Being a member of the varsity ski team is quite a bit different from being on any of the other sports teams Cornwall High School offers. Without a mountain on campus, students are required to travel for practices, as well as all their matches. Captains and three-time state qualifiers Charles Manzari and Giovanna Fichera shared their thoughts on the additional travel and how they prepare for practices and meets
When school lets out at 2 p.m., Manzari runs to his car and tries to beat the buses in order to make it home before the team leaves at 3 for Mount Peter in Warwick. With assistance from his father, Manzari prepares his skis for a run on the slopes. He loads up the car and makes it back to the high school before the team bus leaves.
Fichera, on the other hand, leaves her ski equipment in her car and uses the hour to catch up on school work. Those without the luxury of a vehicle, store their equipment in the locker room.
The commute to Mount Peter is about 45 minutes long and Cornwall is usually the last team to arrive for a match because the coach is an elementary school teacher and dismissal is after the high school.
The team typically has time to get one or two slips in after they arrive. This means they walk alongside the course to check out the gates and the pattern.
Manzari takes one or two runs to warm up his legs and make sure his skis are operating properly. Then he joins his teammates for a fairly new and odd tradition of yoga breathing. He’ll do some stretches while Fichera and the other girls do jumping jacks as a warm-up.
The girls run their races first, so Manzari is able to get some feedback about the course before it’s his turn out of the gate.
The team usually returns home from a meet between 6:45 and 8 p.m., depending on the number of racers and how long it takes to complete each event.
The team does travel to Mount Peter for practices, but this year there have been fewer practices than in the past. Cornwall only had two days of training on the mountain due to poor snow conditions. Coming off the winter break meets started right up rather than allowing teams a couple of weeks to practice. In previous years, the team typically practiced on the mountain at least four or five times before the first meet.
Like other teams, the ski team is able to conduct dry land practices at the high school consisting of running, weight lifting, and wall sits. The coach may set up cones in a mock course so the team can practice quick feet.
Fichera said she’s not perturbed by having to practice off site. She’s been doing it for so many years she’s used to it by now.
Practicing on the mountain seems to be preferred by Manzari. “The more time you have on gates the better you’re going to do,” he said.
