. Thomsen D'Hont: Thoughts Post Duntroon

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Thoughts Post Duntroon

It’s done. I have failed to qualify for World Juniors for the 3rd year in a row. Every trials I have been to I have been very close to CCC’s top picks and it is tough to have been slightly off the pace yet again for the 3rd year. This year I recognized the difficulty of the task and I had very good preparation for the 1 day that I would have my chance. The skate sprint on January 5th in Duntroon, Ontario. I’m sure I will revisit that day many times in my mind over the next few months, as I think of the many “what-ifs”. I have always been known as a good qualifier in sprinting and all season I have been in the top 3 Juniors for every qualification round. It just so happens that I made a slight miscalculation picking the wrong pair of skis in Duntroon and ended up 6th fastest qualifier. It was difficult to learn in the end that the top 3 qualifiers all made it for the trip to Poland. It is also difficult to acknowledge that the A-final became an unfair contest with certain team tactics that came into play. It is now important to refocus and look into the future. Take what I can from this experience and use this opportunity to make myself a stronger skier and individual. There are still some big races left in the season and I now switch my focus to be on my game, or even above my current game, cause that’s what it’s going to take in order to prove both to myself and to others all the international potential I can muster.

There I go, I was hoping that when I started writing this blog it wouldn’t just be me ranting about my shortcomings and making excuses for stuff. So tune in for more (hopefully in the near future!) for better, more cheerful topics such as my thoughts on training, competition, school, etc…

It is also a very happy time here on the NTDC, as many of my team have been picked for Worlds and other international comps. So congrats yall, and tear it up wherever your travels take you.

Tdhont

Racing the sprint in Valcartier. Photo credit - James Cunningham

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Bio

I was born and raised in the North in the city of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Yellowknife is a bustling mining town that is in a dark winter deep freeze for much of the year. It is in these dark, cold months that I learned to ski out on meandering snowmobile trails. In Yellowknife there is a sort of ski season trade-off; we have 8 months where skiing is possible, but with the harsh temperatures we have mid-winter, skiing is nearly unbearable for half this time. These conditions have reinforced values such as perseverance, drive, focus etc… and it is these values that have helped me get to where I am today.

When I was a youngster up in the ‘Knife, I was always outdoors, living the childhood that skiing greats like Bjorn Daehlie have attributed their success to. I would hunt, trap, camp, fish, and explore the land around where I lived year-round. I was skiing at a very young age and eventually hopped on the Jackrabbit bandwagon at the age of 7. I flew through the different colour levels and before I knew it I was on the High Performance team. This was a big step – lots of famous skiers were part of this group back then (famous in Yellowknife, anyways). I raced some big international competitions as a Midget through to Junior. I would throw the best I had at Alaskans, Greenlanders, Scandinavians, Russians, and Northern Canadians at the Arctic Winter Games. I was always a pretty small guy so it was a while before I could compete. My results consistently got better and at my final Arctics’ I demonstrated my improved skills and brought home the coveted Golden Ulu for my home contingent of the NWT. It remains to this day one of my greatest accomplishments.

AWGs aren't the only races I did - I would be at all the big Canadian ones too. As a midget (12-13) through to juvenile category (14-15), I would hit up Alberta Cups once or twice a year, along with Western Canadian Championships being an important annual event. As a juvenile I started to make it out to Nationals and by that time I was really hooked on skiing and every year of racing motivated me more and more.

The past few years have been an adventure. Out of High School in summer '07 I became part of the National Team Development Centre based out of Thunder Bay, Ontario. This was my first real time on a high calibre team with other highly motivated individuals working towards the same goal of national and international skiing success. Needless to say, this year was a great stepping stone for me. After my year with the NTDC, I moved out to Whistler, BC to be part of the Callaghan Valley Training Centre (CVTC). Being based out of the 2010 Olympic venue offers an amazing environment for a developing cross country skier and the facilities are second to none.

Intro

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Thoughts Post Duntroon

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