LHS Nordic skiers prepare for winter season

Nov. 17—Laramie High Nordic skiers began practice this week under coach Rebecca Watson, who carries two decades of experience at the helm of the Plainsmen.

A year ago, the boys team finished second in the state behind Lander, while the girls team finished fourth. The boys team is returning all but two skiers, and the girls lost just one member.

Watson isn't worried that the mountains haven't gotten snow yet, as it normally isn't until after the first month of practice before the team moves away from dry-land training. She expects to continue practicing on dry land for at least the next three weeks.

On the boys side, seniors Emmitt Gray and Sam Kaiser, juniors Gidion Moore and Jack Voos and sophomores Darin Binning and Andrew Arnold are expected to lead the team. For the girls, seniors Zeren Homer and Eliza Fay, junior Morgan Gelwicks and sophomores Melissa Bingham and Kili Learned are expected to make the biggest impact.

Fay and Gray were very happy with the turnout for the first week of practice. They said that everyone is excited to be there and ready to work, which excites them for the future of the program.

Being forced to work on dry land isn't as bad as it sounds, as there are a lot of specific skiing skills you can work on, Watson said. Much of the training is conditioning-based and cross-trains to the next day.

"(Tuesday), we did a string circuit, and there was a specific strength," Watson said. "(Wednesday), we're going to be running and bounding with polls, kind of mimicking the skiing motion. On Saturday, we'll have a roller ski clinic. Roller skis are like short cut-off skis with wheels on either side that are very similar to skiing."

The team's training is intended to use muscle memory for when they transition to the real thing. One of the most important aspects of the team's season is avoiding injury.

"We are working on overall fitness," Fay said. "You can work on technique, but roller skis are the best way to simulate cross-country skiing."

Added Gray: "It's hard to simulate the agility of skiing without doing the real thing. I'm more worried about strength training at this point."

Watson repeatedly tells her team the importance of closing the glycogen window after practice by eating, sleeping and foam-rolling their muscles. They also do a yoga circuit where they talk about balancing, stretching and relaxing.

Watson believes the team had a very important year of growth a season ago. Returning most of both teams, Watson is confident about LHS' ceiling going into the new year.

"We got a lot of snow early," Watson said. "I saw a huge amount of improvement across the board. We've been slowly building the program over the last few years, and I'll say we'll be in the mix of the most competitive teams in the state."

The boys team feels like the additional work it put in during the offseason could lead to the Plainsmen to contend for a state title. The LHS boys are a close-knit group with veteran leadership.

"We've done a lot of work in the aerobic compacity," Moore said. "I think that will help a lot. Our fifth guy is working hard and is going to step up as well."

All five members of the boys team qualified for state a year ago. Binning is the son of 1988 Olympian Darin Binning Sr., who competed in Nordic Ski at the Calgary games.

Watson has helped the boys overcome mental blocks from the early stages of their career.

"She's helped me become a better skier by helping me with technique," Kaiser added. "It starts with from your base upward. A good technique goes a long way, you just need to know the basics."

The LHS girls are primarily focused on having fun. The team wants to compete and win, but Nordic skiing is a sport they do out of passion.

"Skiing is supposed to be fun, but also really challenging, and that's why we do this sport," Learned said. "We want to push ourselves to be better, and this is me doing that."

While Learned has missed time over the past couple years because of injuries, the rest of the LHS girls team qualified for state last season.

Out of the several courses the Plainsmen will ski this season, the course in Pinedale is expected to be the most difficult, Binning and Arnold said. The course in Jackson can be tricky, but isn't as grueling as Pinedale.

Pinedale has what competitive skiers call, 'Heart attack hill,' which is extremely vertical and steep. Climbing the hill feels like using the stair climbing machine at the gym, Binning said.

"I'm looking for my skiers to have the grit and growth mindset needed to pursue this really challenging, difficult sport," Watson said. "The next thing I'm looking for is just for them to be here and to show up and work hard. Also, for them to feel like they can get out of what they want from the season."

Austin Edmonds covers Laramie High, University of Wyoming and community athletics for WyoSports. He can be reached at aedmonds@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @_austinedmonds.