Meet Joe

Ok, so in our previous posts we introduced you to the team members and to half the coaching staff. Today we'll wrap this up with a bio on 10th year head coach Joe Connelly.

Hometown: Burlington, VT. Grew up in upstate NY (Glenville, Rotterdam, Schenectady). Born in Tacoma, WA.

High School: Scotia-Glenville, class of 1983

College: Saint Michael's, 1987

Major: Accounting

Occupation: Prior to coaching I was an accountant for 13 years. These days, in addition to coaching I'm Technical Coordinator for RunVermont. We produce the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon, First Run Burlington, and Half Marathon Unplugged. I do a lot of course design and race implementation.

Preference - Skate or Classic: I like a mix. I probably ski classic more often these days because the terrain we train on seems more suited to good classic skiing.

Favorite distance: I don't race enough any more to have a "favorite distance". For training I love long classic days.

Favorite ski venue: Sleepy Hollow in Huntington, VT (everything except the driveway)

Favorite trail to ski: So many choices, tough to choose so I'll give you a bunch...At Trapps: Hare Line and the 40 Year Trail...At Sleepy Hollow: Hinesburg Hill Loop...At Jackson: Ellis River Trail

Favorite race course: Oak Hill

This season I am most looking forward to: Lary and I nailing the wax every time out. For the team, I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone racing to the best of their ability late in the season.

My most memorable race: Lots of great choices from back in the day, but I'm going to go with the 2010 Ichabod's Revenge at Sleepy Hollow. I always say that coaches should have to race at least once a year so that we remember what it is we're asking the athletes on our teams to do, but I definitely don't race enough. Ichabod's last winter was the first race I actually tried to ski a good race (for me, it's all relative these days) in quite a few years. It hurt! But my form held together and even though I was slow I felt like I accomplished what I set out to do.

Meet Lary

Lary Martell is the assistant coach of the team. Like the info for the team itself here's a little bio on Big Lar:

Hometown: Georgia Vermont
High school and town, year of graduation: BFA St. Albans, class of 1975
College, year of graduation: Johnson State College, completed in 1979
Major(s), minor(s:) BA Business Administration
Occupation: besides coaching, Real Estate Development with a concentration in new home construction.
Preference - Skate or Classic: I really enjoy skating on hard packed snow with rolling terrain, but given a choice I would ski Classic everyday.
Favorite distance: As a Master ski racer I like 50K races.
Favorite ski venue: There no place like Craftsbury.
Favorite trail to ski: I would have to go with Sam’s Run at Craftsbury.
My favorite race course: The Bogburn.
This season I am most looking forward to: This season on the men’s side I am looking forward seeing Colin and Bear hammer the competition, leaving them looking at the results page and shaking their heads in disbelief.
The women’s team is wide open, if you gave Gabby a drum and put her in a pink suit with long ears the "Energizer battery" people would sue for copy right infringements. Denise has a competitive edge and a motor to back it up. Her potential is unlimited. Katlyn improved with every race last year, but still has a lots to prove. She has been putting in the time needs to do so. Larissa has solid technique to build on and her conditioning has improved weekly. She has the motivation to put all it together this winter. I expect to see her climb the results page in every race. Sam has proven that when she is on she can mix it up with the fast kids. With the consistent hard work she has put in for preseason I am looking forward to Sam placing well with consistency. Silke skates with power and as she trains with quality over distance and long intervals, she will be able to better use her upper body strength and technique to the get to the finish line with solid results. Over all I am looking forward to the St Michael’s Women’s Nordic team stepping up and being a big part of college racing this season.
My most memorable race: “Bolton Valley December, 1975” I was a Freshmen on the BFA high school Nordic team. It was the first year BFA offered Nordic skiing and our first race of the season, and yes, my 1st Nordic race. “It was back when skis were made of wood and men of steel” (I had to throw that in). The race was an individual start. I started toward the back of the field. I remember flying by all of these guys thinking “boy, Burlington High School has a lot of skiers on their team” It was't until I skied through the finish and handed my bib to the “bib lady” that I realized that all the Bibs were printed with Burlington High School. Right, I may not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer but I was the most excited about ski racing. Its been nearly 40 years since that race and I am still excited about ski racing. I have raced in countless races and have made hundreds of friends on the trails. I look forward to many more races and the good times and friends they bring.

Week 1 o' snow.

The penultimate week of the Fall semester has come to end and finals are in a break for me, so I decided to post a quick update. Our first strides in snow of the season were made a week ago with a ski on Smuggler's Notch road, which was full of skiers getting their first tracks of the season. After the deluge of snow on Monday night, we were able to start skiing at Sleepy Hollow.

First Day going to Sleepy excitement!

The girls got a team picture (minus Silke) from the cabin...

We got our first race of the season in at the Bolton Opener on Sunday. Conditions were adverse to say the least, but it was a good opportunity to see some of the competition we'll be up against all season (namely UVM and Middlebury).

