USASA Nationals 2017, Day 1

Whitney and I flew out yesterday to Colorado. Our flight was an hour late leaving DC (mechanical issues in Orlando made the flight late getting to DC, then we had more issues in DC) but we still had plenty of time in Denver to get our bags before our shuttle came. We got to Copper about 7:30 last night, checked in, then went for pizza. Our condo is nice, although it's on the edge of Center Village and a longer walk than we would like to the middle of things. It's not too bad though.

This morning Whitney went to registration and got her practice bib for today and her race bib. She met up with the guys from Massanutten and Chad, took a few fun runs then she went over to the BX course for practice. She thought the course was pretty good and definitely fast. She took a hard tumble and hurt her ribs but seems to be fine. We met for lunch then she was going to go back out riding with Chad for a while but it's been snowing off and on all day and then there was thunder. She called to let me know she was headed back to the condo and said that most of the lifts were closed. We're guessing they're on wind hold. I have to say though that it's coming down pretty good right now (they're calling for 8-16") and I'm sure the visibility on the slopes is pretty low. Hopefully the snow will come down tonight/tomorrow and stop so they can get the course in good shape for Sunday's races.

Tonight we're meeting up with the Massanutten gang, the parents, riders, coaches who are here for dinner. Tomorrow she's got practice and the opening ceremonies are late tomorrow afternoon.

We're Packing and Heading Out!

I think we've got all our winter gear backed - skis, snowboards, boots, warm clothes, snow boots. It's hard to think about what you need for skiing/snowboarding when it's 70* outside. Of course we're heading to Colorado where it's 54* out and they're expecting snow over the next few days. I can't wait to get out there, have some fun, and watch Whitney race!

The 'In Between' Time

We've settled into the 'in between' time. The college season is over but there's still one big race left.The hard work of the season is over and we're in between Nationals competitions. USCSA Nationals are over after a successful outing for Whitney and USASA Nationals are coming up April 1.

Whitney got back to Maine last Monday afternoon and between the seasonal time change (spring forward!) and the time change from Oregon to Maine she slept through her alarm clock and was late to her 8:00 class on Tuesday. Not a big deal, it's a class with one of her favorite professors and somehow she was able to sneak in the back. It took a few days but she managed to get back on track to the right time zone.

She's been busy with classes, visiting the trainers, and taking care of other college related things so she hasn't had too much time for snowboarding. It's probably ok though; she could use the rest time. By the time you get to mid-March it's been a long season and the body is feeling pretty beat up. She'll have enough time to practice when we get out to Colorado next week. We fly out on Thursday and she'll have practice time on the BX course on Friday and Saturday. The best part will be hanging out with her coaches from Massanutten, finally hanging with riders who will explore the mountain with her. She didn't get much of a chance to do that in Oregon and was disappointed. It was partly due to scheduling (no one was free when she was) and the weather (she didn't want to go off by herself in the kind of weather they were having).

I'm excited, she comes home for her second spring break on Friday. She'll have several days at home before we head to Colorado. I'm really looking forward to our time together.

GS Race Day

As nice as yesterday was, it was back in the snow then rain today. At least from what I saw online it was pretty decent this morning when racing was going on, then the snow started to fall which later changed to rain. But on to the race...

Today they had yesterday's technical problems fixed and we could watch the race live. I think Whitney's first run was during a commercial since I didn't see her. I talked to her after the run and she said that she felt fast. I wasn't able to get to the right spot on the live timing web page but Bob said that she was in 5th after her first run. That was pretty exciting! I did catch her second run. For a girl where this was only the second time she's run giant slalom, she did really well. She looked really good, like she knew what she was doing. Her second run was faster than her first, which seemed to be true for many of the top riders. Her first run was 55.18 and her second was 52.61. Her combined time put her in 4th place, .03 seconds behind 3rd. An awesome job! Since she was 4th, she was also 1st Team All American again. At some point this week she also received a 2nd Team Scholars All American award.

