Ski Racing: the Inside Scoop
^me, during my last race at states^
Everyone has their thing. Their interest, their hobby, their passion. Skiing is My Thing. It's my thing that I live for. Most people know about the pros, like Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn, Marcel Hersher. They see them racing down the hill, sometimes going over 80mph depending on the event. However, that doesn't come naturally. There is so much that goes into the final result.
Training
Every weekend, and every day for some, out there on the snow running gates. Just out there running courses, all day, every day. It starts with you at the start gate. “Julia in the gate” is what I say into the walkie talkie that is positioned at the top tied to a pole, so my coach knows who’s at the start, because they are halfway down the course ready to video you so you can watch later and see what you could improve on. While you wait for the clear, you think about everything you're working on: level shoulders. Pressure on outside ski. Hands up. Hips forward.
“Clear.”
You put your poles in front of the starting gate, stomp your skis for good measure, and push out of the start.
However, training isn't just on-snow. You also need to be kept in shape off-snow so you're ready for the winter. Dryland training happens once the season ends, right up until the next one begins. Many times, your coach sends out a workout plan that entails squats with heavy weights, pull-ups, planks, lunges with weights, and many more. The key muscles used in racing are your legs and abs.
You do all this so you can make the best time out of a minute-long course.
Races
We have them almost every weekend, at mountains all over the eastern part of the US. You start by getting your bib- the earlier the number, the better. You inspect the course, watching for different terrain in the course that you should avoid or absorb. You memorize the delays and combinations. You point out which gates you're going to have to have a lot of direction on the one before to make it around it.
Then it's time for your first run. Each race, you get two runs of which they'll add the times to get your combined time. There is usually a lot of waiting around at the top of the course, watching racers before you, warming up, and preparing- mentally and physically. Then when you're in the start gate, no other nerves or butterflies could ever compare to how you feel. Imagine the nerves you feel before taking a big test, then multiply that by 100.
Side note: it's actually pretty funny, but aside from all the talk about how the course is running, the majority of conversations at the top of the course are about having to pee. I'm pretty sure it's the nerves, but everyone always; and I mean always has to pee at the top, no matter if you just went 15 minutes earlier.
Now, there is obviously a lot of excitement at races, but I think what people think of the least is the disappointment. I have never, not ever had a race where I was happy with how I skied. There is always something I could have done better that would've been faster. In a race, the slightest things matter. It isn't uncommon for someone to beat someone by one-hundredth of a second. Crazy, right? So, if you get to the bottom and someones crying because they ran a little bit of a late line on one of the gates, don't be surprised.
Injuries
Just a part of the sport.
I've been lucky enough to not have gotten a serious ski injury yet, (knock on wood). However, so many people have.
Some of the common ones are breaking one or both of your tib-fibs, (a boot break). That's when your shin literally breaks over your ski boots, usually when you stop too fast or fall in a certain way.
Another common one is an ACL, MCL or meniscus tear, because a fall while skiing can result in hurting your knee so easily. Something as small as, if you fell in a course, we are trained to keep our skis off the ground. If you are sliding down at a high speed, it is better to crash into the netting than put your feet down to stop yourself and end up injuring your knee.
Another is your ankle. One of my best friends, Sophia, broke her ankle and a few other things this year at our first race, and she was out for the season. It really, really sucks.
Though ski crashes are super serious and very dangerous, we make light out of them by getting the “good ones” on video. If you're going to get hurt, you’d want it to have been a really good crash. There is a very popular page on Instagram that you can send your really good crashes to. (@slalomtokyodrift, go check it out.) My friend Sophia who I mentioned before made it onto there, as well as a few others on my team.
We have a saying about when skiers mess up in a race. Best case, you're out of the competition. Worse case, you're out forever. If you mess up, even in the slightest, you're out of the competition because there is no way you're doing well if you messed up. Worst case you're out forever, because if you get hurt badly enough, you could never be able to ski again… or worse.
Pros
Paying attention to the pros, like Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn, and Andrew Weibrecht, is a big part of racing; just like in any other sport. We always know how our favorites did in their races, just like how in other sports everyone keeps tabs on their favorite players.
Coaches
When it comes to coaches, there's about as much variety as is physically possible. Last year, I had three coaches- Jimbo, Fish, and Katie. Jimbo was about as tough and mean as could be. He has his way of coaching, and it was probably one of the most effective ways. Everyone was just straight-up scared of him. Despite his funny name, and his height (quite short), his constant angry tone of voice and yelling made it easy to fear him. However, this also meant he pushed us really, really hard. In all my years of ski racing, he made me the best I have ever been. You just have to trust that he will make you better, as he has taught many of the pros such as Andrew Weibrecht, a silver and bronze medalist in the Olympics.
Then you could have a coach like Fish; his name isn't actually fish. His last name is *insert french accent* Poisson (pwah-sohn), which means “fish” in french. Fish is always joking around, singing random songs, making fun of us and mocking us. He was one of my favorite coaches because he was always just so much fun.
Or you could have a coach like Katie. Katie was always being sarcastic. She made it seem like she didn't care about anything, but I don't want to say that because she did, but she would joke around as well.
Any coach you have is a good one, and you have to trust that doing what they tell you to do will make you better.
Social
I think the social aspect of skiing is the most important part. If I didn't have my ski friends, there is absolutely no way I would continue with the sport. I feel like I am actually closer with my ski friends than my school friends. We all share the same passion, and are there for each other to comfort one another when we have a bad race, and also to celebrate each other when we do well. Constantly joking around, blasting music on the chairlift, or just running around acting completely insane. I love them all so much.
I also have become close with many people from other mountains. We have races almost every weekend, so we see many people we wouldn't see just in training. I have grown so close to so many people that don't ski for Whiteface, and it's so fun to see them during our races.
Overall, skiing is an amazing sport and I love it so so much, despite the dangers of it, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
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