Success

I can truly say that 2012 has been a monumental year of successes for me.

Success #1: College

My first year in college was shaky, and without going into a lot of detail, no “Surviving Your First Year of College” manual, High School lectures, or can-do attitude would have been adequate preparation for the barrage of schoolwork, self-discipline, emotions, and random crazy stuff I never thought I’d witness my Freshman year in college. There were good times and bad times, but the important thing is that I got through it. The trudge isn’t so bad anymore.

My roommate and fellow biathlete Kyle Rutar (right) and I
have been climbing a lot of mountains in Montana this year.
Still one of my favorite things to do.

Success #2: Skiing

As most everyone knows, skiing has been a huge part of my life, as well as a large factor in my happiness and well-being. I skied well through High School, but not well enough to merit a spot on a college team come my Freshman Year of College. It was one of my biggest dreams growing up, and subsequently a very chalky, stale, and massive pill to swallow when I wasn’t able to join most all my friends at college ski practices and take pride alongside them in being on a team. There was a good chance that last season was going to be my last year in nordic skiing and and maybe even biathlon, and this would be the year that I hung up the spandex for good. Last season was a reality check, but I decided to try and make it on my own. And Make It I Did. I drafted my own training plan, woke up early and stayed up late training between classes, and focused on a “no excuses” approach to my life. I think this blog was started to document part of that. Since I couldn’t race college races, I got my racing fix through biathlon, qualified first in the nation for World Junior Championships, and got a top-30 result at Worlds in Finland. The satisfaction was even better knowing that for the 7 months prior, I was my own coach, wax tech, and nutritionist. It was all me. In saying that, I also have to thank my Alaska Winter Stars support crew and Jan Buron for believing in my potential, as well as my man Carl Smith for living with my depressing “I want to go home” crap Freshman Year and still offering me rides to the trails in Bozeman.

A few weeks ago at VO2 max testing. I've been guinea-pigging again.

Anyway, all of this work, which was beginning to seem fruitless (I got a lot of “why are you still trying for this?” questions last year) paid off at the end of last season when I got a telephone call I never thought I would receive. It was the Head Coach of the Montana State Ski Team inviting me on the team for the 2012-2013 season. I just about lost it. To this day, I claim that moment as my most “overcoming odds” scenario of my life.

Sometimes I have to look twice to realize the titans I am training and racing next to. Living the dream. 

I am extremely honored to be a part of this Division I college ski team, and I definitely don’t take it for granted. Ever since that phone call I’ve trained with inspiration, and I’m finally warming up to being a Bobcat. My only hope is I can make myself and my team proud with my results and presence this year.

But Wait! There’s More!.................

Success #3: Biathlon

As I said not-to-humbly earlier, I feel I had a “break-out” season of sorts in biathlon this past year. My time as a Junior biathlete are now numbered, and I feel I am where I need to be to pursue my end athletic goals in biathlon. I’ve never been one to do the summer biathlon camp travel circuit, and I pride myself in my independence as a junior biathlete. I trained in Anchorage over the summer with help from visiting athletes and coaches Sara Studebaker, Zach Hall, Piotr Bednarski, and Bill Meyer. Throughout my career, I’ve relied on these visits for the majority of my biathlon insight and coaching. I also had the opportunity this summer of coaching a junior and masters group of biathletes in Anchorage as part of the Eagle Eyes Program, spearheaded by Tom Grenier. It was during this time as a coach that I began to formulate the idea of starting my own biathlon team in Bozeman.

I found coaching biathlon very satisfying this summer.
I see myself in a lot of the people I train

Every biathlete struggles with the amount of money it takes to stay competitive at this level. This is especially true for the few of us pursuing a full-time higher education. Since most of the college-attending biathletes in the nation go to Montana State, it was common sense to start a team and try to market ourselves as the Best of the West in a sport previously dominated by the sheer amount of Eastern Coastals. I made a logo, and the idea became known as Biathlon Elite, increasing our outreach by being uncompromising in our studies as well as athletic pursuits.

Working on the Biathlon Elite Logo.
Stickers soon??

Long story short, the Biathlon Elite team is now established, has multiple sponsors, and hosts some of the best biathlon talent in the nation. I would especially like to thank our title sponsor, Altius Handcrafted Firearms, for their generous and continuing support of Biathlon Elite’s mission and desire to be the best athletes, scholars, and citizens we can be. Members of the team most recently travelled to West Yellowstone for a weekend dryland training camp, where we slept in the range timing building and shot and exercised until we dropped. It’s a great time, and a good compliment to my full-time studies, full-time nordic training schedule. I am very busy, and loving it. Please check our website biathlonelite.blogspot.com and our Facebook page for more information.

So that has been my life in a nutshell. I am happier, faster, fitter, and smarter than ever, and only plan on doing more of it. To cap it all off, I was awarded today (although I wasn’t there to receive it) the US Biathlon Junior Marksman of the Year award. It’s very flattering, and I hope to continue my excellence in biathlon, nordic skiing, and academics while encouraging others to do the same. Thank you everyone for everything, especially my new and returning personal sponsors for your continued belief in me. Due to my commitments I will still not be able to update the blog as much, and I again thank you for your support.

Cheers,

Sam