Bear lapping through

Gabi and Katlyn like cheering

Colin charging to the finish

All in all, it was a successful first race effort of the season. Next up are the Eastern Cup Openers wherever they end up.

Until next time...

...YAY SKIING!

-Colin

Meet the Skiers

Taking a cue from our Alpine Team's blog (http://smcskiteam.blogspot.com/) we thought we'd give you some basic biographical info on our 8 Nordic Team racers this year...

Name: Colin Delaney
Hometown: Lake Placid, NY
High School: National Sports Academy
Class of: 2013
Major: Environmental Engineering
Skate or Classic?: Skate
Favorite distance: 10k-15k
Favorite ski venue: Mt Van Hoevenberg
Favorite trail to ski: Porter Mountain Loop for training, Biathlon 5k for racing
This season I am most looking forward to: "Having fun and improving on results from last year"
Most memorable race from the past: 20k skate 2010 SLU Carnival. Also, the Team Sprint From the 2009 World Junior Nordic Combined Championships in Stebske Pleso, Slovakia.

Name: Silke Hynes
Hometown: Burlington, Ontario
High School: Milton District HS
Class of: 2014
Major: Environmental Studies
Skate or Classic?: Skate, with a gun on my back
Favorite distance: 7.5k Biathlon
Favorite ski venue: Canmore
Favorite trail to ski: Canmore 1.5k Biathlon Loop
This season I am most looking forward to: "Racing straight Nordic for the first time. I'm so used to doing Biathlon that something new will be fun."
Most memorable race from the past: 2010 US Youth Team trials. I did some of my best shooting, some of my best skiing, and I had a lot of fun.

Name: Katlyn Keane
Hometown: Bethel, ME
High School: Telstar Regional HS
Class of: 2013
Major: Spanish
Skate or Classic?: "I thought I liked skate better, but now that Lary taught me how to classic I'm not so sure"
Favorite distance: 10k
Favorite ski venue: Trapp Family Lodge
Favorite trail to ski: Breadloaf Touring Center, First Loop -> Craig's Hill -> Figure 8 for racing. For training, Sugar Road at Trapps.
This season I am most looking forward to: "A stronger team than last year both on and off the trails...Preseason!"
Most memorable race from the past: 2010 SLU Carnival. At the end of the skate, my first 10k, I asked the guy who was collecting bibs what place I got. Since he was putting the lid on the bib bin we can all guess what that was.

Name: Samantha Martell
Hometown: Georgia, VT
High School: BFA St Albans
Class of: 2012
Major: Math and Secondary Education
Skate or Classic?: Classic
Favorite distance: 10k
Favorite ski venue: Craftsbury
Favorite trail to ski: Trapps Race Loop
This season I am most looking forward to: "The UVM Carnival. I love when my friends and roommates come and watch local races and cheer us on!"
Most memorable race from the past: The 15k classic at Trapps last year was pretty memorable. I was very surprised the 15k ended up being my best race of the season. In high school I loved the 5k skates, so this was a big turn around.

Name: Gabrielle Naranja
Hometown: Fort Kent, ME
High School: Community HS of Fort Kent
Class of: 2014
Major: Undecided
Skate or Classic?: I really love classic, but tend to do better in skate
Favorite distance: Who's counting?
Favorite venue: Tenth Mountain
Favorite trail to ski: One that hasn't been skied before
This season I am most looking forward to: "Eating up the hills."
Most memorable race from the past: 2010 County Ski Meet because of the girl's team pyramid

Name: Robert "Bear" Sitzer
Hometown: Lenox, MA
High School: Lenox Memorial HS
Class of: 2012
Majors: Business/Accounting
Skate or Classic?: Skate
Favorite distance: 20k
Favorite venue: Sugarloaf or Prospect
Favorite trail to ski: Mixed Woods at Notchview Reservation
This season I am most looking forward to: "Looking forward to racing against new and old competitors, as well as chilling with my team a lot."
Most memorable race from the past: (Bear skipped this question)

Name: Larissa Spaulding
Hometown: Jackson, NH
High School: Kennett HS
Class of: 2013
Majors: French/Environmental Studies
Skate or Classic?: They're both kind of awesome
Favorite distance: 5k
Favorite venue: Jackson Touring Center
Favorite trail to ski: The Wave at Jackson
This season I am most looking forward to: "Finally getting a chance to race in college after missing last season after knee surgery."
Most memorable race from the past: J2 sprints in 2007

Almost done with roller skiing for another year

This morning the team tackled the Bolton access road on roller skis and on foot. Usually this is a straight up classic roller ski or run - or a skate ski for those who are particularly intent on digging deep into the pain cave. Today it was 4.5k of roller skiing into 2.5k of running because the steep curve was too snowy to ski.

