Being part of a team means that at times you have to tow the line, or in the case of the Clear Creek ski team carry the log. The log is as much a part of the Clear Creek ski team’s legacy as boots and bindings.

Step out of line during practice? Forgot your gear? You carry the log.

Clear Creek head coach Conradt Fredell explains that carrying the log is equal parts body and mind conditioning and it’s always done in good spirit.

“The kids know it’s an extra opportunity to train,” he chuckled.

The alpine team will find out if Fredell’s conditioning has paid off when they compete in their first meet on Jan. 9 at Keystone.

Fredell’s team — 18 in all for both Nordic and alpine — is composed, primarily, of underclassmen with some never having raced before, which means that he and his assistant coach, Brian Inman, are working on skill-building and technique-refinement.

Fredell explained that the boom in the team’s underclassmen is the result of the team rebounding from near extinction a few years ago when budget cuts threatened its survival. Before he worried he wouldn’t have enough skiers to make a team. Now, Fredell has more novice racers than he knows what to do with, and he couldn’t be happier.

“We are in a growth phase this year, which is great. We haven’t had this many kids in years,” said Fredell, who also noted that teaching the new skiers has been an exciting challenge for he and Inman. “The kids are very excited to learn ski racing and every week I can see dramatic improvement.”

Knowing that most novices won’t win their first race, Fredell takes an organic approach. His motto is first you work on strengthening the technique and building the fundamentals and the speed will come naturally.

Fredell expects that his team will do well this year. If not right away, certainly by the time it heads to state with his seniors towing the line and leading by example.

Last year, Mike Skladanowski, now a junior, finished third in the giant slalom and ninth in the slalom at state, just missing the skimeister mark. This year, Fredell thinks Skladanowski might make it to the top podium.

CLEAR CREEK GOLDDIGGERS
Head coach: Conradt Fredell
Assistant coach: Brian Inman
Skiers to watch: Mike Skladanowski, Jr.; Andrew Brown, Jr.; Jon Lovette, Jr.; Tessa Spialek, Sr.
Season opener: Jan. 9 at Eldora
Outlook: “We are a very young team made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores with a lot of young and new skiers, so we will be working on a lot of skill building and fundamentals,” Fredell said.
State championship: Feb. 19-20 at Keystone