We are so proud of the hard work she's put in this season and her accomplishments at USCSA Nationals. I hope she had a good trip to Mt. Batchelor. She's certainly got the awards to show for a good week. It's almost time for her to head back to Maine, just ahead of another huge snowstorm. She's got two weeks in Maine for school and practice, then it's home for spring break and we head off to Copper (Colorado) for USASA Nationals. A busy month of travel for her, then it'll be back to Maine and time to focus on classes.

BX Race Day

It seems like it took a while but she finally made it to race day. The weather all week has been snowy, then rainy. Finally today from the pictures I saw the weather cleared and they saw blue skies and sun. It was a day to get up early and head to the mountain, get geared up, and mentally prepared to race. I find it hard to not be there for the big races. While I miss not watching her race in the "regular" USASA races it's not as bad as missing the big ones. I really wish I could have been there for her but I'm already planning on Lake Placid next year.

Because of the rain yesterday they had problems today with the live feed so I couldn't watch her race. They did say they were going to have it posted later today or tomorrow so I'll watch it then. Whitney said it was a great race and she felt really good about finishing 4th. She had the 5th best time during the time trials and felt really good about that since that is her current weak spot. In one of her heats she managed to get the hole shot and was able to block one of the other racers from passing her, which made the other girl really mad. There was also a crash in one heat.

They showed the awards live on facebook tonight so I got to see Whitney get her certificate for being 1st Team All American with her fourth place finish. She also got one later for being 2nd Team Scholar All American. As a "team" UMF women's bx finished tied for 6th. Pretty good since she was the only one.

Tomorrow is her GS race. She's looking to have fun, finish without being disqualified. It's only her second GS race so I can't wait to see how it goes but if I had to guess she'll likely finish middle of the pack, maybe higher.

USCSA Nationals 2017, Bend, OR

Hopefully Whitney will pop in here and give us an update on how it's all going out west. I know they had a crazy start when they left Farmington on Saturday - one of the kids forgot their ski boots (really?!? You're going to a ski competition and you forget your ski boots.). They took a school van and one of the coaches drove his truck to take the gear in. They made a stop in Augusta on the way to Boston and when someone shut the backdoor of the van the window broke. Like they needed that, which meant a detour to Home Depot to get cardboard and lots of duct tape. They made it to Boston ok after that, a bit late but in plenty of time.

From what I heard their flight to JFK then the other Portland were fine. They stayed in a hotel in Portland then went to Bend in the morning. They are staying in two houses, one coach and all the guys in one; Whitney, the other girl, and the other two coaches in the other house. She said they're about 40 minutes from Mt. Batchelor, so not too far but when they go, it's for the day.

How's the weather out there, you ask? Snowy, very snowy. Whitney has sent a few pictures and they're getting lots of snow. I was talking to her today and she said that she was getting buried. Oh, and the fog was rolling in. I watched some of the video that USCSA posted of the women's slalom (ski) and it looked crazy; inches of snow on the course and definitely not ideal racing conditions.

Whitney had a bit of fun exploring today but didn't go too far off the beaten track. On a huge mountain, by herself, in the weather they're having she stuck to open spaces and also to the BX course. She didn't want to get lost or hurt somewhere off by herself. Maybe tomorrow the weather will be better for her to explore or she'll have someone to ride with her.

She sounds really excited about riding in the deep powder, riding on a volcano, and she's just having a good time. For now she can ignore race days and enjoy the scenery.

her view from the chair lift today

The Student-Athlete, A Mom's Perspective

Whitney, on the one hand loves being a student (she loves to learn) and also loves being an athlete, but as she said the other day it's very stressful at times being a student-athlete in college. While she does a winter sport her season is very long especially now that she's in Maine. Her dry land training starts in mid-October in the gym and outside. Being in Maine the snow season is long but thankfully the competitive season isn't quite the same length. Snow starts falling in late October and lasts until late April or May but on-slope practices don't start until late November. The competitive season runs from January through early April so that makes for a long season. She's working for her sport from mid-October until April, all the while trying to go to class, study, and keep up her grades. I think she'll be happy in mid-April just to hit the slopes and have some fun on them, not trying to perfect her landing or find the right line.

