New expectations for Alpine team
December 5, 2015
The alpine team is looking to improve off of last year’s accomplishments, including the title of conference champions for boys and girls as well as having four individuals go to state. They have an advantage over last year, this is the first year the team is allowed to hold captain’s practices.
Having captain’s practices will allow the athletes to get in shape before the season starts. Senior captains Nick Wazlawick and Claire Weber lead the team through practice to get them prepared for the season. They do all dry land work right now because the shortage of snow. Even though they are not skiing right now, all of the work they do gets them ready for the grueling alpine season.
Last year the team faced much success. They were able to send four athletes to state and win the conference. Just like any other team they are looking to improve from last season. The team lost some senior leadership and experience last year so some other athletes will need to step up. This year they are young and talented and hope to compete at a very high level.
We have a very solid women’s and men’s team this year. I’m very excited for both teams, I think they will do very well.
— Mark Schwantes
Weber said, “We are a very young team, being that the majority of the kids lie in the junior high schools. We have a very deep varsity that extends into our junior varsity, and we should expect some incredible races performed by everyone.”
Schwantes said, “We have a very solid women’s and men’s team this year. The men’s team is a little young but have a lot of talent and I’m looking forward to a good season for them. The women’s team lost a lot of seniors last year but we have some very good upcoming younger skiers that will help us this year. I’m very excited for both teams, I think they will do very well.”
The team looks to get a head start this season by holding their first ever captain’s practices. They are not skiing but they are working out and getting into shape so when the snow falls they will be ready to go. Just like any other sport, the better shape the athletes are in, the better the team will do. Right now preparations consist of running outside and on colder days, in the halls. All of the work they do improve endurance which will allow them to practice longer which will ultimately allow them to perform better in their races.
Junior Patrick Allan said, “Right now all we are doing is dry land work outs. I played soccer which kept me in good shape but for the kids who have been out of sports for a while, it’s really helpful to them to get back into shape.”
Another advantage the team has this year over last is the increased number of coaches. It is hard to monitor all of the kids on a hill at one time because they are so big and there is so much space. An increased coaching staff will help keep practices organized and each athlete will get more individual attention.
Weber said, “We have a coaching staff of eight. This means that at any given night out on the hill there will be 3-5 coaches, some rotating in every other night. It’ll be exciting to see how much we can improve from this increased staff.”