The start of the ski season began in November of 2012, and, with the help of a lot of snow, the team was able to have a successful season. The past few years have been difficult for the team because there hasn’t been enough snow, but this season they were in for a treat.
As one of the few a co-ed teams in WMHS, the Ski Team members were very close and always got along with one another. This year’s team consisted of four girls and eight boys. On the girl’s team, it was Krista Campbell, Katie Otero, Lindsay Perez and Gillian Grahame. On the boy’s team, there were two captains Tom Gillespie, who is a senior this year and Sean Timony who is also a senior. The other boys on the team were Matt Perez, Collin Timony, Eric Rudden, Timmy Wong, Joe Barone and Liam Herrington. Junior Krista Campbell says that having a co-ed team ” brings everyone a lot closer and they just have so much fun because it’s such a different group of people.”
This year, there was an additional coach added, Mr. Heershaap. Mr. Heershaap is a math teacher at WMHS and decided to coach ski team this year assisting Mr. White who has been coaching for many years now. Mr. White is also a math teacher at WMHS and they both love to ski. Krista said the great thing about these two teachers being coaches is that “they aren’t pushy like some coaches; they are always willing to help you if you are willing to learn. Skiing is an individual sport, but you can only get better if you want to get better.” She also mentioned that even though the are coaches focused on getting all their work done, they also have the chance to fool and joke around with the team. Krista added, “It’s important to develop a good relationship with your coach because it just makes you feel more confident when it’s time to race.”
Toward the middle of the season, at the beginning of December, the team took a trip to Killington, Vermont, and bonded and skied for three days, to experience the snow and get accustomed the new season before the races began.
Ski team often raced at Hidden Valley, Mount Peter and Mountain Creek. Seniors Tom Gillespie and Sean Timony were the only ones to make it to the Race of Champions where they came in third place! Overall, this season was successful and full of support, especially when Mr. Gorski came to support the team at one of the races. The overall record was 17 – 24 for the girls and 31 – 21 for the boys. The teammates are looking forward to an even stronger record next season.
