A new nordic
Nordic ski team preps for a new season

Laura Hartman| staff writer

The St. Michael's Nordic Ski Team will be hitting the books as well as the slopes this year.  After four students on the team were named academic All-American athletes last spring, the team is keeping academics at the top of their priorities.

Making grades

Two nordic skiers tune their skis before a race. Photo courtesy of St. Michael's athletic department.

In order to receive the academic All-American award, a student must ski at the last two carnival races in Middlebury and maintain a GPA of at least 3.5 in the fall semester, sophomore skier Lauren Fereshetian says. 

Last year, the Nordic ski team ranked third out of all St. Michael's teams in GPA standings, teammate Maia Titcomb says.  “I'm really happy about that,” she says.

Academics are heavily stressed, says coach Joe Connelly. There are usually between two and four students on the team who receive the All-American award every year, he says.

Keeping up with schoolwork isn't easy with such a demanding practice schedule, Titcomb says.  The hardest part, she says, is having enough time because practice takes all afternoon.

“It went pretty well last year,” she says.  “We'll see about this year.”

Being on the ski team means lots of work on Sundays, getting prepared ahead of time, working with professors, and handing homework in early, she says.  Fereshetian will be taking more credits next semester, and will have to do prep work over Christmas break to keep up, she says.

“It's a lot of long nights,” Fereshetian says.

Connelly is very understanding about academics as a first priority, Titcomb says.  He allows his skiers to take the time to catch up on work if needed.

“He's been very good,” she says.

New look

The team began this year’s training in September, Connelly says.  Having full team practices in the fall is hard, he says, because he also coaches the St. Michael’s cross-country team.  Instead, skiers have the opportunity to meet individually or practice on their own. Much of September is focused on strength training, and the team starts running around November, Fereshetian says.

Gary Levante at a race last season. Photo courtesy of St. Michael's athletic deptartment

The team has 10 workouts per week, including six aerobic workouts and four strength workouts, Connelly says.

Having fun is also important, Titcomb says. 

“I don't want it to be all work and no play, but I don't want it to be the opposite either,” she says.

“I feel like they're all having fun right now,” Connelly says. 

The amount of time between races can make it difficult, and the season is over so fast, he says.

Fereshetian, who has been skiing since middle school, says she really likes the team and being able to do both the skiing part and the academics.

Always stretch

The team will race six times in six weeks on Fridays and Saturdays beginning the weekend before classes start for the spring semester at Bates College in Maine, Connelly says. 

“It's good that the season is so short,” Titcomb says. “The season falls during a time when classes are just starting up.”

The nordic team at a race last season. Photo courtesy of St. Michael's athletic department

St. Michael’s hosts races every other year, and will not host this year, Connelly says.  The closest race to home this year will be against the University of Vermont (UVM) and will take place in Stowe during the first weekend in February.

Titcomb's goal for this year is to improve her racing time and work more on technique, she says.  Her favorite part of racing is crossing the finish line, knowing that all the training has paid off, she says.

“There's a great satisfaction in finishing a race,” she says.

While he thought the team's progress was great at this time last year, he is blown away by their progress this year, he says.

“One of the things I'm most excited about is the four or five women who came back,” he says. “They came back in very good shape.”

Connelly's goal for this year is to keep developing, have people show up, and keep improving, he says.  Having a goal to place in a particular standing is limiting, and because there are no divisions in skiing, the team must compete against the whole league, he says.

Dartmouth, UVM, and Middlebury have been at the top of the standings the top three in over the last few years.  Connelly likes competing at the top level because he says it makes everyone work towards overcoming the best.

“There's more value in that, I think,” he says.