Red, White and Blue

JC Schoonmaker has finished in the points in every individual-start World Cup race he's ever competed in!  That's a perfect record!  

When you're scoring World Cup points in every World Cup you compete in, it seems pretty obvious that the US Ski Team would want you on their roster.  So it was no surprise to me when the National Team announced last week that JC made the cut and will be on the US Development Team henceforth.

If you don't know JC already, I guess you'll want to get to know him pretty soon. In my capacity as a volunteer assistant, I'm completely outside of the recruiting side of things, and I only find out who our new skiers are when they show up as freshmen for the first day of team training in the fall.  So I was pretty unfamiliar with JC a couple years ago when he arrived here. I wasn't really following junior results so didn't know who he was. Andrew, the head coach, told me that it was his understanding that JC was a likable, smart guy and a hard worker. So perhaps, if he was ready to come to UAA and really commit to becoming a fast skier... there was potential.

On the other hand, JC's friend and former Seawolf Brandon Herhusky was talking him up big time! Brandon was pretty adamant that Andrew and Marine needed to recruit JC and that he was going to become really good.  "Just wait and see" said Brandon.

I was immediately impressed by the way JC approached his first couple months of training when he arrived here as a freshman in 2018. Always on time, prepared, focused, just kind of quietly doing his thing, and not drawing much attention to himself.  So maybe that's why I was a little surprised when the racing season started and he was finishing near the top of the result sheets.  Before I quite realized what was happening, he'd almost qualified for World Juniors, he'd gotten himself an RMISA podium result, and he qualified for NCAAs.  His freshman year caught me by surprise a little bit, but it wasn't a surprise for JC. He was disappointed that he didn't qualify for World Juniors, and he wasn't satisfied with his results at the NCAA Championships, either.

Obviously JC worked hard last summer, because he raised his game again this past winter as a sophomore. He won the qualifying round at the US Nationals sprint race, which qualified him to race in a World Cup in Germany in January. Though he hasn't won any college races yet, he's been steadily climbing the result lists in the RMISA races and was an NCAA All-American this past year, as a sophomore.

But it's his World Cup success that got JC a spot on the national team. His college coach needed to talk him into flying to Dresden for the race, but it looks like he made the right decision in agreeing to attend.  I don't know if any American junior skiers have ever scored World Cup points in the past, but I doubt it.  

Photo credit:  Faster Skier

This US Ski Team nomination will give JC some training opportunities that can help accelerate his progress - training camps with his contemporaries like Schumacher, Jager, Ogden, Wonders, etc. Surrounding yourself with good, high-achieving athletes goes a long way to improving your game. In my view, JC's in a great spot right now, with his regular training group of very fast, motivated college teammates, combined with occasional training opportunities with a handful of guys who aspire to be future World Cup winners. For someone with JC's work ethic and focus, there's a real opportunity for him to make big gains this coming year.

The days of me being surprised by JCs results are probably behind me now. I think maybe I've joined the Brandon Herhusky cheerleading squad. This coming year, it's going to take a lot for JC to impress me. I've made some adjustments in my thinking and my expectations are quite high.

The Graduates

The girls stopped by my house the other day to say good-bye. I really appreciated their taking the time to do so because I know they were frantically rushing around, doing last minute errands and trying to get their affairs in order before boarding a flight out of Alaska at 5:30 the following morning. It was very thoughtful of them.

Fall 2016. Natalie and Michaela; Pietro and Zacke

The last time I saw them was in Montana, two months ago!  We went from spending most of the winter together, traveling around the USA, going to ski races and living in the same houses, to sudden Coronavirus isolation. Toom and I had spent the morning racing in the Yellowstone Rendezvous marathon while the rest were out training for NCAA's.  The athletes piled into the van to make the short drive back to Bozeman, and I said through open windows, "see you in a few days".  But it turned out to be two months.

Casey and Natalie in New Hampshire.  2017

We had a large incoming freshman class of women four years ago. Thus, half of our women's team graduated from college last week. Three of our graduating women are going to give it a go as full time pro ski racers. 

Sara and Michaela in Vail. 2017

Hannah and Michaela boarded a flight bound for Minneapolis, along with Tuva. But there their paths will soon diverge. Tuva's headed home to Oslo for the summer as soon as she can find a flight.

  

Before any of us met Michaela

After a couple weeks' visit at home, Michaela is headed East, to join Team Green in Craftsbury, Vermont.  I don't have to tell you that Michaela will have some fast skiers to train with in Craftsbury.  But I can also say from personal experience that there is plenty of good running, hiking and rollerskiing in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom.

Casey, Michaela and Anna in Vermont. 2019

Hannah, on the other hand, is headed west.  She's joining Andy Newell's new team in Bozeman, Montana.  She told me she's looking forward to joining the team and she thinks it'll be a really good fit.  It's also worth noting that her younger sister is on the Montana State University Ski Team. 

Hannah and Sara in Vail. 2017

As for Anna, she's going to stick around here. She's joining APU, which seems an obvious choice, given the program's success as well as the excellent training spots and the early-season snow nearby.  Why would Anna go anywhere else if she wants to take her skiing career further?

Natalie. Fall 2016

My understanding is Natalie made a run for the border during the first weeks of Coronavirus, and she's holed up at home in Whitehorse with her college degree, ready for the next thing, whatever that may be.

February 2017 in Vail, Colorado. Hannah, Sadie, Michaela, Mario, Marcus, Zacke, Toomas, Pietro

"Maybe I Had Too Much Wine and Cheese at Christmas"

Just like you, I'm on CV19 lockdown here at home.  Nothing to do all day; can't get out for adventures; running out of ways to occupy my time.  So lately I've been spending my days perusing the world's skiing publications and periodicals.  I had no idea there were so many!  Seems we here in the USA aren't the only ones who like ski racing.  I've been devoting one day to each country's skiing magazines.  Today: France.

Erik at the 2011 NCAA Championships in Stowe, Vermont

And look what I found! A full article dedicated to our friend and former Seawolf Erik Bjornsen's professional ski career!  

I'm sure you're well aware of Erik's recent decision to step away from the World Cup circuit and shift his focus in a new direction. It's pretty much the news of the week in American cross-country skiing. Faster Skier wrote a nice article about him a few days ago.

But the beauty of the internet is that it allows you to read articles from 'round the world.  So here's a chance to brush up on your French. Any article that starts with "Il est le plus francophone des fondeurs américains" when discussing Erik Bjornsen is mandatory reading material. In this article, Erik recalls the highlights and favorite memories from his World Cup skiing career. Read all about it here or just click on the picture below.  

ps. I've translated a little bit of the article for you in the title. For the rest of it, you're on your own. Don't read French yet?  Take a French class - they're offered pretty much everywhere.