Young, but experienced junior Megan Weaver was chosen as a captain for the girls Nordic Ski team. Being that she is the only junior captain proves that Weaver has skills and leadership.

The girls Nordic Ski season started Nov. 11. Weaver is accompanied by senior captains Haley Beech, Vessa Pearsall and Morgan McBride. Weaver has been skiing for five years and she originally joined Nordic because her friends were doing it.

The team sees that Weaver brings dedication and hard work to practice.

Nordic coach Kris Hansen explained, “Megan’s teammates see that dedication and it is both inspiring and it has become a powerful example. Younger kids see her working hard and just assume that’s what we do on the Nordic Ski Team.”

Many of Weaver’s teammates attribute her ability to be selected a captain.

“Megan was voted junior captain because she’s one of the best skiers on our team, and she works very hard to do the best she can,” Beech commented.

Weaver originally joined the sport for fun and for the social aspect.

Weaver said, “When I started working harder I saw improvement and it was really fun to see where it could go.”

To prepare for the season, the captains lead captain’s practices, which involves a lot of running and roller skiing every day to get ready for the snow.

“We have a pretty active summer training program for our team and our captains are always part of that. During the late summer and fall when coaches can’t train with the athletes, our captains often organize other opportunities for the team to connect, so that even if we aren’t training together, you still have a sense of ‘team’, and that’s very important for our training and racing during the season,” Hansen commented.

Weaver has a lively personality that people look up to.

“Megs brings a lot of fun to the team, and likes to lead adventures when we have some free time during practice.  She also brings an atmosphere of hard work and no complaining, which is important to keep everyone positive,” Beech added. “Megan is crazy and fun, but she can also be very serious when she has to be, like during a hard workout.”

Weaver connects with everyone on the team, including the younger girls.

“We get to spend a lot of time with the younger girls and I’ve always connected with them and we just have a lot of fun with it!” Weaver said.

During the offseason, Weaver swims in the fall and runs in the spring.

Weaver explained, “Both help with endurance and swimming helps with my mental strength. I enjoy both.”

Weaver knew it would be a challenge when she was chosen as a junior captain, but she is excited for the season.

“I think our team will be very similar performance-wise, but we definitely lost some valuable athletes. We have a pretty young team but it will be great to see what we can accomplish with our depth. The team dynamic is different but we have been training harder than ever and it’ll be exciting to see what we can do,” Weaver explained.

Weaver is very competent and is expected to do well this season.

Hansen said, “Megan improved dramatically last year.  She was one of our top two skiers in pretty much every race.  She’s definitely strong and fit but Megan’s greatest strength is her determination and the fact that she doesn’t give up.  She’s very tough.