John read an article about how Norwegians train their Olympic winners. The fact is, they don't train kids to be Olympians. They actually don't let kids compete in ski sports until they are teenagers. Until then, they just expose kids to all sorts of sports and the number one goal is to have fun and enjoy it. So, when the kids caught wind of a friendly free ski (extreme ski) competition happening at Smuggs, we were conflicted. Like the ski race, they really hadn't had any instruction on how to compete in a competition such as this, but they were excited to give it a try. Plus, it was a gorgeous day and conditions were perfect.
Cally went in the first group. She skied a great line and had great form with a lot of flow. Hazen was in the second group. He skied an aggressive line and took way more risk than the rest of the kids. He never actually fell, but he also didn't land some of his jumps with the smoothness and flow that they were looking for. But, both kids had a ball.
Peter Hawkes, the father of a young man who lost his life in a free ski competition out west when he was at his prime, started the Flyin' Ryan organization. He is all about promoting following Ryan's core principles. He spoke to all the participants of the contest at the awards ceremony. He told the kids that they are all winners today because they challenged themselves and followed his son's core principles:
Never stop exploring life
Never lose my adventuresome spirit
Be the best friend I can be
Be the best brother, son, uncle I can be
Play like I am 13
Look out for others
Look out for myself
Look out for our surroundings
Be self-sufficient
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Work hard
Live easy
Live simply
The top five finishers from each age group were called up to the podium. Cally placed 4th! To see the smile on her face was one of the greatest gifts. She was not expecting it and was so proud of herself. She beamed from ear to ear. She is not the competitive one in our family, but I could tell that she felt the sweet feeling of success.
Hazey was a bit disappointed by his results (he was 13th out of 18 U10 boys). He didn't really understand why he didn't get a better score because he felt like he skied well. There might have been a few tears, but one of the free ski coaches saw what was happening and promptly gave Hazen a bunch of compliments about his skiing and he bounced back pretty quickly. That said, I think it was a good lesson for all. Hazey steals the spotlight sometimes, because he goes big and that strokes his ego-- sometimes too much. I hate to see him disappointed, but I hope he learned a little through the experience. Before the scores came in, he felt good about his race. Ultimately, that is what really matters-- Feeling good and having fun. He certainly has drive. He just needs to reign it in a little and make sure he uses it to his advantage. Then he'll be able to do anything.
Meanwhile, Mansfield Nordic ended with an awards ceremony. Cally got the "Brazen Downhiller" award and Hazen got the "Young and Determined" award. I think that sums both of them up pretty well.
Enjoying dad being back in town!
Another highlight of the week was getting out to ski a new part of the backcountry with John. He arrived back from Idaho at midnight on Sunday and we've been passing like ships in the night since his return. But, heading into the woods with a ton of snow ans fresh tracks to be had made for a happy day.
