Name: Ben Taylor

Grade: Senior

Sport: Ski

How have you seen the team improve from the beginning of the season to now?

“The team has become a lot more confident in themselves over the season, which is nice to see. We had a lot of brand new kids who were just learning how to ski, let alone race. Over the course of all the practices, everyone’s grown to become better skiers and are now more confident in themselves, which has led them to want to improve more and become competitive, which is cool.”

What is a moment that stands out to you from this ski season?

“The Caberfae trip was a cool moment that was a lot of fun because it was an overnight trip, so the team just got to bond and have a lot of fun while missing school, which is always fun.”

How has being on the ski team impacted your performance in other sports?

“Being on the varsity ski team freshman year gave me that experience of being on a varsity team compared to spending that fall on JV soccer. It was so much fun, and I learned a lot from the upperclassmen, which really made me want to push myself harder in soccer to be able to make varsity soccer the next fall.”

How has your leadership improved through the experience of being a ski team captain?

“I would say my leadership has improved in helping lead a more diverse group of people. With soccer, it’s a cut sport with only guys and separate JV and varsity teams, whereas ski is coed, non-cut, and one large team with JV and varsity being more intertwined. So, it’s a whole different experience.”

What goals are the team trying to achieve by the end of the year?

“Our huge goal is, of course, to make states as a team which we would need to place in the top three at regionals for. But another significant goal, as cheesy as it sounds, is just that everyone had fun. Also, it would be nice if the underclassmen stick with it in the coming years. We get a lot of people who don’t join until junior or senior year, and every year they say they had so much fun and wished they joined freshman year and stayed with it. So we’re hoping that more people experience ski team all four years if possible.”