Girls’ varsity Nordic participated in a race at Theodore Wirth Park on Jan. 6, hosted by the Chaska-Chanhassen team. The course conditions were challenging, but the team was able to place fifth overall in the race and first in their conference ranking due to the practice they have put in throughout the season.
Junior Indigo Schoneman said the team committed to practicing during the months leading up to this race, leading to their success and readiness. She said with the high amount of snow this year, Park has been able to practice both as a team and as individuals, including over winter break.
“It’s been a lot of good prep this year. We’ve had snow, and the team has been doing really good about getting out, especially over break, and doing intervals and our own practicing,” Schoneman said. “That’s led to everyone being really prepared for today’s race.”
According to the Nordic team’s assistant coach Brian Houts, the skier’s dedication to practicing has paid off, resulting in their success this season. He said Park has been putting in the work over summer, fall and winter, inspiring continuous improvement.
“Preparation is key,” Houts said. “We do a lot of summer workouts to help our students start to get ready, working on technique and helping them prepare for the upcoming season. They worked really hard in the fall and the first part of the season, and even did quite a bit of skiing during winter break and did really well. They’re just improving, and improving and improving.”
Sophomore Finlay Beam said during races she clears her mind and focuses on staying motivated and persevering, remembering advice from her coaches and concentrating on maintaining good technique. She said she wants to work on having a positive mindset during races despite the nervousness that she and other skiers face at meets.
“(During the race) most of my mind was pretty blank,” Beam said. “I kept telling myself to push forward, try my best, keep motivated and listen to the coaches and just stay focused on my technique. (I want to keep) improving my technique and my positive attitude too. I know I can be negative about races and nervous, just like everybody else on the team.”
According to Schoneman, the hardest part of the course is surpassing the final hill during the last stretch of the course when the skiers are drained from their race. She said the team performed well and was able to overcome the hill.
“The most challenging part of the race is definitely the last really big hill. It’s right at the end of the course and everybody’s just exhausted, but I think the team did it really well today,” Schoneman said.
Houts said even with some difficult conditions on the course, the team was able to display the effort they have been putting into their training throughout the season. He said the team has been training hard, highlighting two girls who placed well in the race in spite of the challenges they faced.
“They responded (to the course) spectacularly,” Houts said. We had rain overnight; it was a little slushy out there in some spots, but overall it was pretty fast. We had good wax and fast skis, so our kids skied very well. They have been working really hard, and it really showed today. I would say two (skiers) really stood out to me today. Both Kaylee Crump, who got second place today, and Adeline Stewart, who was sixth place in spite of not feeling very well.”
Beam said she’s proud of her personal improvement, along with her team’s overall performance. She said she views it as an exciting achievement that the girls were able to place fifth in the race and outperform the other teams in their conference.
“I’m proud of how I’ve grown in my techniques and how much better I am from the previous years,” Beam said. “I’m also proud of the whole team in general. For the girls, we are fifth in the race and we beat our whole conference. I think that’s a great accomplishment.”
Schoneman said to prepare for upcoming races, she wants to continue skiing consistently and change layers to make sure she stays warm before racing. She also said she wants to make sure to get enough sleep before racing and coming in with a positive mindset.
“Before the next race, I need to make sure I’m skiing up until right before and making sure I’m changing out layers and staying warm. Otherwise, just getting good sleep and showing up to the race with a good mindset,” Schoneman said.
According to Houts, he hopes the team can continue to build their assurance in their abilities after their successful race. He hopes to strengthen their positive mindset and confidence going into important upcoming meets like conference, sections and possibly state.
“My hope (that the team takes) from this race is the growing confidence that they are (a) very good team that can compete with the best in the state,” Houts said. “I want to see that confidence build as they head towards conference and sections, and hopefully can make it to the state meet.”
The nordic team’s next race is at 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 10 at Theodore Wirth.