Her dad and I are so proud of all she's accomplished, both in the classroom and on the slopes. She's working so hard to learn and good grades are the benefit of all her hard work. She's also working really hard on her sport, to better herself, to be a top competitor. There is a downside to all of this - lots of stress. In some ways I'm glad I'm far away; she's had to figure out how to balance school, snowboarding, her meager social life on her own which has been a great growing experience. It would be nice to be closer to be able to give her a hug when everything gets overwhelming but she knows we're here and she can call anytime to dump on us about the stresses of life.

One thing I really appreciate about UMF is the professors. She is very proactive in talking with them at the beginning of the semester and letting them know when she'll be gone for snowboarding events and they all have been more than willing to work with her. I realize that since she's in a school sponsored sport they kind of have to work with her but I think they're happy to because they see she's a dedicated student and is trying to work with them. Not all students will tell the professor on day 2 of class when they'll be gone later in the semester. The other good thing about this particular semester is that she's got three professors that she's had before so they know her and know she'll get the work done, either while she's gone or as soon as she's back.

It's hard to balance classes, studying, projects and papers, friends, practice, competitions some of which are far away, but she's finding her way. Stress, unfortunately, is a college student's best friend and adding a sport into the mix of the usual college stressors just ups the anxiety and stress. The wins and support of your family and teammates make it worth it. Rising in the ranks of the competition world make it worth it. Figuring out balance in your life is a great learning experience especially for those reaching for the stars.

For us, as parents, it's great to see her pushing herself in her academics and her sport. It makes it even better to see her succeeding in both. It's also pretty great to see other people supporting her and acknowledging her hard work. Her coaches at Massanutten have told us how proud they are of her and what she's doing in snowboarding. In a "crazy how small the world is" situation I heard from my sister from some of her connections that Whitney is highly spoken of at school for how well she's doing in academics and snowboarding. It's always nice to hear that kind of stuff.

Here's to her continued success in everything she does!

She's Packing

It's getting close to departure time for USCSA Nationals at Mt. Batchelor in Bend, Oregon. Whitney has been busy today - packing, going to the trainers, packing and repacking some more, oh and going to class. I've gotten a couple of calls from her trying to figure out how to pack and what to pack. The good thing is that Whitney is a pretty efficient packer and doesn't pack a bunch of extra stuff or "just in case" stuff. She packs what she needs and that's it. Of course when you're going to be gone for 10 days and will be snowboarding almost all of those you have to pack a lot.

She's got two snowboards, two pairs of bindings, I think two pairs of boots, all her waxing stuff, helmet, base layers, two pairs of board pants, lots of socks, regular clothes, her snow boots, beanies, sweatshirt, school books, and laptop. And yet she can fit it all into her snowboard bag, her duffel bag, and her backpack.

She's looking forward to the trip. She'll get to check another state visited off her list (she'll be up to 45) and see how snowboarding is out west. She's looking forward to a few days of relaxing snowboarding then she has her boardercross race on Friday and giant slalom on Saturday. They take a red-eye back on Sunday night and get back Monday afternoon to Maine.

While she's gone she's going to be writing several blog posts for me since I can't be there first hand this year. Hopefully she'll write about traveling with a college group, what she things of Oregon and the snow out there, how the races are going, and how they go specifically for her. I hope she has an awesome week!

The Truth About Life as a Student Athlete

From the student-athlete herself. This was mostly written last semester but then she got busy with school and snowboarding and just now was able to finish it. Life from her perspective - 

It’s always something that’s talked about - the challenges of being a student athlete. Phrases are tossed around like “it’ll be hard but it’s so worth it”  and “finding a balance can be hard but it’s great once you do!” There are so many more rosy colored sayings talking about being an athlete in college. They all share in saying it’ll be so worth it and that sports and academics are an incredibly rewarding thing in college. Honestly those are just ideals, glossing over what it’s actually like; at least from one athlete’s perspective.

