Up and at ‘em at 6:45am for the 4th day in a row, but this time with some sunshine! As we met for our daily warmup and stretch, excitement was in the air. We had the famed Sandpits ahead of us, but first, a hike up Mad River Glen.
I don’t know about the boys, but the girls had a hard time finding clean socks and dry shoes. And one camper, who shall go unnamed, faced the dilemma of choosing between shorts that were too tight or too stinky. She went for comfort, but had to spray them down with air freshener beforehand. Off to the vans they went.
Armed with sunscreen, bug spray, sweatshirts, water bottles, pumpkin bread and toilet paper, up the mountain they went. Although I was denied an ascent due to other duties, Doug called from the top to report they had made it up in less than an hour. With such a fit crew, there was not one straggler in the group, but one very muddy shoe.
They made it back just in time for a chicken sandwich lunch, and a surprise visit from Olympian Jimmy Cochran! After refueling from the hike, Jimmy sat down with the kids to talk about racing, training, and life on the World Cup circuit. Doug started off the questions for Jimmy, but it wasn’t long before the kids were firing off a bunch of their own. How do you deal with a bad race? “You have to have a short memory.” Favorite ski drill? “Skiing on one ski.” Goals for this year? “Have fun.” What’s your pre-race routine? “Lots of free skiing and a pepsi. I’m usually too nervous to eat.” What’s your training schedule in the Summer? “I try to do something everyday. It’s usually 4-5 hard workouts in the gym each week, then lots of games like soccer, basketball & waterskiing.” Are you rich? “No. I pretty much live in my truck.”
Finally it was time for sandpits, and Jimmy was coming along for the fun. The course was in excellent shape, prepped in advance by Matt, Chad, Gunnar and Jena. After inspecting the course, the kids lined up to take two training runs and one race run. Needless to say, they loved it! There were a couple of wipe outs, one 360, and lots and lots of smiles!
To cool down and clean off, we went swimming afterwards. It was all about cannon balls, frisbees and frogs. Once back at the dorms, we spent time cleaning, packing and practicing for the talent show. Talent shows are optional at Eliteam, but as it turns out, we had many enthusiastic takers.
After a pizza dinner, it was time for Andrew’s Crazy relays. Andrew fully delivered on the craziness. Next was the highly anticipated Jello Drop competition. Apparently Gunnar has not fully mastered the art of cutting jello cubes as some were rather large for the camper’s little mouths.
Last up, the talent show. From dancing to singing to skits, we had it all! And I must say, it was an impressive field of talent. Among many others, Linna stunned us with her incredible voice, and Matt stunned us by going solo with his highly amusing Cheese Song. I only wish I had had my video camera.
See you all tomorrow at 10am for the Eliteam Olympics!
Kelley
