Jack sounded pretty determined to get this up on the blog. So here it is. Our thanks goes out to all the Parents for their support this season. As coaches we love hearing great stories of how the team is supporting each other. Jack great insight on this past weekend thanks.
Dear Parker, Patrick and Torey -
It's Monday morning, and after the drive home from Middlebury last evening I've had a chance to reflect on the weekend's events.
Several words come to mind - patience, persistence, hard work, focus, strength of character, characters (yes, you've got a bunch of them), and achievement.
As the very proud Dad of Saturday's VT Cup Final slalom winner, I am especially grateful to all of you for the role you've had in Peter's life the past few winters. This weekend I saw firsthand Peter taste again for a moment the success that hard work realizes. While there is still much for him to learn, the experience he's gained from you all will serve him well long after his ski racing career has begun to wind down. For that I can only say thank you to each of you.
For me the pleasure of being at the race on Saturday was to see Peter thrill in his achievement. Of course collecting the hardware is great, but as a parent it was the big smile on Peter's face as he realized his accomplishment for that race.
Sunday provided an all together different kind of thrill as I stood at the bottom of the course at the Middlebury Snow Bowl. While I'm sure Peter is personally pleased with his result, what particularly struck me about the day was the overall sense of support the KMS athletes provided for one another as they came to the finish line. Whether it was directing one another's attention to the next teammate coming down the hill, or cheering enthusiastically as first one and then another had a great result - high fives, woops and slaps on the back seemed to be the order of the day. Each of your athletes really seemed to genuinely care about the others, and to have a word of encouragement, a friendly barb and a collective thrill in what they were doing.
As coaches I know that you may get to see this from time to time, but on race day perhaps not as much as your focus is on the task at hand, as one after another the boys leave the gate or race through the viewfinder on the video camera.
It was great to see this display of sportsmanship and support for each other among your athletes. It speaks volumes about how you coach the guys and also about the expectations that KMS imparts on their skiers. In a sport which focuses so much on individual accomplishment it is wonderful to observe that the boys haven't lost their perspective so much that they can't share in one another's accomplishments.
Job well done by all of you............many thanks for all that you do.
Keep feeding the wolves!!
Jack
1 comment:
Jack, great comments!
While the season is long and grueling, it sure seems to go by in the blink of an eye. I am proud that my son is part of such a great group of young men. We have known many of them since they were Devos……with one pair of skis (I miss that). Some we have only gotten to know more recently. It’s been great watching all of them compete this year. In addition to the guys on the first page of the results, my hat is off to all the other athletes as well. Some of these guys may never win a race, but their hard work, dedication, and commitment to their personal goals is impressive. Great job guys!
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