Avery Colby & The Ski Team

Avery Colby & The Ski Team

Skiing: it’s fun, entertaining, and very competitive, especially for the Nashoba Regional Ski team. It has been around for a long time, but it doesn’t exactly get a whole lot of recognition or fans at the races. Skiing has been used as a form of transportation for hundreds of years; in the mid-1800’s, skiing was first practiced as a sport with a variety of race styles and even some jumping competitions. Skiing grew rapidly in popularity and it eventually became the major, international sport that it is today.

I got the chance to sit down with our school’s Senior ski team captain, Avery Colby. He has been skiing since he was three years old, and plans to ski for the rest of his life because he loves it so much. Avery has skied at Nashoba for the last four years and he thoroughly enjoys the time spent with his teammates.

When asked how the lack of snow has been affecting the team, Avery responded that “[i]t’s been pretty tough. We have had to postpone a race and we have had to cancel mountain practices; not only that but the fake snow that the mountain has to use isn’t as close to as good as real snow. On real snow you just glide man, its awesome. On the fake snow you can’t go as fast as you would on the real snow and you stick more on the fake snow; it’s difficult.”

Captain Colby commented on whether skiing was more of a mental or physical sport: “Yes, it’s definitely a mental sport in my opinion. You have to always be aware of what’s coming ahead because you don’t want to miss any gates coming up. You have to be in decent shape as well. We only have six total meets a year, so when you get out there and represent your school you really want to do well.”

When asked where he got his love for skiing from, he said, “[w]hen I was a kid, I started going to the mountain with my parents. I started to fall in love with it. Also, our house in New Hampshire has that kind of ski culture surrounding it, so it was easy for me to start enjoying it.”

Even with a brief discussion with an avid skier like Avery, one gains a greater appreciation for skiers and for the sport itself. Let’s go Nashoba Ski Team!