AST Athlete Journal: Keira McLaughlin
Hi everyone! Keira here again with my third and final athlete journal – both for this season and of my ski career. It is hard to believe that the ski season is over! I thought I would use this journal as a way to reflect on the year but also try to lend some advice for others. This ski season has been my best year of FIS yet. I had met all my goals, and even exceeded them! Coming into this season, I was aiming to score in the 40s for both GS and SL, and crazily enough, I managed to do that in the first SL race at Norquay. Further down the road, at Pano series and Sun Peaks, I was able to score a 36 and a 38 in SL which I couldn’t believe! My next goal this season was to score Noram points in at least one discipline. Unfortunately at all the Norams hosted out West, I was just outside of scoring points, however, in our last trip out East for Noram finals I was able to score points in both GS and SL! They were hosted at Burke Mountain, and having spent two years of my life there, I believe that it gave me the extra confidence and push I needed to really succeed in reaching my goals. Additionally, I had never set any goals for my super g as it had been two seasons since I last skied it due to injury, however, I ended up walking away from this season with two big scores and a win! It was something I never expected after only a few days of training, but I am so glad that I was able to accomplish that, and have it happen at my home hill.
While this season has been my best yet, it has also been my toughest season mentally ever. The injuries from my first two years of fis had a way of sneaking up on me in a way I did not think was possible. Ever since I was little I felt that I had always had the “just send it” mentality, which I borrowed from my older brothers. This mentality came to a halt my first year fis when I was out from a concussion for two months, and following that, I tore my acl/mcl which left me without skiing for a year. Both injuries were the result of ski crashes but by the time I started my second year of fis I felt back to normal. I recall having a couple tough days where the fear of crashing took over, but throughout all of my “kneehab” and return to snow I felt as if my sending it attitude came back to me, and I could ski fearlessly. Just 11 race starts after my first race back, I sent it down the course, and ended up snapping my arm in half. It was scary, but it was also the most pain I have ever felt in my life. Despite that, I decided to ski another year, but this time I would be back home and part of the Alberta Ski Team!
Broken bones (with the help of some metal plates) heal much faster than ligaments, thankfully, so I was able to return to snow for our first camp of the season in Saas Fee. I was so ecstatic to be back skiing again and to feel normal. The entire camp had gone so smoothly until the last day where I felt so scared I was going to crash, that I could not ski down the course. That was the first time I had ever experienced anything like that to that degree. It was honestly terrifying and it would not be the last time I would experience that. There were countless days of training and the occasional race day where that fear would take over. I had seen a few sport psychologists/therapists but I found that they were not able to help me out. I never did find a way of getting rid of those doubts in my head but just by trying to have fun at skiing did distract me and allowed me to love skiing again. I could not have done that without the help from my teammates who I am eternally grateful for and our chairlift chats.
I’m sharing my story not just to reflect, but in hopes that it might help someone else going through something similar. I don’t think that we talk enough about how scary skiing actually can be, and that by being able to talk to your coaches/parents/friends about it, your team of people can help you conquer those fears.
Finally, thank you to everyone I have met throughout my ski career – you have all played a part in making this journey so special. I cannot be happier with the way that my last year of racing has gone and for it to be surrounded by so many amazing people. I finally finished one full year of fis and managed to drop my points substantially. This could not have been possible without the help from our sponsors of the Alberta Ski Team; GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon Sports, Genstar Canada, Mountain Fire Foods, and Gear Up Mountain Sports.
Even though I won’t be racing, I’ll be coaching, so I’ll catch you all out on the slopes!
-Keira 🙂