Riley Whitney, our senior captain, was in Bozeman, Montana, mentally preparing for what would have been the biggest race of her ski racing career when the NCAA decided to abruptly cancel the last two days of the NCAA Championships. Our team shared the painful reality that her opportunity to represent St. Lawrence as the first female athlete to qualify for nationals since 2015 was over. We were also denied the opportunity to celebrate her success upon her return to St. Lawrence as the news of the pandemic spread across our community and forced us to quickly pack our belongings and leave campus.
Although our EISA carnival season ends in February and the NCAA Championships are held in mid-March, ski races continue throughout March and April with opportunities for athletes to improve their points and race start positions for the following season. With these events canceled, a large sense of frustration and disappointment spread throughout the team.
The days leading up to the departure from campus were filled with a variety of emotions. As a junior, I acknowledge that the feelings I had leaving school weren't even comparable to the amplified emotions that I knew the seniors were experiencing in that time and have continued to endure from their homes.
Success in ski racing is dependent upon a number of factors outside of our control. We are used to adapting to ever-changing variables such as weather and course conditions; it is important to stay open-minded and flexible. There are also things that can be controlled, such as mental and physical preparation and the time and energy put into prepping skis for that day's conditions. The ability to control your outlook, perspective and attitude is also important. During volatile and unpredictable times such as these, when the world is filled with uncertainty, it is important to hold onto the things that we can control. Prioritizing mental and physical health is a good place to start.
Our coaching staff has continued to supply us with at-home workouts that are accessible without a gym. Emails about nutrition tips and creative ways to stay active have been circulating through our teams' inboxes. Some of the best parts of my days have been receiving GroupMe notifications from our head coach,
Willi Steinrotter, checking in to see how we are doing. His recent text with a picture of the supermoon in the North Country sky put a smile on each one of our faces. Although our team is spread out across multiple time zones, we have continued to support one another. For the time being, Zoom has become a good friend to many.
It is easy to become lost in the repetitive nature that the college days seem to foster. Hours of schoolwork, athletics practice, dining hall visits, and time spent with friends blurs together. This pandemic has forced us to take a step back and reflect about our St. Lawrence experience. I know for me, as the days and weeks pass by, something I have noticed is my yearning for St. Lawrence continues to grow stronger each day. I knew I would be sad to miss campus events like Springfest and ski formal. What I seem to be missing most are the little things that SLU has to offer — the moments that I often took for granted or don't stand out as a substantial part of the day. I always knew how special and unique the St. Lawrence experience was, and this time away from campus has confirmed that.
I believe that President Fox said it best in his
video to the class of 2020: "The world needs St. Lawrence — our values, our kindness, the quality of the community that we build here. The world needs that right now and we need to be examples to the world… St. Lawrence is for life and in these coming weeks we need to remind ourselves of that. We need to reach out to one another and remember the good times on this campus that will one day return."
Nicole Greene '21 is a junior on the women's Alpine ski team. This piece is part of a series of stories by student-athletes about how St. Lawrence student-athletes saw their academic and athletic plans change rapidly as the spread of COVID-19 across the nation caused St. Lawrence to make the transition to remote learning instruction after spring break. If you are a St. Lawrence student-athlete interested in participating in this project, please contact Aaron Todd at atodd@stlawu.edu.
