is going to be competitive because they look like they are pretty hard workers and have pretty good character,” Peterson said. “I think that we have some individuals that have their eyes on the state meet.”

Captain junior Rakesh Plantz said he is excited to bond with his teammates and start competing.

“I am looking forward to getting to know the team and getting to know all the different personalities and bonding with the team and hopefully winning meets,”Plantz said.

According to Peterson, the opening race will be telling in how the new skiers will perform going into the season.

“The first race this season is what I am looking forward to the most. That gets people motivated and we get to see everyone’s different levels of competency,” Peterson said.

Peterson said many of the skiers on the team are inexperienced so they are beginning with learning the basics.

“It looks like the team is fairly young, so we’re starting up with skiing right away and getting the young kids used to skis. We’ve started waxing and trying to get the skis in the hands,” Peterson said.

According to Plantz, his focus is on bringing the team together and creating chemistry.  

“From my perspective, we have a ton of younger skiers so I just want to make the team as united as possible,” Plantz said.

Plantz said the captains have planned team bonding events to kick off the season.

“The other captains and I are trying to have more team bonding,” Plantz said. “We are painting the wall this Sunday and we’re also trying to do fun things like sledding and snowball fights and maybe some sleepovers too.

The next Nordic Ski meet will be at 3:45 on Nov. 29 at Carver Park Reserve.