February: Honoring Sportsmanship
While each of the five JHSC Core Values is important and far-reaching in its own way, Sportsmanship stands out as a demonstration of character that reaches far beyond the athletic or Club-specific contexts. At JHSC, we encourage student athletes to be at their best and carry themselves with dignity, showing respect for others in their roles as students, as athletes, and as members of both family and friend groups and of their local and broader communities. Sportsmanship includes how we represent ourselves, our families, our teammates, and our Club no matter where we are or what we are doing. We are always fair, respectful, humble in victory, and gracious in defeat. We treat others (including volunteers, race officials, guest teams, and community members) the way we want to be treated. We treat our partner schools and venues with respect, never taking for granted the opportunity to compete in snow sports. This value demands a commitment to zero tolerance for any form of discrimination or inequity and for fostering the safest and most effective environment for the social, emotional, and physical development of all participants.
This month, we’ve seen sportsmanship in many forms around the Club, from our locals race league, the Pica’s Margarita Cup, to hosted events including the Sean Nurse Memorial Race (Alpine), the Johnny Curtis Memorial Race (Nordic), and the Snow King IFSA Competition (Freeride): cheering on our teammates and fellow competitors, lending a helping hand to set up events or clean our locker room spaces, giving high fives before a big run, and enjoying the fun of sport, regardless of win or loss.
Check out our Program Directors at work on event days: always giving their all for our teams, they lead by example, educating our student athletes every day, on and off the hill!
Congratulations to our Value of the Month Award Winners for February: these student athletes show us daily what it means to demonstrate all the aspects of good sportsmanship!
Noah Pruzan, Backcountry Program. “Noah loves backcountry skiing. His positivity and excitement radiate throughout the group. Anyone who spends time around Noah in the backcountry is positively impacted.”
Tori Linger, Nordic Prep Team. “Tori has been a fantastic teammate on the Prep/Comp team this year and month. Despite some health issues and some personal setbacks, she has not been able to perform to her ability, but she still shows up every day and cheers her teammates on and helps build a positive environment no matter what. At the WY State Championships this weekend, she did not feel well enough to race but went out on course and cheered for all of her teammates the entire morning, then stayed positive and supportive the rest of the day.”
Waylon Beck, Nordic Junior Team. “Waylon is such a positive teammate. He is always supporting his teammates and setting a positive example. While he is driven to excel, he doesn't let it get in the way of what it really means to be a team player. He is the first to congratulate his teammates and thank his coaches.”
Emerson Walles, Nordic Teewinot Team. “Emerson shows up to every practice with infectious positivity, flexibility and ready for fun. She was one of the youngest competitors at the Johnny Curtis Memorial and demonstrated excellent sportsmanship by encouraging her fellow competitors to have fun and try hard. She is humble about her race results and quick to compliment her teammates on their efforts.”
Brendan Roberts, Freeski Progression Plus Team. “Brendan is our youngest athlete pursuing competition for the season. He shows up with a big smile and is a great supporter of his older teammates.”
Halle Heron, Freeski Progression Team. “Halle is very supportive to all her teammates, and is 100% drama free. She doesn't bring any school drama into training.”
Daisy Faris, Alpine U10 Team. “Daisy broke her wrist several weeks ago and missed a race series and several trainings. While out, she still attended races, cheered on her friends, and kept a really positive attitude throughout the entire event.”
Elle Brookes, Alpine U12 Team. “Elle sprints to help at any opportunity, for both teammates and coaches, and other Club athletes.”
Kylie MacMillan, Alpine U16 Team. “Kylie is always cheering on the other athletes at races and supporting her teammates. She always does what the coaching staff asks.”
Alumni Spotlight: Birch Klomparens
Age: 19
Discipline(s) with JHSC: Nordic
How old were you when you joined JHSC? 11
How long were you a part of JHSC? 8 years
In three sentences or less, explain your entire experience with the club.
In my entire experience with the club, I became a more well-rounded individual, met so many incredible people, went to beautiful places, pushed myself, and had a lot of fun.
If you were to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
I would try to take a little more time to appreciate even the moments that felt a little less fun, because I still look back on them and am glad for the experiences.
What was the most fun part of being with the club?
The most fun part about being with the club was the time I spent with the team, both during practice and outside of it!
What are you doing now?
Attending Middlebury College
How does your experience with JHSC affect you today, if at all?
I still apply all of the values I learned from being a part of the club to many aspects of my life today - athletic, educational, and personal. I also have a wonderful support system of past teammates and coaches that I know will always be there for me!
What skills did you learn while competing that apply to life outside of the club?
I learned resilience, sportsmanship, and appreciation for the outdoors and adventure.
What is your all-time favorite memory of JHSC?
It’s so hard to choose just one, because every day I spent with the club was so special, but one of my all-time favorite memories has to be our summer training camp in Utah in 2018! We were so sad to not go on our usual trip to Bend but ended up having such a good time closer to home!
If you knew a kid that was thinking about becoming a part of the club, why do you think they should join?
They should join the ski club because they will be part of an amazing community and have so many incredible opportunities to have fun and become mentally & physically stronger!
This is the Month of Sportsmanship at JHSC: could you share a few ideas about Sportsmanship - what it is, what you think about it as a result of your time in the Club - and how what you learned at JHSC has impacted your thinking about this value in your life outside the Club?
To me, sportsmanship is not only the ability to be happy for a competitor or teammate when they do better than you, but to still be happy for yourself after not performing as well as you had hoped. It is recognizing that any effort is impressive and that we can’t always win. I remember this value often in my life outside of the club when I feel I haven’t succeeded in something the way I wanted. I think sportsmanship creates a great foundation to grow and improve from.