A brief pause at the bottom before we get rolling (Katlyn Keane, Lary Martell (Asst Coach), Larissa Spaulding, Colin Delaney, Denise Malm, Sam Martell, Gabi Naranja, Bear Sitzer)

Colin

Sam

Larissa

Katlyn

Denise, post roller ski meltdown

Bear and Gabi

Katlyn, Lary and Larissa - last section before we switch to running shoes

(posted by Joe, who still has to learn how captions work)

Snow Dances and training!

Hey everybody, Larissa here, kinda new to this whole blogging thing so I'll give my best shot! I'm currently a Sophomore at SMC. I started out training last year with the team, blew out my knee, but now I am back looking forward to racing this season! I'm from Jackson NH, near Mt Washington for those of you that have heard of that mountain... I went to Kennett High School were I skied for three years, (freshman year I was out with broken ribs, kinda a klutz), but my most memorable race from the past would have to be the sprints at J2s my Sophomore year. It was fast and it was fun! It was so different than racing a 5K and I really enjoyed it. Something about that burst of speed, giving it all you've got and then BAM, you're done. So fun, hope to race some sprints at some point this season. I am currently majoring in French and Environmental Studies with no overall plan what I want to do with my life!

But back to skiing, I don't really have a preference for skate or classic, I like skate for speed and classic for distance, they're both kind of awesome. I've never raced a 10K only 5Ks in high school and the 25K at Craftsbury with my mother when I was I think 13. SO I am excited to try racing a 10K, should be fun! I grew up skiing all over the Mount Washington Valley but I would have to say my current favorite is Jackson Ski Touring. They have my favorite trail, The Wave, which is now a NCAA classified race trail or something like that. They did a ton of work on it, making it so it doesn't need that much snow, so it's always the first thing I get to ski. Plus, as the name sort of hints at, it's like a wave, plenty of up and down!! It's a fun ride!

I am really looking forward to this season, I've always wanted to race in college and this year I finally get to do it so I am pumped!! I really cannot wait for snow at this point, it's got to be coming soon!! Keep those fingers crossed for cold weather and rock those snow dances!

So far training has been fantastic. Got some good workouts in this week, early morning roller ski intervals with the girls and hill bounding this afternoon. It's been hard at times but it's been fun! So that's all I can think about right now, more later!

Peace
Larissa

Colin Delaney's Blog Debut

Hello Nordic Ski Fans (I guess),

Look at the picture at the top of this page and you'll see me in the back row 6 deep from the left. I'm one of four returning skiers this year, and looking forward to another successful year.

So...assuming you're on the East coast, you're aware of our lack of white precipitation as of late. I did manage to get out on some snow in Lake Placid over Thanksgiving break though.

This hilariously staged photo features my parents along with a friend.

It was a little...sketchy, but was kicking and gliding just the same. Other than that taste of what's to come, my Autumn has consisted largely of biking, running, hiking, roller skiing, ski jumping, etc. Today we got in a nice roller ski through a deluge of slush. Hoping it's sticking at Sleepy Hollow!

6 weeks 'til carnival #1 at my home course! We'll be keeping you updated until then....

-Colin

A Little Bit of Snow...

It started snowing last night and into this morning. It's not exactly dumping, but it's going to make the rollerski I'm procrastinating right now a little slick...

A view out the front window of my house

It's a little bit white...

I'm crossing my fingers that it looks like this and then some on the mountains...with snow like this in Georgia I think it's safe to say that we'll at least be on the Notch Road at some point this week.

Stowe webcams

Let it snow...

Maybe tonight I can add an update and we'll have piles and piles...wishful thinking?

-Sam

Welcome to Our Blog!

Welcome to the Saint Michael’s College Nordic Team blog. The team asked me to put together an introduction, but what one of our recent graduates sent gets to the heart of who we are far better than anything I could say…

“Nordic Skiing at Saint Michael's College is one of the best competitive opportunities that our Division II school has to offer. We race in the EISA against all of the best college skiers in New England, allowing us the opportunity to see what the potential is for Nordic ski racing. Our competition is fierce but it is rewarding to know that you have competed against the very best.

We are a small and developing program with athletes coming from a plethora of backgrounds. Some have never skied before, but many were solid high school skiers; most have competed on a regional or national level, and we even have been graced with biathletes and Nordic-combined skiers. This range of abilities gives our team a balanced perspective of the different aspects of competitive skiing. For some athletes, just finishing a 15 km race is the goal while others strive to qualify for the NCAA Championship races at the end of the season.

The best thing about our program is that no matter what your ability level is, we are happy to have you on board and share this great sport with you. We don't compete against each other for spots on the Carnival racing team, we give everyone an opportunity to get some experience and we support each other throughout every race and workout. Our team attitude is markedly positive and upbeat as we challenge each other to improve and bond during the many months of dryland as well as during winter racing season.”

We hope you enjoy our occasional updates. If you’re an alumnus of the Saint Michael’s Nordic Team or a friend of the program we would love to hear from you, please drop us a line!

- Joe Connelly, Head Coach