Last week, I read a blog where the person wrote about an
activity they really enjoyed: skiing. This inspired me to profess my own love
for the sport. So here it goes.
I would say that my experiences with skiing are much
different from those of a typical kid
here at RMHS. For many, skiing is a fun hobby that usually happens once or
twice a winter. For me, it is a sport and a lifestyle. I started skiing when I
was 2 and a half, and I basically haven't stopped. My family drives up to North
Conway, NH every weekend in the winter,
two and a half hours each way. I would ski every Saturday and Sunday in an
organized group with an instructor; and
since 5th grade, I have been involved in ski racing.
So what does ski racing entail? a lot. First off, you wake
up early. On a good day, I sleep in until 7am. Sometimes on race days, I get to
wake up as early as 4:30am to drive to mountains all over NH. Most days go from
8-3, where I run practice courses set up by our coaches. There have been days
where I have only skied one trail the entire day! At the end of most days my
feet ache, my back hurts, and I usually have bruises from hitting gates. You're
probably thinking right now why do I even do this?
Well for one, I like it. I really like it. I love skiing and
I have come to love racing and training. It has become such a big part of my
life that I couldn't imagine my winters without it. Of course, this lifestyle
requires sacrifices. I rarely spend winter weekends or vacations down in
Reading. This means that I'm away from friends and basically life in Reading
for most of the winter. But luckily I have developed a second life in NH and
have made many close friends from skiing.
Now although I do train an exorbitant number of hours each
weekend, I know that I'm not making it to the Olympics or anything. But I realized
something while I was free skiing with some cousins at Loon Mountain last
weekend. I may be an average racer, but I am still a fantastic skier. And over
the years of hard work, I have developed the technique and skill that gives me
the confidence to ski anywhere and everywhere in the world. This may be my last
year in the racing program, but I know I have a lot of skiing left to do.
It's liberating once you let go of the pure competitive aspect of a sport and just learn to enjoy the activity for what it is. It's refreshing to just accept that you're not going to be able to pursue the sport professionally and once you let go of that lingering competitive aspect, you can focus on others parts of the sport that are more important: community, friendships, teamwork, and just doing something you enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI've felt the same way about soccer for a while now. I'm not good enough to play for a college or anything beyond that, so I knew high school soccer would be the peak of my career. That being said, having played for so long I can hop in any pickup game and feel confident in my ability to keep up, not to mention I have developed a love for the sport itself.
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