On Ski Team

So I haven't really written much about my interesting position as one of the assistant coaches for the ski team. And it is indeed interesting. For those of you who don't know me very well, let me say this: I know nothing about skiing. Absolutely nothing. I've never skied a day in my life. I do, however, have a fair amount of knowledge on dryland, since I spent about 95% of the past 12 years doing it. Apparently ski teams do a fair amount of it as well, before the snow "flies" (a skiing term I happened to pick up; it just means "when it snows"). So, at the end of last semester, I found myself instructing kids on how to do lunges, sit ups, burpees, wall sits, all those awesome things I was hoping never to do again after last February. But hey, they pay me extra for it, so I wasn't complaining.

I'm not exactly complaining now, but hell, skiing is a cold, cold sport. Why anyone would get really into skiing is beyond me. As I mentioned above, I don't know anything about skiing, and so when this semester started, and the team started going to the slopes to practice, I had no idea what my role was to be. I soon found out that it was to be fetching lift tickets, holding an enormous drill (the cause of so much grief in my fire alarm incident) and standing at the bottom of the slope being cold. Being really, really bloody cold. I've had to invest in a new, real winter jacket (a lovely pink parka from L.L.Bean), new mittens (who knew you could pay $40 for mittens?!), and I've had to borrow a pair of actual waterproof boots from one of the captains (thank god her sister is a size 8!).

I have to say that, despite to bitter, terrible cold, I'm enjoying my time hanging out with the ski team. I don't really like to call myself a coach since I don't do anything except the bitch work, but I think the kids enjoy having me around. I joke with them, I make fun of my own ignorance of their sport, I yell at them when I have to. It's been a good way for me to get to know some students I would not otherwise have met, and I'm always grateful for the opportunity to meet new people and expand my knowledge of CA. And learning about skiing isn't so bad either, though I don't think I'll be trying it anytime soon. Too delicate, too expensive, too much gear. Give me a hot indoor pool and brute human strength anytime.

Now, for my one exciting ski story so far, other than the fire alarm, of course:

At the race this past Friday, I was standing at the bottom of the slope, per usual, taking down kids' times. The whole race area is fenced in, with a wide portion at the bottom for the kids to stop before gliding out through a small lane into the spectators. I was standing right at the end of this lane, since that's where the time board was, talking to the girl captain, when a girl from Worcester Academy decided that she wasn't going to stop and gently glide, but ski full force right into us. Now, she was going fast, and luckily realized that she was about to smash into us at the last second. She swerved enough to smash just one ski into myself and my kid, knocking herself and my captain down. The end of her ski hit my shin fairly hard, and my whole leg reverberated from the blow. It was quite crazy, and people were swarming all around trying to make sure we were ok. Luckily, only my shin and my kid's hand had been hit, and the skier, of course, was fine. I now have a big bruise for all my trouble, though I know it could have been much, much worse.

So much for overcoming my fears of skiing; now I'm equally afraid of the skiers themselves!!! There are only three more weeks in the season, so hopefully everything ends smoothly. But I think next year I'll try to stick to something I'm more familiar with.