Let me explain. Colleges, even those that bring you in for a sport, STRESS that academics come first. Bad grades = no sport, end of story. So athletes who are there for the sport over classes tend to take the easiest ones, sliding by to enjoy their time on a collegiate team. Others work hard to do well in challenging classes while being on the team. Not trying to bash any athlete here. It’s a personal choice how you pursue your education. Colleges like to boast about their athletic accomplishments and how great their sports programs are, when students have to work diligently with professors to get the time off from class and the extensions on papers to make games and practices. This inconsistency from an academic standpoint only serves to add to a student’s already stressful life.

Sure, sounds frustrating but nothing too big to handle right? Not for me. As a sophomore I am taking challenging classes that interest me and sadly finals and end of semester projects aligned just perfectly with when my sport’s season begins to take off. Coming home from practice one Sunday (an hour drive away) I realized how unglamorous this life is. Food is eaten quickly to not waste precious time, if it happens at all. Lounging around is not something that happens, no hours wasted watching Netflix or YouTube. My room over weekends often looks as though a bomb has gone off. Time can’t be spared to clean so things are left where they are dropped. Bed unmade, church clothes tossed on the pile of sheets and blankets, equipment bag open and things spilling out on the floor, board leaning against the wall drying, boots tossed aside open to air out, iron off but still plugged in and wax sitting on the floor forgotten in the rush earlier, on top of it all various textbooks and notebooks over the dresser, bed, and desk. 

How on earth do they expect anyone to remain sane? That’s right, they don’t. They care about results in the classroom and their sport - even at the cost of their students. Balance is something you can hope for and work towards but it’s not something that will last very long in your life as an athlete in college. Early morning workouts then dashing to class sweaty and gross is a requirement of progressing in your sport. Late nights working on papers because you were at practice and didn’t have time to do it earlier is a way of life. Never ending questions from others who will never know the battle about if you need a break, if you need to give up your sport, grate on the remaining nerves. Sleep is treasured yet is never acquired in large enough amounts and naps are only reserved for when you have nothing left.

That’s just the school side, taking care of your equipment is a whole other story. Living in a dorm room as it is isn’t the greatest thing in the world. But throw in the challenge of sporting equipment - in this case four snowboards, two sets of bindings, two pairs of boots, a gear bag, waxing equipment, and base and outer layers. The already cramped room becomes the perfect space to practice living in a human sized game of tetris. Not to mention trying to prep equipment; vices are mounted on desks to wax boards or various bins, boxes, or chairs are used to hold boards so they can be waxed. I have a friend who flipped their mattress up and leaned it against the wall and used their bed frame to hold their board while they waxed it. Windows have to be opened as a precaution against the fire alarm going off. Scraping the wax off, that’s just a mess. Trying to sweep up all the flakes of wax and find every little space they fluttered into while brushing the boards is a challenge.

At the end of the day it is hard. It’s not pleasant most of the time. It’s exhausting, draining, puts a strain on relationships and social life (ha, that’s funny, what social life). To many it’s worth it. But please, don’t say it’s the best time of your life or that it’ll be the greatest decision you make. It may very well be a good one, but it’s not one that should be done lightly. The worth only comes from hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, and well, puke because lactic acid is a thing when you’re an athlete. Is it worth it to me? Depends what day and time you ask me. And that’s the reality of being a ‘student athlete.’
 

What the Heck, Winter?

Winter, wherefore art thou? Why have you foresaken us?

This has been the winter that really wasn't. It took forever to get cold, we didn't get much snow, and it's already looking like mid-April. The trees are budding, some are in full bloom. Massanutten was never fully open and probably won't be open much longer. I saw today that because of the weather (70s tomorrow after rain tonight) that they're closing for the next two days although they hope to make some snow after that and reopen for the weekend. Wisp, in Western Maryland, has closed for the season. Ski areas in the Mid-Atlantic area are really hurting this year. In New England they're doing fine; they've had plenty of snow although they've had warmer than usual weather recently as well. It's the resorts in the West that hit the jackpot this year. More snow than they know what to do with, unfortunately they can't ship it east.

Winter is basically done. I only got skiing once this year and it looks like that's it until I go to Colorado. I've already decided that I'll probably get lift tickets two days we're out there but we'll see. On the one hand it's on towards spring and summer fun. On the other Whitney still has a lot of snowboarding left.