The drive home from the final Eastern Cup race in Holderness was a headlong battle with snowy roads and drifting whiteouts. The extended travel home left plenty of extra car time for ruminating on an Eastern Cup season that was all sorts of exciting and heartbreaking, sometimes all in a very condensed period.
When races are going well, travelling over the snow can feel effortless. When you aren’t 100%, for any number of reasons, it can feel like driving across New England in a blizzard: the path isn’t always easy to see, you aren’t going as fast as you want to be, and it takes a lot longer than you think for the distance to get covered.
The team hit somewhat of a low point on Saturday, at least performance-wise. I don’t often like to be negative, especially since there were certainly some standout performances and no lack of effort on the race course, but I also think this group has worked hard and committed themselves enough to be honest and understand that there will be lows in addition to highs. I’ll be the first to admit that I approached the first day of this weekend with a little too much pressure on my mind, which radiated out. One of the most apparent things both Sara and I have seen this year is how obvious it is that the skiers race fastest when they’re having fun. Take the fun out of it and you lose the edge, to some extent. Or, at the very least, you alter the focus in a detrimental way.
It’s a delicate balance, maintaining fun while also striving for performance. Sometimes we err too strongly on one side or the other, and the end results (I use the term “results” in both a broader and narrower sense) stick out like someone skating in a classic race. To be sure, there are already thoughts and plans brewing when it comes to capturing and capitalizing on the right levels of excitement, pressure, enjoyment, and seriousness.
After some hotel pool time, a team dinner (thanks Sharon!) and a quick meeting before bed the group was ready to rebound on Sunday. A twisty and fun course and abundant snow on the trees and from the sky helped fuel some great performances and get us fired up for the remainder of the season.
Timmy will be representing the Pugs at JNs in the U16 men’s category this season, while Ali ended up just outside as the alternate for the women’s U16 team. Still waiting for U18 results but it looks like Isaac may have nabbed a spot while Will and Eliza will wait to see how things shake out with the college skiers!
Next week is the EHS/U16 qualifiers where we’ll have more opportunities to put MNC skiers on some Champsionship teams!
Isaac, having another killer race and possibly “breaking the bubble” for a chance at JNs. Very interesting to see the various ways skiers handled this awkward steep corner: I saw everything from figure-skating steps to herringbone (in a skate race!) and it made for some good photos too, as Gary Solow demonstrates
Ali shown here on the same turn. Don’t think the bubble was broken this weekend, but nothing motivates a summer and fall of training like having been the “Alternate” on the New England JN team the season before …just ask Greg Burt
Preparing skis as the snow begins to fall…(Dave Priganc photo)
Timmy heading out of the start. 50% of the New England U16 boys team is in this photo: Tim, Matt, and Zander. Excited to work with this group (plus Will, Josh, and Griffin, just behind Zander here) in Lake Placid! (Gary Solow photo)
Will leaning in hard and carrying the weight around the bend. Best EC race ever to close out his HS career – 20th place and 134 USSA points…still too close to call on the JN bubble so this one’s gonna have to wait a few days…(Gary Solow photo)
Dynamic skiing from Magda, ready to shoot form some Championship teams this coming weekend! Coming back from some sickness but capping off a great first EC season with lots of top-15s and some serious top 10s (Gary Solow photo)
Here’s a shot of some nice classic skiing with Alex. Great weight commitment. Busy week for this guy with the Tour De Chittenden followed right up with EC #4
Speaking of busy schedules, Sammie has also been doing a LOT of racing lately! Here she is working the downhills in the classic race (Gary photo)
A speedy and smooth last EC day for Eliza! (photo by NENSA)
Quite a strong race for Baxter, who held together his wicked tempo for the whole 10k and is gonna be a threat in longer races with even more experience next year (Gary photo)
Another sub-200 point race helps boost Dingo’s distance profile! (Gary photo)
Final Eastern Cup as a high schooler for Ben. He’s had a great season but he’s not done yet! (Gary photo)
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