Today at ELITEAM we… hiked a big mountain! Along the way each team made a cairn, sang a song, wrote a poem and made a hat. It was a long hike with several steep sections that definitely pushed everyone’s limits. However, the chairlift ride down was well worth the effort… cool breeze, beautiful views and a much needed rest for our tired legs. (Thank you Sugarbush Resort!!!) This afternoon we had a Fencing lesson! First time ever at ELITEAM, and it was a huge hit. We started with “the basics” and ended with one on one matches “to the death”. A big thank you to Viveka Fox from the Vermont Fencing Alliance for the introduction to the sport of fencing. Thanks also to her helpers Justin and Ryan who gave us an exhibition match after dinner. No one understood the scoring, but everyone had fun watching the action!
Poems penned on the hike…
We are the best
We don’t need rest
When we eat, we chew our food ten times
In the relay, we always have straight lines
There is no doubt
We’ll make it count.
This week at camp
Our shoes became a little damp.
Leg routine made our quads sore
So then we did a little more core.
It may be hot
But we’re sure are doing a lot!
Today we’re gonna make it count
When we hike the mount!
What was the best part about the hike today?
Pippa: The views and listening to music as we hiked.
Ellie K: My favorite part was all the challenges, making the hat, building a star. I really enjoyed getting to the top.
Ellie S: The best part was the chairlift ride down!
Casey: I liked the views from the traverse, where we could see all the mountains.
Lindsay: The chairlift ride down, the views were sweet.
Sophia: When we stopped at a lookout point, I could see for miles!
Donatella: The traverse, because the scenery was really beautiful.
Avery: The flat parts, but only because I could really enjoy the view.
Sara: The best part was getting to the top, because I felt incredibly accomplished and strong.
Ashley: Making it to the top, because it was so satisfying to see all that we had climbed. I felt strong and proud.
Brayden: I really liked pushing through the pain, and the relief I got when I made it over the steep hills.
Jackie: I liked pushing myself even when I was one of the last people, I ran to the summit and everyone was clapping. It was awesome!
Lily M: My favorite part was definitely the Long Trail because the views were so beautiful I didn’t even want to move.
Quinn: Building the Cairns, because it was really challenging to balance the rocks.
Tyler: My favorite part was the long trail, because it was much cooler and really rocky. The chairlift ride was also awesome because it was a different perspective — it was crazy seeing the mountain snow-less.
Aiden: I liked the long trail the most because it was so peaceful.
Zander: The chair lift ride down was very fun…….. but a little scary.
Luke: My favorite part of the hike was arriving at the summit because everyone was cheering!
Teddy: Having Zack as a guide so we didn’t get lost!
Paul: The chairlift ride down because I got off my feet and got to talk to my friends.
Reilly: My favorite part was getting to the summit because it was so beautiful.
Tommy: The chairlift ride was SO cool… you could see everything!
Carter: The most memorable moment was eating lunch at the top because we saw cloud up close, misting through the trees and all the activities were so fun.
Sam L.: The chairlift ride felt like how I think it must feel to ride in a parade float after winning the Super Bowl!!
On a scale of 0 to sufferfest, how hard was the hike?
Ellie K: Three, but it was awesome!
Pippa: Four!
Ellie S: Six, but I loved every minute of it.
Casey: a hundred! Wait… just kidding a five haha.
Lindsay: Six, you know what I mean?
Donatella: Sufferfest level!!
Avery: Like an 8, I would say.
Sara: It was harder than sufferfest in my opinion, but it was awesome!
Ashley: I don’t know! It wasn’t quite sufferfest level so maybe 7.
Brayden: Hmmm I am gonna go with a 6.
Lily: Definitely a level 7.
What was your make it count moment?
Casey: My make it count moment happened when we had to turn around because we went the wrong way. I was already really tired but I pushed through it.
Lindsay: My make it count moment was right before we stopped for lunch and the incline got really intense and I felt like stopping, but I convinced myself to keep going.
Donatella: When we were getting to the steep incline and I really had to push myself and make the hike count!
Sara: During the final stretch before lunch it became super steep and I had to keep telling myself to keep going and reminding myself that it would be worth it.
Brayden: When we were having lunch, my legs started to get sore and I wasn’t sure if I could go much farther. But I convinced myself to keep going, and the views were so worth it.
Luke: My make it count moment came when we were heading back down because I could see all that I had climbed and I felt so accomplished.
Cal: I made it count on every steep section because it was really hard.
Coaches Corner:
Coach Zack: I enjoyed the entire hike because I had such an incredible group. Each one of us: Ella, Ashley, Lindsay, Thomas, Teddy, Aiden, Max, Coach Livy and myself all pushed each other to finish stronger than we started. We left no one behind, we all worked together on the challenges and shared the literal weight and responsibility of the water jugs. It was all positivity all around.
Coach Conor: I absolutely loved watching my group sing All Star by Smashmouth perfectly in sync without a single error. It was EPIC! They then took it one step further by writing a poem comprised of three haikus about making it count, pushing limits and digging deep.
Coach Tasha: It was super cool seeing Paul sprint the steepest part of the entire hike, while carrying a full gallon water jug.
Coach Doug: My favorite moments out of many were the poem presentations from each group at the top of the mountain… athletes with brains too!
