Dear Austin,
I’ve liked you ever since you first arrived in Alaska.
You’ve always been such a great guy to train with, to travel with, and to race
with. Everyone on this team has benefited from your experience and wisdom, and
we like your taste in music, too. We’ve had a few good laughs over the past year, and your teammates clearly like and respect you.
We are a team who always supports one another. We encourage each other and we want our teammates to succeed. This past weekend in Vail, however, you really went above and beyond for one of your teammates. You knew that Hannah needed a little extra motivation for this weekend’s race – just that little extra incentive to help her find her way into the top five on the result list in this weekend’s college race. Being the true teammate that you are, you knew just what it would take to help Hannah reach her full potential, and score a ton of points for our UAA Ski Team this weekend.
And that is why you now have Hannah’s name tattooed on the inside of your lip.
During Hannah’s second of two laps on Saturday, when I was
giving splits and shouting encouragement on Minnesota Hill, it was clear that
Hannah was skiing an inspired final two kilometers. She was going much faster
than anybody else at that point, and she was quickly moving up through the
field, going from somewhere just outside the top ten at the halfway point, to
fourth place by the time she crossed the finish line. I could see that she had
a look of determination on her face as she charged past me and I assumed it was
because her parents had come all the way from the Land of 10,000 Lakes and were
standing just 30 meters farther up the hill than me. But now I know that in fact she had visions
of her name gloriously displayed inside your lower lip. (Although I can’t
completely discount the effect of Craig and Kim being there; I’m sure their
presence helped, too.)
Lately, I’ve been hearing Skiwolves using the term “#oneteam”
when referring to our little gang of misfits and freaks. I don’t really know
what that term means because I don’t speak Instagram, but I think you’re
probably the living embodiment of the sentiment behind the hashtag. After all,
it takes an enormous load of generosity and integrity to not only promise to
get a tattoo to help motivate a teammate, but then to follow through and stay
true to your word. I like Hannah. And I like her name, too. If I were to get a
name tattooed on my body, I think the name “Hannah” would be fairly high on my
list of options. Nevertheless, I probably wouldn’t get the name Hannah, or any
other name, tattooed on my body unless I had a real good reason. You told me
yesterday that “Hannah earned it.” That may be true, but you have earned my
respect for your integrity and your willingness to help out a teammate.
I know I have a bit of a reputation as a teller of tales
from years gone by on the UAA Ski Team. I can tell you today with sincerity
that the story of Austin, Hannah, and the tattoo will be a tale that will be
told enthusiastically for as long as I’m involved with this team. And by the
grace of the good Lord above, that will be for many more years to come.
Sincerely,
Your Friend Adam
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