I am passionate about alpine ski racing and dream of competing in major competitions in the future.
To become a top ski racer, it requires a lot of training and commitment, on and off the slope. Currently I am my own coach, building training plans and seeing that I follow through with them. It’s a lonely journey working and training by myself but I know it is necessary for me to do this if I ever want to become a successful ski racer.
“Ability is what you are capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.”
~ Lou Holtz
At the moment, I am studying Sport and Exercise Management in University College Dublin. It is time consuming but I manage to fit my exercise programs around my studies. I am due to graduate in May 2018, until then my training will mainly consist of conditional and fitness training along with some FIS races during breaks from college. Not being part of a team makes this training more difficult, especially as it is difficult to manage my time between attending college, dryland training, ski training and competing in races.
After I graduate I plan to move to the Alps where I can train and work full time on snow. Between my fitness training and working as a ski instructor and coach I hope to improve my basic skiing skills that I can then apply to my race training.
Coming from Ireland means that I must chase the snow and travel to mainland Europe to train and compete. This is not only time consuming but also very expensive. Without the support from my parents this would not be possible. I am currently searching for potential sponsors that can support me on my journey to success.
For the coming season I plan to compete in National junior races, FIS races, Entry League races and citizen races across Europe which will help me to bring my FIS points down. After having taken a 2 year break from competing due to school examinations I have been left with a high amount of FIS points which I need to bring back down in order for me to get better starting positions in races. I also need to reduce my points in order for me to qualify for major competitions in years to come. So for this year my goal is to reduce my points to what they once were, or even lower.
For the seasons to follow; my goal is to compete in the Alpine Ski World Championships which are being held in Are in Sweden in 2019. Following that my next goal, and main goal, is to compete in the Winter Olympics in 2022, which will take place in China.
The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory!