The welcoming community that the Nordic ski team provides is why senior David Klein said he continues to participate in captains’ practice and the regular season.

“I love seeing all these people that I don’t really get to interact with, that’s really fun for me,” Klein said. “ It’s one of the best groups of people that (have been) willed upon me, everyone here is going to get along with everyone.”

According to sophomore Victoria Schmelzle, captains practice allows people to experience a preview of the regular season. 

“I like to ski with the team,” Schmelzle said. “I like (captains practice) because you get to see your team improve and become hopeful for the season.”

Junior Mimi Kniser said she uses her teammates as motivation to improve.

“I like captains practice because you get to see your friends from the team and you get to ski with them, which makes me go faster,” Kniser said.

According to Schmelzle, she has high hopes for this season and despite the cold, Nordic is a great place to interact with different people. 

“We love our coaches (and) it’s a great time to meet new people and try a new sport. Even though you freeze it is the best sport ever,” Schmelzle said. “My goal as a team (is to) win Conference again and maybe go to State.”

Klein said he is going to build off of what he learned last year from being a junior captain and advance further then he has gone in the past. 

“I am most looking forward to my second season of captaining. I’m looking to improve on everything that I’ve started up on and also work with a new group of people,” Klein said. “My goals for the season are to do my best performance.  I feel like I could go pretty far, I’ve performed well in the past.”

According to Kniser, she is excited to improve and participate in races.

“I’m looking forward to racing,” Kniser said. “My goal is to get better every week and to have fun with my team.” 

The second captains’ practices will take place at 5 p.m. Oct. 27 at Dakota park.